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Vermont Travel / Lakes / Historical Travel / Summer Travel / Festivals / → All Tags

Lake Champlain Turns the Big 4-0-0

It's not every day you turn 400. Heck, it's not every day anything turns 400, but that big birthday is coming up for our old friend Lake Champlain—the Northeast's far quainter answer to the Great Lakes.

Okay well, the lake itself is probably a lot older than 400, but July 2009 marks the 400th anniversary of French explorer Samuel de Champlain’s first sighting of it, and Vermont is going all out for its favorite body of water.

So how exactly do you throw a birthday party for a lake? Vermont has interpreted it as an excuse to celebrate all things aquatic, French, or both. The festivities kick off July 2nd in Burlington with Celebrate Champlain Burlington International Waterfront, a 13-day festival complete with French food, Quebecois artists, and concerts from big names like Tony Bennett and The Roots.

Events coming up in the ensuing months include a boat tour of more than 300 shipwrecks sunk beneath Lake Champlain, a French heritage festival in the tiny town of Vergennes, and tons more historical and education programs throughout the state all year long. For a full list, check out the Celebrate Champlain website.

Related Stories:
· Penguin Plunges Keep Burlington Fit [Jaunted]
· Eat 'n Sleep in Burlington :: Trattoria Delia and Lang House [Jaunted]
· Summer's Swimming Holes [Jaunted]

[Photo: john w]

Animals / Lakes / Pink Dolphins / Dolphins / → All Tags

Where To Find (But Not Harass) The Pink Dolphin

Girls growing up in the late 80/early 90s will be tickled...er...pink to know that a Lisa Frank illustration has come to life. Now all we need is this rose-hued dolphin to spout a rainbow out its blowhole and our long-lasting wish will be entirely fulfilled.

Pinky the Dolphin is a rare albino dolphin who inhabits the waters of Lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary, north of the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana. He was discovered by a charter boat captain who found the dolphin swimming in a pod of four. (He also snapped this picture above.)

Naturally, a pink dolphin is attracting a lot of attention from Lisa Frank fans to biologists who we realize are probably one and the same.

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New South Wales Field Trip / Lakes / Cruises / Australia Travel / → All Tags

Lake Macquarie: Big On Size, Big On Mystery

Our very own Aussie, Amanda Kendle, just returned from a trip to New South Wales, where the summer fun is in full swing.

Cruising Sydney Harbour is chicken feed compared to floating around on Lake Macquarie, less than two hours north of Sydney. The largest coastal lake in Australia, Lake Macquarie is more than four times bigger than Sydney's famous harbor and at least as beautiful.

Being so close to the big smoke, yet a whole lot more relaxing, rumor has it that celebrities pop up to the lake for a getaway. Locals can tell you scandals dating back to the King Edward and Wallis Simpson era, but there's no celebrity map tour going just yet.

Getting out on the water for a day is surprisingly cheap, with four-hour lunch cruises going for A$39 ($27). Take your binoculars to see how the rich people sunbathe on their lakeside lawns, in the hope that you might spot an escaping celebrity, too. You can take public transit there (two trains and a bus) or take the F3 highway from Sydney.

Related Stories:
· Lake Macquarie [Official Site]
· Tiny Sydney Harbor [Jaunted]
· New South Wales Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Queensland Travel / Australia Travel / Lakes / Gross / → All Tags

Please Tourists, Don't Pee in the Lake

So, we're sure your momma told you not to pee in the swimming pool--but did she also tell you it's bad to pee in a lake? Down in Australia, the beautiful Basin Lake on Fraser Island off Queensland isn't doing well these days, and one of the causes is high levels of urine in the water.

The official word is that too many tourists are using the lake as a toilet and that's led the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service to consider closing one of the access tracks to reduce visitor numbers.

Right now 35,000 people visit the lake every year and since there's no in- or outflow from the lake, whatever goes in, stays in. Our alternative suggestion is to simply stick up a big notice advertising the current urine levels in the lake. We're fairly sure most people would skip the swim.

Related Stories:
· Sunscreen, Urine Damaging Fraser Island Lake [ABC]
· Queensland Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: John Brennan]

Slovenia Travel / Green Travel / Lakes / → All Tags

Green Travel: Lakes That Bleed in Slovenia

Traveling somewhere green makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside, so we were quite excited to read the UK Times shortlist of the best Green Spaces 2008. The first of two nominations for the best open space in Europe went to Slovenia's Lake Bled, a place we'd like to officially add to our wanna-go-there list.

Lake Bled, despite the unfortunate name, is not blood red or even ugly at all: It's a clear, picturesque glacial lake in the Julian Alps, in the north-west corner of Slovenia--that's heading towards Austria. With a church on an island in the middle of it (often used for weddings, if you're looking to elope) and a medieval castle on one shore, it's not only green but snap-happy beautiful too.

And if you want a more strenuous vacation, then Lake Bled is also extremely popular with rowers. The World Rowing Championships have already been held there three times, and they're gearing up for the fourth one in 2011. Good on you, Lake Bled, we say.

Related Stories:
· Green Spaces 2008: The Finalists [UK Times]
· Slovenia Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: StrudelMonkey]

UNESCO / World Heritage Sites / Lakes / Google Maps / → All Tags

Out of Bridges, Austrian Wants to Sell You a Lake

Nicolette Waechter is tired of her family's lake in the resort district of Salzkammergut in Austria. So she's selling Mondsee, and €16 million ($24 million) seems to be the going price.

Mondsee, or Moon Lake, is about a mile wide and 10 miles long, and it's one of only five lakes of substantial size in Austria that is still privately owned. It's also part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it has lent its name to a Neolithic people who built pile dwellings on its shores between 3600 BC and 3300 BC.

But it's not without problems: Waechter has lost numerous court cases trying to ban motorboats on the lake. At least one potential buyer would probably be happy with those rulings, though. Local tabloids say billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, the co-creator of Red Bull, is interested.

Related Stories:
· One of Austria's Privately Owned Lakes for Sale [AFP, via Google]
· World Heritage Sites coverage [Jaunted]

Croatia / Tourist Attractions / UNESCO / Lakes / → All Tags

Party by the Lakes in Croatia

Picture the colors deep green, turquoise, sky blue, aquamarine and azure, and you've got only the colors that cover about 10% of the incredible shades you'll see at the Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia.

Situated inland between the Z-towns (Zagreb and Zadar), this collection of lakes, waterfalls, forest and hiking trails has been World Heritage listed since 1979, and deservedly so. It's all joined by walking paths, bus shuttles and a ferry or two, making all kinds of days out there possible.

Now one Plitvice Lakes website--that poetically describes the lakes' creation as "a scientific phenomenon"--is so impressed by this natural beauty, it's inviting all readers to the lakes for a New Year's Eve Party. Sixteen lakes, hundreds of waterfalls, middle of winter, plenty of alcohol. This sounds like a slightly dangerous situation to us, but taking an accidental midnight swim (not permitted, just so you know) is one way to appreciate all those colors better.

[Photo: Seamus Knox]

Lakes / Weird Destinations / → All Tags

Tar Pits Are Real

Trinidad's Pitch Lake is a 95 acre lake of tar on the island's east coast.

Rastafarian tour guides will show you the ins and outs of the "giant parking lot".

The tar is over 350 feet deep and according to one visitor:

The Lake seemed to me more than anything to be like a large creature with no face, only arms and guts in which it slowly swallowed everything around it.

Sounds kinda like that Sarlacc Pit that swallowed Boba Fett.