A Queensland surfer has fought off a shark with his fists in waters east of Bundaberg in south east Queensland.

A woman who witnessed the attack, which happened late yesterday at Archie’s Beach, says the water around the surfer began to bubble before he started punching the sea.

The man, who had been surfing with his son, returned to the beach unharmed and told lifeguards his board had been hit by a “large grey shape”.

Queensland Shark Control Program manager Tony Ham says it was most likely a tiger shark.

“We catch quite a number of tiger sharks off Bundaberg each year,” Mr Ham said.

“At the end of the day the reality is we know they’re present all year round.

“I guess we’re warning people to be proactive and be a bit clever.”

Mr Ham says the attack may be linked to the region’s turtle breeding season.

He says nesting turtles along the coast provide a feeding ground for lurking tiger sharks, and it is likely the shark mistook the man for a turtle.

“Sharks, particularly tiger sharks, are one of their natural predators so they’re out there having an opportunistic feed,” he said.

Photo above by akeg

Write your details

Using a permanent marker, inscribe your name, email, phone number and address. If it gets lost, you never know, but someone might find it and take the effort to get it back to you.

Slice off the extra straps

You can take a lesson from the obsessive ultra-light mountain climbers. Do you really need that extra 50 cm of nylon webbing for your waist belt? Do you really need those ice axe loops hanging from the bottom? Do you have a use and idea for every single bit of nylon hanging off the pack?

Modern packs are over-engineered, and you’d be amazed at the amount of weight and tangle-straps you can remove with a sharp pair of scissors. Use a lighter to melt the plastic to keep it from fraying.

Be careful not to cut anything critical!

Fold-stitch the carrying handles

Nowadays, many packs have a handle between the shoulder straps and the top, and this grip handle is important for moving the pack around. Flat nylon webbing can be harsh on the hand, but if you fold it in half, you’ll find it’s much easier to grip. Just stitch it to keep it folded.

If you want to be really fancy, find a plastic tube to slip over the handle- your fingers will be happy!

It seems that after a certain point you’ll have more patches than places to put them, but one simple thing to remember is that sewing three quarters of a patch onto a backpack panel can reveal a small, unexpected new pocket!

Rectangular patches work best. You can even add a bit of velcro to keep things inside secure.

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So yesterday in the land of the Kiwis, Air New Zealand unveiled their “revolutionary, Kiwi designed lie-flat economy and ground breaking premium economy seats,” and initially we were thrilled at the promise of lie-flat seats in economy…until we saw the pictures.

That’s it above, their “lie-flat” design, which depicts your pretty typical airline seats, but now with footrests that can raise to create a larger flat surface for stretching out. It’s called the “SkyCouch,” and although the light of heaven seems to be shining down upon the young, beautiful couple, we’re skeptical.

So first off, we have a problem with the fact that these two fresh young faces seem to be two people taking up three seats. In order to experience the full SkyCouch, you’ve got to purchase the two seats as usual and then you pay half-price for the third. Only 22 sets of these SkyCouches will be available in economy, and they’ll be up in the first 11 rows of the class, effectively creating another class between premium economy and economy. “SkyCouch” class, we guess. Who knows what the odds are of buying one of these SkyCouches, since as we saw on our recent Air New Zealand flight, they need all the passenger space they can get.

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In the search for more unusual, out-of this-world travelling experiences, travellers are being lured to the ends of the earth to find the most eccentric, wacky and exciting activities, sights and venues. So if you’re fond of a tipple or two, you might want to try one of these bars. Their locations and gimmicks are enough to get pulses racing, but add alcohol to the mix and you’re in for quite a fun time. Here are 13 of the world’s most strange, exciting and different watering holes that will have you thirsty for more . more>

By Robin Esrock

Nobody quite knows why you can show up three minutes before the bus leaves but have to spend hours hanging around waiting to catch a plane. Once you’ve checked in, gone through security, it’s typically a case of hurry up and wait. Factor in connections, cancellations and delays and travellers today know all about the great challenge to kill time at an airport. Stuck for hours in Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, here are some suggestions that might help.

1. Talk

People around you are bored out of their minds too so any attempt to engage a fellow passenger is sure to be met with some success. Although airports are not nearly as friendly as forests, they’re a lot more amenable to conversation than nightclubs. Simply turn to the nearest person and ask: “Do you feel like talking to a complete stranger because my eyes are glazing over and I’m starting to lose consciousness from boredom.” As a result, I’ve had conversations with everyone from CEOs to construction workers, made friends in high and low places, but most importantly, killed minutes connecting with real live human beings.

