World and Beauty

A  century ago, there were no guidelines for creating a national park, because nothing like them existed anywhere in the world. It was generally agreed that the pristine nature of the United States should be preserved for posterity, as well as for conservation reasons – but how?  Yellowstone was the first national park ever to exist, designated in 1872. Its status sparked an idea that spread across the country and then across the world. National parks were spaces that human kind deemed precious and worth protecting. Yosemite, Mount Rainier, Wind Cave and Mesa Verde all gained status too, until eventually, in 1916, the National Parks System was created – one entity charged with overseeing all aspects of these wildernesses .                                                                      ...

Gorillas  make their homes in and amongst the bamboo-covered slopes of the Virunga Mountains in the Volcanoes National Park in northern Rwanda. Trek to see them and you’ll be introduced by your expert trackers and guides to one of the fully-habituated families of mountain gorillas and you can stay with them for an awe-inspiring hour, often crouching just a few feet away, whilst the gorillas go about their daily lives. Hikes in the mountains can last anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours + depending on the family allocated to your group and their location. The journey back can take just as long, but you are often carried along by the euphoria you feel at seeing the gorillas! There were around 600 mountain gorillas left in the wild in 2008; but numbers have now risen to over 1,000 after intensive conservation efforts. These include anti-poaching patrols and vets trained to give care to gorillas in the wild.             ...

IN 1770, British explorer Captain James Cook sailed up the east coast of Australia. A little over a hundred miles [150 km] north of the present-day city of Brisbane, he passed a large, sandy coastal island that would, in time, attract 300,000 visitors annually. Cook, however, paid little attention to it. In fact, he and others assumed that it was a peninsula, not an island. A few years later, explorer Matthew Flinders actually came ashore. “Nothing could be more barren than this peninsula,” he wrote. Had Cook and Flinders ventured beyond the miles of golden beaches and dunes, they would have formed a very different opinion. They would have encountered a world of pristine rain forests, crystal-clear freshwater lakes, cliffs of spectacularly colored sands, and hundreds of species of animals. Now called Fraser Island, this largest sand island in the world is so remarkable that it was placed on the World Heritage List in 1992.                 ...

IMAGINE cruising in a beautifully furnished houseboat that could take you through the deltas of 44 rivers. That is possible in the 550-mile-long [900 km] backwaters of the state of Kerala, in southwest India. It is a joyful experience, a unique one—indeed, it is like floating on nature’s lap. As your boat lazily moves along, you cannot help but admire the coconut-rimmed lagoons, lush green paddy fields, natural lakes, and man-made canals. Yes, likely because of these backwaters, the National Geographic Traveler listed Kerala as “one of the top 50 ‘must-see destinations of a lifetime.’” Not to be missed are the folk who live on the shores of the many canals. They remember a time when there were neither tourists nor five-star hotels in their neighborhood. However, their lives have not changed much. Although some of them are now employed in newly developed hotels or other tourism-related establishments, by and large their culture and their daily routine remain the same. They care f...

LEANING forward, holding tightly to the roof beams, we poked our heads out the top of an 800-year-old stone tower in the country of Georgia. From our vantage point some 80 feet (25 m) above the ground, we saw scores of other ancient watchtowers scattered throughout the village of Mestia, Svaneti’s regional capital. The gently sloping valley, carpeted with green hay fields, contrasted strikingly with the immensity of the lofty snowy summits that soared up around us. We were captivated by this ancient place, feeling that somehow we had stepped back into the Middle Ages. Visiting the famous watchtowers of Svaneti had, in fact, been a goal of our trip. Touring the Area To reach this mountainous community, we took a lonely, narrow road that clings to the mountain and is bounded by steep precipices that drop off to the river below. On finally reaching Ushguli, we were rewarded with an unforgettable sight—clusters of houses huddled around medieval watchtowers. The backdrop w...

BY DAY, the wilderness is tranquil and quiet. But at night, spine-chilling growls and screams echo through the forest. The source of the screeching? A feisty marsupial with an unfortunate name—the Tasmanian devil. These sturdy animals can look and sound incredibly fierce, especially when dining on a carcass. Yet their rowdy bickering is mostly bluff. These devils can clear the forest of carrion with amazing speed. Their powerful jaws and teeth can devour almost any carcass—skin, bones, and all. In fact, a devil can eat up to 40 percent of its body weight in half an hour—a feat comparable to a human devouring a 55-pound (25 kg) steak at one sitting! Far more endearing is the gentle common wombat, a stocky animal with a cuddly appearance. Like all marsupials, female wombats have pouches and suckle their young. Yet, unlike their relatives’ pouches, those of the wombat face backward, doubtless to keep baby clean while mother scoops out their burrows. Wombats also have teeth...

FLOATING VILLAGES, bustling markets, streets jammed with motorbikes transporting everything from live chickens to refrigerators—these are just some of the sights and sounds in parts of Cambodia. The People of Cambodia are known for being warm, friendly, and close-knit. In informal settings, they may refer to one another using titles for brother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandmother, or grandfather—even if they are meeting for the first time! Rice is a prominent part of Cambodian cuisine. A typical meal will have three or four dishes, often including soup. Fish is a favorite food. It is common for sweet, sour, and salty dishes to be served in the same meal. About two millenniums ago, Indian merchants and pilgrims on their way to China began frequenting Cambodia’s coastline and exchanging silk and metals for spices, aromatic wood, ivory, and gold. In time, the people of Cambodia absorbed the influence of India and China, and thus Hinduism and Buddhism flourished. Today, over 90 pe...