Get Lost Issue 47

Win a luxury $10,000 trip to ZanZibar

see PAGe 48 for detAils

ISSUE 47//$9.95 GST INCLUDED

getlostmagazine.com

Slow Italy

Bike and hike ancient villages

whale taleS

A Sri Lankan paradise

NortherN expoSure

Explore Arctic Canada

ecuador

Small country, big adventure

Plus Must-see

5 COUNTRIES for 2016

ISSN 1449-3543

AustrAliA | BrAzil | KoreA | mexico | New zeAlANd | usA

100 There are far more exciting ways to see this vast continent than from the back seat of a jeep. From soaring over the plains of Ethiopia in a helicopter to hiking through forests to see chimps in Tanzania, we’ve discovered 10 of the best safari experiences on offer.

52

62

ITALy

ECUADOr Big-ticket attractions – Galapagos, Amazon and Andes – in one little nation.

CAnADA Cruising the icy waters and natural beauty of the northwest Passage.

10 get lost ISSUE 47

SrI LAnkA

Take to pedal and pony to explore the bucolic Lunigiana region.

78

68

Blue whales and white beaches in the fishing village of Mirissa.

88

AUSTrALIA Drop anchor and snorkel into paradise in the Cocos (keeling) Islands.

94

MExICO The town where witchcraft is part of everyday life. get in the know Chimpanzees and orangutans swim a form of breaststroke.

contents

WIN

et books, 21 Lonely Plan itcase, 23 Paklite su ip, 48 Zanzibar tr , 135 s Tamron len

78

62 128 42 94 100

68

52

n w

88

e s

36

42

128

Festival nEW OrLEAnS GETS FUnky

like a local A COMEDIAn’S GUIDE TO WEST hOLLyWOOD

18 On ThE rADAr

Travel happenings around the globe

Countries to explore this year

28 hOT FIvE

132 FOOD

140 TOP BArS

23 hAPPy SnAPS

32 yOU WISh

134 PhOTOGrAPhy

142 rEvIEWS

Send us your photos and win!

24 PLACES TO STAy The weird and wonderful

26 TOP TrIPS

Get going in a group

hiking Indonesia’s crater lakes

34 GET PACkInG

Two weeks in Brazil’s Costa verde

36 AFTEr DArk

What to do in Wellington

Satisfy your sweet tooth in korea People, without the poses

137 MUSIC

Algerian beats

Drink it down

All the gadgets you’ll need

144 COnFESSIOnS

A ride on the infamous Greyhound

138 TrAvEL JOB

Meet the Outback Wrangler

get in the know During the Middle Ages religious oaths, such as to swear ‘by God’s bones’, were considered the most offensive.

ISSUE 47 get lost 11

Winner

D

esert spans many parts of InDIa’s northern state of rajasthan, but it’s the golden sand dunes of the thar Desert near Jaisalmer, to the west of the state, where it is most beautiful. travellers flock here to watch the magnificent sunsets and many locals make a living from leading camel safaris. this photo was taken as the sun was melting behind the dunes. an experienced camel handler began to lead his beast up the hill when the light was perfect. the whole scene was basked in colour, flushing the man’s traditional attire orange. the scenery was so pure and soothing, and the silence at the time was almost Zen-like.

• Canon eos 6D • ef24–105mm f/4L Is Usm • Iso 100, f/4, 1/320 sec Congratulations to Bhagiraj Sivagnanasundaram, who submitted this image in our Tamron photography competition.

for your chance to WIn a tamron 35mm f/1.8 lens dazzle us with your best travel shot. see page 135 for entry details. tamron.com.au

wellington

From quenching craft beer and taxidermy on tap to hidden bars and fairytale cocktail lounges, Wellington packs a big nightlife for a little city, as Catherine Best discovers.

Photography by Catherine Best

Mind the ferret: just one of the stuffed creatures Caption you’ll find at golding’s Free Dive.

36 get lost ISSUE 47

get in the know In December 2014 New Zealand’s driving blood alcohol limit was lowered from 0.08 to 0.05.

get in the know Wellington is located on a fault line and experiences an average of one earthquake a week, but most go unnoticed.

