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The One-Horned Rhinos of Kaziranga National Park.
This Unesco World Heritage Site is set in spectacular scenery and is professionally run, without any fuss. Please believe the hype and take an elephant safari. It's a humbling experience to ride these stoical and patient relics from prehistory. You'll see plenty of rhinos as you pass through the elephant grass swampland, and if you're very lucky you may see some of the fifteen species of India's most threatened mammals. We saw wild elephants, several dear species and fantastic birds, but you could see fish eagles, hornbills, King Cobras, tigers, bears, leopards, or more.
We stayed in pristine huts with new kids on the block, the Nature Hunt Eco Camp. Superb.
www.worldheritagekaziranga.com
naturehunttours.com
Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve
Bokakhat – 785 612
Golaghat
Assam, India
Telephone: +91-3776-268095
Google map: bit.ly/z8MT8D
Cross the Hardanger Vidda plateau on telemark skis before Easter, travelling hut to hut. Take a guide or experienced friend(s) as there is the risk of severe weather (shovel for snow hole essential).
Info: bit.ly/yGe4tO
www.turistforeningen.no/english/
Google map: bit.ly/zUMHNE
Learn the basics at Poiana Brasov ski-school. Situated deep within the Carpathian mountains. There’s plenty of scope for intermediates too. Bargain breaks are available throughout the season. Enjoy authentic Rumanian food. Apres includes cosy bars with gypsy music, attractive restaurants, massages, sauna, skating, swimming or night skiing.
Venture further afield and explore traditional villages taking in Dracula’s home Bran castle on the way. An enchanting horse-drawn sleigh ride through spectacular scenery remains a treasured memory.
www.poiana-brasov.com/
Google map: bit.ly/wxS4Un
Widely considered the toughest trek in Europe the GR20 follows the spine of the Corsican mountains from the north west to south east of the island. The trek, mountains and views are spectacular. The hut infrastructure is good and the people are very friendly.
Some people go out and do as much as they can of the route in a week. It can be completed in less than 2 weeks but give yourself 1 week more and you can take the 'alpine variations' and a few side trips. Treat yourself to some time in Corsica at the end of trek to enjoy beaches, good food and powerful cheese.
While travelling in Thailand, my wife and I cajoled each other into embarking on a retreat in a Buddhist monastery. The overnight train from Bangkok took us Suan Mokkh Hermitage where, after registration of £30, we entered into ten days of practising yoga (never done before); meditation (never attempted); receiving instructions in Buddhist philosophy (never chased spiritual guidance) and in mindfulness (ask my wife!) All in total silence. It was truly the most challenging, thought-provoking, difficult, weird and ultimately rewarding experience I've had and I came out the most balanced, relaxed and healthy-looking I can recall - but nonetheless dying for a beer. A very small step on the road to enlightenment. Two years on and I'm still carrying a large chunk of that time around with me.
www.suanmokkh-idh.org
Suan Mokkh International Dhamma Hermitage, Chaiya, near Surat Thani, Thailand. Retreats commence the first Sunday of every month.
Google map: bit.ly/yiGZTi
The West Bank – May 2011. We drove along the road until our path was blocked by huge boulders and we could go no further. Clambering over boulders we continued uphill by foot. On arrival, we were greeted warmly and shown into a brightly coloured cave by Daoud, our host, who told us of the history of the farm.
Situated on a hill-top south of Bethlehem, Daher’s vineyard has been in the same family since 1916, when it was purchased by Daher Nassar, grandfather of the family who now run it.
In 1991 the Israeli government declared the area including the Nassar’s land, to be Israeli state land. The family’s challenge has meant ongoing litigation. Despite this, the Tent of Nations was founded in 2000 as an educational and environmental organic farm “seeking to build bridges between different people, and between people and the land”
They have no mains electricity or running water. Solar panels have been installed and their water is collected via rainfall. Visitors and volunteers arrive from all over the world, and support groups are based in the UK and North America. They also run a number of other projects locally including projects for young people.
Our visit was part of a Holy Land Pilgrimage, when we met with local people and learn about organizations – of both Palestinians and Israelis - working for peace in the West Bank. Despite their difficult circumstances, I left with a feeling of optimism and hope for the future. A visit is a truly awe inspiring, unforgettable experience.
www.tentofnations.org/
Atan Street 17, PO Box 28, Bethlehem, Palestine
+972(2)2743071
Currently spending a year in Buenos Aires, as the new year kicked in I decided to explore. My curiosity led me to the north-west province of Córdoba, home to many of the Argentine clichés, and being a similar if not slightly less hectic version of Buenos Aires, my attention was drawn to the surrounding areas.
