Tuesday 28 August 2012

[www.keralites.net] Real Life Robinson Crusoe

 

Real life Robinson Crusoe... but for how much longer? Castaway living on Australian island for 20 years faces eviction

  • David Glasheen has been living on Restoration Island off the Australian coast for almost 20 years after he lost £6.5 million on the stock market
  • The Supreme Court in Queensland, Australia has ruled that he must vacate the island after failing lease conditions
  • He was required to develop tourist accommodation and fishing facilities as part of his £13,000 per year lease
  • The man in his sixties has lived self-sufficiently with his sole companion, dog Quasi

By Alex Ward

PUBLISHED: 10:46 GMT, 25 August 2012 UPDATED: 12:50 GMT, 25 August 2012

A man living alone on an island like Robinson Crusoe for almost 20 years faces eviction from his castaway oasis.

The Australian man has been living on tiny Restoration Island off the north-eastern coast of Australia since 1993 after the former high-flying Sydney businessman lost £6.5 million in the 1987 stock market crash.

Living off crabs and coconuts, and connected to solar-powered internet, David Glasheen has enjoyed a life of private tranquillity his dog Quasi, calling himself 'the luckiest bloke in the world'.

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Australian Robinson Crusoe: Voluntary castaway David Glasheen has been living as a recluse on a small island off the Australian coast for almost 20 years with his dog Quasi but the island's directors are trying to evict him

But the Queensland government is trying to evict the voluntary castaway, in his sixties, after he failed to build a resort on the 1.53ha island, a condition of the lease which allowed him access to the land.

The Queensland Supreme Court recently ruled that the land should be repossessed and that he and his business partners are 'trespassers'.

 

He told The Daily Telegraph: 'This judgement is just horrible.'

Living a reclusive life, Glasheen learnt to be self-sufficient, growing vegetables and brewing his own beer. He also still trades stocks using an online trading account.

He said: 'You soon learn in the bush to survive. If you don't you die pretty quickly.

'It is a fabulous place, I am a lucky bloke to be there.

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Lonely in love: Using his solar-powered internet connection Glasheen tried internet dating to find his 'Girl Friday' to live with him, using a mannequin to publicise his plight but had no luck

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'Luckiest bloke in the world': Glasheen loves living on the island, catching fish and crabs, growing vegetables and brewing his own beer to survive

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Broke island lease: The government has ruled that Glasheen must vacate Restoration Island, a 1.52ha oasis, having failed to build tourist accommodation and fishing facilities, a condition of his lease

'I have learnt a huge amount. I started to value what is really important. Trust, honesty, respect - simple things.

'I have learnt that you can do things with very little.'

While he loves his life in paradise, Glasheen does get lonely and several years ago tried internet dating to find 'Girl Friday' to live with him. He got hundreds of responses but had no luck in love.

Glasheen said: 'It gets lonely out here.

'My only hope is for a mermaid to turn up on the beach.'

A girlfriend had initially moved to the island, 1,500 miles from Queensland capital Brisbane, with Glasheen but found life there too difficult. 

He is visited occasionally by passing yachtsmen, kayakers and groups of organic farmers.

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Few visitors: Glasheen says sometimes he gets lonely with his dog his only companion but he is occasionally visited by passing yachtsmen, kayakers and organic farmers

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Must vacate: The island's directors have been trying to evict Glasheen since 2000 and he says that he has 'no idea' what he will do if he has to move from the island he has been living on for almost 20 years

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Australian oasis: Restoration Island is 1,500 miles from Queensland capital Brisbane and was named because Captain William Bligh found essential supplies were there that had been set adrift by mutineers on HMS Bounty

Glasheen leased one third of the island from the Australian Government for £13,000 a year on behalf of Restoration Island Priory Ltd.

The 43-year lease which allowed Glasheen required him and a business partner to develop fishing facilities and tourist accommodation valued at a minimum of £131,000 on the island, a condition which they failed to do.

A Supreme Court judgement said the island's directors had been trying to get Glasheen to vacate the island since 2000.

The court said: 'The defendants have wrongly deprived the plaintiff of its asset for over a decade during which time they have enjoyed its benefits.

Glasheen is considering appealing the decision.

Asked what he will do if he is forced to leave his island home he said: 'I have no idea. I live on now. Tomorrow I might be dead.'

