As conservation tourism becomes more and more popular, how can travelers be certain of exactly where and how their money is being spent? One wildlife conservation group is leading by example by clearly outlining exactly how travelers’ dollars contribute to the sustainability of conservation projects and surrounding communities.

The Los Roques Scientific Foundation of Venezuela never ceases to educate visitors by allowing them to observing one of the on-site hatcheries. These baby turtles are growing strong so they will have a better chance of survival once they are placed back in their natural environment.

Conservation tourism – considered to be a “sub-niche” of sorts of geotourism, in line with voluntourism and “local travel” – is booming.

Travelers continue to seek meaningful opportunities to immerse in and support the natural environments and communities they visit, while destinations proliferate the means to capitalize as a way to boost their economies and increase ecological and even cultural awareness.

By supporting efforts to protect endangered species through fees and donations, conservation tourism aims to benefits local communities; increasing awareness and appreciation for our planet’s environmental and ecological concerns while delivering a much-needed sustainable source of revenue for conservation efforts.

These tours also provide a viable economic development alternative for local communities that have few other income-generating options.

However, it can be difficult for travelers to accurately determine just how much of their financial commitment directly benefits conservation projects and the local economies of their destinations, as opposed to benefiting the travel purveyors themselves – as is unfortunately sometimes the case.

No More Guesswork

However, one travel/tour group is looking to negate that stigma by placing a layer of absolute transparency between the travelers’ wallets and the communities they help to flourish – a worthy model for the conservation tourism as well as the entire geo/eco-tourism spectrum to follow.

Turtles are curious creatures that have walked (and swum) this earth since the time of the dinosaurs. Little is known about this migratory animal that often will swim thousands of miles across oceans to return to the very beaches where they were born to lay their eggs. This green turtle was photographed in Seychelles, an image courtesy of Flickr/whl.travel

SEE Turtles, a well-known wildlife conservation tourism project, has eliminated the “guessing game” by establishing a unique and completely transparent pricing model that clearly lays out the economic impact of conservation tourism dollars on environmental sustainability and responsible community development.

The new pricing allows conscientious travelers to engage in meaningful wildlife conservation initiatives alongside local sea turtle researchers, while fully aware of exactly where their money is going and how it directly benefits the cause.

The company puts it all out there: demonstrating exactly how their tour guests’ financial contributions contribute to the sustainability of turtle conservation projects and the surrounding communities.

Right on their website for the world to see, SEE Turtles outlines each tour’s estimated per person amount – in dollars and percentages – that gets allocated to two key areas: Conservation and Turtle Communities.

Conservation includes fees and donations given to local conservation organizations to protect turtle habitat, hire local residents, and support scientific research and to SEE Turtles to promote our educational programs. For volunteer trips, this also includes the value of donated time.

Communities represents the direct and indirect spending by tour guests to support locally-owned businesses near sea turtle hotspots including hotels, restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues. Such income helps communities recognize the value of sea turtles as an important resource to protect and inspires local support for conservation.

Turtles are natural seafaring creatures that can measure up to 51 inches (130 centimetres) in length and weigh 660 pounds (300 kilograms). They are the earth's oldest living reptiles. Known for their shy defensive mechanisms, turtles actually have some of the best night vision in the animal kingdom. This loggerhead turtle was is off the coast of Turkey near Kas. Photo courtesy of Flickr/whltravel

According to SEE Turtles, at least 30% of each SEE Turtles trip goes towards support of conservation and communities. The average across all trips is 48%, with 16% directly supporting conservation and 32% spent in local communities.

The $150 per person average supporting conservation efforts is the equivalent of hiring a researcher to patrol a nesting beach in Costa Rica for two weeks.

“Travelers are becoming increasingly aware of their responsibility to help protect nature and local cultures,” said Jim Dion, Associate Director, Center for Sustainable Destinations at National Geographic. “SEE Turtles’ Conservation Pricing Model sets a new standard for transparency that will help travelers to evaluate tourism options and feel confident their travel dollars are benefiting local communities and conservation efforts.”

As more and more conservation-geared companies move toward this or a similar model of pricing transparency, it will be interesting to see how traveler numbers fare.

As recent reports have suggested, money is of course still a factor in travel decisions – especially in such trying economic times. Even responsible travelers can be skeptical, and often with good reason.

Since the very first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, over 20 million Americans from all walks of life have contributed to major environmental accomplishments, such as pressuring government leaders for the passage of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and many other groundbreaking environmental laws.

Today, the Earth Day Network is thriving with over 22,000 partners in 192 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement. Each year, over 1 billion people participate in Earth Day activities, making it the largest civic observance in the world.

The Earth Day Network has once again taken on the ambitious goal of registering one billion environmentally friendly actions throughout the globe.

For 2012, the Earth Day Network is again hosting “A Billion Acts of Green®” with the ambitious goal of registering another one billion environmentally friendly actions in preparation for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development happening in Rio de Janeiro in June, 2012 (Rio+20).

At the event, the Earth Day Network plans to show world leaders that people are willing to stand up and be counted for the sake of our planet and the longevity of our species.

The Earth Day Network will also participate in helping to secure political commitment for more sustainable development, assess progress toward internationally agreed commitments and continue to address new and unforeseen challenges.

“Rio+20 the Conference will focus on two overall themes: (a) a green economy in the context of sustainable development poverty eradication; and (b) the institutional framework for sustainable development,” said John Maleri, Associate Director of Earth Day and coordinator for A Billion Acts of Green®.

“The focus will be on seven highlighted areas in the context of these themes,” he added. “These include decent jobs, energy, sustainable cities, food security and sustainable agriculture, water, oceans and disaster readiness.”

Along with asking individuals to pledge an act of kindness towards the planet, there are also environmental events being held all over the world – including a rally at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, April 22, 2012, where tens of thousands of environmentally conscious people, from all parts of the country, will be joined by civic leaders and celebrities to strengthen the environmental movement.

All of Earth Day Network’s activities – whether promoting green economic policies at home or abroad – inform and energize communities to act in a way that will secure a healthy future for this generation and generations to come.

To take part, visit act.earthday.org. As of April 16, over 968,000,000 “acts” have been registered.

We’re compelled to ask: What is tourism in its worst form, environmentally? Even in its best form, can the cost to the earth of tourism ever really be offset?

These are the questions that drive the staff at the WHL Group, the largest local-travel company in the world. With decades of combined experience in the sustainable travel and tourism industry, our insight into the issues is impressive.

And here are our answers to the question “What is tourism’s greatest threat to the environment?”

Tourism poses a threat to the environment when local communities scramble to meet the inflated expectations of uninformed vacationers. Photo courtesy of flickr/vallartavelas

“I think the biggest threat tourism poses to the environment – beyond carbon emissions and natural resource wasting – is when people travel to a new country, a new city or a new community without an understanding of that area’s social and economic life. it’s when people travel to parts of the world where the currency is weaker simply because it’s ‘cheaper,’ bringing with them expectations of luxuries, resorts and vacation, and without thinking critically about how their expectations impact the local community and its necessity to meet those expectations in order to generate business.”
~ Jenna Makowski, Content Editor, whl.travel

In places like Vietnam, environmental consideration takes a back seat to economic growth. The tourism sector is a perfect example of that. Photo courtesy of flickr/staminajim

“One of the most noticeable threats to the environment is the construction of new mega resorts along undisturbed coastal areas. It’s a hard thing to stop, especially in some developing countries like Vietnam, where consideration for the environment takes a distant second place to growth as a priority. A good example is the once-untouched China Beach near Hoi An in central Vietnam, which is a developers paradise and now a construction site of luxury resorts. Unfortunately, tourism will continue to drive this sort of development at even more secluded locations around the world.”
~ Luke Ford, CEO, Gunyah