This is where I discovered Capilla del Monte, a couple of hours drive to the north. This place is like nowhere I have ever been, nor ever will! On the surface it could be the Peak District (despite the 40 degree January sun), but as soon as the nature of the town captured me, I realised that there was something quite different going on here. And nature is the right word; the town is immensely eco-friendly and its people on the whole are rather spiritual. With the Cerro Uritorco acting as a back drop, this particular mountain is a focal point for the lifestyle of the townspeople.
Firstly I found a bed in a hostel. I was greeted by the smell of incense and a group of very relaxed travellers lying on the floor reading books on the development of the soul. On top of the hostel was a very prominent glass dome, in case of alien contact. This is the point in which I remembered seeing this town on the news last November. In recognition of the 11th November 2011 (11.11.11) at 11.11am (11.11.11.11.11) there was a pilgrimage to the Cerro Uritorco, where thousands of people attempted a huge spiritual connection in the expectation of a greater force making itself present at this exact moment. In fact, later that day I came across three travellers from Buenos Aires going around in a beautiful old VW, who had arrived on the 11.11.11 and had stayed there ever since.
And so, with this as an introduction, the atmosphere of the town seemed to fit this entirely. With many healing places, health food shops and almost all the hotels including the word 'natural' in some way, this place was unique.
What had initially drawn me to the town was the countryside around it, so the next day I went for a stroll by the river. This in fact turned into a seven hour hike up the Cerro Uritorco, which claims (and is fully believed) to be home to an energetic epicentre serving as a portal to the first intergalactic cosmic communication centre on Earth. Now there's something you don't get in the Peak District. The presence of aliens in the region is completely believed and accepted, and many sightings have been reported.
Spending a few days in this town certainly made me leave with a sense of wonderment - perhaps due to the amazement of such a strong sense of belief and spirituality, or perhaps due to my own resulting questions of the cosmos! This place is one of a kind, and everybody is most welcome here. Forming a part of my entire Latin America journey so far, this has been one of the highlights, and was certainly an interesting start to 2012!
www.capilladelmonte.com.ar/
Accessible from Cordoba mini-bus station (mercado sur), through the company Sarmiento. Journey costs around 30-40 pesos and takes 2-3 hours.
Google map: bit.ly/wR1yIp
I went on a camel trek in the Thar Desert with Vijay and proposed to my now wife on a sand dune at sunset. The orange and purple hues, the desert music, the camp fire, the local food were the breathtaking backdrop for a perfect moment in time. Vijay's camel trek is at the heart of 'Incredible India'
www.camelman.com
Vijay Guesthouse
Jaipur Road, Bikaner, 334005, Rajasthan
+91-151-2231244
The immense Kymer temple complex of Angkor Wat has been cited by many as being the world's "8th wonder"- with good reason.
It's vastness and grandeur envelops you from the moment you exit the canopy of the long, straight road from Siem Reap and you can't help but feel you've stepped far back into a magical time.
This magnificent sensation was enhanced when I decided to hire a bicycle and set off at 4am from Siem Reap to reach the temple while it was dark dark. It was incredible being able to sit back and watch the entire sunrise unfold with the temple's silhouette slowly coming into view, hearing only the flutter of dragonflies hovering over the pond in front of me.
Google map: bit.ly/AaogXn
Since July 2002 until the present day I have just about circumnavigated the planet on voyage with Semester at Sea, a program, currently operated from the University of Virginia and the institute for Shipboard Education (ISE).
Semester at Sea is not your typical 'cruise.' It is a living voyage and lifelong learning experience. The voyages have taken me to the now serene shipyards in Gdansk to the top of Mount Vesuvius and onward to the Mekong Delta and the wonders of Southeast Asia,
Our ship, the MV Explorer, is a floating university that can accommodate up to 600 students, staff - like my professor wife - and people like me, a life long learner. Once you sail on it, the MV Explorer will always be 'OUR ship,' to you too. Yes, OUR ship has a pool and a fabulous lounge, but you see quickly what else you can be doing, like studying political science of Southeast Asia, Asian Puppetry, World War II history, or comparative religions. Surrounded by young people, many of whom are seeing the rest of the world for the first time.
It's not the cheapest holiday compared with other much less interesting long cruises. I have been fortunate enough to be a bag carrier on these voyages for my wife who teaches aboard. Our ultimate goal is to pay the full fare so neither of us has to work and we can both sit in on as many classes as possible while exploring the delights of our planet.
Most people go think that doing the last 200kms to Santiago is what the Camino is about. Don't do this! Start in France (from Paris, Vezelay, Le Puy or Arles) and do part of it this year. You need a guide and a Pilgrim Passport (from the Confraternity of St James), accommodation is cheap and so is travel, but once you’ve started you’ll want to go back and complete the journey and that is when it will begin to change your life!
