Monday, September 27, 2010
Wildlife of Gomantong Cave
Gomantong Cave is a colossal limestone habitat located in Sabah, Malaysia on the island of Borneo. This cave has two complexes – Black and White – named after the swiftlet bird species that call it home. Parts of the cave soar to almost 300 feet in height. Okay, so I was warned about how gross this place was before my tour, and I have a pretty high tolerance for dirty environments. And now Gomantong Cave takes the cake for the nastiest wildlife habitat I've ever experienced. But despite all the dirty, this remarkable living cave is home to a fascinating group of diverse species, all thriving in peaceful cohabitation.When I approached Gomantong Cave with my ecotour group, I was taken back by the overwhelming stench of bat guano in the air.Billions of cockroaches scurried about, feeding on piles of droppings. I wasn't kidding when I said billions. They ran across our hiking boots. They scuttled on the handrail. They darted up the cave walls and along the limestone floor.High up on the cave ceiling, wrinkled-lip bats hung upside down, resting for their exodus at dusk. Every evening just before sunset, these bats take flight from the cave by the millions to feast on insects and fruits in the rainforest. In the darkness and coolness of the chamber, we listened to the squeaking of creatures darting above our heads: Swiftlets also inhabit the nooks and crannies of these soaring cave interiors. These birds make nests of vital importance to the local economy because they are harvested and made into edible nest soup, a delicacy that has been tradition hundreds – and possibly a thousand – years. Minchu, our guide from Red Ape Encounters, says that the nests make the "soup of the gods," according to local belief. A BBC report stated that these swiftlet nests, gram for gram, hold the title as one of the most expensive food items on the planet. Because of the value placed on these nests, guards stand watch at the cave entrance and the wildlife department strictly regulates the sustainable harvesting of the nests. (A noose even hangs from a tree outside of the cave entrance to warn off potential thieves). One of the cave workers showed us a very valuable white nest up close in exchange for two cigarettes. This delicate swiftlet nest below is comprised mostly of saliva, but you can see feathers and organic matter as well:On our way out of the cave, we also spotted three-inch long poisonous centipedes...... rats, worms and freshwater crabs.When we came out of the cave, our shoes were caked in guano and white and black droppings streaked our hats. Just outside of Gomantong Cave, lush rainforest offers more wildlife viewings. From our standing point at the chamber entrance, we spotted a lone orangutan building a nest, an Oriental pied hornbill and bat hawks looking for their next meal. Do you enjoy exhilarating encounters with animals? Check out episodes of Wild Encounters Saturday Setpember 25 at 9P et/pt on Nat Geo WILD! Photo Credits: Jodi Kendall, taken on a Terra Incognita ecotour to Borneo.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Henning Mankell's Mozambique
After decades of ill fortune, Mozambique is emerging into a vibrant, welcoming and beautiful country. The creator of detective Wallander urges you to go now before it loses its innocenceI came to Mozambique in 1986, when I first became involved with Teatro Avenida ? a theatre company that stages plays concerned with political and social issues. I am still involved with the company, and have lived in Maputo, the capital, part-time ever since.Tourists in Mozambique were scarce in the 1980s. Visitors from South Africa might come to spend a weekend, perhaps even a week, in the Hotel Polana in Maputo, and then fly back home. But that was about it. Mozambique was a no-go area for the rest of the world from the early 1960s when Frelimo (the Liberation Front of Mozambique) started its war of liberation against the Portuguese colonialists. This lasted until the beginning of the 1990s, when South Africa's apartheid government ? which supported the army of bandits that instigated the devastating civil war ? was about to fall. At the time of independence in 1975 Mozambique was extremely poor. Many Portuguese residents abandoned the country, leaving only a handful of well-educated Mozambicans to try to run the country.Today there is peace. And the peace will hold. Poverty is the most fundamental national problem, but the country is gradually rising out of it. I am positive they will succeed. If it were possible for me to go to Mozambique 50 years from now, I am convinced that I would find a prosperous country.The Mozambican writer