While on a tour of the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca, I was struck by not only the exploitation of the local people, but also by the disrespect shown to the lake. This vital water resource is already in great jeopardy. This was the saddest tour I have ever been on. Photo courtesy of Maureen Valentine

“The pressure that tourism puts on already unstable local resources in many developing nations is the largest threat for the future of those destinations, combined with the pressure on lacking infrastructure systems like sewage and transport. Many destinations are in short supply of energy, water and food (which tourists generally take the best of). It is a real challenge as a tourist to truly tread lightly in vulnerable destinations.”
~ Maureen Valentine, Director, Hotel Link Solutions

“Tourism can be a powerful destructive force, particularly in the hands of those looking for short term gain. When ecologically sensitive areas are not well managed, the results can be dire. Although tourists are becoming more aware of their negative impact, few will actively try to reduce it unless prompted to do so. The rules of travel should be set by the destinations themselves. They need to lead the way by declaring what is and isn’t acceptable and then sticking to it. Tourists will respect natural attractions more if it’s clear that the local communities hold them in high regard.”
~ Jen Aston, Director, whl.travel Africa regional office

Carbon-neutral local transport like horseback riding is one way to address emissions from travel. For inevitable flights, surprisingly affordable carbon-offset programs are in place. Photo courtesy of Lindsay Young

“I think there are numerous tourism-initiated environmental threats, but perhaps the most pervasive is air travel and its associated emissions. Air travel has facilitated the growing accessibility of previously remote destinations, much to the delight of travellers and the chagrin of environmentalists and locals. The problem is that air travel isn’t going away. No matter how many travellers engage in slow travel and make the effort to travel by anything but planes, air travel remains the most time-efficient and generally most feasible mode of transportation. Also, non-air travel isn’t always environmentally friendly either.

Walking the fine line between use and exploitation in Boracay, Philippines, an eagle is kept strapped to a branch so tourists can take their holiday photo. They can have it on their shoulders for as long as they want, and of course, should give a small donation to keep the business alive. Photo courtesy of Andre Franchini

So what to do when there’s no easy answer? Do the best you can. We can’t always travel emission-free, like by horse or kayak, but we can at least travel carbon-neutral. Personally, I strive to travel as close to carbon-neutral as possible. I do this by purchasing Gold Standard carbon-offset credits, which go to support low-carbon projects all over the world. I’ve written more about it in my blog. The good news is that purchasing carbon offsets isn’t as costly as most people think. My five-ish hour flight to Panama and back was offset for about Canadian $40. It’s a small price to pay for having access to the magnificent places we can fly to.”
~ Lindsay Young , Digital Marketing Specialist, Urban Adventures

“The biggest threat is not only that tourism can damage the local environment and its species, but also that it inadvertently exploits natural resources as a tourist attraction. It comes down to mindset and striking a delicate balance. Since some practices are culturally accepted and have been part of local community traditions for centuries, the work to change the way people see their natural resources and empower them to capitalise on their home’s natural endowments through tourism (without exploiting them) is not an easy task.”
~ André Franchini, CEO, Hotel Link Solutions

This question reminded me of a visit to Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) in central Australia. Our Aboriginal guide appealed to us not to climb the rock, reminding us that doing so is as disgraceful and disrespectful to Aboriginal culture as climbing the altar at Saint Peter’s in Rome would be in Catholicism. Travellers’ defiance of the host culture’s preferences is now affecting the rock and the environment around it.

This is just one example of many in which visitors come with neither foreknowledge nor sensitivity enough to appreciate (and respect) the unique qualities of a place, both natural and manmade. It’s a process that includes, in the search for adventure, travellers’ pursuit of off-the-beaten-path destinations that are perhaps not entirely suitable as tourism attractions.

A universal travel ethic that includes education about cultural literacy is essential to sustainability. It means travellers police themselves, but also put a brake on irresponsible tourism destination development by host cultures trying to cash in on travellers’ ignrorance.
~ Ethan Gelber, Chief Communications Officer, WHL Group

Thousands of limestone karsts and islands draw tons of visitors to Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. But mangroves and seagrass beds have been cleared out to make room for tourist boats. What will be left for tourists of the future to see? Photo courtesy of Ashley Hiemenz

“Rapid growth in tourism has been staggering in many developing nations, where it is often the case that natural attractions serve as the main draw for travellers. When tourism in these ecologically sensitive areas is unregulated, the environment can be severely damaged, and development can ultimately destroy tourists’ main incentive to visit.”
~ Ashley Hiemenz Product Manager, Gunyah

Profit-driven overdevelopment for tourism can harm delicate ecosystems like beaches, wetlands, and rain forests.

“It’s hard not to notice the physical impacts of mass-market tourism and the destructive influence it can have on local environments. Poor development decisions such as extensive building on beaches or bulldozing over wetlands create irreversible damage here on planet earth and the big players who make these irresponsible decisions need to be held accountable. I’d say corporate greed is the most immediate threat to the environment, which is why it’s so important to get involved. It’s up to travellers like us to supply the checks and balances: write to your government or join a local non-profit to advocate for better and more sustainable land uses.”
~ Laurel Angrist , Editor, The Travel Word

“I think there are a lot of tourism’s threats that impact our planet negatively, but the good news is that each of us can help to reduce them and do our bits for the environment. Litter, for example. In Latvia there is a project driven by voluntary participation to keep our environment tidy, bring people together and see results. It’s called “The Big Clean-up.” Last April there were around 150,000 participants in 1,354 cleanup locations across the whole country. Hopefully this year (30th April) the turnout will be even better as this project has become very popular in Latvia. Foreigners, visitors and travellers welcome!
~ Anda Cirule, Director, whl.travel Europe and the Middle East regional office

"We need to change our demand so that the developers change what they supply. We need to demand sustainability as a standard." Photo courtesy of flickr/Jeff Croft

“In addition to the threats posed by the carbon emissions generated by international air travel, perhaps the most significant concern is the impact that opportunistic development has on destinations. We all love visiting beautiful places and we want those places to be as accessible to as many people as possible and for them to be cheap for us to visit. We’ve created the demand, so it’s hypocritical for us then to decry the developers who slap up blocks of apartments on stretches of pristine coastline. We wanted to see it and we didn’t want to pay much to go there.

What we need to realise is that sustainability has a cost attached to it, but also that sustainability is an inherently good thing – easily worth its price. It’s cheap to eat junk food all the time, but you don’t do it because it ruins your body! We need to change our demand so that the developers change what they supply. We need to demand sustainability as a standard.
~ Paul Tavner , Developer, The Travel Word

“In my experience the biggest problem is short-term thinking and greed. Although it’s not a problem confined to tourism, the best evidence of this in the tourism space is mass tourism, where the natural environment plays second fiddle to ‘development’ and ‘growth.’ The irony is that the very beauty of the place, which was the essence of why people came in the first place, is rapidly degraded, leaving a wasteland (culturally and environmentally) that is no longer of value to either the locals or the tourists.

As a model for tourism I like what is happening in Bhutan. Here the government has taken a measured view and wants to ensure tourism is run sustainably. Numbers of tourists are limited, tourism development is tightly controlled and an enormous effort is placed on win-win-win outcomes – for tourists, for local communities and for the environment. At the core of this is a belief that growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a poor measure for development’ and instead the country has focused on Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH). Prime Minister Jigmi Thinley of Bhutan is leading the way in defining a new economic paradigm.”
~ Len Cordiner, CEO, WHL Group

“In my opinion, the greatest threat provided by tourism to the environment is the lack of planning. When a tourism activity takes place without planning is when it becomes more dangerous to the environment and the local communities. There are several examples of this – resorts and tourist complexes of gigantic proportions that are completely changing the way of life in local communities. The lack of planning causes the misuse of resources, whether natural or human.”
~ Wallace Faria, Director, whl.travel Americas regional office

“For a country like the Philippines, where poverty is rampant and environmental policies aren’t implemented, tourism’s biggest threat to the environment is tourism itself. One immediate effect is trash. Oftentimes the local government gets so excited about the new influx of tourists (i.e. money) that the environment is ignored. The crowds arrive before systems are in place. In Boracay, for example, the island is developing faster than it can manage, which has lead to waste-management problems and depletion of the shoreline. Tourism also means an increase in demand for resources – more fish will have to be caught, more goods need to be delivered.

