Rottnest Island, Western Australia

Rottnest Island is Western Australia's (WA) premier island getaway, located just off the coast of Perth. As a ‘Class A’ reserve, managed by the Rottnest Island Authority, the island boasts unique animal and plant life, as well as some of the most spectacular beaches you will ever see. Take a day trip from Perth, or choose from a range of Rottnest Island accommodation and enjoy a longer stay at one of Western Australia’s (WA) most amazing holiday destinations.


Island Description

Rottnest Island, a low-lying island is a nature reserve (no cars permitted) which attracts many visitors and holidaymakers. It is 11km long from east to west and up to 5km across. It has a varied coastline with numerous inlets and bathing beaches and many inland lakes.

The Dutch navigator Willem de Vlamingh landed on the island in 1696 and pronounced it an earthly paradise. Taking the little rock wallabies or quokkas for rats, he named the island Rottnest ('rats' nest'). From 1838 to 1903 it was used as a place of banishment for rebellious Aborigines.

The Quad, an octagonal limestone building with a large inner courtyard, was built in 1864 as a prison. The cells, after renovation, are now holiday apartments. The nearby Rottnest Hotel, also built in 1864, was originally the summer residence of the governor of Western Australia; the hotel is popularly known as the Quokka Arms.

The Rottnest Museum, housed in a barn and threshing mill of 1857, has collections of historical material and relics of shipwrecks.

Most of the little limestone houses round the harbor at the east end of the island were built by convict labor. They are among the oldest buildings in Western Australia.

The island has good surfaced roads and walking trails and a range of sports facilities (tennis, golf, bowling, bicycle and boat hire). Safe swimming and fishing in the shelter of the offshore reefs.

Hobbies & Activities category: Beach; Fishing opportunity; Swimming & water activities; Hiking opportunity; Historical museum; Hotel of note; Natural area; Nautical museum or attraction; Region with significant interests Great Barrier Reef Resort -Luxury rainforest resort, Australia Perfect beach Lodgings in Cairns AU




Just offshore from Perth, Rottnest Island is where the locals go to swim at white-sand beaches, snorkel in turquoise water over coral gardens and shipwrecks, or kick back and go fishing.

Rotto, as it's called locally, is a car-free zone, which adds to its relaxed feel. And with 63 sheltered beaches to choose from, the island is refreshingly uncrowded.

Hiring a bike is the best way to get around and find those secluded beaches and secret surf spots on the other side of the island.

There's also a free hop-on-hop-off bus service, as well as guided tours exploring the early colonial buildings, lighthouse and the island’s crucial role in World War I and II.

Why not take a journey back in time with the Wadjemup Aboriginal Bus Tour? Discover the island’s fascinating history as a place of great spiritual significance and hear the stories of Aboriginal prisoners once held at the penal colony.

Attractions include guided walking tours, scenic flights, a family fun park, the Rottnest Museum, as well as tennis, lawn bowls and golf.

Have a go at kayaking, diving, surfing, boogie boarding or fishing.

You can get up close and personal with the island's indigenous flora and fauna, enjoy a bit of quokka spotting or just kick back and soak up the scenery.

There's something to suit everyone's budget, from beachfront villas to tent sites.

Rottnest has a la carte restaurants, a hotel, a general store, take-away outlets and a cafe.

Or just grab a snack from Rotto's famous bakery and head to the beach.

End your stay watching the sunset over a glass of red at the Quokka Arms pub, boasting one of the best beach-side views in the world.

Rottnest is an easy day trip from Perth and Fremantle or a relaxing holiday spot.

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Hurricane Felicia is getting stronger

MIAMI — Hurricane Felicia is getting stronger far out in the Pacific and is expected to absorb a weakened Tropical Storm Enrique.

The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Felicia’s maximum sustained winds Wednesday have increased to near 105 mph. Felicia is expected to become a major hurricane later Wednesday.

