Adventurous trio running across the Kalahari Desert

by Kraig Becker on

The Kalahari Desert is a wild and untamed place stretching across 350,000 square miles of southern Africa. The arid expanse of land crosses through parts of Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, and while it is an incredibly dry place, it is still home to a diverse amount of plant and animal life, including giraffes, elephants, hyenas, lions and more. It is a challenging place for any human being to survive in, but that isn’t stopping three adventurous endurance athletes from attempting to cross it on foot none the less.

Dubbed the Trans-Kalahari Run, this expedition will send three friends, Jukka Viljanen and Kirsi Montonen, both from Finland, along with Greg Maud, of South Africa, along a 1000km (620 mile) route that stretches west to east across some of the most wild parts of Botswana. The trio hopes to cover approximately 50km (31 miles) per day, for 20 straight days, in hopes of completing their quest. That’s the equivalent of running more than a marathon, plus five miles, every day for nearly three weeks, through some of the most demanding terrain on the planet.

While this will be an amazing adventure, and a great test of endurance for these long distance runners, they aren’t doing it just for the experience. This adventurous threesome is also hoping to raise awareness and funds for Cheetah Conservation Botswana, an organization that works tirelessly to preserve the population of those speedy felines in Africa, and obviously most specifically in Botswana. Cheetahs have a difficult time competing against other predators in the game preserves, so they are often forced to live in the more marginal border regions where they are hunted and killed by the indigenous people there who see them as a threat to their livestock. CCB is hoping to protect these big cats through community outreach and education with those rural communities, teaching them how to coexist with the Cheetahs.

Jukka, Kirsi, and Greg began their run yesterday, and they are promising daily updates to their blog, so we can all follow along with their progress. They got off to a good start, with a warm-up run of 26km (16 miles), but the real challenges, and adventure lie ahead.

[Photo credit: Elmar Thiel via WikiMedia]

GadlingTV’s Travel Talk – Austin Mann @ the World Cup (part 2)

by Stephen Greenwood on

GadlingTV’s Travel Talk, episode 26 – Click above to watch video after the jump

Are you ready for some (ahem) football? In part two of travel photographer Austin Mann’s trip to the 2010 World Cup, we bring you a look at the intensity and passion of the world’s biggest sporting event.

Watch as Austin navigates his way through the games and experiences how far people will go to show their passion for soccer; including sleeping in tents, dressing in outlandish costumes, & of course mastering the vuvuzela.

If you missed part one of Austin’s World Cup series, check it out here, otherwise click on below for part two!

If you have any questions or comments about Travel Talk, you can email us at talk AT gadling DOT com.

Subscribe via iTunes:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V).
[RSS M4V] Add the Travel Talk feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.

Links
What are some of Austin’s essentials as a travel photographer?
– Surefire G2 LED flashlight
– Garmin 60CSX GPS
– Pac-Safe lock
– Canon 5D MKII & Canon 16-35 f/2.8 II
– Gitzo 15141T Mountaineering Series Tripod


Host: Austin Mann
Edited by: Jordan Bellamy

Which country loves to work? See who doesn’t take vacation time

by Tom Johansmeyer on

A friend of mine asked me a few days ago when I last went on vacation – a real one. I struggled to remember the last time I went on a trip and didn’t write or, before that, keep up with what was going on at the office. After stopping and focusing, I remembered a four-day trip I took to Orlando back in late 2005. Even there, I’m not sure that I didn’t work, I just don’t remember spending time behind the laptop. Before that, my last vacation was probably four days in San Diego in 2002 (again, I don’t remember working but probably did) or the two weeks I took off when being reassigned from South Korea to Georgia in 1998.

Apparently, I’m not alone. Lots of people don’t take vacations, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos study. Ask any employee in the world if he uses his vacation time, and a there’s a 33 percent chance the answer will be a resounding “no.”

In a survey of 12,500 people from 24 countries, the French, unsurprisingly, are most likely to take advantage of the vacation days they are given, with 89 percent using all they are given. Argentina comes in next at 80 percent, followed by Hungary (78 percent) and Britain (77 percent). Think about it: in the top four, up to 25 percent of a country’s employees don’t blow through their vacation days.

