Table Mountain National Park: Beauty, Intrigue, and Crime…

Table Mountain National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in South Africa has been riddled by a recent crime wave.

Actually, the crime has become so bad at this World Heritage Site that the Park released a warning to people heading that way to be overly alert.

On Tuesday, a cyclist was robbed of his bike at gunpoint.  Another incident involved a female hiker being forced to disrobe in front of her attackers.

Table Mountain National Park has close to 50 rangers on patrol at all times, and that number swells to close to 200 on weekends–but some are complaining that this is still not enough.

Being a World Hertiage Site..this could actually effect it’s future statis on this list.  If it can not allow for the safety of it’s visitors, then the designation will more than likely be taken away in 2010–the next time the Park comes up for review.

For more on this interesting story, you can click over to the Cape Times.  If you would like to read more on Table Mountain National Park to see what possibly could be at stake, click HERE.  For the latest Crime Prevention Update from Table Mountain National Park, well, you know what to do..

Man vs. Wild, Bear Grylls, and the Discovery Channel Disclaimer-

Two hours after posting an article on “The Fall of Bear Grylls” by The Adventurist,  a post has come up from Reuters, the world-wide syndicated news agency, calling into question Bear Grylls antics on Man vs. Wild.

The Reuters Reporter, Andrew Wallenstein, has actually went to Discovery Channel and questioned them on their program..here is part of The Discovery Channel’s Response:

Discovery Communications has learned that isolated elements of the ‘Man vs. Wild’ show in some episodes were not natural to the environment, and that for health and safety concerns the crew and host received some survival assistance while in the field.

Moving forward, the program will be 100% transparent and all elements of the filming will be explained upfront to our viewers.  In addition, shows that are to be repeated will be edited appropriately. Bear Grylls is a world-class adventurer and a terrific talent.

So it sounds to me like the Man vs. Wild, will now be the Man vs. Wild–with a disclaimer.  At least this will be a little bit of acknowledgement towards the fact that they, as well as Bear Grylls, have been leading the public to believe that everything that happened on the show–was indeed truthful, when in fact, some aspects have been set-up.  It is also noted though, that Discovery Channel plans to stick by Bear Grylls and his Man vs. Wild television show.

What is even a little more amusing are the comments that people are writing in about this article.  I will share a couple of them now as well:

From Wackytraveler:

Of course the Bear Grylls show is staged. In one episode, he parachutes into a rain forest. Next, we see him demonstrating how to extricate himself from the tree in which he’s landed. So, did he just happen to land exactly where the camera crew was posted; or did he land in the tree for hours until the video crew could reach him; or was he hoisted into the tree in order to be filmed? As long as a full camera crew follows him around in the “wilderness” his survival experiences won’t be genuine. Watch SURVIVORMAN Les Stroud, also, on Discovery, who films himself in the wilderness. He’s the real deal.

From Dennsnyd7:

Some of the situations were a little dramatic and hard to believe and others were simply not true. ie. A piece of steel wire cannot be magnatized by rubbing it in your hair. If the leaf compass did in fact work the wire was already magnatized before he rubbed it on his hair. I hope no one would be foolish enough to try some of the things he proposes in the name of survival. Check your facts people and don’t believe everything you see in the movies.

So now this has erupted into a much larger debate, and I am sure more will be coming out about this situation.  As of this time, Bear Grylls remains amazingly quiet and has not commented on these new allegations, or the fact that his show will now be disclaimered and edited–so as to not fool the audience.  Will be very interesting to see how this all pans out in the future…

(Editor’s Note:  At this time, the news article being discussed is found on the AOL News Service.)

The Fall of Bear Grylls

ExplorersWeb is at it, yet again.  When I first started following this story, I questioned ExplorersWeb’s intentions.  Well it looks like they just may have been on to something.  Information is coming out of the woodworks on Bear, not only about his supposed flight over the top of Mt. Everest..but now it seems it may just be about his whole career…

I recieved a tip today about Mr. Grylls, in regards to his previous military service–after stopping by ExplorersWeb, it seems that they have recieved the same tip, as they have included this in their lead story…seems like the viewers are starting to get disgruntled at Mr. Grylls and are passing on the tips to sites like this one, The Adventure Blog and ExplorersWeb.  Here is the lowdown:

Mr. Grylls was indeed in the SAS or the British Special Forces, as he claims.  What he doesn’t mention to the public is that he was in the SAS (21)–an easier and less dangerous branch filled with prospects looking to get into the SAS (22)–the hardcore, real deal.