It’s always difficult to find that balance between opportunity and environment. What to do? Look at examples of success. In the simple town of Donsol, Sorsogon, whale-shark poaching was successfully converted into whale-shark watching, and what used to be a poor fishing village is now a thriving ecotourism destination visited by thousands every summer. And although they now take very good care of the gentle giants, their numbers have still depleted over the last 20 years. It is a constant battle for environmental conservation and proper environmental education.”
~ Mika Santos, Director, whl.travel Asia and the Pacific regional office

Emperor Shark Fin Soup: Local delicacy or endangered species? Photo courtesy of flikr/avlxyz

“I believe sheer weight of numbers of visitors is the biggest problem. With the explosion of budget airlines and a desire for people to visit ever more destinations, many places seem to struggle with issues such as rubbish, sewage, etc. People wishing to try local ‘delicacies,’ many of which are endangered, is also a concern.”
~ Adrian Cordiner, CEO, Green Path Transfers

As I saw during my year of tourism studies in Mallorca, Spain, cut-rate mass-tourism to beaches like Magaluf takes its toll on the landscape. Photo courtesy of flickr/lloydi

“I think the biggest environmental problem with global tourism is distribution. Cut-rate mass-travel such as Caribbean cruises and all-inclusive resorts tend to concentrate a lion’s share of international tourism in just a few destinations. For these mass-visited hot spots, the problems of land use and the stress on local infrastructure can turn the blessing of tourism into a curse. Places get loved to death.

For travellers, the challenge is creativity. Rather than looking for Walmart-style low prices and hot deals to sandy beaches, think a little more outside the box about where to go. With more and more of the world opening up to international tourism, it’s more possible than ever to find great new places where you can contribute to healthy local growth without overwhelming the natural environment.”
~ Cynthia Ord, Newsletter Editor, The Travel Word

Often described as one of Africa’s last frontiers, Mozambique, a large country in the southeastern part of the continent, is among the most variegated places in the world. Geographically, it has a rugged, underdeveloped north, a hiker’s paradise, along with an extensive coastline with innumerable opportunities for swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving.

The population is just as diverse, reflecting the indigenous African tribes who first settled there, the Arab seafarers who traded along the coast for centuries, and, finally, the Portuguese colonists who ruled until 1975. Despite the many setbacks that have plagued the country since then, including civil war, floods and drought, Mozambique is starting to bounce back and is slowly gaining a well-deserved reputation as a country that promises as much adventure as relaxation.

1. Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park: A massive swath of land that comprises national parks in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe and allows visitors to cross the borders freely within the park, Limpopo is home to nearly 150 kinds of mammals, including elephants, giraffes and buffalo.

2. Gorongosa National Park: This once-legendary park in northern Mozambique was nearly destroyed during the country’s civil war. Now newly refurbished, it’s returning to its former preeminence and is worth a visit to check out impalas, warthogs, unusual birds and more.

3. Local Fare: In Maputo, feast on some of the ultrafresh seafood caught off Mozambique’s 2,500-kilometer-long coastline; the grilled prawns and octopus are especially good.

4. Montes Chimanimani: Along the Zimbabwe border, this mountain range, thick with pine and mahogany trees and scores of medicinal plants, is ideal for rugged, off-the-beaten-path hiking and camping.

5. Ilha de Moçambique (Mozambique Island): This tiny island off Mozambique’s northern coast was once an important Arab trading port; today its historic, colonial-era buildings and diverse population, with strong Islamic and African ties, make it a fascinating place to explore.

The archipelago das Quirimbas is a collection of 32 coral islands off the Coast of Mozambique. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Spacmonster

6. Archipelago das Quirimbas: These 32 islands off the town of Pemba, which can be reached by motorboat, offer white-sand beaches, snorkeling among coral reefs, and sightings of humpback whales.

7. Ponta de Ouro: Just miles from the South African border in southern Mozambique, this quaint town boasts some of the country’s loveliest beaches and opportunities to scuba dive among dolphins.

8. Lago Niassa: A giant, incredibly clear lake that borders Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania, Niassa (also known as Lake Malawi) is thought to contain a greater number of fish than any other lake in the world.

9. Angoche: A quiet, historic town in the northern part of the country that still bears the influence of precolonial Swahili and Arab traders, Angoche is worth a quick trip for a look back in time.

10. Manica: Once an important gold trading area, this picturesque town in central Mozambique is now known for its thousand-year-old Chinamapere rock paintings, which are considered sacred by local residents.

Maputo is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. Photo courtesy of Andrew Moir

When to Go

The best time to visit Mozambique is between May and October, when it’s pleasantly sunny and dry and temperatures average 66 degrees Fahrenheit (18.3 degrees Celcius.) The country’s rainy season generally lasts from October to April, with temperatures jumping up to the 80s (20s). Overall, the southern part of the country is cooler and drier than the north.

The view from The Elephant Village in Luang Prabang, Laos. Photo courtesy of Cindy Fan

Throughout Laos, deforestation is destroying the elephant’s natural habitat. According to a Deutsche Welle report on illegal logging in Laos, only 40 percent of the country remains covered in forest. What does this mean for the elephants? Herds get trapped in patches of forest or “green islands” surrounded by farmland and urban development. Migration routes are blocked. The food supply is insufficient to support these herds and since they are unable to leave, inbreeding occurs, leading to genetic diseases and weaker populations.

If current trends continue, the wild Asian elephant population will become extinct within the next 50 years.

Logging is also dangerous and hard work. Malnourished elephants are required to move heavy loads on steep terrain and injury is common. They are sometimes given amphetamines so they can work long hours.

Yet simply putting a stop to logging is not a sustainable solution. The work of one elephant supports dozens of people in Laos, a developing nation where as much as 73 percent of the population lives on less than US$2 a day. When logging was banned in Thailand in 1990, well over 2,000 elephants lost their jobs. Domesticated elephants are expensive to keep and care for – they require a tremendous amount of food and water every day – so owners were forced to release them into the wild, where they sometimes slowly starved, or to kill them.

Fortunately, tourism is offering one positive solution.

Getting up close and personal with an Asian elephant. Photo courtesy of Cindy Fan

Alternative Employment for Elephants

In Laos, former logging elephants have found new employment and a healthy, peaceful life at camps such as The Elephant Village, 15 kilometres outside of Luang Prabang. At its stunning location overlooking the Nam Khan River, visitors can get up close and personal with Asian elephants, the planet’s second-largest land animal, whose mass is surpassed only by the African elephant. Travellers learn that despite an elephant’s hefty size, it is a remarkably gentle, sensitive and agile creature.

The Elephant Village camp offers day trips of an elephant ride combined with hiking, or a two-day Shangri-Lao expedition with an overnight stay in luxurious accommodations located right in the camp.

For the more adventurous, the “Living as a Mahout” program is an unforgettable experience. Travellers learn what it takes to be a mahout: how to climb onto an elephant, ride it bareback and “steer” with commands. The highlight is riding the elephant into the river for its daily bath.

Bath time! The author gives Mae Wat a scrub in the river at The Elephant Village in Luang Prabang, Laos. Photo courtesy of Cindy Fan

Camps like The Elephant Village provide work and income for locals, protect the land, take both mahouts and elephants out of logging, ensure the animals get proper veterinary care and educate visitors on the issues. Visitors leave with a greater appreciation for both the animals and the mahouts.

