iblog

Anna: I have to admit I probably don’t realise the full potential of the world wide web. I tend to use it for plain old surfing, rather than for storing, and organising my life. And I’ll certainly be leaving iStalkr well alone. Call me old-fashioned but I prefer my Lifestream to be rooted in the real world, not cyberspace.

But this idea I do like - a webcam in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, which refreshes every 30 seconds. The camera has been up and running since 2006, but was previously restricted to Sanparks forum members. Now anyone can log on, and watch wildlife slurp from the waterhole adjacent to the camera from the comfort of their own living room. National Geographic have a similar thing going on, with their Sealcam, and a little closer to home the Scottish Seabird Centre has no fewer than three wildlife webcams for your viewing pleasure. OK, not a lot happens a lot of the time, but when it does it’s likely to be slightly more interesting than Big Brother.

Rushda: It’s now been over a week since little Madeleine got abducted from a resort in Portugal, and now people are really getting desperate in their searches. One such attempt is via an avenue of rewards for her safe return. A businessman has offered a million pounds for information which would lead to the return of the toddler after seeing the anguish of her parents. Family members have also offered various rewards. When I heard about the abduction a week ago, I felt a sickening contempt for humanity in general, but the fact that so many hundreds of strangers are helping in this mission in any way they can - through volunteering, praying or offering money, has really really touched me. If only Maddy’s kidnapper had even an ounce of that sense of humanity, Maddy would come back safe and sound. My best wishes and hopes go out to the family.

Caroline: If you are not too worried about your carbon footprint you could find some good bargains for European flights as Ryanair and easyJet battle to fill empty seats. Both airlines suffered a fall in demand last month - bad timing when they are both taking delivery of new aircraft.EasyJet are reducing their cheapest seats from £14.99 to £13.50 whilst Ryanair wil be offering 3.5 million seats at £10, 3.5 million at £15 and 3 million at £20. The good news is that all these prices are inclusive of airport taxes and charges. Ryanair in particular have come in for heavy criticism over their typical advert “Fly to xyz for 1p!”, omitting the fact that charges could add another £50 on to the fare.

Anna: This is the perfect time of year to visit the Seychelles, not too wet and not too windy. This group of 115 islands has always been a luxury destination, though I think the ever-increasing credit limits banks are prepared to give us have allowed some to sample its exclusivity without actually being able to afford it! The archipelago lies in the western Indian Ocean, between 4 and 10 degrees south of the equator, and, at the closest point, still 480km distance from east African coast. The 41 Inner Islands are the oldest, composed of granite, while the remaining 74 are low-lying coral atolls, sometimes so small that they are barely discernible from the surrounding ocean. There are also two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Seychelles - the Vallée de Mai on the island of Praslin where the coco-de-mer nut grows, and the coral atoll of Aldabra, largest raised coral atoll in the world.

What I think is fantastic about the Seychelles, as well as the pristine beaches, rainforest and abundant birdlife, is the way tourism has been managed so as to have minimal negative impact on the physical and social environment of the islands. Since Seychellois tourism took off 30 years ago, there has been a determination to keep quality high and visitors numbers relatively low. Annual tourist numbers will, by 2010, be limited to 200 000. Almost 15% of the archipelago’s 80 000 inhabitants are employed in tourism and the daily yield per tourist (their spend on accommodation, food and activities), currently at £105 is projected to grow to £365 by 2010. I’m happy not only to have visited and enjoyed the Seychelles, but also to have the knoweldge that this destination won’t be ruined by mass tourism and will, hopefully, retain it’s amazing natural wealth untouched by man for many generations to come.

Anna: We all know Cameron rides a bike at least occasionally, and I’d agree with my iblog colleagues’ cynicism about his motives. What about Gordon Brown, though? I hope he has a more long term commitment to two-wheeled transport and will be listening to bodies like the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group (APPCG) when he steps into Tony’s shoes in the very near future. A White Paper is due in July, in which Labour will lay out its vision for the future of the railways. The CTC sees it as a prime opportunity to integrate the two greenest transport options available to us - cycling and taking the train. Having recently travelled from Hereford to Holyhead on a train which had space for a measly two bicycles, and knowing the bureaucracy involved in simply booking a cycle onto a train, I’m certainly going to be writing to my MP to encourage him to push for an improvement of services. By promoting cycle-rail travel, the Government could tackle carbon emissions, obesity and congestion in one go. Sounds like a perfect solution to me!

