New Zealand is one of the most isolated and beautiful countries in the world. Most people think of the country as being just off the coast of Australia and tend to lump the two together, in fact over 1200 miles of water separates the two countries.

On a visit to New Zealand, you can experience some of the most dramatic and unspoiled landscapes anywhere on earth. New Zealand boasts snow-capped mountains, deep blue lakes, forests, geysers and boiling pools of mud. The South Island contains most of the country's highest mountains, including Mount Cook at 12,000 feet; while the North Island has more volcanic activity.

Adventure travel in China can introduce you to some of the most exciting adventures, with traveling down the Silk Road as quite possibly one of the most outstanding adventure opportunities. The Silk Road has connected China with other regions for years, including India, Persia, Arabia, Greece and Rome. This has helped promote the change of products, cultures and ideas among cities and civilizations. A visit to Chang'an, capital of China at this time, spans miles within this country and is a great sight to see along the Silk Road route.

British Airways has launched a new carbon offset scheme that finances clean energy projects in developing countries. Customers offsetting flight emissions will support a wind farm in one of the poorest regions of China and run-of-the-river hydro-electric plants in China and Brazil.

Travellers can pay for the offset when they buy flights. British Airways will also back work led by Cambridge University into the non-CO2 effects of aviation.

See http://www.ba.com.

Glaciers, waterfalls, beaches, deserts ... Argentina has such a wide variety of options for tourists that thousands of Americans already have succumbed to its charms. In fact, the demand for flights to that country has grown so much that the recently inaugurated direct air route between Chicago and Buenos Aires is only the tip of the iceberg.

he Royal Navy located the Canadian cruise vessel the MS Explorer this week in its icy resting place at the bottom of the ocean off Antarctica, where it has been for more than two months.

All 154 passengers and crew were safely removed from the vessel after it struck an iceberg Nov. 23 and sank.

The ice patrol ship HMS Endurance was doing a hydrographic survey and mapping work in the area when the British government requested the vessel search for the wreck of the Explorer.

It is has been one year since Sompawn Khantisouk was abducted by men believed to be local police officers. The whereabouts of the entrepreneur, the owner and manager of a small eco-tourism lodge in northern Laos, are still unknown - indeed, no one other than his abductors even knows if he is still alive.

By: Ken Morris.

While numerous remote and non-traditional locations have joined in the growth of ecotourism, one example shows just what can be done with the correct plan. In Arsal, Lebanon, ecotourism has been alive and well for a decade.

By: Linden Walhard

One very different culture is Brazil. There you will find a great atmosphere and a beautiful climate. The summer time will begin in December and will end in February because this is a South American place. If you are planning to go to Brazil, you will want to make sure that you have some important things first. You will need to pay attention to these tips so that you are not finding it hard to enjoy our time in such a superior country.

By: Clinton Maxwell.

Adventure traveling is for those who want to engage on something a little outside of the norm when vacationing. More and more people are getting recommendations from friends and relatives who had finally taken the plunge. People are breaking with tradition and instead of going to the beaches for vacation, they are instead diving into all out expeditions into rarely visited regions. It does not matter your age, if you have an adventurous spirit then adventure travel is for you. This kind of travel is more intriguing than the same old flight to Florida for its beaches.