A word of caution: this does not mean all elephant camps are good. Many have sprung up throughout Thailand and Laos so it is up to travellers to research a camp’s reputation and quality.

Arranging Responsible Elephant Stays

ElefantAsia is another company that has dedicated itself to the protection of these animals. At work in Laos since 2001, ElefantAsia recently opened a new sanctuary in Xayaboury, a province in northern Laos.

The views of Laos are even more remarkable from atop an elephant. Photo courtesy of Cindy Fan

In their brochure, they provide tips on how to choose a quality camp and what to look out for. Here is a summary:

Does the elephant have bloody puncture wounds on its forehead?
This is a sign of abuse from the ankus or metal hook used by mahouts as a guiding tool; when used properly it should leave no mark.

Is there enough food for the elephants to eat when they are not working or giving rides?
Elephants spend 14-18 hours eating each day. Gathering and supplying food should be an obvious activity. And while it’s fun to feed them bananas, they need a varied diet. You should see staples like bamboo and grasses.

Is there sufficient water and shelter when they are not giving rides?
Elephants drink up to 100 litres of water a day and suffer when exposed to too much sun. They must have access to fresh, clean water at all times and have shade available.

The author getting taught by a mahout how to ride an elephant at The Elephant Village in Luang Prabang, Laos. Photo courtesy of Cindy Fan

Is the elephant enclosure clean?
Cleanliness is vital in preventing the spread of disease. Dung should be regularly collected and urine should be washed away. Also, the dung should be round, solid lumps. Diarrhoea is a sure sign that the elephant is ill and shouldn’t be working. Inform the mahout/staff immediately.

Are the elephants flapping their ears and swinging their tails?
A healthy elephant is in constant motion. They flap their ears to fan themselves and swing their tails to drive off insects. Being very still can be an indicator of ill health.

Are elephants repeatedly swaying their head back and forth?
Elephants that have been chained or hobbled for too long will swing their heads repeatedly in an exaggerated manner. It can be an indicator of stress, boredom and poor care.

If you see signs of abuse or neglect, speak up and let management know.

A view looking east toward Munda from the hills of Gizo township in the Solomon Islands. Photo courtesy of Danny Kennedy

In the midst of all the wild beauty, right in the heart of this seaborne country, is Ghizo Island, where a different kind of lifestyle and culture can also be found: one built around surfing.

Quality Breaks

Surfing is a newcomer to the Solomon Islands, but for a handful of locals it has become something more than just a pastime. A few old boards left behind by adventurous surf-trippers have changed the way people on Ghizo look at their waves. The cyclone swells created out in the Coral Sea that have made the east coast of Australia so famous also make their way up to the Solomons – and Ghizo sits right in their path.

The setups in the Solomons are nearly all reef breaks. Ghizo boasts at least two world-class spots, and what they lack in size they make up for in quality. Paelonge on Ghizo island is the most consistent. It regularly offers rights up to a 100 metres long, with two long barrel sections. Titiana is a left and when the swell hits the reef the right way, it’s the best wave on the island.

Solomon Islands top surfer, Sammy, goes high on a wave. A couple of days later the remains of this board were retrieved from tsunami debris. Photo courtesy of Will Darby

The Solomons are relatively unexplored by surfers; different swell directions and sizes often give birth to waves that have never been surfed, so the potential seems enormous. But the greatest thing about surfing here is that you truly feel like you’re experiencing the place firsthand. There is no surf industry to speak of, so if it’s an alternative to Bali you’re looking for, this isn’t it. But you won’t find a crowd either. This is just a bunch of locals, on battered but well-loved boards, who are really focused on getting the best waves. They’re out every chance they get and know every inch of their breaks intimately.

Getting Practical

November to April is the best time to get the cyclone swells, but generally it’s pretty consistent. The quality of the reefs means that what little swell there may be is usually turned into something really fun. When it does get big, it can be seriously powerful and hollow. That’s when the locals have a new excitement and energy that will set you buzzing with excitement on the paddle out. Often the break is dotted with kids body surfing and swimming around the reef, and only a very elite handful of locals will join you when waves reach six feet or more. It’s always best to trust their guidance; these reefs are as much their home as their local spot.

Sammy, a number 1 surfer in the Solomon Islands, is right at home with the waves of Ghizo Island. Photo courtesy of Will Darby

Entering the Solomon Islands is only possible through the capital, Honiara, on Guadalcanal. If you’re a historian, there are some fascinating World War II sites dotted around Honiara, which was a key strategic battleground in the Pacific theatre. A tour of Honiara is a great way to get oriented. Generally speaking, though, Honiara isn’t somewhere to linger too long; while it has a kind of gritty (yet safe) charm, you should get out and explore the country’s true beauty.

Getting around the Solomon Islands is done either by flying on Solomon Airlines or travelling via passenger boat. While the latter is often overcrowded, hot, a little smelly and fantastically slow, there is no better way to see the country and meet locals. After all, the Solomon Islands is a country defined by water, so the best way to get around is by boat. The sea trip from Honiara to Ghizo takes around 30 hours – and there are no cabins – but what you will see on your journey you will never forget. If you’re a surfer, it’s also a good way of looking after your boards, as sometimes the airline baggage handlers don’t quite get the ‘fibreglass’ thing! There are also companies that will hire you a boat and driver, or you can hitch rides with locals.

The laid-back but bustling town of Gizo, on Ghizo Island, is the second most major town of the Solomon Islands after its capital city of Honiara. Photo courtesy of Danny Kennedy

In terms of accommodation in the Solomon Islands, there are plenty of options on or around Ghizo Island. The main town, Gizo (same name as the island, just no ‘h’) has numerous numerous guesthouses and a big hotel, while a nearby island has two resorts if you’re looking for somewhere quieter. Gizo is a really laid-back place, although there’s a vibrant market with fresh fruit, vegetables and fish. There’s also a new hospital, and taxis and trucks run up and down the single street. This is the most major town after Honiara, but don’t expect a metropolis. Still, Gizo is a bustling place, and you’ll feel right at home here in no time, as complete strangers are usually incredibly friendly.

There is not a single surf shop in the Solomons, so remember to bring everything you’re going to need, including a spare board (your usual shortboard size) and especially a decent repair kit. The most important things you can bring however are an open mind, a friendly smile and a healthy respect for this beautiful place and the people who call it home.

privileged to be able to share it with you.

Responsible travel has taken a huge leap forward today, as a team of scientists working at CERN -

in Switzerland – have announced that they are ready to release a working prototype of a teleporter

later this year. You can see a demonstration of the technology below:

For far too long, travelling the world has meant relying on costly and unsustainable air travel

operators to transport us to our destinations. Now, with the introduction of this new technology

our ability to travel freely and easily has taken a huge leap forward.

Looking forward, this technology will allow us to visit any destination in the world, without having to

stop and worry about our carbon footprint. We couldn’t be more excited!

Volunteer vacationers are as diverse as our planet’s incredible range of environments and abundance of people. From protecting turtles’ eggs to delivering vital medical supplies, there’s something out there for everyone.

At Much Better Adventures, we work with a host of the world’s leading volunteer holiday providers, bringing the best under one roof. Here are just five worth your consideration.

Horseback riding and humanitarian aid go together with Relief Riders International

Deliver Humanitarian Aid on Horseback

For thrill seekers, nothing can beat cantering through the deserts of northern West India. This vast, unspoilt region is ripe for exploration. But it’s remoteness works against it too: many Rajasthan residents suffer from poor medical infrastructure. Deliveries of equipment and expertise are therefore vital.

So if you have plans to be in the area, why not add to the depth of your experience by volunteering on an important humanitarian mission? Horses are excellent for carrying supplies, so load them up with medical equipment. By helping out, you’re able to make a real difference to locals’ lives, while having an epic adventure yourself.

