Did they just book a room on Ben Nevis? The week's strange travel stories. Hard to top this hotel room A group of more than 30 climbers constructed a Travelodge hotel room on top of Ben Nevis, Britain's tallest mountain, on June 27. The eccentric feat was a charitable venture for Macmillan Cancer Support and raised nearly $100,000. It took the Travelodge employees four hours to climb the 1,344-metre peak while lugging their building materials. Undaunted by ice, snow and rain, they spent two hours putting together the room with walls, a bed, a chair, and a picture. Their descent took another two 1/2 hours. "Man, I wish I'd thought of that," Sir Edmund Hillary said. Sherpas, whatever. Zip, zap, snap goes the trap Did you know ziplines endanger rats, stoats and possums? Well, at least they do now in New Zealand's Mamaku forest. With the Department of Conservation's approval, Rotorua Canopy Tours recently used its ziplines to help move and set up some 500 traps to eradicate these pests, which have damaged the 500-hectare reserve and killed millions of native birds. "Only 5 per cent of native chicks are making it to adulthood in areas where there is no pest control," noted tour company director James Fitzgerald. By the way, ever tried rat or possum stew? Yum! Airport amusements A new survey has revealed travellers killing time on a stopover would really like the airport to have a movie theatre. Forty-nine per cent of the 10,000-plus respondents picked it in the survey by Skyscanner, a website that finds cheap flight deals. Other offbeat choices included a park (31 per cent) and artificial beach (12 per cent). Sleep pods (36 per cent) were the second-most popular choice - and perhaps the most practical. Shockingly, nobody suggested an area where you can practice taking off your belt and shoes. Sources: Daily Mirror, Travelodge, Rotorua Daily Post, Sydney Morning Herald. Lucas Aykroyd,