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Bet you didn’t know Ireland has cracking cuisine. With a population of just 4.5 million, it punches well above its weight when it comes to creating delicious things to put in your mouth – and we’re not just talking about whiskey and Guinness. Sink your fangs into artisanal produce on a tasting trail through Dublin, the country’s cool capital city. Throughout the morning you’ll learn about the history of its thriving gastronomic scene and sample a generous assortment of products – think cheese from cows who graze on Ireland’s famous rolling hills, bagels loaded with Burren smoked salmon, silky chocolate and refreshing cold-pressed juices. Wash down plump oysters with a glass of white wine and, in true Irish style, enjoy a nip of something stronger in one of the city’s many excellent pubs.
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Take in Alberta’s history and heritage
Head south from Calgary, through the rangelands of Cowboy Country to where the plains meet the foothills, and you’ll find a place steeped in First Nations history. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that tells the story of the hunting practice of the native people of the North American plains – a technique used for the best part of 6000 years. Local indigenous people had such a great understanding of the region’s topography and bison behaviour that they were able to hunt bison by stampeding them over a cliff, before carving up their carcasses ready to be butchered.
Once you’ve taken in all that the UNESCO site has to offer, there’s still plenty more to see in this neck of the woods. The historic town of Fort Macleod, founded as a Northwest Mounted Police barracks in 1892, is a quaint place to get a feel for the old west. While back in Calgary you can explore Canada’s largest living history museum, Heritage Park, which escorts you from the present day back into the 19th and 20th centuries. Inside there’s Gasoline Alley Museum, where a cornucopia of vintage vehicles are on show; the Conklin Lakeview Amusements Antique Midway, with its old-fashioned Ferris wheels and carousels; and a rather kitsch historical village where you can chat to costumed characters.
Sail through the sky in the Himalayas
If you’re after a high-altitude experience without the knee-crunching descent of a mountain trek, the Zipflyer is your ticket to the clouds. Located on a hilltop in Sarangkot, this 1.8-kilometre aerial runway drops 600 metres and reaches speeds of up to 120 kilometres an hour. The ride is touted as one of the longest, steepest and fastest lines in the world, but it’s the unparalleled views of Machapuchare (aka Fish Tail) and the Annapurnas that will leave you breathless. It’s a bumpy drive to the launch platform, but that’s soon forgotten as you buckle in and the countdown begins. Embrace gravity’s inescapable tug as you hurtle through the air, feeling awe wash over you as you behold the spectacular panorama of leafy valleys and snow-capped vistas ahead, no trekking boots required.
Scamper round an ancient Eastern town
Presided over by rugged mountains, the gleaming, whitewashed old town of Mutrah is undoubtedly one of Muscat’s most scenic spots. The canopy of roofs is punctuated by the cerulean blue of qubba (mosque domes) and the odd minaret, from where the call to prayer echoes out. And come nightfall it’s a beautiful place for a stroll, the light from the low-rise buildings glimmering on the gently lapping waters of the Gulf of Oman.
The city’s old commercial centre, Mutrah is still a hive of a activity and well worth an afternoon stroll along the curled lip of its corniche – the gulf on one side and delicately latticed buildings on the other. Although it’s part of the capital Muscat there’s a village-like feel to Mutrah, which is best observed by dawn’s first light at the fish market. But there’s plenty more to see besides: from the old Portuguese Mutrah Fort, built in the 1580s, to the green pocket that is Al Riyam Park, and the famed Mutrah Souk.
Trek in the heart of polar bear country
Exclusive access to one of the most pristine wilderness areas in the world you say? We’re in. The remoteness of Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge means you can witness the beauty and brutality of Mother Nature up close on a Hudson Bay Odyssey tour, for there’s no other human presence within 160 kilometres.
As the name suggests, this lodge is set in the very heart of polar bear country. Your daily excursions around the Cape Tatnam Wildlife Management Area that surrounds the lodge will not only bring you (safely) face to face with polar bears, but also with wolves and black bears. It’s the unique convergence of eco-systems – where boreal forest meets the Subarctic beside the coastal waters of the Hudson Bay – in Manitoba that allows so much local flora and fauna to flourish.
