|
 |  |
BERMUDA
|
|
 |
Travel Articles
BERMUDA IS THE UK’S NUMBER ONE PARADISE DESTINATION
Sun seeking Brits say island’s pink beaches are the best
Britons would rather be sunning themselves on the warm pink sands of Bermuda than anywhere else on earth on their dream holiday.
The paradise island came out top in a poll carried out by Ciao Surveys. It found 23 per cent of respondents named lying on a beach in Bermuda as their idea of the perfect holiday of a lifetime, beating off competition from Thailand, Rio, and the Greek islands.
Shopping in New York was also a top contender and with a flight time of less than two hours from Bermuda to the hustle and bustle of the ‘Big Apple’, the island is the perfect twin-centre beach destination after a busy weekend pounding the pavements and bagging some bargains.
Bermuda’s relaxed ambience is only a six and a half hour flight from the UK. Sand, sea and shopping! What more could any holidaymaker ever want.
Below are just ten of the top reasons to visit Bermuda this summer:
|
|
1. LOW-COST FLIGHTS
Zoom Airlines (www.flyzoom.com) launched twice-weekly direct flights between London and Bermuda in June 2007. Starting prices are £199.00 one-way including all taxes, fees and charges - approximately half the price of an average economy flight with British Airways, which has held a monopoly on the route for the past 40 years. British Airways will remain the only airline offering daily direct flights to Bermuda during the summer season. However, the airline has already started to slash prices on its Bermuda route during selected periods, so flying to Bermuda is become more affordable all round.
|
|
2. SPEEDY ARRIVAL
Only a six and a half hour flight from the UK with British Airways or Zoom Airlines, the sweeping pink sand beaches, intoxicating year-round sunshine, enticing restaurants and captivating atmosphere of Bermuda are closer than you think!
|
3. ALLURING PINK SAND BEACHES
Relax and soak up the sun on one of the beautiful pink sand beaches that decorate the island of Bermuda. The powder soft sand, dyed pink by the miles of coral that surround the island is perfect for long, romantic strolls, soaking up the sun or creating the ultimate fairytale sand castle.
|
|
|
|
4. PILLOW TALK
Bermuda offers a wide variety of accommodation to suit all tastes, ranging from large full-service resort hotels with spas, swimming pools and beaches to bed & breakfasts, tiny guesthouses and uniquely Bermudian cottage colonies which combine private separate cottages with all the services and facilities of a resort hotel. With such an array of choice, there is something to suit every budget.
|
|
5. CLIMATE CONTROL
With intoxicating year round sunshine, Bermuda benefits from a semi-tropical climate and only two seasons. In spring during the ‘Golf and Spa’ season temperatures reach a satisfying average of 65 degrees Fahrenheit while in the summer during the ‘Beach and Sizzle’ season temperatures hit a perfect 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
|
|
|
|
6. SPA - TACULAR
Relaxation is Bermuda’s national pastime, and the spas are a haven of wellbeing and relaxation. The island offers the finest treatments and therapies to help you escape the harsh reality of winter and immerse yourself in the calming atmosphere of the island. Spa highlights include, ‘The Spa at Elbow Beach’, ‘Ocean Spa’ at Cambridge beaches and the ‘Willow Stream Spa’ at Fairmont Southampton.
|
|
7. TEE – MENDOUS
Bermuda offers more golf courses per square mile than anywhere else in the world and each with a sea view, making the destination a golfers’ paradise. The island boasts eight spectacular courses with something for everyone from novices to pros. Furthermore, visitors to Bermuda in 2008 will have the opportunity to see some of the world’s top golfers compete in The PGA Grand Slam of Golf hosted by The Mid Ocean Club and The Fairmont Southampton.
|
|
|
|
8. DEEP DOWN BELOW
Nicknamed “Shipwreck Alley,” Bermuda offers an impressive array of sites and includes 365 documented shipwrecks (one for every day of the year!) dating from the 1500s, ranging from Spanish galleons to Confederate steamers and 20th century cargo ships. Considered the wreck diving capital of the Atlantic, Bermuda is a dive haven for travellers of all interests and skills with year-round temperate waters and an impressive array of both underwater and topside attractions.
|
|
9. A FRIENDLY BUNCH
To say that the warmth of the sun is matched only by the friendliness of the welcome you’ll receive is certainly no understatement in Bermuda. Its rich heritage is a mix of many historic influences, with artists, poets and royalty helping produce the uniquely Bermudian identity, characterised by British tradition and warm, friendly people.
|
|
|
|
10. A BITE TO EAT?
From simple and inexpensive to elegant and speciality dining, Bermuda has more than 150 restaurants. Fresh fish is in abundance on the island but visitors are encouraged to try the signature fish chowder and wash it down with a delicious ‘Dark and Stormy’ or ‘Rum Swizzle Cocktail’ made from the island’s famous Gosling’s rum.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bermuda: An Atlantic dream
A beguiling mixture of old and new, Bermuda is a friendly, if exclusive, island paradise, as Clive Nicholls discovered. For the third time in a matter of minutes our taxi driver momentarily lifts his hand off the steering wheel, gives a double toot on the horn and acknowledges yet another passer-by.
