Holy Skyscrapers Batman, This Isn’t the Mardi Gras!

Image: Adrian Warren

Everyone loves Melbourne. Everyone in Melbourne anyway. Give me Sydney any day, says Roderick Eime.

In 1996 Melbourne was still under the temporary spell of Jeff Kennett when a motley bunch of liberal powerbrokers and commercial heavyweights wrested the phenomenally popular Australian Formula One Grand Prix from Adelaide. The city of churches had for ten years been the darling of the Formula One circuit when the South Australian capital pulled out all the stops to entertain and impress the world.

Like stealing candy from a contented baby, bully-boy Melbourne snatched just about the only thing Adelaide had going for it on the world sport stage. Smug and satisfied, Kennett and his marauding cronies were busy admiring their prize when F1 team Williams and major sponsor Rothmans decided they would make a television commercial to celebrate the new venue.

Location scouts scoured the austere landscape of Melbourne in search of an iconic setting for their blockbuster production. It took them a while, but in the end, the desired, unmistakable, vista was found: the Sydney Harbour Bridge!

Anybody who has spent time in both cities will nod their head knowingly. Melbourne can brag about their cappuccinos and electric trams, but stack Sydney Harbour up against Port Phillip Bay and the southern example begins to look like a giant settling pond.

Crikey, take the Yarra for example. People think you’re trying to make a joke when you call it the world’s only upside down river. If only they could make their cappuccinos that colour.

And, if you’re traveling to Melbourne, whatever you do, don’t mention the football. Mexicans (Sydney-siders like to call Victorians that on account they are all south of the border) claim to have invented Australia Rules Football (AFL). Well true, they did plagiarise the ancient sport of Gaelic football brought in by the Irish and call it their own, but now it’s more of an embarrassment. In the last ten years, only two Melbourne teams have won the AFL grand final. So each year, tens of thousands of real footy fans from Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide have to hike down to Melbourne to watch their teams win because of some dumb contractual arrangement that still imagines Melbourne as the home of Aussie Rules. In truth most Melbournians just wish the whole thing would go away.

Now don’t start! Sure, Sydney may have staged the greatest Olympics Games since Zeus tossed a discus, but Melbourne did a really fine job of the Commonwealth Games. Honestly, a delightful little event. I hear the city is being considered for an encouragement award. That’s the spirit.

Now Melbournians just love to look down their noses at Sydney, or for that matter, anywhere else in Australia. They gloat endlessly about the shopping, dining and culture but their road system is so bewildering, the city’s tourism motto even says dejectedly: “Lose Yourself in Melbourne”.

Oh yes, poke fun at our world famous Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Will someone tell me what there is to celebrate about a ‘Moomba’? And Sydney is supposed to be somehow ashamed of its convict heritage. At least we weren’t founded by a DC Comics character with silly ears and his underwear on the outside!

Buccaneer and Succour There

Article from:

Roderick Eime braves pirates and cyclones for a glimpse of the romantic South Seas life on Vanuatu

Where: Iririki Island Resort and Spa, Port Vila, Vanuatu

“Pull that halyard! Put yer back into it, lad!” hollers Captain Harry, as I heave and sweat on the fat rope that hoists the mainsail. “Now sweat it off like this,” he curses, pulling heavily on the rope and fixing it to the cleat.

I’d made the mistake of voicing a passing interest in sailing and Harry, eager to immerse me in the experience, soon has my flabby arms aching and sore from the exertion.

We’re aboard his classic gaff rigged schooner, Cassiopeia, full rig flying and heading out of Port Vila harbour for an evening sunset cruise. Rum-laden punch is poured generously in true seagoing style and soon the tall tales are flowing.

Harry is what you’d call a corporate refugee. A US-born architect, he was about to sign the biggest deal of his life, then backed out at the last minute, choosing instead to sail off for the South Seas with his new girl and rescued schooner. His flowing locks of dark hair, mischievous grin and neatly trimmed goatee make him an instant “Jack Sparrow” with a dangerous charm.

Based in Port Vila and still dreaming of the odd swashbuckling adventure, I wonder if he might be pushing the pirate fantasy a little too far, but the short excursion on the thankfully tranquil harbour is a fun and relaxing frolic, complete with eye-patches, cutlasses and muzzle loading pistols.

To the port bow is Iririki Island, “safe haven” in the local language and home to one of Port Vila’s very few luxury resorts, it was once the site of the British High Commissioner’s residence.

Opened 21 years ago, the resort and spa complex has wooed both newlyweds and the newly retired in their quest for the ‘perfect tropical island getaway’. During that time the country has had more than it’s fair share of rough weather, including airline collapses, reschedules, consular warnings and hurricanes. The resort has, astonishingly, continued throughout this turbulence and is now entering a new phase of its life.

