Destinations iAge Edition

for people going places

SEPT-NOV, 2014 NZ. $9.90 AUS. $9.95

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SEPT-NOV 2014 Contents

WHAT’S INSIDE iAGE SPECIAL FEATURE 26. Virgin galactic To the heavens with WhiteKinghtTwo and a shuttlecock

32. richard branson It’s serious fun above the atmosphere Where limitless vision and boundless skies promise to take the ‘common man’

36. STEPHEN ATTENBOROUGH

32.

Space as a commerical venture Stephen Attenborough on the reality of getting Virgin Galactic to lift-off

40. Spaceport america The consquistadors of the stars Once the testing ground for atomic bombs, the Jornada del Muerto basin is now opening up far more peaceful frontiers

42. iage photoshoot Planet earth 2045 and the space race to Mars

42.

56. Fastforward on technology From science-fiction to science-fact

62. high on hotels Designed for the tourists of tomorrow

COLUMNS 20. FOR PEOPLE GOING PLACES Profiling interesting people from around the world

144. BAZAAR Keeping up with travel news

62.

SEPT-NOV 2014 Contents

WHAT’S INSIDE TRAVEL STORYBOOK 68. india The contrasts between the dusty and the vibrant Brian Furbish captures the visual moods and essence of Rajasthan

78. MYANMAR Into the light with Nick Walton

88. ECUADOR

78.

The tea of life Brian Furbish sips pure energy from a plant that offers new life to village communities in Ecuador

96. HONG KONG Yin and Yang Michael Hooper’s health is scrutinised and he explores a contrasting world of skyscrapers and alabaster dolphins

104. DUBAI Hermine Banks in Aladdin’s tale

110. SLOVENIA

68.

Small is beautiful Scott Alexander Young is enchanted by this small country

118. WEST COAST, New ZeALAND The West Coast’s poor cousin Stephen Brown discovers the hidden riches of the Buller region

126. MARGARET RIVER, AUSTRALIA The bountiful corner Glenn A. Baker finds much more than great red wine in a remote corner of Australia

118.

136. TONGA A flash in the corner of the eye Andrew Allen avoids flying fish and tries swimming inside a deep Tongan cave

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Publisher Stephen Brown Editor Rowena Bahl Editor-at-large Glenn A. Baker Contributing Editor Michael Hooper Contributors Nick Walton, Scott Alexander Young, Brian Furbush, Hermine Banks, Robert Trathen, Craig Cartwright, Alison Brewer, Andrew Allen, Mark Barrat-Boyes, Anna Varghese, Jorge Alfaro, Scott Stulberg, Jessie Kollen, Grega Kapun, Daniel Martin, Alex Martin, Christian Fletcher Branding & Template Design One Design Graphic Consultant Helen Scott Marketing Director Cola Larcombe Sales Manager Imrana Izamullah Accounts Executive Shannon Lawton Editorial Interns Jacqueline Dickson, Jillian Leach Printed by McCollams Print

8 / Details

Distribution Print: Netlink, Admail Online: PressReader, Zinio, Magzter Subscriptions subs@destinationsmagazine.com +64 9 377 1234 Editorial Enquiries editorial@destinationsmagazine.com Artwork artwork@destinationsmagazine.com Destinations Publishing Ltd Destinations is a registered trademark of Destinations Publishing Ltd. Destinations publishes seven editions each year.

Quarterly: Destinations Annually: Wedding Destinations, Wine Destinations and Cruise Destinations All content in this magazines is protected by copyright and cannot be reproduced without the consent of the editor.

Destinations Publishing Ltd’s acceptance of all contributed material, words, images and illustrations, is on the basis that these will be used internationally in all forms of the magazine’s distribution and marketing, be that print, digital or social networking.All articles, images and illustrations submitted will remain open for reading, reference and retrieval without time limit through all forms of distribution.

All material is received on this basis only.

Contact Physical: Level 4, 156 Parnell Road, Parnell, Auckland 1151 Postal: PO Box 137-067, Parnell, Auckland 1151 Creative by Rowena Bahl “Cover Retouching” by Mark Creaghan

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SEPT-NOV 2014 Our Word

10 / Our Word

EDITOR’S WORD

Our minds seem to jump between three frames of existence; past, present and future. I, for one, spend half my time between the past and the future, present moments only brought on by tasks which require physical action.

We can all do that as much as we like, but the fact remains, unless we take the required action, our future will cease to exist.

This edition of Destinations magazine we have let ourselves run a little wild by exploring where our present moments are taking us.

I FEEL HUMANITY IS ON THE BRINK OF YET ANOTHER REVOLUTION. We look at the Virgin Galactic project, through which we explore space travel; a reality that is closer than we might imagine. In the words of a man who is about to boldly go where no man has gone before - “Space is a challenging environment to master, but we’ve now got 50 years worth of evidence that it can be done.

And the unique challenges of spaceflight teach us an incredible amount about physiology, in a way that benefits life here on Earth”. Richard Branson’s words thrill me as I feel humanity is on the brink of yet another revolution.

As thrilling as it is, we also have to think about the realities of such ventures. It does not mean we down tools and stop progressing, but I believe we need to be prepared when the gates of human

space flight are opened at a commerical level. After a revolution, things can move fairly quickly, which is what brings me to our feature photoshoot.

The Destinations team travelled to White Island where we staged a photo shoot featuring futuristic fashion designs from Shakuhachi, Zambesi, Nick Von K and emerging Whitecliffe fashion design student, Jorge Alfaro.

The advances we are making in commercial space flight had captured my imagination, and I wanted people to think about the very real issues that could come up once the space gates are opened. Will we fight for land the way we always have? Will the opening of the space gates bring on another World War? How will we manage the greatest technological revolution of all time?

Unexpectedly though, the shoot also made me realize that even as we turn our gaze to the stars, we might occasionally find ourselves neglecting the far more immediate, and ultimately important, wonders found in our own ‘backyard’.

While White Island might well remind us of another planet, it also reminds us of the chaotic way in which our own planet was formed and the frailty of human life in such harsh environments.

Finally, I really hope that this magazine excites by opening up the possibilities of space travel for the ‘common man’ in the near future and inspires readers to get out and look around their very own third stone from the sun. No space suit required.

Rowena Bahl - Editor

SEPT-NOV 2014 Our Word

PUBLISHER’S WORD a nagging feeling that both roles ultimately have much the same aim – to reveal to New Zealanders and the global community just what a wonderful planet we live on, how precious it is, and how vulnerable too. In this context, I am mindful of a passage in the “Environment” section of Virgin Galactic’s website, which states that human actions are already pushing humankind to the brink of needing off-planet resources to survive. That’s fine for those who can afford such a drastic “remedy”, but for most of us any salvation will necessarily come in the form of a better understanding of the interaction between humankind and nature, and greater appreciation of what this truly wonderful spaceship called Earth already has to offer.

AFTER ALL, WHO WOULD WANT TO BE A MAGAZINE PUBLISHER IN THIS AGE OF DIGITAL EVERYTHING; MORE TO THE POINT, WHO WOULD ACTUALLY CHOOSE TO BECOME ONE Well strangely enough, I seem to have cast myself in precisely that role – which has had some of my friends and colleagues wondering if I’m either destined for a lunatic reality show focussing on desert island “survivors” circled by predatory accountants and bank managers, or if I’m about to go completely nuclear a la Michael Douglas in his 1993 film “Falling Down”. To date, neither has quite occurred.

In fact, the transition from my previous incarnation as a landscape architect to magazine impresario has been surprisingly smooth. Perhaps my love of writing, photography and travel has just a little to do with this; but at the back of my mind there’s also

Reflecting this ambition, Destinations has already embarked on new adventures to far-flung corners of the planet, so that our brilliant contributors – both writers and photographers – can welcome readers to their world.

Technology and the way in which a magazine is presented may change, but its fundamental reason for being remains to inform, tantalise, and challenge – putting a microscope on the dizzying array of global travel spots that beckon those with the urge to get up and go.

While New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific will remain Destinations’ backyard, both the magazine and website will reach across the world to disseminate words and images that entice the adventurous of spirit and heart.

Destinations does not focus on resorts or hotels, nor does it set out to promote, although that doesn’t stop us waxing lyrical about people, places, even ways of getting there, that deserve it. In fact, some of our destinations may step well outside most travellers’ comfort zones, and diversity will remain a key theme – both in relation to where we take our readership and what we say about those journeys. Regardless, I can promise that the views expressed in Destinations will, as ever, be intelligent and honest, and that our search for new and different adventures will be relentless.

Who wouldn’t want to be a travel magazine publisher now?

Welcome to my world.

Stephen Brown - Publisher

11 / Our Word

In this issue, contributing editor Michael Hooper stretches out his tongue for inspection by a traditional Chinese doctor and causes consternation about his balance of yin and yang – or perhaps just his café latte intake. I have to admit that vaguely similar images related to things medical and lying down have assaulted my senses over recent weeks, although most of them seem to be strongly associated with lying prone on a bed in a stiff white jacket with arm restraints, while a bearded sage solemnly shakes his head from side to side. After all, who would want to be a magazine publisher in this age of digital everything; more to the point, who would actually choose to become one?

Yet, 2014 is not just a time for personal reflection; it is also a year of change for Destinations. After more than 17 years, the magazine has survived my arrival and the emergence of a new generation of editorial, production and sales personnel. It has also undergone extensive design analysis and therapy in the skilful hands of an award winning team at One Design. The first “new” edition of Destinations will explore the very latest in augmented reality – in fact, a major step towards the eventual merger of print and digital media – through the use of “Layar”, while our website is also undergoing extensive surgery that will roll out over the coming months. These changes to Destinations’ web profile and content are aimed at firmly establishing Destinationsmagazine. com as a global portal for information on all aspects of travel.

SEPT-NOV 2014 Talk Travel

12 / Talk Travel

TALK TRAVEL

Michael Hooper The Cuisinist

Brian Furbush The Observer

Nick Walton The Luxe Guru

What is the most futuristic destination you have been to?

What is the most futuristic destination you have been to?

What is the most futuristic destination you have been to?

The Tung Tai Chan monastery, up the Toroko Gorge in central Taiwan. Through the Hall of Four Heavenly Kings with its 12-metre high kingly pillars carved from blocks of granite and up to an inner sanctum some 30 storeys up. I found monks working over banks of monitors, communicating peace to the world.

I tend to avoid “futuristic” destinations, living and working in New York, the city that never sleeps. That being said, the Las Vegas strip is like a futuristic playground with an overwhelming amount of lights, sounds, and technology.

For me it’s Hong Kong, a city where everyone has to have the latest gadgets, where automation is king and where technology is embraced.

If space travel was a commercial reality right now would you be hopping on that spaceship?

This is surely the ultimate fascination, to journey towards a speck of light, to look down on a planet that is beautifully silent, and to escape polls and service delivery emails.

What is the most “iSavvy” gadget/app you currently have?

My water divining rods. No batteries needed, nor password – and they work.

Paint us a picture of planet Earth in 2045.

World president Helen Clark has announced that the Taj Mahal is to be filled with air and re-floated as a tourist attraction again. Trans-global flights use the Skylon British air-fuelled aircraft that climbs to the very edge of space before gliding down to its destination, and leisure travel has burgeoned as people want to escape their hologram office spaces and experience real places. Some of the most popular destinations are dive trips to the sunken city of Shanghai, the new port of Tensing in the Himalayas, the white sand beaches of Antarctica, and the floating casinos of Las Vegasea. Many Americans are taking cruises to the continent of Peruvia, which was once joined to North America. In Australia, the resorts of the huge inland Rudd Ocean in South Australia are also popular, mostly for the prehistoric creatures, which have been de-extincted and now populate the Mallard Swamplands.

If space travel was a commercial reality right now would you be hopping on that spaceship?

As a child I wanted to be an astronaut. The promise of viewing the world we live in from a perspective only few have seen first-hand is amazing to me.

What is the most “iSavvy” gadget/app you currently have?

I live on my iPhone; I have an app for almost every aspect of my life. I’m not sure how I’d get anything done effectively without it.

Paint us a picture of planet Earth in 2045.

I see the world being completely interconnected and in many ways automated, with robotics often-times taking the place of humans. Twenty hour flights will be a thing of the past with high speed global travel being the norm.

If space travel was a commercial reality right now would you be hopping on that spaceship?

I think space travel is interesting but until safety increases there is a lot more “life” to explore down here.

What is the most “iSavvy” gadget/app you currently have?

Everywhere I go I take gadgets, from a Samsung Tab tablet and a Note II smartphone, to my emergency battery, GoPro and Nikon D610 and Samsung NX2000 cameras.

Paint us a picture of planet Earth in 2045.

The world will run on clean, energyefficient magnets. Train travel will have a renaissance, you’ll be able to explore every corner of the world without leaving your armchair, planes will be twice as fast and more consumer friendly, and we will all read Destinations on Google glass.

SEPT-NOV 2014 Talk Travel

14 / Talk Travel

TALK TRAVEL

Glenn A. Baker The Poet

Colin Mathura-Jeffree The Adventurer

Jessie Kollen The Rock Chick

What is the most futuristic destination you have been to?

What is the most futuristic destination you have been to?

What is the most futuristic destination you have been to?

Always was, and always will be Japan. Every new innovation – consumer, transport – that takes hold in the Western world has been commonplace in Japan at least five years before.

I’ve been to a few futuristic destinations, but I have to say it was the fastest roller coaster in Abu Dhabi at Ferrari World.

Wai o Tapu, New Zealand. When I visit the thermal park I like to pretend (even as a person in my 30s) I have landed on a far-flung planet to begin exploration. The hot lakes shimmer in gold and pink, black volcanic rocks and strange scrubby bushes cover the inhabited terrain… or is it really uninhabited?

If space travel was a commercial reality right now would you be hopping on that spaceship?

I’d be up for it in a flash – though I think I’d probably need to be 20 years younger to qualify with regards endurance and stamina. The only thing that daunts me is the duration of journeys, given how easily bored I am. I’m not sure I could amuse myself all the way to Mars and back, and yes, I would like to come back.

What is the most “iSavvy” gadget/app you currently have?

I’m about as savvy as a caveman, I’m afraid.

An iPad may be my reach so far, at least on the road. I need an app to acquaint me with the realm of apps!

Paint us a picture of planet Earth in 2045.

I’m hoping we will have moved beyond communications technology as a means of just gossiping over the back fence, there has to be more of a future than that. Were it to contribute to matter transference (the matter being me!) and thus reduce the travel time from Australia to Europe to an hour or so, that would be nice. I just hope it doesn’t all end up like the film The Fly, with me arriving in London with a left wing rather than a right leg.

If space travel was a commercial reality right now would you be hopping on that spaceship?

Of course I would fly into space, I’m an adventurer. With the right person by my side I would go anywhere and everywhere to share the experience. The mystery of space and time fascinates me.

What is the most “iSavvy” gadget/app you currently have?

I have a few pretty formidable home gadgets. As a celebrity we are spoilt rotten

by PR gifts. I have a futuristic iron which means that even I enjoy the chore of preening my clothes. I also have a Soda Stream, the latest Samsung and a soup blender.

Paint us a picture of planet Earth in 2045.

Planet Earth in 2045 will have gone through incredible advances. I think the social and moral failures will be forced into the history books because they hinder human achievement and advancement. We are curious creatures with such a fascination for the patterns of life that we will adventure forth into the great expanse of the universe... and by then I’m sure we would have halted and reversed age, so I’ll be fit and look hot at age 73.

If space travel was a commercial reality right now would you be hopping on that spaceship?

The thrill and terror would be like flying in an ordinary plane but exponentially increased - and I would definitely do it! I have always wanted to journey into space, partly for romantic reasons and partly to satisfy my own particular scientific curiosity. As a 12-year-old I became very keen on our solar system and memorised a heap of details about the planets. So, yes, I would absolutely go into space (if I could afford it), the opportunity to experience it first hand would be a thrill worth all the terror.

What is the most “iSavvy” gadget/app you currently have?

Maybe not very savvy, but I have apps to explore the constellations, design my own solar system and organise my wardrobe Paint us a picture of planet Earth in 2045.

It’s a slightly dark outlook, but in 2045 poverty will have increased while technology is making the lives of many people easier and richer. We will still be struggling with how to guide those in our society “that have” towards helping those who “don’t have”. I have great faith in humanity however, because although we are confused and flawed we have the capability to come up with amazing and lasting solutions when we have to.

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SEPT-NOV 2014 Talk Travel

16 / Talk Travel

TALK TRAVEL

Robert Trathen The Photo Phantom

Scott Alexander Young The Renaissance Man

Andrew Allen The Impulsive Expedition Man

What is the most futuristic destination you have been to?

What is the most futuristic destination you have been to?

What is the most futuristic destination you have been to?

The most futuristic destination I have been to is White Island. That place is another planet.

Well, I’m bound to say, the premises of SyFy UK in London and AXN SciFi in Central Europe; they produced my TV series “Space Cadets” and “Max’s Midnight Movies” respectively.

The metro system in Stockholm. Sweden is cut out of bedrock, and its designers decided to leave the rock exposed rather than putting up false walls and ceilings. The rock is painted bright colours, which makes you feel like you’re inside an abstract painting. It’s amazing.

If space travel was a commercial reality right now would you be hopping on that spaceship?

Space travel scares me. The human body was not designed for space travel and there will be space travel disasters. I won’t be jumping on board.

What is the most “iSavvy” gadget/app you currently have?

The most savvy gadget I have is still the iPhone. I can’t live without it.

Paint us a picture of planet Earth in 2045.

In 2045 people will be holidaying in space.

The jet lag will be terrible.

If space travel was a commercial reality right now would you be hopping on that spaceship?

Space travel, I’m talking long term/big picture, is humanity’s only hope for survival. And I’m all for it. Would I travel up there as a tourist? Certainly, though I do think commercial space travel will have its Titanic, Hindenberg, Challenger moments... fasten your seatbelts, it could be a bumpy ride.

What is the most “iSavvy” gadget/app you currently have?

You might be disappointed. Just a Samsung smartphone that I take with me rather than a laptop when I go on short trips around Europe.

Paint us a picture of planet Earth in 2045.

We stand at the crossroads. As a species we seem to be hurtling towards a socioenvironmental apocalypse as fast as we break new scientific boundaries and the sense of world community is emerging.

Whatever the case, I would hope the finer subtleties of Space Cadets https://vimeo. com/channels/spacecadets have finally been appreciated by then.

If space travel was a commercial reality right now would you be hopping on that spaceship?

Absolutely! I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of zero gravity and would jump at the opportunity to experience it myself.

What is the most “iSavvy” gadget/app you currently have?

I have an app that uses augmented reality to help you make sense of all the stars in the sky. You can tap any star and find out if it has a name, how far away it is, and all sorts of other awesome geeky stuff.

Paint us a picture of planet Earth in 2045.

I think in 30 years we will have lost the concept of connecting to the internet.

There’ll be no free wi-fi, no 4G, no data roaming – just a constant state of connection. That connectedness will deliver us a level of automation and individualisation we can only dream of now. It will make travel more seamless which will in turn mean that truly memorable travel experiences will require a much more conscious effort to abandon your comfort zone.

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The benefits of TRAVENO for you . Intensive graduated support (15-18mmHg around the ankle region) Reduced swelling of the legs Breathable and easy to clean Ideal for travelling Medically tested

. . . .

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SEPT-NOV 2014 Talk Travel

18 / Talk Travel

TALK TRAVEL

Christian Fletcher The Digital Revolutionist

Scott Stulberg The Visionary

Hermine Banks The Conversationalist

What is the most futuristic destination you have been to?

What is the most futuristic destination you have been to?

I wish I could say Dubai since it has been on my wish list for so long, but I still haven’t been there. I guess I would say Shanghai for its amazing buildings that I love photographing. I love being as high as I can in skyscrapers and photographing, especially at night.

What is the most futuristic destination you have been to?

Dubai

Biosphere 2 research facility in the Santa Catalina Mountain foothills north of Tucson in the US. We got to look around but obviously couldn’t go inside. Biosphere 2 was a ecological experiment in a tightly sealed steel and glass structure. Scientists had created seven complete ecosystems that mirrored those on earth. The project is supposed to last for 100 years and provide valuable data for research to better understand how the world works.

If space travel was a commercial reality right now would you be hopping on that spaceship?

Hmm, I’m not a fan! One of my favourite movies was The Right Stuff. It is about the first American test pilots who went on to become the first Mercury astronauts. It shows lots of scenes of stuff blowing up.

Not my idea of a fun thing to do! Plus I’m scared of heights, crowded spaces, space suits, Richard Branson, you get the idea!

What is the most “iSavvy” gadget/app you currently have?

It isn’t something I carry around but I love it and it has changed my world! Yes, it’s a robotic vacuum cleaner. It’s the perfect present for the guy who is a little OCD about cleaning. It has sensors all over it and it can learn the shape of the room. So cool.

Paint us a picture of planet Earth in 2045.

Well Earth in 2045 won’t be such a great place, I may possibly be dead, which is the first problem. If the power of greed, big business and corrupt governments can’t be countered then we will see a world stripped of its natural resources. The environment will be decimated and we will be relying on fixes to adapt. If we can embrace renewables and turn our current path we will have a bright future.

If space travel was a commercial reality right now would you be hopping on that spaceship?