ISSUE 47 get lost 37

W

ith a population of just 200,000 people, Wellington is but a miniscule blip on the world stage. But when the sun goes down the curtain goes up on this unassuming Kiwi capital that knows how to have a rollicking good time. this is a city that likes to mix her drinks – from craft beer to creative cocktails – and she doesn’t mind dicing genres either. there are sophisticated venues that play to the after-five crowd, laid-back lounges, dive bars and whimsical finds tucked down nondescript laneways. While Courtenay place is Welly’s raucous party hub, most of her night-time gems are hidden well out of sight. the windy city keeps her best assets well guarded – you just need to know where to look.

4pm Fire up your taste buds and get your motor running at Garage Project, a formidable introduction to Wellington’s thriving craft beer scene. The brewery is housed in a former auto-repair workshop, but the only lubricant you’ll find here comes in the form of amber liquid and the odd dark ale. Sidle up to the ‘cellar door’ next to a workshop of gleaming vats and work your way through the eight-tap tasting menu. The brewery has produced more than 150 experimental blends since production started four years ago, using inventive ingredients like fermented fish flakes, sea water, chilli, porcini mushrooms and super-heated volcanic rocks to aid caramelisation. The Venusian Pale Ale (7.5 per cent) with kaffir lime, lemon grass, grapefruit peel and coriander is a zesty tongue-tingling winner.

You can’t kick back with a pint here (the brewery has a bar a few doors up the road for that), but you can grab a traveller from about 20 varieties of takeaway bottles and cans on sale.

Garage project 68 aro street, aro Valley garageproject.co.nz

6pm

A tasting paddle at Six Barrel Soda Co.

Enough of the soft stuff; it’s time to hit the hard liquor. The 10-minute walk to Foxglove Bar & Kitchen on the waterfront will work up a thirst, but don’t dally downstairs because something magical beckons beyond the staircase. On the second floor turn right, slip between the bookshelf and wall of faux foliage, crank open the wardrobe door and disappear into a Narnia wonderland of velour lounges, chandeliers, floorto-ceiling liquor cabinets and laid-back tunes.

Foxtail Champagne & Cocktail Bar is Foxglove’s lucky charm for a sophisticated after-work crowd looking for herbaceous bubbles, crafty cocktails and whisky-a-go-go. Mixologists here specialise in “premium spirits and outlandish medleys of flavours”. Peruse the cocktail list or select from one of the 200 varieties of whisky – something decadent from behind the dark wood-panelled cabinet perhaps? Settle on a lounge with a game of Scrabble or head onto the terrace and claim a wicker recliner under the fairy lights as the sun sets on the harbour. foxglove Bar & Kitchen 33 Queens Wharf foxglovebar.co.nz the craft beer isn’t the only work of art you’ll find at garage Project.

5pm Jump in a taxi and head to Welly’s artisan quarter for a refreshing palate cleanser at Six Barrel Soda Co. You won’t find any alcoholic beverages here – just punnets of fragrant herbs, delicate potions and effervescent drops that will help purify your system ahead of the night’s inevitable vices. Climb the stairs into a bright, airy space with lighthouselike windows looking over Dixon Street and choose your flavour of fizz. There are 20 varieties on offer ranging from rhubarb and juniper to jerk specialty cherry cola baby. Can’t decide? Opt for a NZ$5 three-soda tasting paddle, garnished with fresh sprigs of herbs and floating berries – it’s free if you buy a bottle of take-home syrup. six Barrel soda Co 1 Eva st, te aro sixbarrelsoda.co.nz 38 get lost ISSUE 47

get in the know The popular saying ‘you can’t beat Wellington on a good day’ was the title of a song released by NZ rock band the Datsun Violets in 1997.

after dark: wellington 10pm Burn off all that grilled goodness on a 15-minute walk to The Library (got to love a compact city), where you’ll find the perfect dim corner to make a glutton’s retreat. Slip into a booth under bookshelves groaning with hundreds of titles or find a quiet nook in the lounge near the bathtub. Just don’t get in – a tokay in the tub with a choice tome is tempting, but the folks here won’t like it. How about a sticky wine and dessert instead? The warm chocolate fondant with basil custard and homemade raspberry and basil ice-cream will leave you lost for words as live jazz tootling from the bar fills the void. the library level 1/53 Courtenay place, te aro thelibrary.co.nz

A cocktail or the coffee table? everything at Cuckoo Cafe & Cocktail emporium is for sale.

