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Uncle Tans run a 'jungle camp' with basic facilities and huts on the Kinabatangan river in Sabah. The camp represents a fantastic base from which to see an incredible amount of wildlife. As part of a very reasonably priced 3D/2N tour you also get to visit the Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre in Sepilok.
Other 'tour' options are becoming available. The people working at Uncle Tans are super friendly, informative and great with children. Uncle Tans can be reached easily from Kota Kinabalu or Sandakan.
Sabah is in easy and inexpensive reach from Kuala Lumpur through Air Asia for example (airasia.com).
This has to be one of the highlights of many trips to southeast Asia, a real fantastic, family-friendly opportunity to see crocodiles, wild pigs, gibbons, lizards, proboscis monkeys and if you are lucky, elephants and orang utans.
Seattle is a long city with many neighborhoods some of them barely mentioned in the tour guides and yet still full of local colour. Columbia City is my neighbourhood and if you visit on a Wednesday afternoon between May and October, you’ll encounter the farmer’s market which draws producers from both west and east of the Cascades as well as local performers and organizations.
You can eat here, joining dozens of families picnicking on the sloping park ground adjacent to this weekly festival. The Sicilian style restaurant ‘La Medusa’ serves a Wednesday dinner that has been cooked up using only produce purchased fresh that day from the stalls in the market (book ahead).
Within a short radius Columbia City has a pub (great local microbrews), a bookstore (Bookworm Exchange), a gallery, restaurants, a bakery (which serves coffee and treats), a cinema, as well as ethnic and independent shops that beg to be browsed.
If you are in town on the first Friday of the month then come along to ‘Beatwalk’ which starts kicking in around seven in the evening; many of the places described above are open until late, each with their own band, one five dollar payment gives you the freedom to wander from venue to venue people-watching and relaxing (you might even enjoy the music too).
It’s a lot of fun and not set up with tourists in mind, many of my neighbours arrange to meet up or just wander down knowing they will bump into friends. The 'south end' is the 'social end'.
If you have a car (or ride Metro 39) go down to Seward Park and walk the perimeter path that follows the lakeside around this peninsula, looking across towards the downtown skyscrapers, it is hard to imagine that you are in a major US city. Within Seward Park there is old growth with the biggest Douglas fir inside city limits, bald eagles nest here and one particular nest is easily viewed from the internal drive that goes up by the amphitheatre.
I have lived in Seattle since 1989 and I love the south end, it doesn’t get the ‘travel show’ attention of other more northerly neighbourhoods but it’s a quiet gem of an experience waiting to happen.
Head south down Rainier Avenue
www.columbiacityseattle.com/
If you've got some time to spare between excursions in this trendy tourist boom town, and don't fancy the huge new casino, a walk down to the nature reserve on the shore of the immense milky blue Lago Argentino is well worthwhile.
There are hawks skimming the reed tops, flamingos, all sorts of ducks and waders, geese and other water fowl. It's run by a small volunteer group and welcomes visitors as it holds out against the enveloping town. On the way back have a delicious local 'calafate' berry ice cream on the main street for a perfect afternoon.
North of Ave del Liberador on 9 Julio, and over the river to the lakeside
A campsite/hostel for nature lovers. Perfect place to start nature walks all over the Tayrona park and its surroundings.
2 km from the main entrance you find a sign Castilletes on your right-hand side. After 200 metres you get to the beach where the campsite is located. On request they supply good information on the park and its surroundings through email.
See their website: www.campingtayrona.com
Environmental education charity offering eco holidays that include training in ecology/traditional skills plus guided walks via woodlands, hills, bogs and lakes.
Also enjoyable local culture with traditional music, dancing, arts and drama.
Scariff, County Clare, Ireland.
www.celtnet.org (+353)61-640765
nearest station Birdhill
Flexible cycle schedule taking you round the base of Kilimanjaro, across the plains to the Serengeti and through the cooling shadows of the Rift Valley Wall.
Spectacular scenery, unique cultural experiences and a wildlife safari on top! How can you resist?
www.adsportleisure.com or info@adsportleisure.com
Adventure Sports & Leisure are a company based in Arusha, Tanzania. Responsible tourism is their thing, unique life-changing experiences is their talent! Don't be put off by their website - email them!