I would be in that spaceship for sure – one of my real loves is photographing the night sky. I was also fortunate enough to hang out with Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the Moon, and learn so much about how much he added to the space programme. If it wasn’t for his knowledge and vision, we never would have made it to the Moon and back so quickly.

What is the most “iSavvy” gadget/app you currently have?

I love my new Jambox which is a Bluetooth speaker that sounds incredible and allows me to have music anywhere I want. I take it on all my workshops and photoshoots as I love to have music while shooting. It runs off my iPhone, lasts forever and is a little bit sexy. My 13-inch retina display MacBook Pro is pretty damn sexy too, it goes with me everywhere I travel, I can’t live without it.

Paint us a picture of planet Earth in 2045.

Levitating high-speed vehicles like the ones in Star Wars – they will definitely be a big part of the landscape. There will be a better quality of life for many and a different medical system, possibly like the one in Star Trek that uses a little gadget to diagnose major problems in seconds.

If space travel was a commercial reality right now would you be hopping on that spaceship?

My dream job growing up was to be an astronaut so the answer to that question is a resounding “hell yeah”.

What is the most “iSavvy” gadget/app you currently have?

I wouldn’t say my technology tendencies are over the top… I have an iPhone, iPad, MacBook Air (yes, it appears I have a slight bias towards Apple products), but always make sure to upgrade to the latest phone as soon as possible!

Paint us a picture of planet Earth in 2045.

The Earth will be like something out of Star Trek, of course. Well, wishful thinking aside, I imagine a place where we actively practice sustainable development, equality, tolerance and integrity – this approach to life would solve a lot of the problems we have in the world today.

of the s d n u o s e h t h it 2014! d n la Fall in love w t o c S g in omecom H g in r u d s d n Highla

Gaelic singer Kathleen MacInnes on the shore of Loch Assynt

Join us celebrating Highland Homecoming The year of Homecoming Scotland is the perfect time to visit Scotland. We’re celebrating all that’s great about Scotland with hundreds of events throughout the year and across the whole country.

Dance to the beat of Scottish tradition as the Highland capital, Inverness, plays host to Highland Homecoming from September 1 to October 31. Learn how Scotland’s rich cultural heritage has evolved into vibrant contemporary Highland Games, music and dance, with this two-month-long celebration culminating with Mòd Nàiseanta Rìoghail – The Royal National Mod. Discover even more highlights waiting for you during Homecoming Scotland 2014, including itinerary suggestions and event listings, at visitscotland.com/homecoming

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SEPT-NOV 2014 For People Going Places

20 / For People Going Places

FOR PEOPLE GOING PLACES

Elizabeth Puranam, AL JAZEERA NEWS PRESENTER IS AT THE CENTRE OF GROUNDBREAKING NEWS. SHE TELLS US ABOUT HER BACKGROUND AND THE INTENSITY OF THE NEWS BUSINESS, FROM THE SHOOTING DOWN OF MALAYSIAN AIRLINES TO THE ONGOING ISRAELGAZA CONFLICT.

Elizabeth was born in Hyderabad, South India, where she grew up speaking Telugu, English and Hindi. She emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 10 before studying politics, media and Spanish at the University of Auckland. After graduating, she worked as a reporter and presenter with TV3 New Zealand. Her specialty areas were news, current affairs, politics, arts and entertainment.

After joining Al Jazeera English in August 2012, Elizabeth has presented coverage of important news events including the Israel-Gaza conflict of 2012, the Boston Marathon bombing, Egypt’s Rabaa AlAdawiya massacre and the latest IsraelGaza conflict.

As I fly home to New Zealand after a fabulous three days discovering Hong Kong and another three days in Sydney for a family wedding, I am trying to recall how much I have travelled since joining Al Jazeera English some two years ago. In fact, this is my 20th international holiday and over the last two years I have travelled to India, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Turkey, Austria, Ireland, Lebanon, France and Hong Kong. I know how excessive that sounds, but in my own defence, I continually work in cycles of four days on and four off. India is only a four-hour flight from Doha, so I often fly there on my days off to visit family or travel with friends.

When I am not making the most of my time off, I am working at my dream job, for Al Jazeera English. I wanted to work for Al Jazeera even before the English channel existed, following its Arabics coverage of

the US invasion of Afghanistan and then Iraq after 9/11. At university, I wrote essays about Al Jazeera’s role in helping create an Arab identity and “voice”. They were simply groundbreaking.

Later, I got in touch with Al Jazeera, wanting to work for them in any capacity, and they offered me a job as a news presenter. My job is to present around four hours of international news each day. It requires keeping up with ever changing news events and presenting them to an audience of more than 250 million viewers across the world.

I usually present the early morning news, and my daily routine is to go in to work at 3.30am, find out what’s happened overnight, discuss what stories we’ll be focusing on with the programme editor, which correspondents we will be doing live crosses to, and which stories we need to book guests for. All of this before spending an hour in the make-up chair so that I am ready to go on air at 6am.

The latest Israel-Gaza conflict, the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over the Ukraine, the Islamic State’s advance in Iraq, and the Ebola outbreak in West Africa have all been incredibly demanding for those of us in the news business.

Naturally, with Al Jazeera’s newsroom having unrivalled resources and a unique position in the Middle East, we have been at the centre of the news coverage for these stories. It has simply reaffirmed for me that there is really nowhere else that I would rather be working. Al Jazeera English really is a special place.

DESTINATIONS SEPT-NOV For People Going Places

FOR PEOPLE GOING PLACES Young professional, Rachna Sharma, tells us what it takes to survive in a fast paced industry, in a country where female empowerment still has a long way to go. She also shares with us some sobering statistics about violence against women and demonstrates that her concern and compassion for her countrywomen is matched only by her desire for change.

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Rachna’s never ending enthusiasm for meeting new people from different cultures and backgrounds is what gets her up every morning, and her diverse interests allow her to shift seamlessly among the roles of luxury hotelier, social worker, campaigner for women’s rights and writer.

Rachna Sharma is a hotelier by profession, passion and calling. She is currently responsible for the establishment of world-class destination hotels in India that are integrated with real estate developments.

Although I was born and raised in a small town of Jammu and Kashmir, I always aspired to be a global citizen. I vividly recall eating ice cream from BaskinRobbins instead of a local brand, and I remember thinking then what a sheer luxury that was. It would be fair to say that nowadays my definition of luxury is somewhat different.

While I loved my Indian heritage, I was always fascinated with cultures from all over the globe, and I wanted to pursue a career that would allow me to embrace them all. Indeed, I now view luxury as a something that is constantly evolving, especially in India where there is a lot of scope for innovation, and this is where my creative and entrepreneurial side kicks in.

International travel to various luxury destinations and hotels has helped me understand luxury travellers and their needs much better. It gives me immense pleasure to exercise my creative and social skills to make every day a special day for guests, stakeholders and business partners.

In addition, I believe that evolving technology will remain at the centre of everything we do, often in ways that may be unimaginable right now. A lot of what we use now will probably no longer exist

in the future; so everyone has to keep up with changing modern technology. The way of the future also lies in adapting to global best practices while making it work in a broad range of indigenous, cultural settings and realms. The responsibility that we all have to society should be foremost, while sustainability must also become a major business driver.

Seen from a holistic perspective, I believe that hospitality and tourism will be the most dynamic catalyst to change in terms of tomorrow’s lifestyles. In 2013, I co-authored a book: Globalisation and Voices From Indian Practitioners. In it, I attempted to explore how globalisation is generating new stories in the lives of professionals and the wider community and I explored the relationship of professions and academia across a very broad social and professional canvas to try and comprehend the ever changing and perplexing process of globalisation.

In the competitive and fast paced corporate world I practice spirituality to remain sane, and as a humanitarian at heart I am always striving to make a difference to society at large. Currently, my focus is on the empowerment of women and literacy.

Whilst growing up I picked up a keen interest in women’s education. It has remained a topic close to my heart because I witnessed the girls in my family married at a young age, and none of them pursued their dreams due to our culture.

Most of the decisions about their lives were actually made by their fathers and brothers. Sadly the norms of culture dictate that the man of the family is the be-all and end-all of family decisions.

I believe that education and empowerment are directly related to each other, and I have discovered that much of the violence perpetuated against women in India is a direct result of illiteracy.

While India has grown in leaps and bounds since its independence as far as education is concerned, the gap between men and women is still yawning. While 82.14% of adult men are educated, only 65.46% of adult women in India are literate. Not only is an illiterate women at

women’s education. It has remained a topic close to my heart because I witnessed the girls in my family married at a young age, and none of them pursued their dreams due to our culturE.”

the mercy of her husband or father, she has no idea that this is not necessarily the way of life for other women – in India and around the world.

In spite of the United Nations Charter of Human Rights and the provisions of the Indian Constitution, women continue to be victims of exploitation. The view of many is that the future generation of a family is carried on and preserved by males and this only weakens the position of women in society. Furthermore, a majority of our women are lacking in the spirit of rebellion, and in fact may well put their lives at risk were they to rebel.

Worryingly, a total of 244,270 incidents of crime against women, both under the Indian Penal Code and Special and Local Laws were reported in India during 2012, as compared with 228,650 in the year

2011. This is an increase of 6.4%.

Furthermore, West Bengal, which has a 7.5% share of the country’s female population, accounts for nearly 12.7% of the total crimes against women.

Because of this terrible state of affairs, I recently accepted an offer to become the goodwill ambassador for the campaign: A Red Light to Violence Against Women in India. The project started in 2013 and aims to raise awareness about violence against women. In accepting this role, I have been able to not only raise awareness, but also funding from my existing network of friends and family. We are focused on travelling across India, endeavouring to raise awareness about the empowerment of women as we go. We cover topics such as the relationship between a working woman and her independence, and how work can help build it. I believe that

women in India need to prioritise themselves and realise that happiness is a choice.

Having said this, to fully appreciate what drives crimes against women would require an essay of its own, if not a PhD thesis. There remains a vast number of drivers for such behaviour among India’s citizenry, but there are some acute reasons why it continues, despite the apparent movement towards civilisation. I am sure that if careful attention is not paid to these issues, and if major steps are not taken soon, the situation can only become far worse.

Finally, I will leave you with the words of Swami Vivekananda, a Hindu monk who brought Hinduism to the status of a major world religion: “Arise away and stop not until the goal is reached”.

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“While growing up I picked up a keen interest in

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TO THE H E AV E N S WITH WHITE KNIGHT TWO AND A SHUTTLE COCK

BY STEPHEN BROWN

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SCAN WITH

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BELOW SpaceShip Two in flight.

Photo by Mark Greenberg Virgin Galactic

“Branson and Allen’s environmental consciousness, backed up by the cutting edge technology from Scaled Composites, has produced a completely new type of spacecraft.”

In the 1983 film adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s, The Right Stuff, Chuck Yeager pointedly declares that anyone going into space with the first of NASA’s Mercury missions would be “spam in a can”. The ensuing battles between the Mercury Seven – the astronaut trainees chosen for the Mercury programme – and NASA’s rocket meisters over the level of control the first astronauts would actually have while taking the first tentative steps into space did little to dispel Yeager’s acerbic analysis. The concept of space flight and space men had moved beyond strapping trapeze artists or human cannonballs into a windowless capsule devoid of any controls.

Galvanised by Yuri Gagarin’s first historic probe into space on April 12, 1961, the United States responded by putting Alan Shepard into space less than a month later, before progressing on to the Gemini and Apollo programmes that culminated in the landing of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the surface of Mare Tranquillitatis just eight years later, on July 20, 1969.

The world was somewhat taken by surprise therefore, when space exploration, this time for the “common man”, re-emerged as a possibility in the early 2000s, with Sir Richard Branson and Paul Allen (ex Microsoft) combining forces with technology company Scaled Composites to launch the world’s first privately owned and funded, suborbital test vehicle – SpaceShipOne. Their endeavours, commitment and imagination culminated in SpaceShipOne breaching the Karman Line, an arbitrary boundary for space 100 kilometres above the Earth, on June 21, 2004. While winning the US$10 million Ansari X Prize for this achievement was undoubtedly a nice fillip for investors and designers alike, the much greater significance of the flight was summarised by Patti Grace Smith, the Federal Aviation Administration associate administrator for commercial space transportation. She

Now, some 10 years on, SpaceShipOne has evolved into a more streamlined SpaceShipTwo, with Virgin Galactic already signing up over 500 private customers for its first fully commercial, rocket-powered, “space line”. In common with previous manned flights, Virgin Galactic’s proposed flights will clearly renew interest in space and push the envelope of human curiosity; they will also help to explore the outer limits of technology, with spin-offs for those of us more firmly wedded to terra firma.

Whereas NASA’s early manned flights were primarily about political supremacy and national prestige amid the worst years of the Cold War, Virgin Galactic’s “space line” is branded on its own website as being about finding the means to address the degradation of the world’s resources and finding ways “to make better use of ‘off-planet’ resources”. Consequently, no-one should think that Virgin Galactic’s programme is just about “Buck Rogers” and expanding the frontier of consumer thrills: a sort of outerworldly take on that other American speciality, giant rollercoasters.

Instead, the combination of Branson and Allen’s environmental consciousness, backed up by the cutting edge technology from Scaled Composites, has produced a completely new type of spacecraft that is imaginative, sophisticated and – at least in contrast with its US and Soviet antecedents – surprisingly simple.

Even so, the six passenger SpaceShipTwo changes both its form and function at least four times in the course of each flight.

Initially carried up to an altitude of just over 15,000 metres as the payload for Virgin Galactic’s White Knight Two, it is then transformed into a powerful rocket-based launch vehicle that breaks rapidly free of the planet’s gravity and atmosphere. Upon approaching the apogee of its flight and starting to succumb to Earth’s gravitational pull once more, SpaceShipTwo’s wing and tail units effectively fold up, almost like a giant shuttlecock. This configuration both slows and “feathers” the spacecraft’s re-entry.

Finally, upon descending to the point where the increasingly dense atmosphere allows controlled flight, it metamorphoses one last time into a glider that takes the vessel, together with its two pilots and passengers, gently back to Spaceport America in the Jornada del Muerto desert basin, New Mexico.

The innovative thinking reflected in such complicated changes is fascinating because, unlike recent developments in other forms of

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Although 12 astronauts eventually stepped onto the Moon through the course of the Apollo series, its surface has remained free of human footprints since December 1972, with the focus of subsequent missions shifting to the Hubble telescope, the international space station and un-manned, deep space research.

Although travelling to Mars is still discussed in hushed whispers within NASA’s hallowed halls, a number of key issues – technology, cost, travel times, the physiological effects of space on the human body, and the loss of political motivation with the collapse of the Soviet Union have all militated against the resumption of manned space exploration. At least with the sort of energy that drove the Mercury to Apollo campaigns.

commented, “The flight today opens a new chapter in history, making space access within the reach of ordinary citizens, like you and me”.

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SCAN WITH

TOP LEFT Bill Richardson and Richard Branson - dedication on the runway

TOP RIGHT Aerial shot of White Knight Two

Yet this is not the sole purpose of the new space line, as both the design philosophies and publicity underpinning the space line make clear: “Virgin Galactic is a unique, clean-tech project which has as its mission the transformation in safety, cost and environmental impact of access to space for people, scientific research and small satellites... In achieving its mission, Virgin Galactic will also act as a test-bed for new and clean technologies, such as the use of carbon composites in large aircraft, which have applications across a range of industrial sectors. This is why Professor James Lovelock, renowned environmentalist and author of The Gaia Theory, describes Virgin Galactic as one of

the most important industrial projects of the 21st century.”

(Virgin Galactic website: “Space Matters!”)

Virgin Galactic’s website goes on to highlight the way in which space flight alters and enhances perceptions of the rather larger, spacecraft that human-kind currently inhabits: “To date, fewer than 500 people have experienced space travel but almost without exception, those that have been have returned to Earth with a heightened awareness of the nature and vulnerability of our planet. Seeing it from out there, surrounded by the incredibly thin protective layer of atmosphere, helps to waken one to the fragility of the small portion of the planet’s mass that we inhabit and the importance of protecting it. Bringing this experience to a far wider constituent will, we believe, extend and encourage this perception. Virgin Galactic attracts high levels of media interest which will assist promoting this message to the world at large.”

(Virgin Galactic website: “Our Markets, Space Tourism”) Far more than simply promoting derringdo in a space-bound sled, Virgin Galactic combines environmentalism and technology in a most unlikely way. Much as technophiles can marvel at SpaceShipTwo’s combination of sophistication and elegant simplicity, Virgin Galactic’s broader message is one that plucks at the heartstrings of all who are concerned about the physical health and sustainability of “Spaceship Earth”. In particular, it highlights the fragility of the planet’s natural systems and the all too narrow band of blue that supports every form of life found on it.

Even so, not all has been plain sailing. In particular, Sir Richard Branson’s unrealised claim at last year’s Farnborough Airshow that he and his adult children would fly into space by the end of 2013 has left considerable uncertainty over a realistic timetable for Virgin Galactic’s first commercial launch. Even so, it appears that the first such venture into near space

is close, if not quite “there” yet.

Looked at through a slightly wider lens, the very nature of SpaceShipTwo, and the investment surrounding it, gives a hint that we are facing a much more pervasive technological revolution that must ultimately benefit all humanity – not just Virgin’s current 530 or so prospective astronauts. Expansion of the internet, to the point where it now connects vast numbers of people, advanced materials development of the kind promoted by Scaled Composites, the rapid emergence of gene therapy – perhaps the only hope for a world community largely devoid of antibiotics in the future – and the evolution of artificial intelligence, will all be key to the future well-being of communities across the globe.

Nevertheless, SpaceShipTwo still has appeal as a symbolic poster child for this moment in human history, a highly visible bellwether of the wave of technological achievement now emerging on a very broad front. It is also a harbinger of change in relation to “travel” and the use of both personal time and discretionary income.

Space travel opens up an entirely new frontier.

Until now, few of this world’s inhabitants have regarded space travel, let alone space joy-rides and colonisation, as a realistic prospect. Human visions of the present and future have been firmly rooted in the ground and atmosphere of the remarkable space capsule that we all currently rely on for our existence.

Now, for the first time perhaps, the door to alternative futures and alternative perceptions of our place in the Universe, has started to swing ajar, just a little.

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transportation design, it eschews complicated computer technology in favour of more traditional design based on proven aerodynamic principles and physics. Indeed, the very name “Scaled Composites” seems to embody the idea of a well-considered alternative to simply more horse-power and computer wizardry. As a result, SpaceShipTwo embodies a rationing of physical resources that is worlds apart from NASA’s Saturn 5 launch system or the later Space Shuttle.

Just as important, while the spacecraft of 40-50 years ago were largely tools for the achievement and enhancement of international status, at the expense of the human experience of being in space – hence Chuck Yeager’s notion of “spam in a can” – Virgin Galactic’s current venture focuses very strongly on the sensory experience of galactic flight: window space is maximised to accommodate views, while cabin furniture is minimised to make room for passengers to float in space.

BELOW The zero gravity experience on board SpaceShipTwo

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IT’S S E R I OU S FUN ABOVE THE ATMOSPHERE - RICHARD BRANSON’S LIMITLESS SKY

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What did the whole concept of space flight and travel mean to you when you watched the moon landing as a 19-year-old?

Space had felt a long way away – then suddenly it felt very close indeed. I have always tried to push boundaries in my career and life, but the moon landing really reinforced that nothing is impossible. Watching the event, I began to dream that one day I would go into space. Back in 1969, travel, let alone spaceflight, was something reserved for the lucky few – those who had the time and money. The moon landing furthered my thirst for exploration and adventure, and in turn became one of the biggest inspirations for setting up Virgin Galactic. Neil Armstrong couldn’t have been more right when he spoke those famous words: “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”. The Moon landing shattered any preconceptions we had about travel and exploration, and allowed us to dream.

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There are those who are dreamers and often remain so, then there are those living their dreams. What is the main difference between the two? How does a dreamer start living their dream?

The difference is the fear of failure. We are all capable of achieving great things, but too many people are scared of failing. Failure is for the most part inevitable, and is not a bad thing. Failure enables us to learn, grow and perfect our methods. Embracing the possibility of failure is risky, but risk is not a bad thing either. My mother always told me: “You’re guaranteed to miss every shot you don’t take.” My advice for those dreaming of turning their dreams into a reality? Think differently, know why you do what you do, challenge the status quo, and embrace your dream with a resounding YES! (That is after all how I got my nickname, Dr Yes) I’ve always had a soft spot for dreamers – not those who waste their time thinking “what if” but the ones who look to the sky and say “why can’t I shoot for the moon?”

You come off as big kid who has a lot of fun and there is a similar perception associated with a number of successful entrepreneurs. Is keeping the inner child alive a key component in the success of an entrepreneur?

Children see the world through fresh eyes, and therefore have great potential and capability to learn, listen and laugh – three of the four “L’s” that make up my approach to success in life and business. Entrepreneurs who learn from their surroundings and listen to what the world is saying, and who can laugh along the way despite facing hardships will almost certainly be more successful than those who don’t or won’t. One of the most important lessons that we can learn from children, and apply to business, is to have fun. Serious fun is at the core of everything I do, and that’s something for which I will never apologise. If you don’t enjoy what you do, it will show in your product, so it’s so important to have fun!

Was there a single trigger that launched Virgin Galactic or have a series of smaller steps helped you fulfil a teenage dream?

