Air | The Adventure Travel Site

Desert animal survival adaptations that will blow your mind!

Deserts are certainly one of the harshest environments on the planet but even in these environs, nature has amazed us giving a number of creatures abilities to tackle these unforgiving conditions. Read on to know about some of these unique survival adaptations of animals who live in deserts.

WikimediaImages, Camel Race Algeria Desert Animal Track Riding, CC0 1.0

Scaly Skin

Most of the creatures of deserts particularly reptiles have scaly and patterned skin, these are an adaption formed through thousands of years of evolution. Scaly skins of these creatures retain moisture and help them evenly dissipate heat. The sidewinder snakes, the thorny devil, Earless lizard, the Gila monster are some of the creatures who have developed this adaptation.

Sophisticated digestive system

Almost all the desert creatures have a highly adapted digestive system that can synthesise food to extract water. Since these environments do not hold water for these creatures to drink, most creatures like The desert tortoise, the Greater Roadrunner, Brewer’s Sparrow, camels are some of the examples of desert creatures with sophisticated digestive systems.

Nocturnal lifestyle

Most of the desert creatures avoid the scorching sun by this ingenious method. That is by becoming nocturnal. This particular behaviour can be seen among Mammals and other warm-blooded creatures such as badgers, coyotes and foxes.

Heightened Senses

Finding food in the desert is like finding a needle in a haystack and some of these creatures have developed adaptations such as an acute sense of hearing and smell to pinpoint the location of food. This works both ways i.e. predator such as fennec foxes and coyotes use them to hunt their prey and creatures like the desert hare use their sense of hearing to not become the hunted.

Animals of these special survival adaptations can be spotted in desert regions and you are more likely to spot one of these during your Abu Dhabi Desert Tour or a stroll on the deserts during your stay at Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara.

Caleb Falcon is a travel writer who specializes in writing content based on the many exciting world adventures that await intrepid travellers. Google+

Wildlife Tours and Safari Holidays in Sri Lanka

Want to experience a wildlife adventure tour in Sri Lanka? Most of the paths in the country hold an abundance of nature and adventure, like those given below.

Yala National Park

The Yala National Park is well known among many a tourist as the nature reserve that holds the highest number of leopards on earth. It is made up of dry woodlands, wetlands, grassland, sandy beaches, thorn forests, and lagoons. Apart from stealthy leopards, one can witness freely roaming mammals such as loris, fishing cat, and the sloth bear.

Wilpattu National Park

Your wildlife excursion will be incomplete until you visit the Wilpattu National Park. The name Willpattu refers to the sand-rimmed ‘Villus’ (natural lakes) that are scattered around the park. Those who are interested in Sri Lanka wildlife holidays can look forward to a multitude of wild encounters in Willpattu. If you wish to spot an array of wildlife including sloth bears, elephants and even exotic species of birds, the best time to visit the park is from February to October.

Kumana National Park

Also known as ‘Yala East’, spotting animals is not an easy task in Kumana! However, it possesses a certain authenticity and a significant bird population. The nesting season which comes in the months of May and June makes it an ideal place to visit the park. You can request organizers such as Cinnamon Nature Trails to schedule a safari to coincide with the nesting season.

Bundala National Park

This park is well-known as a wildlife hotspot for aquatic bird life! The most impressive aspect of the park is its terrain made up of sand dunes, scrub jungle, salt pans, lagoons and long stretches of coastline.

Caleb Falcon is a travel writer who specializes in writing content based on the many exciting world adventures that await intrepid travellers. Google+

Parachuting in Yarra Valley Melbourne

Are you an adrenaline junkie? Then engaging in a spot of skydiving in Yarra Valley, when you’re next in Australia should most definitely be on your agenda!