Mia Couto once described his country as "a veranda that overlooks the Indian Ocean". This image is not only beautiful, it is true. The 2,470km Mozambican coastline, with its untouched beaches, is a fantastic resource. Until now it seems the government has managed to avoid falling into the trap of overexploiting it. Such over-exploitation would mean great profits in the short run, but if one looks further than the next couple of years it may well lead to disappointments and even a decline in tourist revenue. Today, tourists are starting to come (though still not in great numbers), and some are even exploring beyond Maputo and the famous Hotel Polana. The past decade has seen beach camps and luxury eco-lodges being set up along the coast, and they are attracting foreign visitors. There are landmarks such the Ilha de Mozambique, a tiny beautiful island in the north with a mix of colonial Portuguese and old Swahili architecture. And I love Inhaca (inhaca.co.za), an island near Maputo, where the seafood, especially the chargrilled shrimps, is tremendous.And, after decades of war, the animals are returning. Wildlife preserves that have been empty because of illegal hunting or simply because the animals fled, are beginning to fill up with elephants, zebra and other animals again. The Gorongosa national park (exploregorongosa.com) in the north has hundreds of species and offers safaris; at the Great Limpopo transfrontier park (dolimpopo.com), on the border with the Kruger in the south, tourists enjoy 4x4 eco-trails, canoeing trips and hikes, encountering leopard, snakes, crocodiles, rhinos, giraffes and more.But it's the people that are most important. The wonderful Mozambican people have endured tremendous misery without losing their dignity and their positive outlook on life. Moreover, they have not lost their will to progress and develop. Mozambique is a country where the people never surrendered.And all I can say is: go! Go to Mozambique! As long as you don't expect to find flawless infrastructure, just go. Because this is a country where people have not quite grown accustomed to tourists. You still feel a genuineness that no longer exists in countries where tourism has been industrially developed.That will also happen in Mozambique. It is inevitable. But, again, I am very hopeful that it might be possible without turning the country into a tourist swamp.And for a traveller there are the constant surprises. A couple of years ago I checked into a small hotel in Pemba, a town in the far north, and when I entered my room I discovered that there was large tree growing in my bathroom, and the trunk and branches were shooting through the roof. The explanation was simple: when the owner of the place had restored the hotel he simply did not want to cut down the beautiful tree. So there it was.For me that tree is symbolic of travelling in Mozambique, and of how beautiful it might one day become.Daniel (Harvill Secker, �12.99) by Henning Mankell is out now. Details at henningmankell.comMozambiqueAfricaBeach holidaysGreen travelHenning Mankellguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Beyond Frankfurt - the Rhine Valley
The new high-speed rail link between London and Frankfurt will open up the Rhine and Mosel valleys to British holidaymakers. Simon Tisdall explores the region's castles, cuisine and its famous winesPlans by Deutsche Bahn, the German state railway, to run direct train services between London and Frankfurt will gladden the hearts of innkeepers, castellans and walking and cycle tour operators across the historic and beautiful, riverine landscapes of the Rhine Palatinate, known since 1946 as the German federal state of Rheinland-Pfalz.But the new rail link is potentially even better news for British holidaymakers looking for a near-to-home break with a difference - one that can combine outdoor activities and sightseeing with Rhine or Mosel river cruises, short stays in friendly guesthouses, medieval inns or four-star hotels with distinctive cuisine, and a dazzling choice of Riesling wines from the Mosel's vertiginous vineyards.Local tourism officials stress romantic possibilities, too, exemplified by a five-course candle-lit dinner in a soaring turret high above the legendary Loreley gorge, close by St Goar. The setting ? Rheinfels castle, built in 1245 by Count Diether V von Katzenelnbogen ? was once the mightiest fortress of the Middle Rhine, but has been reborn as the Romantik Hotel Schloss Rheinfels.New train routes notwithstanding, the triangular area between the Rhine and Mosel valleys, with well-heeled Koblenz sitting at its apex, is most readily accessible from Frankfurt-Hahn airport, a 50-minute hop from