The dream came about due to the moon landing, and was again sparked when I received a phone call in 1988 while appearing on the children’s show Going Live! A young boy called up and asked me: “Have you ever thought about going into space?” I told him I’d love to, and if he built a spacecraft I’d come on it with him.

However it wasn’t until 11 years later, in 1999, that I registered Virgin Galactic. We had successfully shaken up the airline industry by offering an envelope-pushing product and I felt we could do the same for space travel – by offering the first ever commercial spaceline. The dream became a reality in 2004 when SpaceShipOne won the Ansari X Prize, highlighting the technology and innovation we were looking for.

NASA seems to have had its day, at least for now. Does this mean commercial space travel will be primarily funded by private enterprise in the future?

NASA is still very much an important part of the industry and the global community – they are a customer of ours, and will be flying research experiments to space on SpaceShipTwo soon.

That said, NASA’s role in the community has evolved. What is happening now is an incredibly exciting shift, as commercial companies start to truly open up the space frontier. NASA and other government agencies have shown us that spaceflight is possible, and now we’re building on that to allow anyone who dreams of going into space the opportunity to fulfil that dream.

We know that there are problems with technology and long term exposure to space appears likely to detrimentally affect human physiology. Does this mean that space travel is currently just a “joy ride” and “gimmick” mechanism or is there more? How far realistically can space tourism go?

Space is a challenging environment to master, but we’ve now got 50 years worth of evidence that it can be done. And, the unique challenges of spaceflight teach us an incredible amount about physiology, in a way that benefits life here on Earth. The space industry is not only allowing astronauts to fly more frequently and do bolder things, it is also helping us gather some very useful data that is teaching doctors and scientists about issues in research fields as critical as aging and immune responses.

Why is there still so much fantasy attached to the concept of outer space after everything we have so far achieved?

To really understand something you need to see it with your own eyes – that’s what we’re trying to achieve with Virgin Galactic. It’s not just about astronauts with specialist training anymore; it’s about giving those people with big dreams the opportunity and ability to achieve and understand. Space presents infinite possibilities, so I don’t think the fantasy will ever fade.

The motivations for space travel were originally political.

Currently, they seem to have more to do with pure research and human curiosity. What do you see as the key motivations in the future?

I don’t think there will be just one big motivation. Space is essentially infinite in scope; therefore there can’t possibly be just one reason for exploring it. Some of us will go because it is wondrous fun –naturally, that’s a big part of why I want to go. But others will go to conduct scientific research, or to create new types of art that aren’t possible outside of a weightless environment. There are a million reasons to go into space. In fact, the only thing we can say with real certainty is that the main reason that people go to space 100 years from now is probably something we couldn’t even dream of today!

Space travel looks to be the most dangerous frontier of all for human beings. Yet we also live in a world where the spotlight is on every accident and litigation is an ever present threat. Will those who travel with Virgin Galactic have to accept the very real dangers associated with leaving the protection of the Earth’s atmosphere?

Going to space is hard, and there is a lot of energy involved in getting there and back, so certainly, there will always be some risk.

However, we believe we can make space safer than it has ever been before, because of how our system is designed. We have the benefit of being able to call on more than five decades of human spaceflight experience – from which we can learn from the

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I’ve always had a soft spot for dreamers – not those who waste their time thinking ‘what if’ but the ones who look to the sky and say “why can’t I shoot for the moon?”

mistakes others have made. As the old saying goes: “the safest ship is one that never leaves the harbour”; but spaceflight is absolutely worth the risk.

Why are we locked into this utopian dream of always looking for paradise somewhere else? Why can’t we just accept that our planet is good enough?

I don’t look at space exploration as a simply quest to find a “better” place to live. To me it’s about curiosity and discovering more about our existence. Earth is an incredible place. If we treat it in the way it should be treated, through sustainable initiatives and conservation, there is no reason it cannot remain a wonderful place. Having said that, Professor Stephen Hawking – who knows a thing or two about space – has argued that we will need to

colonise other planets in the future. He believes humanity would likely not survive another 1,000 years “without escaping beyond our fragile planet.” It’s sensible and exciting to continue to explore all possibilities.

Many scientists have proposed the view that if we meet other civilisations they will simply squash us like a bug. Could our curiosity eventually lead us to our own destruction? After all, curiosity killed the cat.

Curiosity is one of our most healthy instincts. Without it we would never have evolved or achieved anything. Without risk we can’t advance. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but I’m sure that cat had nine very fulfilling lives of fun and fruitful adventures.

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THE CLEAR INTENTIONS OF A COMMERICAL VENTURE - STEPHEN ATTENBOROUGH ON VIRGIN GALACTIC

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Tell us a bit about yourself, some background on what you were doing before Virgin Galactic and why you took the job.

I have been with Virgin Galactic for almost ten years now. I was the first full-time employee and joined in October 2004, when the company was launched. We once had a small office and now we have two spaceships and a spaceport.

Before Virgin Galactic I was working in investment banking and joining the venture was basically a case of being in the right place at the right time. I knew a guy who was one of Richard Branson’s friends, and who was involved in the research behind Virgin Galactic. He asked me if I could find two or three weeks to get a fantastic space company off the ground. I walked through the door and it just felt like the right place to work.

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When I first talked to Richard, he said it was going to be a hard road, but also one that could be very successful. Right from the start Richard had two principles for Virgin Galactic: 1. To be safe, and; 2. To go forward as a commercial venture, one that was commercially viable and successful. The project has never been just an adventure; it has always been a very serious project with clear intentions. The whole experience of Virgin Galactic has been like this: what we are trying to do is potentially very hard, but in the typical Virgin way, it simply started as a big challenge.

If we look at the history of human space flight, the fact remains that the last major achievement – landing on the Moon – was 45 years ago. This suggests that breaking new ground in space is a hard thing to do, and so far only three countries have done it: the United States, Soviet Russia and China.

But what we are doing isn’t like a major government sending astronauts into space. There are still a lot of public expectations involved, but there has been no public or government money involved at all.

What has been the most challenging part of your journey with Virgin?

The scale of what we are trying to achieve has been an immense challenge. The reason the project was approved was because of the SpaceShipOne prototype, which provided confidence in both the design and technology. It was a concept that was not only proven, but which met

all of the objectives for SpaceShipOne. Yet the biggest leap has been from SpaceShipOne to SpaceShipTwo – from a private launch system to a commercial vehicle.

Why do you think there is still so much fantasy attached to the concept of space travel after everything that has already been achieved?

In the 1960s with the Moon landing; that was a fantasy made real. To have achieved that unimaginable feat was extremely inspiring for a whole generation. But space access was also exclusive and extremely expensive. That, together with time taken between mankind’s first tentative steps into space, has added to that fantasy, but reduced the hope of more “everyday” access to space for the wider community.

Richard Branson’s dream reawakens that hope.

For how long will our aspiring astronauts be in space and how long does the whole journey take?

The whole journey takes between 2 and 2.5 hours. We pop into space and then back down to Earth. We want to prove that passengers can be taken into space. We just need to take things one step at a time.

People don’t want to give up half their life to do the necessary training. They want an affordable and unique experience. They want zero gravity – out of seat zero gravity – and that’s what we will give them. The most important thing for most people is to be able to look down on earth. We have big windows all the way through the spaceship to enhance the experience.

People want real astronaut wings. That’s what we have designed; a safe and enjoyable astronaut experience.

Our travellers will spend three days prepping before the flight at SpacePort America. They arrive four days before the flight and go through a lot of training, making sure passengers are prepared for the intensity of the experience.

The first flight should be within a few months.

Sir Richard Branson’s claim at the 2012 Farnborough International Airshow that he and his adult children would fly into space by the end of 2013 has left uncertainty over when the first flights will take off. The first flight was meant to take off in 2007, so there has been a seven year delay. Are these delays technological or red tape from the Federal Aviation Administration?

Neither technological issues, nor red tape from the FAA. We have had a lot to learn from the enormity of the task and, of course, people continue to want to know when it is going to happen. There are still a lot of concerns and we are not governed by deadlines or dates. There have been engineering challenges and things change along the way. Every single thing in a project like this is hard, there are also lots of boxes to tick before putting passengers on board and I feel most of the boxes are now ticked.

My best guess is that we will fly sometime around the turn of 2014.

How did you choose your first research payload?

The customer for our first research payload is NASA, who have a flight opportunities programme to encourage space travel. The first experiments are autonomous and the payloads are assessed via NASA and then put forward to Virgin Galactic. It is great for us to be in two markets at the start.

Is the current research programme likely to lead to further advances in space travel, what are they likely to be, in the context of current technology and concerns about human physiology when subjected to long periods in space?

Some of the research payloads that we are taking to space involve the testing of equipment and technology, which is designed for long-term space missions.

The best way to test these is to put them into a controlled space environment.

Was it a “eureka” moment for Burt Rutan when he came up with the feathering system?

What Burt recognised was that this was the most important part of the flight profile to get right as the most difficult part of human space flight is coming back home.

He looked at how it had been done before and recognised that if we are to rely on humans or computers, then neither is good enough on a consistent basis.

Something fail-safe that did not rely on humans or computers was needed.

So yes, it was a eureka moment, that turned into the most important part of this whole project. The product was also a vehicle that could be used many times. We also loved the idea of air launch from an energy point of view.

The other thing Richard liked was the idea of a winged vehicle that could fly into

“People want real astronaut wings. That’s what we have designed; a safe and enjoyable astronaut experience.”

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space, having failed to buy Concorde from British Airways.

How many test flights have occurred to date?

WhiteKnightOne has flown more than 150 times and 45 times for the spaceship.

WhiteKnightTwo is now in our possession, and has been fully trialled as well.

Each of the test flights have had a specific purpose. We take the vehicles to the edge of their capabilities, giving us an understanding of risks and how to manage them. I myself will feel very confident about the first commercial flight

because there have been no shortcuts taken. This sort of thing cannot be done on a shoestring and we have had many deep pocketed and visionary investors.

Is SpacePort America the forerunner of multiple space facilities in the future?

If we are successful then it will happen. We have to get this first step right, as it may be many years before we can have another shot at this.

So yes, SpacePort America may be a forerunner of multiple space facilities. We need to improve space access; we need to look off-planet for resources and this can

certainly help. It is about recognising what space can offer us on Earth.

Looking into the future what do you think NASA’S role will be in space? Will it continue to take astronauts to space?

I think NASA will take people to space again. Technologies need governments to bring things forth. Phase one technology unlocked the private sector: we went from suitcase telephones to the iPhone; NASA recognises that there are a lot of things still to do, and there are things they are thinking about that are too “out there” for any commercial venture.

Spaceport America – the conquistadors of

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the stars

Spaceport America is located in a desert named Jornada Del Muerto, a beautiful part of the world, despite the meaning of its name- Journey of the Dead Man. Named in the 17th century by the Conquistadors who came looking for Cibola, the mythical Seven Cities of Gold, Jornada Del Muerto is a fitting memorial for the thousands who died on the trail from attack by hostile native Americans, thirst, exhaustion, exposure, starvation or in the contortions of snakebite.

Had the Conquistadors stood on the trail hundreds of years later on July 16, 1945, they might also have sensed the irony in the name as they witnessed the mushroom cloud from the first atomic test taking place 40 miles to the northeast.

The New Mexico State government clearly wasn’t superstitious though when they chose the site to build Spaceport America.

Opened in October 2011, it is the world’s first commercial spaceport, with tenants like SpaceX, Armadillo Aerospace, Aerospace, and perhaps most importantly, Virgin Galactic.

First proposed in 1990, the project was kick-started in 2008 when Virgin Galactic signed a 20-year lease, agreeing to pay $1 million a year for the first five years. The first sod was turned in June 2009 and the build cost to date is in excess of $200 million. Construction and expansion continues, although the spaceport is fully operational, and has already seen the launch of 20 suborbital flights.

The area of the facility is astonishing - 62 square kilometres, with the hangar facility

on its own taking up 10 kilometres, and a 3 kilometre runway. It’s environmentally sound too, “Earth tubes” cool the building, and there are solar thermal panels, natural ventilation, as well as under floor radiant heating and cooling.

Viewed from above the spaceport is beautiful, spread out on the New Mexico desert like the unfurling wings of a Thunderbird. Viewed from the ground it is easy to imagine passengers queuing up, much as they do in a modern airport, clutching their carry-on baggage and turning their eyes skyward as they contemplate breaking through the bright blue dome of the New Mexico Sky. Early pioneers tried ranching here in the past. Between the 1860s and the 1920s cattle were farmed, but in the end the heat and lack of water inevitably put paid to the idea.

While Spaceport America provides a gateway to the stars, we are only beginning to discover what is beyond.

Some might say that these modern day pioneers, “space cowboys” such as Richard Branson and Elon Musk will finally come to the end of the Jornada Del Muerto begun by those long ago Conquistadors, perhaps leading us all to the famed Seven Cities of Gold.

LEFT Spaceport America at sunset

RIGHT Spaceport America looks like as alien as its surroundings

A quick chat with christine anderson, executive director, spaceport america

Tell me a bit about yourself, your background and when you joined Spaceport America?

When did the project commence? There was obviously always a need for a facility like this when the whole idea of commercial space flight became a reality.

Spaceport America is the first commercial spaceport built from the ground up.

Ground was broken in 2009. It is a major undertaking to build a commercial spaceport. Since the industry is emerging there are many unknowns in specifications and schedules, which makes it even more challenging.

As the Executive Director of Spaceport America, what does a day in your shoes involve?

My day covers a broad range of items.

Rarely do I have a day that resembles another one! The types of things we are running include space launches, building construction, road construction, financial matters, public outreach, media tours, interviews, legal matters, legislative initiatives, environmental compliance, FAA compliance, weather emergencies, fire emergencies, special events‌ It’s just

Space X and Virgin Galactic are both using Spaceport America. Has this caused any issues considering they are potentially competitors?

No. The spaceport is much like an airport in the sense that is built to accommodate numerous tenants and customers.

URS and Foster + Partners designed the facility. What was the concept that this was based around? Is Spaceport America in fact any different to a modern airport?

The design was meant to be future leaning and inspirational. It was also meant to blend into the beautiful natural surroundings. I believe it has achieved both and it earned the LEED Gold status. It is similar to an airport in that we have multiple customers; it supports flight activities and also accommodates passengers and visitors. Space launch is so new, the spaceport is designed to be fun, educational and inspirational. I don’t know of too many airports that do that.

Do you see Spaceport America as a forerunner for multiple space facilities in the future?

Yes. I see Spaceport America as setting the bar for many other commercial spaceports around the world. That is the hope for the industry - that the industry will grow and thrive.

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I spent 30 years working for the United States Air Force in the area of research, development and acquisition of military systems, the majority of which were space systems, and I achieved the civilian equivalent of a military General Officer. I was selected as the Executive Director of Spaceport America in March 2011.

the type of dynamic environment that I thrive on.

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HE IS FIRST TO LAND And thus rams his flag on the barren basalt wasteland. In an age where political, economical and social unrest are a norm once more, he knows that this claim is still far from secure. With his nemesis just hours behind him, Space War One is about to commence. photographer robert trathen Creative director rowena bahl creative hybrid jorge alfaro Hair and Makeup Design by Alison Brewer using MAC and Schwarzkopf Osis Hair Products with the assistance of Boyana Golubovich make up special effects using BodyFX RAY GUNS PROVIDED BY WETA WORKSHOP designed BY greg Broadmore special thanks to daniel and alex martin FROM DELIVERANCE FOR VIDEO SHOWREEL LOCATion WHITE ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND which comes with patrick o’ sullivan, the white island expert

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colin wears the aurora collection by jorge alfaro jewellery by nick von K

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craig wears the aurora collection by jorge alfaro jewellery by nick von K

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savannah wears the futura supreme by jorge alfaro jewellery by nick von k

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AMY wears A bikini by shakuhachi jewellery by zoe & Morgan

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ollie wears zambesi jewellery by nick von k

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harrIE wears the clatura collection by jorge alfaro jewellery by nick von k

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BELOW The Destinations team at White Island. From left: Rowena Bahl, Rob Trathen, Amy, Colin Mathura-Jeferee, Savannah, Harrie, Patrick O’Sullivan, Ollie, Craig Cartwright, Jorge Alfaro and Boyana Golubovich

Location: White island, new zealand

Getting to White Island for our shoot was a combination of good planning, and good luck. In the beginning we thought we had cracked it with the weather: a clear sunny day with light winds was forecast, and with White Island situated some 45 kilometres off Whakatane’s coast, good sea conditions were vital for both our passage and landing.

We loaded the boat with all kinds of props and equipment, while 6 elaborately face-painted models all tried to ignore the attention that they were getting from both fellow passengers and locals. At 9.30am sharp we cast off and motored gently out of beautiful Whakatane Harbour. Indeed, the harbour was flat calm, like the proverbial mill-pond. However, the sight that greeted us as we passed through the harbour entrance wasn’t quite so serene and endearing. A strong south-easterly breeze had sprung up and with it a steep, broken chop.

The skipper then informed us that south-easters are the worst wind condition of all when it comes to landing on White Island, raising the only too real possibility that our landing and shoot might well have to be abandoned. Indeed, it was only later we found out that the skipper had been contemplating turning the boat around and giving up on the day’s journey altogether.

Unfortunately, the situation was little better upon arrival; we were

immediately told that there was no way we were going to be able to disembark at the wharf. Not only was it in a state of disrepair, but a heavy sea was running, and the conditions posed a very real risk for both the boat and its occupants.

However, with immense relief and no small amount of gratitude to the skipper and his resourceful crew, both our team and gear were eventually ferried across to the island in a small inflatable boat, landing on a rocky but sheltered beach inhabited by a single seal pup.

Yet, despite the sea and weather conditions, and no small amount of queasiness felt by most of the team, the landing on White Island was memorable for one other reason: it simply took our breath away! None of us could possibly imagine a better location for a photo shoot on an “alien planet”.

Privately owned to this day, White Island is now only visited by scientists and tourists; the attempts at sulphur mining having long since been abandoned. It is an eerie, beautiful, alien environment, its landscape dotted by columns of rock, steam vents, and streams flowing to the ocean from the numerous hot water springs bubbling to the Island’s surface.

The remains of the mining operation are a sad reminder of the hard life endured by generations of miners; it’s sad to imagine the men that worked for so long here in such isolation, their living and working quarters now slowly collapsing into rubble and dust.

The acidic steam and the harsh sulphur-dioxide gases corrode metal rapidly, but also create a stunning set for our shoot: the blazing orange of rusty old vats creates a certain beauty out of decay, starkly etched against the grey cliffs that surround them, while in the background the steam from the White Island’s main crater endlessly drifts and whirls skyward, turning an otherworldly shade of magenta as it is struck by the midday sun.

We didn’t have time to be tourists though; we needed to get our war paint and costumes on. We only had a few hours to get this right. There would be no coming back for a second go at it. As we prepared for the photo shoot a gaggle of tourists passed close by, on their way back from the crater. Their guide introduced the models as “the locals” and got a laugh; yet the group seemed too overawed by the surroundings to show much interest in the fantastically dressed aliens dotted across the landscape. Perhaps it was already too surreal for them to be bothered about some strangely attired ‘locals’.

The shoot went very smoothly; amazingly, no one turned an

None of us had ever been to, or landed on, White Island before; some of our entourage had never even heard of it until the request for assistance went out – all of which made our arrival and stay there so extra special. While the photo shoot was a highly enjoyable experience in its own right, it could not hope to top the real spectacle offered by White Island’s endlessly active, volcano landscape.

Whether or not one is interested in the history of the island, its wildlife (White Island provides a nationally important nesting ground and roost for sea birds), or the world-class fishing in the waters around it, it really doesn’t make a difference. White Island is a surreal place. Like the first time a child bites into an ice cream - it’s a real shock to the senses, but fantastic all the same, and a place we will never forget.

White Island Tours White Island Tours offers the incredible experience of exploring the inner crater of New Zealand’s only active marine volcano – White Island. Located 49km off the coast of Whakatane, New Zealand, White Island Tours offers its visitors a 6 hour adventure to this fascinating island volcano.

Accommodation is offered in Whakatane at White Island Rendezvous which has an on-site café and gift shop.

Located at: 15 The Strand East, Whakatane, New Zealand Phone: +64 7 308 9588 Free Phone in NZ: 0800 733 529 International: +64 7 308 9588 GPS Co-ordinates: 37.95°S, 177.002°E www.whiteisland.co.nz

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Bought from local Maori in the early 19th century for the princely sum of two barrels of rum, White Island has been mined intermittently for sulphur over much of the period since then. All of the mining operations eventually went bankrupt, the most famous of them resulting in the deaths of 10 men in 1914 after a lahar swept down on their camp in the dead of night. Their bodies were never found, and the camp cat was the only survivor.

ankle or fell in the crater, and we finished with the obligatory group shot. Somehow we had pulled it off. All that was left now was to cart the gear back to the boat, and motor back to Whakatane across a sea that had become strangely serene and calm.

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FAST FORWAD ON

T R AV E L T E CH N O L OGY These days it’s hard to keep track of all of the new innovations out there, so in keeping with the theme of this magazine we explore inventions that make us feel like we are living in tomorrow.

While the Jetsons’ flying car and Marty McFly’s floating skateboard are probably some way off in the future, these products and ideas demonstrate that science-fiction is becoming science-fact before our very eyes.