“My cousin,” says Glenn Chase, the taxi driver in question. A mile or so further on and the process is repeated. “Another cousin,” grins Glenn. I’m not sure they were his cousins in the strictest sense of the word but clearly Glenn seemed to know, or was related to, almost everyone on the island.
|
|
That’s the kind of place Bermuda is. The unique character of the island, smart, classy and just a little bit old fashioned, emerges on the drive in from the airport with Glenn’s running commentary punctuating the pastel-coloured cottages, secluded beaches and small natural harbours that pass by as we approach the Cambridge Beaches resort at the other end of the island chain. Oh, and yes Glenn comes from a large family! On arrival at the airport there are a couple of surprises. Firstly as you line up for the immigration checks there is a live band playing in the hall - a nice touch that adds warmth to your welcome.
|
|
|
|
Secondly, you are overlooked by a large, but slightly faded, portrait of Her Majesty the Queen, for this is still a dependant territory of the United Kingdom, though, with its position so close to the United States, there is also a strong American influence. Bermuda is actually a collection of seven islands linked by bridges and causeways and surrounded by many smaller outcrops of rocks and protective reefs. It sits on top of an extinct volcano that last saw active service 35 million years ago. Isolated in the Atlantic Ocean it is 1,000 miles from the Caribbean and 650 off the east coast of America. The islands are small, with an area of just 22 square miles and at no point wider than a mile-and-a-half. The population is an affluent 65,000 with virtually no unemployment.
|
|
Many international companies have their base here and with China’s takeover of Hong Kong more have made the move. This atmopsphere of well-being does come with a price tag - the cost of living is high - not just for islanders but also visitors. A word of caution: if you enjoy your holiday so much you want to set up home in Bermuda, there are strict laws for outsiders wanting to buy homes - you’ll certainly need to be a millionaire!
|
Bermuda’s history
Although it was discovered by the Spanish around 1500, it was in 1609 when the first European settlers arrived, by accident rather than design. The ‘Sea Venture’, flagship of Sir George Somers, struck the reefs that surround Bermuda while en route to America. The ship was wrecked but the surviving crew built two small boats and then, after ten months on the island, continued their journey, leaving just three sailors behind.
|
Three years later, 60 colonists arrived from England and established the settlement known as St George town. In 1620 the first parliament convened in St Peter’s church, and in 1684 Bermuda became a British colony when Sir Robert Robinson was appointed the first governor. The islands were involved in the American Civil War, running supplies to the Confederates despite the Union blockade, and returning with profitable cotton cargoes. The island’s experience in smuggling came in handy during Prohibition in the USA - rum running became big business and many profited from the prohibition years.
|
|
|
During the Second World War Bermuda became an espionage base for UK agents, geography pitching it right into the Battle of the Atlantic with the communications between German submarines being intercepted. When flights from Europe en route to America stopped to refuel and the crews fed and watered, agents opened mail sacks and read secret German messages being mailed through Spain. In 1957 Britain closed down its garrison on the islands and the last troops left, allowing Bermuda to move towards self-government, and ending an era of British military involvement.
|
The Bermuda Triangle
As if its own history wasn’t colourful enough, folklore steps in to lend a hand with The Bermuda Triangle mysteries. Depending on which side of the fence you sit, the Bermuda Triangle either hosts a mysterious force that swallows up ships, planes and crew, or there are just a number of unexplained incidents. The official line is that the triangle doesn’t exist and that there should be a rational explanation for the mysterious losses - the only trouble is no one seems to be quite sure what that explanation is!
Even the boundaries of the triangle are in dispute, but most storytellers suggest it encompasses almost one million square miles, from Bermuda down to Florida and south west to Puerto Rico, and that over the last century more than 20 aircraft and 50 ships have been swallowed up. One of the most compelling stories is the disappearance of a flight of five torpedo bombers back in 1945.
The planes, Grumman Avengers, took off at 2.10pm from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on a training mission, following an exact route to the Hen and Chicken shoals, where they would carry out a bombing exercise. Heading flight 19 was a senior qualified instructor, the other pilots were all experienced and used to flying the Avenger. The weather wasn’t particularly good, there were showers about, a 20 to 30 knot wind and a heavy sea, but this would be considered pretty normal for this type of exercise.