Stansted. But Frankfurt am Main and Bonn are not too far away for those understandably determined to avoid Ryanair. Driving is the easiest way to get around, though not wholly unavoidable. There are good local train and bus services linking the valley towns in addition to the swift KD riverboat cruisers.New arrivals could do no better than head for the Hotel-Landgasthof Zum Weissen Schwanen (the White Swans) in the tiny Rhine-side town of Braubach, south of Koblenz (doubles from about ?90pn (�76)). The Swans, a picturebook half-timbered, medieval inn, is run by Karolin K�nig-Kunz and her family. Its menu draws heavily on local produce including venison, wild boar, herbs and fruit, and five different vintages were offered with dinner. The tipples included a notable Bopparder Hamm Feuerlay, from Weingut Matthias M�ller in Spay.For a cheaper option there are local guesthouses, where visitors often take their meals together, French-style. The grand hotels of the Middle Rhine, such as the Jakobsberg, located high above the river at Boppard and featuring its own golf course, can cost a lot more. If you really want to push the boat out, try the Richtershof at M�lheim, near Bernkastel-Kues on the Mosel ? a "Weinromantikhotel" with a true sense of style, as demonstrated by the presence of a classic (but sadly non-running) Adler motorcycle in the lobby.The Richtershof's "gourmet" restaurant, the Culinarium R, is unforgettable. A set dinner menu comprised goose liver with chocolate and mango; stuffed scallops with fennel and crab; turbot with aubergine and tomato; roast pigeon breast with chanterelles and parsnip mousse; saddle of Eifel venison with apricots; and various fruits ? each course accompanied by a local wine chosen by ace taster Kilian Rau. The meal comes in at about ?130 a head. Evidently the Richtershof is no economy break but arguably, it's worth every pfennig.Long before tourism came to the Palatinate, viticulture formed the basis of its economy ? a tradition begun by the Roman garrisons that guarded the volatile river borders between Gaul and unconquered, barbarian Germania.Winegrower Albrecht Gietzen, whose vines cling courageously to steep, southern-facing, slate slopes above the Mosel at Hatzenport, recalled how, a century ago, vast acreages of terraced hillsides were under intensive cultivation. As cheaper, lower quality wines flooded the market in the 1980s, Mosel production fell sharply, he said. But now the elegantly light Mosel Rieslings and other local wines are making a comeback, finding appreciative foreign markets, not least in Britain.Gietzen, who doubles as mayor of Hatzenport (population 660), and his wife, Maria, run the Winzerhof Gietzen guesthouse (doubles with breakfast from ?28pppn). A robust, hearty menu is paired with their own wines from up the hill. And Gietzen is only too happy to take guests on a tour of his domain, on what he calls the "Wein Wetter Weg" (wine and weather path).If the eating and drinking gets too much, the Palatinate has plenty to offer in the way of mitigating exercise. Exploring historic local towns such as Boppard, Braubach and Cochem is one option; their well-preserved medieval centres, full of cobbled alleys and small squares, cafes and monuments, cake shops and churches, never disappoint. Picturesque Bernkastel-Kues offers a booklet of short walking tours in and around the town, available from the tourist office. Among the attractions is the 18th-century Graach Gate that features, as a modern addition, a plaque commemorating the town's lost Jewish population, deported during the Nazi period, never to return.More vigorous exercise is freely available along sections of the Rheinsteig, a 320km trail following the right side of the Rhine from Wiesbaden to Bonn. The trail can be picked up at Osterspai, for example, and followed to what is possibly the Rhine's most famous landmark, Marksburg castle, about 10km away.Cycling is encouraged along the Rhine and Mosel, with bike hire facilities abounding and beautifully maintained cycle paths. One memorably pastoral route ? part of the Lahnradweg ? follows the river Lahn 40km east from its confluence with the Rhine towards the spa town of Bad Ems and on to Nassau. Bike hire from Lothar Gebhardt, Burg & Bike, in Lahnstein.And for the really adventurous, there are always the Traumpfade ? the dream paths ? 