When The Spirit Moves You
The Age
Saturday April 3, 2004
Travellers looking to explore the Himalayan kingdoms of Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan - but keen to ensure their adventures have a positive impact on the places and people they encounter - might like to investigate a range of hiking trips offered by Spirit Adventures.
Marketed as a travel company with a conscience, Spirit runs a variety of set itineraries but will also design trips to fit individual interests and requirements. One specialist tour is a photography tuition trek through Nepal's Everest region led by Nepalese photographer Jagadish Tawari. Another trip involves trekking, rafting and paragliding through the Annapurna, with soaks in hot springs and a climb to the summit of Poon Hill along the way.
In 2003, Spirit took part in the Dhaulagiri Clean-Up Campaign, which, supported by a team of environmentalists from France, collected 20 kilograms of batteries, 500 kilograms of tin and other metals and 100 kilograms of glass from the slopes of the world's seventh-tallest mountain.
A new project for 2004 is an awareness program designed to educate villagers from Nepal's Langtang region about how sustainable technologies can help them resist deforestation, environmental degradation and pollution problems. Spirit has joined with the Foundation of Sustainable Technologies to launch the project and Spirit adventurers are invited to trek through the Langtang mountains on a two-week adventure to join the project at the implementation phase.
Another important aspect of its operation is that Spirit employs only local staff, each of whom receives first-aid, English and eco-tourism awareness training before starting work as a guide.
For bookings contact the Adventure Travel Company, 1800 238 368. Information on projects and company philosophy can be found at Spiritadventures.com.au.
• Parks Victoria has launched its first comprehensive guide to Victoria's national, state, wilderness, coastal, marine, metropolitan and historic reserves. Designed to get Victorians off the couch and into the great outdoors, the guide serves as an excellent introduction to the state's green spaces, which cover 4 million hectares.
Broken down into regions, the guide details the activities you can do in each park (such as walking, swimming, kayaking, camping, dog walking, cycling or cooking facilities), with directions and distances to nearby towns, kilometres from Melbourne, points of interest, a description of the area's terrain, geography, vegetation and wildlife, and an appealing gallery of glossy images. There's a detailed section on Melbourne parks, with Melway references, if you have only a few hours to spare.
Printed using soy-based inks on recycled paper harvested from sustainable forests, the guide is free and available from Parks Victoria, call 131 963, or see www.parkweb.vic.gov.au.
• Adventure activity company Atomic Dog has been bought by the company that operates the Pipeworks Market, Carrum Nominees, and part of the takeover and restructure has involved a relaunch of its Victorian activity list. It includes hot-air balloon flights in different locations (Healesville, Lilydale, Yarra Glen and the Dandenongs), jet-fighter flights from Point Cook, Auscar and Nascar racing in Keilor, skydiving (from Nagambie, Barwon Heads and Geelong), abseiling and rock climbing at Mt Macedon, scenic flights over Melbourne, white-water rafting in Mansfield, scuba diving with weedy sea dragons off Blairgowrie and sea kayaking along the Mornington Peninsula.
Call 1300 655 622, or see www.atomicdog.com.au.
• With die-hard adrenalin junkies in mind, Sydney-based company Adrenalin has put together a five-hour Triple Challenge designed to showcase the best of Sydney and get your heart racing at the same time. The challenge kicks off with a Harley Davidson tour from Cockle Bay, taking in Darling Harbour and the Harbour Bridge before heading to Manly's Oceanworld. Next up is a scuba dive in a shark tank at the Oceanworld aquarium, where you will keep company with 3.5-metre grey nurse sharks and giant rays. The final hit is a high-speed ride in a special forces boat, which takes off from the aquarium jetty for a white-knuckle ride around the harbour at speeds of more that 100 km/h.
The Adrenalin Triple Challenge runs year-round, requires no previous scuba experience and costs $380 per person.
Call 1800 763 762, or see www.adrenalin.com.au. -- LIZA POWER
© 2004 The Age