7pm

8pm

Yes, you might be thinking the peeps behind this quirky find, stumbling distance from Foxglove, are indeed a little cuckoo. Entering this vintage den is like visiting grandma, great-aunty Betty and your old student digs all at once. An amalgam of living room spaces furnished with recycled retro lounges, cabinets of trinkets, old-school phones and even a ’70s punch bowl, Cuckoo Cafe & Cocktail Emporium embodies quirk and chilled-out vibes (one regular even wears his slippers). Grab a cocktail and some chips from next door and make yourself at home. If you find yourself getting rather attached to the sofa or the portrait of the buxom brunette, make the bar staff an offer – everything here is for sale.

Take advantage of the free ‘unicorn tears’ (water) as you leave. The night is young and you need to hydrate.

Cuckoo Cafe & Cocktail Emporium 57 Customhouse Quay

Time to back off on the booze for a bit and line your stomach with a proper meal or Welly’s notoriously blustery winds will have you on your behind before you can say “you can’t beat Wellington on a good day”. Two minutes’ walk down the road you’ll find Charley Noble Eatery & Bar, a dining behemoth housed on the ground floor of a historic former shipping building. The huge space is reminiscent of a German beer hall, with soaring rafters, long tables and an open kitchen where you’ll find industrial-sized bowls of tomatoes on the counter and great baskets of produce hanging from the wall. The restaurant is named after the galley chimney on ships, and wood-fired fare is the specialty. For something different try the pig’s tail with walnut, mandarin, currants and faro, or sink your teeth into a burger, served in a black squid-ink bun if the All Blacks are playing.

Charley noble Eatery & Bar huddart parker Building, no 1 post office square charleynoble.co.nz

the barman has the last word on cocktails at the library.

get in the know The Cuckoo has been known to sell furniture from underneath patrons, with staff having to ask them to get up when someone spies something they fancy.

ISSUE 47 get lost 39

Tren Crucero snakes through the Andean highlands toward Mount Chimborazo.

52 get lost ISSUE 47

get in the know If de facto capital La Paz was Bolivia’s official capital – rather than Sucre – it would be the world’s highest capital city at 3650 metres.

ecuador

It’s the home of swimming iguanas and giant tortoises, but ask the average traveller to tell you about Ecuador outside the Galapagos and you may be greeted by blank stares. Nikola Sarbinowski visits those famed isles, as well as the Amazon and Andes, for the ultimate South American adventure.

Photography by Nikola Sarbinowski

get in the know The Ecuadorian government raised just US$13 million of the US$3.6 billion they required to stop oil drilling in Yasuni National Park.

ISSUE 47 get lost 53

A

nibal scrapes a wooden dart between the fangs of a piranha, sharpening the tip. He slips it into the end of a blowgun, places it over his mouth and shoots. It pierces the monkey’s head. He loads another and passes the weapon to me.

If I were a Waorani hunter, striking true might mean the difference between a belly full of meat or cassava again for lunch. I suck in a breath, aim and blow, somehow impaling a leg. Perhaps I might scrape through a night in the jungle, but I can’t help but be thankful this monkey’s not the whooping, tree-climbing kind – it’s a practice target made of well-worn wood.

We’re in a slice of the Amazon known as Anaconda Island, home to Anibal, our guide, and about 300 Quichua locals.

“Vamos amigos, let’s go!” hollers Diego, our translator, wading into a swollen stream running from the Napo River, which flows into the mighty Amazon River in Peru 980 kilometres away. I wade in, clutching my camera to my chest.

Humidity has already given the lens a cataract, and a swim would seal its fate. My foot plunges, water swamps my gumboots and nerves flicker as the Nikon almost grazes the surface. When my heart calms I realise the elevation-induced light-headedness that had lingered since arriving has stolen away some time ago.

You see, you never really come down from altitude when you land in Quito. Despite being built in a valley, the capital of Ecuador clocks in at 2850 metres above sea level, making it the highest official capital in the world. Australia’s uppermost point, Mount Kosciuszko, falls more than 600 metres short.

Higher still are the volcanic peaks surrounding the city. One of them, Reventador, erupted in 2002, covering the city in ash.

