Andy McNab served with the SAS for nine years and has expert survival knowledge, having been trained to make it out alive from every possible hostile environment. His next expedition is to the South Pole - to raise money for the #ReadingJourney Appeal.

Canadian photographer Paul Zizka climbed into the heart of the Booming Ice Chasm (pictured), a 459 feet deep fissure inside Sentry Mountain, Canada, to capture a world that will never melt. Inside, crystal clear blue sheets of ice slides line the chasm. Because of the ice's solidity, some explorers have described moving along its surface as a feeling like flying.

Chief executives, A-list actors and supermodels will be spending their winter holidays on these extravagant yachts as they sail from island to island in the Caribbean. One of the most expensive is Kismet (inset), which has a weekly rate of $1.2million (£790,000). My Seanna (top left) boasts an outdoor cinema and swim-up bar, while Skyfall comes with a wine refrigerator (top right) and cigar humidor. A stunning master bedroom awaits those who charter Callisto (bottom left), and for the ultimate party boat Christina O (bottom right) can accommodate 34 guests.

Photographer Hakan Ludwigson spent three months among the men - who are bound to saddles twelve hours a day mustering herds of cattle and branding and castrating young bulls - to photograph them in their day-to-day environment. After his time with the cattlemen, who live in a land covered in red dust, Ludwigson returned to his native Sweden with the images that in time became book Balls And Bulldust - published by Steidl .

With winter on the horizon now is the time to start thinking about heading to the slopes but why opt for a traditional skiing experience? From Iran to Austria here are MailOnline Travel's top futuristic ski lodges across the globe. Looking like a spacecraft landing on a lunar landscape, Refuge Du Goûter (right) in the Alps contrasts dramatically with its surroundings. Tschuggen Grand Hotel in Switzerland (top left) offers a colourful and unique stay while The Whitepod Resort (bottom left) is a luxurious eco camp in the alpine wilderness.

Known as Casa do Penedo, or House of Stone, this bizarre dwelling in northern Portugal's Fafe Mountains has become a growing tourist attraction. Once used as a holiday home by a family, it has been transformed into a museum with local relics and photos on display. The 16.5-ft tall house is nestled within four granite boulders, and a swimming pool carved into one of the large rocks.

Leaked footage that has gone viral on the internet shows Pakistan International Airlines pilots dancing in the cockpit to the hit song Afghan Jalebi, from the action film Phantom. One pilot happily dances for the camera (left) while another grooves in his seat and raises his arms in the air (right). The plane was on the ground at the time and it's not known if any passengers were on board.

While some consider Dubai to be the new Ibiza for Essex girls seeking sun, Bahrain maintains a rich heritage. ART Rotana was named Bahrain's Leading Hotel and was awarded Seal of Excellence at the World Travel Awards. The suites at Rotana have their own nod to luxury (bottom left and right) and the resort has its own secluded beach (top right).

For Instagram-obsessed tourists, nothing beats a holiday home with unrivalled views of a sweeping valley or crystal clear sea from what may seem like the edge of the world. The most amazing cliff houses in the world include Australia's Pole House (top left), which plays tricks on visitors' eyes, and Scotland's Eagle Bay Cottages (bottom right), which looks like a den for a Bond baddie. Other stunning holiday spots include Alinghi Beach House (top right) in Australia, Villa Barcelona (bottom left) in Spain, and Villa Aretusa (inset) on Italy's stunning Amalfi Coast.

Zoo staff have announced the birth of a three-week-old calf (left), which has not been named or sexed, and is spending its days sleeping, eating and swimming around a pool (top right) at the pygmy hippo house. The baby doesn't stray very far from its mother, Sirana, who has been seen nudging her baby back into shallow water in the pool (bottom right). The hippo house has been closed to allow the calf's mother and father settle into parenting, but will reopen to visitors soon.

With £1million floating homes and stunning views of Dubai's glittering skyline (bottom right), man-made St Petersburg Island is set to become the next major tourist magnet in the desert oasis. The heart-shaped island (top right) will boast a 109-room hotel and amazing villas known as 'floating seahorses' (left). The submerged level in each villa will boast a master bedroom and bathroom, with incredible views of a coral garden and marine life.

