Wanderlust Issue 126

Wanderlust Issue 126 (March 2012) Travel photos of the year 2011 • Petra & Wadi Rum, Jordan • Wild Ireland • Alaska • Sichuan, China • Pocket guides: Dar es Salaam, Dubrovnik & Iberá, Argentina

travel I adventure I CULTURE The travel magazine that takes you further

March 2012 www.wanderlust.co.uk

£3.60

Travel photos of the year 9,000 entries. 46 finalists. Five winners…

Reader Assignment

Petra & Wadi Rum The best of Jordan,

by Wanderlust readers

Wild Ireland

20 cracking short breaks

Alaska

Bears & wilderness

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Touring Sichuan Boston for free Dubrovnik Angélique Kidjo 2/2/12 10:32:40

Contents march 2012 • issue 126

360°

From the road

6 | World in pictures Alaskan peaks, hair-raising insects and Holi festival: snapped 12 | Shortcuts North Korea gains in popularity and Borneo rediscovers an ‘extinct’ species 14 | Go now! Hot on the trail of St Patrick 16 | 10 things to do for free in... Boston. The other side of the Atlantic won’t cost a fortune 18 | Departures Getting active in Africa 20 | Hilary Bradt talks... tricks of the trade

37 | Snapshots Your picture postcards from 38 | Letters etc... Emails, blogs, photos and

chat from readers around the world. This issue: changing money in Burma, treehouses in Kerala and travel insurance small print

42 | Just Back From… jealousy-inducing travel tales from Mexico, Zambia, Germany and Poland

46 Alaska

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Cover feature

far and wide

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Boston p16

Ireland

Travel photos of the year 2011

the Winners!

Features 22 | 20 Wild Irish Adventures

With St Patrick’s Day just around the corner, we explore Ireland’s wet and wild side

46 | Accessible Alaska

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Paul Gogarty crosses the vast Alaskan wilderness by plane, train and automobile – and meets a few grizzlies along the way

America 82 Latin

58 | Reader Assignment: Jordan

200 years on since the rediscovery of Petra, ten Wanderlust readers join Editor-in-Chief Lyn Hughes to bring you the lowdown on getting the most out of these Arabian desert gems

72 | Bears & Beyond

Gabrielle Jaffe finds there’s more to write home about in China’s spicy Sichuan province than cuddly pandas

82 | Extremely Latin

The highest, driest, smallest, friendliest and noisiest: experience Latin America’s superlatives

102 | Travel Photo of the Year 2011

We bring you the winners of the Icon, Wildlife, Landscape, People and Portfolio categories

IN W ng mazi

A ps to… tri a 44 Ottatw 130 a i r s Au

© Argentina p139

THE FUTURE Like this map?

MAPPING To buy a similar wall map, COMPANY visit www.futuremaps.co.uk 004-005 contents_SO.indd 4

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Arrivals

Navigator 93 | How to... be a better travel writer, gawp at

POCKE T GUID ES

gorillas and avoid a nasty rash. No, not that one…

95 | Gear Jacket or jumper? The tricky choices for those between-the-season travels 96 | Health Some travel accidents are just waiting to happen. Here’s how to avoid them 98 | Photo tips Fill those wide-open spaces with intrigue. Or people, at least 100 | Q&A Advice on working South America, driving South Africa and upgrading flights

The bits

of the guide book you

really need

135 DAR ES

Pocket Guides

122 | Books Richard Grant travels along

a crazy river while Peter Whitfield journeys through 3,000 years of travel history 125 | World music Why Beninese music legend Angélique Kidjo is going for gold 127 | What’s on: events Festivals, exhibitions, talks and massive trek in a tiger outfit 128 | What’s on: screen The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel director John Madden on filming Jaipur and Judi (Dench)

135 | Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 24 hours of music, markets and meat on Africa’s coast

P 135 First P 137 Short24 hours Dar Es Salaa P 139 Trave Break Dubrovnik m Music and markets l Icon Ester Kayak on the os del Iber the sparkling Dalmatian Indian Ocean á Get wildife waters watching in Argen tina NIK

137 DUBROV

139 IBERA

WETLAND

SALAAM

See33 p1

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137 | Dubrovnik, Croatia Avoid the cruise ship crowds in this heritage-rich Dalmatian city 139 | Esteros del Iberá, Argentina Get up close and personal with wildlife in these remote wetlands

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Jordan

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72 Sichuan

Croatia p137

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Tanzania p135

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Holi festival Photographer Jan Kostal “These shots were taken during Holi, the festival of colours, in Barsana village, a site of pilgrimage in Uttar Pradesh, India. Men from Nandagon village come to Barsana to celebrate, singing holy songs in the temple.