At 4pm a radio signal was picked up, indicating that the flight was lost and was having some difficulty with their compasses. Before the problem could be resolved radio contact was lost and nothing was heard from them ever again. The planes would have run out of fuel around 8pm. A search was carried out for five days, until December 18, 1945, but no trace of any wreckage was found. One of the search planes also disappeared without trace! One theory is that the aircraft flew through a magnetic storm which caused a problem with the compasses, they became lost, ran out of fuel and crashed in the rough sea.
Was the loss of the search plane connected? The Mariner search aircraft had massive endurance but were nicknamed ‘flying gas tanks’. It was commonplace for the pilots to search their crews to make sure no one carried smoking materials on board as the risks were thought to be high. Perhaps the one that was lost succumbed to a mid-air explosion?
On the shipping front, the loss of the collier Cyclops in March 1918 has defied explanation. Working along the east coast of the United States to the Caribbean and South America, she vanished without any trace or distress signal. One theory was that a German U-boat or mine sank her, but, after the war, records showed no German activity in the area. Whether you subscribe to the Devil’s Triangle theory or just believe in a series of coincidences is down to individual opinion. Our British Airways flight from Gatwick was untroubled and touchdown was the smoothest I’ve ever experienced!
|
When to go
The southern states of America have taken a battering from hurricanes and it is easy to imagine Bermuda might suffer the same way. That, however, is not the case. There is a hurricane season (June to November) but the likelihood of a direct hit is low - as a target in hundreds of miles of ocean it is fairly small. However, in 2003 hurricane Fabian, the worst for 40 years, hit Bermuda causing extensive damage to trees and buildings. By our standards Bermuda is warm but the winter (December to March) cools down to around 60F, rising to the mid-eighties in the summer. Water temperatures tend to match those of the air, so if you want to swim in the sea and go snorkelling I would stick to the summer.
|
The town of Hamilton. |
|
Another consideration when planning a trip is the calendar of events that run throughout the year. Check out www.bermudatourism.com for the latest information, but there’s everything from golf tournaments, performing arts, yachting, through to chess and bridge tournaments. I travelled in October and took in the International Music Festival, the highlight being an open-air concert featuring Joss Stone. The stage was set up on the giant slipway at the Royal Naval dockyard with seating facing the sea. It was a unique setting with a great atmosphere. Something like this can make a holiday really special.
|
|
On the islands there’s plenty to see. The two main towns are Hamilton and St George. I preferred St George, it’s just that bit more interesting and the ‘ducking of the wives’ ceremony adds a bit of fun. A word of warning here - if they ask for volunteers, keep your head down, the ducking is for real! (Don’t worry, they always end up using their own staff).
|
|
After the busy towns you might want to relax on the beach. There are plenty to choose from, some are very small and intimate and others, like Warwick Long Bay, much bigger. The sand is coral pink and most beaches are protected from the big Atlantic breakers by the offshore reefs.
For golfers there’s plenty of choice, as Bermuda has more courses per square mile than anywhere else in the world. Some of the courses have an international reputation - apparently the famous baseball player Babe Ruth lost 11 balls on one hole at the Mid Ocean club - perhaps he should have stuck to baseball! Most are open to visitors and your hotel can always arrange introductions to the more exclusive clubs.
|
Warwick Long Bay. |
|
The Maritime Museum and Dolphin Quest is worth a visit, there’s lots of space and plenty to see. The dolphins look in superb condition and genuinely seem to be enjoying their life as stars of the show. Just round the corner there’s the Rum Cake Company where you can try out the different flavours - even if you don’t take any home with you, tasting the free samples is good fun.
I stayed at the Cambridge Beaches resort at the western end of the island, sitting between Mangrove Bay and Somerset Long Bay. The rooms were beautiful and the site never seemed crowded and with several small private beaches you can always find a spot where you can be on your own. If you stay there don’t miss out on a couple of treats. Firstly they do a complimentary afternoon tea each day at 4pm. The cakes and sandwiches are so tempting and to sit overlooking Mangrove Bay with an endless pot of tea is delightful.
Secondly, and you have to pay for this particular treat, there is a massage at the on-site Ocean Spa.
