Pink Lake Hillier in Australia

Lake Hillier is a pink-colored lake on Middle Island, the largest of the islands and islets that make up the Recherche Archipelago, Western Australia. From above the lake appears a solid bubble gum pink. It is such a significant distinguishing feature of the archipelago that air passengers often crane their necks to take a glimpse of it.

The lake is about 600 meters long, and is surrounded by a rim of sand and a dense woodland of paperbark and eucalyptus trees. A narrow strip of sand dunes covered by vegetation separates it to the north from the Southern Ocean.

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Unlike other pink lakes in the world like the one in Retba and the salt ponds at San Francisco Bay, the pink color of Lake Hillier has not been decisively proved, although it is speculated that the color could arise from a dye created by the organisms Dunaliella salina and Halobacteria. Another hypothesis is that the pink color is due to red halophilic bacteria in the salt crusts. That the color is not a trick of light can be proved by taking water from the lake in a container – the pink color can be found to be permanent.

One of the first evidence of Middle Island's pink lake dates back to the journals of Matthew Flinders, a British navigator and hydrographer in 1802. Flinders had climbed Middle Island's highest peak (now known as Flinders Peak) to survey the surrounding waters when he came across this remarkable pink lake. Except for a few years when salt extraction was being carried out here, the island and its pink lake has been almost untouched and has since then provide visitors with one of the most amazing view of the world's natural wonder.

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Sources:  [Wikipedia, A Guide to Asia, Amusing Planet]

Mysterious Island with Isolated People - Enter And They'll Kill You

Bucket lists… we've all got em’, but they’re not all the same, but one thing that is sure to be on most peoples’ lists is having a private island. Richard Branson has one, we all want one, most of us will probably never get one.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though, after learning more about this Lord Of The Flies inspired island I’m quite happy in good old Blighty thanks.

Introducing the Sentinelese people. They’ve been kicking around this beautiful island for a whopping 60,000 years. They inhabit a tiny island in The Indian Ocean which is estimated to be approximately the size of Manhattan.

From the sky it appears to be an idyllic island with amazing beaches and a dense forest, but tourists or fishermen don’t dare to set foot on this outcrop in the Indian Ocean due to its inhabitants’ fearsome reputation.

Visitors who venture onto or too close to North Sentinel Island risk being attacked by members of the mysterious tribe who prefer to have zero contact with the outside world.

The tribe killed two men in 2006 who were fishing too close to their island, and have been known to fire arrows and fling rocks at low-flying planes or helicopters on reconnaissance missions.

Located in the Bay of Bengal, North Sentinel Island belongs to India and remains an enigma, despite being populated for an estimated 60,000 years.

Untouched by modern civilization, very little is known about the Sentinelese people, their language, their rituals and the island they call home.

It is too dangerous to approach them due to their hostility to outsiders, meaning they are rarely photographed up close and almost never seen on video. Most of the photos and video clips that do exist are of poor quality.

So if you ever hire a pedalo and go in search for untouched islands, best to avoid this one, these guys don’t take kindly to outsiders.

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6 Deadliest Tourist Attractions In The World

People risk their lives every year to get a thrill at these crazy vacation spots. 

These tourist spots and hikes take thrills to a whole new level. Visitors literally risk their lives just for a sense of adventure. 

1.El Caminito Del Rey, Spain 

See this tiny little steel path with no handrails? Yep, that’s a hundred foot drop if you accidentally trip. Parts of the pathway have even crumbled, and yet people still flock to it to get their thrills. 

2. Alnwick Gardens, United Kingdom

This garden is full of plants that can actually kill you. Visitors are kept at a safe distance, but some have still fainted from the toxic fumes in the air. 

3.Hua Shan Plank Path Walk, China

This trail is literally a leap of faith. Many climb it to get to the temples atop the mountain. The picture speaks for itself when I tell you it’s the most dangerous hike in the world. There are some areas where there aren’t even any planks and you just have to wedge your feet onto the cracks of the mountain face. Some say that 100 people die every year on the path, although there are no official statistics. 

