7 Eco-adventures that may be hazardous to your health

by Kraig Becker on

Many adventure travelers like to mix a sense of danger into their travels. It’s not enough to just go somewhere and experience the culture and explore the landscapes. For some, they have to feel the rush of adrenaline while they risk life and limb for their next great thrill. Fortunately, Treehugger has just the list of travel experiences for them, offering up 7 eco-adventures that could get you killed.

As you can probably guess, there are some wild suggestions on the list. For instance, they recommend volcano boarding in Nicaragua, something we wrote about awhile back. For an entirely different thrill, Treehugger recommends heading to Bolivia and taking a mountain bike for a spin down the Highway of Death, a particularly nasty stretch of road that we spotlighted back in March.

Some of the experiences are relatively quick, and over in a short time, like BASE jumping off of a Himalayan peak, while others demand much more of a commitment. For example, climbing Annapurna, a 26,545 foot mountain in Nepal, which would require weeks to climb, months to train for, and years to gain enough experience to even try.

The other suggestions on the list are equally intense and offer their own level of challenge and fear. But for someone looking to add new experiences to their life list, perhaps you’ll find something here that will inspire your next adventure.

Enjoying the ocean means taking care of it

by Brenda Yun on

A recent article in The Economist outlines how man is destroying the ocean. It reports, “Man has changed the landscape and the atmosphere. It would be odd if the seas, which he has for centuries used for food, for transport, for dumping rubbish and, more recently, for recreation, had not also been affected.” Despite being an avid ocean-goer myself, I have to agree with this assessment. Furthermore, it should not be too surprising that as man continues to utilize the ocean’s resources, whether it be for food, transportation, waste disposal, or recreation, the ecosystem below is changing.

The recent shark attacks in Australia and the shark sightings in Hawaii back in October clearly parallel this hard reality. While it’s important to enjoy our waters, it’s equally important to do our job as citizens in this world to protect them. That means doing small things like not touching the reef or getting in close contact with marine life. It also means choosing cleaner modes of water transport like sailing. It means being vigilant about where we throw our trash, and most of all it means we have to educate ourselves and understand the conditions of the sea.

With proper care and vigilance, the ocean can be a place our future generations can enjoy as we do. Otherwise, as The Economist article puts it, “The possibility of widespread catastrophe is simply too great.”

World’s Scariest Shark Dives

by Catherine Bodry on

If diving with sharks no longer gets the adrenaline going, then maybe you’ve been hitting the wrong spots. Forbes Traveler assembled a panel of noted shark experts to compile a list of the world’s scariest shark dives, and here are the top three:
1. Dangerous Reef in the Neptune Islands off the southern coast of Australia.
2. Shark Alley near the Dyer Islands off the southern coast of South Africa.
3. Guadelupe Island off the coast of Mexico.

Accidents do happen — you don’t want blood in the water, or anyone fishing — but in general you’re more likely to be killed by a falling vending machine than a shark bite. But if the real thing is a little too much for you, you can check out the slide show from Forbes Traveler from the safety of your desk chair.

[via Msnbc.com]

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Photo of the Day (8/24/07)

by Neil Woodburn on

Another Photo of the Day from former Gadling blogger Willy.

This one features a Lemon Shark, so named because of the ripe lemons they usually keep pinched between their teeth and gums. Lemon Sharks like to do this to keep their breath smelling fresh; they are, after all, the so-called Gentlemen of the Seas.

Lemon Sharks are also very generous sharks. They simply love it when divers reach deep into their serrated pie holes and pull out the lemons they have cached there. I don’t see any lemons on this particularly fine specimen so that means Willy must have already plucked them out. Great job, Willy. Keep up the good work!

You Won’t Get Eaten By A Shark

by Jonathon Morgan on

Despite whatever fears you may still harbor thanks to Jaws, Jaws – The Revenge, Jaws 2, or Jaws 3-D, chances are, you won’t be attacked by a shark during while on vacation.

This past year sharks killed only 4 people and bit 58 others around the world. According to George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida, “The reality is, as a biologist, this is a non-problem. It’s a minor, minor thing.”

While no matter where you travel, shark attacks are highly unlikely, arguably your worst bet is Florida, which accounted for two-thirds of the 38 sharkbites in the United States. However, this is probably only due to the year-round swimming weather, and the subsequently high-number of people that use these waters for recreation. The four shark-related deaths were in the waters off Australia, Brazil, Reunion Island (in the Indian Ocean) and Tonga (in the South Pacific).

The research didn’t include what they considered to be provoked attacks — such as when fishermen catch sharks. But if you’re provoking a shark, you’re pretty much asking for it — right?