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Diving deeper into generosity: Cave diver's charitable gift shines a light on giving back

<p>Josh lives in Adelaide and is an avid cave diver, loves writing funny books about science, and spends a lot of time reading and studying online. He recently chose to include a gift to Lifeline Australia when writing his Will online with Safewill.</p> <p>“It was an incredibly easy decision to make,” says Josh. “As soon as I saw it was possible to allocate a portion of my estate as a charitable donation, I thought it was a perfect idea, and when Lifeline popped up as a recommended charity, I remembered the times when friends and family had so desperately needed their support - it was as easy as clicking the Lifeline logo.”</p> <p>For a lot of people, writing a Will can feel confronting and daunting. Josh explains how he approached it.</p> <p>“I had been putting off doing my Will for a while now and had brought home Will packs previously thinking I'd get to it eventually. COVID-19 triggered fear in many people around me, and I've had several close calls with diving accidents over the last few years, so I figured it was long overdue. It turned out to be much easier than expected - I already had a sense of what I wanted to happen when I pass away, so filling it out online concisely made the whole process remarkably quick and painless.</p> <p>“For me, a Will is less about enforcing my wishes and more about making things easier for the folks I leave behind. Instead of having loved ones wonder or argue over what I would have wanted, I've laid it all down in clear terms. They might still disagree with different elements of my Will when it's executed, but the important thing is that I don't cause additional grief by leaving ambiguous directions.”</p> <p>Josh was previously unaware that he could leave gifts to charity in his Will. “I certainly didn't think it was an option,” he says. “Until Safewill asked if I wanted to allocate a portion of my estate to charity, I'd never really given it much thought and figured I'd never have enough to make it worth mentioning. I knew how much donations are appreciated, I'd just never connected the dots to realise that what I leave behind could also go towards helping organisations I value.”</p> <p>Josh shares what he’d say if someone was considering leaving a gift to Lifeline in their Will.</p> <p>“They’ll be helping a much wider range of people than if they simply gave everything to their partner or family. As important as our loved ones are, we're ultimately all on the same team when it comes to humanity, so why not support those in need regardless of if you know them or not?”</p> <p>By leaving a gift in his Will to Lifeline, Josh wants to help create a world for people who might be struggling where they can get the support they need when they need it. “We all struggle in different ways, but for many just getting up and surviving the day can be the hardest part. We're incredibly lucky to have an organisation like Lifeline that is there for anyone to reach out to and get support whenever they need it.”</p> <p>Lifeline Australia is a national charity providing people in Australia experiencing emotional distress with access to 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention services. Lifeline exists to ensure that no person in Australia has to face their darkest moments alone.</p> <p>Lifeline has partnered with Safewill to offer you the opportunity to <strong><a href="https://safewill.com//lifelineaus?utm_content=ptnr&amp;utm_source=over60&amp;utm_medium=enewsletter&amp;utm_campaign=lifelineaus_sep_2023_iac_week_over60_newsletter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">write your Will online for free this Include a Charity Week</a></strong>, which runs from the 4th – 10th September and is dedicated to raising awareness of how anyone can make a lasting impact to causes that they care about through a gift in their Will. Your Will will be reviewed by their affiliate law firm, Safewill Legal, to ensure it has been filled out correctly, and comes with a year of free and unlimited updates.</p> <p>While making a Will online may not be for everyone, particularly those with complex estates, thousands more Australians have been able to write a Will within the comfort of their own home in just 20 minutes.</p> <p>Safewill's online Will-writing service allows you to appoint guardians for your children, set out how you want to divide your estate and leave gifts to charities that mean the most to you - like Lifeline.</p> <p>After you've provided for those closest to you, leaving a gift to Lifeline is a lasting and meaningful way that you can have an impact for years to come. Even 1% of your estate can help save lives and prevent suicides in future generations.</p> <p>If you would like to learn more, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Lifeline Australia’s Gifts in Wills Specialist Abi Steiner via email at <a href="mailto:GiftsInWills@lifeline.org.au">GiftsInWills@lifeline.org.au</a> or phone on 1800 800 768.</p> <p><em>Images: Supplied. </em></p> <p><em>This is a sponsored article written in partnership with Lifeline Australia.</em></p>

Caring

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‘Good soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living’: a (condensed) history of soup, from cave to can