Priests spread colour powders down to village women, with men ‘fighting’ each other and playing in the street after the official ceremony. People get plenty of colourful powder on their faces and it’s even hard to breathe!”

For more incredible images from Wanderlust’s Travel Photo of the Year awards, turn to page 102.

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360 Go now

Trips to take... active Africa Lace up, saddle up and gee up this month for a series of wild escapades across one of the world’s wildest continents

Zambia, Botswana, Namibia & South Africa Pedal across four countries

Stride out across a multi-million-year-old World Heritage site on Wild Frontiers’ Wild Walk in the Simiens trip. The Unesco-listed Simien Mountains are a high-altitude riddle of sandstone buttresses, sweeping views towards Eritrea and fascinating wildlife, including endemic gelada baboons. The walking is dramatic, but not too technical; combined with visits to the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela and the castle of Gondar, this is an excellent active introduction to Ethiopia.

Who: Wild Frontiers (020 7736 3968, www.wildfrontiers.co.uk) When: 27 Oct 2012 How long: 8 days How much: from £1,695 (excl flights)

Zambia Canoe along the Zambezi Combine days floating down one of Africa’s mightiest rivers with nights of utter indulgence. Tracks Safaris’ Luxury Tsika Canoe Trail negotiates the wilderness of Lower Zambezi National Park by canoe – allowing you to get thrillingly close to the elephants, hippos and other locals. You’ll stop for lunch on river islands and, each evening, moor up at a decadent lodge, where beautiful bedrooms, chilled sundowners and divine dinners await. Rest days at the lodges allow time for game drives into the wider reserve, too.

Who: Tracks Safaris (01823 256630, www.tracksafaris.co.uk) When: departures Apr-Nov How long: 7 days How much: From £2,300 (excl flights)

Expert Africa

Ethiopia Walk on the wild side

See southern Africa from the saddle on KE Adventures’ Victoria Falls to Cape Town Mountain Bike Epic. Epic indeed: starting at Zambia’s thundering cascade, cycle to the Atlantic-side city via a few judicious van transfers. Pedal past Botswana’s saltpans, Namibia’s dunes and the Cedarberg Mountains, dismounting for game drives in Moremi Reserve and survival lessons with San Bushmen.

Who: KE Adventure (01768 773966, www.keadventure.com) When: 19 May & 8 Sept 2012 How long: 23 days How much: from £3,045 (incl flights)

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Botswana Canter across wilderness

Madagascar Offbeat hike, snorkel & cycle Verdant rainforests a-shuffle with unique species, indigenous communities and untouched tropical isles – Madagascar is a land apart. Explore’s Madagascar Wilderness Trek delves deeper into this Indian Ocean island, combining rainforest hikes and village visits on the lesser-known east coast.

A highlight is Santa Marie Island: cycle, snorkel and scan for humpbacks in this exotic whale-watching hotspot.

Who: Explore (0844 499 0901, www.explore.co.uk) When: various Mar & Jun-Oct 2012 How long: 17 days How much: from £2,067 (incl flights)

Ride out into unspoilt Botswana on Rainbow Tours’ new Horse Riding Safari – the only horseback tour that allows you to camp out on the Makgadikgadi saltpans. Rides might yield sightings of wildebeest (and their predators…), while two nights are spent fly-camping, with big game and a billion stars for company.

Who: Rainbow Tours (020 7666 1250, www.rainbowtours.co.uk) When: dry season (Apr-Oct) How long: 6 days How much: from £3,590 (incl flights)

Rwanda Go ape Have a close encounter with our closest relatives on one of Expert Africa’s tailormade Gorilla Trekking Safaris in Rwanda. Over half of the world’s last mountain gorillas (around 350) live in Volcanoes National Park; a hike here, along exciting jungle trails, is the best way to spot these incredible creatures. After such exertions, add on some RnR at Lake Kivu – a fine spot for snorkelling, canoeing – or doing nothing at all.