I’m here to inspect the latest 61 luxury accommodations opened at Snorkelers Cove on the island where the developers have unveiled plush apartments and penthouses for those wishing to invest in their tropical vision. Now, instead of just staying for a few nights in ‘paradise’, guests can purchase their own apartments or penthouses for private use or investment.

As I stare out across the expanse of Port Vila’s harbour from one of the balconies admiring what is inarguably a million dollar (plus) view, I can see the many attractions of this location. There’s access to (a few) good restaurants, berthing for your luxury yacht, a spacious leisure precinct with huge infinity pool, watersports, gym and conference facilities all secreted into the careful landscaping of the island.

Some aspects however, border on the archetypal Gold Coast development, like the stark tiling and plastering in the new rooms and slightly unimaginative architecture of the apartment block. That said, the location, facilities and dining are hard to match in this remote Pacific republic. For those wishing to stay as guests, there is still a lot of attraction in the traditional fares (bungalows) with their rough wooden floors, slatted windows and old colonial feel.

Dinner at the Watermark Restaurant is a polished affair with fine French wine, delicate seafood and the trademark Santo Island beef eye fillet. The beasts on Santo live a stress free life, up to their rumps in long lush grass 24/7, and produce some of the tenderest, flavoursome steak you’ll find anywhere. Iririki’s other premium restaurant, Michener’s, named after US author James A Michener, of ‘Tales of the South Pacific’ fame, is perched imperiously above the harbour complete with its own bar and horizon pool.

As the guests tuck into their multi-star cuisine and sip French champagne and cocktails, I glance across the table to Captain Harry, still resplendent in his full Jolly Roger regalia. He has captivated two of the female guests with rapturous conversation and it is this innocent seduction that encapsulates the whole Iririki experience; an escape from an existence of mundane social obligation and conformity to the alluring colourful and romantic life of a South Sea’s scallywag. I wonder if he’s hiring.

Fact File

Iririki Island Resort

Port Vila

Vanuatu

www.iririki.com

TREAT YOURSELF TO TWO FREE NIGHTS AT VANUATU’S BEST

Book a week at Vanuatu’s premier private island resort, Iririki Island Resorts and Spa, and Coral Seas Travel will give you the 7-nights for the price of five in a private Garden Bungalow, include return air and taxes from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, Tropical Buffet Breakfasts daily, return airport transfers, and even throw-in a free Port Vila and Environs tour.

This value-packed offer is available for travel from Sydney or Melbourne between October 16 and December 14 this year and from January 17 to February 29 next year, and from Brisbane between October 9 and December 13 this year and January 16 to February 28 next year if booked by April 30.

Prices start from $1519pp twin-share from Brisbane, $1569 Sydney and from $1839pp twin-share form Melbourne; full details from travel agents, phone 1800 641 803 or in Sydney 8236 9900, or visit www.coralseas.com.au

Iririki Island Resorts & Spa is located just 3-minutes by free round-the-clock ferry from Port Vila town centre, the island itself once the site of the British Residence Commissioner’s Residency prior to Independence in 1980, and home to the Queen during her last South Pacific tour.

Facilities include two ‘horizon’ pools – one of them one of the largest in the South Pacific – four restaurants and cafés including Port Vila’s premier Michener’s with million-dollar harbour and town views, a white sand beach and watersports centre, Spa Frangipani for manicures, pedicures, facials, hot rock treatments and other spa indulgences, and a private snorkelling area.

The 70 bungalows are set amid lush tropical gardens or over-water in the child-free zone on the island, while 54 new Deluxe Rooms are designed for family holidaying with such facilities as full kitchens, dining and lounge facilities, and there are also seven tri-level family Penthouses.

Take Your Chances

from:

Take Your Chances

When it comes to fatalities on the roads and in the air, no traveller wants to become a statistic. So before you grab your passport and risk winging it out the door, here are some numbers that might help you answer the big question: Why are you tripping?

In Pursuit of Adventure

Adventure cruising, and its almost seamlessly interchangeable appellation, “expedition cruising”, has its roots deep in the human psyche. It stems from our innate desire to inquire, explore and expand the boundaries of our environment whilst deriving intellectual rewards from the experience. Expanding on this, one could name great navigators like Magellan, Cook, La Perouse and Pytheas as some of the best known “adventure cruisers”. Often travelling under the veil of commerce, military expansionism, geography or science, these iconic sailors were driven by a desire to expand their own personal knowledge quite apart from obligations to their respective bankrolling empires.