Teach English in Borneo, Malaysia, with Ecoteer

Teach English and Environmental Awareness

Teaching English abroad can be an incredibly rewarding experience for all involved. Offering you deep interaction with local people, it is a great way to delve into a new culture. Just as beneficially, local people learn English from a native speaker and are able to develop confidence in their language skills. Volunteers may also be given the chance to share their knowledge about environmental awareness, an important step in convincing locals to protect their natural resources.

These kinds of volunteer holidays often include free time each day, giving you ample opportunity to enjoy activities in the local area, whether they be sports meets or just chatting with new neighbours. English teaching trips vary in length from a couple of weeks to many months.

Volunteer with Lions in South Africa

The lion – the king of the cats – is one of the most majestic animals on the planet. So, what could be better than a volunteer position helping research the impacts of reintroducing it and other animals into an incredible nature reserve?

Volunteer projects could be your best chance to really help animals. Through guided courses and practical work with rangers, you develop new skills that you might not have a chance to otherwise. Research into endangered species, for example, is vital to the preservation of our ecosystems; however the (human and material and financial) resources to do this are sometimes hard to find. This is where volunteer holidays can come in to play: they help fill this gap so that the research can continue.

Student holding a baby turtle as part of his volunteer work with SEE Turtles

Protect Turtles as Part of Your College Studies

College students often think of volunteering holidays as rewarding additions to their studies. By putting theory into practice you gain a fuller understanding of your academic pursuits. Such experiences can also provide solid fodder for your CV, showing your commitment to your field and an appetite for contextualising your knowledge.

Turtle conservation projects are great area for students. Not only do they allow for hands-on care of these special marine creatures, but they are often located in rather nice corners of the world. Who would complain about that?

There’s a serious side to it all, of course, as many species are endangered and a lot of hard work is needed to help protect them. Roles can include monitoring beaches, caring for young turtles, researching populations and educating locals about how to prevent poaching.

Reef conservation and diving are twin pursuits of Reef Conservation International

Mix Diving with Reef Conservation

One of the most magical qualities of diving is experiencing the incredible submarine environment. You have only to look through the range of diving holidays to understand the increase in the number of volunteer holidays set up to help protect these garden hotspot for divers.

As reefs exist all over the world, you rarely have to travel too far to help out. Many reef-restoration volunteer holidays also integrate diving courses, giving you the ideal mix of conservation and learning.

There are many more opportunities than the five presented here. Why not start your adventure on Much Better Adventures’ Volunteering Holidays page?

Before the US Civil War, while Abraham Lincoln was still just a US state representative ignorant of the great occasions to which he would rise, he uttered a remarkably prescient maxim: “The true rule in determining to embrace or reject any thing is not whether it have any evil in it, but whether it have more of evil than of good.”

I begin with this – something unimpeachably wise from someone irreproachably sagacious – in an attempt to ground what follows. You see, over many moons I have read and pondered your (my fellow travel scribes’) articles, blog posts and comments. Sadly, with each passing day, I shake my head and wonder how you’ve not read the writing on the wall: the travel terrain has changed, so why haven’t you?

Photo courtesy of Flickr/Johnnia Utah

Vision Is Not Seeing Things As They Are, but As They Will Be

Most mainstream newspapers and magazines today give periodic lip service to the evolution of travel, acknowledging that more and more travellers consider themselves ‘ecotourists,’ but not really giving their readers enough to feed their ethical penchants. Hamstrung by shrinking budgets, market-deaf advertisers and cumbersome bureaucracy, major travel media look like they’re being outpaced by the industry they’re supposed to support.

So why aren’t you, the new generation of penmen and -women, stepping into an expanding vacuum? Why aren’t more of you – buttressed by blogging skills and vocal in your frustrated desire to be recognised for your craft – helping to drive the kind of change that positions you as leaders? More nimble, more imaginative, more bold and less reliant on traditional revenue sources, you have little stopping you.

As one of the rank and file, I wouldn’t dare to guess at or pass judgment on your individual motivations as writers. And yet, banking on substantial personal experience, I feel justified in a Lincolnesque examination of the evil-good balance of advocating for the fastest-growing but most rough-trod parcel of the travel terrain and of wondering aloud why so many of you (travel writers in general, but bloggers in particular) appear to be shrinking from a perfect storm of a challenge.

What We See Is Mainly What We Look for

Here’s what I see: an alternative marketplace that’s got many niche names: ecotourism, responsible travel, sustainable travel, local travel, slow travel, community-based tourism, geotourism, green travel, pro-poor tourism, conscious travel, ethical travel etc.

This travel space continues to be alternative to the mainstream traffic of consumers who plan and shop for holidays guided principally by bucket lists and budget. That being said, high-minded considerations – worries about carbon emissions, ‘economic leakage,’ ‘cultural flattening’ and the like – are now increasingly asserting themselves as powerful motivators too. As early as 2007, Condé Nast Traveler‘s “The Power of Travel” focus on “the impact of tourism on communities and the planet” revealed a whopping 74% of respondents who thought “that hotels should be responsible for helping alleviate poverty in their own communities.” This is just a small fraction of the 7% of the international travel market in 2007 that the UN World Tourism Organisation attributed to ecotourism, a number that has increased significantly since then. We’re beholding the mainstreaming of the fringe.

Photo courtesy of Anne Flickr/Wangalachi/CIMMYT

What We Fight Against Defines Us As Clearly As All We Embrace

As I consider shifting travel trends, though, what has surprised me most is the lacklustre endorsement for change from travel media. Catherine Mack wrote meaningfully about this last month. “After a plethora of responsible tourism conferences, conventions and codes of practice, so many travel writers, not just travellers, still think it is amusing that our industry is ‘responsible’ for so much damage,” she lamented. So do I. I also wonder why.

Now, I’m sure the proliferation of travel monikers has lent to confusion about what it all means. It may even have lent to some degree of exhaustion. There’s already a small but important weight of accountability (and sometimes culpability) associated with the cluttered mix of mindful compound-noun travel styles, but does “The lack of a precise, commonly agreed definition of ‘ecotourism’… cause… misunderstanding, argument and debate,” as Ron Mader asks in an essay about tourism definitions? Why else would each new entrant into the space feel compelled to come up with a new banner, right?

I nevertheless keep coming back to the same thought. Does the majority of travel writers and editors just not get it? Or not care? In a LinkedIn comment left in response to Catherine Mack’s post, one reader is understanding about the mix of priorities that influence travellers and travel providers, but he has no sympathy for the media. “They would only be interested in the reality TV show ‘I’m a Responsible Celebrity on Holiday, Get me out of here.’ ” Another reader derides “smug media apathy.”

“We Buy Things We Don’t Need, with Money We Don’t Have, to Impress People We Don’t Like” – Dave Ramsey

Not surprisingly, the circle-jerk of blame in the travel media space can be impressive. I try to avoid it, which means I am ignorant both of what powers it and of how to neuter it when it grows too rabid. Looking in from the outsider ranks, I see writers criticising editors criticising advertisers criticising PR firms criticising travel suppliers criticising tourist boards criticising what writers write. Working in such conditions, the pool of writers – a glowing (and growing!) cadre of exceptions notwithstanding – seems fundamentally ill-equipped to drive change.

Photo courtesy of Flickr/McKay Savage

Far too many of them behave like angry miners clawing at a passing flash of blood diamond. Do they not care about morality or changing consumer interests? Perhaps not. A writer I won’t embarrass by name once told me “I write for today’s traveler, not tomorrow’s,” which struck me as fundamentally wrong-footed. Everyone’s stuck in an engine coughing on dirty oil that soils the clean whenever it’s added.

We Only Grow When We Step Outside Our Comfort Zone

If your comfort zone is exclusively surf, sand and sun in an air-conditioned, gated, foreign-owned resort that imports the foods you eat at home and staff who look like you, it’s time to expand your horizons. At a time of global warming, widespread economic and political upheaval, and irremediable cultural extinction, should you really be devoting energy to the promotion of bad practices and sorry stereotypes? Why do I even have to ask that question?