<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/garritt-c-van-dyk-1014186">Garritt C Van Dyk</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</a></em></p> <p>Hot soup on a cold day brings warmth and comfort so simple that we don’t think too much about its origins. But its long history runs from the Stone Age and antiquity through to modernity, encompassing the birth of the restaurant, advances in chemistry, and a famous pop art icon.</p> <p>The basic nature of soup has a fundamental appeal that feels primordial – because it is.</p> <p><a href="https://www.academia.edu/12384834/2015_Speth_When_Did_Humans_Learn_to_Boil_">Archaeologists</a> speculate the first soup might have been made by Neanderthals, boiling animal bones to extract fat essential for their diet and drinking the broth. Without the fats, their high intake of lean animal meats could have led to protein poisoning, so stone age soup was an important complement to primeval nutrition.</p> <p>The fundamental benefit of these bone broths is confirmed by archaeological discoveries around the world, ranging from a gelatin broth in <a href="https://www.archaeology.org/issues/317-1811/trenches/7056-trenches-egypt-giza-livestock-bones">Egypt’s Giza plateau</a>, to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11981666">Shaanxi Province</a> in China.</p> <p>The widespread distribution of archaeological finds is a reminder soup not only has a long history, but is also a global food.</p> <p>Today, our idea of soup is more refined, but the classic combination of stock and bread is embedded in the Latin root of the verb <em>suppāre</em>, meaning “to soak”.</p> <p>As a noun, <em>suppa</em> became <em>soupe</em> in Old French, meaning bread soaked in broth, and <em><a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary/MED41830/track?counter=1&amp;search_id=24326280">sowpes</a></em> in Middle English. This pairing was also an economical way of reclaiming stale bread and thickening a thin broth. Wealthier households might have toasted fresh bread for the dish, but less prosperous diners used up stale bread that was too hard to chew unless softened in the hot liquid.</p> <h2>From rustic to creamy</h2> <p>New ideas about science and digestion in 17th century France promoted <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340977432_The_Transformative_Influence_of_La_Varenne's_Le_Cuisinier_Francois_1651_on_French_Culinary_Practice">natural flavours</a> and thick, rustic preparations gave way to the creamy and velvety smooth soups we know today.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527415/original/file-20230522-21-dcc0ot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527415/original/file-20230522-21-dcc0ot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527415/original/file-20230522-21-dcc0ot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527415/original/file-20230522-21-dcc0ot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527415/original/file-20230522-21-dcc0ot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527415/original/file-20230522-21-dcc0ot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527415/original/file-20230522-21-dcc0ot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527415/original/file-20230522-21-dcc0ot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="People line up for soup" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">The Soup Kitchen, Antonio de Puga, ca. 1630.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Museo de Arte de Ponce</span></span></figcaption></figure> <p>New versions of the liquid food were developed by early modern European chefs, such as the <a href="https://archive.org/details/lenouveaucuisini01mass/page/138/mode/2up">seafood bisque</a>, extracting flavour from the shells of crustaceans.</p> <p>The first restaurant as we understand them today opened in Paris in 1765, and was immortalised for a <a href="https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9785063s/f167.item.r=sante">simple broth</a>, a clear soup made from bone broth and fresh herbs.</p> <p><a href="https://www.rebeccalspang.org/invention-of-the-restaurant">Mathurin Roze de Chantoiseau</a>, the original French restaurateur, created a new type of public space where weary diners could regain their lost appetites and soothe their delicate nerves at all hours.</p> <p>It may appear to be a contradiction that the first restaurant specifically catered to clients who had lost their appetites, yet it seems perfectly natural soup was the cure.</p> <h2>Easy and affordable</h2> <p>Soup was not destined to be limited to fancy restaurants or the long simmering stock pots of peasants. Modern science made it convenient and less expensive for home cooks.</p> <p>In 1897, a chemist at the Campbell soup company, John Dorrance, developed a <a href="https://www.campbellsoupcompany.com/about-us/our-story/campbell-history/">condensed canned soup</a> that dramatically reduced the water content. The new method halved the cost of shipping and made canned soup an affordable meal anyone could prepare.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527409/original/file-20230522-17-ts8u8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527409/original/file-20230522-17-ts8u8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527409/original/file-20230522-17-ts8u8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=387&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527409/original/file-20230522-17-ts8u8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=387&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527409/original/file-20230522-17-ts8u8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=387&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527409/original/file-20230522-17-ts8u8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=486&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527409/original/file-20230522-17-ts8u8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=486&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527409/original/file-20230522-17-ts8u8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=486&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="Painting of men at a table" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">Lunch (The Soup, Version II), Albin Egger-Lienz, 1910.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Leopold Museum, Vienna</span></span></figcaption></figure> <p>This revolutionary achievement was recognised at the 1900 Paris Exposition, winning an award for product excellence. Winning the prize was an achievement considering the competition at the world fair. The other technological advances exhibited at the turn of the century included the diesel engine, “talking” films, dry cell batteries and the Paris Metro.</p> <p>The bronze medallion from 1900 still appears on the iconic red and white label, made famous by pop artist Andy Warhol’s <a href="https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/andy-warhol-campbells-soup-cans-1962/">32 Campbell Soup Cans</a> (1962).</p> <p>In his work, Warhol appropriated images from consumer culture and the media ordinary people would instantly recognise, from Coca-Cola bottles to Marilyn Monroe. In his famous soup painting, 32 canvases – one for each flavour of soup – are lined up like cans on a supermarket shelf.</p> <p>Some <a href="https://warhol.netx.net/portals/warhol-exhibitions/#asset/108496">interpretations</a> consider this a commentary on the link between art and consumerism, emphasising the ordinary quality of the everyday object. The artist may also have been influenced by his personal eating habits – he claimed he had <a href="https://whitney.org/collection/works/5632">soup for lunch</a> every day for 20 years.</p> <h2>‘One of the prime ingredients of good living’</h2> <p>A steady diet of soup is not guaranteed to inspire famous art, but its appeal is universal. Soup can be humble or fancy, cutting across cultures and classes.</p> <p>Deceptively simple, the warmth and comfort of soup provide a temporary refuge from the winter chill, comforting the diner from the inside.</p> <p>The French chef Auguste Escoffier, famous for enshrining the five basic “<a href="https://www.escoffieronline.com/our-guide-to-escoffiers-5-mother-sauces/">mother sauces</a>” in French cuisine, raised soups to perfection in the early 20th century, developing refined preparations that remain classics today.</p> <p>Escoffier, <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Escoffier.html?id=JFIDd639wlQC&amp;redir_esc=y">known as</a> “the king of chefs and the chef of kings”, had very <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/A_Guide_to_Modern_Cookery/KCbkcXHj7qoC?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;dq=escoffier+guide+culinaire&amp;printsec=frontcover">high standards</a> for soup, claiming “of all the items on the menu, soup is that which exacts the most delicate perfection”.</p> <p>An Austrian apprentice of Escoffier, Louis P. De Gouy, was chef at the Waldorf Astoria for 30 years and wrote 13 cookbooks.</p> <p>He summed up the appeal of soup in a <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/The_Soup_Book/1tNmDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;printsec=frontcover">volume</a> dedicated to the dish with over 700 recipes:</p> <blockquote> <p>Good soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living. For soup can do more to lift the spirits and stimulate the appetite than any other one dish.</p> </blockquote> <p>From Neanderthal broth to pop art icon, this humble pantry staple has a rich and vibrant history, giving us both nourishment and food for thought.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205656/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/garritt-c-van-dyk-1014186">Garritt C Van Dyk</a>, Lecturer, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/good-soup-is-one-of-the-prime-ingredients-of-good-living-a-condensed-history-of-soup-from-cave-to-can-205656">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Food & Wine

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Thai cave rescue survivor dies aged just 17

<p>Duangphet Promthep, one of 12 boys who was rescued along with their soccer coach from the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system in northern Thailand, has died. </p> <p>Duangphet was found unconscious in his dormitory on Sunday, and sadly passed away two days later. While the exact cause of death is unknown at this time, reports from the United Kingdom suggest he had suffered a head injury. </p> <p>Duangphet had only been enrolled in Leicester’s Brooke House College Football Academy since late 2022. </p> <p>Thai non-profit organisation Zico Foundation, which had assisted him in getting a scholarship to study in England, shared its condolences on Facebook. </p> <p>“Zico Foundation would like to express its condolences and condolence for the passing away of Little Dom Duangphet Phromthep,” they wrote of Duangphet, who also went by the name ‘Dom’, “a student of Zico Foundation.”</p> <p>When Duangphet was only 13 years old, he was trapped with his soccer team - the Wild Boars soccer team of which he was captain - and their squad’s assistant coach for over two weeks in a cave system known as the ‘Great Cave of the Sleeping Lady'. </p> <p>The twelve boys were between the ages 11 and 16, and 4 kilometres into their fateful adventure, when rising floodwaters prevented their escape from Thailand’s fourth-largest cave system. </p> <p>It was an international effort to save the boys and their coach, with a search and rescue mission that spanned over two weeks, with divers from Thailand and from overseas stepping in to help. </p> <p>Some of the boys who were with him in those terrifying times shared their condolences on social media as news of his passing broke around the world. </p> <p>“Brother, you told me that we would be achieving our football dream,” wrote Titan Chanin Viboonrungruan. “If the next world is real, I want us to play football together again, my brother Dom.”</p> <p>“You told me to wait and see you play for the national team, I always believed that you would do it," Prachak Sutham said. "When we met the last time before you left for England, I even jokingly told you that when you come back, I would have to ask for your autograph.</p> <p>"Sleep well, my dear friend. We will always have 13 of us together."</p> <p>In a statement, Duangphet’s school principal Ian Smith said, “this event has left our college community deeply saddened and shaken.</p> <p>“We unite in grief with all of Dom's family, friends, former teammates and those involved in all parts of his life, as well as everyone affected in any way by this loss in Thailand and throughout the college's global family."</p> <p>Dom’s mother joined an online news conference and shared her hope that a Buddhist monk in England would be able to conduct rites for Duangphet.</p> <p>In that same conference, former Thai national soccer team coach and the Zico Foundation’s chairman Kiatisuk Senamuang, described his shock at the news of Duangphet’s passing. </p> <p>“My thoughts are with his family and friends,' he said, fighting tears. 'I think back to his dream of becoming a professional footballer, representing his country and his voice keeps speaking in my head.”</p> <p>He went on to explain that as far as he knew, Duangphet had been healthy, as a full health check had been performed in order for Duangphet to obtain his student visa. While his cause of death is currently unknown, an investigation into the cause will likely take place, and hopefully provide his loved ones with closure in this tragic time. </p> <p><em>Image: Facebook</em></p> <p> </p>

