Life 360_2013_3

LIFE

360 Issue 3 March/2013

5 FREE TRAVEL APPS!

GET ALL

the journey info you need handy

TRAVEL TIPS

LIFE OF PI

Expert advice for your wilder adventures

INTO THE UNKNOWN

Ang Lee’s journey

LEFTOVER WOMEN The young chinese woman’s quest for a wedding ring

LIVING THE EXPLORER’S LIFE Nial McCann:

Biologist and TV Presenter, British/Canadian adventurer makes his living in uncharted territory

Biologist and TV Presenter, the British/Canadian Welsh Ocean Adventure: Rowing across the in uncharted territory

jomec.co.uk/life360-2013 makes his living

adventurer Atlantic MARCH and Indian oceans 2013 LIFE360

Editor-in-Chief Timothy Holmes

Consultants Jane Bentley Simon Willaims

Editorial Staff Alice Tobin Amber Tong Narumol Trachoo Yixiao Wang Yiwen Liu

Graphic Designers Nelson Moura Jingdan Dai Zhishu Feng Jing Liu

Production Team & Proof Readers Bonnie Brown Ying Qing Xiao Pu Yuan Ma Wei Liu 2

Editor’s letter Dear Reader

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s t h e f re e z i n g winter has given place to a cozy spring, I would like to welcome you all to our brand new exploration issue.

The brilliant poet T.S. Elliot says: “We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started... and know the place for the first time.”

I will absolutely go along with Elliot. Residing in a world of constant change, exploration really matters to us. You may argue that exploring should be the job of scientists and geologists. If you believe so, I have to say you might be on the wrong track. In fact, there are an abundance of things worth exploring all around us, ranging from exciting adventure sports to awesome travel destinations.

In this new issue of Life360, we take you from a budget trip with five free apps to a fantastic wildlife world created by photographer Adam Steward, from Ang Lee’s Academy Award-winning career to the adventurous expedition of a true explorer Niall McCann, from the life of leftover women in China to ocean rowers's exciting adventures. We also cover the latest news and critically review an album, an exhibition and a film, all about exploration!

I hope you enjoy this exclusive issue of Life360. When it comes to the end, on behalf of Life360 magazine team, I LIFE360 would like to wish you all an amazing and magic Easter holiday. Also, have a go at something you could explore!

With love Jindan Dai Editor of Life360

LIFE360

Contributors

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Alice is on the MSc in Science, Media and Communication, and likes write about how science will shape your future. She’s come from the University of Bath, where she did a BSc in Molecular and Cellular Biology with a placement year at the drug company Pfizer. In her spare time she likes to swim, ski and will soon start learning to scuba dive.

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Bonnie was born a Liverpudlian in the grand old year of 1991, raised in Wales and still has no real accent. She firstly studied at Nottingham and obtained a BSc in Biochemistry and Genetics and have returned home to study Science Communication. Her main hobbies are painting, exercising and generally having a good giggle.

Nelson was born in Portugal and studied Communication Sciences. After he worked in a major news magazine in his country. He decided to take an English and Journalism course in London and after worked as a PR in an event organising company. He’s currently doing an master in International Journalism in Cardiff University.

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Contents

22 “What defines a real expedition

Kis when there’s no guarantee of KKsuccess”– Niall McCann

Arc

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Tech Savvy: Pack Your Journey With 5 Apps

How can we uplift our travel budget by using 5 free smart phone apps kkk

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World Briefs

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7Questions: Ask Wild Land Expert – Adam Seward Discover the amazing natural world by following Adam Steward’s instructions.

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360 View: A Forever Ang Lee

The talented Taiwanese-born American director won his Oscar for ‘Life of Pi’. jomec.co.uk/life360-2013

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Features

Contents Continued

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China’s Leftover Women

Getting married at 27 is unbearably late in China

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Welsh Ocean Adventurer

Ocean rowers are telling their record-breaking adventures on the tempestuous sea.

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Intersection

Full Circle

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Off the Map: Living the Explorer’s Life

Niall McCann has explored places completely blank on the map.

Movie: The Hobbit

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A thought-provoking show about exploring recycling art and making our planet better.

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Music Album: The 20/20 Experience Justin Timberlake’s new album about self-exploration

Exhibition: RejuventArt

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15 27 Photo Gallery MARCH 2013 LIFE360

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Tech Savvy

Pack your journey with five free apps

With five apps in hand, anyone can be a master traveller Words: Amber Tong

When a destination is completely new to us, the issue of where to live, where to eat and where to visit are in want of instant solutions. There are bunches of apps out there offering star rating advise, however, we can still uplift our budget travel simply by using 5 free smart phone apps.