Who: Expert Africa (020 8232 9777, www.expertafrica.com) When: tailormade How long: 8 days How much: from £3,118 (incl flights)

Tanzania Stand on top of the continent

Namibia Hit a tough hike Test your limits on Rainbow Tours’ Fish River Canyon Trail. This 85km hike through the world’s second-largest canyon is a tough undertaking: once you’re in, there’s no short cut. A private chef cooks hearty meals each night and the dramatic scenery, starry nights and utter isolation offer a thrilling challenge.

Who: Rainbow Tours (020 7666 1250, www.rainbowtours.co.uk) When: tailormade, mid-Apr to mid-Sept How long: 4-5 days How much: from £930 (excl flights)

Climb Africa’s highest mountain using one of the lesser-known ways up to the top.

G Adventures Mt Kilimanjaro Private Trek – Lemosho Route avoids the busier Machame and Marangu routes, winding over the Shira Plateau past forests full of wildlife, to attain the 5,895m summit. Extra acclimatisation days are built in to maximise success.

Who: G Adventures (0844 272 0000, www.gadventures.com) When: year round How long: 10 days How much: from £1,749 (excl flights)

Tanzania Get close to big game Mountain Kingdoms is one of the few companies to gain walking safari permits for Serengeti NP – so you know you’re getting something special. The Serengeti Walking Safari allows you to venture into one of the great wildernesses and get up close and personal with elephant, zebra, lion and – if you’re lucky – cheetah.

Who: Mountain Kingdoms (01453 844400, www.mountainkingdoms.com) When: 3-16 Mar & 18-31 Aug 2012 How long: 14 days How much: £5,325 (incl flights)

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wild irish

adventures Kayaking, cycling, hiking, whale-watching, surfing – Ireland’s four provinces make a spectacular playground.

Jasper Winn picks 20 breaks to get your heart pumping

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Wild Ireland <

MUNSTER

The south: a wandering coastline of peninsulas, bays and rugged high ground – including Carrauntoohil, Ireland’s highest mountain

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Sea paddle and forage Roaringwater Bay

With its tens of islands, Roaringwater Bay is perfect for a foraging sea-kayaking trip. You’ll share the waters with seals, among other wildlife, and gather edible seaweeds to cook over a campfire on a remote beach. Otherwise take an early morning dawn chorus trip into a sheltered wooded estuary, or join an ‘into the night’ paddle, on which fading daylight is slowly replaced by the water’s bioluminescence.

How long? One day for kayak foraging trips.

How tough? Moderate fitness is fine.

Get started: Jim Kennedy at Atlantic Sea Kayaking (+353 (0) 28 21058, www. atlanticseakayaking.com) runs trips for all levels, as well as city paddles in Cork.

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Hoist the main sail West Cork coast

The seas off West Cork are famed sailing waters, with impressive cliffs and atmospheric inlet anchorages. Board the 70-foot Spirit of Oysterhaven, a two-masted steel schooner with lots of sails, for a five-day training voyage. Join two professionals to learn sail handling, helming and galley work.

In 2012 two longer voyages will greet the returning Volvo Ocean Race in Galway Bay and join the Tall Ships Festival in Dublin.

How long? Five days.

How tough? Hands-on, with varied weather.

Get started: The Oysterhaven Centre (+353 (0) 21 477 0738, www.oysterhaven.com) plans voyages so that crew members are roughly the same age.

Plain sailing Master the wild Irish seas

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Climb Ireland’s highest mountain County Kerry

Though only a tad over 1,000m high (1,041m to be precise), Carrauntoohil is still a big, brawly mountain, set in the rugged Macgillycuddy’s Reeks – ‘the black stacks’. It demands respect, as does its ever-changing weather. The ‘usual’ route is from the Hag’s Glen and up the Devil’s Ladder, but if you’ve got more experience, energy and the head for heights needed to tackle an exposed ridge, the longer Coomloughra Horseshoe bags Ireland’s three highest peaks.

Carrauntoohil is Munster’s contribution to the Irish Four Peaks Challenge; the other peaks are Connacht’s Mweelrea (814m), Ulster’s Slieve Donard (852m) and Leinster’s Lugnaquilla (925m).