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Nick Cave’s son has passed away at 31

<p dir="ltr">Australian rocker Nick Cave has confirmed that his eldest son, Jethro Lazenby, has passed away at 31 years old.</p> <p dir="ltr">In a statement with multiple media outlets in the early hours on Tuesday morning, Cave asked for privacy for the family in the wake of the tragic news.</p> <p dir="ltr">“With much sadness, I can confirm that my son, Jethro, has passed away,” Cave wrote. “We would be grateful for family privacy at this time.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Jethro’s cause of death hasn’t been confirmed.</p> <p dir="ltr">Born in 1991 to Melbourne-based model Beau Lazenby, Jethro reportedly didn’t meet his father until he was seven and spent his early years in Australia, per <em><a href="https://celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/jethro-lazenby-dead-nick-cave-confirms-death-of-model-son-jethro-lazenby/d1885777-5976-461d-ba5e-82f16b26357f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">9Honey</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">After moving to the United Kingdom, Jethro began a career in modelling.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was difficult at the time, but it turned out great in the end,” Cave told <em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/feb/23/popandrock.features" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian</a></em> of their relationship in 2018.</p> <p dir="ltr">“To my eternal regret I didn’t make much contact with Jethro in the early years. I now have a great relationship with him.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Jethro’s death comes just two days after he was reportedly released from jail after pleading guilty to one count of unlawful assault against his mother, and was due to return to court this month for sentencing.</p> <p dir="ltr">It is also the second time Cave and Lazenby have lost one of their children to an early death, after their son, Arthur, suffered a fatal brain injury in 2015 after falling off a cliff near the family’s Brighton home in the UK.</p> <p dir="ltr">Arthur, 15, was found unconscious by passersby who attempted CPR. After he was airlifted to a local hospital, he was pronounced dead.</p> <p dir="ltr">Cave and Lazenby also share a 21-year-old son, Earl, who is Arthur’s twin, while Cave shares a 30-year-old son with his ex-wife, Brazilian journalist Viviane Carneiro.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-9fbba14c-7fff-c902-1016-db63e9be7ec5"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @jethrocave (Instagram)</em></p>

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Is this the world’s oldest drawing?

<div> <div class="copy"> <p>A faint, red, cross-hatched design discovered in a cave in South Africa just might be the oldest known drawing in history, researchers say.</p> <p><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0514-3" target="_blank">In a paper</a> published in the journal Nature, a team led by Christopher Henshilwood from the University of Bergen in Norway reveals the discovery of a decorated piece of stone – of a type known as silcrete – excavated at an archaeological site called Blombos Cave, 300 kilometres east of Cape Town.</p> <p>The stone flake features a cross-hatched pattern, which the researchers say microscopic and chemical analysis confirms was applied deliberately with an ochre “crayon” fashioned into a tip between one and three millimetres wide.</p> <p>The design – which has been dubbed the world’s first hashtag – might originally have been part of a larger, more complex piece.</p> <p>The sediment layer in which the decorated stone was recovered has been reliably dated as 73,000 years old. The find is highly significant, because it pre-dates the earliest known abstract and figurative drawings discovered in Africa, Europe and southeast Asia by at least 30,000 years.</p> <p>Henshilwood and his colleagues note that the same sediment layer in the Blombos Cave has previously yielded other artefacts, including shell beads.</p> <p>The latest find, they write, “demonstrates the ability of early Homo sapiens in southern Africa to produce graphic designs on various media using different techniques”.</p> <em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></div> <div id="contributors"> <p><em>This article was originally published on <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/archaeology/is-this-the-worlds-oldest-drawing/" target="_blank">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Andrew Masterson. </em></p> </div> </div>

Art

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Archaeologists baffled by ‘mystical’ find in Scottish cave

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though mummies are mostly associated with ancient Egypt, archeologists have found evidence suggesting mummification also took place on Scottish shores.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The team of researchers explored the Coversea Caves, just north of Inverness, with their exploits captured by the Smithsonian Channel’s documentary, </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://youtu.be/jV9dIhAn0Zg" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mystic Britain: Mummies</span></a></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The caves are among Scotland’s most impenetrable caverns, but evidence suggests that Bronze Age Britons made the “hazardous journey time and time again carrying the bodies of their dead”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“For prehistoric people to make the effort and to make the journey would have been really arduous to do,” said Dr Lindsey Buster, a researcher at the University of Edinburgh.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“When archaeologists first started excavating here, the floor was strewn with human bones.”</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844377/mummies1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/cd4d07e5cece43f98dac6f01c7867e14" /></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Smithsonian Channel / YouTube</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Unlike bones previously found in Britain, these bones still had fragments of soft tissue on them.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s not something we expect when we’re excavating a site that’s 3000 years old,” Dr Buster added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“That’s a really significant find.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It is possible that these bones once belonged to a fully-fleshed corpse that had been preserved in the unique conditions in the cave.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844378/mummies2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/9b3a3dadecad4377b3c1c426a3dbaa70" /></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Traces of ligaments can still be seen on the remains. Image: Smithsonian Channel / YouTube.</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The team also found evidence of fires being lit in the cave “at the same time presumably as bodies are being laid out”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The smoke could actually probably have helped to preserve bodies and body parts,” Dr Buster said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dr Buster suspects Bronze Age people came to the caves to purposefully mummify their friends and relatives.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I think once bodies began to be brought into the cave and were behaving in ways that they didn’t normally do on above-ground sites, those characteristics were probably well-noted and became a factory of people coming back again and again over centuries to deposit their dead.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Smithsonian Channel / YouTube</span></em></p>

International Travel

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Caves in northern Greece are being showcased by a robot tour guide