2. Shop

Since most airports are refashioned shopping malls the trick here is to not actually buy anything. Kill time, save money. Wander from shop to shop, try the free samples and make notes of prices to compare to the non-duty free (mostly cheaper) versions back home. Try on expensive sunglasses, handbags and watches. Feel kitsch souvenirs and allow your eyes to feast but your credit card to relax. You don’t need anything other than distraction and, fortunately, airport shops offer that free of charge.

3. Look

People watching is always fun, all it takes is a little imagination. Simply look around, choose a person, and create their personal history. Notice what they’re wearing, their mood, their posture. Now mind every book or movie you’ve ever seen and see how deep you can descend into character. As I’m typing this I’m looking up. A man in a suit with a pinkish English complexion is playing games on his cell phone. OR IS HE? He’s actually an arms dealer, although his wife believes he sells vacuum cleaners. He’s having an affair with his best friend’s nanny and the game on his phone allows them to correspond in code. He grew up on military bases…hell, I’ve just killed five minutes in my mind and I should have been writing.

4. Write

Writing encompasses working (emails, projects, reports) but you needn’t be limited if you’re lacking a laptop. Pick up a couple of postcards from the bookstore and get busy penning short tidbits of useless information. In our digital age we forget the romantic, somewhat exotic thrill of receiving a postcard from foreign (or even domestic) shores. Sure, you could write a letter, but postcards are the perfect length to keep things exciting. Mailing them off when you get home doesn’t take anything away from the destination on the front either.

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I’m not ashamed to admit that my travels are often planned around alcohol – trips to vineyards, distilleries and breweries are always toward the top of my travel to-do list – but I do get sick of the disparaging looks this admission generally receives. Tell someone you travel in order to taste new foods and you’re congratulated on your willingness to embrace other cultures. Tell someone you travel for booze and you’ll invariably be met with raised eyebrows and a look that suggests what a sad life you lead.

But really, a country can be understood through its alcohol just as well as its food. Top tipples tend to represent top crops, hence Russia sips vodka (potatoes), Japan knocks back the sake (rice), and Mexico downs tequila (agave). Simple things like weather dictate how a nation drinks, whether it’s escaping cool winters or dismal summers in northern Europe’s cosy pubs or soaking up the sun with an ice cold beer on an Aussie beach.

More interesting are the many rules and regulations that come with enjoying a pint or a shot in different lands. Few areas of life seem to come with as many traditions and potential cultural gaffes as going out for a drink, so here are a few rules to remember when you’re imbibing around the world.

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Whether you’ve spent the previous night stumbling down Rose Street, swanning around George Street or staggering down to the Grassmarket, chances are that come Sunday morning there will be one thought on your mind – food. And lots of it.

Luckily, Edinburgh will deliver cozy pubs, good, strong coffee, log fires and roast lunches that make you feel like you’re back at home again, being looked after by Mum. Here’s some of the best.

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Eventually most of us need to settle somewhere for work and make a home for ourselves. Your travels become memories shared with our family and friends about the journey you had. Then comes the full time work, bills, and other responsibilities you had to never worry about while traveling. As more days pass by, you might get back to your old habits that you had before you traveled. There are some things though that should never be forgotten and should continued to be used in your home from your travels. more>

Backpackers aren’t always the world’s most ethical travelers. Having little money, and being in places where no one knows them, they get away with quite a bit. For the most part, it’s nothing terrible, just a few misdemeanors. Here are a few of the ones that most backpackers don’t tend to brag about:

1- Wear Dirty Underwear

Sometimes, backpackers forget to do laundry. Sometimes, it’s more of a question of money. Sometimes, they lose their clean underwear in a freak gasoline fight accident. Or whatever. It’s just not always possible to maintain a fresh supply of clean underwear on the road. The only thing worse than putting on dirty underwear, is telling other people that you’ve put on dirty underwear.

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Lets face it, it is hard to meet a good man these days. But what your local travel agent fails to tell you is that backpacker travel is not only a life-changing experience, but also a great way to meet potential suitors.

Hostels and backpacker bars actually have a long and sordid history of beginning beautiful, and not so beautiful, intra- and inter-nation relationships. If you ask around, it is likely that your parents or their friends have stories of meeting their husband on a Contiki tour, or at least of a Spanish sangria-loving mystery man they met travelling in India in the 70s. This continues today – the array of modern hostels and backpacker bars are perhaps the best places in the world to meet the opposite sex, being literally filled to the brim with young, friendly, like-minded men that are usually open to some hostel loving. more>

What a travel season it has been this winter, huh? Jeez—so much news, and most of it horrible. Well the bad news train keeps chugging along with the alert that yesterday, a thief on an Air France pickpocketed sleeping passengers in business class, making off with over $5,500.

