Thousands of toads in an area of northern Germany are exploding. Seriously, this is not a late April Fool’s joke. Scientists do not yet know why the toads are exploding, but they are contracting some type of disease that causes their body to expand to three and a half times their normal body size – to bursting point. The BBC news report that the toads’ entrails are being propelled up to a metre (3.2ft), in scenes that have been likened to science fiction.

Need to convert currency?

Take a look at The Globetrotters Currency Converter – get the exchange rates for 164 currencies The Globetrotters Currency Cheat Sheet – create and print a currency converter table for your next trip.

Last year China’s first person in space disappointed the nation when he said he could not see the Great Wall of China from space. However, photographs taken from space appear to confirm that China’s Great Wall can be spotted by the naked eye after all. So China’s schoolchildren who are taught that the Great Wall is one of the only man-made structures you can see can breathe easy again.

So You Think You’re Well Travelled?

Here’s a little Beetle quiz based on capital cities. See how many you get right! Go on, have a guess!

What is the capital city of the following countries:

1. Chile
2. Finland
3. Kiribati
4. Israel
5. Comoros

For the answers, see at the end of the eNewsletter.

We’ve all heard horror stories about the deadly Australian funnel-web spiders. A new report in the Lancet shows that deaths from spider bites are extremely rare. Only 26 deaths from spiders have been recorded in Australia in the past century. In comparison, there were 1,183 motor vehicle deaths in 2001 in Australia.

Funnel webs are only found in eastern Australia and there are at least 40 species. They are medium to large spiders, varying from 1-5 cm body length. They like to burrow in moist, cool, sheltered habitats – under rocks, in and under rotting logs, crevices, rot and borer holes in rough-barked trees. In gardens, they prefer rockeries and dense shrubberies, and are rarely found in more open situations like lawns.

Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual Aid section of the Website: Mutual Aid

The villagers of Ngarambe, bordering the Selous game reserve in Tanzanian had been allowed to sell hunting licences and shoot animals for meat so they would no wild animals would not destroy crops or menace the villagers. The area is rich in wildlife of all types – elephants, lions, giraffes, buffaloes and more. The government has said that the community can no longer hunt on this land or sell hunting licences to residents – instead a five-year hunting licence has been sold to a private company. According to BBC news, selling hunting permits is big business – trophy fees in the 2004 season ranged cost $4,000 for an elephant, $2,000 for a lion to $600 for a buffalo.

I am writing a book about a little known but stunning town in Australia called Airlie Beach. I am desperately seeking globetrotters who have visited this region. I am seeking submissions from them based on their time and experiences in the region.

Did Airlie Beach make an impact on your life? It’s the kind of place that is, ‘Once seen, never forgotten.’ I am looking for submissions from people, of all walks of life, on their favourite Airlie Beach experience. Everybody who has been there has one.

As a long time local, I have countless priceless memories, and nobodies amazing memories should be forgotten. Whether it is a funny anecdote, a poem you were inspired to write, a crazy story you heard, a picture of paradise you just can’t forget.

I am publishing a book and will consider: stories, poems, e-mails, snatches of conversation, diary entries, day in the life of, family history, dreams, artwork, photos, drawings etc.

Please contact me on: airliebeachkatie@yahoo.com.au

A review in the medical Lancet found the commonest diseases linked to air travel have been spread via contaminated food rather than from the cabin’s recycled air. The US researchers found a total of 41 in-flight outbreaks of food poisoning resulting in 11 deaths had been documented between 1947 and 1999. Salmonella was the most commonly reported infection spread by a commercial airline, with 15 recorded outbreaks between 1947 and 1999, affecting nearly 4,000 passengers and killing seven. The US authors stressed that no food- or water-borne outbreaks had been reported in the past five years probably because of greater use of pre-packaged frozen meals, and improved food handling and inspection.

When: Saturday 18th June, 10.30am-4.00pm

Where: The Newsroom, The Guardian

60 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3GA

Cost: £85.00

A day of two intensive workshops:

Travel Writing – How to do it and how not to with Dea Birkett, the Guardian’s Travelling with Kids columnist and author of Serpent in Paradise and Off the Beaten Track

Fact, Fiction and Creating a Traveller’s Tale with Rory Maclean, author of Falling for Icarus and Stalin’s Nose

The workshops are followed by practical writing sessions. Participants should bring pen and paper – they will be expected to write! The emphasis is – whether you are a beginner or already have some writing experience – on developing skills which can be applied to both articles and books. Our aim is that, by the end of the day, each of you will have the tools to produce a publishable piece of travel writing.

For further details and application form contact: travelworkshops@deabirkett.com

For further information:

• www.deabirkett.com
• www.rorymaclean.com
• www.guardian.co.uk/newsroom