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A new tour guide in Greece is attracting tourists from all over the world, but for a very unusual reason. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Persephone has been welcoming tourists to the Alistrati Cave in northern Greece since mid-July, but not all of the visitors are coming to see the caves. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Persephone is the world’s first robot tour guide inside a cave, which covers the first 150 metres of the tour that is open to the public, before a human guide takes over. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The robot can give its part of the tour in 33 languages and interact with visitors at a basic level in three languages. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It can also answer most questions, but only in the Greek language. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The robot’s name comes from an ancient Greek myth, where it was said that in a nearby plain that Pluto — the god of the underworld who was also known as Hades — abducted Persephone, with the consent of her father Zeus, to take her as his wife.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nikos Kartalis, the scientific director for the Alistrati site, said the idea of creating a robot guide came to him when he saw one on TV guiding visitors at an art gallery.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nikos said the robot finally became a reality after getting funding, with the build of the machine costing AUD$139,000.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"We already have a 70 per cent increase in visitors compared to last year since we started using" the robot, says Kartalis.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"People are enthusiastic, especially the children, and people who had visited in the past are coming back to see the robot guide."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"It is something unprecedented for them, to have the ability to interact with their robot by asking it questions and the robot answering them," he said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The caves have been a regular tourist spot since they opened to visitors in 1998, with people coming from all over the world to explore the three million year old site.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credit: YouTube</span></em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Man living in cave for 20 years gets COVID jab

<p>A<span style="font-weight: 400;"> man who has been living in a cave for the last 20 years has just received his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and is calling on others to do the same.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After donating all the money he made to fund the construction of three bridges in the town, Panta Petrovic moved to a cave in the Serbian mountains 20 years ago to avoid society.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since then, he has been living off of mushrooms and fish from the local creek and occasionally visiting the nearby town of Pirot in search of leftover food.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was on one of his trips to the town last year when he discovered that COVID-19 has spread all over the world.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After COVID-19 vaccines became available, he was quick to get the jab and is urging others to do so too.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“[The virus] does not pick. It will come here, to my cave, too,” Petrovic told AFP from his cave on the Stara Planina mountain in southern Serbia.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I want to get all three doses, including the extra one … I urge every citizen to get vaccinated, every single one of them.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 70-year-old has few belongings with him, including a hay bed, an old bathtub  which he uses as a toilet, some benches, and some animals he keeps.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, after wolves began killing the animals, Petrovic decided to move them to a shack he had assembled in the outskirts of town to keep them safe.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The gang of animals includes several goats, a flock of chickens, about 30 cats and dogs, and an adult boar named Mara.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“[Mara] means everything to me, I love her and she listens to me. There is no money that can buy such a thing. A true pet,” he said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Petrovic looks after himself and his animals with welfare and donations of food and supplies for his menagerie.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Images: Getty Images</span></em></p>

Travel Trouble

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DIY “man cave” tips for the perfect home escape

<p><em>Building a private space in your home where you can get away and relax is the perfect DIY project. Kennards Hire equipment specialist ‘Benny from The Block’ shares his tips to help get your man cave up and running.</em></p> <p>“Man cave” might conjure up a vision of Pirelli calendars and poker nights, and you’re partly right. But today’s man cave can be a music room, TV room, party room, or workshop. The important thing is that it's a private space where you can get away from the routines of domestic life.</p> <p>One person that knows the benefits of some quality ‘me time’ is <em>The Block’s</em> equipment specialist, Benny. Besides working all hours keeping contestants supplied with quality equipment, he’s also a busy dad to a 3-year-old. Building a private space in your home where you can get away and relax is the perfect DIY project, and Benny’s happy to share his tips to help get your man cave up and running.</p> <p><strong>Budget friendly</strong></p> <p>“Building a man cave from scratch is a big task but converting a garage to a man cave is a way to make the job budget-friendly, and well within the skillset of the average DIYer,” said Benny.</p> <p><strong>Back to basics</strong></p> <p>First you need to work out how big of a space you’re working with. Measure up, get some graph paper and work out how you might use it.</p> <p>Then decide all the fittings. How many power points and lights are needed? Will you need heating or cooling? Will your man cave have a sound system, bar fridge or computer? These are all important questions to ask yourself when getting started.</p> <p>“After deciding on your budget and how you will use the space, it's time to de-clutter and give the garage a good vacuum to create a blank canvas. An <a href="https://email.directgroup.com.au/owa/redir.aspx?C=ulyvlZG98NNcNzH7AG52u2087iAAWXJ5KXOcQLR76o6ECYvF0FfYCA..&amp;URL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.kennards.com.au%2fvacuum-cleaner-industrial.html%3ftrackParams%3d2467-1-4-99.33">industrial vacuum cleaner from Kennards Hire</a> makes this easy," said Benny.</p> <p><strong>Fixing the floor</strong></p> <p>A concrete slab is a ready-made and durable floor, which saves you money on putting down a new one. Benny suggests a <a href="https://email.directgroup.com.au/owa/redir.aspx?C=2H9Aub9kukGYFu4c09CES5tpNtzL7y9kw4XLI-eAThSECYvF0FfYCA..&amp;URL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.kennards.com.au%2fconcrete%2fsurface-preparation%2fconcrete-renovator1.html">concrete renovator</a> to remove paint, epoxies, resins, grout and adhesives, then take a high speed <a href="https://email.directgroup.com.au/owa/redir.aspx?C=PhhWYzygov2a4m7kJcpgOIffRKKXCkBdWFuUMvzJHTiECYvF0FfYCA..&amp;URL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.kennards.com.au%2fconcrete%2fsurface-preparation%2fburnisher-400mm.html">concrete burnisher</a> to buff the surface to a fine, smooth finish.</p> <p>The final step is to apply a high gloss epoxy floor coating such as <a href="https://email.directgroup.com.au/owa/redir.aspx?C=LFktHd_U2JUVVoRBck3geb1EK6hQgHa6JB4rrW14pMOECYvF0FfYCA..&amp;URL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.kennards.com.au%2ffloor-sealer-epimax-pro-333wb-xp-clr-20l.html%3ftrackParams%3d5670-1-1-100">Epimax Pro</a>, a water-based concrete sealant that’s easy for any DIYer to apply and clean up.<strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Insulating for year-round use (and soundproofing!)</strong></p> <p>Next is temperature control. Is your garage insulated? Good insulation will make your man cave more comfortable, all year round, and helps reduce heating and cooling costs. Insulation will also reduce noise transfer to give you some peace and quiet.</p> <p><strong>Interior lining</strong></p> <p>If your garage is brick, you might want to line the interior walls to lighten up the space. Plasterboard is reasonably easy to install with two people, and it’s forgiving if you make mistakes. But it can also be a slow and messy job if you’re doing it by hand and hiring a <a href="https://email.directgroup.com.au/owa/redir.aspx?C=SnJeBJZCu8QJX0ANcktuLeAFpcRHrHt-pntseAO9B5aECYvF0FfYCA..&amp;URL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.kennards.com.au%2fsander-plasterboard-includes-vacuum.html%3ftrackParams%3d4130-1-1-94.15">plasterboard sander with vacuum</a> from Kennards Hire can reduce the time and mess.</p> <p><strong>Finishing touches</strong></p> <p>“Paint is a cheap and easy way to achieve the look you want for your man cave - whether you're going for a bright and airy studio or a bar after dark vibe. If you have a large area to cover or you just want to speed up the job, an <a href="https://email.directgroup.com.au/owa/redir.aspx?C=UOOoCIM86WWYC_i760FbW4YcKsk0o6Plv35kl6IIAPGECYvF0FfYCA..&amp;URL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.kennards.com.au%2fsprayer-airless-large.html%3ftrackParams%3d3382-1-3-99.37">airless sprayer</a> can speed things up,” said Benny.</p> <p>“Finish off by furnishing the space. A pool table, a bar, surround sound TV, bookshelves, a piano, a potter’s wheel … the only limit is your imagination and your budget.”</p>

