World Adventurer - Issue 1

ISSUE 1, JUNE - JULY 2005

Galápagos in peril?According to International Galápagos Tour Operators

Association (IGTOA) the iconic eco-paradise is in mortal danger

lostShackleton’s

menB15aCollisionof giants

w w w . w o r l d a d v e n t u r e r . n e t

CHAIRMAN AND PUBLISHERDennis Collaton

[email protected]

MANAGING EDITORStewart Campbell

[email protected]

EDITORRoderick Eime

[email protected]

ART DIRECTOR & DESIGNERLuca Balboni

www.lucabalboni.com

CONTRIBUTORSJanie van der Spuy

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIESStewart or Roderick

phone (+61 2) 9389 [email protected]

PRINTED BYOffset Alpine

PUBLISHED BY

a s s o c i a t e s197 Oxford Street

(PO Box 612)Bondi Junction, NSW 2022phone (+61 2) 9389 7466

fax (+61 2) 9369 1853www.adventureassociates.com

A.B.N. 12 001 118 332NSW Travel Agents Lic. No. 2TA000351

editorial

elcome to our first edition of World Adventurer

magazine. We hope you enjoy our selection of topical and enlightening travel, environmental and destination stories gathered from around the globe.

World Adventurer evolved from our Adventure News newsletter and was driven by you, the discerning, adventurous traveller. From the foundation of Adventure Associates over thirty years ago, I perceived a need for travel products and experiences that went beyond the many run-of-the-mill offerings then on the shelves at travel agencies. Our products are designed to enrich and challenge the modern, environmentally aware traveller who wants more than a hurried, whistle-stop bus tour. The success and longevity of this company, through the many ups-and-downs of the travel industry, is a testament to the quality and thorough research that goes into our tours.

The overwhelming success of Madagascar, Bhutan and our myriad Antarctic and Arctic

journeys reinforces my belief that today’s traveller is looking for much more than a cocktail and deck chair on a beach somewhere. You wish to be uplifted, exhilarated and enchanted with your next adventure. You wish an experience to last and to share with family and friends. Therefore, our quest continues to bring you more of these once-in-a-lifetime “odysseys”.

So it is with World Adventurer – a new look, expanded editorial, plus offers and competitions to keep you interested between trips. Adventure News is not gone altogether, instead we’ll issue it occasionally in brief format to keep you abreast of our new tours, special offers and in-house news.

World Adventurer is your magazine and we invite your

input. Please send us your letters, photos and travel experiences to share with like-minded travellers. We’ll have prizes and rewards for those we publish in the next issue and you can keep up-to-date at the dedicated website: www.worldadventurer.net

Dennis Collaton

Dear Adventurer

contents

“To travel is to live. To live is to travel.”

(H.C. Anderson)

2 Editorial 3 News 4 Outta the way - It’s B15a! 6 San, safari and spa at Bushman’s Kloof 7 Tourism keeping Peruvian islands afloat 8 Brazil breathes new life into the world 9 Ouro Preto - The golden heart of Brazil 10 Bold buccaners, king tides and ancient

mysteries 11 Shackleton’s lost men

12 World’s oldest mummies - Where? 13 Golden gong for land of the Dzong 14 Wrangel Island: isolation, desolation

and tragedy 15 All aboard for Svalbard 16 Fata Morgana and the legend of Ultima

Thule 17 Berenty: great leaping lemurs 18 Galápagos in Peril

Readers CompetitionWe have five fabulous travel and adventure DVDs and $200 travel vouchers to give away in the next issue of World Adventurer Magazine.

To enter, answer each question below from the information found on the Adventure Associates website at www.adventureassociates.com

1 What precious gemstone made Namibia famous?2 Name two plants you might find in the “Spiny Forest” of Madagascar?3 What would you do with “Hontay” and where would you be?4 What is the power of the Kapitan Khlebnikov?u And in 25 words or less, what is your dream travel destination and why?

All entries must be received by no later than 30 June 2005. Enter by post, fax or email to [email protected]

Tell us your latest adventure!Share you latest“world adventure” withus in words and pictures.

Each published story receives a DVD and $200 Gift Voucher. About 500 words, with two or three pics is ideal.

Cover photo: Dennis Collaton

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From their lofty offices in Melbourne’s Collins Street, the world’s largest resources company is looking across the Indian Ocean to the already denuded island of Madagascar where the company has dibs on a huge ilminite deposit near the southern port town of Taolagnaro (Fort Dauphin). Taolagnaro is the gateway to the famous Berenty Reserve.

Rio Tinto claims mining of the deposit will greatly enhance the region’s rudimentary infrastructure and bring much needed investment. Locals, who still destroy the forest for firewood and charcoal, are equally

enthused. But environmentalists have serious concerns.

The company claims it will enforce a strict conservation region, thus protecting the remaining forest that it argues will be completely destroyed by locals within 20 years in any case. The World Bank supports Rio Tinto’s objective.

Groups like Friends of the Earth counterclaim that social disruption by foreign workers, mining waste disposal, accelerated deforestation and Rio Tinto’s worrisome Human Rights record leave a lot of questions unanswered.

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Adventure Associates, Australia’s first tour operator to offer trips to the Galápagos, has joined IGTOA, the International Galápagos Tour Operators Association (www.igtoa.org).

IGTOA is a nonprofit association of travel companies, conservation organizations, and other groups that are dedicated to the complete and lasting protection of the Galápagos. IGTOA was formed in 2003 in response to continued uncertainty over management of the Galápagos, one of the world’s most important marine reserves.

Illegal fishing continues to be one of the major concerns, particularly the plunder of the marine cucumber (Stichopus fuscus), locally called pepino. Additionally the control of feral species such as goats, dogs, rats and even red ants is under threat if the activities of Park staff are hindered.

Tourism is widely acknowledged as the most profitable and sustainable activity in the Galápagos, but its careful management is critical to the on-going viability of the industry. Short term gains by illegal fishing and the associated impact of poachers gravely threatens the Galápagos as a valuable eco-tourism resource.

The Republics of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru have on their territory a shared cultural heritage of outstanding value: the Qhapaq Ñan, or Main Andean Road.

The 6,000 kilometre road is the backbone of a greater network of some 23,000 kilometres of roads that formed the entire Incan communication network and was critical in the dissemination of their culture and civilisation.

UNESCO is working with the six countries to nominate the Qhapaq Ñan, also known as the Royal Road, for a single UWH listing – a truly pioneering initiative.

Additionally, the World Conservation Union (iucn.org), a non-profit conservation organisation based in Geneva, is heading an initiative to restore and revitalize sections of the “Gran Ruta Inca”. Their project aims to promote the sustainable development of the high Andean corridor and re-open overgrown portions.

iPod competition winner

news

Miners eye lemur forests

Books and Band-Aids to BhutanAdventure Associates’ policy of helping local charities in developing countries has again enriched guests’ travel experience. On the recent ‘Last Shangri-La’ tour to Bhutan, guests donated children’s books, stationery and medical supplies whilst in Bumthang, Thimpu and Paro.

“The children were wonderful and I know the books are very much welcome in their schools. There is a shortage of English books for children in Bhutanese schools and these will be a great resource”,

reports Tour Leader, Grahame Dann. “and we also donated medical and surgical equipment to the only hospital in Bumthang. It was a privilege to have dinner with the only doctor at the hospital, Dr Deki, and to visit the modest facility that serves the local population of 80,000 people. It was great to make a difference and help out.”

