Uluru or Uluwrong - That is the £12 million question

A new £12 million viewing platform was unveiled at Uluru in October by the Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett - named Talinguru Nyakunytjaku, or "place to look from the sand dune" in the Aboriginal Pitjantjatjara language.

It is an impressive structure that offers the visitor panoramic views over the desert especially at sunrise. It also solves a growing problem of people climbing the Rock and causing damage. More than 300,000 tourists visit Uluru every year and approximately 38% climb the rock against the wishes of the traditional owners.

However, rather embarrassingly, it has since emerged that the viewing platform has been built in the wrong place. The viewing area is 3kms from the Rock and is in shadow in the mornings during the popular winter season. Veteran landscape photographer Ken Duncan says the Talinguru Nyakunytjaku site is a "second-rate location at best", which only "takes us all further away from the Rock".

"To call it a sunrise viewing area is laughable", he suggests.

It has also emerged that there were 2 alternative site proposals put to Park Australia on the north east side of Uluru that would have cost a fraction of the final cost. This is a rare own goal from a country who have long been experts in marketing Australia to the international tourist as the top global destination to visit.

Ways not to get bored whilst sunbathing

Let's face it, sunbathing isn't one of the most exciting activities to do whilst on holiday.

Some people seem to have more stamina than others and are able to lie for hours in the sun - but if you're anything like us here at Lazyshark after 20 minutes on a sun lounger you've applied the suntan lotion, adjusted your position so that you're comfortable - and you're already bored!

So here is a tongue in cheek list of ideas to stop boredom whilst sunbathing:

1. Sleep - A risky strategy, as it may lead to sunburn/dehydration. However it does make the time pass quickly.

2. "People watch" - i.e. check out the hotties around the pool!

3. Draw hilarious comedy shapes on your partners back - using suntan lotion when they're not paying attention.

4. Try to guess the nationalities of your fellow tourists (Speedos = German; Fake tits = Russian...!)

5. Play the "Guess who's going to be sunburnt later" game - most often me, as I'm usually the whitest man around the pool - probably because I hate sunbathing!

6. Negotiate a compromise with the girlfriend - e.g. 1 day sunbathing for her = 1 day white water rafting for you. At least it gives you something to look forward to at the end of the torture!

I'm always on the look-out for more suggestions...

Tour Guides

Even if you are travelling independently sooner or later you will want to do something that requires a guide. A good guide can turn an otherwise uninteresting tour into something thrilling and captivating. In contrast a guide who seems simply to be going through the motions and treating their job as more of a chore rather than a passionate hobby can lead to you switching off from what they are saying in a matter of minutes.

Having experienced both good and bad guides on recent trips to Cairo and Rome here are Lazyshark's tips to finding a good guide:

1. Do you homework - Reviews posted on travel websites can be very helpful in choosing a good company and avoiding the bad ones. (but you need to take this with a pinch of salt)

2. Ask around - Other travellers you meet may have done the same trip as you are considering.

3. Try to meet the guides before booking - You can often have a quick chat with them over the phone. Do not be shy of asking question to give you an idea of whether they know their subject.

4. Ask the operator - Not quite as good as having a chat with the guide but the sales people in the kiosk should be able to answer your questions about the guides, levels of qualifications etc.. If they can't then it is probably a bit of a shabby operation.

5. Level of experience - One way of ensuring that you get a good quality guide is to try and get someone with higher level qualifications. This reminds me of going on a trip into the Kakadu National Park. The first guide I went with was a young unqualified guy who was very nice but not particularly knowledgeable about wildlife. His main role seemed more to be about driving us from point A to point B. The second time I went with a more experienced naturalist qualified guide who pointed out the multiple bird and plant species that we passed and was briming full of fascinating information which really brought the tour alive.

6. Consider smaller independent tour companies - From previous experience smaller independent companies tend to employ guides who are doing the job more for the love and joy of it and their passion for the subject matter shines through more brightly.

Epic Backpacking Coach Journeys

I had the dubious pleasure of an 8 hour coach journey from Sharm El Sheikh to Cairo recently - all in the pursuit of seeing the Pyramids of Giza and The Sphinx. Most of this time was spent listening to very loud, bad Egyptian movies sitting in non-reclinable seats and suffering from the pharoah's revenge (thank god for imodium!) A worthwhile cause as it happened in the end!

I mentioned this to my girlfriend who immediately dismissed an 8 hour coach journey as a mere "trip down to the local shops". She countered with relaying the time she spent 36 hours on a coach (and not a comfortable one at that!) from Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires.

Now that is an epic coach journey!

Package holidays - the better budget option?

I consider myself an independant traveller. It's the way I prefer to spend my holidays - unplanned, turning up at a destination and exploring.

However, sometimes backpacking can, well, be more expensive than the package options. There are absolutely fantastic last minute "off the peg" deals to be got, flight and hotel packages that can be very tempting. In fact, my recent "4 star luxury" week in Egypt flight and hotel package cost less than the flight would have done!

I must admit to some misgivings when herded like sheep towards our transfer bus from the airport - but once I arrived I quickly adjusted to the different way of travelling and really enjoyed it.

You can still approach the trip in an independent way - seek out off the beat and track restaurants; go on a local bus to somewhere close for a couple of days; but actually, there is a lot to be said for a beautiful hotel with a nice pool somewhere hot.

Independent travel comes in all shapes and sizes - you can still make a package holiday your own individual experience.

The Pyramids of Giza - A 7th Wonder?

Here at Lazyshark we love lists - the biggest, the best, the largest...

But of course lists are just someone's opinion - a source of debate and open for argument and possible errors of judgement.

On a recent trip to Cairo we learnt from our local guide that the Pyramids of Giza are no longer classified as one of the seven wonders of the world - a rather surprising fact.

However 'The Seven Wonders of the World' are in fact chosen by a panel of experts on a regular basis and these marvels of ancient architecture no longer make the cut - having recently visited them a crazy omission in my opinion.