Home Hints & Tips

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Fugitive found in a cave after 17 years on the run

<p>A Chinese fugitive who had been on the run for 17 years has been found living in a mountain cave.</p> <p>Song Jiang escaped from prison camp in 2002 while serving time for trafficking women and children.</p> <p>Yongshan police tracked down the 63-year-old’s whereabouts to the mountains behind his hometown in Yunnan province after receiving a <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/man-found-living-cave-fugitive-mountains-17-years-yunnan-province-yongshan-police-prison-a9125941.html" target="_blank">tip-off</a>.</p> <p>The police’s drones spotted a piece of blue steel on a cliff in the forest, along with household garbage.</p> <p>Police said Song had been living in a cave measuring less than 21 square feet (1.95 square metres) in size.</p> <p>Pictures from inside the cave released by police showed blackened pots and layers of makeshift bedding.</p> <p>According to state media, he survived by collecting river water in a plastic bottle and making fires with tree branches.</p> <p>Investigators said Song had trouble communicating and had not taken a bath or done laundry in “<a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/chinese-fugitive-found-living-cave-after-17-years-run-n1060166" target="_blank">a long time</a>” due to his seclusion.</p> <p>Song has now been sent back to jail.</p> <p>Scroll through the gallery to see the pictures from the cave.</p> <p><em>Photo credit: Yongshan Police</em></p>

International Travel

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Thai cave boys speak for the first time about their ordeal after leaving hospital

<p>For the first time, the Thai cave boys trapped underground for two weeks have answered questions at a press conference following their recovery in hospital.</p> <p>All 12 players and their coach were greeted with cheers from a crowd outside as they entered the government hall, looking healthy and happy after their terrifying ordeal.</p> <p>The only member of the team to speak English, Adul Sam-on, described the moment he heard the rescuers first coming.</p> <p>“I started to listen and it became reality, the [talking]. I asked Mick to go down, because [he] was holding the torch,” he said.</p> <p>“Quickly, go down to have a look, otherwise they might go past us.”</p> <p>Adul said his teammates hesitated, so he took the torch and investigated the noises himself.</p> <p>“I greeted them, I said, ‘Hello.’ I heard, ‘Hello.’ Someone was raising their head above the water and said, ‘Hello’."</p> <p>“I went in there and the noise asked, ‘Hello, is anyone there?’</p> <p>“When they came out of the water, I was surprised. I didn’t know what to talk to them.</p> <p>“I said ‘hello’, or something like that.</p> <p>“When they said ‘hello’ to me, I said ‘hello’ back. It was so magnificent. I didn’t know questions to ask. It took me a while before I could answer them, when they asked me how I was. I answered them, I was so surprised. The person asked me how many of us there were. I said ‘13' … They answered, ‘Brilliant,’ and the person was very happy knowing there was 13 of us.”</p> <p>Another boy said the group had difficulty understanding the dive team because their English was not very good.</p> <p>“Everyone was so happy when they heard the noise of the divers … It was the first noise from outside in 10 days. They asked me to go up, go higher. They asked me how many days have we been in here and I answered him … I said ‘10 days’.</p> <p>“At that time, my brain wasn’t working. In my brain … there was no maths, no arithmetic, no English. At that time, I was so hungry as well.”</p> <p>The media conference was the first time the team have spoken about the experience after recovering at Chiang Rai Prachanukroh hospital.</p> <p>All the questions from the press conference were submitted in advance and screened by psychologists to ensure the wellbeing of the team.</p> <p>The 25-year-old coach, Ekkapol Chantawong, answered most of the questions and recalled the moment when they discovered they were trapped in the cave system.</p> <p>“We went in there and saw a couple of pools of water. This time we went further than that. I said, ‘Do we want to go?’</p> <p>“One of the boys said, ‘Within one hour we have to come back, we have to come out before 5pm, because someone has to get home.’”</p> <p>When the boys went to leave, they realised they were trapped by water.</p> <p>After discovering even more water, the team became disorientated and it quickly became dark.</p> <p>“We were determined to find a way out. We tried to calm down. I told everyone to fight on, to have a good spirit, don’t give up.”</p> <p>The soccer team thought of a plan to “dig a passageway” for the water to flow through, however, it didn’t recede at all.</p> <p>“Everyone decided, ‘OK, let’s go and find a place to sleep, don’t worry, maybe it was just because the water rose and then it would recede later.’”</p> <p>“We had determined that we were going to spend the night there. We did not prepare any bedding materials at all."</p> <p>The team agreed they would stay near the water and “pray to the gods”, the coach explained.</p> <p>“At this time we were not afraid. I thought on the next day the water would recede and then someone would come and find us.”</p> <p>When the second day arrived, the boys were starting to feel weak and hungry.</p> <p>They were fearful the torch would run out of battery, so they used it sparingly.</p> <p>The youngest team member said he felt “dizzy and weak” and tried to battle his pain by not thinking about food.</p> <p>The Wild Boars team spent a lot of their time digging holes with stone pieces to keep themselves busy and licked water from the stalactites in the cave to keep hydrated.</p> <p>They knew there was a way out at the end of the cave but understood how far away it was.</p> <p>"We have only one chance, to go to the other end of the cave,” said one boy.</p> <p>“My opinion was — if we are not able to find that way out, then we will die in the middle. So, we came back. We had two choices … First, to go this way and the second is to wait there and let other people come to discover us. Water started to flow into our direction. After a while, within one hour, the water started to rise.”</p> <p>The boys, who attended the press conference in their Wild Boars soccer uniforms, revealed how happy they were to be able to watch the final game of the World Cup after they had been rescued.</p> <p>As the team members shared with the press their plans for the future, one boy said he promised to be “a good person, a good citizen”.</p> <p>Several boys revealed they wanted to be Navy SEALS one day, which drew an immediate applause in the audience.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">Respect! The rescued <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Thai?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Thai</a> cave boys pose with a photo of Saman Gunan, the Thai Navy SEAL diver who died while trying to rescue them. <br /><br />Photo: AP <a href="https://t.co/YIYgD73pjO">pic.twitter.com/YIYgD73pjO</a></p> — Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ostrov_A/status/1019551406544519168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2018</a></blockquote> <p>During the conference, the boys also paid tribute to former Thai Navy SEAL, Saman Gunan, who died delivering them oxygen tanks.</p> <p>To honour Saman, the boys will enter the monkhood and donate the merit to him.</p> <p>In Theravada Buddhist practice, this is one of the greatest marks of respect one person can give another. </p>

