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Maunsell Forts, UK

Maunsell forts
© Matt Brown
 

Projected by the engineer Guy Maunsell and built in 1942 during the World War II on order by the Great Britain Royal Navy in the Thames Estuary Special Defence Units program, the sea forts were equipped with radar and anti-aircraft guns; they hosted over 100 soldiers each and their purpose was to protect the coast close to London from the attack of the German air force Luftwaffe and Navy.
During the war, these fortresses destroyed 22 German aircraft, 30 rockets and an S-Boot ship.

Now they stay abandoned since 1958 after a period in the mid-1960s when they were occupied by the first pirate radios like Radio Sutch, Radio City, Radio 390 and Radio Essex.

The sea forts are located about 11 km from the Suffolk coast and there are boat tours organized with departure from Whitstable Harbour. Info at www.maunsellseaforts.com.
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Swimming with Whale Sharks

Whale shark
© Brian Lauer

Known to be the gentle giant of the sea, the Whale Shark is the biggest fish of our oceans, with up to 15 meters in length and 10 tons of weight. They may live up to 150 years.

Owing to their friendly behavior, unlike other tourist boat tours like whales watching or shark cage diving, it is allowed for tourists diving and snorkeling alongside this incredible fish.

Here are the best places in the world for diving & snorkeling with whale sharks:

Mexico
Isla Holbox and Cancun: from May to September
Cabo San Lucas: from September to April

Honduras
Utila: from March to May and from August to November

Belize
Gladden Spit: from April to June

Australia
Ningaloo Reef: from March to September

Philippines
Donsol Bay and Sogod Bay: from December to May
Oslob: all year
Puerto Princesa: from April to November


Mozambique
Tofo Beach and Bazaruto Archipelago: from October to April

Madagascar
Nosy Be Island: from September to December

Seychelles
South Mahé: September and November

Thailand
Koh Tao: from March to May & from October to December
Hin Daeng and Hin Muang: from February to April
Richelieu Rock: from January to March

Maldives
South Ari Atoll: All Year

Djibouti
Bay of Ghoubbet: October and February

Tanzania
Mafia Island: from September to March

Indonesia

Cenderawasih Bay: from October to April

Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Wolf Island and Darwin Island: June and December

Azores
Santa Maria Island: June and October

Saudi Arabia
Al-Lith: from February to June

Kenya
Diani Beach: from February to March
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Great White Shark Cage Diving

white shark cage diving
photo © Voyages etc… 

The Carcharodon Carcharias, commonly known as the great white shark, lives in the coastal waters of all the major oceans.

Its size is average 3,5 to 4 meters in length for males and 4,6 to 5 meters for females (larger female individuals can reach up to 6,2 meters and almost 2 tons of weight;  the largest white shark ever captured was a female of 7,14 meters). They can swim up to 56 km/h and reach depths of 1.200 meters under the sea level.
 
Maybe the most powerful and cruel predator, it is one of the most fascinating animals on earth. 
 
Being face to face with a great white shark is one of the most exciting experiences you could ever have.
There are few places in the world where do that: here are the best places for the great white shark cage diving:
white shark cage diving

We suggest you to contact the local companies to check the sharks presence before planning the trip.

DON’T miss it if you are traveling in these places… and don’t think about Steven Spielberg’s cult movie Jaws…

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Margherita di Savoia salt pans, Italy

Margherita di Savoia salt pans
© Paolo Uboldi, award-winning artwork at Apulia Land Art Festival 2017
The Margherita di Savoia Salt Pans Natural Reserve is located about 10 km north of Barletta (Apulia, Italy). It is the largest salt pan in Europe, the third in the world after the Makgadikgadi Pans (Botswana) and the Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia).

The salt pan area is 20 km long and 5 km wide, with a total surface of about 45 square km; each year 30 million cubic meters of marine water is used for the production of about six million quintals of salt.

The clay soil guarantees a high level of impermeability. 
 
The natural reserve has a great biodiversity of bird species, among which the pink flamingos, perfectly camouflaged with the salt pans (some areas are pink colored given the presence of the micro-algae  Dunaliella salina, one of the few organisms that can live in hypersaline conditions).
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Aral Sea, Uzbekistan

Aral sea
photo by Arian Zweger

Muynak was once an important port city on the Aral Sea, in Uzbekistan. In the 1950s, after the Second World War, the Soviet Union drained the Aral Sea for irrigation of the cotton fields, during the Great Plan for the Transformation of Nature.

Uzbekistan is now one of the main producer of cotton in the world, and Muniak has become a large boat cemetery in a salty desert land.