Wherever possible, Adventure Associates tours will always carry educational and basic medical supplies to developing countries.

Tour operators rally to protect Galápagos

Inca trail heading for UNESCO World Heritage status

The winner of our recent iPod Shuffle Competition is Ms Joyce Caesar of Kareela in NSW. The winning draw was made from entrants who visited us at the Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane Travel Shows this March and April. Congratulations Joyce

- we hope you enjoy the music as well as reading our new magazine!

White Sifakas enjoy the sun in the threatened spiny forest

Albatross drowned by long line fishing.

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4 WORLD ADVENTURER

Sounding more like a World War Two bomber than an age-old natural phenomenon, Iceberg B15a is nonetheless set on a course of destruction deep in the Antarctic.

nlike their more creative meteorological colleagues, the (US) National Ice Center name

bergs based on their geographical origin rather than use popular Christian names like, say, Gloria or Tracy. Anyway, what do you call an iceberg big enough to attract territorial claims? Goliath? Otto? Ymir? Or just Mr Big?

B15a’s story begins on the Ross Ice Shelf, a perpetually frozen sea the size of France that barricades a vast body of water all the way to within 600 kilometres of the South Pole. Favoured by polar explorers because of its pool-table flat terrain, the shelf allows even heavy vehicles to traverse its sturdy, ancient crust, which scientists know to be hundreds of metres thick.

In the Antarctic summer, between November and February, chunks of the shelf often “calve” off into the Southern Ocean, thanks to the combined forces of melting when it reaches the marginally warmer waters and the numerous irrepressible glaciers shoving it brutally north. These chunks become icebergs that can float

around the ocean for years along with the slabs of non-permanent ice that regularly bob about the Ross Sea during summer before melting away. Normally this icy debris is small, say the size of an apartment block or small suburb, but B15a sets a new benchmark; at 6,000 sq. km, it’s the size of Jamaica!

As a further mind-boggling twist, B15a gets its ‘a’ tag by virtue of the fact it was once part of an even larger floating mass; you guessed it, B15. At nearly 300 km long and ‘born’ in March 2000, B15 was probably the largest iceberg ever recorded, but has since disintegrated, leaving B15a as its largest remaining offspring.Doomsayers are quick to jump on the global-warming issue as a cause for these floating behemoths, but in truth, the boffins are still scratching their heads.

“We don’t know why icebergs like B15 calve when they do. We don’t know whether there’s an environmental trigger,” said Doug MacAyeal, an iceberg researcher at the University of Chicago. “In the middle of the night something happens and you wake up the next morning and one of the cracks has connected through to make the piece come off.” Thanks Doug.

Viewed from space, B15a appears like a giant aircraft carrier making an awkward berth alongside an irregular dock. Part of this ‘dockside’ is the massive Drygalski Ice Tongue, a floating glacier jutting out almost 50 km into the Ross Sea. B15a’s clumsy manoeuvring had scientists literally on the edges of their lab stools, as it appeared certain the invisible skipper had set a course ‘dead ahead’ to collide with the giant ice tongue. Imminent impact was scheduled for about January 15.

As if lifted from a Hollywood action film script, the mega-berg came to a screeching halt just kilometres from the frozen mass. Apparently, the berg was aground and stuck almost motionless within clear view of Drygalski’s giant ice pontoon. The world’s scientific community, no doubt, had trouble drawing breath again after such an astonishingly close call. So what now?

“This berg has wedged itself between two shallow areas. ... It really hasn’t gotten any closer for a week now,” said Antarctica New Zealand’s science strategy manager, Dean Peterson, with a sigh “It’s kind of shimmying back and forth now ... so I don’t know

whether it’s ever going to get to the Drygalski or not.” Thanks Dean.

Even though one significant geographic feature has been spared (for now), the stalled iceberg is not good news for the ecology or the self-exiled humans. McMurdo Sound is a tiny pocket on the hip of the Ross Ice Shelf, with the 3800m Mt Erebus looming large in the immediate scenery. The bottom end is sewn shut by the shelf and the US and NZ each keep a permanent base supplied with summer access by ship from the other. McMurdo Base (US), in turn, supplies by air the much more precariously located Amundsen-Scott Base over 1,000 km away at the South Pole itself. Problem is with an iceberg the size of a republic blockading the entrance, winter (non-permanent) ice can’t get out and ships can’t get in.

Forget for now the silly scientists cloistered away in their frozen bases and consider the plight of the two penguin species trying to raise their young in the midst of this upheaval. The world’s largest penguin, the Emperor, must navigate a hundred or more kilometres across the ice to reach their feeding grounds and then return with dinner for the young. That’s normal, but since B15a parked itself across the driveway, the trapped ice is doubling that distance. The smaller Adélie penguins have a similar task, and the marathon distances are taking a toll.

Australian biologist, Jane Wilson, has just returned from the region aboard the icebreaker, Kapitan Khlebnikov, and she reports vastly reduced numbers of Adélie nests at Cape

Outta the way – It’s B15a! news

This 10 January Envisat ASAR Wide Swath Mode (WSM) image shows iceberg B-15A close to the Dygalski ice tongue. The two ice bodies block ocean currents, causing the landward sea surface to ice up. Compare this to the open water on the other side of the Drygalski ice tongue.

by Roderick Eime

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The helicopter from Kapitan Khlebnikov lands passengers atop B15a on Australia Day, Jan 26!

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AntarcticaRoyds due to the inaccessibility of the foraging grounds. It follows that the Emperors will be doing it tough too.

Global warming and ozone holes aside, the consensus amongst glaciologists is that the occasional whopper of an iceberg is normal for that part of the world. Recent evidence of glacial retreat in the Antarctic Peninsula has not yet became apparent in the rest of the continent. What would be of greater concern is if the permanent ice shelves of East Antarctica were actually receding, but for now, there appears no definite sign of that. Flippers crossed.

STOP PRESS

B15a collides! The long-awaited collision between B-15a and the Drygalski Ice Tongue finally occurred about April 15.

The massive, 71-mile long B-15a sheared off a chunk of the massive ice tongue about five km long – an event that will force mapmakers to redraw that part of Antarctica.

“While this initial contact seemed anticlimactic, B-15A is not out of the area yet, and has been rotating in a counterclockwise direction,” said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologist Sean Helfrich, who monitors such titanic duels at the National Ice Center in Maryland.

“I’m not sure it’s completely done. It’s still on the move,” he said. “I’m not sure we’ve witnessed all the collisions yet.”

Stay tuned ...

Come with us to the land of superlatives -- the coldest, windiest, driest, and highest of all the major landmasses in the world.

Choose from small-ship expedition cruises to the beautiful Antarctic Peninsula region - or the incredible icebreaker expeditions to remote continental Antarctica including the Ross Sea region...

Phone: (+61) (02) 9389 7466 Toll Free (Australia): 1800 222 141www.adventureassociates.com

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15 APRIL 2005

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18 APRIL 2005

20 APRIL 2005

Call now for our brochure!

6 WORLD ADVENTURER

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San, safari and spa at Bushman’s Kloof

or tens of thousands of years, the vast southern African plains were home to the wandering

San people, or Bushmen. In small mobile tribes, they scoured the entire region, following the seasons in search of game, fruit and root crops. Today, what’s left of their fragile communities is restricted to the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. But throughout the entire area of Africa now bordered by South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and even Angola, their signature rock paintings mark the extent of their ‘empire’.

