The New 7 Wonders of Nature
The New 7 Wonders of Nature have been announced, and I have to say I’m a little bit surprised by the outcome. While I’m proud to say I’ve been to three of the seven wonders, I am pretty amazed at some of the things that were left off.
Here is the list. (They say this is still a provisional list and there is still a possibility of change in outcome, but I doubt it.)
The Amazon
Halong Bay (Vietnam)
Iguazu Falls (Argentina/Brazil)
Jeju Island (South Korea)
Komodo (Indonesia)
Puerto Princesa Underground River (Philippines)
Table Mountain (South Africa)
But I have to wonder, are some of these places really that spectacular? To rival things like the Galapagos, Mount Everest, Uluru, the Sahara, and the Great Barrier Reef (or, if you ask me, Ningaloo Reef), which somehow didn’t make the list?
In answer to New7Wonder’s announcement, Gap Adventures made their own list, which I think I tend to agree with more. (Though I think there should be a place for Iguazu and Uluru on there — perhaps in place of the Grand Canyon, Ngorongoro Crater or even, I dare say, Antarctica.)
While I’ve heard Jeju Island in South Korea is incredible, having not been there it is hard for me to imagine how it could beat out a place like the Galapagos. Same goes for the underground river in the Philippines. (Though it was definitely on my to-do list when I was in Southeast Asia, but I just didn’t have the time — or money, in the end — to fly to the Philippines after my semester in Thailand.)
Of course, I can’t necessarily comment on the places I haven’t been, but I also don’t think one should exclude a place because they haven’t seen it yet. This could have been a factor in how the voting went. Not to mention I know some places/countries get very into the competition and hound people to vote for their “wonder.” The voting could have been skewed this way. I remember when they were voting on the 7 man-made wonders and when I visited places that were in the running they actually had signs posted urging people to vote for them.
What do you think of the list?
