Fiji Special Photo-Site by Don

"I am glad to have a chance to have experienced a memorable trip to Matava. Also, you guys there have done a fabulous job contributing lots to the education of our fragile environment and needs to conserving them for the future generations, cultural as well as Improving the social status of the locals. Hope the “Fiji Special” will contribute towards your goal."

Vinaka

Don, Hin Lim

Hin Lim Photography
274, Victoria Street

Richmond 3121 Victoria,Australia

Tel: +61 (0) 3 9421 1548 (available on Thursday and Friday)
HP: 0401 012 374

“I holidayed at beautiful Matava,

coverd in tress ( as opposed to lava),

I learnt to dive & emerged alive,

And finished the day with Kava”

That all said I've had a wicked holiday here! A massive thank you to evryone for everything, Chris and I had the best time. The food was beautiful, the nature stunning, the laughter salutorious, the service fablulous & welcoming, the atmosphere magical. We have been transmorgrified from uptight city kids to chilled mer-people. We are for Scuba! You are champions. Vinaka you legends!”

Chris & Caitlin,
UK

The diving was amazing

“There are no words to explain how wonderful the last 3 weeks have been. The diving was amazing, the resort beautiful & the staff couldn't have been more fun. I will never forget Matava & I hope you all enjoyed us; even the trouble makers!”

Nikki

Long Island University

Zip Fiji Adventure

Cool new adventure tour in Fiji. Zip lining or as the others call it Flying Fox Tours!



See their blog: Zip Fiji Adventure

Thank you for a wonderful 5 days

31 december 2007

“Thank you for a wonderful 5 days and for having the patience to take someone who is scared of fish, diving. All the staff are fantastic and we love the food and bure. You have got Jill almost addicted to diving in only 3 days!

Thanks again”

Emma & Jill

Matava gets TripAdvisor Popularity Index: #1 of 6 hotels in Kadavu Island

TripAdvisor:
TripAdvisor Traveler Rating:

TripAdvisor Popularity Index: ^#1 of 6 hotels in Kadavu Island

Rivers Fiji

Highly recommend our collegues in Adventure Travel in Fiji: Rivers Fiji

"Whether you're an experienced whitewater veteran or a complete novice we have a variety of options to accommodate a range of skill and interest levels. We explore class II-III whitewater aboard inflatable kayaks and whitewater rafts, experiencing some of Fiji's most spectacular terrain by floating in relative comfort along two of the country's premier liquid pathways, the Upper Navua Gorge and Wainikoroiluva.

We also offer a number of other Fiji adventures. Sea kayak amid turquoise blue waters ... snorkel incredible coral reefs ... kayak through a lush mangrove forest on our Deuba Coastal Sea Kayak trip... or experience a Fiji travel package incorporating all of these activities. We offer something for everyone from Fiji family vacations to Fiji honeymoon packages and much more.

Rivers Fiji is committed to sustainable tourism practices and we work very closely with neighboring riverside villages. Our guides grew up along the rivers we explore and know their environment better than anyone."

Japan removes humpback whales from Antarctic hunt

/wildlife/article/27943TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's whaling fleet in the Antarctic will avoid killing humpback whales for now, but will press on with plans to catch about 1,000 other whales by early in the new year, a government official said on Friday.

The move follows an announcement by Australia on Wednesday that it would send a fisheries patrol ship to gather evidence for a possible international court challenge to halt Japan's yearly slaughter.

"Japan has decided not to catch humpback whales for one year or two," government spokesman Nobutaka Machimura told reporters.

"Japan's relations with Australia could improve, but it depends on how it will see our decision," Machimura said.

The CO2Stats Project

The CO2Stats Project - Live data of your site's carbon footprint!

ENN: MagLev Wind Turbine

MagLev Wind Turbine

/sci-tech/article/26124

Source: Triple Pundit

MagLev wind turbines, the next generation of wind turbines is capable of generating power from wind speeds as low as 1.5 m/s and reported to operate in winds reaching 40 m/s. This large wind turbine from maglev industries will also increase generation capacity by 20% at the same time decreasing operational costs by 50% over the traditional wind turbine. Maglev also claims that this particular turbine will be operational for 500 years, a staggering claim.

The MagLev wind turbine was first unveiled at the Wind Power Asia exhibition in Beijing. The unique operating principle behind this design is through magnetic levitation. Magnetic levitation is supposedly an extremely efficient system for wind energy. The vertically oriented blades of the wind turbine are suspended in the air replacing any need for ball bearings. The turbine operates via “full-permanent” magnets. electromagnets eliminating the need for electricity to run the machine. These full-permanent magnets consist of neodymium magnets of the rare earth metals which lose no energy through friction. This combination of magnetic components and reduction of moving parts should reduce maintenance costs and increase the life of the turbine.

Maglev wind turbines have advantages and some claim disadvantages over conventional wind turbines. The first thing worth mentioning next to the wide range of operating wind speeds is the manufacturer claims that one MagLev could generate one gigawatt of power compared to the miniscule 5 megawatts of power that conventional turbines are capable of producing. One turbine could provide power for as many as 750,000 homes!

Critics dispute many of these claims, instead, believing that this vertical axis wind turbine has some serious design flaws. Even suggesting that it will perform far below the fore mentioned figures. The opposing experts believe that it has too many blades leaving the turbine to look "solid" to the wind as it speeds up in strong winds. Stators are also lacking in the design to direct the flow more effectively onto the blades. There are many other flaws that leave industry experts to wonder about this innovative concept and its true capacity but that is open to debate for the time being.

In Arizona MagLev Wind Turbine Technologies will be manufacturing the turbines. The company is claiming that is will be able to deliver clean green-power for less than one cent per kilowatt hour given this new technology, remarkably cheap. Here is the kicker though, just one massive turbine will cost an estimated $53 million to construct. In November of 2007 construction began on the world’s largest production site for maglev wind turbines in China. Zhongke Hengyuan Energy Technology has invested 400 million yuan into building the facility that is set to produce maglev wind turbines with capacities ranging from 400 to 5,000 Watts.