Welcome to the first edition of Footnotes, the Footloose Adventure E- Newsletter, full of important, interesting and newsworthy items.
We are aiming to send this out on a regular basis to keep in touch with everyone, and to let you know what's going on in the travel world.
It's not intended as just a list of our latest special offers, but more a collection of news and information.
You are on the list because you have contacted Footloose in the last past, and we hope you are not offended by receiving this.
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Contact us on
info@footlooose.co.uk
or
01943 604030
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Autumn Edition
- Family Holidays
- Wildebeest migration
- Roger's Polar trip
- Inca Trail
- Life after Kilimanjaro
- Celestial Happenings
- Our partner in Tanzania
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Quick Links
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We recently celebrated Footloose's 16th anniversary with a presentation, themed 'Hot & Cold (The Extremes) at the Clarke Foley Centre in Ilkey. Dan Jackson, from adventure company Exodus, talked about Polar trips, illustrated by amazing photos, many taken by award winning photographer Paul Goldstein.
Susanne went to the other extreme, and showed pictures of her self-drive trip through Namibia. Her trip was organised by the Footloose local agent in Namibia, who is originally from West Yorkshire - see the feature item below.
There was plenty of wine, juice, nibbles, lots of travel talk and a raffle (with some great prizes including some very generous ones from Exodus) in aid of Survival International, which helps threatened Tribal Peoples. Apart from the Exodus and Survival International stands, we also had a stand with new and second hand maps and guide books to most parts of the world. It was a great evening and everyone went home with vouchers to spend on their next trip.
From left to right: Susanne Muskita, Dan Jackson and Roger Gook
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Where we've been -
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FLast year the Footloose team visited a diverse number of countries. Richard stayed in this country and dipped his toe in the icy cold waters of the North Sea at Bridlington. Lesley went to Jordan before all the unrest in the Middle East started, whilst Pauline left us to go to New Zealand (with a few stopovers on the way there and back) for a total of 6 weeks. Kay went on a road trip in the USA and visited the major National Parks in the South West. Roger sailed along the coast in Croatia and earlier this year went snowshoeing in Slovenia. Susanne did a self-drive in Namibia, with some walking in the Fish River Canyon and Naukluft Mountains.
This year we're all going in different directions again. Roger will soon be sailing on a bigger ship (a Russian research ship called Akademik Sergey Vavilov) and is going to explore the Polar regions. Kay recently returned from another road trip in the States and visited Yellowstone and other National Parks in the area. She will also be visiting Thailand and Laos at the end of August. Richard liked East Yorkshire so much that he's returning to Bridlington again. Pauline stays closer to home this year and is going to Mallorca in the autumn and Morocco later. Lesley is just back from Wales and is still planning her next trip. Susanne is off to Costa Rica in October, on another self-drive visiting exciting places like Monteverde Cloud Forest and Arenal volcano.
your article lets you track which topics attract the most interest.
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There is no denying that the Red Nose celebrities who climbed Kilimanjaro have given our own Kili trips an extra boost. But now, more than two years later, Kilimanjaro is still one of our most popular trips because of our expertise gained from the many ascents we have made ourselves.
Last year a record number of Footloose clients reached the summit of Kilimanjaro. Many were part of our own Footloose groups but most were people who went on a Footloose tailor-made climb. Our extrovert head guide Felix and his team have again assisted many people to the top. The quieter but equally likeable Babuu helped out on the other routes or the smaller groups. Earlier this month, Footloose sent out more of our fleeces, so our guides and porters will stand out from the rest of the groups on the mountain.
Our trusted Kilimanjaro guides Felix (left) and Babuu (right)
The most popular route with Footloose is still the Machame with the majestic Baranco wall. A lot of other companies have abandoned this route for the Lemosho or the Shira route, saying that it was getting too busy. However now that more and more people are climbing the other routes, the Machame is quieter again, but still as attractive as ever. The start of the Lemosho and the Shira routes are a longer drive so the cost of these climbs is also higher. However all three routes meet at Shira camp on the second day and follow the same route up and down the mountain.
Please look out for our next edition of FootNotes where we will be looking at life after Kilimanjaro.
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| New for this year are our biking trips in Vietnam. This country is fast becoming a cycling mecca and as well as stunning scenery offers many wonderful culturally significant landmarks. Our cycling adventures explore rural farmland, village life, and three of Vietnam's most well know UNESCO World Heritage sites - Hue, Hoi An, and the Cham ruins of My Son.