Find the locals’ appetite Suitable for:

iPad, iPhone Android, Black Berry

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Yelp is always the first choice when cuisine seekers start an exploration for local ap-

LIFE360 MARCH 2013

petites. Just choose “Nearby” and the app will pop out a list of the nearest restaurants around you with all kinds of local food critics. If you are craving a particular food or restaurant, type the name, then it will get you the fastest route to go.

Hire a translator for free Suitable for: iPad, iPhone

Universal Translator is a language app which can translate words and entire sentences into more than 50 different languages. One of the limelights is speed, not only detects the language input but also offer super-fast results.

Accommodate on a budget Suitable for:

iPad, iPhone, Android, Black Berry YHA Guide is not new to travel lovers. This app is a shortcut for offering an overview of YHAs around the world. You can book, get its location and know activities being held.

Organize your itinerary Suitable for:

iPad, iPhone, Android, Black Berry Tripit is a handy all-in-one app that collates all your holiday and flight confirmation

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World Briefs

Words: Aom Trachoo

Easter Retreat Suggested by The Guardian, the Guernsey is one of the most relaxing Easter holiday destinations serving a perfect hideaway for those who enjoy the nature of island and coastal cuisine. For

active travellers, this place also has a great number of both cultural and outdoor activities available.

Glacier melting scare

Iwatch

The recent finding by Welsh scientists reveals a key factor that makes the rapid glacier melting. The scientists report that small rock particles, dust and microbes on the surface of ice are the cause driving the glacier melting rate.

For more info: www.walesonline.co.uk

emails into one travel itinerary. The planner of this Tripit can help you organise your travel plans and keep the plans in only one spot. No need to check a lot of other apps, you can just get all these functions in just one single app.

Identify where you are Suitable for:

iPad, iPhone, Android, Black Berry Google Maps defeats other map guide apps as the toppest choice for both its accuracy and its convenience. With a concrete guidance either by train, or by car, or on feet, it can always show satellite maps in visual.

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For more info about Guernsey: www.visitguernsey.com

Pebble’s new innovative e-paper watch serves the digital lifestyle. Made to work with iPhone and Android phones, smartwatch works via Bluetooth. It will give you alerts for emails, texts or calls. Priced at $150, this modern gadget is light and comes with the sleek design.

For more info: getpebble.com

Sutra

Led by a famous choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Turner Prize-winning sculptor Antony Gormley along with 17 Buddhist monks, the performance combines kick and jump of martial arts like Kung Fu and Tai Chi to present a portrayal of Buddhist doctrine. Performed with live music, this will be held only on March 29 and 30 at Wales Millennium Centre. Ticket starts ÂŁ12.

For ticket reservation: www.wmc.org.uk

Pop and Abstract Exhibition

From March 9 to September 1, National Museum Cardiff will showcase an array of painting collections reflecting the current American developments. Supported by the Colwiston Charitable Trust, the art exhibition is created by British artists based in Wales such as Peter Blake, Alan Davie, David Hockney and Bridget Riley.

For more info: www.museumwales.ac.uk

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Ask WildLife Photographer —Adam Seward Portrait of Adam Seward

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7 QUESTIONS

If you’re preparing a wild land exploration in a wildlife scenery, here are some tips from an experienced wildlife and travel photographer Adam Seward Words: Yiwen Photos: Adam Seward

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iscover amazing natural world by following wild life photographer Adam Steward’s instructions, who is an explorer having been attracted by wild land in Africa since 12 years old. He is passionate about protecting nature and telling stories of nature by taking fascinating photos. Adam is going to share his experiences in wild land and suggest some ways in how to prepare a wonderful and exciting wild land exploration trip by yourself. The instructions are essential and easy to follow. Don’t hesitate. Grab your cameras and start to explore the wild land right now.

Meerkat group standing alert at a blot hole, Kalahari Desert, South Africa

Question 1:

Can you suggest a fresher way for exploring wild land?

Adam Seward: A good stepping stone is to link with an organization, where you can participate as a volunteer. I started out as a voluntary research assistant with the organization Frontier.

There are other organizations that do similar things, like Coral Cay, and Operation Wallacea. On the trips I have been on there are often non-specialists, as well as people with a strong interest in biology. There was a trainee lawyer, for example, and there was a plumber I think; all kinds of people with different back grounds. The most important things are interest, enthusiasm and a willingness to try anything. These are the ingredients of the best volunteers. The more you put in, the more you get out!

Question 2:

How should I prepare for my nature exploration trips?