26 walking circuits of varying length dotted around the hills, woods and valleys of the Palatinate's Rhine, Mosel and Eifel regions. Scrupulously waymarked, never too taxing, and replete with breathtaking views, rural hideaways, secret castles ? such as the fairytale Burg Eltz ? and endless, unspoilt forests of native oak and beech, the dream paths are aptly named. Even if little else about the Rhine Palatinate appeals, these walks on the wild side will get you out of your head.Getting thereRyanair flies from Stansted to Frankfurt Hahn, from �17.24 one way excluding taxes; British Airways (0844 493 0787, ba.com) flies from Heathrow and London City to Frankfurt from �114 rtn inc taxes; Lufthansa flies from London City from �296 rtn incl taxes.More information on the region: romantic-germany.info? This article was amended on 22 September 2010. Due to an editing error, the original stated that driving is the easiest way to get around, though wholly unavoidable. This has been corrected.GermanyRail travelFrankfurtShort breaksSimon Tisdallguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Freestyle Champs Hit Squaw Valley
..... Squaw Valley, Calif. (Ski Press)-An event half a century in the making, Squaw Valley is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary of the 1960 Olympic Winter Games with the Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships as Olympic medalists and the sport's best compete for U.S. titles March 26-28.The action kicks off Friday with men's and women's moguls where Olympic champion Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT), and Olympic bronze medalists Bryon Wilson (Butte, MT) and Shannon Bahrke (Tahoe City, CA) and World Champion Patrick Deneen (Cle Elum, WA) will ski the bumps looking for a win. For Bahrke, who plans to retire at the end of the 2010 season, the event at Squaw Valley represents special significance. "That's where I grew up, that's where I learned how to ski my first moguls course, so you know to finish it there, to start a career and finish it there is something that you know I think every athlete dreams of doing and I get to do it, so that's pretty cool," Bahrke said. "It's going to be so much fun. My whole family, my friends, you know my coaches that have been through everything with me are going to be there, so that's really going to be an awesome experience." Things keep rolling on Saturday when David Wise gets back in the halfpipe looking to mark the fifth consecutive U.S. title of his career. Adding to the action on Saturday will be men's and women's aerials, which feature an incredible lineup of athletes including Olympic silver medalist Jeret "Speedy" Peterson (Boise, ID), World Champion Ryan St. Onge (Winter Park, CO), World Cup winner Emily Cook (Belmont, MA) and Olympians Lacy Schnoor (Draper, UT) and Scotty Bahrke (Tahoe City, CA). "I'm looking forward to competing at U.S. Champs, and to get to go out and spin one last time with my teammates before I take a little break," Peterson said. I'm just looking forward to having this one last competition and seeing how everything goes." Wrapping up the weekend will be the dual moguls event where Kearney, who just won back to back World Cups in both moguls and dual moguls, is looking to shine. "Squaw last year was gorgeous. It was kind of like spring vacation. To show up on an Olympic year and share with the freestyle community is always something I look forward to," Kearney said. The Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships kick off March 26 and run through March 28. Fans can watch from the comfort of their own home on April 4 when the events air on Versus at 6 p.m. ET.
Ligety, Vonn Take Home World Cup Globes
..... Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany (Ski Press)-In a year when the success of the U.S. Ski Team was astounding, Lindsey Vonn and Ted Ligety capped off the excitement with some of the most prestigious awards in alpine skiing - Audi FIS World Cup titles.Vonn took the overall crown plus three other titles, while Ligety won his second giant slalom title in three years. The charge was led by Vonn who took three discipline titles in downhill, super G and super combined, to become first American to win three discipline titles in the same season. She also became the first woman to win three straight overall titles since Petra Kronberger of Austria in 1990-92. "It's so important to me. The overall title is one of the biggest things you can win in our sport. I always try to give my best every day, but it's a long season," said Vonn. "The last few years have gone really well for me. It's so hard to say whether you'll be able to win the overall title. To stand here in the finish and have a title in my hand is so rewarding." Only three other women have as many overall titles as Vonn -- Vreni Schneider of Switzerland and Janica Kostelic of Croatia have three each and Annemarie Moser-Proell of Austria leads all with six. Vonn also broke records this season with her 11 World Cup wins. She now holds the