Free iPhone Apps from Chimani

Screen shot of Chimani Grand Canyon App

Download all Chimani national park apps free between April 16-24, 2011.

"Entrance to the national parks is free, and so too should our apps."

Chimani, is a leading developer of mobile applications for iPhone, iPad, and Android designed to help people explore some of America’s stunning national parks. Applications launched to date include those for Acadia National Park, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Grand Canyon National Park and Yosemite National Park. Additional parks to be released in the spring include Grand Teton, Great Smoky Mountains, Olympic, Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, and Zion National Park.

Early this week, Chimani, announced that all iPhone national park apps will be free during National Park Week, which runs from April 16-24. The Android versions of each national park app will be available for only $.99 cents. The Chimani national park apps normally sell for between $4.99-$9.99 each.

The Chimani suite of national park apps include Acadia National Park, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Grand Canyon National Park and Yosemite National Park.

"Entrance to the national parks is free, and so too should our apps", says Chimani President, Kerry Gallivan. "Chimani develops apps for national parks because they are special – and we want to encourage as many people as possible to get out and enjoy them.”

Each of the five national park apps are an indispensable resource for anyone exploring some of the most visited national parks. Each delivers constantly updated content, including ranger led activities, free shuttle bus schedules and news alerts. Users can view sunset and sunrise times for the most memorable scenic overlooks, access tide schedules along the coast, review lodging options, plan hikes, and much, much more.

Each of the apps boasts a rich and impressive map interface that is custom-made, GPS enabled, and includes all hiking trails in the parks. Designed from the ground-up using the National Park Service geographic information system data, the maps are all pre-installed in the app and work without any cell or WiFi connection.

“When Google Maps stops working, Chimani maps begin.” says, Kerry Gallivan. “Most smart phone users who visit the national parks find their traditional navigation tools are useless because they depend on a cell or WiFi connection. The Chimani national park apps are designed to work completely offline.”

The national park apps also include an audio tour designed to work while visitors are driving, walking or taking the shuttle buses around the parks. All content is written by professional travel writers and include the most essential information, such as the location of every restroom. “The #1 most asked question in every national park is the location of the closest restroom”, says Kerry Gallivan. “Chimani apps give you just-in-time information, just in time!”

Each of the Chimani iPhone apps can be downloaded from Apple's iTunes App Store and the Android versions from the Android Marketplace (keyword: "chimani"). The iPhone apps will be free, and Android version only $.99 cents, for the entire National Park Week which runs from April 16-26. After that, the apps will return to the regular price of $4.99-$9.99.

Go get them while you can.

Happy New Year!



Image source: http://rtfitch.files.wordpress.com/

Three months into the Christian New Year, it is easy to forget that not all nations and their populations celebrate the New Year on the night of December 31st. Here are a couple of New Year celebrations taking place this month in Bangkok, Thailand and Kolkata, West Bengal.

Bangkok

Songkran Festival, 13 April 2011 - 15 April 2011
The Songkran Festival takes place in Bangkok, Thailand. Songkran is a traditional festival celebrating the Thai New Year with street parties, water fights and feasting.
Website: http://www.thailandlife.com/songkran-festival/index.php

Kolkata

Nabobarsho Festival, 14 April 2011
The Nabobarsho Festival takes place in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The festival is a celebration of the Bengali New Year featuring decorations, street events and fireworks.
Website: http://www.kolkata.org.uk/festivals/nabobarsho.html

Carless and Careless?

Image source: http://www.infiniteitsolutions.net/

Just before I left Adelaide last June (2010) I got rid of my old Toyota Camry wagon with the vague notion that I wouldn’t replace it on my return. Now that I’m back and using public transport for my day to day transportation needs, I’m not so sure about the wisdom of that decision – but I am determined to persist for as long as practicable.

I’ve even bought myself a bicycle!

Hey, I used to ride a bike until I was 40 or so, but gave up when I took to a job that required me to have a car and use it. Unfortunately, the timing couldn’t have been worse in terms of my health and fitness needs. At forty, men’s waistlines begin to expand as a result of the dreaded ‘middle-aged spread’ and I was no exception. Now that I’ve reached my 60s I am even more conscious of my weight and know that if I don’t work hard at trimming down now, it will be almost impossible as I get older.

So it’s now or never.

The advantages of not owning a car include

• reducing my carbon footprint
• reducing my expenses – I figure I’m saving at least $200* a week when I take into account the price of fuel (currently around $1.50/litre), insurance, registration, parking fees, maintenance, wear and tear, etc)
• reducing my waistline as a result of walking and riding my bike
• improving my overall health, wellbeing and fitness levels
• umm, help me out here! There must be more advantages than these…

There are of course disadvantages

• the time it takes to get from point A to point B is exponentially longer
• some destinations are not on transport routes
• having to rely on family members/friends for some of my transport needs
• getting caught out in bad weather
• problems associated with moving large (and small) objects
• the inconvenience – no spur of the moment decisions to go somewhere
• and don’t even mention dating!

While it may seem that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, I will persist. Besides, now that I am officially a Senior, I can ride public transport around Adelaide for free between the hours of 9.00AM and 3.00PM, Monday to Friday, and for free all day on weekends and public holidays, which helps save me even more. I can also use my Seniors Card to travel cheaply in other Australian states as well.

However, it is taking some adjusting on my part.

But why?

I recently returned from eight months of worldwide travel which required me to use public transport, or my legs for the bulk of that time, and I didn’t think twice about the inconvenience or otherwise of not having my own vehicle. I did hire a car for a couple of days to get me from Flagstaff, Arizona to Grand Canyon and back to Flagstaff, and I also had the use of a vehicle during my stay on the Greek island of Ikaria. Other than that I was happy to use public transport in America, France, Greece and Cambodia.

So why not now? Obviously, I can, and will, make use of taxis and car hire companies when necessary, so all in all it promises to be an interesting experience which I will report back on here from time to time.

*Western Australia's RAC (Royal Automobile Club) has PDFs outlining running costs across ten categories which suggests that $200/week for a medium sized vehicle is probably conservative.