Now is a great time to give serious thought to joining us Down Under October 2 – 14 on our fabulous adventure through Australia.  In our classic multi-activity format we’ll hike the Blue Mountains with an aborigine guide, hold koalas in Brisbane, sea kayak Byron Bay, raft in Queensland, snorkel at the Reef, laze on the white sands of the Whitsunday’s, ride horses along the beach, camp in the Outback, hike around Uluru and of course explore Sydney, the best address in the world!  To see these Australian highlights requires four internal flights and some tricky scheduling.  Early October works well to beat the heat in the Outback, the stingers in Queensland and the cool of autumn in Sydney.  Come see what makes this amazing country of 21 million  high-spirited, can-do people so special.

Books and Movies

One of the many fun experiences on our trips is sharing our favorite books and movies as we travel along in the van.  I’d like to recommend a wonderful documentary called “The Hobart Shakespeareans” the true story of a passionate Los Angeles teacher who inspires his inner-city students to achieve the best life has to offer.  So many of our customers are teachers who inspire me each trip with their dedication to our nation’s children.  Maybe watching this movie will be just the shot in the arm you need to get you through till the end of this school year!  I’m currently reading “Blessed Unrest” a marvelously uplifting book showing how everyday people created the environmental movement.  This uplifting and optimistic book is a must-read for all of us who love mother Earth.  I’d love to hear from those of you who can recommend equally uplifting books and movies.

Notes from the Trail – New Zealand and Sedona Sojourn

Our two-week trip to New Zealand in February was a grand success with three returning customers and eight folks new to Canyon Calling.  We all enjoyed New Zealand’s summer, avoiding the last of the US winter.  Our first and last nights were spent in the warmth of Kiwi homes at Waihoihoi and Cashmere Lodges.  In between we stayed at cozy motels and enjoyed plenty of fish, lamb, salads and pavlova dessert!  Our hikers were treated to a spectacular day on the Tongariro Crossing and have great photos of the volcanoes.  The broiling waters at Cape Reinga at the top of New Zealand were the most stunning I’ve ever seen.  Three of our 30-somethings bungy-jumped near Queenstown and Anita, our 81 year old couldn’t believe that she waited all these years to white water raft!

Sedona’s weather was a consistent 70 degrees, perfect for all our hiking.  We explored Indian ruins, conquered Cathedral Rock, lazed by the creek at Red Rock Crossing and rode a jeep across the red rocks. While visiting nearby Jerome we snapped this photo of a Hillary supporter and actually met Katie Lee, the homeowner.  Katie is a real character, 88 years old.  Back in the 50’s she played in Glen Canyon which was of course was flooded in the 60’s to form Lake Powell.  She and other Sierra Club members have fought for years for Glen Canyon Dam to be destroyed and return Glen Canyon to its original state.

One Fitness Rating – Moderate

One of the first questions I’m asked about our trips is “How fit do I need to be?” All our trips are designed for moderately-fit women. In general, if you are reasonably active in your life then you'll do just fine on our trips. This means you should be able to hike 5-8 miles over undulating terrain in one day. We choose a hiking pace that is comfortable for all and we take the time to soak in the views, smell the flowers and photograph the wildlife. We select rafting trips where the rapids are rated 3's with the odd 4 thrown in - 5's are out of the question. We choose kayaking trips where the wind is usually at our backs on the way home and on horseback rides we always go slowly downhill. If you're 30 pounds over or under weight then you may struggle with some of our activities. If you have depth perception problems, you may find our hikes challenging as they are sometimes over rocky ground.  But in general, a wide range of people enjoy our trips – all of whom have an adventurous spirit in common.

Frequent Traveler – Meet Lois

Lois and her husband Paul planned to travel the world when they retired until Paul’s sudden death at age 50.  Lois is determined to live their dream and has traveled on eight different Canyon Calling trips: New Zealand, Australia, Desert Mountain, Tetons-Yellowstone, the Alps, Canadian Rockies, Morocco and Iceland.  Lois goes out of her way to connect with the locals wherever we are in the world.  She also takes along a little airline bottle of Johnny Walker and toasts Paul at some special place on the trips.  Lois has also traveled to other amazing places like Antarctica and Mongolia that aren’t yet on the Canyon Calling schedule. Back home in upstate New York, Lois has been teaching white water canoeing to Girl Scouts for the past 30 years.

2008 Trips

We look forward to traveling with you in 2008!

Happy Trails!
Cheryl

funtrips@canyoncalling.com
928.282.0916

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