BY CRAIG CARTWRIGHT

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ABOVE Oculus VR, Virtual Reality

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Normal

HeadS Up Displays

Virtual Reality

Headphones –

For Vehicles –

Holidays From

Customised To The

Stop Driving And

Oculus VR – Escape

Shape Of Our Ears

Start Piloting.

Without Leaving

Off-the-shelf earphones are a pain in the neck. Sometimes they are even a pain in the ear.

Heads Up Display systems have been around for a long time – in fact, they first appeared in fighter jets in the 1950s – but now HUD technology is moving fast towards being as indispensable as the seatbelt and as commonplace as the smartphone.

Kiss goodbye to those easily dislodged headphones and annoying sound leakage with customised “Normals”, (no, we don’t know how on Earth they came up with the name).

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Like seemingly everything else these days, the process of acquiring these devices starts by downloading a free app. From there we place a coin (for scale) next to each of our “listening caves” (they also refer to ears as “sound craters”), and take a photograph of each ear.

The photographs are then sent to the factory, where the headphones are 3D printed, laser cut, painted, assembled, smoothed, cleaned, tested and shipped.

Being custom designed, the phones will fit more snugly, are less likely to fall out, and deliver sound far more efficiently than standard headphones.

The Normal website is very simple and mildly informative, but it is a little puerile.

To get us hooked on the idea in the first place we are reminded that our ear holes are “unique pieces of cartilage”, we then have to navigate through dialogue containing such terms as “nerdalicious”, “pump up the jams”, and “friggin” (ie. their 3.5mm gold plated jack apparently looks “friggin cool”).

Frankly, the product could probably stand on its own merits – it’s a genius idea – without trying to be so absurdly hip.

For more information take a look at their Youtube video (try not to be disturbed).

HUD is capable of projecting all kinds of information onto car windscreens – upcoming turns, road markings, distance to the next car, speed, hazards, instrumentation, and even GPS navigation information – and will ultimately lead to a completely interactive driving experience.

No doubt we will soon see virtual hotel and restaurant ratings hovering above businesses as we pass by.

While HUD might seem to be little more than a convenient gimmick, it clearly has some serious safety applications. Most of the HUDs already in use and development are infrared capable, so that in bad weather – fog, snow and rain – hazards that most drivers would otherwise struggle to see are illuminated. A good driver always looks as far ahead as they are able; HUD will improve our ability to do that.

BMW’s exclusive M series cars have had HUDs since the mid 2000s; now Jaguar are also developing their own version of the same technology based on their race track experience. In addition to updating vehicle speed, range, fuel efficiency, music settings and other traditional information, Jaguar’s HUD will project virtual driving lines that assist drivers to corner more efficiently, while changing colours on the HUD will also provide guidance when it comes to braking – when and how much.

Jaguar is also working on something called e-field sensing. This means drivers will one day be able to control the instrumentation by waving their hands and fingers around. This is currently being tested on features like SATNAV and wipers.

An aftermarket HUD system from Pioneer is already available that connects to cell phones via a Bluetooth app, providing assistance with navigation, points of interest and hazards. Hopefully it will one day come with virtual sidewinder missiles for those annoying slow drivers in the fast lane.

Our Armchair Oculus VR is a company that are getting closer and closer to consumer-ready virtual reality technology.

While much of the editorial on the website is indecipherable, we hired an interpreter who managed to work out that the displays are designed to eliminate motion blur and judder, two of the main reasons most viewers experience simulator sickness. Head tracking is also a core element of the platform, which allows for real world movement, while highdefinition displays improve clarity, colour and contrast.

At present Thomas Cook is testing Oculus Rift headsets that have been programmed to present a 3D, 360-degree vision of a tropical paradise. If they successfully boost sales, future travellers could soon start seeing virtual reality headsets popping up in travel agents around the world. With online booking mediums taking over, this concept could conceivably be a shot-inthe-arm for struggling travel industry.

Whether the technology has caught up to the concept we don’t know, but this is a fairly large (if tentative) step in the right direction. While undoubtedly very exciting, we still won’t be expecting any “Total Recall” experiences a la Arnold Schwarzenegger just yet.

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The Scrubba Wash

Hop! – The Suitcase

Project ARA –

Bag – Adventure

With A Mind Of

Frankenstein’s

Travellers, Whiff

Its Own

Cell phone

Hop! is a self-propelling suitcase designed by inventor Rodrigo Garcia. The idea is clever: Hop triangulates the position of the traveller’s smartphone using three in-built Bluetooth sensors. Thereafter, wherever that smartphone goes, Hop! goes too.

Just when we thought we knew what direction smartphone technology was heading, Google came up with Project Ara. And it’s set to frighten the socks off Apple.

No More The best inventions are often things that, once invented, seem impossible to live without. They are usually ridiculously simple and make us wonder why on Earth we didn’t think of them first.

The Scrubba Wash Bag is one of those.

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It all started in 2010 when patent attorney Ash Newland was planning a trip to Mt Kilimanjaro. Realising he would need to wash his clothes every couple of days, he tried to figure out how he could do this while on the trail.

Initially considering packing a traditional washboard, he realised that while it remains an efficient and effective way to wash clothes, it would also be far too cumbersome to carry about. He then wondered what would happen if he put a flexible, lightweight washboard into a waterproof bag; et voila, Mr Newland had invented the Scrubba Wash Bag. After a fairly frantic but brief period of R and D (and after receiving over $22,000 in pre-orders), Newland and his team refined the idea into a small, highly portable, packable, reusable, and efficient way for travellers to clean their clothes.

The Scrubba Wash Bag is simple to use: fill it with water and cleaning liquid, expel the air, rub the clothes on the internal washboard for 30 seconds – the “traveller wash” – or for three minutes – the “machine-standard wash” – then rinse, wring out and dry.

The company has even managed to weave improving water quality into its business plan and is donating hard cash to a number of water quality charities.

We thought it might be hard to get excited about a wash bag. We were wrong. In an era where everything seems to revolve around the internet, social media or smartphone apps, the Scrubba Wash Bag is pure genius.

The promotional video for Hop! was first released in October 2012 and since then we have admittedly seen, well... nothing.

While the promotional video does have a bit of the old, “future is now” feel to it, the sight of a carry-on sized suitcase teetering around after its inventor in an (apparently deserted) airport quite frankly fails to inspire confidence in the prototype, and to be honest is just a little bit creepy.

We also note that the inventor has to turn around every few seconds to make sure Hop! is (a) still there, (b) still upright, and (c) hasn’t become self-aware and is plotting to kill him.

Presumably there is also a battery and motor inside, both of which are bound to take up space and make the unit heavier.

All the above reasons might add up to why Hop! isn’t on sale just yet.

It’s not all doom and gloom though, this idea is surely less about whether or not the Hop! prototype is actually practical, and more about a glimpse of possibilities for the future. It’s undoubtedly a clever, if somewhat impractical idea, and who knows, we might still one day see Hop! golfbags, automatic dog-walkers, and even – heaven forbid – baby strollers.

The Ara cell phone is like a cross between Lego and a phone. Google will sell the frame and a basic operating system (display, battery, wi-fi and low-end CPU), and it’s up to us to decide what else we want to add to it via customisation: not just phones or speakers, but also medical devices, receipt printers, laser pointers, “pico projectors”, night vision sensors, and game controller buttons.

The modules will come in various sizes which will in turn fit into the slots in the cell phone, also of various sizes. The modules can be changed without turning the phone off (called “hot-swapping”), and will even allow for battery re-charges without turning the phone off (the frame includes a back-up battery).

Just in case all this wasn’t futuristic enough, the enclosures will be 3D printed so that they can be customised and replaced at will.

Perhaps best of all, Google wants to remove the accessibility hurdles for small manufacturers of phone hardware and have said that anyone will be able to design a module for the Ara without having to pay a fee or obtain a licence. All of which raises the question, what kind of fantastic modules are going to emerge when the whole world is working on them?

There have been sceptics, but they could soon be silenced: the first model is due for release in January 2015 and will cost a mere $50. Multiply that by Google’s target audience – the estimated 6 billion cell phone users – and that equals an awful lot of cash.

The possibilities for this concept are endless and can’t be summed up in the space of this review. Revolutionise is a sadly overused word but it can’t be anything less than apt here.

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DESIGNED FOR THE

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TOURISTS OF TOMORROW

H I GH ON HOTELS BY JACQUELINE DICKSON

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BELOW LEFT Dine as the mermaids do – Ithaa restaurant at Conrad Maldives

BELOW RIGHT Unparalleled accommodation experiences across two neighbouring islands

CONRAD MALDIVES INDIAN OCEAN

Reached via a 30-minute seaplane journey, the new Conrad Maldives allows guests to experience an array of unparalleled accommodation lifestyles and experiences across two neighbouring islands that are connected by a footbridge.

The smaller island Rangali offers seclusion and tranquillity, while the larger Rangalifinolhu offers a more vibrant atmosphere and activities. The associated Spa Retreat offers an over-water escape complete with water villas that feature their own private treatment rooms.

Catering for everyone from the adrenaline junkie to those more familiar with the delights of the beach lounger, this twin-island retreat sets out to satisfy the whims and desires of just about anyone who has ever longed to be castaway on a five start resort. All aboard!

Among the activities on offer for those who need a little more adrenaline is the water jet pack, a James Bond like device that propels users three metres or more above the sea’s surface, allowing them to travel at up to 45 kilometres per hour.

Naturally, tuition for the uninitiated and even more advanced training for those wanting to develop their jet pack skills are

offered. On the other hand, those guests with a nautical bent but more relaxed approach to the resort’s maritime setting, can enjoy both islands’ superb beaches before dining at Ithaa, a one-of-a-kind, aquarium-inspired restaurant. Set three metres below sea level, it offers 180-degree views of its deep sea surrounds and creatures. Ithaa won a “Certificate of Excellence” from TripAdvisor earlier this year, while the Conrad’s other star culinary billing – the Mandhoo Restaurant – offers a somewhat different take on cuisine, with its biodynamic only fare and an array of fine organic wines.

Conrad Maldives works consciously to care for the environment, utilising solar panels for water heating, biodegradable cleaning products and operates its own desalination and wastewater plant.

Even so, the Conrad Maldives is modern in every other way, with guests having the ability to contact just about anyone and anywhere at their fingertips: the Conrad Concierge App makes dining, activities and other reservations a breeze with just about any smartphone or tablet.

ABOVE Yoga sessions with a view from the infinity pool

BELOW LEFT The Crest, a sleek bridgecome-water feature will take pride of place at ME Dubai

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BELOW RIGHT Contemporary colours, materials and styles reference the space age

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ME DUBAI

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Designed by renowned architect Zaha Hadid, ME Dubai is the first of the ME by Meliá brand to open in the Middle East. As if there wasn’t enough bling on the Dubai skyline already, the city has added another 95 metre, “notch” to its skyline belt – the twin towers of the Opus Building that will house ME Dubai in 2016.

Its 23,000 square metres will be occupied by just 100 rooms, including four penthouses with private roof terraces and the brand’s signature “Suite ME”. Regaled in an array of contemporary colours, materials and stylistic references to the space age, the ME Dubai will be ultra modern in every sense of the term Michelin-star restaurants, showcasing the most exclusive food and beverage brands, will inhabit the hotel, together with a palatial array of furnishings, hand-picked

by Hadid, while the “Crest”, an uber elegant, sleek, bridge-cum-sculpture spanning a water feature – specially commissioned for the recent 2014 London Design Festival – will also take pride of place within the hotel’s grounds.

The full ME Dubai experience will go beyond simple accommodation. Assisted

by what is termed an “Aura Manager”, guests will be able to receive an exceptional level of personalised service when seeking in-house dining or the services of a tour operator, stylist, even a DJ. Together with the design and ambience of the ME Dubai, this will help to ensure a truly bespoke, and unforgettable stay.

ABOVE The shimmering exterior of the Opus Building that will house ME Dubai in 2016

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BELOW LEFT The “billowing sail” of Burj Al Arab in Dubai lights up the night sky

BELOW RIGHT For those who have dreamed of marrying high above the world, and then escaping by helicopter for the honeymoon

BURJ AL ARAB

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Dubai lays claim to another of world’s truly unique architectural icons: the Burj Al Arab - the “billowing sail of the dhow”.

Unfurling to a height of 321 metres above the island on which it sits, the Burj Al Arab is perhaps the most symbolic of Dubai’s skyline towers and lies at the forefront of its transformation from what was – some 15 and more years ago – a relatively little known Middle Eastern “backwater”, into a modern metropolis at the forefront of Arab engagement with the developed world.

With nearly 2000 square metres of 24-carat gold leaf used to embellish its interior and rare marble adorning both walls and floors, it is little wonder that this hotel has been dubbed one of the world’s most luxurious and extravagant.

Displaying unfaltering opulence at every turn, guests of the Burj Al Arab can enjoy a portfolio of highlights including the remarkable open-air Assawan Amphitheatre, health and fitness facilities, nature-based spa treatments and even the opportunity to attend a mixology (cocktail creation) class.

Incorporating 202 duplex suites with private butler service, guests find every room furnished with nothing but the

finest, most exclusive, materials. Those who aspire to be VIPs, even among the World’s travelling elite, can book into the Royal Suite spanning the entirety of the 25th floor, complete with its own private cinema included.

Eight signature restaurants set out to silence any stomach rumbles, cleverly combining world-class cuisine with imaginative environs – from the panoramic sky views and panoply of stars offered on the 27th floor of the Al Muntaha to the subterranean, aquarium setting and passing marine world of Al Mahara. The Al Iwan Restaurant looks as if it has stepped out of the Fables of the Arabian Nights, while the Bab Al Yan offers more conventional, al fresco dining by the sea.

In the meantime, it is kindly suggested that guests let the Burj Al Arab know whether they would prefer to arrive for their holiday or business stay by Rolls Royce or helicopter, in advance.

ABOVE There are eight signature restaurants and nearly 2000 square metres of 24-carat gold embellishing the interior

BELOW LEFT Ice is the sculptural medium and rooms manage to capture both austerity and luxury

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BELOW RIGHT Artists and construction staff re-build the Ice Hotel every winter

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ICE HOTEL

SWEDEN, SCANDANAVIA If the idea of a holiday parked up on a sun-lounger sipping a piña-colada isn’t quite right, then there are a few options at the quite opposite – polar – extreme. As its name suggests, Ice Hotel is exactly that.

Located in northern Sweden, it is an accommodation and artistic masterpiece carved entirely out of ice and snow.

Strangely one of the truly surprising facts about the Ice Hotel is its longevity. Under Sweden’s intense spring and summer sun it melts back to almost the level of the river it originates from, yet each winter sees around 100 artists and construction staff don their winter woollies to begin the eight-week build of a completely new Ice Hotel. In preparation for this resurrection ice and snow are harvested as two cubic metre blocks and stored in chilled warehouses awaiting their contribution to this effort. Collected exclusively from the surface and margins of the Torne River – one of Europe’s few remaining unexploited rivers – the ice and snow blocks have an almost crystal-clear structure and are free from pollutants, making them incomparable with artificial alternatives.

Despite this cyclical process,

accommodation is offered all year round, and some 50,000 visitors make their way to the far north to spend the night in sub-zero conditions, designed to bring about goose bumps from a mixture of both frosty temperatures and wonder at this architectural marvel. As the winner of “The Best Travel Experience in Sweden” (TRIP Global Awards, 2013), guests can choose to spend their stay in either a deluxe suite that features its own personal sauna, an art suite created by a Spanish wood sculptor, or in the Northern Lights room under a shimmering Technicolor facsimile of the Aurora Borealis. In fact, there’s a good chance visitors will see the real deal, made even more spectacular with its reflection bouncing off the pristine snow cover surrounding the Ice Hotel in winter.

If sleeping in -5° conditions sounds a bit extreme, then there are also some warm chalet options available, so visitors’ stays can be tailored to combine a cold night’s stay with one or two that are slightly warmer – or to avoid the cold altogether.

Upon checking out or moving to warmer quarters, guests are presented with a departing gift – a diploma stating the date

and temperatures (inside and out) on the night or nights they stayed. To celebrate, they can then head off to an icy seat in the ICEBAR and enjoy some congratulatory bubbles made out of an ice champagne glass. Everything at ICEBAR is fashioned completely out of ice, even the dance floor where recent graduates can boogie the night away. Four restaurants are also nearby.

With no storage or plumbing inside the Ice Hotel (except for the deluxe suites), all facilities are housed in a separate convenience hub, exclusive to the brave residents of the ice-made hotel. A sauna and roaring fire are on offer, while hot lingonberry juice is also on tap just in case one is in need of a slight thawing out.

With the hotel soon to celebrate its 25th anniversary, the creative heads behind the Ice House design continue to enjoy ice as their chosen sculptural medium, based on the ability to create and continuously modernise this piece of ephemeral art.

New on-site facilities are in the pipeline, but the Torne River will continue to provide the foundation for this unique amalgam of natural construction materials and human ingenuity.

THE CONTRASTS BETWEEN THE

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DUSTY AND THE VIBRANT

INDIA A PHOTO ESSAY BY BRIAN FURBUSH

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left A shop owner enjoys the early evening’s hustle and bustle as we whiz past in a tuk-tuk, Jodhpur, Rajasthan

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TOP LEFT Three men relaxing, a typical street scene walking down through the winding streets of old Jodhpur

LOWER LEFT A man at a small Bishnoi village, seen on the route to Udaipur, Rajasthan

LOWER RIGHT A typical scene in the vibrant streets of old Jodhpur, where a maze of alleyways leads one through colorful markets and shops of all varieties

BELOW A woman smiles in Jodhpur’s old neighborhood, the so-called “Blue City” surrounding the Mehrangarh Fort that towers over the city

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Below The Taj Mahal in all its glory, reflected in one of the many pools that line the main section of the complex.

righT A camel salesman on the busy desert highway from Jodhpur city proper to the desert sands in Dechu, Rajasthan.

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BELOW A verdant valley near Udaipur, Rajasthan stretches as far as the eye can see.

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INTO THE LIGHT

MYA N MA R STORY BY NICK WALTON PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT STULBERG

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BELOW The Chindwin River is a river in Burma, and the largest tributary of the country’s chief river the Ayeyarwady

It’s September and the rainy season is nearly over, but tropical deluges in the mountains to the north have set the Chindwin to a rushing, mustard-hued torrent dotted with debris.

Location: MYANMAR, SOUTH EAST ASIA

unexplored locales, while also providing the luxuries that today’s jet-set travellers demand.

The village children and I enjoy a period of gazing at one another across a muddy river bank. Some board a tiny canoe for a closer look as their fathers work with the crew to dislodge a log that’s more than two metres long. With frantic waving and laughter that reverberates across the darkening landscape, the debris is unblocked and we’re on our way again, fighting against the Chindwin’s strong current, bound for the town of Homalin further north.

It’s September and the rainy season is nearly over, but tropical deluges in the mountains to the north have set the Chindwin to a rushing, mustard-hued torrent dotted with debris. One sizable tree trunk has become entangled in our propeller, and the captain has no option but to tie up to a tree – just beyond a tiny cluster of thatch homes perched beside the river – while the crew leap into the water and dislodge it. Of all the encounters on our 12 day, 1,600km river adventure, this epitomises the experience best; we’re able to stop beside a serene riverside village whose inhabitants have quite likely never seen westerners up close before, which is precisely what we all came here for. But it’s also the third delay of the day on a long journey fraught with logistical and cultural calamities that illustrate the difficulties of introducing new and

Many of the 30-odd passengers boarding the Orcaella in Mandalay five days earlier had already travelled on the Road to Mandalay and knew the Orient-Express brand well. There were French and Americans, Germans (from both east and west), as well as a Belgian couple and a bevy of Australians travelling as a family. The Orcaella, might be somewhat lacking from an aesthetic point of view, with its custom-designed hull, shallow draft and box-like superstructure making it resemble a refrigerator floating on its back, but it makes up for this with its intimacy – just 25 cabins spread across three decks – and its traditional interior design.

Orcaella is more modern than her sister ship, with cabins that feature full height French doors which allow the warmth of the evening into the air conditioned confines of the ship. The dining room is dressed in warm, regal tones, with Asian art adorning walls and comfortable chairs lining dining tables. On the upper level there is an elegant cocktail lounge and

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The laughter of the children echoes across the rice paddy fields and off a surrounding amphitheatre of limestone cliffs, as if a pint-sized army was on the move. Their little heads eventually appear from among the tall rice reeds, nearby grazing water buffalo completely unfazed as they run to the water’s edge, stop suddenly and stare, saucer-eyed, at our ship. I’m aboard Orient-Express’ new river cruiser, Orcaella, plying the remote and rarely visited waters of the Chindwin River in northwest Myanmar, and we’ve caught a snag.

Orient-Express is no stranger to the rivers of Myanmar. The hotel and train company were among the first to operate in former Burma, identifying the thirst for new and remote destinations of its wellheeled clientele, and responding with the now iconic Road to Mandalay, a beautiful German river cruiser that now calls the Irrawaddy River home. Luxurious and intimate, the Road to Mandalay has been the first foray into Myanmar for many travellers, who, despite political instability and a nearly complete lack of infrastructure, wanted to walk among the silk looms of Mandalay or the ancient temples of Bagan, and still be able to return for cocktails on deck at sunset.