Most of the accommodation available on Bermuda is classy and a lot of things that we would normally regard as extras come as standard there.
|
Getting around
It is not possible to hire cars on Bermuda so the choice is taxis, buses, ferries or you can hire motor scooters. I would steer clear of the scooters if you are not used to them - falling off could seriously spoil your holiday. Taxis are good but can be a bit expensive if you use them all the time, so on land I suggest a mix of taxis and the excellent and more reasonable buses. The other alternative is cycling - the speed limit for cars on the island is 20mph so the conditions aren’t too threatening for cyclists. The ferries are great for hopping to and from Hamilton and seeing the islands from the sea certainly gives you a different perspective. In Hamilton and St George, walking is the best option for soaking up the atmosphere.
Bermuda is slightly old-fashioned and conservative - in the nicest possible way. Dress tends to be smart casual during the day and in pubs and restaurants. At the posher hotels men would be expected to wear a jacket for dinner. Beachwear and bare feet aren’t acceptable around town or in bars, restaurants and hotels. This certainly isn’t the place for any nude bathing.
Officially the currency is the Bermuda dollar, but both US dollars and the Bermuda dollars are accepted at shops and restaurants. If you are travelling a lot the US dollar is probably more practical as, rather like euros, you can save them for your next trip. Towards the end of your holiday try to consolidate your currency in one or the other - it’ll make it easier to change back to sterling or take them on to the United States on your next visit.
Bermuda is unique, rather like the Caribbean, with an upmarket makeover but with a character very much its own. It’s classy, friendly, compact, a bit exclusive and, yes, a bit expensive. But if Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones have a home there you know it must be just that little bit special!
|
|
|
|
|
A very English summer in the Heart of Kent
There is nothing quite so quintessentially English as stately gardens and cream teas – it is the perfect combination for a day or an afternoon out. The Heart of Kent tourism partnership recognises this in one of its five new themed itineraries, highlighted on its website. www.visitheartofkent.com.
The Heart of Kent is centred around the historic and diverse towns of Ashford, Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells, and is blessed with a richness of gardens varying from the formal gardens which surround stately homes such as Penshurst Place and Chartwell, to the smaller but no less fascinating gardens in private hands such as Hole Park Gardens or Godinton.
|
|
Many of the gardens offer cream teas – a chance to rest the legs, take in refreshment and gaze more leisurely at lush plants and clever garden schemes, before setting off home, well fortified by scones with jam and clotted cream accompanied by a good cup of tea.
But there are of course numerous tea shops; often charming cottages dispensing home made cakes and bonhomie in a picturesque setting (some with interesting collections such as teddy bears or teapots); or hotel lounges with dainty sandwiches and music softly playing in the background.
The Heart of Kent website is attractive, informative and easy to use. As well as the itineraries, there are details of individual attractions and places to eat. If contemplating an overnight stay or perhaps a restful weekend, you can also book accommodation online instantly, thanks to an up-to-the-minute database of everything from B&Bs and self catering to luxury country hotels.
A copy of the Gardens & Cream Teas itinerary is below.
|
Heart of Kent – Themed Itineraries. www.visitheartofkent.com
Can be adapted for half day, whole day or more than one day
Click here to find out more
|
Gardens & Cream Teas Day Out:
The Spa Hotel, Tunbridge Wells
www.spahotel.co.uk
Traditional afternoon tea and Champagne afternoon teas served each afternoon – booking advisable. Resident harpist on Sundays
Click here to find out more
|
|
|
|
Groombridge Place
www.groombridge.co.uk
Romantic gardens surround a private moated house. Features include the Drunken Garden. Secret Garden and Oriental Garden. A canal with canal boat and the Enchanted Forest, a woodland with sculptures, add extra dimension. The house and gardens have featured in several film and TV programmes, most recently ‘Pride and Prejudice’ starring Keira Knightly. Self service restaurant.
Click here to find out more
|
|
Godinton House & Gardens
www.godinton-house-gardens.co.uk
Historic house set amid beautiful gardens, including large walled garden with feature delphiniums, Wild Garden and Italianate garden. Teas available when house open.
Click here to find out more
|
|
|
Peggoty’s Tea Shoppe, Tenterden
01580 764393
16th-century shop serving morning coffee, light lunches and afternoon teas with homemade scones and cakes and wide tea selection. Open daily.
|
|
Great Comp Garden, Platt
www.greatcomp.co.uk
7-acre plantsmanís garden with formal and informal areas, created over the last 40 years. As well as many unusual plants, there are over 70 magnolias and planted urns are dotted around, along with homemade ‘ruins’! The Old Dairy Tea Rooms are open every afternoon.
Click here to find out more
|
|
Teapot Island, Yalding
www.teapotisland.com
Something a little out of the ordinary – a riverside museum of over 5,000 teapots a Guinness Book of Records entry! As well as an onsite potter doing demonstrations and teapots and paint-your-own pottery for sale, Teapot Island also has its own café which serves cream teas.