I think everyone in the world should visit the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, and specifically the volcanic craters in the middle of the island. Most tourism seems to have been attracted to Réunion's more beachy neighbour, Maruitius, so the island is largely unspoiled and, thanks to the fact that the entire island was recently named a UNESCO World Heritage site, likely to stay that way. Geologically very young and hosting two volcanoes (one live and one dormant) it's full not only of idyllic beaches but also of fairytale craggy peaks and deep valleys. Piton de la Neige, the dormant volcano, is surrounded by three craters (called cirques) that are all big enough to house several villages and each breath-taking in their own way. The Crique de Cilaos is accessible by bus from the town of St Louis, which climbs over the edge of the crater and down inside. The road includes over 250 hairpin bends, so just making it to the town is life-affirming. Being surrounded by the walls of the crater induces a realisation of the small and transitory nature of human existence that is calming and refreshing. The local residents help this along - what's important here is enjoying nature, whether it's through canyoning through rivers and waterfalls, hiking to high peaks, or just sitting back and taking in the view. We stayed in the family-run 'Claire de Lune' guest house, which has a dormitory for large groups and offers fabulous traditional Creole meals cooked by the owner's mother. I came back refreshed and with a renewed sense of both the awesomeness of the natural world and the important role each of us plays in it.
Catch the bus from the St Louis bus station on the south side of the island, which take about an hour and a half.
Clair de la Lune:
10, rue Winceslas Rivière 97413 Cilaos
+33(0)262 31 88 03
Rivers have been trade routes since ancient times and they flow downhill! Upon retiring and with no previous cycling experience, this realisation prompted me to set out to pedal from Rotterdam to Vienna, following the rivers Rhine, Main, Tauber, Altmühl and Danube.
Nearly all the journey was on dedicated cycle tracks or quiet country lanes.
Wayside B&Bs and hotels were plentiful so I enjoyed the freedom of pootling along on my sit-up-and-beg Dutch bike, allowing each day’s destination to emerge from my situation.
Most towns and villages along the route have old half-timbered centres as well as some historic castle/palace or sumptuous baroque monastery to admire. Highlights were the boat from Kelheim through the Danube Gorge to Weltenburg and back (no track on this stretch), the view from Passau castle of the confluence of the Danube, the Ilz and the Inn and the baroque monastery at Melk. Above all though, I came to enjoy the simple pleasure of passing through fairytale landscapes under my own steam.
Life changing? Oh yes: this year I’m setting out to dawdle the entire length of the Danube on the same bike, on a new saddle, on a smaller budget but taking more time.
For superb ‘Bikeline’ maps with tourist info visit www.esterbauer.com
Forget about spa and yoga retreats, the best way to get rid of a festive flunk is to head into the woods with an axe. There's something surprisingly therapeutic about handling a tool used for millennia and on an axe workshop you'll spend a long weekend doing just that. You'll learn how to care for your axe, sharpen it, cross cut and limb a tree with it, split logs, and even how to carve with it. When you finally turn a mossy log into a kind of seat with it, you'll be radiating an inner joy greater than any that you might find on a holistic retreat. (Plus, the glow on your face from wielding the thing for 48 hours and camping out in those numbingly-cold woods beats any fifty quid facial.)
There is an axe course in Devon run by the Survival School.
www.survivalschool.co.uk/
+44(0)1453 752220
As a way to keep the winter blues away, I treated myself to a week of surfing at Surf Maroc in November and can't recommend it highly enough. Surfers of all levels are catered for and yoga was also available in the evening. I went for an all inclusive option for convenience and food was good and plentiful. If you want to go out instead, you just let the staff know on the day and you can specify your dietary requirements in advance. I stayed at Taghazout villas and although pretty simple, it had everything you might need, including a communal laptop with wifi, a projector to watch surf movies and a random selection of magazines and books left by guests. The people working there are very welcoming and friendly and there was a mixture of people travelling on their own, friends and couples. Breakfast and dinner is served at a long table on a terrace overlooking the sea which creates a relaxed and communal atmosphere. Really great activity and fitness holiday and I really want to go back again soon!
Gammel Ry is a small but thriving village in central Jutland, who's inhabitants are some of the most active in all of Denmark (they enjoy a huge variety of clubs considering the village's size).
If meeting some of these incredibly friendly and enthusiastic people wasn't inspiration alone to visit, there's the beautiful landscape and the activities it enables; all in the range of a few minute's walk you have the choice to:
- Trek through the region's giant scandinavian forests
- View the countryside by cycling around the (hedgeless!) bike friendly roads that lace the rolling hills
- Kayak on one of the many nearby lakes or rivers
- Or even, if you're a winter lover, go cross country skiing when the area is blanketed in it's deep annual snowfall.