The Bushmen were gradually replaced by aggressive and expansionist agropastoralists like the Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi and Ndebele whose presence dates back little more than 2 000 years. These taller, stronger, darker-skinned tribes

now predominate in the nations of southern Africa, relegating the San to the annals of history.

Located in the desert regions of South Africa’s Western Cape, a once devastated farming land is now fully restored to a world-class wildlife and botanical reserve. Today, the luxury Bushman’s Kloof Wilderness Reserve, now a South African Natural Heritage site, offers guests an unique wilderness experience, filled with potential enrichment, relaxation and outdoor adventures.

The reserve’s fauna is diverse, featuring over 35 species of mammals including the Eland and Bontebok, as well as nocturnal animals like the rare Aardwolf and Smiths red rock rabbit. All thrive on the property and roam freely.

Bushman’s Kloof is justifiably proud of its 29 Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra), which rates as one of the largest privately owned herds of this endangered species. Current recorded numbers of this rare animal total only approximately 1200 beasts worldwide.

October 2004 saw the reintroduction of ten Kudu at Bushman’s Kloof, as well as the first pair of Brown hyena (Hyena borunea) – a small, shy and timid nocturnal scavenger that lives mainly on insects and plants, presenting no threat to humans. Guests are encouraged to interact closer with nature since they are able to walk and take mountain bike rides through the property, as well as participate in traditional game drives.

Sharing the mammals’ home are over 150 kinds of birds, including

African fish eagle, the Malachite kingfisher and Black harrier, and many species of water birds. Seven species of indigenous ducks, such as Cape teal and Cape shovler were reintroduced to the area and established in the dams around the lodge, in an effort to lure more wild birds to the area, turning the lodge and reserve into a delight for bird watchers. Bushman’s Kloof is also working with a bird rehabilitation centre to assist with the release of injured and rescued Barn owls and Spotted eagle owls. Hacking cages and nesting boxes have been positioned and it is expected that the first eight owls will soon be released into the reserve. It is hoped that breeding will thus be encouraged and that this will lead to sightings of the owls around the property.

destinations

14 August to 8 September 2005 - 26 daysFully escorted tour ex Australia - from AU$ 12,970

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7JUNE - JULY 2005

or centuries, the reclusive Uros tribe of Peru have lived in a real-

life waterworld on Lake Titicaca in the Peruvian Andes.

Building huge floating pontoons from the buoyant totora reeds, the Uros Indians’ waterborne communities of Islas Flotantes (floating islands) have afforded them protection from rival tribes, the Inca and Collas.

Now, despite hundreds of years of isolation, the Uros’ way of life is threatened by the encroaching land-based population in nearby Puno, Peru’s major port town on the 8300 square kilometre lake.

The plight of the Uros was highlighted in a feature story on National Geographic Channel recently.

“The issues facing the people living on the floating islands are multifold,” says anthropologist Arrufo Alcantara Hernandez, director of the faculty of social sciences at the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano in Puno. “The waters of the Uros have been overfished by commercial fishermen, tourists are affecting their traditional culture and sewage from Puno is causing environmental and health problems.”

Paradoxically, the growth of tourism on the lake has been something of a relief for the Uros, bringing them much-needed cash. This has reduced their reliance on the

dwindling fish stocks and enabled them to purchase motorboats and medicines. Even the expansionist Incan armies looked upon the Uros as poor, yet took little pity on them as they were forced out onto the lake to escape their raids.

Today, the women can be seen with exquisite carvings, beadwork and embroidery beautifully laid out for the visitors who arrive by boat. Some might argue that the measured exposure to tourists has allowed the remnants of the Uros culture to continue, whereas they almost certainly would have disappeared into the homogenous cultural mix that now makes up Peruvian cities.

Speaking to National Geographic, Melchora, one of the elderly Uros women selling handicrafts to the tourists, said their tourist numbers grow every year. At first, only a few Uros chiefs permitted tourists, now nearly all the islands receive them.

Given their resilience and adaptability, Hernandez remains confident that the Uros people and their culture will remain intact.

“They’ve successfully dealt with many serious challenges over the last few centuries,” he says. “I think if the Uros people use foresight and care, they’ll be able to overcome their problems and balance their traditional lifestyles with the modern world.”

Tourism keeping Peruvian islands afloat

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4 to 15 day toursexploring Peru & BoliviaFrom AU$ 950

a s s o c i a t e sPhone: (+61) (02) 9389 7466

Toll Free (Australia): 1800 222 141www.adventureassociates.com

Lake Titicaca& The Altiplano

The natural botanical richness of Bushman’s Kloof include more than 755 indigenous plant species, representative of three major vegetation types: Fynbos, Forest and Karoo biomes. Each of these exists and thrives within this protected wilderness. Bushman’s Kloof has identified its own ‘Cederberg Seven’ - plant species unique to the area that are being established on the property, including four highly endangered species: Clanwilliam Cedar Tree (Widdringtonia cedarbergensis), Clanwilliam Aloe (Aloe comosa), Rocket pincushion (Leucospernum reflexum reflexum), and Snow Protea (Protea cryophila), as well as three other types of more common plants that are also unique to the area: Cedarberg vygie, Rooibos tea and the Clanwilliam sugar bush. Additionally, a dynamic programme is in place to remove alien vegetation. In the last year, over six hectares of land was cleared of Port Jackson fig trees along the river systems, amounting to thousands of trees that will provide the lodge with sufficient firewood for all of 2005. The reserve management programme entails further reclamation and restoration of yet more old farmland and the re-vegetation of the area with indigenous grasses and shrubs for grazing purposes as well as erosion control.

Within the reserve’s boundaries, 270km from Cape Town, are over 130 remarkable Bushmen rock art sites. Guests have the opportunity to observe and learn about some of South Africa’s greatest national treasures. These ancient sites, located under overhanging cliffs and in rocky shelters, have been meticulously preserved and recorded, making them some of the finest examples of rock painting in all of South Africa.

The Bushman’s Kloof Heritage Centre houses fascinating Bushman artefacts, including the highly acclaimed Rudner Collection and a series of historical photographs documenting the San culture.

Bushman’s Kloof Resort borders the Cederberg Wilderness Area, which as part of the Cape Floral Region was declared a World Heritage Site in 2004.

Voted the 5th Top Hotel in the World*, the 5-star Relais & Châteaux property offers luxurious and stylish accommodation, comprising of seven Luxury rooms, six Deluxe Rooms and three Suites – the Riverside Honeymoon Suite, as well as Niven and Paterson in the historic Manor House. The lodge also boasts 4 swimming pools (including one heated pool), a library and two bars.

To compliment a stay at this renowned resort, guests can also immerse themselves in a range of activities from luxury spa treatments to extensive outdoor pursuits including daily guided rock art excursions, evening nature drives, hiking and mountain biking, canoeing, archery, fishing, bird watching, croquet, stargazing and swimming in crystal clear rock pools. Guests may also take a stroll through the private botanical and organic gardens, including the unique San medicinal herb garden.

Bushman’s Kloof is a refreshing example of how a team of determined and visionary people can return virtual wasteland to an eco-tourism jewel that will serve as a benchmark for such properties, not only in the immediate region, but the world.

* USA Travel + Leisure Poll

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8 WORLD ADVENTURER

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Brazil breathesnew life into the world

uite apart from its reputation as a vibrant, cosmopolitan holiday destination, Brazil, as

host to the majority of the crucially important Amazon rainforest, plays an important role in replenishing the world’s oxygen supply.