News

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"The day we’ve been waiting for": Four boys freed from Thai cave

<p><span>Yesterday, four members of a young Thai soccer team were brought to safety after being trapped in a flooded cave system with their coach.</span></p> <p><span>The first four boys to be removed in the rescue mission had arrived at hospital, according to the head of the rescue operation, Narongsak Osottanakorn.</span></p> <p><span>Today, the rescue mission will continue, as experts attempt to bring the remaining eight boys and their coach to safety.</span></p> <p><span>Mr Osottanakorn told reporters that 90 divers, including 50 foreign rescue workers, were all assisting with the time-pressured operation.</span></p> <p><span>"I would like to inform the public at home and those who have been giving us support all along, after 16 days, today's the day we've been waiting for, we are seeing the Wild Boars in the flesh now."</span></p> <p><span>The first boy left the cave at 5.40 pm local time on Sunday.</span></p> <p><span>Mr Osottanakorn said that rescue workers will need “about 10 hours” to prepare for the next rescue operation.</span></p> <p><span>After the four boys were rescued, Thai Navy seals posted on their Facebook page: “Have sweet dreams everyone. Good night. Hooyah.”</span></p> <p><span>Divers have navigated dark and tight passageways filled with muddy water and strong currents, to rescue the stranded team.</span></p> <p><span>A former Thai navy SEAL had passed out during the operation while making the dive on Friday and sadly died.</span></p> <p><span>The team has been trapped underground for more than two weeks.</span></p> <p><span>Cave rescue experts previously said an underwater escape should be a last resort due to the strenuous and difficult route to safety, however Mr Osottanakorn revealed that mild weather had created prime conditions for an underwater evacuation.</span></p> <p><span>The optimal conditions won’t last if it rains again.</span></p> <p><span>Before revealing the rescue was underway, authorities instructed the crowd of media gathered around the cave to leave.</span></p> <p><span>On June 23, the soccer teams of young boys and their 25-year-old coach set out to explore the cave complex after soccer practice.</span></p> <p><span>An army commander involved in the operation, said rescuing the entire team could take three to four days but is dependent on the weather, reported the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-08/first-boys-rescued-from-thai-cave/9956044" target="_blank"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>ABC</strong>.</span></em></a></span></p>

International Travel

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The life-changing experience of diving the world’s largest sea cave

<p><em><strong>Sue Halliwell is a New Zealand-based travel writer from Whangarei, specialising in eco-adventures and travel for the 60-plus age group. In this piece, she returns to the spectacular Poor Knights Islands off New Zealand’s Tutukaka Coast to fulfil a dream and conquer a deep, dark fear. Find more of her work <a href="http://www.facebook.com/60plusadventures/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">here</span></a>.</strong></em></p> <p>I had just emerged from the waters of the world’s largest sea cave.</p> <p>Helping haul my wetsuited body back on board Pacific Hideaway, boat master Glenn held his hand up for a congratulatory high five. I obliged, although he couldn’t have known how big this actually was for me. Not only had I just fulfilled a long-held dream, but I had also conquered a deep, dark fear - or more correctly, a fear of the deep and dark.</p> <p>This was my second trip to the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve. Five years earlier, I had left this extraordinary place feeling disappointed - in myself, not the islands. This striking 12-island archipelago punctuating Northland’s eastern horizon can’t fail to impress, but I was less than happy with my failure to do what I had yearned to do there. So, when offered a second chance at it by Yukon Dive, I grabbed it.</p> <p>Since reading about the Islands’ famous Rikoriko Cave decades ago, I had longed to sing there. I’m no Kiri Te Kanawa, but I dreamed of filling all 200,000 cubic metres of the biggest marine cavern in the world with song, and hearing it chorus back to me off the walls. What’s more, I wanted to sing Amazing Grace in this cathedral-like natural sound shell, because it seemed the most appropriate choice of song.</p> <p>However, to do this would potentially mean swimming in the cave’s inky, fathomless water, a prospect that terrified the flippers off me. Now sitting on a boat bound for the Poor Knights about to get that opportunity, I wondered if this time the joy of soul singing would conquer my phobia of being in shadowy water. I hoped so.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="497" height="330" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7266210/image-1-sea-cave_497x330.jpg" alt="Image 1 Sea Cave"/></p> <p style="text-align: center;" align="center"><em>Aerial shot of the Poor Knights Islands. Photo credit Ian Skipworth and Yukon Dive.</em></p> <p>I spent the journey distracting myself by looking for the many whale and dolphin species that swim this coast. Yukon Dive’s stable catamaran, Pacific Hideaway, provides the perfect platform for whale spotting, and is a popular choice for visitors wanting to explore the Poor Knights Islands in comfort. Making the 23-kilometre voyage there from Tutukaka every weather-appropriate day in the summer season, Yukon Dive owners, Jo Thomson and husband Noel Erickson, know the route and the islands well.</p> <p>“To us the Poor Knights offer an unparalleled experience, both above and below the water,” Jo says.</p> <p>“It is a place of huge ecological, historical, cultural and geological significance, with something new or different to see on every trip, and we love that we get to share that with others.”</p> <p>Those others are increasing in number.</p> <p>“Our passenger numbers are up on previous years,” Jo says. “Our customers include Kiwis wanting to see and be in a place they have heard so much about, as well as travelers from every corner of the globe with a Poor Knights adventure on their list of New Zealand must-dos.”</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="500" height="334" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7266209/image-2-seacave_500x334.jpg" alt="Image 2 Seacave"/></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Taking giant strides into the water from the steady platform of Yukon Dive’s catamaran, Pacific Hideaway. Photo credit: Yukon Dive</em></p> <p>They come to experience one of the world’s iconic diving spots, rated by Jacques Cousteau as among the ten finest in the world. The eroded remnants of a gigantic 4 million-year-old rhyolitic volcano standing 1000 metres high and stretching 25 kilometres across, these craggy, steep-walled, cave-riddled islets and their waters out to 800 metres provide legal sanctuary for its terrestrial and marine inhabitants.</p> <p>The fish, at least, appear to know it. Since the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve was created in 1978, their numbers have exploded. Department of Conservation fish monitoring over the first ten years of Reserve status revealed snapper numbers had increased 14-fold, with large numbers of other fish species also arriving in the islands’ temperate waters and staying, including sentinel species like hapuku, or grouper.</p> <p>This pelagic profusion was very evident on our first dip into the water at ‘The Gardens’, to the left of Rikoriko Cave. Donning the supplied wetsuits and snorkel or dive gear, we slipped into a surprisingly clear ocean, to be greeted by huge schools of milling blue maomao and pretty pink demoiselles.</p> <p>As I got closer to the undersea cliff walls, varietal seaweeds came into view, bending and bowing with the swell, and harbouring fish of all size and description. One large and curious snapper even hung out within touching distance of me for at least ten minutes, an intimate fish connection that I have never before experienced.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="500" height="333" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7266208/image-3-sea-cave_500x333.jpg" alt="Image 3 Sea Cave"/></p> <p style="text-align: center;" align="center"><em>Milling schools of fish like these demoiselles greeted us as we entered the water. Photo credit Ian Skipworth and Yukon Dive</em></p> <p>Back on the boat and after circumnavigating the second largest island, Aorangi Island, my moment of truth and Rikoriko Cave arrived. As the Pacific Hideaway slipped quietly into the huge cliff cavity, Noel came to the front of the boat holding a beautifully carved Maori trumpet, or pukaea. Lifting the traditional instrument and blowing, the cave’s natural acoustics gathered up and hurled the haunting sound to its perimeters and back again. I was captivated.</p> <p>The boat’s thirty or so passengers fell completely silent, and had I wanted to break the spell I could have launched into Amazing Grace there and then. But the moment was too sublime to fracture with singing of my quality, and I remained silent. Looking into the cave’s black waters I knew that swimming back into them would be the only way to achieve what I had come to do, and tried hard to swallow my fear.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="497" height="330" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7266207/image-4-sea-cave_497x330.jpg" alt="Image 4 Sea Cave"/></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Assorted anemones, starfish and gorgonians , pink maomao and a splendid perch enjoy the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve. Photo credit: Ian Skipworth and Yukon Dive</em></p> <p>Outside the cave and the boat at anchor, I watched as other passengers prepared to explore Rikoriko’s delights for themselves. Sensing my trepidation, two onboard friends invited me to join them. Buoyed by this support, I took a deep breath and dived into both the ocean and my phobia.</p> <p>On the short trip from boat to cave, laser-like shafts of sunlight pierced the water in every direction, highlighting the translucent scales and colours of the fish around and below us. It was an exquisite sight, however the rays died suddenly just inside the cave entrance, and with it my courage. Fighting panic, I sidled up to one of my pals for comfort, swam alongside her into the cave and watched in awe as a magical world opened up to me.</p> <p>Despite the dark, I could clearly see the multi-hued and multitude of sea urchins and anemones on the cliff wall, the schooling blue maomao and another snapper shadowing me as if in protective escort. Further and further into the cave I went, until I found myself at its centre feeling surprisingly calm.</p> <p>Throwing caution aside, I opened my mouth and sang the first verse of Amazing Grace with all the gusto available to someone who must also tread water. While I can’t claim to have created the spectacular effect of Noel’s pukaea, I could still hear my voice echoing round the cavern and hooted in celebration.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="438" height="328" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7266206/image-5-sea-cave.jpg" alt="Image 5 Sea Cave"/></p> <p align="center"><em>The world’s biggest sea cave, Rikoriko Cave on the Poor Knights Islands, from the inside out. Photo credit: Bryan Halliwell</em></p> <p>I then surprised myself further. My friends had swum deeper into the cave to look for the sunken jaw bone of a whale that Noel told us rested on the sea floor, and I followed. The bone located, I swam slowly back toward the light, revelling in the growing richness of colour and life around me and also that I’d had the courage to be part of it.</p> <p>So, when Glenn congratulated me, he didn’t know the half of it, and I suspect that’s the case with many of his passengers. In exploring one of New Zealand’s most intriguing and significant island chains, they venture into unexplored places in themselves – perhaps as big as Rikoriko Cave itself – to find that the dark and deep, once conquered, become delight.</p> <p><strong>Waters around the Poor Knights Islands to 800 metres are a marine reserve, which means:</strong></p> <ul> <li>No fishing of any kind</li> <li>Don't take or kill marine life</li> <li>Don't remove or disturb any marine life or materials</li> <li>Don't feed fish - it disturbs their natural behaviour</li> </ul> <p><em>For more information on Yukon Dive’s scenic, snorkel and dive trips to the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve, go to <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.yukon.co.nz/" target="_blank">www.yukon.co.nz</a></strong></span></em></p>