Click here to find out more
|
|
|
|
Hole Park Gardens, Rolvenden
www.holepark.com
Attractive 15-acre gardens with flowering throughout the year, including rhododendrons, bluebells and roses. Features include rare climbing wisteria, clipped yew hedges, formal and informal areas and great autumn displays. Small nursery shop and tea room.
Click here to find out more
|
|
George & Dragon Tea Room, Headcorn
01622 890239
Kentish Cream Teas served all day – over 30 types of tea; homemade meringues a speciality. Also morning coffee and lunches. Over 300 rescued teddy bears hidden among hops on display.
|
|
|
|
Chartwell, Westerham
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/chartwell
Sir Winston Churchill’s beloved Kent home. The beautiful rose and water gardens were commissioned by the Churchills and you can also see the terraced hillside gardens, the walled kitchen garden with its Golden Rose Walk and the garden studio where Churchill painted. Several walks with Wealden views. Tea room.
Click here to find out more
|
|
Penshurst Place, Penshurst
www.penshurstplace.com
Formal gardens surrounding a historic house include an 11-acre Walled Garden, a Union Flag Garden, Italianate gardens, orchards and much more.
The Garden Tea Room offers coffee, light lunches and cream teas.
Click here to find out more
|
|
|
|
Fir Tree House Tea Rooms, Penshurst
01892 870382
Tudor tea room with homemade cakes, log fire and summer garden. (Open afternoons only).
|
|
The Watermark Restaurant, Eynsford
Award winning restaurant, run by well-known chef Guy Massey, at the foot of the famous Eynsford Bridge. Serves cream teas.
|
|
|
|
|
|
There’s so much to see and do this summer in the Heart of Kent
When summer finally arrives and long, hot August days are upon us, we start to plan days out and weekends away. And where better to go than the Heart of Kent?
Situated in the Garden of England and based around five distinctive towns with a huge variety of attractions all around, the Heart of Kent tourism region has something for everyone: families or couples, young or old, active or relaxed, enthusiast or opportunist – it’s all in this South-east corner of England.
|
|
Each of the five towns in the heart of Kent – Ashford, Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells – has its own historical interest and makes a convenient base for exploring the region. Ashford mixes an old market town ambience with a new international feel, Maidstone is the county town with its Archbishop’s Palace right by the River Medway, Sevenoaks has Knole at its heart, Tonbridge’s medieval castle overlooks the River Medway as well, and Tunbridge Wells draws visitors with The Pantiles historic arcade. All offer ample choices for shopping, eating and accommodation.
|
|
Surrounding these diverse towns, the Heart of Kent has so much to offer it hardly seems possible it’s all packed into one region. Historic buildings jostle for attention – there are castles such as Leeds Castle, Hever, Scotney and Chiddingstone; former homes of historical figures such as Winston Churchill’s Chartwell, Vita Sackville-West’s Sissinghurst and Ellen Terry’s Smallhythe Place; houses which have stood through centuries of history – Penshurst Place, Ightham Mote and Quebec House; or even the wealth of historic buildings thronging towns such as Tenterden and Cranbrook.
|
|
|
|
Gardens naturally feature in the Heart of Kent and, as well as the more famous such as Great Dixter, Pashley Manor or Emmetts Garden, there are numerous smaller and equally delightful ones to see – Hole Park Gardens, Marle Place Gardens and Godinton to name just three. There are gardens with national collections such as Downderry which is home to the National Plant Collections of Lavender and Rosemary in Kent, there are gardens focusing on organic gardening such as Garden Organic Yalding and quirky gardens like Lullingstone Castle’s World Garden of Plants.
|
|
Perhaps you prefer a more active day? Then check out Go Ape! at Bedgebury Forest & Pinetum where you can also cycle or walk a variety of trails among the trees, or spend an afternoon go karting at Buckmore Park Karting, or play a round of golf at any of the many clubs around the region.
|
Visitors with more specialist interests can amuse themselves too. Wine buffs can taste their way through the various well-respected vineyards; musicians will love Finchcocks Musical Museum with over 100 vintage keyboards; steam railway enthusiasts are spoilt for choice with Tenterden, Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch and Spa Valley Railway puffing through Kent countryside; animal lovers can visit Eagle Heights Bird of Prey Centre, or the Hop Farm with its shire horses, or the Rare Breeds Centre. In fact, whatever takes your fancy, there’s somewhere in the Heart of Kent that will suit you – just check out the website www.visitheartofkent.com
And, to give extra flavour to August trips, we’ve included a taster of the many events, large and small, which are being held around the Heart of Kent region. Summer never looked so much fun!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mature Travellers
Whilst the idea of gaining CV points or earning a bit of holiday money may have little appeal to older people, it seems that they are heading in their droves to short-term volunteer projects around the world. Voluntourism annually attracts hundreds of thousands of older adults who are keen to become part of a short-term labour force, whether that involves unearthing archaeological ruins, helping to rebuild tsunami affected communities or tracking orangutans in Borneo.
