 Top Award for Family Romania - 'Treasures of Transylvania' |
|
Hot off the press, we are delighted to announce the well-respected US publication; National Geographic Traveler has once again included one of KE's family holidays amongst its annual '50 Tours of a Lifetime'. Their editorial team worked hard to find 2012's most authentic, innovative, immersive, best-guided, and most sustainable tours. They wanted a trip that had the power to change lives and our Treasures of Transylvania with its hiking, biking, geocaching, village life and touch of Dracula proved the perfect holiday. See the National Geographic full story.
> View Family Romania
> View all Family Holidays
|
|
|
|
|
|
Timbuktu 52 Days |
| |
Kit Wilkinson rides the Tour of Toubkal
In March Kit Wilkinson, (KE's most experienced and longest standing member of staff) was lucky enough to lead the first of this year's Road Cycle Tour of Toubkal departures. With sunshine almost guaranteed and a quality of light that can be breathtaking, Morocco is perfect for road cycling early and late in the year. Here is an extract from Kit's diary... "We crossed the snow-covered Atlas Mountains twice, climbing on largely traffic-free roads and descending for hour after hour, through Berber villages and by way of café stops and visits to ancient kasbahs. After 3 days of riding, we arrived at Zagora, where everyone was keen to be photographed in front of the iconic sign 'Tombouctou 52 Jours' that points across the Sahara".
Stop Press - Cannondale Synapse Road Bike hire now available in Marrakech
|
|
|  |
|
Lovely day for a Paddle?
|
Antarctic kayak option gets thumbs up
KE regular, Mick Burn recently returned from a 'trip of a lifetime' on our Polar Cruise Antarctic Classic holiday. Mick's time in the Antarctic was blessed with great weather and he particularly liked the optional extras he booked to go with his cruise - namely kayaking and one night camping ashore. Paddling amongst icebergs, penguins, whales and leopard seals, he rates as a stunning wildlife experience. Thanks a lot for the great images, Mick!
Remember, if you book one of our Polar cruises between now and the end of 2012, you will receive a fantastic PHD Yukon Down Jacket worth £255 - absolutely Free Of Charge.
> View Mick's photos on our facebook page
> View all Polar holidays
|
|
|
Keswick Mountain Festival - Only 5 Weeks Away |
| |
Don't miss the KE Adventure Travel Talks
It's not long now to the start of the 6th annual Keswick Mountain Festival which, as usual, will celebrates the best the great outdoors has to offer. KE will be playing our part, with fascinating talks about in vogue adventure travel destinations. Free of charge, these will take place in the Berghaus Live For Adventure Theatre at the heart of the festival village. At midday on Friday 18th May, Tim Greening will talk about a recent visit to the magical island of Madagascar, whilst at 4pm on the same day, Fiona Marshall will give a first-hand account of travelling in Burma. At 11am on Saturday, Tom Richardson will discuss some of the themes presented in his new book, 'Judgment Days in a Mountaineering Life' and later he will be holding a book signing at the KE office in Lake Road. Tickets for KE leader, Cameron McNeish's talk, 'Trails and Climbs for Television' on Friday 18th May cost £13 but we have 2 to give away. To claim your prize, simply answer this question... Which well known outdoor magazine was Cameron the editor of? Submit your answer here. Congratulations to John Barfield and Denise Kershaw, last month's winners of 2 tickets for the Salomon Evening. > View Keswick Mountain Festival > View Madagascar Trek > View Burma Trek
|
Have Your Say! |
On where we should go in 2013
The KE product team is currently working on new holiday ideas for 2013 and we need your help! If you have an idea for a new adventure holiday that we may have missed, we'd love to hear from you. In previous years, KE clients have made suggestions that we have considered, worked on and developed into great holidays, such as our Summits of the Canadian Rockies and Oman Adventure Trekking itineraries. Having introduced around 60 new holidays for 2012, we anticipating adding fewer trips this time around - but who knows. If you have a great idea, we will be happy to check it out! > View all New holidays for 2012
> Email us your itinerary suggestions |
| |
|
Mera Peak Practice
|
Join a unique medical research trek
In November this year, KE client, Dr Jean Turner is coordinating a special trek from Jiri to the summit of Mera Peak. If you join this group, your blood pressure and oxygen levels will be tested (non-invasively) as you trek from 1900 metres to almost 6500 metres, with the aim of establishing a better understanding of the time profile of physiological changes during the ascent. Trek in the footsteps of the Everest pioneers, reach the summit of Nepal's finest trekking peak and gain a personal insight into the effects of altitude from medical professionals. Please contact us for more information on this special 25-day adventure. > Email KE Groups Coordinator
> View all Nepal climbing holidays
|
|
|
Ethiopia New Date |
No change to Visa rules!