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below Young boys undertake their shinbyu, or novitiation ceremony

library, as well as an outdoor plunge pool lined by sun loungers forward, and another open air lounge and cocktail bar aft.

However, as comfortable as these are, there is a sense that the ship and her crew were rushed into service, with talk of stuck drawers and loose electrical fittings, friendly but poorly trained staff, missed excursions in Mandalay and lacklustre menus.

Still, it’s the wonders of one of Asia’s most least-known countries that are the real focus of this journey. As the sun dipped low behind the peaks of the Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park, home to Myanmar’s largest population of Indo-Chinese tigers, Captain Aung Nyein – a 42-year veteran of the river – slows Orcaella to a crawl and navigates the treacherous shifting sandbanks at the confluence of the Irrawaddy and the Chindwin. With the final rays of twilight we watch as Orcaella nudges gently into the swollen Irrawaddy, while cocktails are served on the upper sun deck and dinner

prepared in the elegant dining room.

Thanboddhay Pagoda, which is crowded for a full moon celebration, is our first real chance to delve more deeply into the local culture and its Buddhist heritage. Gaggles of curious children follow us around the orange and cream-coloured shrine and through hallowed halls pockmarked with more than 500,000 tiny Buddha statues. There are more in the nearby fields of Bodhi Tataung, where in excess of 6,000 serene sculptures, donated by the faithful, look towards a mesmerising 130 metre high gilded Buddha on a nearby hilltop.

There’s more cross cultural curiosity when we arrive with the dawn at the tiny village of Mokehtaw, walking on dykes between flooded paddy fields to the community hall in time to witness five young boys undertake their shinbyu, or novitiation ceremony. It’s a real community affair and everyone has turned out to hear the

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abbot speak, then watch as the boys’ heads are shaved and they’re wrapped in brilliant crimson robes. Many boys in Myanmar spend a period as novices – in the country it can be a year, in the city as short as a week – and it’s a very proud occasion for families and for the whole village. The young boys, no older than 10, scratch their now bald heads and pluck at their new robes, loving all the attention. They follow us back across the paddy fields to our “fast boat”, a dragonfly of a ferry that transfers guests to and from the Orcaella – which sets a more pedestrian pace in its attempt against the river current to keep schedule. Even at our glacial pace, changes to the weather are clearly apparent as we creep northwards; the mellow warmth of the plains giving way to the mists of the mountains.

The day after our logjam we’re in the lively markets of Kalewa, a trading gateway to India. It’s been raining through the night, a thick layer of mist settling over the river like whipped cream. The

mud in the markets is ankle deep, but the colour and activity of the markets make up for the weather. The Burmese are among the most welcoming people in the world; all along the river we have been greeted by singing, waving children, by shy fisherman who beam as we pass, and even at this lonely outpost near the Indian border we’re greeted with betel-stained smiles and offerings of fruit and thick, hand-rolled cheroots.

On another morning we walk down water buffalo tracks to the teak village of Maukkadaw. This is where the towering teak trees that are felled in Myanmar’s thick jungle arrive at the river to be transported downstream. We pass a military patrol searching for poachers and past massive piles of logs on our way to a local school where children are dressed in immaculately white uniforms. Their faces, however, are coated with thick strokes of decorative, thanaka clay, and they crowd around us – posing for photos, then screeching with laughter when they see

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BELOW Bagan - the ancient city in the Mandalay region of Myanmar

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themselves in the LCD screen.

In Sitthaung, a tiny village of just 25 homes, we brave belting rain and walk to the local school accompanied by packs of laughing children. On the way, we climb up and down paddy dykes, venture past stilted thatch homes and around the locals’ everstoic water buffaloes. The Orcaella conducts charity drives along the river and on this cruise we have the humbling opportunity to introduce the first electric light bulbs and a solar panel to this tiny settlement. Beautiful children with dark, inquisitive eyes line the walls of the solitary room at the school, where local militia leaders accept the solar panel donation, holding the light bulbs up and posing with them while conveying the seriousness of the occasion through their posed expressions.

Finally in Homalin, the northern-most point of our itinerary, we watch Naga tribespeople in traditional headwear sing and sway to a timeless dance while we sip homemade rice wine from bamboo cups. More inquisitive children – now dressed in bright red, black and yellow beads, with feathers in their hair – sit at our feet. The singing has a beautiful, rhythmic quality and soon guests are up, joining the dancers. It’s a magnificent experience.

The itinerary is long, with eight afternoons of cruising north and three south, but it features plenty of activities; in the market town of Mawleik we ride Chinese made tuk tuks into the countryside, to a colonial era mansion once owned by the Bombay Burmah Trading Company. There, we are greeted with glasses of

champagne while the ship’s chef serves barbequed prawns and betel nut salad. The next day we ride elephants at a working elephant camp and watch as they bathe in a nearby river.

There is a minor insurrection on the second to last day, when it’s announced that due to time constraints we’ll only be spending three hours in Bagan, a true highlight of Myanmar. The ship has struggled to keep up with the current; the logistics of boarding the fast ferry and the visits to the many villages, monasteries and markets en route has bitten into our time at the ancient temple complex. Soon, the ship’s little lobby is packed with angry passengers. Fortunately, hotel manager Win Min quickly allays everyone’s fears, tweaks the itinerary and mutiny is averted.

We spend a glorious last day exploring the ancient temples of Bagan, from regal Thatbyinnyu and Dhammayangyi to the gold-dipped Shwezigon Pagoda. We also clamber inside a few of the ancient, crumbling, terracotta-hued stupas and visit lacquer workshops before returning to the ship for sunset cocktails.

Roads will be built, guides will be written, Orcaella’s drawers and bathroom fittings will be fixed, and her itineraries will be tweaked to give passengers more time exploring and a little less cruising.

But sometimes, a little inconvenience is a small price to pay and the Orient-Express’s Orcaella and Road to Mandalay are truly charting a new route through one of Asia’s most remote and fascinating cultural and natural landscapes.

LEFT Bagan at sunset

below Inle Lake Intha fishermen

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Travel Tracker

Things we love about Myanmar Political restrictions have meant that the Republic of the Union of Myanmar is not over-run with tourists. The festive spirit of its people makes Myanmar a special place – it is also considered a safe destination for women to travel alone.

Getting here Singapore Airlines, Qatar Air and Malaysia Airlines fly to Yangon.

Transport Local transport is pretty bumpy; motion sickness tablets may be the ticket for some travellers.

Language Burmese.

Temperatures are high but a jacket is required for the chilly evenings.

Currency Khat is the currency and there is a definite lack of ATM machines. Credit cards are rarely accepted and tipping is not customary. Money is handed over and received with the right hand, the left hand supporting the right.

The people of Myanmar wear longyi, a type of sarong covering the shoulders and knees. Travellers are also advised to wear clothing that covers their shoulders and knees.

Climate A tropical monsoon climate with a considerable amount of sun, high rainfall and humidity. The best time to travel is between October and February.

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THE TEA OF LIFE IN

E CUADO R

Story and Photography by Brian furbush

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Location: TENA, ECUADOR

locals for its antioxidant properties and for providing “focused energy.” Kichwa families have maintained this pre-dawn tea ceremony for generations, and their hunters would traditionally drink guayusa prior to night-time hunts to sharpen and heighten their senses.

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Runa, a Kichwa word that translates to “fully alive,” was started in 2009 by co-founders Dan MacCombie and Tyler Gage. The company sources one hundred percent of its guayusa from local farmers throughout ten cooperatives, and in doing so, has begun to create and promote a model of sustainability. Runa has given guayusa a global presence, while providing farmers the tools to increase their income in a way that does no harm to the surrounding rainforest. Through these initiatives, Runa has generated more than $125,000 in income for local farmers since its inception.

As the smoke rises from the slowly mounting fire and the steam from the steeping guayusa tea leaves begin to envelop us, I take a step back to savour the moment. A small group sits around Silverio Mamallacta. His family gathers along a fogshrouded river in the upper reaches of the Amazon jungle, just before the sun breaches the horizon.

Silverio, a field technician for the New York-based company Runa – which helps with the start-up of local community based businesses – speaks quietly yet passionately, telling stories and legends of his proud Kichwa heritage and of his local community of Santo Domingo. The piping hot guayusa is poured into wooden gourds and passed around the group, eliciting smiles from everyone as the chill of the darkness gives way to the first reaches of morning light.

As we sip the tea, Silverio asks us to share our dreams, while he offers his interpretations of them, sharing his wisdom and at the same time deepening the bond of our group and our understanding of his culture.

Having spent the previous evening in the Santo Domingo community with indigenous Kichwa farmers, we all have a newfound appreciation for these kind people who make a living harvesting guayusa. Guayusa (pronounced “gwhy-you-sa”) is a leaf indigenous to the Amazon, prized by Kichwa

The company’s South American processing plant is located in Tena, Ecuador, a small jungle town located roughly 100 kilometres from Quito, Ecuador. We depart our hotel in Quito, La Casa Sol, for Tena, a winding drive that takes us through the stark and beautiful Andean highlands before descending 1,000 meters through a fog-shrouded cloud forest to the jungle floor. We stop along the way at the Papallacta hot springs, where steaming mineral springs and cold plunge pools bring relief to our tired, aching muscles.

As we descend through the cloud forest, visibility at times drops to no more than a few meters, and we doze off to the sound of raindrops pelting our windows.

We arrive at Hukana Matata in Archidona, a short drive from Tena, which we will call “home” for the next few days. The resort is an eco-friendly oasis accessible via a long dirt road and a harrowing, white-knuckled, bridge crossing over the Inchillaqui River. The resort boasts an array of wooden cabanas nestled into a hillside overlooking the lush jungle canopy, and we waste no time settling in with a few cold beverages in the open-air bar and restaurant. We each retire to our cabanas for the night, and I fall asleep listening to the noises of the jungle echoing through my windows.

As we are led on a tour of Runa’s processing facility next morning, it becomes clear that Runa is a

BELOW The preparation of tea at the pre-dawn guayusa ceremony

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“As the smoke rises from the slowly mounting fire and the steam from the steeping guayusa tea leaves begin to envelop us,�

TOP RIGHT Cheeky local boy at the Cando watering hole

LOWER LEFT On the edge of the Amazon is the Runa plant, where guayusa leaves are dried, processed and bagged

LOWER RIGHT Dan MacCombie, one of the Runa co-founders

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TOP LEFT The pre-dawn tea ceremony has been maintained by Kichwa families for generations

company that believes in empowering its partners while researching ways to promote supportable, organic agriculture. Via its not-for-profit Fundación Runa, the company has remained committed to community development for local farmers and social outreach. It is also researching new and improved ways to grow guayusa alongside other sustainable crops in the Amazon.

We are shown experimental plots by nursery manger Alexandra Humanante, who explains that guayusa needs only a single sapling in the ground to bud and I reflect on the metaphor of a single sapling launching an entire company and how, from that single sprout, an entire jungle can grow.

We depart from the processing plant and have lunch at an outdoor market in the centre of Tena, where we are treated to a filling soup of chicken and rice, together with cold glasses of sweetened guayusa tea. For dessert, we try a local delicacy, a skewer full of “Grugru” or fried grub worm; to say we were all hesitant would be an understatement, but we were pleasantly surprised to discover a taste resembling deep fried bacon.

Bellies full and feeling adventurous after our grub worm standoff,

we drive to a local watering hole, Cando, a verdant jungle paradise of natural springs and waterfalls. We spend the next few hours relaxing, splashing around in the azure and emerald pools, diving off small rock cliffs and exploring the surrounding rainforest. We spend our remaining time at Hakuna Matata, relaxing poolside as the falling rain lulls us into a tranquil state of bliss.

During a break in the weather, I stroll down the hillside to the Inchillaqui River, where I wade out to a rock outcrop in the middle of its graceful torrent. As I sit and watch life flow past me, I am able to reflect on what I’ve seen and been so inspired by at Runa. I realize how grateful I am for having a link, not only to a unique, marketable product, but also to the sustainable physical and economic systems built around it, the community it serves and the way of life it helps to protect.

As I start down the tarmac on my journey home, my mind wanders back to that moment at the start of our journey when the sun began to rise above the foggy Amazonian canopy and I was able to breathe in the rich Kichwa heritage. It is in that moment that I start to grasp what it means to be “fully alive.”

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ABOVE. 10 kilometres from Tena, captial of the Napo Province lies Hakuna Matata Resort

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Below A horse on the way through the stark and beautiful Andean highlands

Travel Tracker Things we love about Ecuador A gateway to the Galapagos Islands of Darwinian fame, Ecuador is home to intriguing local culture and architecture as well as lush rainforests.

Getting here Situated between two South American countries, Columbia and Peru on the coast, Ecuador can be accessed by land and sea and has two international airports.

Transport Buses seem to be the main form of transport, apart from river cruises and boat rides to the Galapagos Islands. If hiring a

car, leaving any possessions in view of would be thieves is a big risk.

Language Spanish, along with Northern Quechua and other pre-colonial American languages.

Currency The US dollar.

Climate Ecuador has two seasons – both are hot and dry.

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HO N G KONG YIN AND YANG

STORY by Michael Hooper

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Location: hong kong

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I am at the Lui Sang Chun centre for traditional medicine, built in 1931, which, like many of its patients, is alive and well - despite its age. It is a historical tong lau, or shop-house, that was popular back in the first half of the twentieth century, with a ground floor shop under the family living quarters.

Although it showcases the history of the ancient healing arts, the centre is more than a museum, with patients in a steady stream from the first flick of sunlight on the turgid swells of Hong Kong Harbour through to the evening light show that fantastically choreographs the futuristic waterfront towers. The ebb and flow suggests humours in balance.

My tongue clearly concerns Dr Chow as it lay out at full stretch under his gaze. He expels a long sigh - with the same tone that mechanics use before really expensive, bad news. My yin, it seems, is too prominent and out of balance with my yang. The yellow and black colours, and the wetness of my proboscis, are not as they should be. Perhaps it was the coffee, I proffer pathetically. “Too much milk,” he opines. “I do like lattes,” I admit, even more pathetically; and, yes, more than one a day. “Too wet,” he adds. “You need to reduce the intake of cold foods and liquids.”

So coffee, white wine and salad are off the menu. For heaven’s sake, I live in Ponsonby - I’ll starve!

Next door, in a long room overlooking the traffic, masked pharmacists assemble prescriptions that included snake skin (to aid bone setting), Ning-Po figwort root, dried baby lizards, black bees (for sore throats) and scorpions. The prescriptions roll off a printer, but the scales remain hand-held with bamboo balances.

Whether they visit Dr Chow and his apothecary colleagues, or just go as far as the teak-framed, ornately tiled, foyer for herbal tea from a huge brass urn, visitors to the medical centre enjoy the unique combination of past and future that Asia’s “World City” offers canny travellers. Among its offerings are ethical accommodation, genuine village dwellers, refreshing nature walks, and even “fast-slow food” and locally sourced organic produce – all within a vibrant metropolis that defines the term Asia in the same way that New York does America.

The city’s 2008 conservation and restoration policy proclaims: “being a civilised and developed society, our citizens aspire for richness in life through links to our past and building a sense of identity through conservation of our heritage buildings”. Some examples are just minutes away from the luggage carousel.

GONDOLAS IN THE MIST Hong Kong International Airport is attached to Lantau Island, so that when heading into town, neckstretching to take in the great wall of apartment towers (some housing 10,000 people), one could easily be forgiven for missing a higher contemplation. Floating over the airport access road and rail, high above the South China Sea, are “crystal cabins” – glass-floored gondolas – that float, silently like bubbles over

BELOW Tai O is a fishing town, located on the western side of Lantau Island in Hong Kong

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BELOW The modern iClub Business Hotel in Wan Chai is the first carbon neutral hotel in Hong Kong

blue-green forests, up to a giant Buddha shrouded in mists that nuzzle the peaks of Lantau. Most people would not even notice.

Seventy kilometres of gentle woodland trails begin near the base of the sitting Buddha and loop back to the Walking With Buddha Souvenir Shop. There visitors and locals alike can make a wish under the Bhodi Tree, focussing on the next life without ever losing sight of Starbucks. On the “Wisdom Trail”, I found myself wandering past plodding wild oxen, among 38 tall totem polestyle structures and statues arranged in an “infinity” pattern on a green hillside. These are inscribed with verses from the Confucian Heart Sutra. The highest pole is blank, to suggest emptiness.

At the trail’s end, those without a head for heights may choose to descend the hill by the local bus, as it rattles over rickety roads for half an hour – via a series of tiny coastal towns with three-storey, dilapidated, fibrolite cottages – on the way to the living legacy of Tai O. This settlement in the mangroves was once a salt producing, and exporting, community, but the industry dried up,

and only the seasoned have survived through salting fish and sustainable tourism. Narrow, booby-holed boardwalks wend literally through fisher folk shacks, some abandoned and others perched on poles above a canvas of dried mud and sea modulating with the tides. The odd toothless denizen emerges to give a wide smile of encouragement as tourists pick their way through her front verandah.

To my surprise, our guide, Fanny Wu Shu Fun, turns out to be a social worker, employed by the YWCA to help the coastal villagers eke out a living, suffused in the sight and scent of bright buckets and bamboo racks of salted, silver-skinned fish. Long boats of tourists putter around channels in the mud flats, sometimes watching the overhanging toilets and fish nets on their arm’s length tablet screens, and pointing excitedly at the poverty revealed on their LED screens. The elegance of the odd white crane wading under the piers seems somehow at odds with the unadorned fishing village, with its human activity and cats lying smugly at ease.

Eventually, our boat journey ends at a more recently gentrified piece of history, the old Tai O Police Station, where cell bars have now become house bars. Renovated and re-born as an attractive boutique hotel, elevated in bush above the estuary, it is fronted by an old canon that used to fire out to sea, and guides tell tales of smugglers and shipwrecks. Occasionally, it is possible to see a Chinese White Dolphin cruising through the bay below, although its adult colour is more a pinkish alabaster than white.

any bigger, but we are slowly expanding into southern China where some larger farms have been getting their organic certification,” he says. Being an Italian restaurant, says Josh, they go through a lot of tomatoes, and for that they have to venture further, to Kunming District in southern China. The movement is spreading, driven by a very small, committed team. For visitors with an ethical or healthy food preference, it shows that Hong Kong really has options to offer.

The after-lunch bus bumps me back to Tung Chung, where the 40-outlet City Gate Mall is filled with genuine fashion label bargains, and the spotless, speedy, Metro arrives to whisk me back to Causeway Bay.

STAYING GREEN Even one of the largest and most expansive hotel groups is embracing sustainability. I was impressed to find rooftop, organic herb and vegetable gardens at the five Regal Hotels in Hong Kong.

Their group CEO actively drives sustainability throughout her organisation, which intends opening another 15 hotels in Asia over the next year.

A different take again is found up just a few levels of SoHo hillside escalators at the cosmopolitan Posto Pubblico, an Italian restaurant set on a brick-laid street among eating places of every nationality, except Chinese. Young chef and entrepreneur Josh Chu, has been with the restaurant since it opened 2009, and has been fostering organic produce ever since, even in this spacechallenged city. Posto Pubblico’s founders are from New York, while Josh is from Virginia but of mixed parentage. Hong Kong, he reckons, is “the land of opportunity”.

“Our goal was to insert local organic produce into a New York Italian setting,” he says. At first that meant “cleaning out” the twice-weekly farmers market and bringing crates of produce back by taxi. Soon the company had started its own organic food distribution operation. “We work with approximately 15 to 20 farms around Hong Kong and deliver fresh produce. It’s a bit more expensive, but with control of our own logistics we save money: we work directly with the farmers and our carbon footprint is quite low.” A lettuce that has not had to travel from the USA, for example; it is half the price says Josh, “and it still has dirt on it!”

“Business is growing every year and we have opened three other restaurants. Unfortunately, the farms in Hong Kong aren’t getting

I joined Bowie Ho from Regal aboard a traditional tram. We put our HK$2.30 in the box and clatter from the flagship Regal Hong Kong in Causeway Bay, along Johnston Rd, to the company’s ultra modern iClub business hotel in Wan Chai (the first carbon neutral hotel in Hong Kong). While the former is traditionally luxurious, the latter is very zen, with much glass and daylight in rooms, and a cosy “iLounge” that offers complimentary espresso and snacks 24-hours. It has a link with a renowned vegetarian restaurant nearby that is staffed by, and supports, the hearing impaired.

Sustainability has many faces.

Christo Diamandopolous, General Manager of the Regal Kowloon Hotel, tells me that the hotel donates tired uniforms to clothing banks, and throughout the group there’s a broad emphasis on the environment. His hotel donates surplus food to a foundation, which collects for redistribution to the needy, and works with companies and the government to gather up all unused soap, while staff volunteer groups go out to work in the botanical gardens. It translates to ethically better accommodation that would resonate well with Kiwis.

This year, the hotel group is emphasising social sustainability, “whether it be kids with drug problems, or with just one parent, the elderly to the disabled. We’re also working with the Cancer Foundation and some of the institutions that have the handicapped working for them, to make items for us such as organic food or paper products. It’s all pretty exciting.”

One of my more surprising “green” finds was the world’s top airport hotel, as voted by Skytrax and Business Traveller (UK and Asia-Pacific editions) – again within the Regal hotel group.