How long? One long and tiring day.

How tough? A good trek for experienced walkers; dangerous in bad weather or if ill-prepared.

Get started: For route info see www. kerrymountainrescue.ie/routes/index.html.

Go Ireland runs guided trips (0800 371 203, www.govisitireland.com/daywalks.html).

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Jordan 1

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Fly UK-Amman (5hrs); Petra is a half-day drive down the King’s or Desert Highways 1 1

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Go Mar-May or Sept-Nov

READER ASSIGNMENT:

PETRA & WADI RUM It’s 200 years since the rediscovery of Petra – high time to rediscover this rock-hewn city, and the nearby deserts of Wadi Rum, for yourself All words and pictures by Wanderlust readers travelling in October 2011

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Jordan

Petra & Wadi Rum Top 5 Culinary Highlights

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Take a break from your Petra explorations to dine at one of the buffets in the rest area fronting Qasr al-Bint.

For 10JD (£9) you can load your plate from a well-stocked buffet at Al-Anbat Tent Restaurant. Crowne Plaza’s Basin Restaurant also serves an extensive buffet for 17JD (£15.50).

Try um ali, bread pudding flavoured with pistachio.

In Wadi Rum, dine like a Bedouin in a desert camp.

Sample mansaf, a hearty lamb preparation; maqluba, Jordan’s national ‘upside-down dish’; or saarb, a speciality of chicken or lamb cooked underground with onions, potatoes and peppers.

Before and after dinner, tickle your taste buds with mezze. Make a meal of savory hummus or labneh, lemony tabbouleh, meaty kibbeh and other delights.

For dessert, try barazek (sesame cookies) and date-filled ma’amoul. Zalatimo Brothers in the Queen Alia International Airport also offer tins of sweets packed for travel (great gifts).

Enjoy refreshing local beverages: fresh lemon juice with mint and Bedouin tea (black tea steeped with fresh sage leaves). Seek out organic Zumot wines, such as chardonnay-sauvignon blanc and pinot noir varietals bottled under the Grand Vins de Jordanie label (from 12JD [£11] upwards, www.zumot-wines.com).

Help prepare a four-course meal in the company of fellow travellers – then eat the delicious spoils. The good-natured chefs of Petra Kitchen guarantee a lively evening of learning and good food (www.petrakitchen.com).

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petra’s Bedouin

Although the Bedouin moved out in 1984, Petra remains central to their lives. Each morning many make the 45-minute walk down from the purpose-built village of Umm Sayhun to their businesses.

Pressure to buy is relatively low; instead you’ll find smiles and good humour. Trade has been tough since the ‘Arab Spring’, so if you see something you like, do consider buying.

Do visit the handcrafted jewellery stall run by Marguerite van Geldermalsen (opposite the amphitheatre). Marguerite is a local icon. She and her late Bedouin husband Mohammad, made their home in a Petra cave in the 1970s and raised three children there. Her book, Married to a Bedouin, chronicles their story. “I never meant to stay forever,” she says. “Still don’t. As long as it continues to be up for re-assessment, that’s fine.”

Top 5 Historical Connections

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The prehistoric formations of Wadi Rum seem older than time itself. Scan the walls of beautiful Khaz’ali Canyon for Thamudic petroglyphs depicting humans, antelopes and caravan trains.

Many Bedouins have now left their tents and caves for a settled life in villages and towns, but they haven’t lost sight of a nomadic lifestyle. Bedouin communities still herd livestock and wrangle camels across the dunes, even as they share their traditions with visitors.

Nabateans artists brought diverse influences together: Roman columns, Greek inscriptions and Egyptian influences. Delicate frescoes, perfectly preserved, can be found at Little Petra, which housed caravans of delegations visiting Petra.

Evidence of Christian worship peppers the landscape in the Middle East. The Byzantine mosaics at Petra Church echo the themes in the famous mosaics at Madaba.

