The New Galapagos: Darwin Should Have Gone Here

If Charles Darwin were alive today, where exactly would Mr Evolution himself go for an adventure? Author Eric Simons drives to ‘The New Galapagos’ in deepest Mexico to find out

By Eric Simon. Photographs by Peter Dawson

It’s possible that you may have this fuzzy idea that Charles Darwin sprang fully bearded from the earth as a born scientist who sailed to the Galapagos, measured a few finch beaks, thought a few great thoughts about evolution, and retired to his microscope and greenhouse to set the scientific world aflame.

No doubt the deplorable state of modern education is to blame, but that version of Darwin’s voyage is simply not true. 

The Future of Adventure

What will your adventures look like in 20 years’ time? A place where robots replace wildlife and extinct species roam…

1. Never say die

A charging rhinoceros or wild yak might soon be the least dangerous animal to contend with on safari. As cloning technology advances, the possibility of resurrecting extinct species like the WOOLLY MAMMOTH comes closer, and gene sequencing of several species, like the small but carnivorous Tasmanian tiger that was last found alive in 1936, is already underway. And it’s not just mammals that might walk the Earth again – palaeontologist Jack Horner is attempting to create a dinosaur by changing the DNA in a chicken egg. Hopefully he will draw the line at velociraptors…

Adventurous Eating: Cinema Snacks from Around the World

It won’t surprise you to learn that not every cinema-goer across the world eats popcorn at the movies. But did you know that some chow down on octopus balls and salty plums? Here are a selection of international movie snacks – not for the faint-hearted

1. Malaysia: Sotong kering (Dried cuttlefish)

In Malaysia, dried cuttlefish slices were once the food of choice in cinemas. One fan recalls Sotong as ‘mouth-wateringly delicious, especially when lightly coated with sugar… but the offensive odour it emits is enough to knock a herd of cows into a coma’. As a result, the snack is now banned in many movie theatres.

Life in the Most Remote Cinema in the World

Would you ever consider moving your family from their suburban life in New York to run the world’s most remote cinema in the middle of the Pacific? We meet John Pierson, the independent movie guru whose idea of a family outing to the movies is rather different to most

By Rod MacKenzie. Photographs by Michael Lewis

I’m on my way to meet a movie producer called John Pierson who, in 2002, went with his family on a year-long adventure in the wilds of Fiji, running the world’s most remote cinema. It sounds such a bold and eccentric dream, even for someone used to taking on unconventional challenges.

How to be a Location Scout

Being a Hollywood location scout sounds like pretty much the best job in the world. So, is it all it’s cracked up to be, and just as importantly, how can we get into some of this action? We ask veteran scout Patrick Ranahan for the inside word…

So, Patrick – how did you become a location scout?

I was attending the Berkeley Film Institute and talked my way into shooting footage on the ice floes of Labrador for a month. The film was about the slaughtering of seals, but also featured scenes where we were trapped on a volcanic plug in a white-out and another instance where we survived a helicopter crash.

The Top 5 Most Adventurous Film Festivals in the World

For the ultimate in armchair adventuring, why not check out these top five film festivals? From Manhattan to the Sahara Desert via the ice-screens of Norway, enjoy our line-up of the most adventurous ways on Earth to catch a flick.

1. ADVENTURE FILM FESTIVAL, BOULDER, USA

What better place for an adventure film festival to be held than in Boulder, Colorado – possibly the most outdoorsy, adventure-obsessed town on earth? By all accounts, around 60 Olympians live in the town, the local ski team have won more national championships than most can remember, and so obsessed are residents with running, mountain-biking, climbing and jumping off very high things that merely average athletes are made to feel decidedly second class.

Return to Apocalypse Now

Regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, Francis Ford Coppola’s vietnam war epic Apocalypse Now ran massively over budget, sent its crew to the edge of insanity and looked like it would never be completed. But what is the real legacy of Coppola’s own heart of darkness? Thirty years on, Onelife travels to the Philippines to find out

By Christa Larwood. Photographs by Morgan Silk

On the murky brown river that runs from Pagsanjan Falls in the Philippines there is a particular bend. Every few minutes, boatloads of tourists paddle noisily by in plastic canoes, but no one takes any notice of this spot, and it’s not hard to see why. There is nothing here but a small tourist office, a few grimy resort villas and a stray yellow dog stretching in the sun.

You’d be excused for thinking the most exciting thing ever to happen here would be the rancour of disappointed package holidaymakers demanding their money back. But you’d be wrong. Rewind about 30 years and this unremarkable river bend was the centre of the cinematic world, engulfed in the explosive, sky-scorching finale of one of the most expensive, traumatic and spectacular film productions ever attempted.

Born Free’s Bushmeat Battle: The Video

Learn more about Born Free’s battle with the illegal bushmeat trade in Kenya with this short video.

When you’re done, read Onelife’s article, here.

Born Free’s Battle Against the Illegal Bushmeat Trade

Wildlife charity Born Free are fighting a battle against the poaching of endangered animals for the illegal bushmeat trade in Kenya. And their primary tool to win this fight? A mobile cinema unit…

By Zac Assemakis. Photographs by Marcus Bleasdale

The titles open, the movie rolls and each watching face slips into the trancelike state more normally induced by the latest Hollywood blockbuster. Like any other cinematic experience, the next hour is punctuated by first laughter and then gasps as the plot unfolds and the villains reveal themselves. But that is where the similarities to any typical cinema outing end.

Van Phillips and the Cheetah Prosthetic Leg: The Next Step in Human Evolution?

Van Phillips on the beach in his home town of Mendocino, California

Could the humble homo sapien ever develop into an entirely different species? Thanks to the work of inventor Van Phillips, the next stage of human evolution might have just begun…

By Christa Larwood. Photographs by Sam Barker

In February last year, a life sciences expert called Juan Enriquez took to a stage in Long Island before a crowd of luminaries including the likes of Bill Gates and Tim Berners-Lee. And he dropped a bombshell.

The current world financial crisis that had everyone so worried? A mere wave, he said, in comparison to the tsunami that is on its way.  And that tsunami? Human evolution.