Despite such credentials, it still has world-class spa facilities, and even rooms with private spa and massage facilities and outdoor hot tubs – all within the airport precinct. It’s worth a stopover on its own.

More over, it’s not just the giants of the industry that are

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SLOW BUT FAST That evening I see a different side of sustainability. The Slow Food movement was established in Italy to oppose the trend to fast food, but, inevitably in Hong Kong, it has been sped up. At Mana Fast Slow Food I am greeted by the proprietor, Iris van Kerckhove, who ushers me to her counter of gluten-free, humanely sourced, food. One of the founders is the appropriately named Bobsy Gaia, who explains that “slow” is really a metaphor for “real” and organic food. Vegetarian “flats”, seasoned with Zataar (thyme, sumac, sesame seeds and sea salt), raw grains, astounding berry juices and cakes made without heat, are finding huge favour with young Chinese who jam into the small bohemian space or squeeze onto a few wooden tables under air extractor ducts and strings of party lights. It’s the Hong Kong crush. Thankfully, among all this food idealism, it is still possible to get French fries!

embracing the sustainability principles promoted by the local Hong Kong Green Council. The rooms of the boutique Hotel Madera in Kowloon (Jordan / Tsim Sha Tsui) feature windows that run practically floor-to-ceiling for natural light. Attention to recycling detail includes chopping off the heads of abandoned toothbrushes so the handles can be reconstituted. When visiting The Madera, check out its quirky museum of memorabilia from colonial times, including British red phone booths, rickshaws, and a wall of album covers that I was embarrassed to recognise.

Back at the traditional medicine centre, I wait outside for a cab, huddled over my paper cup of steaming, bark-like herbal remedy with its mothball aroma from the brass urn in the tiled foyer.

Dr Chow’s watery, sad smile had hinted at benign resignation to this passing westerner with humours both cold and wet, betrayed by a Technicolor tongue. Watercolour headlights smeared past, as I cowered before a sudden tropical deluge, aware of my own fluid and temperature imbalance. Some, I concluded, are born wet, while others have moisture thrust upon them.

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Still respecting the past, Hong Kong is embracing a future that includes annual beach clean-ups, sustainable hotels, and nature walks within one of the world’s most densely populated cities.

There’s an irony about this city. While it is packed to the point of over-crowding, it also displays a piercing and personal humanity.

The tawdry can fill a suitcase at bargain prices, but there is also

high fashion and style, and more spectacular hairstyles than are likely to be seen anywhere else. There are even hotels – like the 1200-room Airport Regal – where the chef picks organic herbs without leaving the property, and the likes of Posto Pubblico where tomato sauce means buying in 80 kilos of organic tomatoes a week. For sheer diversity, there’s nothing like it.

Travel Tracker

Things we love about Hong Kong The diversity; huge skyscrapers and the whirl of city life contrast with the lush vegetation of the outer islands. Hong Kong has some of the world’s best restaurants and tourists flock to the massive malls and street markets.

Language Cantonese and English. Apparently just a few words of Cantonese can go a long way.

Getting here Hong Kong is well connected internationally with flights available from most major cities.

Climate Hong Kong has a subtropical climate cooled by a sea breeze. October to December has the lowest rainfall.

Transport The transport system is sophisticated; on any day visitors need only choose the most convenient mode to reach their destination because train, taxi, subway, tram, ferry and bus are all available.

Further Notes On the Chinese mainland, traditional medicine was banned in 1929, and the war with Japan in 1937 added to the influx of mainlanders into Hong Kong for treatment. The Japanese rulers of Hong

Currency Hong Kong dollar.

Kong re-organised and registered traditional practitioners in 1942 and the Chinese re-unification in 1997 spurred on the revival. Today it is still gaining in popularity, with practitioners required to add a five year degree to their standard medical studies. Their techniques include a centuries-old method of taking the pulse at three different depths, on both wrists, to measure different flows.

Michael Hooper paid for his own travel but was a guest of Regal Hotels, and assisted in arrangements by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Global Ecolabelling Network.

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“I see my passengers as friends coming to visit my home.”

Nadia Hung, Flight Attendant Cathay Pacific Airways

“I grew up in a peaceful little city in Taiwan, where people are very warm and friendly. And Cathay Pacific is a very warm company, very human, with a kind heart. So maybe that’s why they chose me. I like to think so.”

People. They make an airline. Visit cathaypacific.com

new cornerstones of

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architecture and culture

DUBA I STORY BY HERMINE BANKS

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BELOW Some of the varieties found in the spice and gold souks

Location: dubai, UAE A long time ago in a land far away… genies granted wishes, people rode on magic carpets, treasures awaited behind cave doors and golden domed palaces gleaming and mysterious rose out of the desert sands. Arabian tales have long fascinated, thrilled and awed the outside world and continue to do so today.

However, unlike the tales we heard at bedtime as children, today’s fantastical tales of Arabia and, in particular, Dubai are not merely figments of an author’s over-active imagination.

Dubai is famed for being a city establishing new cornerstones of architecture and innovation. It hosts the world’s tallest building (Burj Al Khalifa), the only seven star hotel (the sail shaped Burj

Al Arab), the largest entertainment centres and malls, world class water parks (Aquaventure at the Atlantis), man made white sand beaches (Jumeriah beach) and over-the-top lavish restaurants serving world class cuisine (the underwater Ossiano).

The truly magical thing about Dubai however, is not all its grandeur; it is the way in which the city is a curious mix of the old world and the new, the east and the west, the contemporary and the conventional.

The architecture of Downtown Dubai is a mixture of mega-storey and mid-rise developments, the skyscrapers pushing the boundaries of design and gravity

while the buildings closer to earth are reminiscent of a more traditional Arabic architectural style.

The Vida Downtown with its earthy tones, clay textures, terraces, parapets and pergolas is one such building that draws inspiration from the city’s past. Behind its conventional exterior Vida is luxurious and modern. However, unlike Dubai’s countless mega hotels each with over a thousand rooms, the boutique Vida Downtown – with just 156 rooms and suites – is a relatively new concept.

We are told that the staff at the very personable Radwa Safwat have been specifically hired for their x-factor to match the energy and personalities of the hotel’s guests. This is evident from the hassle free service that we receive at the front desk when there is a problem with our booking, and the warm greetings we get every morning for breakfast while being automatically shown to our favourite table. It is equally apparent in the speediness of the Romanian waiter who plies us with a steady stream of wellmixed cocktails by the pool when we return from a hectic day of sightseeing and the passion with which Zyra, the server for our lunch at Toko (the hotel’s adjacent Japanese restaurant), insists we try her favourite dessert on the menu, despite being almost at bursting point. So glad she insisted!

Vida’s location at the calmer end of downtown Dubai, yet still within walking distance of the iconic Burj Al Khalifa and Dubai Mall, allows us to be right in the middle of everything without being right in the middle of the city’s hustle and bustle. The Dubai Mall nearby has a whopping 1,200 stores ranging from high end to high street; it also houses a state-of-the-art entertainment centre (including an indoor ski field), one of the world’s largest free standing aquariums

Although relatively busy at all hours of the day the mall and its surrounding area really come alive after dark. The streets are lit with thousands of fairy lights that adorn the palm trees on the boulevard and just as many headlights from cars moving bumper to bumper down its concourse.

Couples stroll down the street holding hands (this is generally acceptable for those who are married), while a mixture of locals dressed in traditional Arabic dress and colourfully dressed expats mingle with friends and family along the sidewalk’s cafes and restaurants, all of which are open until well past midnight.

As we wait in the warm spring evening for the light and musical spectacle of the Dubai Fountain to begin, we are surrounded by an almost wall-to-wall crowd of people from all walks of life and from every corner of the world – many of whom now call the city home – their voices forming into a hum of different languages and accents. There is the Russian family; mum, dad and kids all dressed in highlighter polo t-shirts, vying for the best position; there is the Indian family of three generations, dressed in a varied array of saris, jeans and dresses huddled together on the stairs; there is the group of Emirati teenagers dressed in identical white robes standing around nonchalantly (we are guessing they have seen the fountain show before); and there is the tourist couple dressed in shorts and sandals that – like us – are surveying the scene with mild bewilderment. Quietly observing this patina of ethnically and culturally diverse people, it is hard to imagine that only a few decades ago none of our surroundings existed and that much of the city was still just mounds of sand.

As all good Arabian tales go, the advent of Dubai’s development into the mega city it is today began with the discovery of treasure in the late sixties – black, liquid treasure. A stroll along the natural water inlet of Dubai Creek which runs through the heart of the city, gives us a glimpse of the first futuristic building structures to emerge amid Dubai’s oil funded

construction boom. The convex shaped Bank of Dubai, the triangular Sheraton Hotel, the twin Rolex buildings, the golf ball roofed Telecom building - these are all postcard images of Dubai in the nineties.

It is fitting that this skyline sprung up on the banks of the very creek which, thousands of years ago, provided the foundation for Dubai’s first settlement, when members of the founding Bani Yas tribe, began to use the area as a fishing and trading post. Navigating the crowds of workers and tourists, we walk past a scene that has been playing out here for centuries: colourful rows of small wooden boats or abras waiting to ferry people across the water and larger ancient ocean going vessels waiting for their goods to be unloaded.

It is no wonder then that the area is known as the “bustling heart of Old Dubai”. As we travel further into the old town, we find the bustling heart of Old Dubai to be beating even stronger.

On the eastern side of the creek, behind Dubai’s 1990s skyline, the remnants of its historical commercial centre are still evident in the souks of Deira. These markets still sell everything, from fresh produce and fish, to spices, clothing, knick-knacks and jewellery. They remain loud, colourful and vibrant places of trading.

The most famous of the markets is the Gold Souk. With almost 700 shops packed to the brim with every type of gold jewellery imaginable, it is one of the largest markets of its kind in the world. As we browse the shop windows we are not sure what is more blinding – the glare from the forty degree sun overhead or the bling from the carats of gold that surround us. Our eye catches a particularly hefty necklace with an equally hefty price tag. It is so massive, it reaches down to our waists. What occasion could one possibly wear this to we wonder – a coronation?

Since we have no royal friends we move on, through the zigzagging alleyways in search of the spice souk, dodging the hawkers selling fake watches and handbags on the way.

The spice souk – located behind the gold

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Consisting of spaciously chic rooms and suites hosting state of the art technology, four restaurants, a cabana lined pool and up to date meeting rooms, the hotel provides exceptional facilities that allow both leisure and business travellers to optimise their stay in Dubai without feeling like they are just another number in the revolving door of visitors.

and the Dubai Fountain. It is unsurprising then, that the mall is also a social hub where locals, expats and tourists all gather to shop, eat and play.

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souk – is surprisingly small. The narrow passages are lined with sacks of spices and herbs in vibrant hues of yellows, purples, greens and browns; their heady aromas tantalizing enough to get anyone, foodie or not, excited. We wander along the small stores, some of which have been owned by the same family for generations, fascinated by the exotic products on offer. There are creamy, almost translucent, stones with a wonderfully woody fruit smell, which we discover to be frankincense; there are long black wrinkled vanilla pods, which we are told are like magical beans when added to a desert recipe; and there are hardened balls of dried lemons, perfect for popping into a potful of soup or stew. There are also dried flowers that together deliver a sensational cup of tea, and we obligingly pick a mix of rose buds, lavender and hibiscus flowers while the shopkeeper provides helpful instructions on how best to use them in a ‘cuppa’.

Although tea is widely drunk, the drink of choice is more usually Arabic coffee. On the west side of old Dubai, in an area called Bur Dubai (Mainland Dubai), we sit on cushions at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding, sipping its renowned UAE brew. The taste is bitter, yet milder than western coffee, with a hint of spices (possibly cardamom and cinnamon), and is drunk out of the small shot sized cups with no handles.

The sweet dates that accompany the drink help to offset its bitter taste. Dahlia, our host at the Centre’s traditional Emirati brunch, tells us of the importance of the ritual we are partaking in. As a visitor to an Emirati home she informs us, “You have not been honoured until you have been served coffee and dates, generally by the youngest male in the house.”

Dahlia and her fellow hosts are all dressed in the traditional Arab dress – the women in the long black loose robes called Abayas and the men in the long white robes called Gandoora with headscarves (Keffiyeh). They are all university students in their early 20s who volunteer at the Centre to help foster a deeper cultural awareness between the Arab world and foreigners by sharing their experiences and heritage. For someone so young, Dahlia has the confidence, surety and knowledge of someone well beyond her years and informs our group of about 20 people that no topic is taboo. There are a lot of questions about the role and status of women in UAE society, marriage and relationships, the Sheikhs and, of course, religion. But the topic of the hour, not surprisingly is the Emirati’s choice of fashion.

Dahlia advises us that the history of the traditional dress dates back to the time of the Bedouin when her ancestors were living as nomads in the desert. She tells us that as the Bedouins lived their lives open to the elements the robes were a practical invention to protect themselves and their clothing from the harsh desert heat and frequent sandstorms. “Who wants sand in their hair all the time?” she quips.

It becomes evident that despite the dramatic leaps in their standard of living there is still a great affection and respect for the simpler desert dwelling way of life, even amongst Dubai’s youth.

Links to their heritage and the desert forms an integral part of the Emirati’s national identity. In the cooler months many families and groups of friends pack up and travel into the sand dunes with goat hair tents to camp, sometimes for weeks at a time.

Dahlia tells us they spend time playing music, cooking, talking; in general just hanging out and enjoying the desert.

So when later that evening we travel into the desert for a dune bashing adventure and see a woman and her two young kids perched on a rug, enjoying a picnic in the middle of a deserted desert we do not even bat an eyelid. Our guide, Robbie from

SNTTA Emir Tours, expertly navigates the sandy ridges, up towards the crest of each dune, allowing the vehicle to teeter precariously at the top before propelling us forwards and downwards. Some of the drops are almost vertical and we find ourselves either whooping in delight or holding our breath as we go over the edge.

Robbie tells us there is an art to driving in the desert: there are no permanent landmarks, so the only guidance comes from ripples in the sand, which tell him where the sand is hard or soft. Even so, drivers need to be alert as the terrain can change pretty quickly when the wind creates new dunes and faces. We halt at the top of a particularly large mound and the car has barely stopped before we are out, shoes off, to explore the terrain. We can already see why the Emirati feel disconnected if they don’t regularly feel the desert sand between their toes; it feels amazing.

Unsurprisingly, there is not a lot of vegetation in the desert but a particularly beautiful shrub with star shaped white and purple flowers, and green balloon-shaped fruit, catches our eye. Looks however can be deceiving. Robbie tells us the plant is called Sodom’s Apple (after supposedly being discovered at the destroyed cities of Sodom and Gomorrah) and legend has it that the fruit turns to ash and smoke when picked. Apparently even the camels stay well away from the poisonous fruit.

In a harsh, barren landscape where not much survives, camels have long been the backbone of nomadic life. They have always been mounts, as well as pack animals, able to travel long distances, that provided life-saving mobility in unforgiving desert environs. Given, however, that the nomadic lifestyle has slowly ebbed away, we are surprised to find that camels are still widely domesticated. We see a flock running in the distance with an off-road vehicle racing alongside, to herd them back to their enclosure, and Robbie tells us that camel trading remains quite a lucrative market, with the animals being sold for either milk, meat or racing – the latter being the most expensive to purchase.

We soon get to ride our own camels at our next stop, the Al Rabia farm. As we bob around on their backs and humps like sail boats on a stormy sea, our hopes of becoming legendary camel racers quickly sink. A 70 acre hobby farm in Sharjah (a neighbouring state to Dubai), Al Rabia houses a date plantation, camel stables, horse stables and expansive areas for team building and functions amongst its flora and fauna in true Arabic style: think large open tents, plush carpets, lanterns hanging from the ceiling, and camels surveying the world lazily while chewing slowly on dry feed.

Our dinner that night is amid much the same setting, within a safari-style camp in the middle of the desert. The camp has stalls where visitors can buy traditional Arabic homewares, get temporary henna tattoos and smoke seisha pipes. The food is traditional Middle Eastern cuisine of grilled meat and fish, stews, rice and salads, accompanied by hummus and tabbouleh, while the evening’s highlight is undoubtedly traditional Arabic belly-dancers.

Starting off in a slow rhythmic movement, the individual dancer’s movements get faster and faster as the intensity of the music changes; she is soon almost a blur of blue and silver and we almost get dizzy looking at her. Yet, somehow she stays perfectly in control. And that perfectly sums up how we feel about Dubai: a surprising mixture of design and elegance that still resonates with elements of its heritage and past.

“Robbie tells us there is an art to driving in the desert: there are no permanent landmarks, so the only guidance comes from ripples in the sand, which tell him where the sand is hard or soft. �

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Travel Tracker

Things we love about Dubai The sun shines nearly every day and Dubai also has some of the most innovative architecture in the world – shopping takes on a new meaning in the futuristic malls.

Getting here Dubai is well connected internationally with direct flights from major centres.

Transport A massive fleet of buses operates around Dubai and in recent years a metro service was also built to cope with the increasing population.

Language Arabic and English.

Currency Dirham.

Climate Tropical desert; summers are extremely hot, reaching temperatures higher than 40 degrees and in winter a warm 23 degrees.

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SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL

S L OV E N I A

STORY BY SCOTT ALEXANDER YOUNG photography by grega kapun

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BELOW Piran Harbour at sunset combining its mediaeval town form with the natural beauty of the Adriatic coastline

Imagine boats tied up at a jetty that finishes just where the market square of Piazza Tartini begins, and a seafront promenade where people swim and sunbathe, lined with seafood restaurants - ranging in quality from serviceable, to really rather good indeed.

Location: Slovenia That dragon bridge mentioned before spans the Ljubljana River, which runs through the city like a Venetian canal. Flanked on both sides by restaurants and cafes and bars, when night falls, it makes for a highly picturesque stroll before or after dinner. There is any number of arts and crafts shops around, and appealing handicrafts seem to be another thing at which Slovenians excel.

Not for them the retro kitsch found, for instance, in Prague, or the repetitious folkloric tat of Hungary.

“Best lamb cutlets I’ve had since I left New Zealand’ I said between mouthfuls of Pinot Noir at Valvas’or, the Gault Millau listed restaurant where we were enjoying lunch. But this wasn’t Paris – the waiters were far too polite for that – it was in fact the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana.

As befits this air of fairytale Europe, Slovenia is rich in folklore and legend. Indeed the story goes that Ljubljana was founded by those Ancient Greek superheroes, Jason and the Argonauts. They did battle with dragons in Ljubljana, one of whom survived and is, to this day, still guarding the dragon bridge across the river of Ljubljana. Or so it’s said. The dragon bridge with its gorgeous sheet-copper dragons is one of the ‘must-sees’ of Ljubljana, and, like practically everything else within town, it’s in walking distance. In this capital city, the centre of town is the railway station, dragon bridge, shops and restaurants; all are just a few minutes away from each other. There are plenty of hotels to choose from too, but we parked our toothbrushes at the City Hotel, a contemporary sort of place with a touch of the business traveller about it, but with obliging and helpful staff who could not be faulted.

Even the castle on the hill overlooking Ljubljana is accessible by foot, if trudging uphill is one’s idea of fun – it’s not mine.

Fortunately, there’s also a children’s railway and a funicular, which for the princely sum of four Euros (return), provides a quick trip up to the 15th century stronghold, renovated in the 1960s. Well, more restored than renovated – there are no lava lamps, shag pile carpets or beanbags in any of the chambers that we saw. Though it must be said, the wheel room laser light show is mildly psychedelic. It’s an installation that pays tribute to the fact that the oldest wooden wheel and axle ever discovered, (carbon dated 5200 years) were found nearby in the Ljubljana marshes. The castle is a cultural centre these days, where for instance, classic movies are screened on warm summer evenings. It’s also home to more conventional attractions such as a café and a wine bar, a far cry from its usage as a prison during World War Two.

After an amble around the hilltop castle and a peek at Tito’s villa, we took a flat-bottomed wooden boat from the villa over the sweet, clear waters to the island. Having arrived, there was a pilgrimage to complete. In the church itself, there hangs hope on a rope. Well, right in front of the nave, visitors can pull the rope, which rings the bell in the tower, and make a wish.

There are 700 steps which lead to the church, so we felt we had earned ourselves a little, how shall we say, indulgence? Stopping at the town, it was time for a Muscat wine and a kremšnita, a suitably sinful vanilla and cream pastry. Interesting to note this little country is home to 24 gastronomic regions? It certainly puts most of central Europe in the shade when it comes to fresh produce. And even that fine Pinot Noir mentioned at the top was Slovenian.

The second leg of our journey took in the Slovenian coastline, and Piran, one of the most charming coastal towns on the Adriatic, or anywhere for that matter. This seaside town is undoubtedly the main attraction on Slovenia’s 46 kilometre long shoreline. Picture a quaint coastal town of considerable antiquity; terracotta roofed, limestone houses surrounded by cypress trees overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Imagine boats tied up at a jetty that finishes just where the market square of Piazza Tartini begins, and a seafront promenade where people swim and sunbathe, lined with seafood restaurants - ranging in quality from serviceable, to really rather good indeed. Think seafood platters and carafes of white wine, ice creams and beers. Think too of a place where every second building tells a story – see that pink coloured house on the main market square: it’s a delightful example of Venetian Gothic architecture, and was built in the 15th century by a merchant of Venice, for a beautiful Piranese maiden. The trader cared not that it caused scandal: the inscription above the Venetian lion relief, reads Lassa pur dir – “Let them all talk” in Latin. Note the bell tower of the church on the hill above: it’s a replica of the famous and slightly larger one in Venice’s Saint Mark’s Square. And on Piran’s main market square, Piazza Tartini, it’s only right we should find a statue of the violinist and composer Giuseppe Tartini, with Stradivarius and bow in hand. It’s a nice change from the usual conqueror on horseback wearing plate armour and wielding a sword.