The 19th century saw an influx of artists and poets to the Middle East, including the Scottish painter David Robert, whose romantic drawings of Petra fired European imaginations. Copies are widely for sale – and make a good souvenir. >

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BEARS

&BEYOND

China’s Sichuan province is famed for its pandas – but there’s far more to it than that: find holy mountains, fiery food and a taster of traditional Tibet Words Gabrielle Jaffe

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Sichuan

On the fringe Rice terraces line the outskirts of Chengdu

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china • Xi’an • tibet

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Taoist green mountains that inspired so many ink paintings, the metropolitan pleasures of Chengdu, and that fiery cuisine, which ranks as some of the tastiest in Asia.

At the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine, I knew I was most definitely in the ‘China’ part of the province because, like the rest of this country, it was so mindblowingly populous. Each year, more than 8,000 students attend this university-like institution; on my way to a private lesson, I passed squadrons of them, all in matching green aprons and white chef hats.

In a demonstration kitchen, I watched as teacher Pei prepared the ingredients for gong bao ji ding – a piquant chicken dish.

Above the metronomic thud of his chopping, he shared tips, such as: “Use old ginger; like people, it becomes more sophisticated with age.” Pei disappeared in a cloud of steam and the crackle of oil.

Within minutes he’d rustled up one of the most delicious dishes I’ve ever tasted.

Only when I tried to make it myself did I fully appreciate the skill I’d just witnessed.

Using an intimidating cleaver as if it were a scalpel, Pei had filleted a chicken breast and dissected it into perfect cubes. It wasn’t just the precision, but the speed; wielding two woks at a time, Pei truly was a kung fu chef.

Pandas & prima donnas While the kitchens here are some of the world’s most frenetic, Chengdu has long had a reputation as a centre of relaxation.

Thanks to being founded on a fertile plain (back in 316BC), the city’s residents haven’t had to expend much energy tilling the soil.

Instead, they’ve indulged in more leisurely pastimes – opera, street snacking and teahouses – which are still popular today.

After the cooking class, my guide Zhang Zhulin whisked me off to Shufeng Yayun Teahouse to see an opera. Before the show, >

Previous spread: Alamy; Corbis This spread: Alamy; Corbis; Gabrielle Jaffe

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ike most people in Britain, my first encounter with China’s Sichuan province was in the local takeaway.

Romanced by the exotic-sounding ‘Szechuan chicken’, I ignored the warning chilli peppers and ordered ‘number 33’.

Over the years, 33 became a favourite. So it was with great excitement that I started my ten-day trip to Sichuan with a visit to one of China’s most renowned cooking schools, in provincial capital Chengdu.

Most foreign visitors come to this city for one thing only: along with Beijing’s Forbidden City and Xi’an’s Terracotta Warriors, Chengdu’s Panda Base is in almost everybody’s top three China ‘must-sees’. But I had been living in Beijing for over a year and a Chengdu-born friend had assured me that there was more to her hometown than the world’s most photogenic mammals.

Twice the size of the UK, there is more to Sichuan too. The north and west of the province are sparsely populated with perennially snow-covered peaks, alpine valleys and small Tibetan villages; for many travellers, this is a permit-free alternative to Tibet proper. By contrast, the eastern half is all classic China: the fairytale Buddhist and 74 | Wanderlust March 2012

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How to | Skills | Gear | Health | Photo tips | Q&A

Navigator

“1.2 million people are killed globally each year in road crashes...”

Avoiding accidents, p96

Travel need-to-knows, from gorilla etiquette to getting a plane upgrade Take my advice

How to be a better travel writer

The write place Reflect on what you see and how it made you feel, don’t just describe

A new history of travel writing takes in all the greats, from Marco Polo to Colin Thubron.

Take tips from them, says its author Peter Whitfield

1

Get serious – This journey may mean something big in your life: if so, what? When you travel you are released into a new form of being. Embrace it, respond to it, analyse it.

2

Get physical – What does it feel like to be alive in a certain place? Is it unnerving, inspiring, frightening? Do you feel anything special in the air or in the people?

3

Get romantic – If you fall in love in a strange place, your perceptions and memories will be transformed – and you’ll never forget it. If you fall in love with a person, you’ll more-than-likely fall in love with the place. Alternatively take a loved one with you.

4

Get lost – Literally and metaphorically. Follow your nose and your imagination: cross over the train-tracks, wander off the guidebook through streets or forests, and work out later from the map where you have been.

5

Get real – Find out what lies behind the facade.

What is the history of this place and how have people lived here? What codes do they live by, what do they love or hate? Are they the same as you, or do you feel alien?