Image by MKFI of Parachuting via pixabay.com

The Experience
The experience includes diving from up to 15, 000 ft at a speed over 200 km/hr along with a 60-second free fall, which will set your heart racing! Once the parachute is released you will be able to enjoy a 5-7-minute flight over the verdant region while taking in aerial views of the picturesque countryside and charming vineyards.

Where to Sign up
Interested parties can sign up for the exhilarating activity with Yarra Valley Skydiving for great rates either online or in person. Free transfers too are available for selected packages and sessions. If you happen to be staying in South Yarra hotels including the likes of Oaks South Yarra, the staff would arrange the excursion upon request.

Safety
Regardless if you are an experienced jumper or a first timer, friendly skydiving experts will ensure that everyone is comfortable while they take the customers through a safety briefing in preparation for the dive.

Packages and Price Point
Offered packages such as the Tandem Skydive from up to 15,000 ft. starts from $299 while a dive from 7, 000 ft. would be $199. Photos and videos are also available for purchase, so you can relive the thrilling experience all over again.

Intrigued by history, art and food, Lavinia Woolf is a writer who is passionate about the extraordinary and writes of the exhilarating and enchanting. Google+

Skydive in Dubai

Dubai is one of the most luxurious places in the world, and has become synonymous with opulence. The Emirate also offers a bounty of adventurous experiences and sky-diving is one of them.

Skydive Dubai

This is considered the premier place to experience a daring skydive in Dubai, and offers a variety of jumps for people for varying levels of experience and bravery.

Tandem Jump

This refers to a dive where the student or novice jumper is harnessed to a skydiving instructor, allowing the latter to guide the prior through the entire process, from the exit stage right until the landing.

Get Certified

There’s a school situated here where you can learn the art of skydiving from theory to practice, and obtain a license that will allow you engage in solo skydives throughout the world, and earn some serious bragging rights. The most basic course only takes 6-8 hours!

Gyrocopter

Skydiving isn’t the only thing offered at this institution, since they conduct scenic tours over Dubai in gyrocopters as well. If you’re enjoying a stay at one of many 5 star resorts Dubai has to offer, such as Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort, then this will definitely be a great way to complement a luxurious holiday.

Fritzjames Stephen is a travel writer, who writes content based on the myriad of experiences and indulgences that the world has to offer travellers across all walks of life. Google+

Flight Experience at Bangkok

Looking for ways to have fun indoors while in Bangkok? During days where there are less than stellar weather conditions in play, a visit to the mall might be one of your best bets for a day full of fun and unexpected surprises. Head down to the Gateway Ekamai Shopping Centre and check out Flight Experience Bangkok; a fully-fledged flight experience simulator smack-dab in the middle of a shopping mall! The Gateway Ekamai shopping mall is quite accessible both via road and via Skytrain, with the closest stop being the Ekkamai BTS Skytrain Station. If you are staying at a boutique hotel in Bangkok like the many found in the Sukhumvit area such as Maitria Hotel Sukhumvit 18, a trip to the mall by road should take you around twenty minutes or less. Once you get to the mall, go up to the second floor of the shopping centre to find your destination.

Flight Experience Bangkok boasts two separate flight simulators and offers an unbelievably authentic flying experience for patrons aged five and upwards! Although the half-hourly and hourly sessions do cost a pretty penny, they are comparatively cheaper to similar counterparts in European countries and in the land down under (i.e. Australia). So it’s worth forking out the dough for such an experience during your Thailand holiday as opposed to one in a western country. For those of you who have always dreamed of piloting an aircraft and being at the helm of a plane that is of a similar size to the Boeing 737, this is your chance to live out your dream, minus all the pesky requirements involved in actually going out and working towards getting a pilot’s license. Or for those who do plan to do exactly that one day, this is a great opportunity to get a taste of flying and confirm that it is a career path that you would actually like to commit to.

A true believer that the pen is a mighty weapon, Joanna James ventures into reaching the minds of every reader with the earnest hope of leaving an indelible stream of thought. Her interests include Politics, law and Philosophy. Google+