Marvel at the natural wonders of Australia on an 18-day fall zoological tour encompassing the tropical north, the Outback, south Australia and Kangaroo Island.
“We see the usual places, but we also get into the interior and the great wildlife areas,” said tour leader Catherine Evans.
The expedition, which begins Oct. 28, starts in Cairns and travels to the Atherton Tableland in Queensland, with its gorges, rain forests and crater lakes.Visitors can look for green ring-tailed possums and bioluminescent mushrooms.
The tour continues to a butterfly sanctuary in Kuranda and includes snorkeling or optional scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef.
The group will fly to Ayers Rock for four nights in the Outback, where members will be led by Aboriginal guides to Kings Canyon and Ormiston before boarding the Ghan train for Adelaide.
After a tour of the city, a ferry will take the group to Kangaroo Island, known for its more than 215 bird species, wild koalas and kangaroos.
Back on the mainland, participants will trek through Deep Creek Conservation Park near Cape Jarvis before heading south along the coast to Grampians National Park in Victoria.
Along the Great Ocean Road, the tour overnights in the tiny fishing village of Port Campbell on the way to Melbourne.
Cost: $4,997 per person, double occupancy ($998 single surcharge), including hotels, some meals, ground transportation, guides and entrance fees. International and internal air fare are not included.
Contact: Tours of Exploration, Gibsons, Canada; 800-690-7887, www.toursexplore.com.
Horticulture safari
Examine more flora than fauna on a fall horticultural tour of Namibia and the Western Cape of South Africa.
The 17-night trip, which begins Oct. 15, visits Cape Town and Grootbos in South Africa before participants fly to Namibia for a 12-day safari.
In Cape Town, the group tours the city, Cape Peninsula National Park and Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens.
Participants travel South Africa’s famed Garden Route to Grootbos, a private nature preserve.
On safari in Namibia, participants will spend two days viewing wildlife in Etosha National Park, then head to Damaraland to look for giant succulents hidden in unusual rock formations.
The group will venture to Namib-Naukluft National Park to see the animals, the rare 1,500-year-old Welwitschia mirabilis plant and the giant dunes of Sossusvlei.
Cost: $5,175 per person, double occupancy ($1,325 single surcharge), including accommodations, most meals, ground transportation, guides, entrance fees and transfers. Round-trip air fare is not included.
Contact: TravelStore Inc., Los Angeles; 800-343-9779, ext. 19133.
Explorer’s footsteps
Walk in the footsteps of Portuguese explorer Juan de Cabrillo on a Sept. 9 cruise from Ventura to the island of San Miguel in Channel Islands National Park off the coast of Southern California.
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in the Los Angeles district of San Pedro is hosting a re-enactment of the explorer’s 1542 landing on the island.
Cruise-goers leave Ventura Harbor at 8 a.m. aboard the Islander, a high-speed catamaran.
John Olguin, aquarium director emeritus, will direct the re-enactment, which will be followed by a hike to the historical marker commemorating Cabrillo.
The boat returns about 7 p.m. to Ventura Harbor.
Cost: $100 per person, including transportation and guides. Meals are not included.
Contact: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, San Pedro; 310-548-7562, www.cabrilloaq.org.
‘World’s Best’ awards
Florence, Italy, has replaced Sydney, Australia, as the No. 1 city in the world for travelers, according to Travel+Leisure magazine’s annual “World’s Best” awards.
The list of award-winners is based on an annual survey of 23,000 readers who provided evaluations for nearly 500,000 destinations, hotels, airlines, and other travel entitites.
Sydney came in at No. 4 on this year’s list of best cities. Rome was second, and two cities in Thailand – Bangkok and Chiang Mai – were third and fifth.
Beirut, Lebanon, appeared in the top 10 list for the first time – at No. 9. The survey was conducted before fighting broke out between Israel and Lebanon.
New York City was named best city in America for the sixth consecutive year, while JetBlue Airways ranked first among domestic airlines for the first time in survey history.
Singita Private Game Reserve in South Africa won for the world’s best hotel, an award it also won in 2004.
Best large-ship cruise line was Crystal Cruises, while the survey named Yachts of Seabourn as the best small-ship cruise line. The award for best international airline went to Singapore Airlines, while best car-rental agency went to Hertz.