6

Get home – Unpack. Ask yourself what it all meant, what you learnt. Look back through your diaries: is it the same person in those pages or somone new? Find out by writing it all down.

7

Get ruthless – When you have written your travel book, tear it up, metaphorically or literally.

Is it truth or just an ego-trip? If it’s truth, write it again, but much better.

Alamy

Peter Whitfield is the author of Travel: A Literary History (Bodleian Library Publishing, £19.99)

Did you know? The first description of mountaineering was written

by Petrarch, the great Renaissance scholar and love poet, who in 1336 climbed Mont Ventoux purely to see the view from the summit Wanderlust March 2012 | 93

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Navigator Your questions answered

Q&A

You put the questions, we find the answers.

This issue: working in South America, driving in West Africa and upgrading your flights.

Email queries to editorial@wanderlust.co.uk

Q

What is the best way of finding work in South America? Paid if possible or, if not, I don’t want to have to pay to volunteer.

Kevin Tenuta, by email Even those who are well qualified with fluent Spanish are unlikely to be offered paid work if applying from abroad. Instead, try hooking up with an ecolodge or local tour company that takes on volunteers, sometimes as guides. One possibility is the private nature reserve Aldea Luna (aldealuna.com.ar) in Jujuy, north-west Argentina: half-time volunteers get free accommodation but pay £7.50 a day for meals.

Aldealuna.com

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Non-profit organisation Quetzaltrekkers (quetzaltrekkers.com) covers the expenses of its volunteer guides on trek, and charges less than £10 a month rent in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.

Tambopata Jungle Lodge in Peru takes on volunteer resident naturalists with research interests in tropical ecology. For general info on volunteering, see www.wtsonline.co.uk/ treesnewweb. There’s also Volunteersouthamerica.net, which lists free or low-cost volunteering opportunities with NGOs and grassroots initiatives.

Susan Griffith, author of Work Your Way Around the World (Vacation Work)

‘Try hooking up with an ecolodge or tour company that takes on volunteers’

esrve Luna R ation Aldea d m com o nteers Free ac e volu im -t lf a for h

Cape T Self-d own, or b ust? riving to Afric a is n South o pic nic

Q

I want to self-drive from the UK to Cape Town down the west coast of Africa. However, I don’t think it’s particularly wise to undertake this alone. Is there a company that guides self-driven tours here?

Lisa Rose, by email It’s not wise to do such a trip on your own, and it would be better to have two vehicles. One problem with the western route is the threat of terrorist activity and kidnapping in Mauritania. Also, visas for several West African countries cannot usually be obtained at the borders. Getting a visa for Angola is often tough, if not impossible, and failure means you have to backtrack north and reapply for all the visas, or endure the hassle of shipping your vehicle.

That said, a few people have managed to overcome the bureaucracy, by luck and fortunate timing – all very unpredictable. Try contacting Oasis Overland (www. oasisoverland.co.uk), as it has secured Angolan visas for its overland truck clients.

We don’t know anyone running self-drive tours down the west. The east coast has, until the Arab Spring, been more straightforward. Contact Africa Expedition Support (www. africaexpeditionsupport.com), based in Nairobi, for advice.

Siân & Bob, authors of Africa Overland (Bradt Guides)

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Q

I’m going on honeymoon soon – how do I go about getting a flight upgrade?

Dan Walker, by email The only way to guarantee a flight upgrade is to pay for one. But telling check-in staff (or your booking agent) that you’re on honeymoon will slightly improve your chances – and you have nothing to lose.

Also, phone the airline in advance to ask them to put a note beside your booking.

Playing airlines off against each other can sometimes result in upgrades. Take out loyalty cards with a couple of airlines; then, when you fly on an airline for the first time, say: ‘I have a BA loyalty card but I’m thinking of flying more often with Lufthansa – would you match my loyalty card ranking with BA’s so I am more incentivised to fly with you?’

Also, look into loyalty cards that offer Avios (the new airmiles; www.avios.com) so you can build up your credit even when you’re not flying.

Aaron Ritoper, UK general manager of Fly.com.

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For more ideas, take a look at our new magazine Unique Honeymoons (www.unique honeymoon ideas.com) – Ed. ■

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