Adam Seward: Do as much research as you can before you

go. The guide books like Lonely Planet or Rough Guides are normally good for basics. But the guide books are usually limited towards wild land. Getting in touch with local organisations is a good idea. If your time is limited then to get fully prepared so you can hit the ground running! Planning what you are going to do,

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Boat heading off for Icebergs by night tour, Ilulissat, Greenland

worth learning some essential words and phrases.

Joining a trip with an organization is easier. You might have to book the place a few months before you go and there will still be preparation needed. They covered what the local area is like, the work programme, safety issues, essencial equipments and appropriate clothing. Remember to find out about the climate. Even in Africa, nights can be very cold, especially if you are high up.

Question 3: Which three places in Europe would you suggest to observe wildlife?

Adam Seward: Spain has a lot of wildlife. In Extrema-

dura from where I just came back, there is a beautiful wide landscape and many animals. It’s particularly good for birds, such as eagles, vultures and storks. I flew to Madrid and then it’s a 3 hour drive to Caceres in Extremadura. I’ll certainly be going back.

I’ll be going to South Norway this summer with a friend. We’ll be exploring fjordland woodlands and a high plateau with many Arctic species. It looks very good for wildlife, especially birds. We are just stopping in two places. I think you get much more from a trip by getting to know an area very well than trying to cram in too many places.

Scotland is also a good place to go. I’m ashamed to say I’d been to several countries in Africa and South East Asia before

Iceberg near Ilulissat, Greenland

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Pics of Dhow in Zanzibar

even going once to Scotland, and it was a bit of a revelation.

If you are interested in birds, Shetland is a great place for seabird colonies and dramatic coastal landscapes. Just don’t expect to see many trees! It’s also probably the best place in Europe to see otters. North Wales and Pembrokeshire too, and are possible to explore during weekend trips from Cardiff.

Question 4: What if I get lost in the wild land ?

Adam Seward: Before you go, you have to let people

know where are you going, what are you planning to do and for how long. That’s the most important thing. If you are going somewhere really remote, you should consider communications. Mobile phones may have no signal so you may have to bring a radio to make contact and arrange times that you’ll make contact. when a contact time is missed, people will

Question 5: What kind of animal impressed you most in your trips?

Adam Seward: Often it was the small things. There were

an incredible number of different frogs reptiles and butterflies. In the Usambaras in Tanzania, there were many tiny and dwarf chameleons. They are just about the size of my thumb.

Reed frog(Hypoerolius viridiflavus reesi), Kilombero Valley, Tanzania

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Arc There was a great diversity of frogs, all sorts of different colours and forms. There are a great many frogs in far north Vietnam as well, and many endemic birds. In Vietnam the remaining forests were high up the mountain sides, so it was hard work getting to them with all of our gear!

Question 6: What does wildlife exploring mean in your life?

Adam Seward: It’s a big part of my life. I love getting out

there and interacting with nature. I’d enjoy looking for birds or reptiles and amphibians with my Dad. I feel really happy being outside, especially where you have beautiful landscapes and natural habitats. It gives me a sense of freedom and there is so much to explore. There are discoveries to be made on every trip. I now collaborate on our website earthinfocus.com to use our photography and writing to share stories about the natural world and inspire people to protect it.

Question 7: Which trips have made you want to be a natural explorer?

Essential Kits A few things you should always bring with you, depending on the local situation.

Whistle A whistle helps people find you if you get lost.

Water Purified Bottle It is for purifying the water, such as iodine. You should have one with you all the time if you are in an area with unsafe water.

Adam Seward: Two main trips really. I was lucky to go to

Kenya for two weeks when I was eleven. Before I went to university, I went on the expedition to Tanzania. We went to a remote forest in the Usambara mountains to do biodiversity surveys.

We were just camping in the forest, living under a tarpaulin, sitting around the fire, washing in the stream. It was very wet and muddy, but the place was full of amazing animals and plants. We were due to be there for about ten weeks but an accident cut the expedition short. One of the volunteers got lost in the forest and tragically lost his life. Despite this, the trip had opened my eyes to the world of biodiversity exploration. It also showed just how dangerous it can be and why preparation is so important.

Map & Compass

A map of the area and a compass should be taken to read the map and navigate. You can also use GPS, but a paper map is a good idea as a backup. If you’re somewhere very remote, it can save your life.

First aid box

To see more explore pictures: www.earthinfocus.com

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A first aid box in case you or another expedition member suffer an injury. Cuts, scratches and insect bites can go septic very quickly in tropics and need cleaning with antiseptic.

If you go somewhere cold, then a survival box is a good idea,with some warm clothes and a survival bag, you can survive in the exposure to temperature if you get stuck in mountain areas.

