More Ways to Risk Life and Limb in New Zealand…

by Brett Atkinson on

So New Zealand is well-known as the spiritual home of bungy jumping, but travellers to the globe’s most adventure packed country soon find out there are loads of other exciting ways to get the most value out of their travel insurance policy.

  1. The world’s most extreme flying fox. Tucked away in the middle of the North Island, the ride at Mokai Gravity Canyon (watch a video after the jump) launches at a height of 175 metres and gets up to speeds of 160 kph. Afterward there’s the North Island’s highest bungy jump (of course…)
  2. An underground flying fox. Only Kiwis would think of setting up a flying fox in a limestone cave. To reach the St Benedict’s Caverns at Waitomo you’ll first need to abseil. Having fun yet?
  3. We’ve showcased Zorbing (here)before but it’s crazy enough to deserve another mention. Strap yourself into a giant see-through ball and roll down the hill. Why didn’t someone think of it sooner?
  4. Ever wondered what would happen if you fell into a giant vacuum cleaner that was switched to “blow”? OK, it’s not a common fantasy but you can find out at Freefall Extreme. Recreate the feeling of skydiving but stay close to the ground.
  5. Most travelers experience bungy jumping at the South Island adventure hub Queenstown but you can also leap off the Auckland Harbour Bridge in New Zealand’s biggest city. It may look like I’m jumping naked in the photo above, but I was wearing a weird coloured jumpsuit OK?

Mokai Gravity Canyon:

Freefall Extreme:

Auckland bridge Bungee:

Zorbing:

Thin Green Line

by Erik Olsen on

I go on and on here about how much I love our country’s national parks. I don’t have a particular fondness for the National Park Service’s parent agency, The Department of the Interior (where I worked for two years and which, under the Bush administration has become, according to some, a wretched hive of scum and villainy). But the real people who make the National Park Service run are the rangers, the guys who are on the ground, taking care of the parks and making sure that visitors are both safe and educated about the value of the parks.

Well this may come as a surprise, but lots of other countries have national parks as well. And they have rangers too! Fancy that. And as you might imagine, each of these rangers has a story to tell. And what better way to bring that story to you, dear consumer of visual media, than through a movie.

And so, starting its grand unveiling today a new movie called The Thin Green Line is Out to tell the stories of rangers around the globe. From parks in Africa and Australia to those right here at home, the film is an epic document about how those people on the ground, are taking care of these vital resources. It’s an appropriate day to do this, by the way, because today is World Ranger Day, easily Yogi Bear’s most favorite day of the year…after World Honey Day, of course. Oh, and National Picnic Basket Day.

So take the time to head to a park this summer, and shake hands with a ranger.

Free Visa Entry In Exchange for US Missile Shield in Europe?

by Iva Skoch on

The Czech Republic is one of 13 countries trying to renegotiate its visa-requirement for traveling to the US. Currently, Americans do not need visa when traveling to the C.R. but Czechs do when traveling to the US. The unfair visa requirement is a source of much bitterness toward Americans in those countries.

Now, Czechs have a new negotiation tool on their hands. The US wants to build an anti-missile shield in Europe — interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic–allegedly to defend the US and Europe from possible missiles from North Korea and Iran. Both CR and Poland are reluctant to agree to this because they are afraid of becoming terrorist targets. Recent polls in the Czech Republic show that 60-70% of Czechs are against building of the base. It doesn’t help that Vladimir Putin has already threatened that he will aim missiles at them if the US builds the shield there.

This is not a NATO initiative; it’s purely a US defense initiative. Is it fair for Czech to demand a no-visa requirement in exchange for supporting the US defense policy?

A Sunday Drive: Flowers, Highways and Lady Bird Johnson

by Jamie Rhein on

“We are obligated to leave the country as good if not better than we found it.”

— Lady Bird Johnson

When I drive along a highway and see bursts of wildflowers along berms and meridians, I think of Lady Bird Johnson. That’s the actual truth. I figured that Lady Bird Johnson, wife of former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, who died last week at the age of 94 needed a Gadling post in her honor because one of the reasons why traveling along U.S. interstates can be visually pleasing is that she thought nurturing native plants was important. To her, one place to start beautifying America was payiing attention to the land on either side of the highways. Imagine the advertising and weeds we’d be seeing if not for her vision. The Highway Beautification Act passed in 1965 due to Lady Bird Johnson’s determination.

Native flowers got another boost in 1982 when she also co-founded the National Wildlife Research Center in Austin, Texas. The center, now the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, has 16 native plant gardens and nature trails that teach people how to landscape their own yards. Each garden has distinctive features. [The photo is of the panel garden.]

Whenever you’re traveling along a highway, keep your eye out for buttercups, cornflowers, bluebells, sunflowers and whatever else grows native in the state where you live or where you are passing through–or sitting in. Perhaps Lady Bird has something to do with them. Here is a virtual Sunday drive for you to enjoy some of the flowers you can see while traveling along the United States highways. I’ve included the information the posters provided. Thanks, Lady Bird.

This photo of Nathan meditating in Texas was posted by krissie p. Emfori passes this field of wildflowers along a highway on her way to work. Which highway and which state, I have no idea. Tim Stirling posted the photo of the flowers along Utah’s Highway 12 on the right.

Tanders1 took this photo on along Calfornia’s coast on Highway 101.

The Alaskan fireweed was posted by Wallflower83. I assume this is in Alaska.

Bien Stephenson took the picture of the sunflower along Highway 52, but I don’t know which state it is in.

This lovely purple flower (a relative of the Morning Glory?) was taken by working class hero on the Hana Highway in Hawaii.

The photo on the right is by Kairos. The flowers are along a highway near her apartment. Which highway, I don’t know, but it is in Texas. Click on the photo on the right to go to the description. Blue Eyes 5 has included details about the flowers in this field along the train tracks. Okay, it’s not a highway, but I wanted to include it since the field is in Texas and Blue Eyes knows her flowers.

I’m sure I have seen similiar to this shot in person. It’s gorgeous in a photo, but spectacular in person. The photo of these flowers along U.S. Intertate 40 was posted by jophoto in April of this year.

Viking Ship Of Popsicle Sticks Sets Sail

by Jamie Rhein on

On Monday night I heard a story on CNN about the Viking ship made of popsicle sticks that recently set sail across IJesslmeer lake in the Netherlands. One of our sister sites, Engadget covered this story when the ship was first completed. The hope for this ship is that it will be seaworthy enough to follow the Viking route to North America. An accounting of the project was also covered in last Saturday’s The Gazette, a Montreal paper. There is a photo of the ship as well. (This photo is a popsicle raft featured in garretsbridges.com. Maybe a post idea for our newest sister site DIYLife?)

The story behind the popscicle Viking ship story is intriguing. Robert McDonald, the man in charge of this project, was badly burned as a child and his family killed in an explosion. Afterwards, because of his injuries, he was told that he wouldn’t be able to do what other kids can do. Ever since he has gone on to prove the naysayers wrong. He writes about his life and projects on his Web site, OB Viking Ship. Come to think of it, it does seem that McDonald, an American, is unable to do what most people do which is to buy a normal ship instead of building a replica of a Viking ship out of 15 million recycled popscicle sticks with the help of 5,000 school kids. His aim is to show that what people think is impossible is possible and intrigue kids to manifest their dreams. Here’s a TV report from the Netherlands on this latest undertaking to cross the Atlantic. There are English subtitles. I love this story.