|
|
This is hardly a surprise. The baby boomers, the first wave of whom are approaching retirement today, grew up in an era of postwar optimism and new social freedoms. They have spent a lifetime reconstructing social norms and no-one really believed that they would spend their retirement settled in front of the television with an electric fire and a can of soup. Quite the opposite in fact. Far from being decrepit, today’s retirees are leaving the workforce at a younger age, are both fitter and wealthier than their forebears, and are looking forward not to their retirement, but to their ‘renaissance’. According to a recent report by the democracy think tank, Demos, the baby boomers are intent on having their time again; of creating a new life phase in which they can revisit their own desire for personal fulfilment free from the pressures of overwork and childrearing. These are the ‘Funky-fogeys’, growing old disgracefully, and having an extremely good time doing it and high on their list of demands, is the opportunity to travel and seek out new cultural experiences.
|
According to Alison Gardner in her guidebook, Travel Unlimited: Uncommon Adventures for the Mature Traveller (Avalon Travel Publishing), older people generally sign up for short-term volunteer work for the following three reasons. Firstly, because they have a strong interest in a particular cause, project or subject area that is often related to a long-held hobby or an earlier career. This was certainly the case for Ian McHaffie and his wife Averil, both former school-teachers. Ian was a teacher of Classics and had taken school parties to the Vindolanda Roman archaeological dig in Northumberland for years, and his wife had a long-held interest in history. Since retiring, both have taken the opportunity to indulge their interest by volunteering annually at the excavation, and still find it thrilling when important finds are made.
Secondly, older travellers, who may have spent most of their holidays on organised tours often express a desire to visit a region at its ‘grassroots’ - a feat not easily accomplished by joining an organised tour, or even passing through as an independent traveller. There is certainly no better way to experience a culture than to work day-to-day with local members of the community.
|
|
|
And finally, many retired volunteer tourists express a wish to give something back to a world that has been, by and large, economically kind and physically comfortable to them in their earlier years. This desire to help is gratefully accepted by all sorts of organisations and projects. Anthony Lunch, managing director of the organisation MondoChallenge points out that ‘the senior age group has a huge amount to offer, not least life experience. They have a wide variety of skills that can be put to use’.
|
|
With an increasing number of retired people expressing an interest in short-term volunteer work abroad, some organisations have developed programmes specifically for the older traveller. For example, Saga Holidays, the specialist tour operator for the over-fifties, moved into the voluntourism sector as recently as 2006, offering four-week community development programmes throughout South Africa (See Community and Development Projects), and the organisation has plans to expand their range of volunteer holidays in the near future. However, many of the retired travellers we talked to highlighted the value of working side-by-side with people of different ages to achieve a common goal. The chance to share experiences and achievements with the younger generation is often a novel and refreshing feature of the experience.
|
|
Older travellers are particularly suited to the hands-on holiday, as unlike their younger counterparts, they rarely want to be away from home for long blocks of time; invariably they will have overwhelming commitments and ties at home (the house, children, grandchildren and even their own aged parents). However, as mentioned above, the hands-on holidays in this book all last for anywhere between a few days and a month, and the older traveller will find a huge range of attractive ideas. Equally appealing is the fact that hands-on holidays, as opposed to long term volunteer projects, sometimes offer a surprising level of privacy and physical comfort, often with air-conditioned private rooms, rather than dormitories or encampments. Short-term volunteer tour operators also tend to offer packages that include fieldtrips to explore surrounding areas or educational lectures and entertainment in the evening. Whilst the emphasis is always on the work required, most operators are also keen to provide an enjoyable holiday experience.
|
Older travellers are particularly suited to the hands-on holiday, as unlike their younger counterparts, they rarely want to be away from home for long blocks of time; invariably they will have overwhelming commitments and ties at home (the house, children, grandchildren and even their own aged parents). However, as mentioned above, the hands-on holidays in this book all last for anywhere between a few days and a month, and the older traveller will find a huge range of attractive ideas. Equally appealing is the fact that hands-on holidays, as opposed to long term volunteer projects, sometimes offer a surprising level of privacy and physical comfort, often with air-conditioned private rooms, rather than dormitories or encampments. Short-term volunteer tour operators also tend to offer packages that include fieldtrips to explore surrounding areas or educational lectures and entertainment in the evening. Whilst the emphasis is always on the work required, most operators are also keen to provide an enjoyable holiday experience.
|
A POSTCARD FROM... RURAL RAJASTHAN
69 year old Shirley Campbell trekked through India on horseback, delivering essential aid and relief to rural village communities:
I had always admired those who took their vacations doing relief work, and envied riders on long horseback treks, but with my age and infirmities (arthritis, a mild heart condition and a significant hearing loss) had not thought I could handle the inevitable physical challenges. Now here was a trip that combined riding and relief work . . . perhaps . . .?