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360 Review

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A FOREVER

ANG Lee WORDS: YI XIAO

Wearing in black suits, Ang

Lee has walked onto the stage to accept the Best Director Award. He said “Thank you movie god,” excitedly as he took the trophy.

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he 85th Annual Academy Awards ceremony of The Oscars took place on 25th, February, 2013 in Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Lee won due to the hit film Life of Pi, leaving David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook), Steven Spielberg (Lincoln), Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Michael Haneke (Amour) without.

Life of Pi has picked up four Oscars including Best Director for Ang Lee, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects.

It has collected a spectacular $471 million internationally.

This is the second time Ang got the best director award since Brokeback Mountain in 2006.

Over the course of his Academy award-winning career, Ang Lee has crossed over from the Taiwanese box office successes to American art-house classics

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and Hollywood blockbusters, proving his hand with family drama, comedy, period pieces, epic martial arts action, romance, and even superheroes along the way. And now, has had tried 3D and also shot three elements which were seen as forbidden soil in movies: children, animals and water. Ang combined all these three ingredients together in the Life of Pi. “Being rewarded again by Pi , all Chinese should be proud of Ang. Although the story is not about China, it still reflects the essence of Chinese culture”, said Richard Leo, an ethnic Chinese in Cardiff.

It has been amazing that's why Ang as a Chinese director can be awarded twice as the best director internationally.

Alton Williams, chief of the BRWC which is a movie club in Cardiff concluded three reasons for Ang's winning. >>

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“A astonishing

expert

ng Lee is an in telling stories silently, however gives audiences feelings. - Jackie Castle

He points that the first reason is the perfect combination of artistry and commercial, which are seen cannot be achieved at the same time for film directors.

Ang did a good job in Life of Pi which demonstrates that literary film can be commercial and profitable meanwhile. The complicated feelings when drifting, thoughts about life, the open ending, abundant plot, fantastic lens language all show its efforts to be an art film.

However, on the other hand, Life of Pi is a typical production of Hollywood. It has ocean disasters, large-scale scenes, astonished visual impacts. The film integrated those two aspects successfully which is exactly what Oscar pursuing.

“

The other reason is that Ang merge Eastern though with Western story style, which makes Life of Pi welcome in both

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Eastern and Western.

The combination of Eastern cultural and Western cultural can raise unexpected reactions, while the conflicts of these two cultural make the film more controversy and creativity”, states Alton Williams.

Ang has his style to make this story moving and deep.

A film fan Jackie Castle says that “Ang Lee is an expert in telling stories silently, however gives audiences astonishing feelings.”

According to Alton, the last one to mention is the exquisite technique.

3D shooting mode, fantastic ocean scenery, fair-sounding soundtracks are icing on the cake.

All these elements make Ang Lee a great successful director worldwide.

Congratulations to Ang Lee and China. With the rise of Eastern film industry, we expect more international directors and superb movies.

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woman wants to be

left

over in China words: YUAN MA

If the age of 20 is too young for women to get married, 27 is unbearably late in China.

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re you still enjoying your single life after 27? Don’t you feel nervous about having no boyfriend? It seems to be unbelievable or even shameful in China. But it is a ubiquitous thing especially in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Single ladies usually over 27 are called leftover women in China. They are not only under big pressure from work, but also struggling with their parents, friends, colleagues or anyone who knows them for complaining to her about not having a boyfriend.

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27 is a young and energetic age in most of the western world. According to the research conducted by BBC, nearly 75% of the UK women are not married at the age from 25 to 27. A more interesting thing is because of the one-child policy, Chinese families prefer a boy to a girl so they will have an abortion in many cases especially in rural area if it is detected to be a baby girl. As a result, there are millions more men than women. Then what happened in China?

Why it is that women who can’t find their partners?

“Normally, it is well educated women who get left over,” said Shen Xiaoyan, a social science tutor from Beijing >>

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Features

“Normally, it is well educated women who get - Shen Xiaoyan

left over”

International Studies University, “In China, men are more inclined to find a younger and pretty girlfriend who is less educated than them because they want to be dominant and worshiped by women. On the contrary, women think it would be better if men could be more successful than them.”

“There is an interesting grade created by Chinese to explain this phenomenon”, Shen added. If Grade A means the most educated, professional, and successful people, then the level of people from B to D decrease progressively. Men like women who have less ability and more beauty, men of Grade A will choose their girlfriends from Grade B to D. Likewise women of Grade D will choose boyfriends from Grade A to D. “Consequently, the most successful and educated women usually will be left over,” says Shen.

This issue has become so annoying that it has caused single women to feel stressful, anxious and at a loss more than ever.

