Jetsettersblog

Experience Melbourne like a local and join a Hidden Secrets Tours’ new Coffee and Café Culture walking tour. Australians take their coffee very seriously having created the flat white and this tour is a must for anyone with a caffeine urge. Explore Melbourne’s cafe secrets and discover some of Australia’s most unique coffee houses; from old-school Italian cafes to the growing number of local entrepreneurs that offer the ‘bespoke coffee’ experience – coffee made, exactingly, to the drinkers specification. The 2.5 hour tour costs A$95 (approx £60) and runs Monday to Friday from 11am. Price includes all coffee and food tastings, lunch and a goody bag filled with a reusable coffee cup, maps, local coffee info and tram ticket. www.hiddensecretstours.com

Visitors can learn about the traditional culture and lives of the Gadabanud people at Cape Otway Lightstation’s new Aboriginal heritage trail on the Great Ocean Road. The trail has been designed to partly follow an ancient traditional Aboriginal trade and fishing route, which features important archaeological sites and middens. The Gadabanud were highly efficient hunters and gatherers who wove eel traps from grasses, created beach fish traps and had both river and ocean going canoes. People employed at the heritage site are from regional Aboriginal families and share their knowledge of the Cape’s edible plants, once used as food and medicine. www.lightstation.com

Located in the far north west of Western Australia, the East Kimberley’s award winning wilderness retreat, Faraway Bay Bush Camp, is staging its first ever Wellness Retreat in April 2011. Guests will enjoy gentle massage, reflexology, acupuncture, ion foot spas, chiropractic manipulation, discussions about nutrition and more. The Faraway Bay Wellness Retreat will run 28 April to 2 May and is limited to 12 guests. Faraway Bay is the ideal place to kick back and relax; close encounters with wildlife, remarkable beauty, isolation and history all await, in this unique slice of the outback. www.farawaybay.com.au

Kurrajong, a new eco-camp in the World Heritage-listed Purnululu National Park of north Western Australia (WA) is due to open in April. Home to the stunning Bungle Bungle Range the site is owned by the Department of Environment and Conservation. It will be the latest in a line of luxury tented accommodation to open in WA offering unrivalled nature experiences in exclusive locations. Kurrajong will consist of 10 semi-permanent safari tents, as well as a dining area and eco-friendly hot showers and toilet facilities. Purnululu National Park, which was only discovered by the outside world in 1983 when a film crew stumbled across it, is a 2,500square km adventure playground, with great trekking through gorges and chasms. The camp is for those travelling with Intrepid Connections, a sample package including a stay at Kurrajong costs from £1,095 twin share for a 9-day adventure. www.connections.travel

Wildman Wilderness Lodge will open in April in Kakadu National Park. The outback resort was formerly Wrotham Park Lodge located in the far north of Queensland and was transported 2,800km to be reassembled, alongside additional accommodation. The property now has 15 eco cabins and 10 safari tents and proposes to be a fully recycled resort. Bookings are being taken. Located in the Mary River wetlands in Kakadu National Park, the Lodge is an ideal spot to explore the area and take in the varied wildlife, from birds to buffalo. Double Tents from A$430 (approx £270) based on two people sharing, including two-course dinner and breakfast. www.wildmanwildernesslodge.com.au

A pedal powered cinema is moving through remote regions of Uganda in 2011, generating local awareness of gorilla conservation. The cinema is part of an exclusive collaboration with The Great Projects and the Great Ape Film Initiative (GAFI), who are launching a unique 2 week safari tour inclusive of volunteer days, set to make a difference in gorilla conservation and community education of the endangered Mountain Gorilla. Two of the four tours running this year in July and October, are hosted by world primate expert Ian Redmond OBE

The Great Gorilla Project tour will feature an overland tour across Uganda starting with a visit to a Chimpanzee sanctuary. It is followed by a trek into the rainforest to track groups of mountain gorillas. Participate in tree planting projects and end in an innovative community project called GAFI’s pedal power cinema. The travelers will volunteer to raise local awareness of gorilla conservation through cinema powered by the electricity generated from pedaling a stationary bicycle.

The screenings will be documentaries donated to GAFI by National Geographic and the BBC. Over 10,000 children and adults in Uganda are set to attend the bike powered cinemas featured and funded by four of the Great Gorilla Project tours in July and October 2011. Travelers will get a sense of ownership over their holiday knowing that the cost of the trip helped educate thousands of children about gorilla.

Fostering gorilla relations with local people is focused on communities surrounding the Mgahinga and Bwindi National parks, which combined are home to over 5 habituated groups of gorillas and many other wild groups. In fact the area between Bwindi and Mgahinga is home to half the world’s population of Mountain Gorillas. Only 720 mountain gorillas are left in the wild, so to be a safe distance away from a group of gorillas led by a silver-back is a privilege.