4.Yosemite National Park’s Half Dome 

This day long climb ends with this terrifying cliff that you have to scale. 60 people have died on it. Two hikers who fell in 2011 had their bodies swept away by the rapid waters below. Not only do you have to worry about falling, lightening has also struck the mountain face. Anyone else reminded of the wall on Game of Thrones?

5.Mount Pinatubo, Philippines

In 1991, Mount Pinatubo erupted unexpectedly and took with it 800 lives. Again in 1992, it erupted and killed 72 people. And yet people still come from all over to hike the crater lake. That’s a big NOPE for me. 

6.Angel’s Landing, Zion National Park 

The climb is fairly difficult, but the danger comes from the high volume of people up on the narrow cliff top with sheer drops on each side. 

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10 Mysterious Mummies From Around The World

Many people associate mummies with ancient Egypt, but the mummification is a process that was used world-wide in ancient times.

In this article we take a look at some of the most mysterious mummies we have come across.

Some of them are truly unique and make scientists scratch their heads.



In 2000, a strange story was published in the Egyptian magazine Rose El-Yussuf. According to the magazine's writer, in the 80s, the French Egyptologist, Louis Caparat, discovered a secret chamber with a crystal container (tomb) inside the Great Pyramid of Cheops. In the container (tomb), there was lying an alien humanoid that appeared to be in a dormant state. The scientist also found an ancient papyrus which described a meeting of the alien with Pharaoh Khufu (2589-2566 B.C.), commonly known as Cheops.

Further, the ancient document informed that some day in the future, the alien's space-traveling species would arrive from the stars.

The alien also made a suggestion regarding the construction of a pyramid as his resting place

  

2. America's Mysterious Pedro Mountain Mummy                                                           In 1932 when Cecil Main and Frank Carr were digging for gold in the San Pedro Mountains about 60 miles southwest of Casper, Wyoming, they discovered the strange story of a curious very small mummy that later became known as the Pedro Mummy.

The small size and the features of the ancient body indicated it could once have been a member of the hidden race of the Little People living in America.

Many ancient Native American legends tell of a group of beings that are commonly referred to as the Little People. These small beings are sometimes said to me spirits, magicians, ferocious dwarves, fairies, or devils, depending on the tribe's original folklore.

After the discovery of the Pedro mummy, the legends of the Nimerigar were brought to life again.

Is it possible the Pedro mummy was once a member of the Little People?

 

3. Forgotten Mysterious Mini-Mummy Discovered In Ancient Egyptian Tomb

This is an astonishing discovery archaeologists made a while back and there are still many unanswered questions. How and why did this mysterious mini-woman end up in an ancient Egyptian tomb? Was she a woman of high power and influence? Did she play an important role in the ancient Egyptian society?

The mummy, measuring just 3.2 feet (97 centimeters) dates back to the Roman era. She was discovered in a 2,000-year-old tomb in the Bahariya Oasis, about 225 miles southwest of Cairo.

Archaeologist Mahmoud Afifi, who headed the dig, said she was covered in intricately molded plaster that shows her wearing a tunic, headscarf, necklace, bracelet and shoes. She was dressed in Roman robes and scientists think that the burial style indicates she belonged to Egypt's long period of Roman rule, from 31 B.C. until the Arab invasions of the 7th century.

We nay never know the true identity of the mini-woman discovered in the mysterious tomb.

 

4. The Blinking Mummy Rosalía Lombardo
Known as the Girl in the Glass Coffin or Sleeping Beauty, Rosalía Lombardo is widely considered one of the best preserved mummies in the world. The girl died in 1920 at the age of two of pneumonia in 1920. Rosalia's father was so sorely grieved upon her death that he approached Dr. Alfredo Salafia, a noted embalmer and taxidermist, to preserve her. She was one of the last corpses to be admitted to the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo, Sicily where about 8,000 mummies are being kept. She soon became one of the most well-known.

Her preservation is such that it appears as if she were only sleeping.

According to the Peruvian journal El Comercio, scientists interested in learning more about the embalming techniques employed in Rosalía's body put a camera inside her sarcophagus, capable of taking pictures every 60 seconds. What happened next came as a surprise. The images taken by the camera seemed to show the little mummy's blue intact eyes were opening and closing several times every day. This weird phenomenon has been the subject of various speculations for some years.