“

I came back to China last year from the US. I got my master degree there. Before leaving China, I was single so I once had a hope that I could find my partner in America. But things did not go as you thought,” said Wang.

“I tried to date with several white guys but it turned out to be difficult because of the cultural barrier was so deep in our hearts. It is very hard for conservative Chinese women to find a foreign boyfriend. We have distinct perspectives towards life, sex, and eating habits.”

Wang also said another important thing prohibited her from searching for her boyfriend in America was that in the west people don’t want to get married that early. “As a Chinese girl, I couldn’t wait.”

After 2 years of hunting and dreaming, Wang finally decided to come back. “I don’t think I could find my husband or my job in the US so I left America to explore my new life in Beijing.”

“As a Chinese girl, I couldn’t wait.”

- Wang Jinhou

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Features

Wang Jinhou,

25 years old

an auditor for KMPG, currently living in Beijing,

single.

The thing that Wang didn’t know before is urging her to get married has been the top business for her family.

“I’ve been in KMPG for only 4 months. There are many things waiting for me to sort out. But my parents push me so hard for arranging me to have blind dates with different guys. They are worried that I’m going to be a left over woman,” Wang said.

Spring Festival, being Chinese New Year, the longest national holiday is a perfect time for a family reunion.

But in recent years, it has turned to be a family conference for relatives gathering together to discuss if there is anyone suitable for their single woman and set-up a blind date for them afterwards.

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“I’m only back to Beijing from my hometown for one week and they’ve arranged two blind dates for me. My parents contacted those guys’ parents to let us meet in Beijing because after February, everyone is back to big cities for work. It’s very common among left over women working in big cities”.

“I’m so scared of going back home for every holiday now because you can sense how intense your relatives are. Sometimes I really want to give up and find somebody to get married just for my nervous relatives.

Maybe I should go back to the US. There’s nobody to push you for this, at least,” said Wang with a forced smile.

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Features

WELSH OCEAN ADVENTU

RERS

What can the ocean give us except danger?

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Features

Stuart Kershaw, who has already been in the record book for rowing the Atlantic, is attempting to break next world record, regardless of his sea sickness. Elin Haf Davies, the first woman ever in Wales to row the Atlantic, has become mesmerized by the sea after three ocean crossing experiences. >>

Ocean rowers are telling their adventurers.

Words: Xiao Pu

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Features

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ife of Pi provides the audience a glimpse of the ocean’s unique beauty and concealed danger. While people are marveling at the incredible adventure of Pi, Stuart Kershaw, the 32-year-old welsh adventurer, is attempting to break a world record rowing the Indian Ocean in July.

He’s planning to spend two months rowing 3,500 nautical miles from Australia to the Seychelles. “This will be the first attempt by a 3 man team,” said Stuart. “We hope our feat could raise thousands of pounds for the Welsh Air Ambulance.”

In fact, he’s already in the record book for rowing across the Atlantic Ocean in the fastest ever time with the crew of the Mondiale in 2008. After that he went to sail across the Pacific Ocean.

It might be a little hard for you to imagine this tough guy has still suffered from seasickness while at sea. “I ate lots of medication and my body adapted over a week,” said Stuart. But the difficulties he met during the ocean crossing are far harder to handle. There were huge storms, complete lack of sunshine, top recorded wind speed of 68 knotts.

And once, their boat was struck by lightning. “At one point or another everyone wanted to quit,” he said. “It’s immeasurably uncomfortable at the time although sunset was always beautiful and sunrise was a relief from the darkness and danger of the night time.”

During the Atlantic voyage, Stuart was part of a crew of 14. They set off from Gran Canaria on 15 December 2008 and finally beat the record set by a French team in 1992 by more than two days. “I had never rowed before the Atlantic voyage,” said Stuart. His reason for starting ocean rowing seems a little bit dramatic: “My then girlfriend lived on the other side of the Atlantic, I was poor, I wondered if anyone had ever done it before. I put it into google and discovered a boat that was one man short!”

Back to normal life, Stuart is the owner and director of an adventure film company: the Swansea-based In the Dark Produc-

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L “ I ate lots of medication and my body adapted over a week. “ tions. He said he would be taking footage of the next voyage.

Ocean rowing is a growing sport in Wales. The Welsh Sea Rowing Association,has organized a total of 21 offshore and estuary events each year.

These range from 5-mile (4.3nmi;8.0km) league races to the 90-mile(78nimi;140km) celtic challenge rowing race, an epic Irish Sea crossing. Welsh rowers now compete across Europe, representing Great Britain in France, Italy, and Spain.

