It turns out that the highest sand dune in the world is Peru's Cerro Blanco, which rises more than 2,000m above the ground and more or less resembles a mountain. It also turns out that if you want to sandboard down the side of it, Peru Adventure Tours is more than willing to put together a package for you, drive you out there in a sand buggy, and watch as you indulge in one of the world's most extreme sports.

Sandboarding is an all-season sport, one of the upshots of basing an activity out of a desert. Sandboarders either stand on snowboard-like boards or lie down on mats for "trayboarding," and try to pull off the same tricks that snowboarders do. That means catching air, doing tricks, and carving up the ground. Instead of kicking up snow, though, these athletes shred grainy sand. And instead of getting to ride sky lifts up picturesque mountains, they have to access some of the most unforgiving environments in the world.]]> Omri 2009-08-14T13:14:35-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/1/28/02216/2068

If it were in any other city in the Western Hemisphere, Las Vegas’ Springs Preserve, which debuted in 2006, would be no secret.

In the midst of an apparent global emergency around the subject of climate change, a well-designed, nearly new recreational and educational facility dedicated to raising awareness of sustainable living should be hitting it out of the park.

But this is Las Vegas. To date, it’s not uncommon to run into locals who still haven’t heard of the Preserve and, certainly to its developers, a disappointingly tiny number of tourists have seemed willing to drag themselves away from Vegas’ more sinful offerings.

The South Australian government has stepped in to save dumb tourists from themselves by simply closing a whole desert. The 56,000 square miles of the Simpson Desert will be "closed" from December 1 to March 15 next year because the heat makes it just too dangerous.

With summer temps heading over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit and often up to 120, it's risky for anyone to head out into the wilderness, but unprepared tourists who need expensive (and dangerous) rescue missions are all too common. So for the first time, they've simply shut up shop on the desert with a A$1,000 ($650) fine for those caught there.

As far as deserts go, Australia has four of the top twenty largest ones, so they probably know what they're talking about. Dying of thirst in a desert is not high on our list of ways we'd like to go, so we won't be going desert-bashing this Aussie summer.

Related Stories:
· Too Risky: Simpson Desert Closed for Summer [SMH]
· Won't Get Fooled Again? [Jaunted]
· Australia Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: jwbenwell] ]]> amandak 2008-11-21T09:05:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/11/2/233152/027

The weird desert they call The Pinnacles doesn't technically get described as being in southwest Australia, but if you look on a map it sure seems like it should. Part of the Nambung National Park, The Pinnacles are a huge collection of limestone pillars sticking out of a desert of yellow sand--and visiting, you wouldn't be crazy to feel like you'd landed on the moon.

Although experts still disagree on how these limestone columns--some of which tower over the average person--were formed, you can make up your own mind with the newly-opened Visitors' Centre on site. It also houses a few stuffed animals so you know what kind of critters you should be looking out for while you’re prancing around the desert.

Aim to stay for sunset to get the best pictures. You have to pay A$10 ($7) per car to get into the national park but after than you can walk as far through the desert as you want, or you can cheat and drive around a bumpy limestone path. We definitely recommend walking.

Related Stories:
· Nambung National Park (Pinnacles) [Official Site]
· Western Australia Travel coverage [Jaunted] ]]> amandak 2008-11-04T09:00:07-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/9/91348/1068

We've heard of endangered Joshua trees, but now apparently Arizona's tradmark saguaros are at risk. The cacti, which can grow to 50 feet, are rare enough that poachers can fetch four figures for them--so the National Park Service plans to embed trackable microchips in the prickly plants:

Under the program, a microchip like those implanted to identify dogs and other pets--smaller than a dime--would be inserted an inch deep into the plant with a large syringe.

The microchips don't emit a signal. Instead, each is uniquely encoded, and waving a special wand within about a foot powers the chip to send back its code.

Park officials are now studying the potential environmental impact of tagging at least some of the millions of saguaros in Arizona. If the plan goes forward, it won't be the first of its kind: Lake Mead National Recreation Area started tracking its cacti in 1999.

Related Stories:
· Feds to Use Computer Chips to Foil Thieves [AP, via Google]
· Saguaro National Park [Official Site]
· Desert Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: kretyen]]]> pbb 2008-10-09T10:00:41-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/23/7416/64686

Arizona, it seems, wants to be more than just cacti and where John McCain is from, and a group of local investors are eager to bring some new commercialization to the state: They're looking to build a new theme park in Pinal County, the third planned for the area.

The park, Coyote Canyon, will feature five different themed lands including the Old West, Indian High Country, Rocks and River County and Canyon Country. The Central Corridor area would bring hotels and shopping to the park experience. However, there's no word yet if huge steel coasters are in the works for any of the lands.

Developers have already indicated that other investors are eager to get in on the ground floor of the $600 million project and have announced that hotels, restaurants and even bowling alleys are ready to break ground. Even if all goes smoothly, it'll still be a couple years until we get to check it out: No land has been purchased yet.

Related Stories:
· Third Theme Park Proposed for Pinal County [Tucson Citizen]
· Theme Parks coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Karen Sheets]]]> kjb 2008-09-23T10:30:32-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/31/154732/078

Visiting the Middle East can be disappointing for anyone hoping for "A Whole New World" type of adventure, once they see all the skyscrapers, beach resorts and, of course, gigantic Eurotrash discos.

Fortunately for those in search of a vacation with more desert sand dunes and travel by camel, Israel has plenty of back-in-time experiences like the Mamshit Camel Ranch.

Set in the middle of Israel's Negev Desert, Mamshit offers day-long camel tours, Bedouin-style group meals and overnight stays in "the Million Star Hotel," an assortment of sheep wool and goat hair tents. The whole thing is a little more Disney-Middle East than genuine experience, but what are you gonna do? Even the Bedouins live in houses now.

Related Stories:
· Mamshit Camel Ranch [Official Site]
· Israel Travel coverage [Jaunted]]]> BS 2008-08-01T13:05:03-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/