The Inn at Montchanin Village in Montchanin, Del., was named the world’s best hotel in the $250 or less category, while the Inverlochy Castle in Fort William, Scotland, won for Europe’s best hotel. The Aerie in Malahat on Vancouver Island in British Columbia was named No. 1 among continental U.S. and Canadian hotels.
The list appears in the magazine’s August issue and is also available online at www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest.
Royal display
Dresses and diamonds fit for a queen – Queen Elizabeth II, to be precise – are going on display at Buckingham Palace.
The exhibit, timed to celebrate the monarch’s 80th birthday this year, opened July 26 to the public as part of the annual opening of the palace’s state rooms.
The 80 outfits include evening gowns and personal jewelry worn by the queen at both formal occasions and private events from the 1940s to the present day.
Many are in vibrant colors – from deep pinks to bright greens – which the queen prefers. Several are by couturiers Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies, who worked for the queen for decades.
Among the most striking is a full-length coat of silver tissue designed by Hartnell, embroidered with pearls, sequins, beads, paillettes and crystals, and featuring a mink collar. It was worn by the queen on a 1972 state visit to France, and at the state opening of Parliament in 1976.
“Mr. Hartnell always went to town when the queen was going to France,” said Mary Marchan, who worked as an embroiderer for the designer.
Many of the older dresses have very small waists – a fact Marchan said the queen in later years once remarked on.
“I remember Mr. Hartnell said one of the bosses was talking to the queen, and he said, ‘Look at the tiny waists,’” Marchan said. “And she said, ‘I know. Don’t remind me.’”
The Buckingham Palace State Rooms are open to the public until Sept. 24. Details at www.royalcollection.org.uk
Beartooth Highway needs repair
It’s been called the “most beautiful roadway in America,” a breathtaking, high-altitude byway that winds through parts of Montana and Wyoming and links tiny tourist towns to Yellowstone National Park.
But the Beartooth Highway is also dangerous in places, and the estimated cost of bringing a large portion of it to modern standards, accommodating of bikers, wildlife and the wide, slowing moving RVs that frequently travel it, has soared in recent years.
It’s now expected to cost far more than early projections, said Terry Haussler, a federal highway official, and state and federal officials have been left arguing over who should be responsible for maintaining it.
The Beartooth Highway slowly winds 67 miles, from near the resort town of Red Lodge, Mont., to Yellowstone’s northeastern entrance, just west of Cooke City, Mont. In between, it crosses snowcapped, windswept mountains; meanders near alpine lakes; and after reaching the 10,947-foot Beartooth Pass, begins a gradual descent into Wyoming.
It was the late journalist Charles Kuralt, who became famous for his pieces about the nation’s back corners, who dubbed it the “most beautiful roadway in America.”
Travel classes, seminars
Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door hosts free travel classes most Saturdays at 10 a.m. at the Edmonds Theater, 415 Main St., Edmonds.
* European rail skills, Laura Terrenzio, Aug. 12.
* Venice, Florence, Rome, Reid Coen, Aug. 19.
* Greece, Colleen Murphy, Aug. 26.
Classes are free, reservations recommended. Call 425-771-8303, ext. 298, or visit www.ricksteves.com/seattle.
The Savvy Traveler offers travel seminars at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. most Saturdays at 112 Fifth Ave. S., Edmonds.
* Packing like a savvy traveler, 10 a.m. Oct. 7.
* German for travelers, 6 p.m. Thursdays, Oct. 19 through Nov. 23.
* Explore Northern Italy, 10 a.m. Oct. 21.
* Southern Italy and Sicily, 1 p.m. Oct. 21.
* Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic, 10 a.m. Nov. 4.
* Slovenia and Croatia: Jewels of the Adriatic, 1 p.m. Nov. 4.
* France: Paris and Provence, 10 a.m. Nov. 18.
* Stunning Greece, 1 p.m. Nov. 18.
Classes are free, reservations recommended. Call 425-744-6076, 877-225-1994, or go online to www.savvytraveleredmonds.com.
Traveler’s Language Cafe: The NW Language Academy presents nine-hour courses designed to teach conversational travel language. Instead of memorizing phrases, participants learn patterns of conversation that apply to a variety of circumstances, comprehension and pronunciation. For information, call 360-914-0391 or visit www.nwlanguageacademy.com.
* Simple Italian for Travel, 9:30 to 4 p.m. Aug. 19, Harbor Inn, 130 W. Dayton, Edmonds.
The Herald is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. These should be confirmed with cruise lines, travel agents or tour operators.
Herald staff and news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