Elin Haf Davies, the first woman ever in Wales to row the Atlantic, already has done 3 ocean crossings. As a scientific advisor from Bala, Elin rowed across the Atlantic Ocean in a 77-day adventure before setting off to row the Indian Ocean with three other women in which she setted two world records in the process. After that, she sailed across the Pacific in maritime challenge.

Unlike Stuart, Elin enjoys being out on the sea quite a lot. She said she has Elin Davies is mesmerized by the sea: Rowing makes me happy qucikly.

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become mesmerized by the sea after her adventure. “I think it’s the feeling of atmosphere and watching the sunset and sunrise and enjoy the tranquility of being out there,” said Elin. On the ocean, She became happy very quickly, and found it was amazing when a dolphin came next to her. “You’re away from the day to day life reliance,” she said. “At the sea, your life is very simple, you don’t need to worry about work. So in a good weather, being at sea is much easier and better for your health and soul.”

But, of course, Elin also met many difficulties. Whilst the Atlantic one was just emotional challenge to keep going, in the Indian Ocean, they met much worse weather - the storm was very bad. And because of it, all of their equipment was broken while some crew members were injured. “The wave and the wind were really high, and the combination of the two made it really difficult and quite dangerous for us,” said Elin. However, despite bad weather, the Indian Ocean crossing was the one that she had the best memory. She explained: “The team was really good and we all worked really well and we’ve got 2 of our records, and everything about it was quite

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Features

Stuart Kershaw:training as an editor in the US, rowing and breaking record give him another world to explore.

“ It’s not all about the record, It’s about the journey. “

The Ocean is sometimes traquil and peaceful.

amazing.”

The Atlantic was the first ocean to be crossed by oar-power. Two Norwegian clam diggers, Frank Samuelsen and George Harbo set off on an open wooden boat from New York on June 6, 1896 and arrived in France 55 days later. Today, ocean rowing has grown in popularity and has been noted as “the New Everest”.

Stuart is now busy with his training. He’s eating lots in order to put on 2 stone. And he has rowed the meditteranean from Lebanon to Cyprus in three weeks. Stuart said: “It’s not all about the record, it’s about the journey. Cliched but absolutely true when it comes to ocean rowing.”

Stuart

was trained as an editor in the United States at Penn State University before moving from the East Coast to Los Angeles where he made the leap into Marketing with Paramount Pictures and later honed his experience with 20th Century Fox. He returned to the UK in 2003 where he set up In the Dark Productions with Samantha after receiving a 1st class honours degree in Film at the University of Wales.

Stuart’s In the Dark website: http://www.inthedarkproductions.co.uk

Elin grew up in the small village of Parc,

Life on the ocean could be so tough but exciting

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close to the shores of beautiful Bala Lake, North Wales. At eighteen, Elin left Wales to work as a volunteer in a ‘Save the Children’ orphanage in Lesotho, South Africa.

Although inspired by working with the children Elin felt a real hiraeth for Wales and came home after only four months.

The experience was a major milestone in her life. She knew from an early age that she wanted to be a children’s nurse, and achieved a life time dream when she completed her nurse training at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, London.

The Welsh Sea Rowing Association: http://welshsearowing.org.uk/

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Features

OFF THE MAP LIVING THE EXPLORER’S LIFE Niall McCann is a true explorer. He’s rowed across the

Atlantic, skied across Greenland, cut his way through the deep jungle and even explored places completely blank on the map Words: Alice Tobin

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Features

W

hat defines a real expedition is when there’s no guarantee of success,” says Niall McCann, but he certainly doesn’t let this stop him. Naturally afraid of heights, he regularly goes climbing and has slack-lined nearly 3000 feet above ground, and even the fact he’d never skied before didn’t stop him from skiing the length of Greenland. “I’d never really done it before,” he says casually, “and it was going to be quite useful.”

They arrived by helicopter in Tasiilaq on Greenland’s east coast, just south of the Arctic Circle, and spent three or four days with an Inuit community while they prepared. It took them 24 days to ski across the country, during which time they endured temperatures as low as -42 °C. McCann got away with just ‘frost nip’, but his friend wasn’t so lucky. A photo on his phone shows two jet black finger-tips, complete with finger nails, lying in his

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friend’s palm. They look like little sculptures made out of rock, not flesh frozen off a human hand.

Born to be an explorer

McCann has always known he wanted to be both a biologist and an explorer. Exploration is in his blood - his grandfather was Pat Baird, an explorer who led the first expedition to the Cumberland Peninsular on Baffin Island and has the Baird Peninsular named after him.

I’ve always tried to combine my love for natural history with my love for adventure and exploration,” he says. Based at Cardiff University, he currently has to squeeze in a PhD alongside his career as a TV presenter.

