Kangaroo Island is missing something

by Iva Skoch on

If you look at this picture, do you also feel like this island is desperately missing something? You are right. Australia’s Kangaroo Island is missing over-development.

That might slowly be changing though. A luxury resort is about to open here on March 29 and save those poor koalas, wallabies and kangaroos from their intense loneliness.

Southern Ocean Lodge will offer 21 suites with sunken lounges and outdoor terraces, a spa with treatments based on Aboriginal medicine and spirituality, and a restaurant with a view of Hanson Bay, NY Times reports.

Nightly rates start at 900 Australian dollars a person, about $825. How is that for a religious experience?

Australian puts his entire life on eBay

by Iva Skoch on

Is there anyone who hasn’t fantasized about walking away from it all? Some people take vacations when that happens. Others commit suicide. Ian Usher, a 44-year old Australian, wants to put his entire life–everything he owns, including his job–on eBay in one neat package.

According to this BBC story, Usher hopes to raise at least $400,000 for a life-changing adventure after his marriage broke down. As soon as his life is sold to the highest bidder, he wants to take the first plane out of Australia, with just his money in one hand and his passport in the other.

I especially like that his employer, a carpet store in Perth, Australia, has agreed to take on whoever wins the auction on a two-week trial – with a view to a permanent position.

If anyone is looking to take on someone else’s life, the auction will start in June.

Unique gift souvenir: kangaroo scrotum bottle opener

by Abha Malpani on

In 2007, over 3.6 million kangaroos were available for harvest in Australia. What does that mean? There are enough dead kangaroo testicles available to make ‘kangaroo scrotum bottle openers‘ an authentic and valid souvenir from Down Under.

Although kangaroo is a subject of protection under the Australian Government, the animals need to be constantly harvested to control numbers, thanks to its prolific affinity to reproduce.

I lived in Australia for three years where, after eating kangaroo tail, buffalo sausages and crocodile cutlets, I thought I’d seen and done most things authentically Ozzie. Kangaroo scrotum never came into the picture though. Bummer.

Having said that, I’m not sure how I’d feel holding on to kangaroo testicles to open a bottle (what do they stuff them with?), but I would certainly NEVER forget the person who gave it to me. They are available mostly in grey, brown and white, and $25 is not a bad price for something as “special” as this.
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[Via Vagabondish]

Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report: Top 10 tourism industries

by Anna Brones on

If you’re curious as to what countries have the most conducive environments for tourism, you might want to check out the second annual World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2008. Basically it’s a report full of a lot of economic figures used to measure how good tourism industries are in countries around the world. This year’s report put a special emphasis on economic development and environmental sustainability. Here are the top ten:

1. Switzerland
2. Austria
3. Germany
4. Australia
5. Spain
6. United Kingdom
7. United States
8. Sweden
9. Canada
10. France

I’ve been to 7 out of the top 10, meaning that the tourism boards are probably doing their job — or I’m just visiting popular destinations. Surprisingly, popular backpacker destinations like Cambodia, Vietnam, and Nepal are at the bottom of the list. For the complete PDF of rankings go here.

Australians worst at preserving wildlife

by Iva Skoch on

These statistics are pretty surprising, especially if you consider how much Australians love their animals.

Of all the mammal species that have become extinct in the past 200 years, nearly half are Australian, reports The New Zealand Herald. Since the British arrived, 27 mammals (about 10 percent of the total) have disappeared. Australians apparently have have the worst record on the planet for conserving their wildlife.

There seem to be several different reasons for this: land clearing, with the resulting habitat destruction, and a change in fire regimes – from the patchy, selective burnings carried out by Aborigines to today’s devastating bushfires. By far the worst harm has been done by the introduction of exotic predators, especially feral cats and foxes. Their impact has been compounded by the culling of dingoes, which otherwise keeps the cat and fox population down. Dingoes, however, have been virtually eliminated in sheep-raising areas.

Species already lost include: the lesser bilby, a delicate marsupial that burrowed in desert sand dunes and the pig-footed bandicoot, which looked like a miniature horse.