The idea was intriguing. Within a few hours I had signed up, within twenty-four hours I was in a major panic. What was I doing?
|
|
|
I went for a riding lesson and bumped along like a sack of potatoes over the frozen ground on a horse too wide for me; I ached for days. My anxiety reached gut-wrenching, insomniac, levels: This trip was obviously a crazy idea! ... Luckily, at this point Relief Riders telephoned to check on my progress and patiently administered encouragement, suggesting that I take as many riding lessons as possible before departure.
The ride turned out to be the most exhilarating, unforgettable, trip I have ever taken. I discovered that I could ride, and revelled in it, cantering along soft, sandy country lanes between brilliantly green fields, where the wheat flourished in a Rajasthani spring Everywhere we went we were greeted by villagers who turned out to wave and smile.
Co-sponsored by the Indian Red Cross, the expedition was accompanied by camel carts carrying medicines, as well as notebooks, pencils, crayons etc. to be distributed at the poorest schools in the area. Doctors with the Indian Red Cross met us at village centers where we helped to organise clinics, hand out medicines, and assist in registration. Some of our group helped with dental procedures and shots, freeing the doctors to focus on diagnosis and treatment. Eye and ear problems were very common; one boy needed rabies shots his family couldn’t afford (we contributed about four dollars each to pay for them), aches and sprains were treated and a gynecologist, a pediatrician and an ophthalmologist were on hand when possible.
At two stops, we delivered goats to some of the villagers. Most of the recipients were women, many of them remaining veiled before the crowd while accepting their nanny-goat and sometimes a kid. Goat meat and goat milk are staples in this part of the world and the goats would be bred to provide continuous milk for sustenance.
For four of our twelve first nights we stayed in tents, circular yurt-like structures twenty feet in diameter lined with Indian cottons. With only two people to a tent they were spacious, and comfortable. Flat woven rugs, easily swept with the brooms provided, covered the floor and we had camp beds with colourful bed linens, a table, a candle, a mirror and our belongings, all in place and ready for us when we rode into camp. Like Victorian explorers with their retinues of bearers and cooks, we had all our needs taken care of. Meals were cooked and served for us, combinations of mildly flavored, delicately seasoned, vegetables, curries and rice. Every night after dinner we sat round a bonfire. Several evenings the men performed traditional Rajasthani songs and dances for us. The rest of the time, we stayed in forts and Havelis,
Relief Riders hopes that these trips will provide life-changing experiences for the participants; I suspect that this will be true for me, maybe it already is.
|
|
A POSTCARD FROM... EASTER ISLAND, CHILE
63-year old actor and small business owner, John Gowans took part in Earthwatch’s ‘Easter Island Cultures’ project, a 16-day archaeological expedition to find, identify and document hitherto unknown primitive sites and features.
Easter Island is a place that I have been fascinated with for decades and this was a fantastic opportunity for me to go there not just as a tourist, but to actually get involved and do some hands-on investigation, and maybe in some small way contribute to a better understanding of the island and its culture. Although I had never done anything like this before, the Earthwatch project really appealed to me.
|
|
Whilst on the project we stayed in a very comfortable, family-owned hotel. Each day we were picked up after breakfast and driven to the work site. My team was assigned to walk the landscape in a prescribed grid, looking for man-made features. By using a GPS unit we would pick up where we had left off the the before and walk three or four abreast and about 15-20 feet apart over a prescribed distance. When we found a feature we would plant a small flag marked with the type of feature we thorught it might be. Another team would then measure, sketch, photograph and take GPS co-ordinates of the site. We would work until 4pm with an hour for lunch, and then head back to the hotel.
But it wasn’t all work. The first two days of the trip were spent on a tour of the most popular sites, and during the evenings we were treated to presentations by the staff of their past projects and the history of the island as they know it. The rest of our spare time was spent exploring the island and its only town, Hanga Roa. We also spent a lot of time eating! The food at the hotel was great. We had fresh fish almost every day and lots of local produce.