The Amazon, home to up to 30 percent of the world’s animal and plant species, covers an area of continuous forest larger than Australia. This area is crucial in the resupply of the world’s oxygen according to scientists of the Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia, the world’s leading study of jungle deforestation.

“The indication is that it is a small net supplier of oxygen,” said Paulo Artaxo, a researcher at the University of Sao Paulo.

Those same researchers also caution that slashing and burning of the Amazon rainforest is still continuing at an unsustainable rate.

Travellers to the huge Latin American republic can experience the wonders of the Amazon with any number of rainforest experiences

ranging from river cruises and eco-lodges to visits to remote Indian communities.

“Travelling to the Amazon is not as rugged as many people think, “says Grahame Dann, Manager Latin America for Adventure Associates,” there is a great

variety of travel options designed to satisfy everyone from the casual visitor to the committed adventurer.”

The splendour of the rainforest is beautifully described by Professor Edward O. Wilson, the multi-award winning naturalist and author;

“The unsolved mysteries of the rain forest are formless and seductive. They draw us forward and stir strange apprehensions. In our hearts we hope we will never discover everything. We pray there will always be a world like this one. The rain forest in its richness is one of the last repositories of that timeless dream.”


Q

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Explore the Amazon with Australia’s Latin America Experts

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Register now for our small group escorted tour planned for October 2006 to Northern Brazil, Fernando de Noronha and the Amazon...

9JUNE - JULY 2005

Ouro PretoThe golden heart of Brazil

he term “lost in time” is an overused and hackneyed phrase bandied about by travel brochure

writers the world over. There are certainly numerous locations across the globe that deserve the title, but only a very few serve as a benchmark.

One such location is the historic town of Ouro Preto located 400 kilometres north of Rio de Janeiro. Founded in 1698 by Portuguese explorers from São Paulo, it marks the location of its famous namesake “black gold” discovered there and was the site of the first real “gold rush” in the Americas.

After some initial anarchy, the following century was quite literally, Ouro Preto’s golden age. During this time a great many artists, sculptors, scientists, architects and of course, clergymen, flocked to the area now located in the state of Minas Gerais (loosely translated to mean “centre of mining”).

Wealth and affluence grew exponentially in the area and soon vast mansions, public buildings and churches appeared across the city, each vying for the title of most magnificent structure. By the time of the republic in 1889, the riches were all but exhausted and the city was in danger of falling into neglect. In a bold move expressly designed to preserve the cultural integrity of the old city, the seat of local government was moved to the newly constructed city of Belo Horizonte.

In a time when rampant expansion paid little heed to heritage, Ouro

Preto stood then, as it does today, as a beacon of cultural preservation. In 1933 the whole city received historic status as a “cidade monumento” and when UNESCO began listing sites of cultural significance in its new “World Heritage” program, Ouro Preto was among the first to be inscribed in 1980.

Today visitors can wander the unspoilt streets of this expansive and perfectly preserved Baroque museum featuring many works by the now legendary sculptor Aleijadinho. Crowned by the magnificent churches of São Francisco de Assis, Nossa Senhora do Pilar and Nossa Senhora da Conceição, it is not just these opulent constructions that form the inheritance of Ouro Preto. Bridges, fountains and mansions of locally quarried soapstone, instead of marble, all contribute to the total atmosphere of this fascinating living museum.

Fact File

Getting to Ouro Preto is a simple enough exercise. Most international visitors transfer by coach (100 kms) from Belo Horizonte after flying in from either São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro. Although a day trip is possible, most choose to stay a night or two at one of the renovated hotels or villas. One popular hotel is the beautifully restored and maintained Pousada do Mondego with 24 rooms overlooking the heart of Ouro Preto. This 18th century mansion is decorated with both antiques and convincing reproductions to convey an authentic “golden era” experience.

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Best of Brazil


12 days stopping at Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Ouro Preto, Salvador da Bahia, Brasilia and Iguassu Falls.From AU$ 1,950

by Dennis Collaton

10 WORLD ADVENTURER

he Buccaneer Archipelago is a stunningly rugged area off the Kimberley coast in Western

Australia, consisting of some 1000 islands. The scenery is spectacular with secluded white sandy beaches, patches of rain forest, mangrove estuaries, plunging cliffs, indigenous rock art and hidden reefs that litter offshore waters.

Situated approximately 2800 kilometres north of Perth, its distant location has meant it has remained an unspoilt and remarkably pristine location to explore and experience.

Named by Phillip Parker King in 1820 in memory of William Dampier, a supposed buccaneer and early de-facto explorer who visited the sound in early 1688, the region is known to have been visited by early Dutch mariners who strayed south whilst travelling to Batavia (Jakarta) in present-day Indonesia. One, Dirk Hartog, is generally believed to be the first European to sight the land in 1616 – hence the title of New Holland that persisted until the early 19th Century.

Among the more outlandish additions to this intriguing history, researcher and author Jonathan Gray, believes

the wreck of a Phoenician ship lies around the entrance to King Sound, a relic of a time, he claims, when these ancient mariners plied Australian waters exploiting our mineral resources, trading and even intermarrying with the Aboriginals.

Here too, tides of up to 11 metres are among some of the biggest in the world, and certainly the largest in Australia. In some places they are treacherously strong and unpredictable, surging up rivers and ripping through inland passages.

These tides create such phenomena as the horizontal waterfall in Talbot Bay. Here the tide rushes through

the gaps in the cliff which are only a few metres wide forming the effect of a horizontal waterfall. At the peak of the tidal inflow or outflow the difference in levels is some four metres, which creates an astounding picture.

The warm weather, water and remoteness of the archipelago have created an incredible breeding ground for a huge array of wildlife including crocodiles, snakes, birds, bats and most importantly fish. Visitors to the Buccaneer Archipelago find the fishing here exceptional and many species inhabit the region in abundance. Your catch could include Barramundi, Coral Trout, Red Emperor, Trevally, Snapper, Tuna and Spanish Mackerel, as well as oysters and enormous mud crabs.

Aboriginal people have lived in the Archipelago for tens of thousands of years and their rock art can be found on many islands and the adjacent mainland. Using rafts of mangrove logs and canoes, tribes travelled between the islands. Indigenous groups today still visit their traditional sites and communities are established in the area.

Exploring this area with a Coral Princess ‘sea safari’ in the brand new, 76-passenger Oceanic Princess is an unique adventure experience. A scenic flight of this astounding region is an option and affords a truly breathtaking view of this most spectacular landscape.

Explore the beautiful Kimberley CoastApril to October - 10 and 11 day expeditioncruises exploring Australia’s wild north.Prices from AU$ 6,950

Bold buccaneers, king tides and ancient mysteries

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a s s o c i a t e s


William Dampier

11JUNE - JULY 2005

ir Ernest Shackleton, despite the loss of Endurance, is revered as one of the most capable and

heroic of all polar explorers. It’s true, the men under his direct command returned to England without loss. But what of the patient, dedicated men who waited in vain for his arrival on the other side of the Antarctic continent?

These wretched souls, whose task it was to lay depots for Shackleton’s advancing party, were stranded for two full years before the survivors were finally rescued. After his own rescue and on learning of their plight, Shackleton was moved to write; “without parallel in the annals of polar exploration...a task almost beyond human endurance.”

Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914 was divided into two parties – The Weddell Sea Party, commanded by Shackleton himself and the Ross Sea Party, commanded by Capt. Aeneas Mackintosh. He had served with Shackleton aboard the Nimrod in 1907 and earned his leader’s respect as a gutsy, determined seaman of rare quality.