I shall recommend everybody to contact Rahim Langoo to enjoy Kashmir as I did. It seems to me unnecessary to look for any other place/host when you visit Srinagar. It would be difficult to enjoy my visit as much as I did had I chosen anybody else.
The Fantasia Houseboat is very well heated always, and Nageem lake is much more quiet and restful than Dal lake. Excursions take you to the centre and to the other lake and the city is worth visiting. Very near (60 Kms or so) you have Gulmarg and Panhalgar covered with snow, streams of water on the valleys, ponies drinking from them. One may also enjoy a trip on the lakes in a Shikara (row boat) comfortably installed (with some blankets when I was there).
The homemade food is very acceptable because one does not go there counting on a Michelin star restaurant. And if you are lucky enough to have Rahim himself as guide it is a complete experience: helpful and gentle, discreet, not imposing his knowledge, allowing nice, interesting conversations, with good manners and humour. And he's a very good driver, very careful also, which is a tremendous advantage in India.
Rahim will also collect you from the airport.
Rahim Langoo
Houseboat Fantasua
Nageen Lake
Ashai Bagh
Srinagar
Mobile: 00-91-9906737847
E-mail: rlangoo@hotmail.com
Daily flights from Delhi to Srinagar
Autumn is a wonderful time to visit Devon with its golden vistas of beech woods that fill the landscape and, if you want more variety in your autumn colours, then a visit to Buckland Monachorum, with its magnificent acer glade, will bowl over even the most ardent leaf peeper.
Buckland Monachorum, Yelverton, near Tavistock, Devon, PL20 7LQ
www.thegardenhouse.org.uk
£5.50 entrance fee, need your own transport to get there, plant centre sells plants, garden tearooms at the place serves homemade cakes and light lunches
01822 854769
The finest sequoia avenue in Britain, and a fantastic cafe from where you can see the red squirrels.
The cherry ferry across the Firth of Clyde
The start of the glorious gardens of Argyll and a gateway to the west coast.
www.rbge.org.uk/the-gardens/benmore/seasons-highlights/spring-highlights
The Sierra de Gredos, which forms part of Spain's Sistema Central, is approximately 140 kms in length running from Cerro de Guisando in the east to the Sierra de Bejar in the west, and boasts glacial cirques, mountain rivers and falls, and peaks reaching nearly 2600m.
Every season has something to offer in Gredos – from winter snow and ice, through the verdant and flower-rich spring to the pleasant temperatures of summer and the beautiful colours of autumn.
For those who like to be active, the Sierra offers walking for all abilities, climbing and scrambling on both rock and ice, cycling, mountain biking, paragliding, horse riding and both cross country and extreme skiing.
For others, there are rivers to swim in, historical sites and cities to visit and many beautiful natural spaces rich with an abundance of wildlife and nature to discover and explore.
As well as the more obvious Dylan Thomas connections, there are a number of beautiful walks around the village.
If you visit St Martin's Church, cross the footbridge into the new graveyard, where Dylan Thomas is buried, walk up to the top, and go through the gate into the lane. Turn to the right, and follow the track, this takes you into the village, by the entrance to Glan Y Mor, at the beginning of the cliff walk to the Boathouse. Lovely views of the village, and peace and quiet.
If you walk out to the boathouse, continue walking along the path on the cliffs above it. This path will take you on through some woods (slightly spoilt by the access road to the yacht club) which have bluebells and a romantic ruin, lots of wildlife!
You come out into fields, and can continue walking, up above the estuary, and towards St Clear's. You can circle back round to St Martin's, or retrace your steps. Take an OS map!
Another nice walk is from the car park at the Grist (village square). Rather than go beneath the castle, walk the other way, towards the sewage plant (it's only small, and looks just like a stone wall). Just before it, take the path going up. It's a climb, but worth it for the views at the top, of Laugharne, and the other way, of the Burrows, and across to Worms Head and Pembrey. Lots of birds and flowers too!
