Here’s a top Christmas gift idea! Forget about boring socks and handkerchiefs, give a gift this year that will make you feel great and is guaranteed to change someone’s life.
From as little as $10, you can give Intrepid Foundation Global Gifts that go towards helping fantastic grassroots projects. Choose from feeding endangered green peafowls in Cambodia, providing Braille reading kits for kids in Tibet, buying footwear for Nepalese porters, enabling disabled kids in India get to school and more!
Intrepid Travel will match your donation – so for every gift you purchase, we will buy another. Plus, ask your friends and family to also buy Global Gifts. Then everyone gets to feel good about helping others at this special time of year!
We are thrilled to announce that Intrepid’s Bruno Dawsan has been heralded as the world’s greatest tour leader at the 2011 Wanderlust World Guide Awards!
Last year’s Bronze Award winner, this year Bruno won Gold after receiving even more support, with heartwarming and impassioned testimonials from travellers who told of rescuing people from a fire and helping to make a marriage proposal special. Born into a Tamil tea-picking family, he has become a true “cultural ambassador for his country.”
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There’s a lot to ‘Like’ about Intrepid’s Facebook pages, but don’t just take our word for it. We are thrilled to announce that Intrepid has been voted the winner of the Top 10 Small Business Facebook Pages for 2011!
To receive such positive recognition from the Social Media Examiner is a great honour. Over 1400 entries were received from around the world and we were the only travel company amongst the finalists. So if you haven’t ‘Liked’ Intrepid yet, jump on Facebook and check it out. We have lots of fun chatting about travel and sharing fantastic photos. Plus you can meet up with your group before you go and be sure to look out for our sensational comps!
Since 2006, Intrepid Thailand has given Intrepid travellers a special shoulder bag, emblazoned with the call to action “Say No to Plastic” in Thai and English. Any guesses as to how many bags have been given out?
The bags are produced by a women’s cooperative, Tae Moh Hai, meaning Our Friends Hands in local Kuy dialect. The group live in a small village, Baan Sawaii, located in Sri Saket province, in north-eastern Thailand. The initiative was established by former Intrepid group leader, Dtor, in her home village, with the aim to create work for local families and to motivate local people to understand the importance of conserving the environment.
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The journey is the adventure when you travel with Intrepid, but some journeys are truly monumental. So what constitutes a really ‘Classic Journey’? Travellers rate our trips on a number of important factors, such as local interaction, a well-planned itinerary, the quality of their group leader and of course value for money. Then based on these gradings we can narrow it down to our Classic Top 10. These incredible trips will take you all the way from the heart of Central Asia to the white sands of Zanzibar…
Kenya to Cape Town – 4.87 out of 5
Road to Zanzibar – 4.86 out of 5
Great Indochina Loop – 4.86 out of 5
Silk Road Journey – 4.81 out of 5
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With a reputation for being bad, mad and potentially dangerous, Colombia isn’t high on most people’s travel agenda. However, look beyond the scuttlebutt and you’ll discover a country brimming with life, music and welcoming locals. Cassie Harrex took the road less travelled to this fascinating country and discovered one of South America’s best-kept secrets…
“I had heard the rumours, I’d read the facts, I thought I was prepared. I couldn’t have been more wrong. After two weeks of travelling over emerald mountains and dancing until my feet ached, Colombia had me completely hooked. Instead of conflict, I’d been swept into a world of festivals, colour and incredibly friendly locals. What’s more, I hadn’t encountered any of the sinister problems my friends had warned me about. In fact, I could not have felt more looked after; Colombia had certainly been treating me well.
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When you are trekking the Inca Trail at an average altitude of 3700m, it’s very comforting to know that you have a crew keeping you safe, preparing your meals, pitching your tent and carrying the bulk of your load! Of the 500 trekkers a day on the classic Inca Trail trek and on the alternative routes, more than half the trekkers are the guides, cooks and porters who help travellers have an enjoyable trek up to the magnificent and sacred site of Machu Picchu.
The majority of the porters we employ in Peru are from the countryside – simple farmers who supplement their income by working on the trails during the busy months. Most of these people are still pure-blooded Quechua, the people who were governed by the Incas almost 500 years ago. Their first language is Quechua, but many now also speak basic Spanish. Many of their traditions and superstitions have remained unchanged since well before the Spanish arrived.
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When you arrive in a big city, getting a local feel for the place and learning how it ticks can be tricky. That’s where Intrepid Urban Adventures can step in and help you connect with the city, plus give you the confidence to then go exploring on your own, as Rodger and Gwen Elliot recently discovered in Barcelona…
“We flew into Barcelona on Tuesday April 28th and the next morning we met our Intrepid Urban Adventures local guide, Andrico, as planned, near the entrance to the Town Hall. We were looking forward to our three hour walk around the city, but didn’t really appreciate how truly memorable it was going to be.
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Ever wondered how companies actually embed sustainability principles into their day-to-day operations?
Well, here’s your chance to read case studies of how some well-known Australian and New Zealand businesses, such as Woolworths, Blackmores, NIWA, World Vision and of course our humble selves, are working toward sustainable development.
The Report was published and released last month by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. To read the report – simply click here.