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Lovely Slovenia: what a bonny wee place it is, nestled between Italy and Croatia, Austria and Hungary. To give some idea of its compact nature, the capital Ljubljana is home to a mere 280,000 people and the Slovenian coastline runs for just 46 kilometres. It is possible to drive from one side of the country to the other in three or four hours and even though there may be smaller countries in the world (Liechtenstein and Tuvalu spring to mind), few feel so delightfully cosy.

The Slovenes strike me as quite outdoorsy types, and while Ljubljana is active enough on a Friday night for example, it tends to clear out on the weekends, as people head for the hills, or the coast; to the mountain hut or summer cottage - or just the seat of a ten speed bike. So we decided to join the masses with a day trip to Lake Bled, courtesy of Slovenia Explorer. Bled is such a scenic spot that its picture perfect mittel-European imagery will seem all too familiar from travel brochures. It’s an Alpine resort, built around a placid lake of cobalt blue. A 1000 year old hilltop castle overlooks Lake Bled and in its centre is a small island, home of the Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage Church – about which more anon. A Gatsby style mansion also overlooks the lake. Now a hotel, this is the villa where Yugoslav strongman Marshall Tito used to party with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor - among many others.

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RIGHT Lake Bled is a lake in the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia.

The lake is of mixed glacial and tectonic origins

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Yet, the impish looking Tartini had his dark side too. His best known composition is the “Devil’s Trill Sonata” which he claimed came to him in a dream, a dream where he competed with Lucifer to see who was the better violinist!

If that story sounds familiar, it’s because the tale has travelled down to us over the years and even wound up as a country song called The Devil Went Down to Georgia, or more recently the Tenacious D track, Tribute Song. But I digress.

Venice with Topline Cruises, before departing from Venice’s Treviso airport.

And around 300 other people had the same idea. The day before had been a bit choppy out at sea, so perhaps some of them had decided to wait 24 hours before sailing. There was still a bit of waterborne turbulence the day we crossed, but it only lasted 20 minutes of the 2 hour 45 minute trip, and the crew and cabin staff were unfailingly helpful and good tempered throughout.

There are plenty of places to stay in Piran, as well as next door in the glitzier, but less authentic feeling, town of Portoroz. But for those wanting to impress, there’s really only a choice of two places to stay: either Hotel Piran or the Hotel Tartini. We chose the latter, just as we have in the past. It’s a bright, cheerful sort of spot and its terrace bar has great views of the old town. As for dining, there are restaurants and cafes all along the seaside promenade, but we chose to go a little further inland, winding up more than once in the May 1 Piazza, Piran’s second largest square. It’s picturesque too, in a slightly more understated way than Tartini. I glugged beers at the Cutty Sark pub and we dined at the Fortuna Trattoria, where I gorged myself on calamari and vermicelli frutti de mare. Robust but effective, like the shot of grappa which came at the end of the meal. We were following the one inviolate rule of Slovenian/Croatian travel: find out which restaurants the Italians are eating at, and go to them.

Soon we were sailing into Venezia, past Saint Marks Square and breathing in the “immense splendour of the place”, as Evelyn Waugh put it. Venice was a memorable end to a great trip – and, not just because Ryan Air double-charged us for the bus to Treviso Airport. (Sorry; had to get that one in there.)

But all good things must come to an end.

After a few days sunning ourselves, admiring the architecture and views and exploring Piran’s maze of shady back streets, plus making the odd excursion to a nearby attraction and drinking too much wine at lunch, it was time to end our ramble through Slovenia. With all these reminders of Venice – Piran was once a Venetian outpost after all – we decided to take the ferry crossing from Piran to

Yet the real highlight of it all was a not-at-all slovenly and really rather lovely Slovenia. Take my advice and visit it soon, including Piran – although I must, at this point, confess a particular interest in that wonderful coastal retreat. On my first trip to Piran, observing some cats scurrying around beneath the outdoor tables of a waterfront restaurant, I had one of those ‘eureka’ moments that only come a few times in a writer’s lifetime. As a result, I have since written two chronicles of a children’s book series called The Wild Cats of Piran, available now as an eBook and paperback on Amazon that is beautifully illustrated by Moreno Chisté. Hopefully, I can get that plug past editorial (Only just – Ed). However, as a result of these books, I have met a number of Piran’s personages and authentic personalities. Among these is the town’s Mayor, Peter Bossman - the Ghanaian-born Slovenian doctor who some now call "the Obama of Slovenia". It was my privilege to give him a paperback copy of the book.

Oddly enough though, we saw no cats at all on this visit until late on the last

afternoon, when the kitchen door of a restaurant we were passing flew open and an orange tabby come scuttling out, chased by an irate chef. “Magyar!” I laughed – he’s the Hungarian tabby in my book.

MIRAMARE - ITALIAN Seaside Palace with a Kiwi Connection There are quite a few half day or day trips from Piran worth considering. An obvious one is Trieste, the Italian shipping town just across the border, where James Joyce once famously lived and which was considered the frontier between Western Europe and the Soviet Bloc. Trieste itself is an often-overlooked Italian city that might just be better off that way. Overlooked, I mean. Once a city of quite some importance in the Hapsburg Empire, it has lost its might but none of its grandeur. But it’s just up the road from Trieste that one finds the “Miramare” – about 25 kilometres from Piran incidentally. Miramare is a palace, which has a rather romantic historical connection for New Zealanders, or at least it should have. It’s this pundit’s definition of a dream home anyway, a palace on a cliff, overlooking the sea.

Finished in 1860 and built for Emperor Maximilian Hapsburg – the one who was assassinated in Mexico – Miramare was later used as a command centre at the end of World War Two by General Freyberg, commander of the New Zealand 2nd Division which had liberated Trieste (and other Italian cities before it, including Venice).

The old rogue even held a ball there, for the New Zealand officers and Italian debutantes. It must have been quite an evening, and sounds like it might make a good subject for a film. Get the Italian and New Zealand Film Commissions on the line – pronto! These historical connections aside, Miramare is also just a beautiful point to take a stroll and admire the house and gardens, the rose beds, the swans and the views.

Travel Tracker Things we love about Slovenia Often overlooked as a travel destination, the magic of Slovenia is a historical and visual journey with something for everyone at any time of year.

Getting here Slovenia borders Italy, Hungary, Austria and Croatia, which means ease of access by road, train and plane – there are three international airports, one of which is 25km outside of the capital, Ljubljana.

Transport Buses, trains and taxis are all available. Travellers hiring a car need

to display pre-paid toll stickers for many of the major roads.

Language Slovene, with Italian and Hungarian also listed as official languages.

Currency Euro.

Climate Temperate with a sub-Mediterranean climate in coastal areas, Slovenia offers everything from skiing, hiking and swimming to wine regions, castles and caves.

BELOW Piran is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria.

The town has much medieval architecture, with narrow streets and compact houses

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THE

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WEST COA S T ’ S “ P OO R COU S I N ”

Story and photography by STEPHEN BROWN

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below The rock pools and shelving of the Te Miko coastline, north of Punakaiki

For many of those visiting New Zealand’s South Island each year, the West Coast is simply an alternative route to and from Lake Wanaka and Queenstown – a mad rush between Greymouth and the Haast Pass, interspersed with short breaks at a select few attractions on the way – the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, the reflective waters of Lake Matheson and the pancake rocks at Punakaiki. Few venture much further afield.

Location: west coast, south island, NEW ZEALAND Which is most unfortunate, because the Buller District – sitting at the very top of the West Coast – is also an area that, more than most, captures the very essence and enigma of much of the “Coast”: the home of past gold rushes and coal mining, a place of remote towns and coastal settlements where a complex matrix of ecosystems and landscapes are concertinaed together: ocean beaches, lakes and wetlands, primeval forests, tussock covered foothills, and the snow-capped mantle of the Kahurangi Ranges.

It is also a place renowned for its tempestuous climate and periods of endless rain. But when those heavy clouds lift, it can also be a place of tantalising beauty, which evokes that most indefinable of qualities we call “character”. Yes, the Buller certainly has both.

Like most of the rest of the Coast, the foundation for much of its appeal is clearly found in the drama of its natural elements, both

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ABOVE Looking northwards along the coast towards Punakaiki village, from the dramatic pancake rock formations that Punakaiki is so renowned for

big and small: the alpine majesty of the Kahurangi Range, the rugged, elemental nature of the coastline from Punakaiki to Charlestown, and the tea-leaf stained streams around Doctors Bay, Oparara and elsewhere.

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At Tauranga Bay, the local fur seal colony draws visitors and local students alike, with the sight of young pups gambolling around in the rock pools during late summer a particular draw-card. Nearby, the more adventurous can travel into a local cave system via a mine railway, while, just over 100kms north – past the charming village of Karamea – the soaring limestone arches of the Oparara Basin offer a similar type of natural experience, but on a completely different scale. Sculpted by water over some 65 million years, the main arch forms a wonderful natural “cathedral” that vaults over the stream corridor running through it, while the walkway system built around it – opened by world renowned conservationist, Sir David Bellamy, in 2008 – affords one of the main gateways to the wilds of Kahurangi National Park.

Of course, the sculpted rock formations, blowholes and pounding surf of Punakaiki are much better known – for the moment – but even in the shadow of this key attraction other, less appreciated, wonders can be found. The Pororari River, next to Punakaiki village, offers a markedly different, much more quiescent experience than that found amid blowholes and columns of sedimentary rock. Near its mouth, towering limestone bluffs loom over a gently meandering river and luxuriant groves of nikau palm, but, as the Department of Conservation’s well tended, walkway winds inland and uphill, the river is increasingly tossed and torn by shoals and rapids, while the nikau give way to rimu, kahikatea and other coastal conifers. These, in turn, are rapidly replaced by a world of moss greens and the tangled limbs of sub-Alpine beech forest. An elegant swing bridge terminates the main walk: columns of river-side stones and boulders on the Pororari’s banks mark the passage of other visitors, while trails branching off the track either side of the swing bridge mark the point of departure for those wanting a more authentic wilderness experience in the depths of Paparoa National Park.

Further up the coast, a sequence of deep-channelled rivers also carve into Paparoa’s coastal foothills reaching to the very edge of the Tasman Sea. But for those wanting a bit more “wow”, the arrowstraight ravine of the Ngakawau Gorge – on the edge of Kahurangi National Park

– is hard to beat as it feeds a torrent of water into the lower Ngakawau River at its confluence with Charming Creek. The Charming Creek Walkway starts, in a somewhat unprepossessing fashion, next to the Stockton Mine’s coal transfer station at Ngakawa, on the coast, but is soon immersed in bush, following the path of an old private railway line towards a long closed, coal mining area at Seddonville.

Passing through several tunnels and the old pier remains of a rail bridge, the walkway culminates in yet another of the Department of Conservation’s swing bridges – crossing the Ngakawau River at the very point where its waters explode out of the Ngakawau Gorge to cascade into the lower river. Framed by sheer cliffs and beech forest, and backlit by the mid-morning sun, the view from the bridge is both awe-inspiring and utterly beautiful.

Indeed the natural landscapes of successive national parks – from Kahurangi and Paparoa facing the Tasman Sea to a more inland Victoria Forest Park near the old coal town of Reefton (the “town of light”: the first New Zealand settlement to erect electric street lights) – provide a constant refrain and backdrop to such experiences. But they are inextricably interwoven with the settlement and historic remnants that are also part and parcel of this unique landscape.

Nowhere is this interplay more apparent than on the bleak and mine-scarred surface of the Denniston Plateau, some 50 kilometres north of Westport. In the 1880s, hundreds of Lancashire miners were enticed to the remote shores of New Zealand’s West Coast, railed north out of Westport, then transported up more than 700 vertical metres, to the plateau – truly a journey to the ends of the Earth. Today, the plateau’s many historic sites and relics lift the lid on a world of appalling working conditions, abysmal sanitation, and low life expectancy: down to 11 years when diphtheria periodically wiped out the local school roll.

Where once 800 people toiled and subsisted, Denniston is today reduced to a handful of cottages, a few restored wagons and part of the old ropeway system at the junction with the old railhead and once famous, indeed infamous, “Denniston Incline” – a dizzyingly steep rope and rail connection with the outside world. Nearby lies the finely wrought Banbury Arch, a massive stone bridge built by Cornish stonemasons that once provided access to the Banbury Mine and now bears

ABOVE The lagoon at the mouth of the Kohaihai River provides a dramatic gateway to the southern end of the Heaphy Track and Kahurangi National Park

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BELOW The mirror like waters and surrounding forest of Lake Hanlon

testament to the sheer resilience of those who constructed and used it. These relics, together with a resurrected high school and an array of other sites, contribute to a landscape that is unique, utterly uncompromising, yet also morbidly fascinating.

As Jenny Pattrick’s book Denniston Rose so eloquently brings to life, Denniston’s climate was, and still is, a central feature of plateau life: bathed in sunlight and bitingly clear at times, but more often than not shrouded in dense mist and fog – wet, bitterly cold, moody, elemental. Some days it is almost impossible to see beyond your hand; yet on other days, breathtaking views stretch to the far reaches of the Tasman Sea as well as inland, across the deep forests and massed peaks of Kahurangi National Park. One day, a bitterly cold hell, the next atop Mt Olympus; what a contrast.

Much further inland, the remains of the old gold town of Waiuta, near Reefton – now surrounded by bush and hills that once

resonated to the sounds of a stamping battery, mining community and even those enjoying the public swimming pool – are similarly somnolent. Although the local community hall has been resurrected, complete with an entry sign firmly stating “no firearms, no dogs”, there is the very real sense of a place that has had its day; that is just waiting for the surrounding bush to swallow it up and reclaim Waiuta as its own.

Throughout the Buller there are other signs of man’s attempts to work the soil, dig for ores of different kinds, to grow exotic forests and even to propagate sphagnum moss on a commercial scale – with varying degrees of success and failure. Yet unlike most of New Zealand, this is still an area that is remarkable despite such attempts; while its physical scars bear testament to decades of human endeavour, it remains a wonderfully natural part of the country to visit and explore. It might not be as well known as South Westland or the Glacier Country, but this by no means makes it a poor cousin.

Travel Tracker

Things we love about New Zealand New Zealand is a place where people can be themselves – at least most of the time. A relaxed attitude is part of the appeal of the Antipodean country famous for beautiful beaches, lakes and rivers, wild places of bush and mountain as well as rugby players, musicians, hobbits and more.

loop bus services. There are plenty of excellent tourist bus expeditions and many visitors choose to hire a car.

Getting here International airports are located on both the North and South Islands as well as domestic connections dotted around the country. A number of cruise ships also visit New Zealand shores.

Currency New Zealand dollar.

Transport The main centres of Auckland and Wellington have trains and

Language English and Maori are the two official languages, with English foremost.

Climate The climate is complex, varying from sub tropical to cool temperate regions, to extreme alpine conditions. Winter is rainy in most places, but visitors can enjoy New Zealand any time of year.

Expand your horizons and experience our unique piece of the world Visit the Northern West Coast and from Westport you can:-

• E xplore the massive Oparara Limestone Arches near Karamea • Experience life as an underground coal miner at Denniston or visit the open cast mine at Stockton • Explore the industrial heritage at the Coaltown Museum • Visit Tauranga Bay and see New Zealand fur seals in their natural environment • Experience black water rafting, caving and amazing glow worm caves at Charleston • Do the Nile River train trip to rain forests • Try your hand at world class trout fishing on the Inangahua and the many other rivers • There are amazing mountain bike trails throughout the district including Old Ghost Road • Drive down Great Coast Road to Punakaiki for world famous booming blow holes and pancake rocks • Indulge yourself in the many cafes, restaurants, bars and country pubs • Choose from a real selection of accommodation types from Backpackers to Lodges 125 / Section Name

Contact Westport i-Site 03 789 6658 Karamea Info: info@karameainfo.co.nz westport.info@xtra.co.nz Reefton Info: reefton@i-site.org www.westcoastnz.com | www.buller.co.nz Punakaiki Info: paparoavc@doc.govt.nz

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THE BOUNTIFUL CORNER

MA R GA R E T RIVER Story BY GLENN A. BAKER Photography by christian fletcher

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TOP Sunset at Sugarloaf Rock, south west of Yallingup (small town nestled amongst the trees along the coast, just south of Cape Naturaliste)

LOWER LEFT Meelup beach in Geographe Bay is one of the most popular beaches in this region. Great for families, it has grassed areas with large shady trees to keep the summer sun off

LOWER RIGHT Albany Western Australia.

Western Australia has a rough and rugged yet beautiful coast line

Location: Margaret River, Australia Australia’s accumulation of great mineralderived wealth, a glittering new Xanadu arose, with a fresh, eager elite and nouveau riche looking for opportunities to spend their new money. When they soon found that they needed a playground for weekend escapes and holiday homes, eyes were cast to the odd, stubby, protuberance down at the bottom left of the Australian map - just three hours from the city.

conditions for viticulture – a Mediterranean climate of mild, wet winters and warm, dry summers, with just the right ocean breezes – it was not until 1967 that Dr. Tim Cullity planted the first vines in what would become the pioneering Vasse Felix Vineyard. Over four decades the number of quality wineries has moved into three figures, and their award-winning produce has flowed – quite literally – into some of the most hotly contested markets in the world.

The indigenous dwellers of the world’s oldest continent would be left undisturbed for almost two hundred years more, only having to make room for the first white settlers in the early 1800s when, as much by accident as design, they found their way west to a settlement at King George’s Sound in Albany. The clincher was the stands of towering trees, the likes of which they had never seen before and, after their first harvests came in, the quality of all that came from the soil.

Those who write tourist brochures in these parts have an easier time than most, for it is as if a large and very favourable hand has touched this relatively tiny corner of an immense continent and enhanced everything by a notch or three: taller, wider, richer, deeper, tastier, more plentiful. Almost as if, having been dealt mostly arid and unyielding (though not necessarily unattractive) terrain, Western Australia has been recompensed with a spot of salve, a smear of balm.

It would not be the last time that resources which have long been overlooked would bear extraordinary fruit - literally. For the industry that has given this corner of Australia international recognition is just forty years old. Though identified in the early 1960s as having near perfect

It was not accidental that the Margaret River Wine Region came on line around the same time that Perth emerged as much more than a small, remote, capital – far flung from the powerful and dominating eastern cities, the home of Australia’s old money. With Western

Although Margaret River is used as an umbrella term, there are actually four distinct regions that draw visitors to the realm below Perth. The “South West Tapestry” comes first. It can be flown over on the way to the regional airport near Margaret River, but that would be to miss the terrific textures that have been woven into the local landscape by those who staked a claim early on; most notably, the Italian farmers, who have always felt very much at home. Having passed through Pinjarra on the banks of the Murray River - one of the oldest towns in Western Australia (settled since the early 1830s) – the next stop is Harvey, again on the banks of the Murray; a heartland of Italian heritage, with beef pastures and intensive dairy farming, citrus fields, hand-made Mediterranean cheeses (fettas, ricotta, Romano), and a weir and dam to boot.

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One has to wonder just what it was they were looking for, those early European explorers who sailed along the southwestern coast of the Great Southern Land from 1622 onwards. Dutch, French and English ships all came by, sniffed around a little, entered unfavourable reports in their logs, and sailed on by. Of course the day of the hedonist was yet to dawn and those crews were lamentably short on surfers, gourmets and aesthetes.

The result was a four-pronged exodus: weekenders, wine buffs, surfers and artists – or, at least, the creatively inclined. In fact, the surfers were the first arrivals, with the waves curling and crashing upon Margaret River’s three dozen plus surfing spots being spoken of in hushed whispers from Hawaii to Bali since the days when boards were of a size to accommodate a surfer and most of his immediate family.

The names of these legendary spots have long reflected their idiosyncratic characteristics: Super Tubes, Cliffhangers, Shallows, The Bubble, The Window, The Guillotine, Nowheres, Noises, Grunters, Mufflers, The Three Bears, Bombies, The Gallows - each one famed for its ferocity and revered for its reliability.

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The coastal city of Bunbury has white mangroves said to be 20,000 years old and the remains of a previous tropical period. Nearby, the Dolphin Discovery Centre is the only place in Australia offering shore and boat-based interaction with wild dolphins; so famous has the experience of swimming with these sleek mammals become that over the years visiting entertainers to Perth - Sir Paul McCartney among others – have worked days into their tour schedules to do just that.

The resort town of Busselton on Geographe Bay, with the largest wooden jetty in the Southern Hemisphere (almost 2km long and more than 140 years old, with an underwater observatory at its end), is the gateway to the Margaret River

Wine Region. Driving first west, then south, into the wine region, some symbolically make it out to the lighthouse on the tip of the limestone ridge that is Cape Naturaliste, while for others the journey through this lush region – just over 27km wide - begins at the town of Yallingup, an Aboriginal word meaning Place of Love.