 

5. The Mystery Of Ancient Egypt’s Red Haired Mummies
Do we really know, genetically speaking, where the so called dynastic Egyptians came from? Some presume they were exclusively of black African origin, while others speculate that they came from lands to the east, were of a complex racial mix, or in fact had as their source Egypt itself.

Can we tell, based on the facial features of sculptures such as this, presumably of Rameses II, an idea of his ethnic ancestry? What is perhaps far more curious is the presence of mummies from ancient Egypt that had red, and in some cases even blonde hair.

 

6. Mysterious "Perfectly Preserved" 300-Year-Old Mummy Baffles Archaeologists
Archaeologists have made yet another incredible discovery. When experts opened a 300 year-old coffin they found perfectly preserved body! What happened next is somewhat of a mystery and archaeologists have begun an investigation. Inside the tomb were three coffins. Two of the coffins contained remains bodies that had reduced to skeletons. The third coffin contained a mummy that had an unusually well-preserved body


 

7. Lady Of The Mask: Wari Mummy With Faked Blue Eyes
The Lady of the Mask, a Wari mummy is extraordinary because of her faked blue eyes. It is a face you don't forget easily. The Wari people lived in the Andean highlands of central Peru, but their influence reached beyond the highlands to the Pacific coastline.

The Wari culture is believed to have flourished D 600-1000, meaning before the Incas. Unfortunately these people never developed a written language and left no inscriptions that would provide critical clues to their customs and beliefs.

A 1,300-year-old-mummy unearthed by archaeologists excavating a pyramid in Peru's capital city Lima could in time reveal the secrets of this lost culture. The mummy is assumed to be a noblewoman because of the ornate mask - was found in a crouching position surrounded by ceramics and textiles 

8. Remarkable Mummy Reveals Dwarfs Lived 5,000 Years Ago In The City Of Makhunik
Some archaeologists have suggested that the city of Makhunik was once inhabited by ancient dwarfs. Others are denying the possibility. Makhunik is an an ancient Iranian city unearthed in Shahdad, Kerman province. Nobody thought an ancient civilization could exist in this desert until 1946. Scientific and archeological excavations were conducted in this region during 1948-56. Cemeteries belonging to 2nd and 3rd millennium BC and copper furnaces were discovered during eight excavation phases. Relics discovered in Shahdad's cemeteries included numerous potteries and brassware.

A significant aspect about Shahdad is the strange architecture of the houses, alleys and equipment discovered. The walls, ceiling, furnaces, shelves and all the equipments could only be used by dwarfs. After the discovery of City of Dwarfs in Shahdad and stories about peoples who lived there, rumors circulated about the discovery of a dwarf's remains. The latest case pertained to the discovery of a dwarf mummy with a height of 25 cm


 

9. Bizarre Mummy With Giant Head Discovered In Peru
A very strange abnormal-looking mummy with giant head has been unearthed in Peru. The discovery was made in the Cuzco region, the heart of Incan civilization. Researchers find the mummy extremely odd. The mummy simply does not fit in with the version of history that we have all been taught. The mummy's head is triangular and its eye cavities are very big. "It's 20 inches tall, which doesn't coincide with the stereotypes of humans. It's head is triangular and the eye cavities are too big.

The lower front part of the jaw has a kind of fin that doesn't exist in any ethnicity in the world.

 

10. 2600-Year-Old Mummy With A Metal Screw In The Leg
An ancient nine-inch metal screw found in the 2600-year-old mummy of an Egyptian priest Usermontu's leg became a worldwide sensation. The discovery was made in 1996. Dr. Wilfred Griggs, Egyptologist and a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University was doing research on mummy DNA in the six resident mummies on display in the Museum, when an X-ray revealed a metal screw near the kneecap of Usermontu. ("DNA Research Conducted on Egyptian Museum Mummies," Rosicrucian Digest, 1995)

The metal screw, connecting the mummy's thigh and lower leg, is now attracting worldwide attention because it is believed to be the first known example of ancient limb reattachment. This particular mummy was acquired by the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in 1971

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Tallest Water Slide in the World

After several months of delays, Verruckt, the world’s tallest water slide, is set to open Thursday in Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kan.