Caroline: Despite the passage of time I have never forgotten the fright I got when I brought a bundle of logs into a house in Tuscany and discovered a scorpion hiding amongst them, so I can sympathise greatly with the two women in Hong Kong who had to be treated in hospital after finding two scorpions in the fruit they were eating. They were less lucky than I was and suffered bites on the hand. The fruit in question was longsat, a bit like a tropical grape, and had been imported to Hong Kong. Anyone planning a holiday there will be relieved to know that scorpions are not native to Hong Kong but you might still like to check your shoes before putting them on in the morning!

Anna: Having recently written about the new British Standard for adventure holidays, I came across a story which highlights just how important regulation and good practice are in this particular industry. Last summer, a 29-year-old man died in the USA while taking part on a wilderness course run by Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS). The tragedy is back in the news because the family have decided to sue the company. With good reason, I feel, after reading about the circumstances of David Buschow’s death.

David had signed up for a “character-forming experience”, set in the wilderness of Utah. For a fit 29-year-old US air force veteran and security guard to perish, you would imagine there must have been some tragic, but unavoidable, accident. Far from it - despite clearly showing signs of dehydration, David was refused water by the camp instructors accompanying the group and eventually collapsed and died. The task that day had been to walk through the unforgiving landscape of Utah’s Dixie Forest National Park in extremely high temperatures with the only access to water being natural sources, which it was up to the group to find. I can see that this was a “survival experience”, but I simply cannot understand that trained instructors would leave a man to die because of a set of rules, would push someone beyond their limits to prove a point. A man is now dead, which BOSS claims is not their responsibility. By signing a waiver, they claim, “Mr Buschow expressly assumed the risk of serious injury or death prior to participating.” Can a company really be allowed to abrogate all responsibilty to protect and preserve life?

Anna: A hotel chain is trialling an innovative filtration technique to improve air quality in its properties. Millennium Hotels and Resorts spokeswoman Linda Ayares believes asthmatics and allergy sufferers could benefit greatly from the technology, which removes up to 98% of all allergy-causing bacteria, viruses and dust mites. Currently the pilot is restricted to the Premier Hotel in Times Square, New York, but in years to come it could be commonplace. As a hayfever sufferer about to enter the pollen-rich summer season, I’m all for the idea!

Rushda: It’s always horrifying to read stories such as these where such a happy holiday can turn into a nightmare. A three year old British girl was abducted from a holiday appartment in Portugal while the parents were at a restaurant. They left her there asleep with two younger twin brothers. When they came back, the window was open and the daughter was gone. Police have been searching high and low and have used all the methods they can think of but as of yet no avail. I can only think of the worst and my heart goes out to the parents for what is obviously a difficult time. What I find a little annoying about the incident however, is the fact that everyone has been so quick to criticise the police for not arriving fast enough to the scene of the crime, and yet no one criticises the parents for leaving such young and vulnerable children alone in a new hotel in a new country. Was it really that difficult for them to take the kids along? Was it enough to check on teh kids every hour or so? I guess they may have learnt the hard way. Too bad the little girl may suffer for their mistakes.

Anna: We’ve all seen those cheesy Mastercard adverts claiming there are some things money can’t buy. This week, it seems, Liverpool fans are the prime example of the money-no-object syndrome as the scramble for flight tickets to Athens began after the victory over Chelsea in the Champions League. As a travel agent who arranges loads of weddings abroad and other high-end holidays, my boyfriend’s accustomed to demanding clients, but even he was amazed when a Scouser rang up this week to re-arrange his honeymoon because he wanted to be there at the final on May 23rd! Incredibly, his wife was fine about the whole thing, and the bloke willingly shelled out the extra £3000 to cover his flight to Athens and the charges incurred for changing his original flights to his Indian Ocean honeymoon destination. Apparently other members of Liverpool’s faithful had booked a week on a Greek island, and were planning to catch an internal flight up to Athens for the match itself! I used to think of myself as a pretty ardent follower of Juventus, and my boyfriend is a very committed Welsh rugby fan, but there are limits to our devotion. With all this spending on hotels and flights, I’m sure it’s been a good week for Mastercard - I just hope Liverpool can pull off a win in two weeks’ time!