The Ross Sea Party arrived in January of 1915 aboard the Aurora, already a well-worn vessel, and immediately set about laying stores as instructed by Shackleton. When the first team struggled back to base in March without a single dog left, they found Aurora had been blown out to sea in a storm and perhaps lost forever.

Aurora’s stores had not been fully unloaded and the men were severely depleted, but resolved to complete their mission at all cost.

In October nine men set off again in parties of three with their four remaining dogs on a planned five-month sledge, this time needing to lay caches all the way to 83 degrees 37 minutes south. Feeding their urgency was the thought Shackleton’s party might be racing for those supply depots. They had no way of knowing Shackleton and his crew would abandon the Endurance at the end of that month.

Once again they were overloaded and at times covered the same ground as many as 14 times. On

Jan. 4, one of the stoves salvaged from Scott’s hut failed and three men were sent back with it. Another stove failed after leaving a depot at 82 degrees south, forcing the remaining six men to continue together.

Near the end of January two men showed obvious signs of scurvy, and one had to be left behind about 40 miles from their final depot. The others reached Mount Hope on Jan. 26, 118 days after their trip started.

The two men first inflicted with scurvy had to be hauled on sledges during the return trip and one, photographer Arnold Spencer-Smith, died March 9. All of the men had scurvy by then, as blizzards had reduced daily rations drastically, but a few days later they reached Hut Point.

Their troubles were far from over, however. Their ship was gone and they were forced to live primarily off seal meat while staying in the frigid hut, originally built as a storehouse, not for long-term habitation. On May 8, Captain Aeneas Mackintosh and Victor Hayward decided to walk to a more comfortable hut at Cape Evans despite the fact it was too early in the season for solid sea

ice. They were never seen again. Two days later a search party found evidence that the pair was carried out to sea on an ice floe.

Finally, in March 1916, Aurora was able to break free from the ice that had trapped her for ten months and sail for New Zealand. She returned to the Ross Sea with Shackleton aboard, on January 10, 1917 to rescue the survivors. In total, three men had perished, a fact often overlooked in the lavish, praising reports of Shackleton’s exploits.

In his memoir of the expedition, South, Shackleton wrote simply, “No more remarkable story of human endeavour has been revealed than the tale of that long march.” Somewhere on the Ross Ice Shelf, the depots lie untouched, forever buried beneath decades of ice and snow as a lasting memorial to what is now referred to as “The Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.”

Shackleton’s lost men history

Atlantic Odyssey

“No more remarkable story of human

endeavour has been revealed than the tale

of that long march.”

10% discount to all Adventure Associates passengers.

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An unique and remarkable ocean voyage to the world’s most isolated and rarely visited islands.Ushuaia • Antarctica Peninsula - Weddell Sea • South Orkneys • South Georgia • Gough Island • Tristan da Cunha and Nightingale Island • St. Helena • Ascension • Cape Verde

10 March to 16 April 200638 Days

From US$ 6,990Per Person Twin Share

HURRY, LAST BERTHS!

a s s o c i a t e s


12 WORLD ADVENTURER

hen we think of famous mummies, our minds

naturally turn to the legendary “Valley of the Kings” in Egypt, final resting place for the great Pharaohs and their queens. But where are the world’s oldest mummies? The answer: Chile!

Around 8,000 years ago, the little known fishing communities of the Chinchorro began mummifying their dead in a sophisticated process that belies their otherwise primitive ways. Without the signature elaborate pottery, jewellery or textiles so common in the grander Inca, Mayan and Toltec civilisations, these humble folk desiccated their deceased relatives in an elaborate process before burial in family “plots”.

Celebrated Egyptologist, Dr Joann Fletcher, describes this most unusual ritual;

“The Chinchorro began to ‘rebuild’ their dead, with bodies carefully defleshed and the skin, brain and internal organs removed. The bones

were dried with hot ashes before the whole lot was then reassembled using twigs for reinforcement bound tightly with reeds. Over this framework the skin was reapplied, and supplemented where needed with sea lion or pelican skin. A thick layer of ash paste was applied over the body and a stylised clay mask used to cover the face, painted with either black manganese or red ochre to give the mummies a rather clone-like, uniform appearance.”

Our knowledge of the great Egyptian funerary processes has been common for hundreds of years and the vast Cairo Museum is stocked to the rafters with all their gilded trappings. Yet our understanding of the modest Chinchorro is less than one hundred years old.

From the first mysterious fragments found near Arica and described by archaeologist Max Hule in 1917, our understanding has progressed very slowly.

Then, in 1983, bulldozers unearthed a cache of almost one

hundred Chinchorro mummies near El Morro, on the border with Peru, in what must have been a major graveyard for these ancient, pre-Colombian folk. Archaeologists and anthropologists now swarm over the coastal desert plains of northern Chile in their quest for more clues and relics. Since then, the El Morro mummies and others scattered along the Pacific coastline from Ilo, Peru, in the north to Chile’s Loa River in the south, a 200-mile stretch, have painted an increasingly complex portrait of Chinchorro life – and death.

The oldest mummies, perhaps 9,000 years old, were simply wrapped in animal skins and naturally dried in the hot arid air. The process evolved through the black and then red periods as described by Dr Fletcher, finally disappearing altogether about 4,000 years ago.

Perhaps the most famous and evocative of these mummies is the “Chinchorro boy”. One can only imagine the tender process of

preparing the infant’s remains for the solemn burial ceremony. About 7,000 years ago the artisan removed the child’s organs, including the flesh, then stiffened the skeleton with sticks and reconstructed joints with bits of rope. A tiny body was rebuilt of dried grass, animal hair and paste, then the child’s skin was replaced and its face gently refashioned with closed eyes, a button nose and round mouth.

Finally, the artist painted a thin layer of a metallic chemical, black manganese, over the body, completing what scientists now know as one of the most remarkable mummies in the world.

A fascinating display of these antiquities can be found in the Museum San Miguel de Azapa in Arica.

World’s oldestmummies – Where?W

archeology

ARICA • LAUCA NATIONAL PARK • ATACAMA

3 to 7 days tours exploring the spectacular northern deserts of ChileFrom AU$ 795

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Meet the Chinchorro face-to-face


13JUNE - JULY 2005

ften ignorantly looked upon, or overlooked, as an irrelevant,

backward political curiosity, Bhutan is now acknowledged as a world leader in the field of environmental protection through political stoicism, muting, at least temporarily, those who would criticise the absolute rule of the Wangchuk Dynasty.

Recent global television coverage by renowned documentary maker and former Monty Python, Michael Palin, piqued the world’s interest in Bhutan. Moved by the Kingdom’s scenic beauty, benevolent ruler and deeply pious constitution, Palin was moved to declare:

“If the fabled Shangri-La exists beyond the legend, this is it.”

In a curious twist, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) effectively validates the fable immortalised in James Hilton’s 1933 best-seller, Lost Horizon, where westerners escaping strife-torn China crash land in a mythical Himalayan kingdom.

That imaginary kingdom, Shangri-La, was bound by a terse but highly effective constitution put simply as; “be kind”. A phrase so often echoed in the teachings of Buddha.

The subsequent 1937 film of the same name opens with the tantalising notion: “In these days of wars and rumors of wars - - haven’t you ever dreamed of a place where there was peace and security, where living was not a struggle but a lasting delight?” - a phrase not altogether lost even today!

