Hampyeong Butterfly Festival

Last weekend I went to the Hampyeong butterfly festival with Jihyeon's whole family (including their dog, Haru). Jihyeon's mum packed a huge lunch of Korean melon, strawberries, fried chicken, Mandu and Gimbap. It took about a hour and a half to drive to Hampyeong from Iksan. 

Now, when you call something a "butterfly festival" you would expect to see butterflies wouldn't you? There were a few butterflies in a greenhouse but there were not that many and compared to butterflies we have in Australia they were not that big or pretty. If you are ever in Australia and want to see an amazing array of more butterflies than you can poke a stick at, head to the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary in Kuranda (north Queensland).

One thing that the butterfly festival did have lots of were flowers. There were flowers everywhere. Here are some photos. 

It was a little bit like where's Wally. Can you spot the butterflies in the enclosure?

Oh look, there's one. :)

And another.

Here was a butterfly which had just emerged from its chrysalis and was busy drying its wings. 

Interesting flower shape. I wonder if it is native to Korea.

In Australia this flower is known as Lantana and is a noxious weed in Australia. 

I tested macro mode on this thistle flower. The photo turned out well. 

We went for a walk outside and spotted a group of what looked like convicts demonstrating how to plant rice. By the time we got there they had finished.

Picture of the string line used to keep the rows and spacing of each rice plant straight. 

This waterwheel was used to flood the field with water. 

After the rice has been harvested, they burn what is left to kill pests and return nutrients to the land. 

It was a nice and warm day, but there was a steady breeze. I don't know how these kids didn't freeze to death. They were looking for small fish in the muddy water. 

These yellow flowers were everywhere. We stopped by a large field of them to take a photo. 

Pictured here are some local school children chasing some pigs and chickens around a paddock. They were trying to catch them and put them back in their cages. It was amusing, but I felt sorry for the poor animals. They must have been terrified. They certainly ran like their life depended on it. 

You have no where to run....

Oh wait, the pig somehow got away. 

The pig is still on the run. 

Once we finished walking around we headed home again.