U.S. record for World Cup wins with 33 passing Bode Miller (Franconia, NH). Only one skier in the world ever had more World Cup wins in a season - Schneider with 14 in the 1988-89 season. Moser-Proell and Anja Paerson of Sweden also have 11 in a year. Finally, Vonn's career wins put her in a tie for sixth place on the all-time list with Hanni Wenzel of Liechtenstein, and Moser-Proell leads that list with 62. "It means the world to me. If you had asked me at the beginning of the season if I'd have been able to do that, I would have said 'not likely.' It takes a lot of hard work, not only by me, but from the team, from U.S. Ski Team coaches, from my husband, from Red Bull and my ski company Head," Vonn said. "It's everyone working together to make as successful a season as possible and I couldn't do it without them." Ligety brought the U.S. its only crystal globe in the men's World Cup to mark his career second giant slalom title after winning his first in 2008. With his success, Ligety joins Phil Mahre as the only American man to have two World Cup giant slalom titles. He earned the honor with four podiums in discipline this season, including one win. He also notched his first podium in super G with second at Val d'Isere in December. "Having two globes is awesome," Ligety said. "It's cool to have those and to be the best in giant slalom over the last couple of years is nice." Ligety also podiumed at first and last World Cup GS races, as well as won in Kranjska Gora for the third straight year. The success of the team didn't stop with World Cup titles, though, as the U.S. pulled in Olympic medals. On the women's side, Vonn took a win in the downhill and bronze in the super G. Teammate Julia Mancuso (Olympic Valley, CA) racked in two silver medals in the downhill and super combined. On the men's side, Miller took in the trifecta of Olympic medals with a bronze in downhill, silver in super G and gold in the super combined. Miller was joined on the super G podium by Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) who took the bronze. With the season now closed, the alpine team will return to the U.S. to train this summer in preparation for the 2011 World Cup season opener in Soelden, Austria and the 2011 World Championships in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany.
Beyond Frankfurt - the Rhine Valley
The new high-speed rail link between London and Frankfurt will open up the Rhine and Mosel valleys to British holidaymakers. Simon Tisdall explores the region's castles, cuisine and its famous winesPlans by Deutsche Bahn, the German state railway, to run direct train services between London and Frankfurt will gladden the hearts of innkeepers, castellans and walking and cycle tour operators across the historic and beautiful, riverine landscapes of the Rhine Palatinate, known since 1946 as the German federal state of Rheinland-Pfalz.But the new rail link is potentially even better news for British holidaymakers looking for a near-to-home break with a difference - one that can combine outdoor activities and sightseeing with Rhine or Mosel river cruises, short stays in friendly guesthouses, medieval inns or four-star hotels with distinctive cuisine, and a dazzling choice of Riesling wines from the Mosel's vertiginous vineyards.Local tourism officials stress romantic possibilities, too, exemplified by a five-course candle-lit dinner in a soaring turret high above the legendary Loreley gorge, close by St Goar. The setting ? Rheinfels castle, built in 1245 by Count Diether V von Katzenelnbogen ? was once the mightiest fortress of the Middle Rhine, but has been reborn as the Romantik Hotel Schloss Rheinfels.New train routes notwithstanding, the triangular area between the Rhine and Mosel valleys, with well-heeled Koblenz sitting at its apex, is most readily accessible from Frankfurt-Hahn airport, a 50-minute hop from Stansted. But Frankfurt am Main and Bonn are not too far away for those understandably determined to avoid Ryanair. Driving is the easiest way to get around, though not wholly unavoidable. There are good local train and bus services linking the valley towns in addition to the swift KD riverboat cruisers.New arrivals could do no better than head for the Hotel-Landgasthof Zum Weissen Schwanen (the White Swans) in the tiny Rhine-side town of Braubach, south of Koblenz (doubles from about ?90pn (�76)). The Swans, a picturebook half-timbered, medieval inn, is run by Karolin K�nig-Kunz and her family. Its menu draws heavily on local produce including venison, wild boar, herbs and fruit, and five different vintages were offered with dinner. The tipples included a notable Bopparder Hamm Feuerlay, from Weingut Matthias