Bear also mentions on his site that he got out because he was in a “horendous” helicopter accident in Africa that left his back broken in three places…  We are still looking to verify this information as well–

So much has been coming out about Bear making up stories, changing words as he pleases–and in a sense trying to create a persona in the media that is a little far from the truth, that nobody is real sure about what to believe…

Even his shows Man vs. Wild and Born Survivor: Bear Grylls try to create him as this mythic superhuman that can and does get out of any situation–Alive.  Over the past couple of weeks, reports of what is really going on during these “Adventure Excursions” is starting to become more clear–they have been meticulously set-up to trick the viewer that Bear was actually doing everything he says, yet in reality, it was prearranged.

ExplorersWebs intentions, I am sure, was not to discredit Mr. Grylls in the beginning, but as the story has come around full circle now and every detail of Bear’s career is being analyzed, I think it is safe that we can all assume that nothing is as it seems.

For the complete breakdown of the truth vs. lies of Bear Grylls, I request that you head on over to the ExplorersWeb site and check out their lead story…

I guess to me, personally, I am now even questioning whether or not their is a Bear Grylls, or if this is all just a made up media blitz as well.  I guess we will all have to wait and see..

China vs. Mother Nature: The Quest for Artificial Weather

Who controls the weather?  This debate, in a round about way, has been taking place for centuries.  When the weather was unbearably dry, ancient Indian nations would come together and perform their “Indian Rain Dance” to try to persuade the Gods to open up the skies–

Step ahead a couple of centuries to the present.  A lengthy article in the Asian Times Online goes into detail about how China has been in the process of manufactoring weather since 1958.  No, this isn’t science fiction.

China has seemingly developed a way to not only make it rain when it wants to, but to also control such things as hail storms. If you are still questioning the validity of all of this, The Chinese Government has stated that their methods have already been used to control the weather for such international events as the 1993 East Asian Games and the 1999 Horti-Expo in Yunnan..and next up on the list?  The 2008 Olympic Games to be held in Beijing.

So How Does This All Work?

It would be alot easier to explain that China just hits a button, but actually it is a rather large scientific process.  To bring it down to scope, the basics of the process involves firing rounds of silver oxide ammunition into the clouds.  The weight of the silver oxide will cling to the water in the clouds and bring it back down to the ground.

This is a pretty interesting and scientifically proven method that just happened to be developed by the United States in the 1940’s and 50’s–but we lost interest in this on the belief that Mother Nature usually wins..

China has went on to take this research and expand significantly on what has been known about weather formation.  Each of the Chinese Provinces now has it’s own Artificial Weather Modification Base.  This is all controlled by the Chinese Government and they say when to enact the weather changing science.

The Artificial Weather Modification Department boasts over 32,000 chinese employees, as well as 7,100 anti-aircraft guns, 4,991 special rocket launchers and 30 specially equipped aircraft to help in this process.  This is a large expenditure, but the thoughts behind it’s development can not be taken lightly.  It was original enacted to help with the issue of drought that plagues a big size chunk of China.

There begs to be a couple of questions asked though…Silver-Oxide is a known polutant and poison in large quantities, how will this affect China in the future?  They do mention that the silver oxide they use is in such small quantities to not have an effect on the environment, yet what happens as it builds up over the years?

Another question?  If China can do this, why has this idea not been exported to the likes of Countries in Africa that could definately use this technology for both water and food, which they are currently suffering a major crisis with?

In a way though, this all seems pretty much amazing to me.  If the United States would seemingly begin to use this technology, perhaps we could gain control of the massive wildfire outbreaks in the West, or they could broadcast a report of Artificial Rain on the news and we would all be guaranteed of knowing just when to bring the ol’ umbrella…

What are your thoughts?

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The Adventurist: A Call to All Outdoor Writers and Photographers!

I have just put the finishing touches on a new “Submit & Contact” Page here at The Adventurist.  I am hoping that this new feature will be accepted and used by all of my great readers.

This page goes into detail about a few things I am looking for here at The Adventurist–and ways you might be able to get involved.

Do you love Adventure Writing or perhaps Great Outdoors Photography?–Help me share your incredible talents with a much bigger audience!

Head on Over to the “Submit & Contact” Page, found on a tab right up above this article, and Share your Adventures with the World!

Also, if you are looking to put me to work, there is info there as well….