Bhutan is not completely untouched by the realities and tribulations of the 21st Century, but often these political and diplomatic frictions had their genesis in much earlier times. Bhutan only became a ‘state’ in its modern form in the early 17th Century when an exiled Tibetan monk, Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel, began a dynasty that ruled for three hundred years.

Consequently Bhutan has its very roots in the foundations of Buddhism, a religion that backs up the “peace and goodwill” rhetoric of other faiths with action – and nowhere in the Buddhist world, or the whole world perhaps, is this mantra more evident than the supremely humble Kingdom of Bhutan.

Away from the fanciful literary world, King Jigme Singye Wangchuk, the National Assembly, the Council of Ministers and the good people of Bhutan have worked harmoniously to produce an environmental policy and national development plan that places the preservation of the environment and wellbeing of the people above all else.

This policy is even represented by a unifying set of goals euphemistically entitled Maximisation of Gross National Happiness (MGNH), human development, the promotion and preservation of culture and

heritage, balanced and equitable socio-economic development, good governance, and environmentally sustainable development.

Gentle modernisation, a sustainable use of resources, eco-friendly power and even the recent banning of tobacco sales speaks volumes for their commitment. Nowhere will you see gaudy western architecture, tasteless multinational advertising or thoughtless acts like littering, graffiti or rudeness.

Bhutan’s unique MGNH objective has even been mimicked by

envious western governments eager to emulate this laudable policy. Australia’s own Indigo Shire Council in NSW is one such body hoping to bathe in Bhutan’s karma.

Bhutan’s 2 million inhabitants are mostly subsistence farmers and have a modest lifestyle unburdened by the ‘polluting effects’ of westernisation. Internet use is extremely limited, there are only two radio stations, just two airports and less than 10,000 mobile phones. On the flip side, the Kingdom has the lowest road fatality rate in the world (0.08 per 100k of population and just 20,000 cars), virtually no pollution, almost no crime and the only violence you’ll see is maybe one of the fierce Himalayan storms that give Bhutan its alternate name: Land of the Thunder Dragon.

Although tourist numbers are rising, they are effectively limited by the number of seats available on the only airline to service Bhutan, the national carrier, Druk Air. Currently just 5,000 people visit annually and the King actively seeks “upscale, environmentally conscientious visitors” in sympathy with the country’s cautious but gradually expanding contact with the modern world beyond its borders.

A delightful scenic film, “Travellers and Magicians”, a modern day parable directed by Khyentse Norbu and set in Bhutan, is currently screening in Australia - try and catch it!

Golden gongfor land of the DzongIt’s Official! King Jigme Singye Wangchuk and the people of the remote Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan will receive the United Nations’ latest environmental award; the “Champion of the Earth”

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BHUTANTHE LAST SHANGRI LADiscover Bhutan on our new group departure this October!

7 to 22 October 2005 - 16 daysFrom AU$ 8,500

14 WORLD ADVENTURER

ocated some five hundred kilometres north of the Arctic

Circle in the icy Chukchi Sea is the forlorn landmass of Wrangel Island. So remote and isolated is this frozen land that it was not properly mapped until the early 20th Century, and then inadvertently, when wildly over-optimistic explorers washed up, shipwrecked, on its shores.

After a couple of abortive attempts at settlement and protracted diplomatic argument, Wrangel Island is now occupied by a small team of Russian scientists and their supporting community who maintain a meteorological and research base at Ushakovskoye on the Southern coast. The little village confirms Russia’s on-going territorial claim - one that wasn’t properly resolved until 1974.

Named after Baron Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel in 1867 by American whaler and de-facto explorer, Thomas Long, as a tribute to the Baron who spent three years searching for the island but came out empty-handed. Long conveniently overlooked the fact that British Admiralty charts already referred to the island as Kellett Land after the Irish-born captain who first charted it in 1849.

In 1911 the famous icebreakers, Tamyr and Vaygach, as part of the Russian Arctic Ocean

Hydrographic Expedition (1910-15) briefly landed a party on Wrangel Island and claimed it for Russia. In 1914, survivors from the Vilhjalmur Stefansson-led Canadian Arctic Expedition’s doomed Northern Party, camped on Wrangel Island for nine harrowing months. Their ever-controversial leader had abandoned them in September 1913, leaving them for dead aboard their ship, the CAE Karluk, stuck fast in the ice pack.

Not content with that fiasco, Stefansson landed an “occupation” party of five on Wrangel Island in 1921, apparently to assist Canada and Britain in the so-called “northward course of empire”. In another epic arctic drama, his experiment ended in tragedy, leaving a brave young Inuit woman, Ada Blackjack, the sole survivor. In spite of this abject failure, another group of Inuit were installed in 1923, but these hapless souls were eventually evicted in 1926 by Russia, setting

off yet another dispute that would simmer for years after.

A good part of the reason Wrangel Island was chosen for this extreme survival exercise is the abundance of wildlife. Polar bears, walrus, arctic foxes, snow geese, migratory birds and seals populate the immediate region in relatively large numbers. Ironically, Wrangel Island also escaped glaciation in the last Ice Age, leaving several unique species of vascular plants and was probably the last place on Earth to support a woolly mammoth population. Although many of the bones and tusks have been removed, it is still possible to see skeletal remains of these extinct giants scattered across the landscape.

Forget the string of courageous, but disastrous attempts by man to colonise, map and exploit this arctic desert and instead examine the immense natural beauty of this seemingly inhospitable environment. That’s exactly what the UNESCO World Heritage committee did in 2004 when it included Wrangel Island on its list of global ecological hotspots, describing it as a “self-contained island ecosystem” with “the highest level of biodiversity in the high Arctic”.

In 1991, Adventure Associates’ Dennis Collaton was aboard the nuclear powered icebreaker Sovetskiy Soyuz, which visited

Wrangel Island on its history making tourist crossing of Russia’s Northeast Passage - and the secret was out. Now this veritable Arctic wonderland is a highly-prized inclusion on the itineraries of the world’s most travelled icebreaker, Kapitan Khlebnikov.

Natura l is ts , ecologists , archaeologists, “twitchers” and regular tourists in search of the unusual are now part of the minor throng that venture north every year from Anadyr in the helicopter-equipped Khlebnikov. Being surrounded by ice almost all year, every year, Wrangel Island will always remain on the list of seldom-visited locations and the few who stump up to make this journey will forever hold a trump card to play against the inevitable dinner party braggarts.

Frosty Facts

• Location: N71o W180o – approximately 500 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle above Siberia.

• Sovereignty: Russia• Area: 4,507 km2 – about twice

the size of the ACT• Nominal Capital: Ushakovskoye• Permanent Population: about

100• Major Wildlife: Polar bears,

Pacific Walrus, Arctic Fox, Snow Geese, seals, lemmings.

• Highest Point: Mt. Sovetskaya (1096m)

Wrangel Island: isolation, desolation and tragedy

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07 - 20 July 2005on board icebreakerKapitan Khlebnikov

From US$ 8,050per person triple share.

Special US$700 air credit!

Russia’s Far East & Wrangel IslandJoin Jennifer Niven, author of “The Ice Master” and “Ada Blackjack”

a s s o c i a t e sPhone: (+61) (02) 9389 7466

Toll Free (Australia): 1800 222 141www.adventureassociates.com

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Explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson

15JUNE - JULY 2005

rivia Question: Where is the world’s most northerly permanent settlement? Answer: Ny Ålesund

in the North West of the island of Spitbergen - 78.9°N

Just 600 miles from the North Pole lies the island group of Svalbard, of which Spitsbergen is the largest. Variously occupied and exploited by the Dutch, Russians and Norwegians, in 1920 it was decided by treaty that the Norwegians should administer it and the capitol, Longyearbyen, flies the Norwegian tricolour.

