Fatal Zip Line Accident in Hawaii closes tour operator

HILO, Hawaii — A Hilo-based eco-tourism company says it has suspended booking zip line tours until the cause of a fatal accident is fully understood.

Ted Callaway of Lahaina and a co-worker were in the process of testing a zip line north of Hilo last month when a tower collapsed and Callaway plunged 200 feet to his death. His co-worker Curtis Wright, of Miamisburg, Ohio, was critically injured.

The course has been closed since the incident. KapohoKine Adventures said Monday it halted booking all zip line tours pending a full evaluation of soil composition and structural integrity of the lines.

The Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health division is conducting a workplace death investigation.

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North Pantanal in Brazil is an excellent location for unique local, sustainable travel.

Spread across south-central Brazil in the state of Mato Grasso and covering an area larger than the island of Great Britain, the Pantanal is the world’s largest wetland. North Pantanal

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comprises a delicate ecosystem that benefits from dual seasons of flooding and droughts. The intense rains that deluge the region annually give way to a dry season during which grasslands thrive and support over 70 species of mammals.
In fact, it is, I am told by a promotor (disclosure – I received no compensation of any kind for this article), an up and coming travel location.  I am told that it is a wilderness destination bursting with life and color. The lack of tall foliage provides unequalled views of the natural scenery, and tiny islands dotted throughout the wetlands are ideal places to observe wildlife in its native habitat. Jaguars, parrots, Cayman alligators, and flocks of storks and herons are just some of the species commonly seen on a tour of the wetlands, a way for travelers to reconnect with nature while discovering the rich biodiversity of North Pantanal.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/10/28/prweb8915960.DTL#ixzz1cV6nWuZ2

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Ecotourism on the agenda for the Gambian Tourism Minister

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Fatou Mass Jobe Nije, the minister of Tourism and Culture for Gambia, and her delegation, continued her pre-season tour of tourism facilities in the country Tuesday with a visit to Makasutu Culture Forest in Kembujeh, West Coast Region.

Upon arrival at Makasutu, Fatou Mass Jobe-Njie and delegation were taken on a tour of the eco-tourism facility by its managing director.

Facilities available include floating house, jungle house and stilted house among other things.

The houses are built on top of the river, which is about one-and-half meter deep and surrounded by mangroves. According to Williams, Makasutu Culture Forest was designed according to the environment to make any visitor to this place feel the real nature.

The managing director also narrated how work started in the forest over 20 years ago, till it was transformed into what it is today. Their activities include proper Gambian cooking, palm wine tapping, and bird watching, among other fulltime cultural activities.

The minister and her delegation then sailed from Makasutu to Sitanunku in Upper Niumi through a boat named the Blue Albatross Gambia to visit the Sutununku Lodge in the North Bank of the River Gambia, about an hour sail from Makasutu.

The clean and colourful lodge was founded in 2010 and since then has been witnessing lots of activities like fishing, tackle and bait, bird watching walks with guides, access to Dog Island which is opposite the camp, visiting and transporting to local Sitanunku village.

Among the facilities in use are shore angling and sportive canoe fishing, local pirogue boat, among other activities.

To round up the tour of the clean and friendly lodge, the managing director, Marcel Hendrickx, who is also the vice chairman of GHA and Tourism Marketing Committee Working with Authority and World Bank introduced minister Jobe-Njie and entourage round the wonderful and mouth-watering cuisines.

He thanked the minister and delegation for having time to check on Sutununku Lodge to know how well prepared they are for the tourism season.

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Tasmania releases plans for eco-tourism

Aiming to compete with Australian eco tourism efforts from Queensland, Tasmania’s State Government has released plans to relaunch the region as a eco-friendly based tourism destination.

Working with Melbourne, Global Eco Asia Pacific Tourism Conference convener Tony Charters explained the two states would team up to build tourism to southern Australia.

“Going on current form, that will pair Melbourne as the lead tourism city with Tasmania as the heartland of ecotourism, making southern Australia a formidable destination,” Mr Charters said.

Mr Charters said the benefit of building an eco destination had fallen short with many Governments down under while locations in Asia are “running at 100mph” with the sector.

He explained that while establishing the state as an eco-destination, the long term benefits would more than cover the efforts.

“Ecotourism is not a ‘quick fix’ option for governments to plug the holes after a resource boom, for example,” Mr Charters said.

“It is a very logical and forward thinking choice for Tasmania, but it will take 15 years to bed the industry in.

“Once that is done, ecotourism will provide more jobs than logging, be sustainable and form an important plank of an export oriented economy.”

Mr Charters added that as a whole the country needed to invest more into its natural attractions and utilise them to increase visitor numbers.

According to the convener, the Great Barrier Reef’s figures are sitting around the same as 20 years ago while Kakadu numbers fell compared to visitors in the early 90s.

“National parks for example need ongoing support from government, not just a one-off injection of funds,” he explained.

“Other states can take the lead, with long term vision and investment roughly equivalent to one sports stadium each year, but spread across the state’s protected areas.

The Global Eco conference is being held in Sydney from November 7th to 10th.

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