Felicia is centered about 1,365 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and is moving west-northwest near 12 mph.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Enrique has maximum sustained winds near 50 mph and is expected to weaken and be absorbed by Felicia. Enrique is centered about 825 miles west-southwest of Baja California and is moving west-northwest near 15 mph.

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Human Dog Hybrid Photo

The Human/Dog Hybrid photos that resurface and make the rounds every now and then on email sharing lists and blogs are back. I remember seeing this photo shared a few years ago.

The human dog hybrid is a real photograph, not shopped, of one of the works of Australian sculptor, Patricia Piccinini. It’s her interpertation of what a creature would look like if human and animal DNA were successfully combined. The sculpture is actually from 2002-2003 and it’s name is “The Young Family” and is part of a larger collection of work called “We Are Family.”

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Dunhuang, China

Dunhuang City is located at the west part of Hexi Corridor, Gansu Province. It was called Shazhou (sandbank) in ancient time.

Dunhuang City is famous for its historical culture of China and an important ancient city on Silk Road in ancient time. The snow melt water of the Qilian Mountain covered with a expanse of white snow, flows into the Dang River, along which the green land has formed gradually.

When the prefecture was established here from the Han Dynasty, Dunhuang then became the hub of communication, junction of economic and cultural exchange in Gobi Desert between China and western countries and the starting point of three Silk Roads leading to Xiyu (western regions, a Han Dynasty term for the area west of Yumenguan, including what is now Xinjiang and parts of Central Asia). The silk and China invented paper of the Han Dynasty were disseminated from Dunhuang to Persia and Europe passing through desert.

The Budhism of India was spread to the Central Plains (comprising the middle and lower reaches of the Huanghe River). Being as a gate of the Central Plains, Dunhuang received monks and priests of preaching religions from the west and Chinese monks seeking Sutra to India. At that time many temples and churches were established and the cave arts were introduced from India. In Dunhuang, not only lived national minorities of China, but also foreigners from Iran and India mingled with, thus being a prosperous metropolis bustling with activities.

The caves of Mogaoku have fused Budhist arts indigenous and alien, which reflect the achievements of ancient architecture, painting and sculpture. This is the treasure-house of arts, biggest and richest in content reserved in China now. Besides, there are places of historic interest and scenic beauty like Shazhou ancient city, Great Wall built in the Han Dynasty, Yangguan ancient city and Yumen Pass etc. The traditional famous specialties are Dunhuang carpet, Ming Mountain large dates, Zhiyan peach and grape etc. The main communication of Dunhuang City is highway. It has airliner connection with Lanzhou, Xi'an and Urumqi cities.

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Gobi Desert rare Buddhist relics found

Rare Buddhist treasures, not seen for more than 70 years, have been unearthed in the Gobi Desert.

The historic artefacts were buried in the 1930s during Mongolia's Communist purge, when hundreds of monasteries were looted and destroyed.

The relics include statues, art work, manuscripts and personal belongings of a famous 19th Century Buddhist master.

The leader of the search team, Michael Eisenriegler, described it as an "adventure of a lifetime".

A total of 64 crates of treasures were buried in the desert by a monk named Tudev, in an attempt to save them from the ransacking of the Mongolian and Soviet armies.

They belonged to Buddhist master Danzan Ravjaa and only Tudev knew where they were hidden. He passed on the secret to his grandson who dug up some of the boxes in the 1990s and opened a museum.

The current Austrian-Mongolian treasure hunt team found two more boxes. Mr Eisenriegler told the BBC World Service they were filled with "the most amazing Buddhist art objects".

"It is of tremendous value for Mongolian culture because Buddhism was almost extinct in the Communist times, especially in the 1930s.

"I'm totally exhausted right now but I'm also totally impressed with what I've seen."

The latest finds will be put on show at the Danzan Ravjaa Museum in Sainshand, 400km (250 miles) south of the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator.

About 20 boxes remain hidden in the desert.