I’ve never yet heard a legitimate argument against being responsible when you travel. Burlap sheets and grass dinners are no more likely with ethical operators than they are with any others. And objecting to the sustainable use of resources or equitable sharing of profits with local providers would be like lobbying against kindness. By Lincoln’s standards, then, responsible travel is more of good than of evil, something to be embraced. Dipping your quill in support of it should also be a no-brainer.

“We Must Hang Together, Gentlemen… Else, We Shall Most Assuredly Hang Separately” – Benjamin Franklin

If ever there was a man who was unafraid to try something new, it was Franklin. However, while he was always ready to go out on a limb by himself, he was also a convinced collaborator, banking (sometimes literally) on the shared wisdom and foresight of his colleagues.

Now, I’m no Franklin, but I do believe that travel writers (especially bloggers) are in a unique position today:

* We could add oomph to the fair travel crusade by giving consumers what they want and, just as critically, rejecting what is wrong with irresponsible travel.

* We could join forces with the mass of industry stakeholders who are making meaningful decisions about where they work and how best to present it to visitors.

* We could stabilise the unsteady responsible travel stool by adding media – the missing third leg – to those above and finally propelling the travel industry into the next generation.

What do you think?

There are many examples of outright cynicism when it comes to development – such as  shoe-horning blocks of poorly constructed hotel rooms into a beautiful stretch of coastline in an attempt to make a quick buck. But, quite often, development is something that gets thrust upon a destination in an an attempt to forestall the impact of booming popularity. In these cases, unfortunately, there simply isn’t time to handle it in a responsible manner.

Such was the case with the Italian town of Cortona. Forced into the limelight as a result of a book (Under the Tuscan Sun) that was adapted into a Hollywood movie, Cortona went from being a beautiful quiet backwater to a hugely in-demand tourist hotspot. It happened practically overnight.

While the sudden rush of tourist dollars was a welcome boon to the local economy, things began to change very rapidly. The town had to adapt to cope with the crowds, the types of jobs available shifted dramatically and the very character of the place began to be affected.

The creative team behind the upcoming film ‘The Genius of a Place‘ – a title taken from the works of Alexander Pope – noticed the change that was taking place in Cortona and set out to document it. While steps are being taken to mitigate against the damage being done to this particular destination, it serves as an example for other towns likely to be affected by similar issues.

While we agree that the residents of places like Cortona have a responsibility to protect the beauty and uniqueness of their home, it’s far from easy to do so. Financial pressures are an unavoidable fact of life.

That’s why we agree with the filmmakers that there is a real onus on us as travellers to ensure that we experience a destination in a responsible manner, whenever possible.

If we want to share in the beauty, we should also share the burden of maintaining that quality, or else pretty soon there won’t be anything left to enjoy.

The Aboriginal sacred site of Uluru – also known as Ayers Rock – is one of Australia’s most recognizable natural icons. The time seems right to ponder over a question that has for decades been the subject of a much-heated debate: Should tourists be allowed to climb the rock or not? Respecting indigenous cultures and local traditions is at the core of the responsible tourism concept and it is the center of the controversy over Uluru.

Sunrise is a spectacular time to photograph Uluru, the traditional Aboriginal name for what many people still know as Ayers Rock in Australia's red centre. Photo courtesy of Ethan Gelber

Uluru, which is part of the UNESCO-listed Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park World Heritage Site – located 450 kilometers (280 miles) west of Alice Springs, in the state of the Northern Territory – is climbed by more than 100,000 people every year. The sandstone formation rises to 348 metres (1,142 feet) above sea level and measures 9.4 kilometres (5.8 miles) in circumference. Those who have been fortunate enough to visit the site say Uluru appears to change color depending on how light strikes it at different times of the day and year.

But the popular climb of the monolith has long enraged local Aboriginals, the Anangu people. Under Aboriginal law, they are responsible for protecting Uluru and its visitors. They say the site is sacred and have called for the climb to be banned since Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was placed in their hands in 1985.

Although climbing is strongly discouraged, circumnavigating Uluru is possible by following a flat walk that hugs the vertical undulations of the rock. Photo courtesy of Ethan Gelber

The Anangu people believe that during the time when the world was being formed, the Uluru climb was the traditional route taken by ancestral men when they arrived at Uluru. Because of this spiritual significance, they prefer that – out of education and understanding – visitors respect their law and culture by not climbing.

Safety is also an issue. The path is about 1.6 kilometres long and takes about two hours to complete. Since it can be treacherous, the first part has a chain to hold on to. It is reported that 36 people have died and many more have been injured attempting the climb, something that worries traditional owners.

There are environmental concerns as well. Park officials say the climbing path has been worn down by the constant tread of tourists and erosion is changing the face of Uluru. The lack of toilets and garbage cans on top also means tourists leave behind waste that is affecting nearby waterholes.

Money Is the Matter

The park estimates that around 38 percent of visitors climb each year, down from 74 percent in 1990. Even so, tour operators in the region continue to offer the climb as the main attraction of the visit to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and they often do not inform clients of the cultural and spiritual significance of the place. The first time many tourists hear “Please don’t climb Uluru” is when they read their entry ticket.

The market demands it, people want to climb, and since there is no law against climbing Uluru/Ayers Rock, many companies continue to feature the same popular offerings: sunrise viewing, climb, sunset viewing.

Until now, the national park’s management has employed a strategy of visitor education to face this issue, with interpretive signs expressing the distress that climbing causes the local owners and asking that visitors participate in alternative activities. However, changes in attitudes and behaviors of visitors usually take place over the long term and sometimes it is necessary to apply more direct management techniques such as banning an activity to ensure the conservation of the natural attraction and ensure that tourists will show the necessary respect.

In 2009, the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Board of Management took the initiative in drafting a 10-year management plan recommending closure of the climb, highlighting that the activity is culturally insensitive. Although the measure did not have strong political support, climbing Uluru has its days counted anyway.

Under the terms of the lease the Anangu elders granted in 1985 to the National Parks Service, the right to climb expires in 2020, and the national park is currently recruiting a professional to oversee the closure of the climb. If the climb is permitted beyond this date, the lease would have to be renegotiated.

Some industry stakeholders argue that the prohibition could lead to reduced visitor numbers and that it would have serious financial implications for the Anangu, who receive 22.5 percent of all gate receipts and have sole rights to undertake commercial activity within the national park.

The surface of Uluru is marked by caverns, overhangs, rock piles, gullies, water holes and more, most of which are of such significance to Aboriginal teaching and lore that their meaning is left untold. Photo courtesy of Ethan Gelber

There are, however, several attractive alternative tours within the park with activities that do not upset the traditional owners. These include walking expeditions to explore rock formations and Aboriginal art sites around the base, escorted by local guides and an interpreter. Visitors learn about creation myths, bush foods, traditional didgeridoo-playing, dot-painting and spear-throwing.

A brochure available at the Cultural Center in the park carries an important message from the Anangu elders:

“That is a really important sacred thing that you are climbing . . . You shouldn’t climb. It is not the real thing about this place. The real thing is listening to everything. Listening and understanding everything. Why are we going to tell you to go away (and ask you not to climb)? So that you understand this . . . so that you understand, we are informing you: Don’t climb. And maybe that makes you a bit sad. But any way, that is what we have to say. We are obliged to say. And all the tourists will brighten up and say: ‘Oh, I see. This is the right way. This is the thing that is right.’ This is the proper way: No climbing.”

Sea Travel Options

At present, nearly all long-distance sea travel is more expensive than flying to your destination. But for us the journey is just as important as the getting there. Fed up with flying from place to place and feeling removed from the land and people we zoomed over without even noticing, we wanted to travel in a way that would let us appreciate the distance we would cover.