M�ller in Spay.For a cheaper option there are local guesthouses, where visitors often take their meals together, French-style. The grand hotels of the Middle Rhine, such as the Jakobsberg, located high above the river at Boppard and featuring its own golf course, can cost a lot more. If you really want to push the boat out, try the Richtershof at M�lheim, near Bernkastel-Kues on the Mosel ? a "Weinromantikhotel" with a true sense of style, as demonstrated by the presence of a classic (but sadly non-running) Adler motorcycle in the lobby.The Richtershof's "gourmet" restaurant, the Culinarium R, is unforgettable. A set dinner menu comprised goose liver with chocolate and mango; stuffed scallops with fennel and crab; turbot with aubergine and tomato; roast pigeon breast with chanterelles and parsnip mousse; saddle of Eifel venison with apricots; and various fruits ? each course accompanied by a local wine chosen by ace taster Kilian Rau. The meal comes in at about ?130 a head. Evidently the Richtershof is no economy break but arguably, it's worth every pfennig.Long before tourism came to the Palatinate, viticulture formed the basis of its economy ? a tradition begun by the Roman garrisons that guarded the volatile river borders between Gaul and unconquered, barbarian Germania.Winegrower Albrecht Gietzen, whose vines cling courageously to steep, southern-facing, slate slopes above the Mosel at Hatzenport, recalled how, a century ago, vast acreages of terraced hillsides were under intensive cultivation. As cheaper, lower quality wines flooded the market in the 1980s, Mosel production fell sharply, he said. But now the elegantly light Mosel Rieslings and other local wines are making a comeback, finding appreciative foreign markets, not least in Britain.Gietzen, who doubles as mayor of Hatzenport (population 660), and his wife, Maria, run the Winzerhof Gietzen guesthouse (doubles with breakfast from ?28pppn). A robust, hearty menu is paired with their own wines from up the hill. And Gietzen is only too happy to take guests on a tour of his domain, on what he calls the "Wein Wetter Weg" (wine and weather path).If the eating and drinking gets too much, the Palatinate has plenty to offer in the way of mitigating exercise. Exploring historic local towns such as Boppard, Braubach and Cochem is one option; their well-preserved medieval centres, full of cobbled alleys and small squares, cafes and monuments, cake shops and churches, never disappoint. Picturesque Bernkastel-Kues offers a booklet of short walking tours in and around the town, available from the tourist office. Among the attractions is the 18th-century Graach Gate that features, as a modern addition, a plaque commemorating the town's lost Jewish population, deported during the Nazi period, never to return.More vigorous exercise is freely available along sections of the Rheinsteig, a 320km trail following the right side of the Rhine from Wiesbaden to Bonn. The trail can be picked up at Osterspai, for example, and followed to what is possibly the Rhine's most famous landmark, Marksburg castle, about 10km away.Cycling is encouraged along the Rhine and Mosel, with bike hire facilities abounding and beautifully maintained cycle paths. One memorably pastoral route ? part of the Lahnradweg ? follows the river Lahn 40km east from its confluence with the Rhine towards the spa town of Bad Ems and on to Nassau. Bike hire from Lothar Gebhardt, Burg & Bike, in Lahnstein.And for the really adventurous, there are always the Traumpfade ? the dream paths ? 26 walking circuits of varying length dotted around the hills, woods and valleys of the Palatinate's Rhine, Mosel and Eifel regions. Scrupulously waymarked, never too taxing, and replete with breathtaking views, rural hideaways, secret castles ? such as the fairytale Burg Eltz ? and endless, unspoilt forests of native oak and beech, the dream paths are aptly named. Even if little else about the Rhine Palatinate appeals, these walks on the wild side will get you out of your head.Getting thereRyanair flies from Stansted to Frankfurt Hahn, from �17.24 one way excluding taxes; British Airways (0844 493 0787, ba.com) flies from Heathrow and London City to Frankfurt from �114 rtn inc taxes; Lufthansa flies from London City from �296 rtn incl taxes.More information on the region: romantic-germany.info? This article was amended on 22 September 2010. Due to an editing error, the original stated that driving is the easiest way to get around, though wholly unavoidable. This has been corrected.GermanyRail travelFrankfurtShort breaksSimon Tisdallguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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