The archipelago, named and first mapped by the famous Dutch explorer, Willem Barents, in 1596 became a whaling station, a coal mining centre, a launching point for famous arctic expeditions and more recently, a mecca for naturalists, polar researchers and eco-tourists.

Despite Svalbard’s extreme northerly location, the warm North Atlantic current keeps the surrounding seas ice-free almost year round. Temperatures average -16oC in winter and 6oC in summer. 200mm of precipitation is a normal year.

During the so-called heroic age of polar exploration, men set forth into the extremities of the earth in search of all sorts of things, not the least of which was fame, glory and national pride. Spitsbergen, because of its high latitude, was an ideal point for ‘jumping off’ into the Arctic in search of the North Pole.

In 1897, the Swedish scientist and intrepid balloonist, Salomon August Andrée, launched himself and two co-pilots on a journey to the North Pole from Danes Island and were never seen again. Well, not alive anyway. Their bodies, remnants of their balloon and a camera were accidentally found thirty years later on White Island in the far east of Svalbard. Andrée’s balloon crashed and the survivors had made it back to White Island before dying from Vitamin A poisoning (trichinosis) thanks to eating polar bear liver.

Balloons were back on Spitsbergen in 1926 with the Italian, Umberto Nobile, along with Roald Amundsen and rich American Lincoln Ellsworth. Their voyage over the pole in the airship Norge (Norway), is the first creditable expedition to the North Pole even though many would argue that Cmdr Richard Byrd, who took off and landed in a nearby paddock a couple of days prior with his Fokker Tri-Motor,

Josephine Ford, was the first. That is – if you discount both Peary and Cook!

Nobile, wounded by the fame wrested from him by Amundsen and Ellsworth, was back at Ny Ålesund again in 1928. This time his airship, suitably named Italia, would be an all-Italian triumph. Or so he thought. Instead he crashed in poor weather out on the ice pack and became the famous subject of the 1969 movie, “The Red Tent” and was played by Oscar winner, Peter Finch.

Today Svalbard is visited by tourists looking to experience one of the

most remarkable and accessible Arctic locations thanks to the warming effects of the North Atlantic Current. Polar Bears, Reindeer, Arctic Foxes and countless species of birds inhabit the islands. Marine mammals are abundant and seals, walrus, narwhals, orcas, belugas, bowhead and minke whales all inhabit Spitsbergen’s coastal waters.

Join one of the popular expedition vessels for a cruise of between 7 and 10 days around the islands visiting the various historic sites as well as the abundant wildlife. June, July and August are the best months to visit.

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All Aboard for Svalbard

Salomon August Andrée Balloon

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For more information about cruise expeditions to beautiful Svalbard, visit www.adventureassociates.com/arctic/spitsbergen.

SpitsbergenHigh Arctic wonderland

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A bearded seal amongst the impressive glaciers at Spitsbergen

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16 WORLD ADVENTURER

iant ice castles floating in mid-air, vast forests in the midst of ice floes and

grotesque hairy dwarfs are among the many wonders to be found in the land of Ultima Thule – that is if you ask any of the 15th century explorers who returned with these fantastic tales.

Ultima Thule is, of course, a mythical land but the stories are real. Thule is located in the northernmost region of Greenland and the sailors who witnessed these incredible sights were under

the spell of another very real phenomenon, the Fata Morgana, named after the fabled medieval enchantress.

“Ancient mariners were literally spellbound by the landscapes they witnessed when searching for the allusive North-West Passage, hundreds of kilometres beyond the Arctic Circle,” says Stewart Campbell, CEO of Adventure Associates, “what they didn’t realise was that these visions were actually complex optical illusions created by the

unique qualities of the chilled Arctic air.”

Even today, the mind-and light-bending effects of the Fata Morgana perplex the most experienced navigators and captains.

“The Fata Morgana mirage only occurs where alternating warm and cold layers of air exist near the ground or water surface, “ explains T. Neil Davis, a seismologist with the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, “Instead of

travelling straight through these layers, light is bent towards the colder, hence denser, air. The resultant light path can produce a confusing image of a distant object.”

The exploration of Greenland is, as it was then, a wonderful, bewitching experience. Only today this once hazardous adventure can now be undertaken in the comfort of modern ice-strengthened cruise vessels with state-of-the-art navigation and safety equipment.

Fata Morgana and the legend of Ultima Thule

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Bergs and islands appear to float in mid-air off Greenland in this dramatic image of the Fata Morgana effect.


The doctor knows best.

1300 658 844www.traveldoctor.com.au

Madagascarthe rainbow island

Following our sellout 2005 tour, we announce two new departures timed for Madagascar’s premium wildlife seasons!Full details available soon - visit www.adventureassociates.com/madagascaror call us to register for the new brochure.

25 April to 16 May 200626 September to 17 October 2006 22 DAYS

17JUNE - JULY 2005

he world’s fourth largest island, Madagascar features many attractions including culture,

geography and remarkable botany. However, without too much contradiction, it is the many species of Lemurs that remain the key wildlife attraction.

The good news is that there are a slowly growing number of preserved forests in which these ancient primates can now survive. You see, Madagascar is one of the most heavily deforested countries on earth, with over 85% of its cover removed for timber and slashed-and-burnt for agriculture. Fifteen lemur species are already extinct thanks to man and the remaining thirty-two are endangered, some critically.

The world has come to know of these highly unusual animals thanks to the exploits of an eclectic bunch of nature-loving Englishmen, primarily Sir David Attenborough, closely followed by John Cleese and the late Douglas Adams. The academic community has long been aware of the biological significance of Madagascar and it is now vigorously studied and researched. Significantly, women appear to be leading in this arena with such notable authors as Dr Alison Jolly, Kathryn Lasky, Joyce A. Powzyk, Kathy Darling, Deborah Dennard and Dr Patricia Wright. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) also has several programmes under way.Alison Jolly can take most of the credit for kicking off modern study into lemurs some forty years ago

when she began visiting the Berenty Private Reserve, 85 kms from Fort Dauphin in the island’s south. As a result of her landmark studies, Jolly opened the gates for countless other researchers and, since the early 1980s, tourists.

The father of the current owner, Henri de Heaulme, established the Berenty reserve in 1936 in tandem with his vast sisal plantations in the semi-arid Amboasary region. Tens of thousands of hectares of the unique dry spiny forest were cleared by de Heaulme and others to make way for the imported fibre-producing plant. But when synthetic alternatives were developed, the sisal industry all but collapsed and now only the de Heaulme plantations remain.

Did de Heaulme take pity on the homeless families of lemurs his burgeoning crops had created when left a few hundred hectares for the new refugees? In a Schindleresque sort of irony, de Heaulme’s sisal empire may have saved many species by protecting them from the much less discriminating slash-and-burn techniques of the local Tandroy people. Whatever the motivation, the result has been an intensely studied and vigorously preserved parcel of forest that is now a microcosm of what was once the entire region.

Today, Jean de Heaulme presides over this important bio-reserve, welcoming both academic researchers and inquisitive tourists to his 260-hectare zoologic and botanic enclave. The result of all this attention is that Berenty has become the premier location in Madagascar for viewing sifakas and other lemurs with the added attraction of its protected deciduous spiny and tamarind forests providing habitat for almost one hundred species of mostly endemic birds.