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Olympiakos To Offer Allen Iverson $10 Million

The latest rumors out of the Euro-basketball world is that the Greek basketball club Olympiakos is set to offer Allen Iverson a 2-year deal worth an estimated $10 milllion. That deal would be the same proposed offer that Nate Robinson recently turned down and would be about equal to the NBA’s mid-level exception that NBA teams are offering him.

I’m sure Iverson’s feelings of not being wanted by any NBA squad might put this Olympiakos offer into serious consideration. If he accepted, Iverson would be an instant star overseas and would push Josh Childress’ European stardom back to just being that dude on the court with the ‘fro.

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Mystery vessel dug up in Jerusalem

Date: August 01 2009

An earthenware vessel from the time of Jesus Christ bearing a rare inscription has been found at a dig in Jerusalem.

‘‘It is possible that this type of vessel was used by Jesus to wash his hands before eating,’’ said Shimon Gibson, an archaeologist and author of The Final Days of Jesus.

Similar artefacts have been found at the dig just outside Jerusalem’s Old City, but what makes this one rare is the writing engraved on it. The letters — either ancient Hebrew or Aramaic — are legible, though the meaning of the 10 lines of text is yet to be deciphered.

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Mosquitoes deliver malaria 'vaccine' through bites

In a daring experiment in Europe, scientists used mosquitoes as flying needles to deliver a "vaccine" of live malaria parasites through their bites. The results were astounding: Everyone in the vaccine group acquired immunity to malaria; everyone in a non-vaccinated comparison group did not, and developed malaria when exposed to the parasites later.

The study was only a small proof-of-principle test, and its approach is not practical on a large scale. However, it shows that scientists may finally be on the right track to developing an effective vaccine against one of mankind's top killers. A vaccine that uses modified live parasites just entered human testing.

"Malaria vaccines are moving from the laboratory into the real world," Dr. Carlos Campbell wrote in an editorial accompanying the study in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. He works for PATH, the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, a Seattle-based global health foundation.

The new study "reminds us that the whole malaria parasite is the most potent immunizing" agent, even though it is harder to develop a vaccine this way and other leading candidates take a different approach, he wrote.

Malaria kills nearly a million people each year, mostly children under 5 and especially in Africa. Infected mosquitoes inject immature malaria parasites into the skin when they bite; these travel to the liver where they mature and multiply. From there, they enter the bloodstream and attack red blood cells — the phase that makes people sick.

People can develop immunity to malaria if exposed to it many times. The drug chloroquine can kill parasites in the final bloodstream phase, when they are most dangerous.

Scientists tried to take advantage of these two factors, by using chloroquine to protect people while gradually exposing them to malaria parasites and letting immunity develop.

They assigned 10 volunteers to a "vaccine" group and five others to a comparison group. All were given chloroquine for three months, and exposed once a month to about a dozen mosquitoes — malaria-infected ones in the vaccine group and non-infected mosquitoes in the comparison group.

That was to allow the "vaccine" effect to develop. Next came a test to see if it was working.

All 15 stopped taking chloroquine. Two months later, all were bitten by malaria-infected mosquitoes. None of the 10 in the vaccine group developed parasites in their bloodstreams; all five in the comparison group did.

The study was done in a lab at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and was funded by two foundations and a French government grant.

"This is not a vaccine" as in a commercial product, but a way to show how whole parasites can be used like a vaccine to protect against disease, said one of the Dutch researchers, Dr. Robert Sauerwein.

"It's more of an in-depth study of the immune factors that might be able to generate a very protective type of response," said Dr. John Treanor, a vaccine specialist at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, N.Y., who had no role in the study.

The concept already is in commercial development. A company in Rockville, Md. — Sanaria Inc. — is testing a vaccine using whole parasites that have been irradiated to weaken them, hopefully keeping them in an immature stage in the liver to generate immunity but not cause illness.

Two other reports in the New England Journal show that resistance is growing to artemisinin, the main drug used against malaria in the many areas where chloroquine is no longer effective. Studies in Thailand and Cambodia found the malaria parasite is less susceptible to artemisinin, underscoring the urgent need to develop a vaccine.

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