Now, consider how grim the situation is at the other end of the spectrum. The workaholics in Japan are least likely to use all the vacation time they are given, with only 33 percent using it up. South Africa is next up from the bottom at 47 percent, followed by South Korea (53 percent). The United States is next, with a mere 57 percent of employees using up all their vacation time. That’s akin to leaving money on the table, when you think about it, since vacation time really is a part of your compensation.

Interestingly, income level makes little difference in whether one uses all available vacation time. It isn’t just hard-core investment bankers, work-addicted consultants and client-committed attorneys. According to Ipsos, two-thirds of high- and low-income workers took all available vacation time. Age makes some difference, with workers over 50 more likely to take all their vacation days. Unsurprisingly, business owners and senior executives are least likely to consume all their time.

So, why are the world’s workers so insanely dedicated to their jobs? Reuters says:

“There are lots of reasons why people don’t use up vacation days but most often it’s because they feel obligated to their work and put it over other more important things, including their own health and welfare,” said John Wright, senior vice president of global market and opinion research firm Ipsos.

Below, you can see the full results of the survey:

  1. France: 89 percent
  2. Argentina: 80 percent
  3. Hungary: 78 percent
  4. Britain: 77 percent
  5. Spain: 77 percent
  6. Saudi Arabia: 76 percent
  7. Germany: 75 percent
  8. Belgium: 74 percent
  9. Turkey: 74 percent
  10. Indonesia: 70 percent
  11. Mexico: 67 percent
  12. Russia: 67 percent
  13. Italy: 66 percent
  14. Poland: 66 percent
  15. China: 65 percent
  16. Sweden: 63 percent
  17. Brazil: 59 percent
  18. India: 59 percent
  19. Canada: 58 percent
  20. United States: 57 percent
  21. South Korea: 53 percent
  22. Australia: 47 percent
  23. South Africa: 47 percent
  24. Japan: 33 percent

[photo by archie4oz via Flickr]

GadlingTV’s Travel Talk – Austin Mann @ the World Cup (part 1)

by Stephen Greenwood on

GadlingTV’s Travel Talk, episode 26 – Click above to watch video after the jump

For everyone out there that wanted to make the trek to South Africa’s 2010 World Cup, but couldn’t – we have a fun series of segments this week.

A few days before the games began, a good friend of mine, travel photographer Austin Mann told me that he was booking a last minute flight to South Africa to meet up with friends that had spare game tickets. I asked him to document his travels, share some of his essential equipment as a photographer, and bring us back a piece of his World Cup experience right here on Travel Talk.

We’ve broken it up into two episodes, so stay tuned for the second installment to see some of the games in action!

If you have any questions or comments about Travel Talk, you can email us at talk AT gadling DOT com.

Subscribe via iTunes:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V).
[RSS M4V] Add the Travel Talk feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.

Links
What are some Austin’s essentials as a travel photographer?
– Surefire G2 LED flashlight
– Garmin 60CSX GPS
– Pac-Safe lock
– Canon 5D MKII & Canon 16-35 f/2.8 II
– Gitzo 15141T Mountaineering Series Tripod


Host: Austin Mann
Edited by: Jordan Bellamy
Music By: Josh Ritter

British bear hits the beach

by Meg Nesterov on

The British have given us so much in the way of comedy; from Monty Python to The Office to the newly ubiquitous Russell Brand, funny is their best export. What else would you expect from a country so often bereft of sunshine? Now comes a delightful series of short videos from the BBC starring the hard-drinking, hapless Misery Bear, an English (but Made in China) stuffed teddy bear who never seems to catch a break. In the latest installment, Misery Bear goes on a seaside holiday to Brighton, England. Sad but familiar hilarity ensues as dodges seagulls, gets sick after riding a roller coaster, and tries to free some of his fellow bears from a claw vending machine. All that’s missing is a rotund man chasing after some scantily-clad women.This isn’t M. Bear’s first trip out, previous episodes have sent him to London and South Africa for the World Cup.