International Travel

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Book a night in a Turkish cave

<p>One of the best things about <a href="https://www.airbnb.com.au/?af=61160407&amp;c=apac_au_over60_auhomepage" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Airbnb</span></strong></a> is that it gives you the chance to travel like a local, rather than a tourist. This authentic, converted cave not only reflects the way the locals live, but is also set amongst a neighbourhood brimming with cultural experiences.</p> <p>Ortahisar is a quaint and peaceful nice village, with plenty of opportunity to specialise with residents. Walk amongst the historical houses and expansive valleys, visit two ancient castles, a museum and the local shops and market.</p> <p>The home itself is 80 square feet and is fully equipped with a scenic terrace overlooking the town. With a saloon, fully equipped kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and a scenic terrace, Anitya is the perfect way to experience both luxury and reality-the perfect balance.</p> <p>You won’t believe the kinds of five-star trimmings that have been added to this once average abode. Visit the full listing with all the information <a href="https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/2953140?s=_8hM7UA6/?af=61160407&amp;c=apac_au_over60_Turkish_Cave" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">here</span></strong></a> and scroll through the gallery above to see the images.</p> <p>How would you spend a night in a Turkish town? Let us know in the comments below.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/travel/accommodation/2016/05/eco-friendly-bali-cottage/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The eco-friendly Bali cottage that only costs $93 a night</span></em></strong></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/accommodation/2016/06/stay-in-a-historical-italian-manor-with-airbnb/"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stay in a historical Italian manor with Airbnb</span></strong></em></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/accommodation/2016/05/unconventional-airbnb-listings/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">6 of the most unconventional homes on Airbnb</span></em></strong></a></p>

Accommodation

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Baby ‘dragons’ hatch inside cave in Slovenia

<p>It sounds like something straight out of a fantasy novel, but a baby dragon has been born in a prehistoric cave in Slovenia.</p> <p>The creature was one of 23 developed eggs laid by a species called the blind salamander, once believed to be related to the legendary scaled beasts. Technically known as ‘olms’, these pale and completely blind creatures live up to the age of 100 and only reproduce every five to 10 years.</p> <p>The eggs first appeared about six months ago in Postojna Cave in Slovenia, and their hatching was live streamed around the world online thanks to an infrared camera.</p> <p><img width="499" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/21748/dragon_499x280.jpg" alt="Dragon"/></p> <p>Saso Weldt, who studies the olms at the cave, says he and his team only realised the eggs were hatching after noticing one was missing. “I was in the cave doing some other biological work,” he told <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36418545" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">BBC News</span></strong></a>. “Since we have all the eggs on an IR camera, we saw that one was missing. Then you rewind and suddenly you realise, something has happened.”</p> <p>“In the cave, in nature, they hatch all the time - but nobody here has ever seen a hatchling younger than about two years,” Weldt adds.</p> <p>It is hoped that all 23 hatchlings will grow into adults, but given that the species is so rare, the cave staff cannot be sure. “Although they may not breathe fire, this will be the right time for the fireworks!” they told <a href="http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/first-baby-dragon-hatches-inside-its-ancient-slovenian-cave/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">IFLScience</span></strong></a>.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/06/giant-panda-cub-born-in-belgian-zoo/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Giant panda cub born in Belgian zoo</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/05/bearded-dragon-and-cat-are-unlikely-best-mates/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Bearded dragon and cat are unlikely best mates</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/05/photos-of-the-tiny-tortoise-hatched-at-bristol-zoo/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Photos capture the moment a tiny tortoise hatches</strong></em></span></a></p>