The organisers are asking travelers to be part of this experience and help us bring the gap between local people and gorilla who share the same vulnerable habitat.

Considering a spring vacation at Colorado’s ski resorts? Rest easy knowing that these recreation hubs are leading the green revolution with award-winning conservation programs that ensure their slopes stay healthy for generations of snow-seeking and trail-loving vacationers to come.

These resorts are thinking of creative ways to ensure they’re doing their part to preserve Colorado’s natural playground. Of course, they all recycle, work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and encourage alternative transportation. But they don’t stop there. Here are a few examples, including some you can participate in.

Transportation

In an effort to cut down on carbon emissions required to get to their slopes, Arapahoe Basin Ski and Snowboard Area offers a nearly 20 percent discount on lift tickets for those who arrive in a carpool of four or more.

A section of Wolf Creek Ski Area’s website is devoted to connecting skiers who need rides with drivers who would like to share gas costs.

On-Mountain Measures
Steamboat Ski Area has created a zero-waste initiative that focuses on composting for all organic material and paper products. The resort’s staff has increased recycling efforts by busing tables in on-mountain dining facilities to ensure waste that can be recycled does get recycled.

Durango Mountain Resort has received awards for its efforts to increase its skiable acres, all the while improving forest health and wildlife habitat using environmentally friendly techniques. They also recently completed a new terrain park with features made of dirt, which requires less snow coverage and maintenance to make them ride-able.

Off-Season Initiatives
Many of Colorado’s ski resorts take measures in the off-season to ensure the natural areas in and around their boundaries stay healthy for years to come. Monarch Mountain employs a treatment plant at the base of the mountain that filters silt out of the water that melts from the mountain before sending it downstream.

Each summer, where ski trails have disturbed the ground, crews from Sunlight Mountain Resort mulch and seed the areas, encouraging plants to re-grow and prevent soil erosion.

Telluride Ski & Golf Resort is home to the St. Sophia Nature Center, which teaches students in the area about the environment they live in. The programs encourage lifelong environmental stewardship through education about the atmosphere, alternative energy, geology, botany and more.

Environmental Conservation Giving
Several other resorts have indirect, but essential, contributions to the environment. Vail Resorts (includes Vail Mountain, Beaver Creek Resort, Breckenridge Ski Resort and Keystone Resort) has allotted $2 million to its Forest Health Program, and many employees have given their time to the program’s preservation, restoration and improvement of thousands of acres of forest in Colorado and surrounding states. Vail also partners with the National Forest Foundation to match guests’ contributions to forest conservation.

Nearly half of Aspen Snowmass employees (includes Aspen Mountain, Snowmass Mountain, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk) contribute a portion of their paychecks to the Environment Foundation — and these contributions are matched by the Aspen Community Foundation as well as Aspen Skiing Company Family Fund. These funds go to local clean air and water initiatives and trail-maintenance programs.

The Copper Environmental Fund was founded in 2007 by Copper Mountain employees to support environmental initiatives in Summit County and the surrounding area. Employees voluntarily contribute to the fund, all of which is matched at 100 percent by the resort.

Winter Park Resort has teamed up with the US Forest Service, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Trout Unlimited and others to create the Little Vasquez Creek Colorado River Cutthroat Trout habitat, home to one of the few remaining populations of genetically pure Colorado River Cutthroat Trout.

Want More?
This is just a taste of what Colorado’s ski and snowboard resorts are doing to care for their natural gifts. To learn more, visit the websites of our 26 resorts.

In honor of its year-long 25th anniversary celebration, Africa Adventure Company is introducing three new trips highlighting safaris in East Africa. The new itineraries offer guests the opportunity to go trekking with chimps and gorillas in Uganda and Rwanda, view the famous Great Migration in the Serengeti or climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. On the new 14-day Primates of Uganda and Rwanda Safari, guests will have the chance to explore forested areas for the unique experience of observing chimpanzees and mountain gorillas in unspoiled natural habitats.

“Seeing the mountain gorillas in Rwanda or Uganda is definitely one of the most fantastic wildlife experiences on Earth. After visiting many other countries in Africa I believe that gorilla trekking should be on everyone’s bucket list,” said Africa Adventure Company Safari Consultant Szilvia Hegyi.

The new 12-day Serengeti Explored Group Safari to Tanzania offers guests the chance to stay at a seasonal camp in the Serengeti and view one of the greatest spectacles on earth, the Migration of the wildebeests while ensuring outstanding photographic opportunities in prime wildlife areas. “The best part of this safari is the seasonal mobile camping. For me it is the true essence of Africa,” said Senior Safari Consultant Kyle Witten.