Cheers-

J. Alan Hendricks, Editor

First Pluto is Demoted, and now The Nile?

That is right.  The world we live in and beyond is vastly changing at a rate that not many of us are to fond of.

Pluto has been written off the planet charts (even though I agree with my daughter, most of us will still consider it a planet in our world of “underground” knowledge) by scientists, now it is just a large rock floating in the abyss..

Add to that, the recent unravelings of the World’s Longest River…The Nile, you think?

Think again.  The Amazon.  That is right.  Scientists have recently discovered that the Amazon River is approximately 176 miles longer than originally thought and now extends into the Southern reaches of Peru, making it the NEW world’s longest river.

The 176 miles of new Amazon, will place it at roughly 4, 225 miles long–making it 65 miles longer than the Nile.

Scientists sponsored by The Brazilian Institute of Science and Statistics, have placed the new Amazon beginning in the Southern Mountains of Peru.

This has to be disheartening to at least one individual–Martin Strehl–who laid claim earlier this year to completing the first swim that went the full distance of the Amazon…

This just goes to show that no one is ever happy being in second place..

It will be interesting to see how Egypt takes this news as well..Perhaps the Nile will grow soon, too…

I can slowly see Mr. Martin Strehl’s great accomplishments in the World of River Swimming being wiped off the charts..Perhaps he had swam one river to many..and p’d off the wrong folks…

Mt. Kilimanjaro: Up, Up, and Awake…

My good firend Kraig over at The Adventure Blog recently journeyed to the depths of Africa and to that continents highest Peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro.

As Kraig has been pretty busy recently on catching up on some much needed work, it has taken him a little while to get this great adventure mapped out for all of us.

As a surprise to Kraig, as well as a great read for all of you folks thinking about a trip to Kilimanjaro–I will put his recent trip reports together–Taking you Day by Day up the Majestic Kilimanjaro.

I will add that what I like about Kraig’s first-hand experience is, he makes all of us feel like we can do it as we journey with him.

The Adventure Blog Goes To Kilimanjaro

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Also of note, if you would like to read an interesting interview of Kraig, I suggest you head on over to The Outdoor Weblog for this nice two part series that they done after Kraig returned from his African trip. The Interview, Parts 1 and 2 respectively, shed some more light into this great trip, as well as tells how one prepares for making such a journey. A great read. You may “click” the corresponding number to read the two parts to this interview.

The Complete Coverage! Everest 2007!

The Complete Coverage!  Everest 2007!  Click here!

As many of you might know, a couple of months back I mentioned that I would be setting up a Page on The Adventurist for the Everest 2007 Climbing season.

This page will be similar to the page covering the Mt. Hood Tragedy I covered in 2006 offering up all the links and stories as we publish them in one easily located space.

What this does is it allows all of my loyal readers an easier way to follow along with the Everest 2007 season as it happens, as well as lets you keep track of what HAS happened up to the latest story.  At the top of this site, you will now see a headline that reads “The Complete Coverage!  Everest 2007!  Click Here!”, by clicking this, you will now have access to every story concerning the 2007 Everest Climbing season.

I hope you enjoy this convenient way of staying on track with the happenings on Everest this season.  It is really shaping up to be a great season with many stories breaking daily.  You will now find them all here!

The Adventure Blog Suspends Operations…..

My good friend Kraig over at The Adventure Blog has just informed all of his readers (including myself) that his blog has gone on hiatus, just as he made his 1000th post!

Now the 1000th blog post should be something celebrated.  It takes an awful lot of time and dedication to get to that point–So why the “break” Kraig?

Well it seems he has booked himself on an African adventure of a lifetime.  His goal?  Mt. Kilimajaro.  This will be Kraig’s first attempt at a big peak and he is promising a big adventure update on his site in two weeks.

The Adventurist would like to wish him luck and safe travel both to and from Africa and Mt. Kilimanjaro!

While I am on the subject of my blogging friends, I would like to mention Alan Arnette’s site today as well.  He has a great article on Miss Elizabeth Hawley…

If you have climbed an 8,000er in the Himalayas then you will know the name, and if not…well you weren’t alone.

It seems Miss Hawley is THE Himalayan journalist living in Nepal.  She has covered Mt. Everest and the surrounding areas for magazines such as TIME and the American Alpine Journal for well over 40 years  (47 to be exact).

I suggest all of you head on over to Alan’s and read this great article…Miss Hawley can make or break a climbers career..and she has never climbed a mountain in her life….