International Travel

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Breathtaking photos give rare glimpse inside the world’s largest cave

<p>These breathtaking pictures give a rare glimpse inside the world’s largest cave.</p> <p>The Han Son Doong cave in Vietnam is so enormous it could fit a 40-storey skyscraper within its walls, and even has its own climate and cloud inside.</p> <p>If you want to view the caves though, it’s not a trip for the faint-hearted. It takes a half day trek through a jungle and deep rivers just to get to the entrance of the cavernous caves.</p> <p>These photos were taken by Swiss photographer Urs Zihlmann, who went on a special photographic tour of the cave with more than 40 eager photographers.</p> <p>“I was very lucky to be able to go on a guided tour of the cave,” said Zihlmann, “As we approached the entrance, clouds were rising from the cave into the surrounding forest – we had to descend 262ft (80 metres) down a steep wall, using harnesses and ropes.”</p> <p>He added, “Standing on the slippery ground in a huge, dark chamber, you begin to realise how amazing it is.</p> <p>“You feel very small as a human being in this enormous, underground paradise - it has such an unearthly beauty. It felt like being in another world.</p> <p>“Less people have seen the inside of Son Doong than stood on the summit of Mount Everest.</p> <p>“It's a natural wonder at its best!”</p> <p>Scroll through the gallery above to see Zihlmann’s stunning snaps.</p> <p>What’s the most breathtaking place you’ve been to? Share your experience with us in the comments below. </p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2016/05/10-amazing-queensland-waterfalls/"><em>10 amazing Queensland waterfalls</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2016/04/top-10-australian-destinations-to-visit-in-2016/"><em>Top 10 Australian destinations to visit in 2016</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/international/2016/04/pictures-from-best-drives-in-australia/"><em>10 jaw-dropping pictures from Australia’s best drives</em></a></strong></span></p>

International Travel

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Secluded lodge on Airbnb comes with a cave

<p>“Hatter’s Hideout and Lodge” is an <a href="https://www.airbnb.com.au/?af=61160407&amp;c=apac_au_over60_auhomepage" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Airbnb</strong></span></a> property offering the best of both worlds.</p> <p>Have you always fancied yourself a camper, but also know you are a little too high maintenance? With this listing, you can enjoy all the rustic pleasures of camping, while those who wish still have a warm bed at a whim need not worry.</p> <p>Hatters Hideout features a unique, hand-built lodge on eight private acres of lush Blue Mountains wilderness, stocked with every last essential (kitchen, heating, internet, barbecue) and boasting panoramic views across Mount Wilson, Wollemi National Park and the World Heritage Area. </p> <p>Located in Bell, New South Wales, the residence sleeps up to 16 guests and offers the perfect, natural landscape as an entertaining area.</p> <p>The Cave is 20 metres high, wide and deep and of similar size and shape to a small shell of the Opera house, though reportedly, with even better acoustics! The natural, cathedral like, sandstone structure has been carefully developed using minimal impact construction and facilities to ensure the environment remains as pristine as possible for future generations to enjoy. The 25-metre-high arched opening faces north west with wind and weather protection by a grove of coachwood trees and 30-metre-tall carved rock columns known locally as "pagodas", a predominant feature in the primitive landscape.</p> <p>It is well equipped for a group picnic or party and can either rest your weary head on the lush pillows in the lodge, or sleep in natural luxury with all camping gear provided.</p> <p>Along with your booking, enjoy an interpretive “Bush Walk &amp; Talk" to the Cave, to introduce you to the environment, the facilities and the “minimal impact" philosophy of Hatters Hideout.</p> <p>Scroll through the gallery above to see image of this natural treasure and <a href="https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/535709/?af=61160407&amp;c=apac_au_over60_Hatters_Hideout" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>click here to view the listing.</strong></span></a></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/travel/accommodation/2016/04/you-can-stay-in-a-french-castle-with-airbnb/">Spend the night like a royal in this French Castle</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/travel/accommodation/2016/04/converted-church-airbnb-in-adelaide/">Spend the night in a converted church in Adelaide</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/travel/accommodation/2016/04/repurposed-shipping-container-airbnb/">Sleep in a repurposed shipping container in Tasmania</a></em></strong></span></p>

Accommodation

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In photos: breathtaking shots of the world’s most remote caves

<p class="xmsonormal">Photographer Robbie Shone’s cave-photographing career began with a school trip to the Peak Cavern, Castleton, Derbyshire. Since then he has visited and photographed remote caves around the world, including China, Papua New Guinea, Borneo, and the Alps.</p> <p class="xmsonormal">“This is a collection of six years’ work from some of the most beautiful and remote caves ever discovered,” Shone told Mail Online. “Some of these photographs will be the only record of these places that we ever see as no one will ever go back to some of these caves.”</p> <p class="xmsonormal">“Most of these pictures have been shot from a tripod on the floor which makes it all very safe, comfortable and easy to set-up. There are a couple which were shot hanging on a thin rope several hundred meters off the floor.”</p> <p class="xmsonormal">Take a look at the breathtaking results of his work below.</p> <p class="xmsonormal"><img width="497" height="315" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7308/robbie-shone-2-650x412_497x315.jpg" alt="Robbie -shone -2-650x 412" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p class="xmsonormal"><strong><img width="497" height="315" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7309/robbie-shone-3-650x412_497x315.jpg" alt="Robbie -shone -3-650x 412" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></strong></p> <p class="xmsonormal"><strong><img width="497" height="315" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7310/robbie-shone-4-650x412_497x315.jpg" alt="Robbie -shone -4-650x 412" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></strong></p> <p class="xmsonormal"><strong><img width="497" height="315" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7311/robbie-shone-5-650x412_497x315.jpg" alt="Robbie -shone -5-650x 412" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></strong></p> <p class="xmsonormal"><strong><img width="497" height="315" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7313/robbie-shone-6-650x412_497x315.jpg" alt="Robbie -shone -6-650x 412 (1)" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></strong></p> <p class="xmsonormal"><strong><img width="497" height="315" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7314/robbie-shone-7-650x412_497x315.jpg" alt="Robbie -shone -7-650x 412" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></strong></p> <p class="xmsonormal"><strong><img width="497" height="315" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7315/robbie-shone-11-650x412_497x315.jpg" alt="Robbie -shone -11-650x 412" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></strong></p> <p class="xmsonormal"><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2015/07/heart-disease-and-diabetes-danger/"><strong>Heart disease plus diabetes can knock more than 10 years off your life</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2015/07/peanut-turtle-litter/"><strong>Turtle lives 20 years after being cut free from a six-pack ring</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2015/07/baby-elephant-falls-in-well/"><strong>Mother elephant spends 11 hours trying to free baby from well</strong></a></em></span></p>

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