Visitors will see the Ring Tailed Lemurs (Lemur catta) almost immediately as a few of the troupes have become resident within the compound. But lately these semi-tame animals have begun to show signs of malnourishment as their diet of tourist-supplied bananas is withdrawn. The earlier unregulated distribution of handfuls of bananas by uninformed visitors created behavioural and dietary problems amongst some of the Ring Tailed Lemurs. This scenario has created some debate between ardent naturalists, who demand that hand feeding be stopped immediately, and tourism operators whose clients expect some interaction for their money. Somewhere a happy medium needs to be struck and Dr Jolly believes this is feasible. She suggests that with supervision and rationing the few dependent animals can be slowly rehabilitated and a balance between self-reliance and “treats” established. In contrast, those who live exclusively in the forest, and away from temptation, are flourishing. The White Sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi), on the other hand, have never

shown much interest in the human interlopers – and who can blame them. Instead they loll about in the trees choosing the tastiest leaves and buds and occasionally hop down for a merry skip across the open ground, providing another distinctive visual experience for guests.

As a further enhancement, Berenty has a small museum, a very satisfactory restaurant and bar as well as a small zoo containing tortoises and crocodiles. The wide paths within the forests are easily navigated with or without a guide and are best explored at either dawn or dusk when animal activity is at a height.

The nearby spiny thickets offer a startling variation to the riverine gallery forests down by the River Mandrare. The Sifakas are equally at home in either, finding nourishment and moisture in the prickly Didierea while cleverly avoiding the nasty-looking thorns. Night walks in this forest will reveal the two nocturnal lemurs; the Lepilemur and Pygmy Mouse Lemur.

Berenty: great leaping lemurs

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To most of us, Madagascar is a huge, mysterious island somewhere over Africa way. Even hardened trivia masters stumble when posed questions on this enigmatic mini-continent. But chances are we could at least name one or two of Madagascar’s famous animals. If you said “Lemur” or “Chameleon” you can count yourself amongst the cognoscenti!

A White Sifaka sprints across open ground on its way to a new tree.

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18 WORLD ADVENTURER

Galápagos in Perilccording to International Galápagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA) the iconic

eco-paradise is in mortal danger.

Glossy travel brochures extolling the ecological splendour and natural marvels of the Galápagos Islands often obscure the underlying plight of these remote volcanic islands.

Long the domain of high profile nature and travel documentary makers in the Attenborough mould, the Galápagos Islands have, in

truth, been the subject of great havoc at the hands of mankind.

But according to the non-profit International Galápagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA) formed in 2003, the fight to preserve the Galápagos Islands is being lost. In a report issued earlier this year, The State of the Galápagos, IGTOA warns, “Slowly but surely, we’re losing the fight to preserve the Galápagos Islands. Yes, tourism is doing fine, and travellers are arriving in record numbers, but look

a little deeper; the news is not good. At the peak of their popularity, the Galápagos are in trouble.”

The report states that even under the best of circumstances, protecting the Galápagos is an enormous task. Invasive species of plants and animals require millions of dollars for scientific studies and eradication programs. The surrounding marine reserve, which supports all terrestrial life, is under attack from overfishing.

“The Galápagos Islands belong to Ecuador, which has historically been supportive of conservation, but that has changed,” says Dave Blanton, Executive Director of IGTOA. “Without that support, the task of conservation is insurmountable.

The picture painted by IGTOA is deliberately gloomy. Clearly their aim is to galvanise public opinion toward the conservation and preservation of the islands, but how far off the mark are they? Not very!

The Galápagos Islands were never a hospitable place. Forged from the molten furnace of the Earth’s

interior just a few million years ago, the delicate and fragile ecosystems there evolved almost by accident, probably from living flotsam, that washed up on its desolate shores. In the Galápagos, man is definitely a new and introduced species.

Consequently the life that is now part of this World Heritage Listed marine reserve is extremely fragile. The slightest interruption to the food chain or eco-system has an immediate knock-on effect and man’s continual meddling is having an on-going effect.

environment

“Slowly but surely, we’re losing the fight to preserve the Galápagos

Islands. Yes, tourism is doing fine, and

travellers are arriving in record numbers,

but look a little deeper; the news is

not good. At the peak of their popularity, the Galápagos are

in trouble.”

Finned and gutted endangered Galapagos Sharks are dumped by illegal fishermen.

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Galápagos giant tortoises

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“When sailors first discovered the Galápagos in the mid-1500s, they weren’t so much in awe of the natural beauty, “ explains Stewart Campbell, CEO of Adventure Associates, “they were more taken by the apparent limitless supply of fresh meat thanks to the giant tortoises.”

Man’s influence extends to hunting, farming, fishing and the introduction of highly destructive feral species such as goats, dogs and rats.

“News reaching us of strife in the park management as well as unmonitored and illegal fishing is troubling,” continues Stewart, “ joining IGTOA was as much a pragmatic decision about preserving our business as it was protecting the Galápagos – which are the esssential aims of the Association.”

Adventure Associates were, back in the early’70s, the first travel operator to begin group tours from Australia to the Galápagos and are now the newest member of IGTOA.

UNESCO World Heritage in danger?

IGTOA reports a recent article in Science magazine states that long-line fishing kills 300,000 albatross each year. Nineteen of the 21 world species of albatross are in danger of extinction. In a

recent letter to the director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, IGTOA requested an investigation that may ultimately place the Galápagos on the list of World Heritage Sites in danger.

In response to pleas from IGTOA, a delegation from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, headed by its Director, Francesco Bandarín, arrived in the Galápagos Islands on 14 April for a three-day visit. The purpose was to meet with stakeholders and learn firsthand about issues. Bandarín stated, “We have received worrisome reports on the situation in Galápagos.”

Although the UNESCO delegation weren’t there to make pronouncements, their presence indicates an international eye is now firmly trained on this trouble spot and that issues of conservation and management will now be critically assessed by a higher level and in full view of the world.

IGTOA’s advice: If you travel to the Galapagos, the most important decision you make is the choice of a responsible travel company. By choosing an IGTOA member you will travel with a knowledgeable and responsible tour operator that supports sustainable ecotourism. IGTOA members are informed, involved, and concerned.

More info: www.igtoa.org

Book your Galápagos Adventure!Phone: (+ 61 2) (02) 9389 7466Toll Free (Australia): 1800 222 141www.adventureassociates.com/galapagos a s s o c i a t e s

Phot

o: R

od E

ime

Male Frigate Bird displays his trademark red crop

3, 4, or 7 night programsat explora EN ATACAMA and explora EN PATAGONIA

all year round. exploraw w w . e x p l o r a . c o m

atacama the land of the southern tip of the world patagonia

a s s o c i a t e s


Reservations and enquiries:

explora EN ATACAMA HOTEL,1600 km north of Santiago,close to the town of San Pedro de Atacama, a crosspoint of 1000 year old roads constructed by the people of the Andes.

explora EN PATAGONIA HOTEL,is in the heart of Torresdel Paine National Parkin Chilean Patagonia,a 600 thousand acre wilderness full of beauty and wildlife.

Programs include transfers between Calama Airportand explora EN ATACAMA, or Punta Arenas Airport

and explora EN PATAGONIA; accommodation;full board, bar and daily explorations with bilingual guides and equipment.

World Adventurer - Issue 1

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Transcript of World Adventurer - Issue 1