“It was 8.30 in the morning and suddenly it was dark,” recalls Diego. These days all eyes are on Cotopaxi, which, at 5897 metres, is the world’s second-highest active volcano. Recently rumbling back to life, it’s chugging smoke and sprinkling ash onto the city’s outskirts. Over the centuries these lava powerhouses have left plenty of scars, and the country’s dramatic changes in elevation have given rise to a bounty of ecosystems and created Ecuador’s ‘four worlds’ – the Galapagos, coast, Amazon and Andes.

I’d always envisaged a journey into the Amazon to be a demanding task – perhaps requiring a shonky Cessna ride followed by hours in a truck and some trekking to cap it all off. Instead, farewelling the colourful houses of World Heritage-listed Quito, we kick back for a half-day drive. Goosebumps pucker flesh when we pause for a woozy prayer at a shrine at 4100 metres.

Winding through the cloud forest, we stop to watch hummingbirds show off slender beaks. The hills spit us out into muggy air and we land at Punta Ahuano, a port on the bank of the Napo River, 500 metres above sea level.

After staff from our lodge, La Casa del Suizo, haul our luggage to a motorised canoe we fang past local families sifting for gold. I soon discover this jungle getaway doesn’t mean forgoing creature comforts. A hammock 54 get lost ISSUE 47

swings on my balcony, hot water flows in the ensuite, a bar serves margaritas and wi-fi is on offer. After the sun sets I learn all Ecuadorians love to shake their hips. Seek a salsateca (nightclub) in Ecuador and ye shall find. Even in the Amazon.

Our morning starts with a breakfast of eggs, potato-like yucca and aji, a ubiquitous chilli sauce made with tamarillo, then “Vamos amigos!” rallies the gang and we set off with Anibal and Diego for a jungle survival crash course in the lodge’s 180-hectare private reserve. It’s one of many created by hotels in the Napo Province to protect the region’s flora and fauna. Discovery of oil has led to swathes of Amazon being razed and indigenous communities destroyed. In 2013, an ambitious bid failed to halt drilling in the biodiverse Yasuni National Park, home to two isolated indigenous tribes, and oil is set to flow in 2016.

“Just don’t touch the trees,” warns Diego, adding a murmur about scorpions and spiders. Lethal-looking thorns jut from roots and I keep my distance until he explains the plant is called a pambil and it’s used as a handy natural grater. We scour the forest for cheeky monkeys – capuchin, chorongo, spider and squirrel – as well as sloths, tapirs, guatusas (we’re told these large rodents make an excellent meal), anacondas and tarantulas.

Rain tumbles from the canopy and my coat is soon as slick on the inside as it is on the out. Anibal points out the best wood for building canoes – balsa – and how to deter mosquitoes by rubbing yourself with leaves.

He sprinkles hormigas de limon (lemon ants) on outstretched palms for a snack, hands around cat’s claw bark said to treat cancer, and shows us how to use roots as shelter.

Piranha fangs are used to sharpen and We swap our canoe for a rollick on a score blow darts. handmade raft. I try to keep the Napo River off me, but the intermittent rain has become a torrent and water boils up between the balsa logs. I give up. After all, what kind of wooden-monkey slayer cares about sopping pants?

“Watch out for the piranhas,” jokes Diego when one of our team lands in the drink. “And don’t pee in the water!” We’ve all heard the legend of the toothpick fish, a parasite that can inch its way up your urethra, and there’s no way anyone’s taking any chances. Moments later Diego dives into the brew as well.

It would take a passenger jet just ten minutes to fly from this part of the Amazon to the volcanic Mount Chimborazo in the Andes, but the landscape of eucalyptus trees and grasses flashing by the window of our quaint passenger train couldn’t be further removed from the messy heliconias and

get in the know It is illegal to farm coca plants in Ecuador, unlike neighbouring Peru and Bolivia, but a tea made from the leaves is sold to ease altitude sickness.

ecuador Looking out over Quito from the roof of the BasĂ­lica del Voto Nacional.

Walking the wooden path on BartolomĂŠ Island.

Sea lions on Genovesa Island.

get in the know In July 2010, Ecuadorian authorities found a homemade submarine capable of transporting nine million tons of cocaine hidden in a swamp near Colombia.

ISSUE 47 get lost 55

In a little-known region between Tuscany and Liguria, Susan Gough Henly walks, cycles and canters her way through a Europe she’d long thought gone, enjoying a taste or two along the way.

Photography by Susan Gough Henly

History on the Magra River: the medieval town of Pontremoli.