It is around here that some expensive residences are being constructed and not just by locals. International operators in many fields of endeavour have long favoured Perth as safely remote from global friction, while at the same time modern, comfortable and not much more than half a day from Europe. For those seeking that extra bit of privacy, spectacular scenery and fine culinary

repasts, the extra three hours up to Perth seems little bother at all.

There is also a well marked, Cape To Cape Walk through the Leeuwin Naturalist National Park, along a cave-etched limestone ridge that rises from an ancient granite land mass some 2,000 million years old (and commonly believed to have once been detached from the mainland).

The walk covers 135km and takes 5-6 days. A surprising number attempt it, but far more drive, in a state of wonderment past the Canal Rocks, then Prevelly Beach, where the Margaret River meets the sea (this international surfing mecca hosts the Pro Surf Classic and the Salomon Masters competition in March/April, with the Margaret River Surf Classic following in November). Both the walk and road then

BELOW Leeuwin Estate is a boutique, family owned and operated winery located in the picturesque Margaret River district, 360km south of Perth, Western Australia. One of the icon wineries of Australia, it has earned an international reputation for making wines that rank alongside the world’s finest and now exports to over 30 countries

pass the spectacular Ngilgi, Moondyne, Lake, Mammoth and Jewel Caves; the shipwreck of the Georgette and the very addictive Margaret River Chocolate Company; then Hamelin Bay – with its remains of a wooden jetty that once serviced sailing ships and a truly beautiful, white-sand beach backed by limestone cliffs; through the town of Augusta to the desolate beauty of the most southerly tip of Australia where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet.

Explorer Matthew Flinders spotted Cape Leeuwin in 1801 and started mapping the Australian coastline. He may have been the first visiting whale watcher, being in the path of the Southern Right and Humpbacks who still travel these waters in winter months. Almost a century on, a

towering lighthouse was built and, until 1982, it remained one of the last in the world to be manually operated with a clockwork mechanism and kerosene burner.

Today, the point is perhaps best known as the location of the Leeuwin Estate Winery, whose February concerts are now in their 23rd year. Its past drawcards have included Ray Charles, Michael Crawford, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Lesley Garrett (all with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra), the London Philharmonic, the Berlin Staatskapelle, Diana Ross, Tom Jones, George Benson, K D Lang, Roberta Flack, John Farnham, Julio Iglesias, Bryn Terfel, James Taylor and, most recently, Simply Red. As the music fills the natural amphitheatre, Leeuwin’s famous

kookaburras, thriving in the adjoining karri forest, are wont to burst into a raucous cackling chorus, to the very considerable amusement of most guests (attired in anything from top hats to t-shirts) and the absolute surprise of the guest performers.

The wineries – from small and atmospheric to bold, sprawling, estate operations - are the centre of Margaret River life. They all do cellar door sales (of Chardonnay, Semillion, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz) and many incorporate galleries, restaurants and classy cafes that rank among the best in the state. Because their trade is almost entirely in lunches, they are able to attract some of the most talented young chefs in the country, who

BELOW Extending almost two kilometres out over Geographe Bay, the heritage listed Busselton Jetty is the longest timber jetty (pier) in the Southern Hemisphere. The jetty is situated in the seaside resort town of Busselton, the northern gateway to the Margaret River Wine Region.

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The 142 year old jetty has been ravaged by both fire and cyclone. It exists today thanks to the support of the local community and the thousands of visitors who choose to stroll its length, fish, swim, scuba dive and snorkel off it

savour the rare concept of having their evenings free. Indeed, they contribute significantly to the nightlife of the slightly bohemian, and always laid-back, Margaret River township, some 10 kilometres inland of the Indian Ocean.

Spending any time in this region requires a base, and personable Drew Bernhardt maintains the best of them all. Cape Lodge is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, although “small” is not exactly the word that comes readily to mind when in residence. Enclosed in its own vineyard and surrounded by some 16 hectares of native forest, yet also just five to ten minutes’ drive from 20 of the most highly-regarded ‘name’ vineyards in the Margaret River Region, it is a celebrated property. With spacious suites, king size spas, rolling lawns, a private lake and a helicopter landing pad, it is avidly sought out by both domestic and international guests. Standing proud and alone, in almost Brideshead Revisited grandeur, is its Vineyard Residence, which accommodates six guests – with another four in an adjacent guest house. During a week in residence with his family to prepare for a Tsunami Disaster benefit concert at the Leeuwin Estate, Sting became so enamoured with Cape Lodge

that he not once, not twice, but thrice, made an offer to purchase it outright.

Bernhardt was impressed but unmoved!

Beckoning from not far beyond this rich ridge are the neighbouring regions of the “Blackwood River Valley”, to the direct east, and the “Southern Forests” to the southeast. Bridgetown, at the heart of the Blackwood River Valley, combines steep slopes with tall forests, and one of the many fine old stone churches in the area, while nearby Balingup has a bountiful supply of arts & crafts, herbal remedies and fruit wine. The Southern Forests enjoys some 140 kilometres of coastline, where thick forests meet rocky cliffs; but its compelling centrepiece is the inland town of Pemberton, which provides warm accommodation in an Old Picture Theatre and a brace of appealing restaurants.

Though not as openly renowned and spoken of as Margaret River, Pemberton has its own distinctions. Certainly there are vineyards, again of such quality that comparisons with France’s Burgundy region are frequently made, but this is where eyes seem to be forever cast upwards. Visitors also find themselves surrounded by national parks – Gloucester, Warren and Beedelup – and in

close proximity to those of D’Entrecasteaux and Shannon. The deep red loam soils support towering jarrah and karri (eucalypt) forests and others dominated by marri, peppermint gum, black butt and grasstree. These forests run in a belt from Manjimup to Denmark, on the Southern Ocean coast in the Great Southern Region, with their canopy species both framed and enhanced by over 1500 species of flowering native flowers, including orchids.

The gourmet food bowl of Western Australia is how the Southern Forests area styles itself, with its produce reflecting a European cultural heritage. It goes in for niche epicurean treats like chestnuts, ginseng, cherries, green tea and black truffle. Then there’s dairy products, beef, lamb, marron, perch, trout and smoked goods.

Built in 1914 as the State Saw Mills Railway, the steel rails carried everything from heavy machinery to royalty, and even knew a payroll robbery. Opt for the big steam locomotive and there’s no problem climbing up onto the boiler plate, where one is guaranteed to find at least one besotted train buff from distant lands in a near tearful state brought upon by the proximity to the engine of their dreams.

There are even formal train driving courses on offer. Yet, somehow it seems sufficient to learn from one of the volunteer enthusiast engineers, such as Wayne Watkins, who informs the uninitiated that once enough coal has been shovelled in to produce a decent head of steam, it takes just 14 seconds to toast a sandwich and 18 seconds to cook a sausage in the furnace door. A supple wrist and resolute indifference to the fate of one’s eyebrows are essential to achieving the right rotisseried result.

It’s a hefty drive down to the coast and on to Walpole, Denmark and even the city of

Albany, particularly if heading back to a Margaret River base. But the surrounding terrain is so powerful, expressive and largely untouched that one is drawn inexorably onwards, never quite prepared to turn around. Certainly don’t do so before reaching the artfully integrated “Tree Top Walk” in the Valley of the Giants.

This elevated walkway system, some 600 metres long and up to 40 metres high, allows visitors to get up close and personal with giant Karri trees, some over 400 years old and reaching 90 metres or more into the clear blue sky.

West of Walpole, the coastline is one of the most physically arresting in all of West Australia. This is especially apparent near Mandalay Beach – at the site of the 1911 wreck of a Norwegian barque of the same name – where the coastal rock formations are so striking that they would seem equally at place on Pirelli calendars or the cover of National Geographic.

Yet, in reality, there’s so much about this corner of the globe that is still waiting to be discovered by the rest of the world that nothing is surprising: the “generous hand” that touched it once upon a time certainly lingered long and lovingly. The end result is a very special area for locals and visitors alike.

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The way to take this fusion and array of gourmet treats in is through the services of The Pemberton Tramway Company, which has tramcars and classic steam trains carting visitors off on meandering rides over trestle bridges into the depths of the local forests and foliage. One can spend a day rolling gently through the forest canopies on the way to Northcliffe,

near Mount Chudalup, and back; or take two and three hour round trips into the deep forest of the Eastbrook Nature Reserve as far as the Eastbrook and Lyall sidings.

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BELOW Mandalay Beach rock formation

Travel Tracker Things we love about Australia Australia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world and has an incredible diversity for travellers to explore and revel in. Most of Australia is semi-arid or desert but is recognised as a “megadiverse country”. The attractions for visitors are therefore also megadiverse.

Getting here International arrivals may choose to fly into any number of Australia’s airports, or arrive by cruise ship.

Transport Australia’s main centres are slick and modern places with efficient underground trains as well as buses, taxis, trams and ferries.

Crossing Australia can be done by train or plane also – by train is a way to discover the changing landscape.

Language English is the de facto official language.

Currency Australian dollar.

Climate There are tropical climes and summer monsoon-like weather for much of the northern areas; the southwest of Australia is similar to the Mediterranean, and the southeast, including Tasmania, is temperate.

ExpEriEncE thE local colour Explore Western Australia

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Destination lEEuwin naturalistE national park Our National Parks are breathtaking all year round, but they really show off during wildflower season.

There are more than 12,000 wildflower species in Western Australia, with over 60% found nowhere else in the world. From June in the north until November in the south, they bring a spectacle of colour that needs to be experienced to be believed.

To explore Western Australia’s National Parks, plan your trip at westernaustralia.com

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A FLASH IN THE CO R N E R OF THE EYE STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW ALLEN

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BELOW Private paradise at Fafa Island Resort

The next day, I set off to tiny Fafá Island for the relaxing part of my Tongan experience. While 70% of Tongans live on Tongatapu, there are actually 176 islands in the nation, and with just 13 traditional fales on Fafá – all facing deserted sandy beaches

Location: tonga, SOUTHERN PACIFIC OCEAN think a paintball facility on Pangaimotu was a good idea?

Before I had a chance to answer, a large cloud of thick black smoke in the distance caught my eye. Alarmed, I asked Big Mama what it was. She stopped mid-sentence and lowered her eyes. Without even turning to look, she informed me it was a house fire on the main island.

Though devastating, she explained that they’re fairly common. “That family will have to start again, but the village will take care of them.”

The village bond in Tonga is stronger than I’ve seen anywhere else in the world. When Vila invited me to her cousin’s wedding the next day, I said I wanted to come but didn’t want to be an imposition on her cousin given that I didn’t even have an invitation. “Don’t be silly!” she responded, “nobody has an invite – the whole village just knows when to turn up!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed a flash of silver darting over the turquoise Pacific. Moments later, it reappeared directly in front of my kayak – a flying fish, gliding over the surface seemingly in defiance of the laws of gravity.

I was visiting Tonga in low season, but the lack of whales didn’t bother me at all. Watching the never-ending coral reefs disappear under the bow of my kayak as I sliced through the calm ocean water between tropical islands was more than enough to keep me entertained all day.

We pulled our kayaks ashore on a small island called Pangaimotu, near an impressive shipwreck that Vila explains sunk there in a bad storm in 1982. Now tourists use Lady Lata as a diving site and jump off the protruding bow. The island appeared equipped to host scores of rowdy tourists, but there were few to be seen.

The owner and host of Pangaimotu, Big Mama, was locally infamous. With brightly-coloured nail polish, a mischievous grin, and a penchant for dirty jokes, Big Mama lived up to the stereotype of the strong Tongan woman. She revelled in telling us the story of her recent doctor‘s visit, when she had been questioned about her diet. Barely managing to contain her cackle, she explained that she gorges herself on two clams and two bags of macadamia nuts every day, gesticulating with her hands to show that she meant the enormous clams and the largest bags of macadamia nuts. With Big Mama, it’s hard to know how much is exaggerated for shock value.

It was clear that the low season is difficult for Tongan business owners. Big Mama’s main income was the restaurant and budget accommodation on Pangaimotu, but she was brainstorming other ways to raise money.

She had already started cultivating vanilla vines. Did I

I eyed a spot in the corner of the clearing where I could inconspicuously observe the events, but before I could make a beeline there Vila, Tim and the kids were ushered away from me by the organiser, who then grabbed me by the hand. Before I knew it, I was seated in the centre of the master table, right next to the groom. All around me were stacks of small plastic containers filled with different kinds of food, from traditional dishes like ota ika (raw fish marinated in lemon juice and coconut milk) to spongy puddings and large bottles of Coca Cola, each delicately wrapped with cellophane and ribbon.

“Eat” said the groom, smiling as he passed me a container of some kind of tropical curry. He found a fork and wiped it off with a serviette before handing it to me. It was delicious. I soon relaxed into the swing of things, asking the young man next to me to explain some of the customs, while dutifully sampling everything offered to me.

The speeches were interspersed with traditional dance performances from some of the younger girls, and eventually the bride. As each girl danced, the wedding guests would tuck cash into their gyrating clothing. I found it fascinating that a practice now associated with seedy strip joints in the Western world should remain such an innocuous, even vital, part of the wedding event and process in 21st Century Tonga.

It’s a travel cliché, but Tonga really does feel like the land that time forgot. There are countless examples: a feudal

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“In the summer, the whales swim right past here too” explained Vila, my guide. She and her husband Tim recently started taking tourists swimming with whales – in addition to running Fatai Kayak Adventures and a coffee plantation.

I felt extremely underdressed when I arrived the next day in the village of Holonga in my best T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops. I hadn’t considered wedding attire when packing for my tropical holiday. Vila, Tim and their two kids met me, and then we walked together into the grassy area beside the village church. Long tables had been assembled under canopies, with the master table up on a stage. Every table was heaving under the weight of the food. On the master table three of the village pigs had been roasted whole and were proudly on display.

societal structure, where the royal family is idolised and occupy a role significantly more than just that of figureheads; the courteous, excruciatingly slow driving; the way the town centre is empty on Sundays, because every family is occupying their pew in the village church dressed up like they’re going to the races; and – perhaps of most appeal for travellers – the untouched beaches and beautiful natural sights without gift shops, crowds or even signposts.

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In fact, roads don’t really have names in Tonga and, upon reflection, I have no idea how locals get their mail. As a geographically challenged person (admittedly not the most helpful trait for a travel writer), this made navigating the island in my rental car a rather complex procedure. The only maps I could find had just the main roads marked, with no real markings to help judge the distance travelled, and no way of knowing which roads had the worst potholes. After a while I fell into a functional pattern of counting the major-looking roads I passed to guesstimate where my turnoff should be.

Even so, some of Tonga’s more interesting sights were to be found down narrow unmarked lanes and driveways, with tall grass between the tyre tracks that made a munching sound as I slowly drove over it. More than once I encountered a vehicle coming in the opposite direction and had to reverse all the way back down the lane. Yet it was all worth it for the sense of adventure, and the realization that in any other country most of the sites I was visiting would have long been overrun by fellow tourists. Perhaps the most remarkable of these was a several kilometre long stretch of coastline called Mapu ‘a Vaea, near the village of Houma, with natural blowholes as far as the eye could see. Each swell of the ocean would send dozens of plumes shooting into the air, leaving a thin trace of salty spray over everything.

The most surreal experience was a cave called Anahulu. I had been to visit the nearby cave at Oholei for a cultural show a few nights before, the highlight of which had been a fire dance in the mouth of the cave, and had assumed – naturally enough – that Anahulu would be similar. Instead what I found was a cave that was deceivingly deep, and far beyond the reach of sunlight or the lights of the previous night’s show. Moments later a young boy arrived with a torch and offered to guide me; he nimbly leapt ahead of me and we set off at a startling pace.

The cave immediately brought new life to the word “cavernous”.

Rather than tight claustrophobia-inducing passages or crawl holes, the deeper we went, the larger and more impressive the

spaces became – even lit by just a single torch. After what felt like an age, we finally reached a dark pool. I had no idea how far below the surface we really were. “Swim?” the boy asks. Realising I had serendipitously kept my towel with me, I decided the strange opportunity was too memorable to refuse. He balanced his light on a rock, while I began to slip, with great care, into the water.

The boy said something I couldn’t hear and then disappeared back up towards the cave’s entrance. The water was freezing cold, and his small light barely pierced the cavernous dark. My ears became hyper-sensitive to the sporadic sound of water droplets falling from the tip of each stalactite, and the squeaking of bats that I was unable to see. In that moment my greatest fear was of the light going out, and of being completely alone in a pitch-black underground lake. But before my nerves had the chance to completely get the better of me, my guide returned, and I felt a sense of both welcome relief and achievement when I swam back to the rocks to begin the journey out.

The next day, I set off to tiny Fafá Island for the relaxing part of my Tongan experience. While 70% of Tongans live on Tongatapu, there are actually 176 islands in the nation, and with just 13 traditional fales (guest bungalows) on Fafá – all facing deserted sandy beaches – it is among the most idyllic and indulgent of Tonga’s island group. A natural magnet for honeymooners, Fafá has none of the noisy generators, televisions, or motorised water sports that so disturb the peace and ambience of more developed areas.

Upon arrival, I was ushered to ‘Pua’, my fale. There are no impersonal room numbers here. Pua was built in the traditional style with coconut palm poles and a high ceiling with wooden shingles. The bathroom was in a privately fenced outdoor area, where brightly coloured parrots flew overhead and hibiscus flowers bloomed.

One of the workers came to check on me, bringing a fresh coconut for me to drink. Having never tasted one before, I became entranced by the delicious sweet and tangy flavour. Just a few steps from Pua was a private hammock, where I lay for nearly an hour, just drinking my coconut and staring out at the crystal waters of the Pacific. As a pathologically busy person, this was just the therapy the doctor had ordered. For a minute or two I even felt like I was neglecting some duty or other: then it suddenly dawned on me that this was exactly what I was meant to be doing - slowly winding down and attuning myself to the gentle pace of island time. At that moment Tonga seemed more idyllic and precious than I could ever have imagined.

Travel Tracker Things we love about Tonga A gem of the South Pacific; studded with villages, lush vegetation and tropical beaches where visitors can take a deep breath and synchronise their clocks to “island time”. Tonga has glorious coral reefs for diving and snorkelling.

Getting here Tonga’s international airport Fua’amotu is at the capital, Nuku’alofa. While some visitors sail to the islands in private vessels, others can book charters or the inter-island ferries can be a way of exploring – these almost always run late.

Transport Travel around Tonga requires a little faith; often the vehicles would not be considered roadworthy in other countries. If

hitchhiking remember to hold out a palm leaf, not a thumb.

Language Tongan and English.

Currency Tongan pa‘anga Climate Hot, humid and tropical with an average temperature of 26 degrees year round.

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destinations sept-nov 2014. Bazaar

BAZAAR

Spring Spa opens in

China Airlines announces

Wellington

direct flights and more

In ancient Rome the public baths were not only a place to bathe and restore health but also a space to socialise and conduct business affairs. Today the word spa often conjures up the idea of treatments provided in solitude and silence - or if not silence at least with soft and soothing music playing in the background...

Spring Spa, a newly opened “social spa” in one of Wellington’s landmark heritage buildings has recognised that the spa can still be a place for friends and family, and even business associates.

The Il Casino site, on Tory Street in the central business district has long been a familiar sight to locals and is now a destination for wellness and time out. And there are also Spring Spas in Auckland, Queenstown, Melbourne, and Bali.

Spring is a modern take on a traditional spa where guests can experience fantastic treatments with friends or connect to iPads and iPods, all in the surrounds of a contemporary interior designed by the acclaimed Derek Lockwood of Saatchi & Saatchi.

The newly opened Bali property even boasts a DJ booth, liquid bar and blow dry stations, with unique spa spaces over multiple levels.

Founded by Ina Bajaj, a Kenyan native raised in Wellington, Spring Spa is the sister to Ina’s hugely successful East Day Spa. “It’s exciting to return and launch Spring in my home town. Spring’s vibrant, creative and fun social spa experience is the perfect fit with the energy, lifestyle and culture of Wellington.”

Spring is bringing a new approach to the spa - get social while enjoying face, nail and body treatments.

Visit www.springspa.co.nz

seats The buzz of the holiday season will see more flights from China Airlines and more seats available from the start of December.

Taiwan’s largest carrier China Airlines will provide three direct flights a week from Christchurch to Taipei via Sydney from 2 December this year until 1 March 2015. This will see the Taiwanese carrier operating 11 weekly flights ex New Zealand over the period, including its additional Saturday Auckland-Brisbane-Taipei service.

Fares for the Trans-Tasman route, as well as China Airlines’ Asian network, are already on sale and bookings can be made through China Airlines’ travel agency partners, as well as via www. china-airlines.com, or phone 09 977 2288.

Due to the successful introduction of the 747-400 on their Auckland-Brisbane-Taipei route for the 2013-14 holiday season, China Airlines will again be running a larger aircraft on the route in lieu of the usual Airbus A330. The extra 82 seats per flight on the 747-400 will cater to the demand for travel both to Queensland and to Asia during the Christmas holiday and Chinese New Year.

In addition to the larger aircraft, there will be a fourth weekly Auckland-Brisbane-Taipei service to operate outbound on Saturdays for the same peak season. Fares are published and bookable via GDS. China Airlines flies to a 62-city Asia network covering China, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and India as well as to another 30 destinations in Europe, the United States, Guam and Palau.

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