For a more authentic trans-oceanic alternative than a passenger cruise ship, board with the cargo on the A.S. Carelia. Photo courtesy of Anna Rice

We decided that we wanted to travel westward from the United Kingdom with the loose aim of reaching Singapore via Australia or New Zealand. Reaching Southeast Asia would therefore mean finding passage across the Atlantic Ocean and then later the Pacific Ocean, the Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef. We began to research our options and drew up a shortlist, which included: signing up as crew on a yacht, taking a passenger liner or trying to book ourselves onto a cargo ship.

Join the Crew

Joining a small boat crew would undoubtedly have been the slowest and most environmentally friendly way to travel. If you are interested in this, there are several fantastic websites that can help you. Find a Crew is one example, where travellers in need of a boat or crew can tailor their search in terms of skill, destination and budget. We consulted this at several points in our journey, without much luck. Nothing matched our journey requirements and timeframe.

When opting out of airplane travel, one option for crossing major bodies of water is to look for work as the crew of a sailboat. Photo courtesy of Anna Rice

Passenger Ships

Passenger liner travel is perhaps the most well-documented form of trans-oceanic transport and one we ended up taking twice – once to cross the Atlantic and a second time to cross the Pacific. We used an agent to book both of these routes, as they were able to offer us heavily discounted fares, which really helps when trying to stick to a budget. Among the many cruise deal sites around, we found that CruiseDeals offered us the most competitive prices.

Fares on passenger liners can be very reasonable – often much more so than on cargo ships – particularly if you book early or late and can travel during off-peak periods. Passenger liners are also generally considered more luxurious than cargo ships, but this of course depends on your definition of luxury. Is it entertainment and endless food buffets you are after? Or cabin space and access to the behind-the-scenes operations of a ship? If you think the latter, then a cargo ship journey might be for you.

Few people realize that cargo ships have amenities for passengers, such as cabins and sometimes even scenic sitting pools. Photo courtesy of Anna Rice

Go Cargo

Many people are simply not aware that numerous cargo ships offer passenger cabins. Or if they are, they often have the preconception that booking one is a difficult business. While it is no longer possible to obtain a ticket by turning up at a port, there are a number of agents who can make things easy by arranging it all for you. Here are a few:

* Hamish Jamieson at Freighter Travel is based in New Zealand. He is an expert on all things cargo and will answer all realistic questions quickly.

* Globoship, a Swiss company, are fantastic agents and will answer questions in English if your German is as bad as ours. They advertise last-minute passages (usually due to passenger cancellation) on their website and, most importantly, they seem to add the least amount of booking charges/agent fees onto travel costs, which always helps.

* Strand Travel deal with passenger bookings on container vessels and are very quick to answer any queries.

* The slightly higher-end Maris Freighter Cruises are also helpful but more of a travel club (and have the slightly higher prices to match).

On a cargo ship, the on-board entertainment consists of things like dramatic storm clouds and real behind-the-scenes life at sea. Photo courtesy of Anna Rice

Planning

When planning for cargo travel, get in touch with one or more agents as soon as you know what your ideal embarkation and destination points are, especially if wishing to travel between Australia and New Zealand, Australia and South East Asia or other popular routes. Even if an agent has nothing available at the time of first contact, as was the case for us, let them know that you are interested to hear if a new route opens or there is a cancellation.

Patience

We sent a number of initial inquiries that didn’t return any joy, but about six weeks later, we had an email from Globoship telling us that a new route had opened up from Adelaide to Singapore with sailings once a month. The price for a private, en suite cabin for the 10-day sailing was around £1000 per person (the average-price guideline for freighter travel currently stands at €90-110 per day per person), so we decided to book a late-December sailing.

When travelling across the Atlantic by boat, you open your eyes to the details of ocean life - like leaping dolphins, for example. Photo courtesy of Anna Rice

About a month before we were due to sail, we received an email from Globoship to say that the route had suddenly been cancelled but a sister ship, the AS Carelia, could offer us a cabin instead. The Carelia would sail from Brisbane to Port Klang in Malaysia via New Zealand and would take 10 days longer, therefore costing a couple of hundred pounds extra too. Globoship were very good and offered us a small discount on the new sailing “due to the inconvenience” but also added “that’s freighter travel for you.”

Payoff

After much discussion, we decided to go for it and are very glad we did. The experience is one we will remember for a long time. We ended up spending both Christmas and New Year with the Bulgarian, Russian and Filipino crew, all of whom made us feel very much at home. We were treated more like house guests than passengers and felt privileged to be invited into their fascinating world of navigation systems, route mapping, piracy warnings, engine rooms, crew table-tennis tournaments, home-style cooking, tropical storms, makeshift swimming pools, hard work and celebrations.

The sunset views from a cargo ship are just as awe-inspiring as views from the deck of a passenger cruise liner. Photo courtesy of Anna Rice

Michael Palin famously described his experience at sea as a sort of sensory deprivation. I liken it more to spending time somewhere remote where your surroundings become familiar but your eyes and senses become keener. They hone in to notice even the smallest change, such as a fish skimming the waves or a swallow nesting in a container. Nothing was ever predictable and no day on board could ever be described as boring. Our ‘slow travel’ circumnavigation of the globe is off to a great flight-free start.

“Books are a very important way to knowledge and to self-improvement… The provision of a National Library Service in Tanzania means that … knowledge is made available to all our literate citizens and through them to people who have not yet learned to read.”
–Tanzania’s first president, Julius Nyerere, 1967

Editor’s Note: This is the first entry in a four-part series about the state of libraries in Tanzania.

As babies, we chew and drool on our tiny board books. As toddlers, we color and rip the pages of our beloved nightly readers. By ages six or seven, we are reading and have graduated into a new world of wonder and discovery.

These decades-old used books are often the only ones available to many schools in Tanzania. Photo by Anne Wells

Over the course of our lifetimes, there are few activities on which we will spend more time than reading. We read to learn, work, escape, entertain, evolve, explore, and connect. From our morning newspapers to our letters, e-mails, favorite paperback novels, computers, and Kindles to our nightstand piles of literature and magazines; from Shakespeare, Sartre, Shelley, and Salinger to social psychology, sports, science, and everything in between, the written word is as essential to our lives as water, food, and shelter.

Now imagine a world where there are few, if any, written words. There are no books, no magazines, no newspapers, no Internet, and no textbooks. Imagine it. In this year of 2011, when most of us are hyperlinked and “content-ed out” beyond reason, is this even possible?

Welcome to Ngongongare Village in the Arusha District of northern Tanzania. Here, as it is in so many other impoverished outlying communities across the continent, there are few, if any books. Schools are overwhelmed with too many students, too few teachers (an average of one to every 45 students, according to the UNESCO EFA 2000 Assessment Tanzanian Country Report), and even fewer textbooks. A report by the non-profit organization Textbooks for Tanzania states, “It is not uncommon for a class of 40 to share a single textbook.” The Newton-Tanzania Collaborative that operates under the Do Something umbrella estimates a textbook to student ratio of 1 to 80. Texts that do exist are often decades old, filthy, and falling apart. To keep them from disintegrating altogether, teachers often keep them under lock and key, pulling them out only to copy their contents on blackboards for masses of children to memorize or, if lucky, to copy down on scraps of paper.

Kids read inside an old community library in Tanzania. Photo by Anne Wells

In the United States, there are 122,101 libraries, according to the American Library Association, ones that complement our educational systems by providing free access to literature, periodicals, the Internet, and ongoing educational opportunities. That’s one for approximately every 2,500 citizens.

In Tanzania, it’s a different story. There is just one national central library in Dar Es Salaam; a single library in some of the country’s 26 regions; and a handful of other government libraries scattered throughout various districts, which at best would be one library serving many hundreds of thousands of people. The Tanzanian Library Association, in its 2008 SCECSAL XVIII report, notes that these libraries all face many challenges, including a lack of qualified librarians and adequate resources.

