News and notes: Canada’s latest UNESCO site, King Kong returns and selfie dangers

Here in the dog days of summer, things are quiet on the travel news front. Hopefully, that means people are on vacation and out there exploring. Here are a few travel tidbits that flowed through my inbox this week that I thought were worth sharing:

Mistaken Point named Canada’s 18th UNESCOWorld Heritage Site 

Mistaken Point in Newfoundland and Labrador has been inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List.

Minister of the Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, Catherine McKenna, took the opportunity to welcome this heritage treasure into Canada’s list of 18 World Heritage Sites that represent some of humanity’s most outstanding achievements and nature’s most inspiring creations.

Mistaken Point is a globally-significant fossil site that contains 580- to 560-million years old fossils that are the first record of large, complex, multicellular, animal-like organisms – i.e. “when life got big” – a pivotal event in the evolution of life on Earth.

Mistaken Point is an Ediacaran fossil site located on the southern tip of Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula. The vast majority of the nominated property falls entirely within Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve, a provincial protected area.


King Kong fans will flock to Universal Orlando’s latest offering, Skull Island

kong

Excited guests gathered in Universal’s Islands of Adventure last week to help mark the official opening of Universal Orlando Resort’s newest mega attraction, Skull Island: Reign of Kong.The adventure begins as guests are transported deep into a mysterious world, where their mission is to discover creatures of unknown origin with the 8th Wonder Expedition Company, the research team leading the excursion. After braving ancient temple ruins and encountering hostile natives, they board a massive 40-foot-long, 17-ton expedition vehicle to navigate the increasingly foreboding terrain.

The specially designed expedition vehicle, which operates on a completely trackless ride system, takes guests deeper into the ominous island, where they soon find themselves in the midst of a brutal struggle between beasts of unimaginable size and ferocity.

Then, as those creatures turn on the expedition, there is an even more enormous, earth-pounding presence. It is Kong – in the flesh. Towering nearly three stories tall, he is so close that you can feel his breath and sense his emotion. But is he friend or foe?

For more information about Reign of Kong, visit our blog at blog.universalorlando.com.


Are your selfie habits putting your home at risk?

While we all look forward to the summer months and vacations, many are unwittingly putting their homes at risk by posting their absences or whereabouts on the internet.

A new Allstate Insurance survey found that almost one quarter (23 per cent) of polled Quebecers have in the past posted on their social media accounts that they were away from home.

Poll findings also showed that over half (52 per cent) of the 18 to 24 age group have shared that they were travelling on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and 43 per cent in the 25 to 34 age group have done the same.

Travellers may know basic home safety procedures when away, like having the mail and newspaper deliveries temporarily stopped or picked up by someone they trust, or installing an automated lighting system. What they might not take into account is that all these efforts could potentially be wasted if they publish that they are away from their home on vacation on social media sites!

A full list of safety tips for homeowners on vacation can be viewed here.

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