Our Simien Mountains trek is once again proving to be very popular and we have put on a new date in the autumn from 17 Nov to 1 Dec. Contrary to some recent reports, the Government of Ethiopia has not withdrawn the visa-on-arrival process. Tourists can still get their visa on arrival at the airport in Addis Ababa. > View Simien Mountains Trek
|
| |
|
May Last Chance
|
Vic Falls to Cape Town
A couple of late cancellations means there are still a few places remaining on the May departure of our epic mountain bike ride through Zambia, Botswana and Namibia to Cape Town in South Africa - a total of 1136 kilometres! Fully supported throughout this is probably the experience of a lifetime for any lover of Africa and cycling. > View Vic Falls to Cape Town
|
| |
|
Olympic Trivia
|
Reunion Island's sole entry
David Hauss is a 28 year-old Frenchman living in Les Avirons on the west coast of Reunion Island. As France's No. 1 triathlete, he will compete against the UK's formidable Brownlee brothers. His training includes mountain running on the same trails that we include in our popular Reunion Paradise Island trek.
> View Reunion Island Trek
|
|
|
KE School flies Olympic Flag |
Eton College on trek to Everest
A group of students from Eton College (pictured above at the launch of their project, with Matthew Pinsent, Steve Redgrave and KE leader Serena Brocklebank) has embarked on a fantastic adventure. They are currently trekking to Everest Basecamp in Nepal's Khumbu district, where they will hand a Team GB Olympic Flag to Sherpa Phurba Tashi who is accompanying a Walking With the Wounded Everest Expedition. Tashi has climbed Everest 19 times and is confident that he will be able to fly the flag from the world's highest summit. This is an inspiring example of what school groups can achieve with a little vision and a lot of hard work. The KE Schools team is always ready to work with you to produce a challenging, stimulating and educational itinerary for your next school group adventure. > View KE Schools
> Contact KE Schools
|
| |
|
Leader Training Weekend
|
Borrowdale meet well attended
The annual KE Leaders Training meet took place in mid March at the Borrowdale Youth Hostel, just down the valley from our Keswick office. It was a dry and sunny weekend, which was good news for those involved in the 2-day First Aid Course, as there's nothing worse than having to lie in a puddle while you play the role of injured patient. Apart from the valuable First Aid refresher, the emphasis of the meet was on making sure that KE leaders understand what is required of them when they take charge of a KE group. Topics discussed included; risk assessment, incident management, customer care, client feedback, Lukla flights, new KE product and many others. Dr Lucy Dickinson gave a presentation on the latest in expedition medicine and Tom Grindey from Dalesman showed us how to use a Garmin GPS, a device that we will be using more and more in future.
> Vote for your favourite KE Leader
|
|
|
Northern Exposure |
What's Hot in Iceland?
With its occasionally troublesome volcanoes, contorted geology, permanent icecaps and mega hot springs, Iceland is truly one of the world's wild places. You can fully immerse yourself in the Icelandic experience (and hot springs) by signing up for one of our amazing week-long adventures. For a classic walk starting out at famous Landmannalaugar hot springs and then crossing the Fjallabak wilderness, choose our Land of Extremes trek. For a low-key climbing adventure that includes Iceland's highest mountain, the unpronounceable Hvannadalshnukur, go for our Three Peaks Challenge. Alternatively, our Red Hot in Iceland cycling holiday promises the very best off-road riding, with no need for lights due to the midnight sun, from Mount Hekla to the Porsmork Valley. Finally if you can only spare 4-days, all the classic sights are included in our Volcano Weekend.
> View all holidays in Iceland
|
| |
|
April Prize Draw
|
Win a Deuter ACT Trail 32
Enter our prize draw for a chance to win a fantastic Deuter ACT Trail 32 rucksack worth £90. This lightweight pack is ideal for a range of KE trekking holidays, including the Tour du Mont Blanc Hotel Trek. Excellent weight bearing ability, good load control and hydration system compatibility are amongst the features that make this one stand out. To enter you just need to email us the name and address of a friend who would like to receive the new 2012 KE brochure, and please also include your own name and address too! The winner of our 'Where in the World' competition last month was Laura Davison - the answer was Samarkand. Laura wins a Karrimor Hot Rock 40 rucksack provided by Allcord. > Email your entry here
|
|
|
 |
|
|