Finally, the bakery. Just round the corner from Browns Hotel, in Victoria Street. Excellent bread and pasties/pies, but the best thing of all, the butter buns. Get there before ten, as they always sell out, delicious warm, take them on your walk!
There is an hourly bus service from Carmarthen, if you are driving, take the A40 to St Clears, and follow the signs for the boathouse. Parking at St Martins Church, and off the Grist (tidal!).
Ullswater is beautiful, tranquil and worth visiting - whatever the time of year. Walk round the lake, catch the steamer, or drive round - it's marvellous!
If you are in a wheelchair, book your trip to the reef on a flat decked catamaran! The ride out is quite smooth and easy for the disabled and if you can't snorkel, the staff may be able to help you into a semi-submersible to view all the wonderful life on the reef. They helped me do it!
Also, the train to the Kuranda rainforest is completely wheelchair friendly, as is the cable car, if you want to try that on the way back!
Cairns travel info, hotels, hostels, or tourist info kiosks.
www.bluechairbook.com
North America's Disabled Adventurer.
A sky resort mainly, but there are some mountains you can climb and other trails you can follow.
A local told us you can follow a trail from Puerto de Navacerrada back down to the town of Cercedilla which takes about three hours.
Absoutely amazing views on top of the mountains of Madrid and Castilla y Leon. Makes for an amazing day out.
Take the train from Nuevos Ministerios, Atocha or Charmartin to Cercedilla where you change to take the train up the hill to Puerto de Navacerrada. Takes about two hours in total from Charmartin.
From there, follow other hikers up the hill and the various trail signs.
Hidden behind two yellow doors is the Sheraton Beach Hotel. It takes you straight on to the Red Sea. Brilliant for diving, with all facilities available, ask for Marlon, the resident dive instructor to take you around the coral and visit the: turtles, sharks, conger eels, rays, clownfish, starfish, napoleons, dolphins, lionfish, puffers, pipefish, yellow angels, purple angels, and many more.
This place really is a paradise on earth for marine life, and you get a great restaurant too. There are also chalets for sleeping over as it is quite a way from Jeddah city centre on the north road, past the airport, then third exit at the famous camel roundabout. This road hugs the coastline with palaces on your left and desert on your right, although by now it is probably built-up. This place with Marlon and friends made life liveable for three years of my life. Say hello to Marlon.
Firstly I would recommend to any family with children over eight, a trip to the Norfolk broads. A five-day trip is the perfect opportunity to bond as a family, and being on your own boat gives you the opportunity to stop wherever you like.
While in the area trip to Ranworth's Nature Trail is definetly recommended. It is not only beautiful walk, but there is a very interesting information centre which is floating on the broad. Also an area for birdwatching with binoculars. The swallowtail butterfly is particularly beautiful and the children love them.
01603 270479
I visited the biggest oceanarium in the world. You don't need to love fishing or a nature-freak to enjoy this. It is a great experience. There are four biotypes, each recreating one of the world’s coastal habitats. They're located in the four corner towers which encircle the central aquarium.
Together they constitute a representative set of ocean environments. And I will never forget how cute a baby sea otter can be.
Esplanada D.Carlos I
Lisbon
www.oceanario.pt/
Treks and walks are possible for residents and visitors alike. Certainly the coast offers beauty beyond description but the forests and mountains, together with the villages and settlements contained within their folds, provide an experience that, unchanged by tourism, contrasts sharply with the local resorts.
Sand, rocks and trees - what more could you need? The forest of Fontainbleau provides low rock climbing for adults and children, sand for babies and toddlers, shade and sun for all, and a peaceful environ. In autumn an excellent spot for mushroom picking.
Fly to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport and hire a car. The town of Fontainbleau is south of Paris, allowing day trips to Paris on rainy days.
Take a walking trip led by a local Sami reindeer herder, through a stunning national park landscape with reindeers as your travelling companions. Learn about the importance of reindeer to the local people and see some of the most beautiful landscape Sweden has to offer.
Take the wonderful night train from Stockholm to remind you how train travel ought to be.
Alternatively arrange your own outdoor activities in this beautiful area.
www.pathfinderlapland.se/
www.gellivare.se/
Gällivare railway station (direct from Stockholm)
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