The flight, a direct between Tokyo-Narita and Paris-Charles de Gaulle, is one where flying through the night usually sends passengers into a deep sleep, especially when we’re talking biz class with their larger seats and extra perks. According to MSNBC, an alarm was raised while the plane was still in the air, when a passenger awoke to find over 3,000 Euros ($4,300) missing from her purse. Who carries that kind of cash in their purse, anyway? Oh yes—people flying business class between Paris and Tokyo. more>

You have come a long way to reach your destination. You are tired and looking forward to start that dream holiday– only to find out you lost your luggage at the airport.

Does the situation seem familiar?

With tons of luggage coming across airports every day, it’s not impossible for airport employees to mis-tag bags, misread luggage tags, set bags aside and not remember it, or accidentally haul it out of the cargo hold before it get to its intended destination. On the other hand, in 50% of the cases, the luggage owners are also to blame why their belongings get lost. Below are some basic yet very helpful tips which will prevent and lessen the chances of your luggage from getting lost.

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Now that summer is in full swing in Australia, why not take in a movie outdoors.

Moonlight Cinema
It’s a well-loved Sydney tradition: pack a picnic, head to Centennial Park, hire a beanbag, ward off mosquitoes, watch a film. This year, Moonlight delivers their usual line up of cinema’s latest and greatest – and, course, it wouldn’t be an outdoor cinema without a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Sat 3 Jan). It’s just a jump to the left…

Flickerfest
Renowned as Australia’s first beachside cinema, Flickerfest is a collection of the best short films in competition from Oz and beyond screening 8–17 January under the Bondi stars. Ride the Flickerfest wave with Shortsbeats, funky shorts with a musical beat, Oscars® shorts, Flickerkids and Stories on Human Rights. Flickerfest goes green with organic food and drinks available at the panoramic festival bar overlooking the beach. Catch the short film fever!

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Cramming 50 or so young, broke, fairly smelly backpackers into one small hostel can be the recipe for disaster. Indeed, most of the travellers among us have a few (or ten) horror stories they could tell about their latest hostel experiences.

Most of these awkward hostel situations would not occur, however, if all of our fellow backpackers followed these 10 simple Hostel Commandments.

1) Thou shall not play thou’s guitar for us unless requested by at least two people in the room that are not friends of thou. Why did thou feel the need to bring a musical instrument backpacking anyway?

(2) Thou shall not turn the light on at 5am to pack for the early morning train. Especially if thou uses forty crinkly plastic bags to separate thou’s stuff in thou’s backpack. Thou should do it the night before, or perhaps thou should have packed a torch instead of that pink GHD hair straightener.

(3) Thou shall shower every day, unless it is winter in Romania and there is no hot water, in which case thou shall shower every second day, very quickly. However, thou shall not take 45 minutes in the bathroom at 8 o’clock in the morning when five other people are waiting

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Wooo! Naked sexy lady! …or not.

There’s going to be a lot of talk about full-body scanners in 2010, we can tell. So in an effort to help you understand what airports will have them, what happens when you use them, and your rights, we’re dedicating this week to explaining it all in Full-Body Scanners 101. more>

We’ve all seen it: that one lonely bag on the baggage claim track at the airport that goes around and around with no owner in sight. What happens to it if no one shows up?

Well, it might end up at the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama. That’s where you can visit a store that takes up an entire city block and find everything from the expected (clothing, toiletries, books) to, well, the unexpected.

Here are 10 of the strangest items that have gone unclaimed.

1. Hoggle from “Labyrinth” — Unlike other items at the Unclaimed Baggage Center, Hoggle is not for sale. He is now a permanent part of the Unclaimed Baggage Center Museum. If you’re not familiar, Hoggle was David Bowie’s dwarf-goblin minion in the 1986 movie.

2. A slew of ancient Egyptian artifacts — From a mummified falcon to a shrunken head, a bunch of objects dating back to 1500 B.C. were found in an old Gucci suitcase. Christie’s auction house ended up selling the museum-worthy items in the ’80s.

3. A rattle snake – A live one, roaming free amongst the rest of the unclaimed baggage.

4. A Naval guidance system — Yep — a piece of equipment worth $250,000 was lost and never claimed. The people at the Center decided to be good sports and return the expensive GPS to the Navy.

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Ten Australian summer music festivals definitely worth checking out the next time you’re down under. A very merry summer, indeed. more>