On the new 15-day Mt. Kilimanjaro Climb and Tanzania Safari, guests will experience the thrill of climbing the Rongai route up the highest mountain in Africa and tracking the Big Five while game viewing in the Ngorongoro Crater. “The Rongai route has fewer climbers than some of the other routes and gives hikers a good shot at making the highest peak — Uhuru. The feeling of accomplishment of reaching the summit, almost 20,000 feet, is indescribable,” said President Mark Nolting.

Africa Adventure Company is also making an effort to give back to this special region of the continent by offering guests the opportunity to help out at one of the company’s community and conservation projects. While in Tanzania, guests can include a visit to Ndarakwai Ranch to their itinerary and participate in volunteer activities such as building classrooms or giving a helping hand at a local school of the Maasai community, assisting in anti-poaching support and related research work with elephants, or in environmental activities like weeding out invasive and non-indigenous plants.

The Africa Adventure Company is a travel outfitter and Africa specialist known for its portfolio of more than 75 safari trips to over 14 African countries. The company specializes in planning personalized safaris with a commitment to sustainable tourism and eco conservation, while promoting camps that are symbiotic with nature and the community and offering game viewing with top-notch guides. The team is managed and directed by Mark and Alison Nolting. Mark Nolting is the author of “Africa’s Top Wildlife Countries,” an award-winning guide book now in its seventh edition, and the “African Safari Journal,” a diary, phrase book and wildlife guide all in one. For more information, call 800-882-9453 or visit www.AfricanAdventure.com

Gap Adventures is offering a 20 percent discount on all Greek Islands Sailing adventures departing in May and June 2011. Travelers seeking sun, small group sailing, and breathtaking scenery can book their adventure and save on the cost of their trip, for a limited time.

“There is no more relaxing way to experience these beautiful islands than aboard one of our private 50-foot yachts, with a veteran skipper who can take you to remote places inaccessible to other travelers,” said Sue Barreau, Europe and Middle East senior operations manager. “If you’re looking for a chance to kick back and relax away from the tourist throngs, then our sailing trips are for you.”

The 20 percent discount is valid for all Greek sailing trips, including the company’s Greek Islands Sailing Adventure (Mykonos to Santorini), trip code GVMS, for eight days, starting at $1,000; A Greek Islands Sailing Adventure (Santorini to Santorini), trip code GVSS, $1,424; and Greek Islands Sailing Adventure (Kos to Athens), trip code GVKA, for 22 days, $2,840.

“Chartering a private yacht is out of reach for most people, but sailing with a captain who knows these waters as well as the history and culture of the area means our travelers enjoy a hassle-free time with a chief experience officer and qualified captain all in one,” Barreau said. Like all Gap Adventures tours, its sailing trips are small group adventures. Singles, couples, and families can choose from eight berths aboard the yachts, but it is not uncommon for a small group to book the entire vessel.

During the day travelers have ample time for hiking, swimming and snorkeling, enjoying a leisurely lunch, and relaxing. They can explore ancient archaeological sites and taverna-lined harbors, photograph picturesque islands including Naxos, Paros, Ios, Mykonos and Santorini, and check out the local shops. Travelers can dine on fresh seafood and sample Ouzo, Greece’s famous anise-flavored aperitif. Back on the boat, travelers are rocked to sleep by the sea’s rhythm and have the option of sleeping on deck, beneath the stars (weather permitting).

Most travelers take advantage of the opportunity to chill out on the boat, but those interested in learning to sail can join the captain and earn their sea legs. When conditions permit travelers have the opportunity to steer the boat, pull (or weigh) the anchor, learn about navigation and the boat, and work with the sails. For more information, visit www.gapadventures.com

Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development appointed Solís Hotels & Resorts, led by legendary hotelier Horst Schulze, to manage the new Solís Doha in Qatar. Solís Doha will be located next to the Qatar National Convention Center in Education City, home to several international universities. Solís Doha is expected to open in 2015.

Employing a unique architecture built to exceptionally high environmental and sustainability standards, Solís Doha will offer meeting space, accommodations, a spa, three restaurants and an indoor recreational area. Headed by hotelier Horst Schulze, Solís Hotels & Resorts’ Doha property represents the brand’s first foray into the Middle East. Solís Doha will include 418 guestrooms and suites with a private entrance and elevator for penthouse and royal suites. A Grand Ballroom of 17,216 square feet; more than 17,000 square feet of breakout, pre-function and exhibit space; four board rooms; and six meeting rooms will comprise the meeting and event space. All space is complemented with the latest in audio, visual and communications technologies. For more information, visit www.solishotels.com