Rhino Poaching Up 50 Percent In South Africa

by Kraig Becker on

The South African government has released statistics on the number of rhinos poached in that country last year, and the news isn’t especially good. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a record number of 668 rhinos were killed in South Africa in 2012, representing a 50% increase over 2011 when 448 of the animals lost their lives to poachers.

Most of the rhino poaching took place inside Kruger National Park, one of South Africa’s most popular destinations for visitors. The 7500-square-mile Kruger is one of the top safari destinations in the world and one of the best places to spot wild rhinos. But its remote and rugged location also makes it difficult to police and combat poaching. As a result, of the 668 rhinos killed last year, 425 were claimed inside the park.

Rhino poaching has been on the rise in recent years because of the increasing demand for their horns in parts of Asia. The horns are ground up into powder and used in traditional medicines in places like Vietnam and China, despite the fact that there is no scientific evidence to support such uses. As the WWF report notes, rhino horns are used in such dubious remedies as hangover cures.

When poachers claim their prized rhino horns they typically shoot the animals with tranquilizers, knocking them unconscious for a time. While the creature slumbers, they then proceed to hack off their horns using sharp axes or knives to brutally accomplish their task. The rhino then bleeds to death from these wounds and their corpses are generally found by park rangers hours or days after they have been attacked.

These ever-increasing poaching numbers have put the rhino in jeopardy across Africa. Several species are critically endangered there as a result of these crimes.

[Photo Credit: Kraig Becker]

Video Of The Day: Laos

by Elizabeth Seward on

“In Asia – Episode 3 – LAOS” from Vincent Urban on Vimeo.

I just had the privilege of watching this beautiful video of Laos. I came across this film on vimeo. Created by Vincent Urban for a series titled “In Asia,” this video on Laos is the third out of five films from his trip to Asia in the fall of 2010. The song playing throughout the video just might become one of your new favorites and the footage is beautiful and captivating. The video starts in a native village in Laos and from there, the scenes change. Luang Prabang, Phonsavan, Vang Vieng, Vientiane, Don Khong and Khone Phapheng are all explored and captured thereafter. Enjoy.

Next Generation Travel Apps To Think, Do More

by Chris Owen on

It seems that there is no shortage of travel apps that do everything from guide us around an unfamiliar city to share our travel experience with others. In the beginning it was a rush-to-market situation that had travel app software developers working overtime, just to get a brand out there for us to try in one way or another. If that app did something unique, all the better. Now, after working with them a while, gathering user information and tweaking apps already in place, a new generation of travel apps seem to be a bit smarter, faster and more relevant.

In “Travel Apps That Actually Do Something,” we talked about apps that rely on existing data and don’t really do anything special. A variety of GPS-based apps, for example, take that same satellite signal and do different things with it. One uses it to give us driving directions, another to connect us with others in the area or find a restaurant, hotel or area attraction.

New generation travel apps, like Gogobot’s new Android app released this week, do more.Via their iPhone app, Gogobot’s social network of travelers have been able to search and book hotels, restaurants and things to do in thousands of destinations around the world.

The new Android version goes a step or two further, allowing the ability to search and book that hotel on the fly with filters for real-time hotel pricing and availability, user ratings, hotel class and social recommendation. Adding new, rich content and ability from OpenTable, Gogobot users can now search and select a table on the go too.

A smart integration of Google Street View for Android uses the phone’s compass to turn an Android device into a virtual window, with 360-degree views of Gogobot locations.

“With our new Android app, Gogobot has responded to the needs of avid travelers who are Android users with an experience uniquely tailored to maximize the device’s capabilities,” said Gogobot CEO and co-founder Travis Katz in a press release.

Not just adding an Android version of their iPhone app, Gogobot is addressing the future too. With mobile predicted to take over PC’s as the most common web access device as soon as 2014, as many as one billion users are expected.

“This means travelers will be accessing – and creating – an increasing amount of information via mobile apps,” added Katz, “both in real time and around such destinations and venues as restaurants, hotels, shops and sites.”

Want a first-look at Gogobot’s new Android app? See this video:



[Photo Credit- Flickr user mtsofan]

Impressive Normandy Festivals To See This Year

by Chris Owen on

The Normandy region of France is host to a number of festivals and events, some of which attract travelers from around the world. For many Americans, Normandy brings to mind D-Day landings, World War II and the Normandy beaches, but there is a whole lot more to know about.

The Armada– June 6-16, 2013
Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2013, “L’Armada de la liberté” – “The Sails of Freedom” brings millions of visitors to the Port of Rouen for concerts, gigantic fireworks and plenty of other entertainment.

But the stars of the show are more than 50 of the largest sailing ships in the world. Also featured are modern warships, all of which have sailed up the 120 kilometers of the River Seine through the beautiful landscapes of Normandy.

Cirque Theater
One of the last surviving permanent circus rings in France, the theater in d’Elbeuf is the only one to have a 13-meter-wide ring, exactly like the ring under a big top in a traveling circus, plus a proscenium stage.

Normandy Impressionist Festival– April 27 through September 23, 2013
All over Normandy, called “the birthplace of Impressionism,” preparations for the second Festival Normandie Impressionniste are under way.

With water as its central theme, the festival brings to the fore an eclectic program across the arts with exhibitions, concerts, films, modern art, literature and picnics like Manet’s “The Luncheon on the Grass.”


To find out more about Impressionism in Normandy, watch this short video:


[Photo Credit- Rouen and Seine Valley District Tourist Office/JFLange]

‘Winged Victory Of Samothrace’ To Get $4 Million Makeover

by Sean McLachlan on

The “Winged Victory of Samothrace,” an iconic Greek statue housed in the Louvre in Paris, is going to undergo a major restoration, Agence France-Presse reports.

The museum will spend an estimated $4 million to clean the statue and repair structural problems. The statue will be out of sight to the public until the spring of 2014.

The statue was made sometime between 220 and 185 B.C. and is considered a masterpiece of ancient Greek art. It was discovered by a French archaeologist in 1863 on the island of Samothrace in the Aegean Sea. It had been housed in a small building at the highest point of the religious sanctuary on the island.

The statue stands atop the prow of a warship (not visible in this shot courtesy MJM Photographie) and was intended to commemorate some unknown naval battle. Sadly, no dedicatory inscription has ever been found, so exactly what victory the Victory was celebrating will remain a mystery.