He says, “It’s just a matter of, whenever I’ve got a bit of a gap, pumping as much energy as I possibly can into each one”. >>

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Features

USA – Feral Hogs Feral hogs were introduced to the US for livestock and hunting, but with no natural predator, there are now five and a half million of them, causing chaos. For the show, Niall teamed up with a group of hog-hunters in Louisiana to catch the hogs. “The biggest one we caught was 350 pounds, which is huge,” says Niall, “That’s enormous.”

AUSTRALIA – Cassowary Cassowaries are a large bird related to the ostrich, which Niall says look like velociraptors, and have been known to kill people. “They get about six feet tall, weigh about seventy to eighty kilos, have three toes and on their inside toe they have this spike, which they use as a defence or an attack mechanism. They’ve got this incredible blue wattle throat and essentially what looks like a horn on its head.”

Finally, they travelled to the Northern Territories and teamed up with croc researchers Charlie Manolis and Grahame Webb to filmed salt water crocodiles. They caught one that was 4m 19cm long, and it was a struggle to get it into the boat, says Niall. “It weighs 400 kilos, and because you’re pulling on it, the boat is tilting over.”

EXPLORER

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LIFE360 MARCH 2013

ANIMAL CATCHER

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Features

VENEZUELA - Anacondas “I have a bit of a background with snakes, so it was an absolute delight for me to be able to work with one of the animals that had dominated my dreams for years, I’d always obsessed about anacondas,” Niall says. The way to find an anaconda, he says, is to walk barefoot through a swamp and hope to tread on one! The biggest one they caught was five and a half metres long.

He’s studying Baird’s tapir, a strangelooking animal with an enormous snout, which he says gives them an amazing sense of smell that lets them sniff out food and fellow tapirs. “They’re enormous,” Niall describes, “they’re the largest terrestrial mammal in the neotropics.”

He’s even got a family connection to the project. “On a very sweet note, my Mum’s maiden name is Baird, and I’m studying Baird’s tapir, so I’m actually studying my mother’s tapir, which I’m immensely pleased about.”

He particularly wanted to do a project under Mike Bruford, study a large endangered mammal and go somewhere remote. This project ticked all three boxes.

“So I spent about 11 months in Honduras, the country with the highest murder rate in the world, managing not to be killed, which was quite amazing!” he laughs.

Even so, he’s seen some horrific things.

He describes the scene that met him when he returned from a four day search for tapirs. “Five minutes before I got there someone had just been shot in the face, but no one seemed that concerned - this is just what happens in Honduras.”

He’s had a very strange conversation

“What I miss most are pringles. They have both very strong flavours and crunchy, so they’re pretty much the dream” at four different villages he’s stopped at before his treks. “I say ‘I’m going off to find tapirs’, and they ask ‘what are you looking for?’, and I’m like ‘I specifically need dung, tapir dung’, and they’re like

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‘Okay, that’s cool... do you use the dung to make bread?’”, he describes, laughing, “‘No, no I don’t!’”

ACROSS AN OCEAN

I rowed across the Atlantic. That was 63 days, which was quite a long time.” Niall recalls, “Two of us. He went mental on day one.” His only rowing companion, James Burge, was fine during training, but quickly descended into manic depression once they began. Their ruthless routine meant they never had more than 48 minutes sleep at a time, and it clearly took its toll; “When you’re on a really serious expedition you have no way of predicting how you’re going to respond to it until you’ve left.” On his return, McCann had ‘sea legs’ so couldn’t walk in a straight line for three days, but two weeks later he felt elated. “It felt as if I was floating,” he says.

What does he miss most on these long expeditions? Friends? Family? “Pringles,” he reveals, “It’s specifically strong flavours.

I’ve been on some long expeditions where you can’t take anything crunchy, because it goes off, so you miss stuff that crunches.

Pringles are both very strong flavours and crunchy, so they’re pretty much the dream.”

OFF THE MAP

Last summer McCann ran an expedition to a place in Honduras last visited by the Maya. “You’ve got troops of monkeys coming down to check you out, having never seen another primate in their lives,” he says, “That’s pretty amazing.”

Niall’s most at home in the jungle, but it’s not always fun. He’s avoided any serious disease, but has had botfly – a spiked larva that crawls under your skin and feed off

your flesh. “A botfly catches a mosquito and lays an egg on its face,” he describes.

When the mosquito lands, the larvae fall off and burrow under your skin. You can’t squeeze botfly out because of their spikes, so he blocked up the air-holes in his skin with duct tape to suffocate it.