I made some really good friends on the trip and there are a handful that I know I will keep in touch with. The cross section of participants was really interesting. There were people from all over America, Canada, and the UK, and their ages ranged from 29 to 83! But for me, the best part of the trip overall was when I discovered a fragment from a moai (the giant carved stone statues that Easter Island is famous for) that had never been documented. Although it was only a small discovery, it was exciting to know that I had played a part in contributing to a much larger research project. I have always been naturally curious about the world and the various ways we try to understand it, and this project certainly went some way towards satisfying that curiosity.
|
A POSTCARD FROM... KILIMANJARO
Case Study: Sonya Grist spent her 64th birthday at the peak of Kilimanjaro to raise money for Oxfam
As I met with the other 26 trekkers at London Heathrow to set off for the flight to Kilimanjaro, I kept thinking, perhaps I should have celebrated my 64th birthday in a more usual fashion. But no, in my wisdom, I had decided to trek to the top of the highest mountain in Africa - Mount Kilimanjaro.
After landing in Kenya, we flew onwards to Kilimanjaro airport in Tanzania, catching the first glimpses of the top of the mountain as we flew overhead. The first day, we trekked through lush rain forest where the birds and monkeys made themselves merry at our expense. Slowly we had a chance to find out everyone’s story and reason for this major undertaking. And a motley crew we were, from an ex-MD of an airline company to IT experts, to two sisters training race and polo ponies, to an archaeologist, a vet, a dentist, a geologist and a call-centre clerk. We grew very close over the next few days.
|
|
|
The next day was the start of the real test. An 8-hour trek up into the barren desert where our overnight accommodation would be at the foot of the final ascent in the Kibo huts at 4,700m - higher than any of us had ever been before. We were advised to walk very ‘Pole, pole’ which is Swahili for ‘slowly slowly’. We now had a full view of the steep slopes to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro itself. It towered over us and we all speculated on whether we would be able to reach the top.
The snow-capped summit dominated our route and our thoughts. We had had to leave some members behind in the huts, resting and grappling with altitude sickness in the hope that they would be able to join us that night.
At 11 pm we were ready to go. Ever so slowly, we shuffled our way forwards and upwards. The whole mountain looked like a scene out of Lord Of The Rings with the lights from all our head torches lighting up our path (about 100 of us were making the ascent that night). Our tour guide and the doctor moved up and down to check on us, our Tanzanian guides made sure we were safe and happy with the pace.
Seven hours passed. Limbs were growing weary, but the sky was growing light as we approached the very last part of the ascent. By this point, my asthma was starting to get the better of me. Very little oxygen was getting to my legs and they were growing unbelievably heavy. I was so near the top, but could I physically make it? Help came in the form of our tour guide, Claude and one of our African guides, pulling me, cajoling me, helping me. Just a few more heavy weary steps and then lo and behold - there I was. At the top of Kilimanjaro! And it was my birthday! My companions even managed a short rendition of the Beatles song ‘when I’m 64’. I collapsed in a heap onto the bench at the sign for Gilman’s Point. I had made it. I was photographed (I look about 80!!).
And then it was time for the descent.....
|
|
A POSTCARD FROM... THE NORTH YORKSHIRE DALES
Retired Canadian Lorraine Flanigan describes her Working Holiday with the National Trust:
Because the Working Holidays programme was new to me, I decided to test the waters by selecting a short-term weekend project. I worked alongside seven other volunteers at the Trust’s Nature Reserve at Malham Tarn in the dales of North Yorkshire in England.
As advised, I came equipped with sturdy work clothes and boots, a sun hat, waterproofs, a sweater, a rucksack and a sleeping bag. I was prepared to discover a part of the world that was new to me, to meet people who spoke the same yet a different language, and to have some fun.
|
|
A seasoned volunteer advised me to bring along a sense of humour, and laughter certainly got me through the unaccustomed communal living arrangements, the ear-bending Yorkshire accents, and my feeble attempts to wield a hammer and saw - tools my hands had previously known only from passing them along to my handyman husband.
Our conservation project was to repair the boardwalk that wound through the marsh. We carried a load of oak into the fen and sawed, hammered, and replaced 33 metres of rotted boardwalk. We each took turns at hammering and sawing, taking well-earned tea breaks and stopping for a picnic lunch. While we worked, we tried to identify the wildflowers growing in the fen. We saw carnivorous sundews, wavy hair grass, valerian and field scabiosa.
Throughout the weekend we were responsible for cooking breakfast and dinner for the group, for preparing our own picnic lunches, and for cleaning up. During the weekend, I worked hard, lived simply and learned a lot about this ruggedly beautiful part of the world from people I would never have met on a packaged tour or car trip.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