All these trips are tailor-made and can start on any day. They can also be changed to fit all your ideas, whether it's places to visit, length of trip or length of cycling each day. ta
rget audience. Who are your most imorinterest |
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Over the years our local ground operators have become an important part of the Footloose global team and we wouldn't have been able to offer our own tailor-made trips if it wasn't for their in-depth knowledge and expertise.
We meet most of them every year at the World Travel Market in London. This is always a great social time and part of it is spent discussing new trips, changes and ideas for improvement. We also travel to their home offices to meet the staff and increase our knowledge of the country at the same time. In the past few years we have visited our agents in Tanzania, Borneo, Vietnam, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal and India.
In this edition we would like to introduce you to husband and wife team, David Cartwright & Charlotte Bond, who are our agent in Namibia. Their company is an Anglo/Namibian specialist holiday planning service, tailoring self-drive and fly-in safaris plus organising guided trips throughout southern African. They're based in Windhoek, Namibia and as such offer the best local information in the region, plus 24 hour support and full personal briefings prior to departure.
Safety is paramount in their approach to planning and we're are proud to say that they are the only operator offering a no questions, roadside medivac (air or road) and emergency hospitalisation cover as a standard part of any Namibian self-drive package. Additionally they give every party a complimentary, pre-programmed mobile phone with all relevant numbers. All lodges are informed of where you will be arriving from and should you be delayed, they will be immediately informed and will begin the process of locating you.
Originally from West Yorkshire , David visits our office every year together with his mother who lives in Huddersfield. He comes in for the day to discuss how our trips are going and ideas for improvements. At home In Namibia, Charlotte and David really enjoy getting out and visiting lodges, so we always get the latest on the good ones - and the ones to avoid.
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Mali, with the legendary city of Timbuktu and the fascinating Dogon country, has always been an African connoisseur's destination.We've also organised many trips to the Festival in the Desert, where some of the great African artistes and bands congregate. The itinerary would look like this:
The trip begins with a tour of legendary Timbuktu: visit the old mosques and former universities, the museum and the Ahmed Baba Institute's archives of ancient Islamic manuscripts, the explorers' houses, and the city market which received the azalaïs, the salt caravans from the desert - historically salt from the north was traded for gold and slaves from the south; then, enjoy the festivities: full concerts at night, and during the daylight hours more music, dancing, sword-play, poetry, arts and crafts, camel races, and more !
Unfortunately at present we have temporarily suspended all our trips to Mali. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) currently advises against travel to most of Mali because of the terrorism threat from Al Qaeda.
Since all the British Travel insurance companies follow this advice, you won't be able to get travel insurance if you intend to visit most of this country - which includes Timbuktu and the festivals. We will keep you posted and as soon as it's safe to travel again we will let you know.
There are similar problems in many parts of the world, and the FCO issues advisories of various levels. We are automatically connected to the FCO and are informed of these and assess them carefully. Our ground agents also keep us informed of local problems and so you are assured that your safety whilst abroad is our highest priority.
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Flights -
How safe is your money? | |
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At the time of writing, the travel trade is anxiously looking towards Iceland amid growing concerns that there will be a repeat of the flight disruption caused by last year's eruption.There's been disruption from the Chilean volcano, from unrest in the middle East and from industrial action in different countries. Flights are obviously an integral part of travelling abroad and often the most anxiety provoking part - both for the traveller and the tour operator.
This is all very upsetting when you are trying to go on holiday, but as many found to their cost, can lead to expensive problems. Many people do not realise, that you often have very little financial protection when dealing with airlines, as they are often outside the complicated regulations, which keep your holiday money safe.
If you are booking your own flight there's one thing to remember: most airlines do not protect your money - if they fail or there is a problem, you've lost it. You can cover yourself by paying with a credit card but you usually have to pay extra for this. You can also check your travel insurance to see if that covers you. Another problem that caught a lot of people is that if your flight is delayed or cancelled, your tour or accommodation operator will not give you a refund.
Fortunately there's a way around all this uncertainty. If you book a flight and tour or accommodation together, you come within the EU Package Travel Regulations, and your travel operator must cover you with a trust account, insurance or a bond (usually through ATOL or ABTA).
At Footloose we use all three and you can read more about it here. We don't know any travel company that has higher standards of financial protection - we want you to have an exciting trip but the excitement shouldn't be about whether you are going to lose all your money!
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