Now all that remains of the fly is a little black dot on the back of his hand, but it didn’t die without a struggle; he could feel it trying to bite new breathing holes.

“You can feel them eating you.”

“What defines a real expedition is when there’s no guarantee of success” He considers Guyana his greatest discovery. “It’s like the Garden of Eden without the talking snake,” he says. With 76% of the country still covered by rainforest, some areas aren’t even mapped.

“The only map of the area was drawn up from an aerial photography survey in 1970, and when you look down at the map parts of it are literally white and just say ‘cloud’, because when the photograph was taken it was cloudy and no one knows what’s underneath. Our river went through some of those places, so we’ve literally been to places that are blank on the map.”

He’ll never stop exploring, he says. “It’s not just what I do,” he insists, “It’s what I am.”

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Full Circle 70%

MOVIE - The Hobbit

Bilbo Baggins, a tough and young hobbit, travels with his special friends and brings you on an “unexpected journey.”

The Hobbit is directed, cowritten and produced by the director, Peter Jackson. He imitates the similar structure of The Lord of the rings to weave the vicissitudinous history of the hobbits.

The Hobbit is similar to The Lord of the Rings, a story of adventure and destiny.

The small hobbit, Bilbo Baggins becoms one of the members who had to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor. The wizard Gandalf the Grey resolves the hobbits worries, and accidentally, Bilbo Baggins finds himself joined in Thorin Oakenshield’s company with thirteen dwarves. They start their journey from their home to the wild and treacherous land.

Bilbo Baggins is the major character in this journey, who narrates the history of hobbits to bring the audience into the adventure.

RE 80%

Music Album - The 20/20 Experience Artist: Justin Timberlake JT’s love hooks are brought back to life.

Photo courtesy of RCA Records

It’s all about self-exploration. Once you

realise that the true love you’ve been looking for is just right in front of you, you’ll try your best to keep it with you and never want to lose it. This is what Justin Timberlake is trying to say in this new second track of his new studio album.

Just like other hits by Justin, the song has a catchy hook. And it gets the pop audience. In its third week of release, this track ranks number four on The MTV Official UK TOP 40.

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But, no offense to the JT’s fans out there. Don’t you think the beat of this song is like taking a bit of his previous single Suit and Tie and another bit of his famous old song Cry Me A River, and making it in the usual Justin’s slow pop style? Come on JT, we know you can do better than that.

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VI E

90%

This mode of introduction is extended from The Lord of the Rings.

These two series of films are crafted from the novels which are written by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Originally, the narrative style in the book of The Hobbitis slightly mored relaxed and humorous. But the screenwriters make the content to adapt the story frame of The lord of rings to include as much detail as possible. This method seems to lower the tension of the story.

However, the film still has success from its inspiration and encouragement.

The director puts the difficulties of hobbits’ in the fictional world of Middle-earth with Bilbo Baggins’ will to help his race status as a comparison. “Home is now behind you; the world is ahead.” said by the hobbit, which tells people that no matter how trivial you are, taking a first step with bravery can complete every mission in your life.

EXIBITION - RejuventArt

A thought-provoking show about exploring recycling art, and making our planet better.

Photo credited by rejuvenart.

Time for us to create art

works out of rubbish! Wasted Evian bottles, pegs, paper, tinfoil, and candlesticks all take on a fresh and brand new look at RejuventArt exhibition, themed with “creative recycling”.

For me, the meaning of this exhibition is more than making the ugly beautiful but awareness that art comes from life not beyond life.

From rugs made out of worn out clothes, paper cranes of tossed posters, to the jumpin’ jelly fish puppet of wasted bottles, skills applied may not

be professional, but ideas behind manifest a positive attitude towards life and a deep concern four our environment.

Caroline Deacon, sponsor of this exhibition, conveys the message through arts and crafts which intends to raise the status of rubbish for making a better planet.

Location and Time: Norwegian Church, Cardiff 25th February- 10th March 2013 Website: http://rejuvenart.org/

photo credited by rejuvenart.org/

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P H O T O G A L L E R Y

Full Circle

Ringtailed lemur lepaing between spiny trees, Berenty Reserve Madagascar

by Adam Seward

Hmong women harvesting corn, Sapa, Vietnam

by Adam Seward

Gotcha! Niall looks into the eyes of the 5 metre-long anaconda they caught from niallmccann.com

Facing his fears – Niall slack-lined walks across a terrifying 3000 foot drop, despite a fear of heights in Yosemite National Park, California! from niallmccann.com

A hiker in a slot canyon in Utah, USA

by Olivier Renck

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“One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t.”

Henry Ford LIFE360 MARCH 2013

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