Win a trip to Antarctica

by Sean McLachlan on

If you’re a teacher in the U.S. or Canada and you care about the environment, you may be in luck. Broadway Books, an imprint of Random House, is offering to send one teacher on a free tour of Antarctica led by Robert Swan, the author of the upcoming book 2041: My Quest to Save the World’s Last Wilderness.

Swan is the first explorer to walk to both the North and South Poles and will lead a group of 80 teachers, students, business leaders, and environmental scientists on a tour of Antarctica’s various ecosystems in order to teach them about the challenges facing the frozen continent. Highlights will include whale watching, camping overnight on shore, and visiting a giant colony of Gentoo penguins.

To get a chance to win you need to fill out this form and write a 500 word essay on why you want to go and how you will pass on what you learn to your students. The winner will be chosen in October, just before the release of Swan’s book.

Not a teacher? Don’t despair. You can win a trip to Antarctica by blogging about it.

Rainforest Alliance announces second annual “sustainability” photo contest

by Kraig Becker on

“Sustainability” has been quite the buzzword over the past few years and has been interpreted in many ways across a number of different industries. Now, the Rainforest Alliance wants to see what your interpretation of the word is in the form of a photo, as they launch their second “Photo Sustainability” contest.

The contest is co-sponsored with Fujifilm and is open to U.S. residents only, but offers up some great prizes, including a Grand Prize of a five day trip for two to Costa Rica that includes a stay at the Pacuare Jungle Lodge and a whitewater rafting expedition. The winner will also be awarded a new digital camera from Fujifilm.

In addition to the Grand Prize winner, four other winners will be named in the following categories:

  • Wildlife on farms, forests or other natural habitats
  • Landscapes (forests, waterways, flowers and plants, beaches, wetlands)
  • Sustainable tourism (hiking, bird watching, mountain biking, and other land-based nature activities; surfing, scuba, kayaking, snorkeling and other coastal or marine activities; other ecotourism-related subjects)
  • Conservation (people working to protect natural resources, including water, flora and fauna)

Each individual winner will also receive a new Fujifilm digitial camera as well as an honorary one-year membership to the Rainforest Alliance.

Up to five submissions in each category will be selected by Rainforest Alliance staff, who will then post them on their website where the public will be able to vote on them, helping to determine the category winners. The Grand Prize will be awarded by noted outdoor photographer Art Woolfe, who will be looking for “overall composition, creativity, artistic merit and relevance to the Rainforest Alliance mission.”

All submissions will be added to the Alliance’s library of photographs to be used on their website and other publications as they pursue their goal of raising awareness about conservation issues and the general theme of sustainability. To enter the contest go to RAPhotocontest.org between now and November 1st. Register online and upload your best photos. Winners will be announced on the Rainforest Alliance website on December 15, 2009.

Good luck everyone!

Write a blog, go to Antarctica!

by Kraig Becker on

Ever had the urge to visit the Antarctic? Do you have a knack for writing interesting, inspiring, blog posts? Then check out the latest contest from Quark Expeditions, an adventure travel company that specializes in journeys to both polar icecaps.

Quark has launched the aptly named BlogYourWayToAntarctica.com and has invited adventurous travelers to register to the site and write a 300 word blog post on why they should be the Official Quark Blogger. Writers are encouraged to be creative and use their imaginations, as others will be reading, and voting, on the best entry. The blog post with the most votes at the end of September will win an all expense paid trip for two to Antarctica.

The Antarctic cruise is scheduled for Feb. 20 to March 3 of 2010 and includes airfare from the U.S. to Ushuaia, Argentina, as well as one nights stay in that city. The next 11 days are spent aboard the cruise ship Lyubov Orlova exploring the Southern Sea and making day trips to the Antarctic Penninsula.

The contest just got underway a few days ago, and it runs until September 30th, but the sooner you get your entry in, the more time you’ll have to lobby your friends, family, and complete strangers, to vote for you. Head over to the website now and get blogging!

Vote for America’s best bathroom

by Sean McLachlan on

It’s a room we visit several times each day, but the humble bathroom (john, head, bog, loo, etc.) is rarely celebrated in its true glory. Cintas Facility Services, a leading provider of bathroom supplies, wants to change that with its America’s Best Restroom Award. Check out their website to see the nominees and vote for your favorite. A good bathroom is the traveler’s best friend, and should be appreciated.

But we here at Gadling are too well traveled to get all starry-eyed about the glories of the garderobe. We’ve dealt with squishy Asian squat, public lavatory putrescence, and outhouse odor. So let’s hear your votes for the world’s worst bathrooms. Here’s my nominee:

In 1996 I left the Iranian border town of Zahedan and entered Pakistan. My first stop was Taftan, a miserable hole if I ever saw one. The streets were nothing but sand. Trash blew between bare concrete houses. Moneychangers swarmed around me like flies. Flies swarmed around me like moneychangers. Then disaster struck–I had to go to the bathroom.

The public toilet next to the bus station was an area about ten feet to a side enclosed by a concrete wall. There was no roof. There was no door, only a blind turn before you entered a sandbox that looked just like the street except that it was covered in crap. The flies here were so thick that I put my bandanna over my nose and mouth so I didn’t inhale any. There was no escaping the smell. I picked my way through a minefield of human waste until I found a clear spot for both my feet. The flies were relentless, and I had to fan myself constantly so they didn’t get stuck to my business end.

Like everywhere in South Asia, foreigners get stared at in Pakistan, and they make no exception for foreigners squatting with their pants down. A small crowd of other squatters stared at me with undisguised curiosity as I did what I needed to do and fled as quick as I could.

I only stayed in Taftan an hour until I could catch a bus for Quetta, but I will always remember the bathroom there, and the fact that I got pick-pocketed. They only got about five dollars worth of Iranian rials, but it’s the thought that counts. The thought of some guy’s hand in my pocket. I hope, I pray, that it wasn’t one of the guys watching me in the bathroom.

Think you can beat that? Give it your best shot.

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Horny Toad’s “Post Cards from the Edge” contest

by Brenda Yun on

I just returned from my first visit to Santa Barbara and I must say I was completely taken by the classy coastal town. From the college town of Isla Vista to the upscale pedestrian shopping along Main Street, there’s something quintessentially Californian about this city, and Horny Toad (the travel outfitter whose corporate office is based there) wants to send you there.

The company’s latest “Post Cards from the Edge” contest simply asks you to submit a photo on its site (or snail mail a postcard) with a caption about that roadside attraction, strangely worded sign, or something that just made you do a double take — something weird but hilarious.

Solicit ratings from friends and you could be one of three winners:

  • First Prize: A trip to Santa Barbara – airfare and hotel for two – and a $250 Toad gift certificate.
  • Second Prize: A great travel bag and $250 Toad gift certificate.
  • Third Prize: A new point and shoot camera and a $100 Toad gift certificate.

Enter as many times as you like. Voting starts as soon as you enter the contest and ends on July 31st. One rating per entry per person. The photo with the highest rating as determined by legitimate ratings wins. Winners will be notified by email and posted on the site.

Even if you don’t enter the contest, you should stop by and take a look at the wacky photos that are already posted, which are sure to inspire at least one or two giggles.