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Most Recent Articles
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- Swimming In Shark Infested Waters
Sounds crazy right? Well tens of thousands of people from all over the world disagree. Shark diving is getting increasing popular all over the world as tourists and scuba divers face their fears to take the plunge with some of the most feared animals on earth. Whether it is from the safety of a cage or in the open water, shark diving is becoming huge draw card for shark infested waters like South Africa, Australia, The Gulf of Mexico and California.
South Africa is leading the way in shark diving eco tourism. South Africa is probably the best place for seeing the so called “man eater”, the Great White Shark. The Great White is the most feared predator on earth. Fears fuelled by movies like “Jaws” and “Deep Blue Ocean”. There are literally hundreds of places in South Africa where you can go shark diving and just as many operators willing to take you there. From the safety of a solid steel cage, you can view Great White Sharks of up to 6m in length. - Saguaro The King Of Cacti
The visual identity of the American southwest has certain iconic signifiers: desert plains, tumbleweeds, rusty-red rock formations and a certain towering cactus called the Saguaro. These cacti, some as tall as 50 feet and as heavy as 8 tons, are one of the greatest symbols of America’s wild deserts.
The Saguaro Cactus is found only in the Sonora Desert, from sea-level to elevations of approximately 4,000 feet, and limited by freezing winter temperatures. Though their habitat is threatened by human encroachment, the Saguaro is a common cactus and is not endangered. They are a protected species in the confines of Arizona’s Saguaro National Park. - Scotland’s Castles And Estates Face Funding Challenge
After centuries of being an agriculturally based economy, the more rural parts of Scotland are having to come to terms with huge changes in the global economy. Many estates and castles that dominate them, traditionally were supported by a mixture of agriculture, forestry, sporting rights and a huge annual grant from the European Union. All these sources of income have come under attack and in some cases have disappeared. Agriculture is extremely volatile and does not produce the income it did, forestry is depressed, grants are being phased out and there is a glut of shooting and fishing available. This has all hit the rural economy over the last decade or so.
Combine this with a huge increase in equipment costs and maintaining old buildings, along with a certain amount of wear & tear that our harsh climate produces and you have a challenging situation facing the owners of Scotland’s old ancestral homes. Unless they have other income streams independent of the estate, they are facing a grim future. Many owners do indeed now work in other industries and channel those resources into maintaining their properties. Most do a combination of traditional farming and sporting activities, combined now with private lets and other commercial activities. These could include offering castles for rent, marketing the property as a venue for film shoots, weddings, concerts and corporate events. - The Revival Of Scotland’s Castles
How heartening after decades of decay and the destruction of many old fine homes, to see a revival of Scotland’s Castles. After the war when many properties which had been either closed up or badly damaged by their war time guests, were facing a grim future. Many had been used as hospitals or temporary billets for servicemen and to use a modern expression, they had been pretty much trashed. Of course the end of the war also coincided with a period of heavy taxation and a huge shortage of raw materials. Many families simply buckled under the pressure and either sold up or pulled down the ancestral pile.
However fortunately some hung on and battled through a pretty grim four decades of heavy taxation and diminishing returns from their estates. With the passing of the estates onto the next generation and all the new prosperity that Britain was enjoying, many homes underwent extensive restoration, which breathed new life into these historic old homes. Whereas previously many castles only survived through government grants or by being taken on by the National Trust, Landmark trust or some other preservation organisation, they now were benefiting from new sources of revenue, like property development, mobile masts, wind farms and office developments in old farm buildings.
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