Princess Diana (top right) stayed on Nevis (main) in the Caribbean 20 years ago with the young Princes William and Harry. From champagne breakfasts, horse-riding at sunset (top left) and catamaran cruises, the island offers a blissful getaway. No cruise ships nor long-haul flights stop at the island, which has helped the area retain its peaceful charm.

The Avro RJ85, which has a capacity of 95 passengers, approached Cork Airport's runway at a sharp angle and briefly touched down before lifting off and soaring back into the air. An aviation enthusiast who recorded the nerve-wracking footage said the plane landed safely minutes later. The aborted landing occurred as Ireland was battered by extreme winds and rain during Storm Barney.

India is one of the most colourful places in the world. Their love of colour not only appears in their festivals (bottom right) and clothes (inset) but also in their buildings (top left), transport (top right) and food (bottom left). These photos show the country at its most vibrant.

An earthquake, which was marked as 6.1 'strong' on the Richter Scale, brought surrounding cliffs down (bottom right) onto the Egremni Beach in Lefkada (pictured before top right) - which is rated the island's number one attraction. Australian tourist Thomas Verykios captured the moment that the once white sanded, pristine beach turned to dust (left).

The opening of Disneyland in California with a gigantic castle (left) and the promise of 160-acres of rides and entertainment, understandably caused quite a stir in 1955. Taking just two years to create, the magical amusement park opened to 100 degree temperatures and traffic stretching for miles around. Although 6,000 tickets were initially sold for the anticipated launch day on July 17, a whopping 28,000 hopefuls showed up, most clutching forged tickets. Even Walt Disney (top left) himself made an appearance, to ensure that the rides (bottom right) and parades (top right) ran perfectly.

Virgin are on the lookout for prospective pilots for their 2016 Future Flyers programme. MailOnline's John Hutchinson travels to the learning base in Southampton for some hands-on training. This includes taking the controls in a Boeing 737 simulator, which shows off incredible visuals and the ability to replicate any flying scenario or weather condition.

Concept pictures of the Crossrail trains were unveiled today by London mayor, Boris Johnson. Trains will have space for 1,500 customers in nine 650 foot walk-through carriages - more than one and a half times longer than the average tube train. The £14.8 billion project running from Reading in Berkshire in the west to Shenfield in Essex in the east, is due to be fully open in 2019 and will carry an estimated 200million customers each year.

In a quest to capture the perfect picture, the intrepid social media giants were sent to explore and snap the length and breadth of the country, and post their findings with the hashtag #TalesofIreland. Their breathtaking photographs of Games of Thrones backdrops and dramatic coastlines have been showcased to over 3.5 million users on Instagram worldwide, with the team demonstrating that Ireland is one of the most perfect road trip destinations. Photographers included Conor MacNeil, along with Ruairidh McGlynn, James Wright, Allan Hinton, who combined have over 520,000 followers on Instagram. Fans of the popular TV show will recognise the striking Dark Hedges in the project (centre), which is featured as The Kingsroad. Along with this Kylemore Abbey (top right), the Giant's Causeway, Dún Briste, Dunseverick Castle, (bottom right), Achill Island, Donegal Bay and the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge were also captured in the photographic project that took place in September.

A competition is running to find some of Australia's most awkward holiday snaps, and they have so far received a hilarious selection, with submissions involving unfortunate beach and theme park antics. Witness the moment one little girl questioned her life decisions on a ride (bottom right), a cheeky seal leaned in for a surprise kiss (top right), two mischievous babies made a Christmas shoot tricky (centre), one photobomber spluttered into the front of a watersports picture (top left) and one backflipper spectacularly fails in Bali (bottom left).

If you ever wanted to live like one of the Bond villains - there is now the opportunity to step right into the shoes (or the house, at least) of the baddie from the latest movie, Spectre. Superimposed into the middle of the Moroccan desert for several scenes in the film, the contemporary villa of baddie Ernst Stavro Blofeld, played by Christoph Waltz (centre), is now up for sale. On the market for a whopping €4,000,000 (£2.8million), the impressive pad boasts three bedrooms, a large pool (top left), a fitness centre, large reception rooms (top right) and a separate guest house with a further three bedrooms available.