World Nomad

Yosemite National Park – United States

Voyagner — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 03:47:29 +0000

Yosemite is one of America’s premiere national parks and unlike Yellowstone they seem to have resonably restrained themselves from building huge cement veiwing points so that ‘nature’ is accessible for everyone. Parks are one of the greatest things America has to offer the traveller hopefully they can continue to restrain themselves for over commericalising this one and others. If you’re a fan of mounatinous valleys or waterfalls like me then this is a must see.

Google Earth - http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=21802

Wikipedia Article - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosemite

WikiTravel Article - http://wikitravel.org/en/Yosemite

UNESCO Site - http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/308

National Park Service Site - http://www.nps.gov/yose./

Petra – Jordan

Voyagner — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 00:26:50 +0000

Petra has a lot of tourist pulling power after starring in such masters as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, so maybe it is the desert heat, the nasty Arabs or that most have wised up an discovered that for all it’s grand appearances Petra doesn’t quite live up (on the inside anyway) to what they make it look like in the movies that means you can enjoy this exqisite place in relative peace at the right times.
Petra is a little more about the journey than the destination but then everything should be, walking through the Siq makes a grand entrance to your first view of Petra, the Treasury. If you don’t want to be underwhelmed you may not want to enter as the interior is quite plain as is with most buildings in Petra although it is not really a let down for most people.

Google Earth Placemark - http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=50758

Wikipedia Article - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra

WikiTravel Article - http://wikitravel.org/en/Petra

UNESCO Site - http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/326

Ngorongoro Crater – Tanzania

Voyagner — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 04:26:04 +0000

The Ngorongoro Crater is the remnant of a large volcano that “blew its top” and thank the cosmos it did because today it is home to nearly every animal native to East Africa including the Big 5, not only that but they are less shy which means you can get closer to them than in many other places and with the floor 260km² and an estimated 25,000 large animals inside you are guaranteed to see plenty of wildlife in addition to the unique cradle of life that is the crater itself.

Google Earth Placemark - http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=61364

Wikipedia article for Ngorongoro Crater - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngorongoro_Crater

UNESCO page for Ngorongoro Crater - http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/39

Machu Picchu – Peru

Voyagner — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 04:21:39 +0000

Machu Picchu or Lost City of The Incas was discovered in 1911 which is quite amazing considering many of the locals in the area knew about, maybe keeping it a secret. Which wasn’t a bad idea considering that Peru is now trying to recover thousands of artifects removed by Hiram Bingham the perosn who discovered the city. Other than it’s unique location the stone work incorperated into the buildings estinated to have been built around 1440 which is descibed as perfect. Machu Picchu made the short list of 21 locations for the new 7 wonders of the world. Probably the best way to get here and really appreciate the construction of this small city is to walk the Inca Trail.

Google Earth Placemark – http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=11417

Machu Picchu Wikipedia Entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu

UNESCO Machu Picchu Page - http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=274

Machu Picchu WikiTravel Entry - http://wikitravel.org/en/Machu_Picchu

Potala Palace & Lhasa – Tibet

Voyagner — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 05:45:07 +0000

The Potala Palace was the home of the Dalai Lama from the 7th century until 1959 when China began it’s occupation of Tibet. It is famous for this reason and because of the unique architecture and religious and cultural significance.

Google Earth Placemark for Potala Palace - http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=458154

Wikipedia Entry for Potala Palace - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potala_Palace

Wikipedia Entry for Lhasa - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lhasa

WikiTravel Entry for Lhasa - http://wikitravel.org/en/Lhasa

Official Website of the Tibetan Government in Exile - http://www.tibet.com

Free Tibet Website - http://www.freetibet.org

UNESCO page for Potala Palace - http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/707

The Eagles Nest & Berchtesgaden – Germany

Voyagner — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 00:22:55 +0000

The Eagles Nest AKA Kehlsteinhaus sits upon the Obersalzberg in the German Alps near Berchtesgaden, It was built as a gift to Adolf Hitler for his 50th birthday and was intented for entertaining dignitaries of the Nazi party. During WWII it was alongside Berlin seen to the ultimate prize in the victory over Germany and so holds much Historical significance.

Google Earth Placemark - http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=363059

Lets Go Europe Info - http://www.letsgo-europe.com/Germany/eagles_nest

Berchtesgaden Wikipedia Entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berchtesgaden

Eagles Nest Wikipedia Entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kehlsteinhaus

Eagles Nest Official Site - http://www.kehlsteinhaus.de/en/index.php

Berchtesgaden Wikitravel Entry - http://wikitravel.org/en/Berchtesgaden

Milford Sound – New Zealand

Voyagner — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 02:38:15 +0000

Wikipedia Entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milford_Sound

Google Earth Placemark – http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=70119

WikiTravel Entry – http://wikitravel.org/en/Milford_Sound

Milford Sound is a Fjord on the west coast of the south island of New Zealand, Utterly beautiful it is Number one on my list of places to visit in New Zealand. There Is also the Milford Track nearby which is supposed to be a great walk although definately not a short one.

Voyagner — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 02:14:52 +0000

Ok I’m going to take a bit of a new direction with this, Instead of a infequently updated personal travel blog it’s going to be a more frequent regular blog on travel, mainly destinations
but also including resources, some general news about the world and personal experiences.
Also I’m going to try to tag it all properly so it will hopefully become quite a useful resource.

Planet Earth

Voyagner — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 23:17:55 +0000

Sunday night ABC started airing the BBC series Planet Earth (ABC is Australia’s BBC). The photography (or is it cinematography?) is simply amazing, if this doesn’t make you want to get out and see the world then there is something is wrong with you. The mirgation scenes of some species are just so amazingly done it’s hard to believe it actually happens. So far we have only seen the first pisode “Pole to Pole“, there are currently 5 episodes but there are a further 5 in production. Of course it has already finished airing the first half in the UK so if you missed it buy it on DVD, it’s a must see documentary.

The Camera

Voyagner — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 23:59:10 +0000

I went to buy a camera yesterday, Harvey Norman who I would normally avoid buying anything from because of the prices there had a no deposit, no interest, no repayments for 24 months deal and the price was only $10 more than buying it off the net, of course I ended buying and extra 2 years warranty and a 1Gb SD card but I had planned that anyway, total bill just over $1600, I could have paid for it right away but I don’t really want to, plus I haven’t actually got it yet, they only had silver ones in stock, I personally think the silver one looks crap and for $1600 I want to get what I want.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond50/

The link gives a really good in depth review and some more good pictures. I should recieve it in the next week hopefully so I’ll be taking it out for a few practice shots then, I purchased it hoping it would be the camera I would take travelling with me, I really hope that is what it comes to.