At a little more than 168 feet high, the ride is taller than New York’s Statue of Liberty. It was to have opened at the end of last month, but a mechanical issue scrubbed those plans. That issue has been addressed, spokeswoman Winter Prosapio said Tuesday morning.


"We want you to feel like you're coming out of a cannon and getting shot out and then falling straight down," water park designer Jeff Henry of Texas said in a June 29 Travel Channel show called "Xtreme Waterparks."Here's how the ride unfolds: Thrill-seekers climb nearly 300 steps to the top, clamber onto a four-person raft then plunge downward at more than 50 mph. They are then hauled up a 55-story hill and sail downward again, landing with a splash in a pool of water.


Guinness World Records representatives visited the Verruckt slide in April to certify it as the tallest water slide on the globe at 17 stories -- 168 feet and 7 inches tall.

     ++ Watch Video Here++

                           

"The ride is extremely complex," Prosapio told the Los Angeles Times after a problem with the conveyer that hauls the 100-pound rafts to the top of the slide scotched the start.

The various bumps on the road to completing the slide are detailed in the Travel Channel feature. The city also required additional time to approve the permit for this gargantuan endeavor. Rain, snow, even tornadoes interfered with construction.

Just after Guinness visited the park in April, the ride’s design had to be changed after some test rafts went flying through the air and crashed to the ground.

A county-state agency inspected the ride for structural soundness, Kansas City, Mo., TV station KMBC News reported. Rider safety is not part of that inspection.

There are "very few, if any, rules in the state of Kansas" governing rider safety at theme parks, Edwin Birch, spokesman for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., told KMBC.

Prosapio said the park and Verruckt were required to meet all local codes and building requirements but that Schlitterbahn abided by national guidelines related to waterpark rides.

"This ride is almost a hybrid between a waterpark ride and a roller coaster, so we are going with the more conservative waterpark guidelines," she said.

Prosapio said a media preview would take place Wednesday morning and that the park had been sending test riders in the last few days "even in bikinis."

In a promo for the Travel Channel show, above, a camera provides a first-person point of view of the ride.

Will you be lining up to ride Verruckt?

LA Times

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17 Magical Houses Taken Straight From A Fairy Tale

It’s often said that home is where the heart is, but I’m sure that most of us would easily fall in love with these fairytale cottages and leave our old homes behind in a heartbeat.

What goes in to making a fairytale cottage? First of all, it’s clear that you need a rural setting, preferably a forest with witches and wolves or fairies and elves hiding behind every tree and rock.

Then there’s the cottage itself. Some of these are based on historical styles while others feature fantastic designs found only in their creators’ imaginations. However, even the ones with realistic architectural elements still stand with one foot in reality and the other in a fairy tale.

Arguably the most interesting cottages among these, however, are the ones that are most committed to the realm of fantasy. Wild and strange curves, ornate forms, curling roofs and little stone pathways are what truly make a cottage look like it was torn from the pages of a fairy tale!

Hobbit House In Wales, UK

Image credits: simondale.net

Fairy Tale Cottage in Canada

Image credits: jamesbirkbeckart.tumblr.com

Three Story Treehouse in British Columbia, Canada

Image credits: imgur.com

Nautilus House in Mexico





Image credits: Arquitectura Organica

Hobbit House in New Zealand

Image credits: Ian Brodie

The Seashell House in Mexico









Image credits: airbnb.com

Rustic Way Whimsical House in Minnesota



Image credits: rusticway.com

Dome Home in Thailand



Image credits: steveareen.com

Stone House in Portugal

Image credits: jsome1


Image credits: VRfoto

Akebono Kodomo-no-mori Park in Japan

Image credits: yui kubo

Forest House in Netherlands

Image credits: panoramio.com

Abandoned Wooden House in Russia

Image credits: Andrew Qzmn

Tiny Victorian Cottage in the Catskills, New York




Image credits: myshabbystreamsidestudio.blogspot.com

Crazy House in Vietnam

Image credits: thedailybeast.com

Traditional House in Iceland

Image credits: Filippo Bianchi

Maison de Sorcière Avec Ciel d’orage in France

Image credits: panoramio.com

Tea House Tetsu in Yamanashi, Japan

Image credits: Terunobu Fujimori

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