Explore a garden like no other
Lauded as one of the most beautiful of its kind in the world, the Buchart Gardens in Victoria is a must-do on any trip to British Columbia. Established in the early 1900s, the attraction is still owned by the same family – current owner and managing director Robin-Lee Clarke is the great-granddaughter of the founding couple. And the floral show is pretty impressive: each year over a million bedding plants in some 900 varieties offer uninterrupted bloom from March through October.
Upgrade your ride home – and make the most of the coast – by taking a floatplane back from Vancouver Island to the city. The 35-minute ride offers aerial views of Vancouver, the Gulf Islands and Victoria Harbour.
Pub meets rooftop bar meets greenhouse
The Culpeper is an old-school Whitechapel boozer gone a little bit fancy. Exposed brick and scuffed communal tables are updated with the addition of angular light fittings and plenty of foliage. There’s a decent range of beers on tap, a list of natural wines and cocktails that feature herbs grown on the roof of the building. In fact, there’s another bar up there, with a glasshouse-style undercover area and al fresco tables among the potted fruit trees and beds of thriving greens.
You can’t go wrong, really, since there’s also a solid menu of rustic pub grub created from seasonal produce. The fantastic Sunday roast is particularly grand if you’ve been up early searching for bargains at the neighbouring Petticoat Lane Market.
Discover a secret enclave of sea turtles
You could be forgiven for thinking you’re exploring Australia’s Great Ocean Road or cruising California’s west coast when you sink your toes into the sand at Ras al Jinz in Oman. Beautiful rock formations fringe this beach on the east of the Arabian Peninsula, but if the golden cliffs aren’t enough of a drawcard, the endangered green sea turtles that return each year to nest most certainly are.
Protected by the Omani government, the only way to see these grande dames – some of the largest turtles in the world – laying eggs or the little tykes hatching is on a group tour, departing from the Ras al Jinz Turtle Centre each morning and night.
Evening expeditions are conducted by torchlight, so be sure to stick close to your guide to learn all about the turtles’ lifecycle and the predators they face. Be sure arrive early or stick around after to explore the interactive museum that gives details about the eco-tourism project and to visit the research labs on site.
In Pursuit of Primates
Follow in the footsteps of endangered western lowland gorillas on a safari in the Republic of Congo. Not for your novice hiker, this expedition with Natural World Safaris leads you through remote rainforests of Odzala–Kokoua National Park.
No two forays into the forest are ever the same, and you’ll follow expert trackers who monitor the gorillas’ habits closely, leading you to where they slept the previous night as the sun’s rays begin filtering through the canopy.
Covering distances of between five and eight kilometres, you’ll trail the gorillas, who can move at remarkably high speeds, through the undergrowth, until they stop to eat, shimmy up trees and stare at their human cousins who’ve followed them into the bush. Along the way watch out for all variety of monkeys, exotic birds and magnificent butterflies, as well as (if you’re lucky) forest elephants.
People often describe a gorilla encounter as one of the most emotional and humbling experiences of their lives. And it’s easy to see what attracted Spanish primatologist Dr Magda Bermejo here to study them as part of her groundbreaking research. Magda lives at Ngaga Camp and about 17 years ago began habituating two groups of the gorillas to her presence. More recently, they’ve also had to get used to the travellers who stay at the eco-friendly, rustic lodge in groups of four at any one time.
After two days of tracking gorillas, the adventure moves to Lango Camp, about four hours away. Travel along the local rivers in motorised pirogues (canoes) looking for buffalo, red river hogs, primates and bongos, a type of striped antelope, before arriving at jungle hides where you’ll watch the life of the forest unfold.
Seminyak’s designer digs
This isn’t really what you expect from a Balinese resort. At Luna2, designer and owner Melanie Hall has given 14 studio apartments more than a dash of pop-art creativity. Each is themed by colour and decked out with groovy art, modernist furniture and eye-popping accessories – think geometric rugs, Philippe Starck chairs and a maxi-bar stocked with Chupa Chups and champagne.
The studios are situated just 50 metres from the beach at Seminyak, but there’s a pool and spa for close-to-home dipping. In fact, the site is so pimped – top-notch food at Orbit restaurant, pumping tunes at the underground Pop! lounge, drinks with a view at the Space rooftop bar, and movies every day at Lunaplex cinema – you may be tempted not to leave at all. But you have to, and some point. And when you do feel up to emerging, give yourself a dose of nature in Bali’s mountains while staying at Sang Giri Mountain Tent Resort.