Restoration Island was named after Captain William Bligh found essential supplies that had been set adrift by mutineers of the HMS Bounty.

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Survival skills: The picturesque island has taught Glasheen bush survival skills because 'if you don't (learn them) you die pretty quickly' he said

(From the NET)


 

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[www.keralites.net] 10 Famous Balancing Rocks Around the World....

 

A balancing rock is a naturally occurring geological formation featuring a large rock or boulder, sometimes of substantial size, resting on other rocks that often look precariously balanced. In reality, these rocks only appear to be balancing but are in fact firmly connected to a base rock by a pedestal or stem.
Here are some famous balancing rocks of the world.

Balanced Rock, Utah

Balanced Rock is one of the most popular features of Arches National Park, situated in Utah, United States. It is located next to the park's main road, at about 9 miles from the park entrance.
The total height of Balanced Rock is about 39 m, with the balancing rock rising 16.75 m above the base. The big rock on top is the size of three school buses. Until recently, Balanced Rock had a companion - a similar, but much smaller balanced rock named "Chip Off The Old Block", which fell during the winter of 1975/1976.

Balanced Rock, Colorado

This balanced rock is located in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is easily accessible by paved road and is a popular spot for tourist photography.

Balancing Rock, Digby, Nova Scotia

The Balancing Rock in St. Mary's Bay on Long Island, Nova Scotia seems to defy gravity as it stands on its end at the edge of the rock below. The 9 meter high column of rock is attached by two small sections with a gap between that you can look through.

Idol Rock, Brimham Moor

Many curious rock formations are scattered over 50 acres on Brimham Moor. One of them is the Idol Rock precariously balanced on top of a smaller rock. The rocks eroded by water, glaciation and wind, have taken amazing shapes. Many of the formations suggest all manner of things, including elephants, hippos, bears, and mushrooms.

Mushroom Rock, Kansas

Mushroom Rock State Park, located in the Smoky Hills region of Kansas, is noted for its mushroom rock formations. These rocks were formed through a process of nonuniform erosion and weathering in which a hard mass of Dakota Sandstone resisted erosion while the underlying softer stone weathered away, forming a "mushroom" shape. There are two mushrooms and a giant shoe rock, as well as numerous other rock formations in the park.

Chiremba Balancing Rocks, Zimbabwe

The Chiremba Balancing Rocks is located 13 km southeast of Harare in Epworth. Although strange balancing rocks are found all over Zimbabwe, this particular one became famous after being featured in� Zimbabwean currency. The Balancing Rocks have been used as a metaphorical theme to explain the importance of development coupled with preserving the fragile environment of Zimbabwe as similar to that of the Balancing Rocks found in Epworth, Matopos and in other areas.

Mexican Hat, Utah

The Mexican Hat rock formation is located on Highway 163, 24 miles west of Bluff, in Utah. The name "Mexican Hat" comes from a curiously sombrero-shaped, 60-foot wide by 12-foot thick rock outcropping on the northeast edge of town.

Devils Marbles, Australia

The Devils Marbles are amongst the most famous Australian rocks, located south of Tennant Creek area of Northern Territory. These huge, red, rounded granite boulders vary in size, from 50 cm up to six metres across, and they are strewn across a large area. Many of them seem impossibly balanced on top of each other.

Kjeragbolten, Norway

Kjeragbolten is a massive 5 cubic meter boulder wedged in to a crevasse on the edge of the Kjerag mountain in Lysefjorden, Norway. The block of stone is suspended 984 meter above the deep abyss. Despite its impressive appearance, it is easily accessible on foot without any special equipment. The whole of Kjerag mountain is a popular hiking area, and Kjeragbolten is a favorite photo spot.

Golden Rock, Burma

The Golden Rock (Kyaik-htiyo or Kyaiktiyo), perched atop a cliff near Yangon, is one of the most sacred sites in Burma. According to legend, the Golden Rock itself is precariously perched on a strand of the Buddha's hair. The rock seems to defy gravity, as it perpetually appears to be on the verge of rolling down the hill. At the top of the rock is built a small pagoda and covered with gold leaves pasted on by devotees. A glimpse of the "gravity defying" Golden Rock is believed to be enough of an inspiration for any person to turn to Buddhism.



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[www.keralites.net] See the Big Picture Before Making a Decision

 
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