“We visited a number of regional libraries in Tanzania,” says Ann Hanin, 67, a librarian at the Beacon School in New York City and the founder of Project A.B.L.E., a U.S.-based non-profit established to promote literacy and education in the developing world. “They were filled with old, dirty, dilapidated materials that most people find irrelevant, unnecessary, and unusable. We could not find any books on farming and agriculture. We could not find any books by African authors or in local languages. It was so sad and disheartening.”

Deb Kelly, 55, an American volunteer in Tanzania, experienced firsthand this great need for free-access to relevant books and educational opportunities. In 2007, she founded the Tanzanian non-governmental organization Jifundishe (which means “teach yourself” in Swahili) to provide educational opportunities to rural communities. Her first project, the Imbaseni Free Community Library, was so successful that she soon replaced it with a larger library, with financial support from the U.S.-based Crawford-Smith Foundation and Project A.B.L.E. Villagers came from miles and miles away, even from around the world, all to patronize, partner with, assist, and help grow Deb’s vision of a free library and community center that supports literacy development for all.

The Jifundishe Free Library supports literacy and development in rural northern Tanzania. Photo by Anne Wells

Today, that library, the Jifundishe Free Library, is the model for a new initiative called the Maktaba Project (“library” in Swahili), which is currently working on building a network of “Jifundishes” in six more rural communities over the next 10 years. The Jifundishe Free Library is also the poster child of the new Tanzanian Community Library Association, formed independently of the government in early 2011 to develop a network of community libraries, disseminate information, share best practices, and help obtain necessary financial support.

For more information, visit www.jifundishe.org and www.projectablefoundation.org.

Coming up next in the Beyond Books in Tanzania series:
• Part II: Deb Kelly and the Jifundishe Free Community Library
• Part III: “What a Difference a Library Can Make”
• Part IV: The Maktaba Project and the New Tanzanian Community Library Association

Anne Wells is the founder and director of UNITE The World With Africa, a social organization working to provide impactful connections, resources and expertise to help advance women’s health, education and microfinance programs in Tanzania. She recently launched a new online store called The Ashe’ Collection, a 100% philanthropic initiative to grow an international demand for African artistry and raise funds to support UNITE’s work in East Africa. For more information, email Anne at atmwells(at)gmail(dot)com.

This video, by gnarly bay productions, has all the basics in place: fantastic travel footage – filmed during a voyage through Chile and Patagonia – with a great musical accompaniment by Balmorhea and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. But what really sets this short film apart is the outstanding narrative that has also been included.

The voiceover – provided by Cástulo Guerra – lends a fairytale quality to the piece. It makes us think of journeys that we’ve undertaken in the past with fondness, but it also inspires the familiar feeling of wanderlust. The thrill of adventure and imagining having our own narrator to catalogue our travels are both appealing prospects.

This video excels because the story it tells is both believable and fantastic. It takes a voyage through South America to another level and provides a unique perspective.

We love the originality and passion that went into making it.

A real treat in the Australian bush is the huge numbers of tiny wildflowers. Their real beauty is often only apparent on very close inspection, so a good camera with zoom lens becomes a mandatory accessory. This native pink hyacinth orchidn in Boronia is one of the most common bush orchids in Australia and also one of the tallest. It blossoms from around December to March. Photo courtesy of Len Cordiner

Always a shock to first-time visitors to Australia is the loud laughing song of the kookaburra. Also a large bird similar in size to the king parrot, the kookaburra is a far more common sight in both urban areas and along the coast. It is carnivorous, feeding mostly on snakes, lizards and small rodents, although they are also keen on barbecues and regularly steal sausages whenever they get a chance. Photo courtesy of Len Cordiner

Inspired, my wife and I started our own ‘slow travel’ mission. For the past four months, we have been checking out the natural world in and around Sydney – starting in our own backyard. I live in a suburb called Gladesville, located in the inner west region of the city. It borders another suburb to the north called Boronia, both about four kilometres and across Sydney Harbour from the city’s central business district. Being this close to the centre, Gladesville and Boronia are two of the older suburbs of Sydney, although as I recall from when I was a boy growing up here (some 50-plus years ago), it was rather sparsely populated and we were surrounded by dairy farms and bushland.

Sadly most of Sydney's naturally occurring mangrove forests, like this small patch in Gladesville, are gone due to urbanisation and clearing for commercial activities; however, the damage has been curbed and signs of renewed growth are apparent in several areas. The mangroves in Sydney are mostly Grey Mangrove Avicennia marina, with small pockets of both naturally occurring and planted River Mangrove Aegiceras corniculatum. Photo courtesy of Len Cordiner

Basking in the sun on the side of a walking track in Boronia was this large black snake around 1.5 metres long. They are common on the east coast of Australia, are good swimmers and tend to live near creeks and rivers. They feed on small rodents and frogs and the female gives birth to around 20 live young. They are venomous, although its venom is milder than the brown snake. Photo courtesy of Len Cordiner

Today, Gladesville and Boronia are suburbs that most people rush through on their way to or from the city. They strike most Sydneysiders as rather nondescript, perhaps also reflected in the fact that neither were selected by Louise in her 52 suburbs. Of course, living here had taught us differently. We set out to explore some of the small pockets of parkland and harbour foreshore we knew were nearby.

Of 86 species of tea tree (Leptospermum) occurring globally, 81 are endemic to Australia. You find them everywhere around Sydney, including Gladesville. They got the name 'tea tree' after early white settlers in Australia used the leaves of this tree as a tea substitute. Tea tree oil is a widely used antiseptic due to its antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. Photo courtesy of Len Cordiner

Bush turkeys are large ground-dwelling birds (up to 2.2 kg and 85 cm tall) common on the east coast of Australia. The male builds a huge nest on the ground from leaf litter in which up to 50 eggs are laid by several females. The eggs are incubated by the heat given off by the rotting leaf litter. The male maintains a constant temperature by digging holes in the mound and inserting his bill to check the heat, then adding and removing leaf litter as required. Photo courtesy of Len Cordiner

We were amazed – thrilled, even – at what we found. In the large tracts of mangrove forest and bushland, we couldn’t see any hint of suburbia. Instead, we encountered many different species of plants and wildflowers. What also delighted us was the variety and concentration of wildlife, ranging from bush turkeys, cockatoos, kookaburras and king parrots to some very healthy-looking goannas and snakes. Returning home from our first outing, when our collection of photos were taken, my wife and I both felt elated. We had (re)connected with where we live, getting closer to both the natural environment and history in a way we hadn’t expected.

Sydney is built on sandstone, something that becomes very apparent when you see road cuttings and building excavations. Most of Sydney's early public buildings were built from sandstone, much of it stained red and brown from iron. On this walk in Boronia we discovered a natural sandstone overhang displaying some of the beautiful iron colouration. On a spot not far from this location was an Aboriginal rock carving, a reminder that the area was populated originally by the Wallumedegal people. Photo courtesy of Len Cordiner

King parrots are magnificent and quite large, growing to around 43cm in height. They reside on the east coast of Australia, mainly in densely forested regions, so they are not commonly seen around Sydney, unlike their smaller cousins, the brightly coloured lorikeets. This picture is of a male in Gladesville - they have the distinctive red colouration around the head and neck. Photo courtesy of Len Cordiner

Our new resolve is to share what we have found, to encourage some of our friends in Sydney (and from out of town) to try a local Sydney suburbs walk. We also want to share how we found it – by travelling slowly in our own backyard.

Planning a trip to Sydney? Interested in other slow and local experiences? Check out Sydney Urban Adventures, unique day tours with a difference, designed to get under the skin of the city, so you get to know it like a local.