March 2007 London Meeting This month Simon Banks showed us his cycling trip to China, showing us how it was in cities like Shanghai and how just a few years later they have become ultra modern, with neon lit skyscrapers. Shanghai now also boasts the world’s fastest train; the Maglev which delivers travellers from the…

Another month when there was standing room only in Covent Garden to hear two excellent talks. Bradt guide author David Atkinson showed us what there is to see and do in Bolivia, including the shack where Che Guevara died and to show us the Butch and Sundance trail. For those more into beautiful scenery we…

February 2007 Another month when there was standing room only in Covent Garden to hear two excellent talks. Bradt guide author David Atkinson showed us what there is to see and do in Bolivia, including the shack where Che Guevara died and to show us the Butch and Sundance trail. For those more into beautiful…

For information on Ontario meetings, please contact Svatka Hermanek: shermane@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259. Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November, usually at the Old York Tower, 85 Esplanade (It is at the south-east corner of Church & Esplanade – 2 blocks…

The first hurdle nearly became my undoing – Customs are notoriously difficult with film crews but when one of the cases slipped, broke open and bullets spilled on to floor around the custom’s officer’s feet, I knew by his bulging eyes he was about to take an ugly pill and be very, very difficult. After…

The first hurdle nearly became my undoing – Customs are notoriously difficult with film crews but when one of the cases slipped, broke open and bullets spilled on to floor around the custom’s officer’s feet, I knew by his bulging eyes he was about to take an ugly pill and be very, very difficult. After…

So where exactly is Papua New Guinea or PNG as it is affectionately known? Crudely, if you draw a line straight up, north from Cairns in Australia’s Queensland, you will get to Port Moresby, PNG’s capital. The first time the Beetle visited PNG, she flew from Cairns (about 2 hours) – a big mistake as…

If you were around a few years back you may have noticed the sudden embracing of the region of Macedonia as Greece, or more specifically, the name Macedonia . It was the period of disintegration of the country once known as Yugoslavia and a small, poor region calling itself Macedonia declared independence and laid claim…

It is easy to make the mistake of thinking that those who live in what we would consider a hut are lazy and stupid. Fortunately, that is often far from the truth. In fact, they are often very resourceful. My first experience with the ingenuity of Mexicans was during our year of volunteer work in…

Hoedspruit – Daktari Wildlife Orphanage is a new conservation initiative that has been started by Ian and Michele Merrifield. Their passion towards wildlife and nature conservation led to the establishment of Daktari which is a non-profit organisation. As the name suggests, Daktari is a wildlife orphanage that takes in injured, orphaned, or animals in general…