There isn't one anymore. The main game back in 2003 was to be the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe on a motorbike and linking up the seven natural wonders of the world by land and sea. I've seen five. Two left. I'l get to them some day soon. To the left is a rough idea of where I thought I was going to go.. To see exactly where I went click here. The dream is in the journey, the people, the experiences and pleasure of travelling the world like they did back before Ghengis Khan. Except I've got an engine. And rubber. Below are the first four natural wonders I visited.. If you would like to see what the rest of the natural wonders are click here. To view the man-made wonders I visited on the Oz2A trip click here.

This section outlines the seven natural wonders of our world.

I intend to visit and conquer each one some day. Which may involve swimming it, climbing, diving it, crossing it or just seeing it (Northern Lights). The one I am going to have trouble conquering is Mt Everest. But you never know. Maybe I will find someone willing to let me climb into their backpack with breathing apparatus, an ipod and some munchies. Have to wait and see.

First four done. Three to go.

Natural Wonders Completed

	Harbour of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) The city of Rio de Janeiro on the east coast of Brazil hugs the steep hillsides that meet the magnificent Guanabara Bay and Atlantic Ocean.

	Paricutin Volcano (Paricutin, Mexico) It's not everyday that a volcanologist gets to watch the birth, growth, and death of a volcano. Paricutin provided such an opportunity. The eruption that created Paricutin began in 1943 and continued to 1952. Most of the explosive activity was during the first year of the eruption when the cone grew to 336m. The cone continued to grow for another 8 years but added only another 88m. Effusive activity began on the second day and continued to the end of the eruption. Lava flows covered about 25 square kms and had a volume of about 1.4 cubic km. The rate of eruption declined steadily until the last 6 months of the eruption when violent explosions were frequent and violent. No one was killed by lava or ash.

	The Grand Canyon (Arizona, USA) Measuring up to 29 kms across - rim to rim, with an average width of 16 kms and an average depth of 1600m, the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River is the largest gorge in the world. The Grand Canyon is a 464-km-long gash across the face of the Colorado Plateau in northern Arizona. Within this Delaware-size area of eroded rock rise mountains higher than any in the eastern United States. Millions of years of erosion created the Grand Canyon, the Colorado and its tributaries slowly etched their way through rocks over a billion years old to create broad stripes and leave a record of the canyon's geologic history in its cliff walls. At the canyon's bottom, a mile below the rim, the Colorado River slices through Granite Gorge, exposing some of the oldest rocks visible anywhere on the earth. Nearly two billion years old. Ten distinct layers of sandstone, limestone, and shale reveal the advance and retreat of ancient seas, the building up and wearing down of mountains and the meandering of rivers over 600 million years. The Grand Canyon is not only a slice of North America's geologic history but also a cross section of ecozones. Between rim and river, travelers find the same variety of ecological regions they would encounter on a trip from Canada to Mexico. About five million people now visit the canyon each year by car, on foot, atop mules, on motorized rafts, and in helicopters (and on motorbikes!)

	The Northern Lights (The Arctic Circle) The Northern Lights, also known as auroras, are mostly witnessed at night and visible best in the high northerly latitudes such as Alaska and Sweden. Auroras are caused when the sun gives off high energy particles (ions) that travel out to space at speeds of 300 - 1,200 kms per second. A cloud of these particles is called a plasma. The stream of plasma coming from the sun is called the solar wind. These solar winds interact with the magnetic field of the earth and some become trapped in the earth's ionosphere. When the particles collide with gases in the ionosphere, they begin to glow. What can dramatically change the oval are the occasional spikes in solar activity that turn the solar wind into a raging hurricane. Then, for a few days, the auroral oval flows toward the Equator and treats sky-gazers as far south as Mexico to midnight extravaganzas.

Natural Wonders still to complete..

	Victoria Falls (Zambia/Zimbabwe, Africa) One of the greatest waterfalls in the world lies on the Zimbezi River, separating the two countries - Zambia and Zimbabwe. The falls were formed by a deep rift in the rock that lies directly across the path of the Zimbezi River. The rift was caused by movement of the earth about 150 million years ago. At the broadest point, the falls are nearly 1900m across. You can see Victoria Falls from as far as 40 kms away, and see its spray rising over 300m into the air from eleven kms away! The height of the falls varies from 85m to about 120m in the center. Victoria falls was discovered by David Livingstone in 1855 and was named in honour of Queen Victoria. Since their discovery the number of foreign visitors rose steadily and have continued ever since.

	Mt. Everest (Nepal/Tibet) Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world. It is part of the Himalayan Mountains and sits on the border between Nepal and Tibet. Roughly 60 million years ago, India, then a separate continent, began to move rapidly northward, eventually colliding with Asia. The push crushed the land on the continental shores into what is now the highest mountain range in the world - the Himalayas. The entire range of magnificent snow-covered peaks is a natural wonder on it's own -- but Everest stands above the others quite literally. Everest is currently 29, 107 feet (8,800 meters) tall, but is growing at a rate of 2 inches per year. New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the pinnacle on May 29, 1953, the first recorded men to march over the frozen ridges and stand on the highest point in the world.

	The Great Barrier Reef (Queensland, Australia) The Great Barrier Reef, which sweeps along the northeast coast of Australia, is the world's longest-spanning natural wonder (not including the auroras). The 2,000 km reef is ironically the most fragile and is made up of the skeletons of generations of marine polyps that lived and died just under the surface of the crystal clear sea. Pollution, climate change and human intrusion are some of the factors endangering the delicate lime-based coral that covers about 344,000 square kms, often as close as 50 kms from shore. The reef, home to the current generations of polyps, is also inhabited by a diverse and varied array of colourful and exotic species of marine life. Nearly microscopic fish co-exist with much larger whale sharks, countless shellfish and other fanciful creatures.

Return to top...





People have been arguing for years about which man-made wonders qualify for the top 7 and to this day there is still no 'official' list. To avoid any disputes I have decided to make a list of my own known as 'The LOT' There are a total of 26 man-made wonders which made it into 'The LOT and they are all listed below.

Man Man Wonders Complete

South America

	The Easter Island Statues, Pacific Ocean, Chile

	The Statue of Cristo Redentor, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

	The Inca city of Machu Picchu, Peru

Central America

	The Panama Canal, Panama City, Panama

	The Mayan City of Tikal, Guatemala

North America

	The Hoover Dam, U.S.A.

Man Made Wonders still to complete

Europe

The Colosseum	Leaning Tower of Pisa	The Parthenon	Chartres Cathedral

The Clock Tower - Big Ben	The Eiffel Tower	Mont-Saint-Michel	Stonehenge

The Middle East

Petra, the rock-carved city	The Throne Hall of Persepolis

Africa

The Suez Canal	The Pyramids at Giza	Abu Simbel Temple

Asia

The Great Wall Of China	The Petronas Towers	Angkor Wat	Borobudur Temple

The Shwedagon Pagoda	The Taj Mahal

Australia

	By the time I arrive here, This is where I will stay.
The Sydney Opera House

Return to top...