62 get lost ISSUE 47

get in the know The Via Francigena pilgrim route begins in the English city of Canterbury and traverses England, France, Switzerland and Italy.

Italy

A

n irresistible aroma draws me out onto the terrace where I am momentarily distracted by just how green everything is – vines, fruit trees, fold after fold of forestcovered mountains all the way to the jagged peaks of the Apuan Alps. I follow my nose to the open-air kitchen beneath a slate roof where Gigliola Galanti, owner and chef extraordinaire at Agriturismo Saudon, is cooking rabbit and potatoes in a testo, or cast-iron pan, over an open fire of vine shoots.

As the summer sun’s rays slant low across the family’s terraced vineyards and vegetable garden, six of us sit down to a supper of fried zucchini flowers, salumi, roasted eggplant and the spectacular testo dish, all washed down with glasses of Saudon’s red wine, homemade from pollera, a local grape variety. By the end of the meal, Gigliola has challenged us to a game of bocce on the Pozzo di Mulazzo village pitch, not far from her sixth-century stone house. After a trouncing, we discover tiny Pozzo regularly fields one of Italy’s championship bocce teams.

Experiences such as these pepper adventures in Lunigiana, a tucked-away region straddling northern Tuscany and eastern Liguria.

Its fertile river valleys are bordered on three sides by the Apennine Mountains and, in the south, by the Apuan Alps, source of Carrara marble. Less than an hour from cruise-ship–clogged Cinque Terre to the west and the touristy hill towns around Florence to the south, this ancient land of the moon – with its mysterious stone idols, medieval castles and walled hamlets – still moves to the rhythms of old ways.

Thanks to the efforts of the enterprising Farfalle in Cammino, a non-profit association of young local guides, interlopers can now draw aside the tourist curtain to immerse themselves in an Italy thought to have long disappeared. Now it’s possible to walk the ancient Via Francigena pilgrimage route, ride horses through chestnut forests, explore churches and castles in peace, bike along quiet country roads and feast on mouth-watering local dishes with new-found friends.

Lunigiana has a fascinating story to tell and Francesco Bola, president of Farfalle in Cammino, is here to share the tale. In the Museum of the Stele Statues, part of the walled town of Pontremoli situated at the confluence of the Magra and Verde rivers, I am gobsmacked by a collection of ancient anthropomorphic stone get in the know As long ago as 79AD, Pliny the Elder wrote about the excellence of the wine produced in Lunigiana.

ISSUE 47 get lost 63

Watching a whale dive in Mirissa.

68 get lost ISSUE 47

get in the know Mirissa is the largest fishing port on Sri Lanka’s south coast and is known for tuna, mullet, snapper and butterfish.

sri lanka

It was once an untouched paradise, far off the radars of most travellers. Now Mirissa is best known for some very large attractions residing in the ocean. Mark Daffey returns to the place he once called home for some unparalleled whale watching.

Photography by Mark Daffey

get in the know Parts of Mirissa were affected by the 2004 tsunami and 14 villagers died, although other towns nearby were worse hit.

ISSUE 47 get lost 69

A lone sailboat among the Northwest Passage’s icebergs.

78 get lost ISSUE 47

get in the know Erik the Red was banished from his home in Iceland for three years for murder.

canada

The Northwest Passage has taken the lives of many during the history of its exploration. Roberto Serrini boards a research vessel to make the icy crossing from Greenland to Canada and get a taste of modern-day adventure.

Photography by Roberto Serrini

get in the know Although located in what is considered North America, politically and culturally Greenland has been part of Europe for more than 1000 years.

ISSUE 47 get lost 79

From paddling the Zambezi to galloping across South African savanna, we’ve come up with the adventures you can’t miss. They’ll transport you through wilderness, introduce you to stunning landscapes and deliver some mighty animals along the way.

ETHIOPIA UGANDA

REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

KENYA

TANZANIA

ZAMBIA NAMIBIA

BOTSWANA

SOUTH AFRICA

100 get lost ISSUE 47

get in the know One elephant can hear another’s trumpet from 10 kilometres away.

get in the know The Zambezi, at 3450 kilometres, flows through six countries: Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

ISSUE 47 get lost 101

get lost everywhere

Download your free App and access all the latest issues of get lost.

Search ‘get lost magazine’ in the App Store and Amazon Kindle.