Combined, this makes Gammel Ry a fantastic place to visit if you're looking to get healthy, inspired and injected with life!
The village lies a few kilometers from the much larger town that sprang up later on, Ry.
Ry is located in the Skanderborg municipality in Jutland, Denmark's most western major island, and is easy to get to by road or train (look for Ry train station!).
There are two small roads that lead towards Gammel Ry from Ry, the journey of which can be cycled at a steady pace in around 20 minutes.
What with Denmark being the extremely bike-friendly nation it is, Ry has cycle shops that provide bikes for rent.
'Ry Cykler' is one such shop
www.rycykler.dk/
Parallelvej 9B, 8680 Ry
and it's phone number:
(+45) 86 89 14 91
The best place to stay in Gammel Ry is the 'Gl Rye Kro', a lovely old Public house and restaurant which has had one of it's wings turned into guest house.
It even boasts an indoor swimming pool and health club for guests!
www.glryekro.dk/
Ryesgade 8 Gammel Rye Ry, 8680 Denmark
and it's phone number:
(+45) 86 89 80 42
Google map: bit.ly/yPy93i
Every New Year I set the same resolutions; eat less bad and more good, exercise more, lose a few pounds. And most years my attempts are feeble. In the first months of 2011 however I committed to taking a swimming holiday in the summer. What a fabulous idea; the carrot was a sunshine holiday, the stick was regular training to improve fitness levels. A week of remote island swimming in clear Greek waters (a long one from island to island in the morning and a shorter coastal one in the afternoon), freshly prepared food, wonderfully long, lazy lunches onboard our sailing boat and the soundest sleep in comfy hotel beds left me healthy, fit, happy and relaxed. Resolution kept.
www.swimtrek.com
+44 (0) 1273 739 713
Great Bear Lodge is the perfect base for watching wild grizzly bears on British Columbia's Rain Coast.
Trips are based at a remote floating lodge on the largely uninhabited Smith Inlet, but you fly in by float plane from Port Hardy on Vancouver Island, so the adventure starts even before you arrive. The Great Bear team can advise you on arranging travel to Port Hardy.
Each day you will be taken out by expert guides to view grizzly bears, either in a small boat during the spring and early summer, or to secure raised hides overlooking the river during the salmon run, when the bears are feeding in the river. Great efforts are taken to minimise disruption to the bears and indeed any other impact on the local environment, with the result that you can safely observe these beautiful animals behaving naturally in their native environment.
In addition to the twice-daily grizzly-watching trips, there are other optional activities such as boat trips, forest hikes and kayaking, as well as a host of other wildlife to watch even from the comfort of the lodge's outdoor deck.
The full board accommodation in the lodge is very comfortable, with delicious meals provided, and your hosts (Tom Rivest and Marg Leehane) provide a great welcome and expert information on all aspects of the local ecology, wildlife and the adventures of living in a breathtakingly beautiful wilderness location accessible only by boat or float plane.
This is a great "soft adventure" opportunity, accessible to anybody of reasonable health and basic fitness i.e. you do not need to be any kind of outdoor sports enthusiast to enjoy a trip to Great Bear Lodge, just somebody who appreciates the Canadian wilderness and the creatures who live there.
www.greatbeartours.com/
+1 888 221 8212
Wildfitness run fitness holidays in a number of locations including Watamu Beach in Kenya. If you are looking for an challenging active holiday that will really get you on the path to getting fit and changing your lifestyle this is the one. Fantastic trainers, wonderful food (all very healthy but no limit on how much you can eat!) and lovely accommodation in a beautiful location. A great choice for a holiday on your own or with a friend or partner (I went with my husband but everyone else there at the time was on their own). Not cheap but worth it for a truly life changing experience.
www.wildfitness.com
+44 (0)20 3286 4886
Far North Queensland has the tropical luxury of Port Douglas with lazy ceiling fans, cocktails and fantastic food but also back to basics four-wheel driving beyond Cape York with hidden pristine beaches. Even the main road from Cairns is a World Heritage area. The Coral sea is the most eye-catching aquamarine but take heed of the signs warning of salt-water crocodiles (salties.) The realisation that you're no longer top of the food chain gives you a whole new perspective on life. Still wanting to feel small in the marine world but much safer? Take a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef from Port Douglas. Much quieter than the backpacker chaos of Cairns, no "salties" out this far, choose a boat with a marine biologist on-board and swap watching on BBC 2 for a snorkel and flippers. See it soon - global climate change might mean its all gone in thirty years time. Even that fact on its own has been life-changing for us.
We visited the reef with Wavelength www.wavelength.com.au/ - oldest in operation, set up by a marine biologist
Shop 20, Meridien Marina Mirage, Wharf Street Port Douglas
+61(0)7 4099 5031
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