The 21^st Century adventure cruiser is transported in vastly different vessels. Complete with state-of-the-art satellite navigation, first rate medical facilities, gourmet cuisine and comfy bunks, gone are the days of deprivation, scurvy and mythical sea monsters.

Just as cruise travel is enjoying a very healthy resurgence despite the woes of the planet, adventure cruising, as a significant sub-set of the segment, is booming. This assertion is backed up by figures and concurs with findings from studies such as the Cendant Corporation's 'The World of Travel in 2020' where their findings indicate travellers are more and more in search of "experience-driven travel".

But how do you tell an adventure or expedition cruise from the regular fun-afloat type?

That which separates adventure cruising from the regular, big ship, variety is a number of factors, namely;

• Flexible and adjustable itineraries to take account of changing conditions and opportunities.
• Products driven by destination and experience rather than the allure or cachet of a particular vessel.
• Destinations often have little or no tourism infrastructure and focus on natural, cultural and ecological attractions.
• Smaller, more manoeuvrable vessels able to navigate narrow and shallow waterways inaccessible to regular cruise ships.
• Fewer passengers, enabling operators to better deliver a more personal and fulfilling experience. Typically less than 500, but often as few as just a dozen or so.
• Extensive shore excursion programme, often with several disembarkations per day.
• Cruise staff includes lecturers drawn from academia and science able to impart enriching interpretation during a voyage or shore time.
• Premium pricing.

Products Close to Home

Here is a selection of vessels and itineraries within easy reach of Australia or New Zealand, often by simple domestic airline link.

Orion Expedition Cruises

Orion burst onto the domestic cruise scene amid great fanfare in late 2003. Founder and managing director, Sarina Bratton, brought with her many years of top level cruise industry experience and Orion is an amalgamation of her vision for “people who seek the mental stimulation of new experiences, places and discovery, whilst enjoying the comfort of luxurious surroundings.”

By all accounts, MV Orion is a magnificent vessel, crewed by expert mariners and delivering large ship opulence in a gleaming, compact package. Luxury staterooms, fine dining and extensive onboard facilities like sauna, spa, gymnasium and beauty salon set her distinctly apart from others vying for the “expedition” market.

Whilst extolling the “luxury” aspects of this vessel, some criticism has been heard of Orion’s “delivery” of the shore component. This seems to be confined to earlier, or first time cruises to new destinations, and it appears that aspect of the product is improving dramatically.

Many experienced observers of the cruise industry see Orion as something of a “crossover” product, retaining the glamour and facilities of a big ship whilst pursuing itineraries and destinations usually reserved for smaller, more spartan vessels.

Coral Princess Cruises

Coral Princess Cruises bill themselves as pioneers of Australian expedition cruising, beginning in 1984 with an ex-WWII submarine chaser. Currently the company operates three vessels, with the two year old, full SOLAS Oceanic Princess their flagship.

While the two smaller vessels, Coral Princess I & II stay close to home, operating primarily from the company’s base in Cairns to the Great Barrier Reef, Cape York and to the Kimberley, Oceanic Princess ventures much further afield. Since her launch in early 2004, she has circumnavigated New Zealand and Tasmania, visited Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, the Solomons and spearheaded itineraries in the Kimberley.

While she will never hold a candle to Orion for luxury appointments, she nevertheless acquits herself superbly for the intended purpose, namely close-to-shore expeditions and secluded waterways. Without a stabilisation system, she won’t be offering open sea itineraries.

Her all-Australian crew are an asset and are easily amongst the best of the local operators and the specially designed, purpose-built excursion vessel is launched from a raised platform ensuring all passengers embark and disembark from a stationery position.

North Star Cruises

Western Australia’s own North Star Cruises operate the acclaimed and multi-award-winning True North, launched in just 2005. Replacing the company’s older, smaller vessel, the new, sleek vessel now carries 36 passengers in 18 cabins in three classes and an 18-member, all-Australian crew.

A bit of a slow starter in the market, North Star is now truly hitting its straps, regularly pulling off awards for their signature Kimberley cruises, where their March-September voyages are the benchmark product.

The dynamic young company now offers itineraries in Papua New Guinea in November and December and is considering expanding their operations farther into the South Pacific.

World Heritage Cruises

Based in the idyllic former logging port of Strahan on Tasmania’s rugged west coast, this small ship company is best known for their relaxed buffet day cruises along Macquarie Harbour into the pristine Gordon River. Branching out with a new luxury vessel, MV Discovery in 2005, the century-old family company now offers overnight cruises further up the Gordon River (Wilderness Escape Cruise), 5-day expeditions to remote Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour and, during the harsh Tasmanian winter whilst based in Queensland, to Hervey Bay and Fraser Island with a new 3-night product.

Chosen by Princess Mary and Prince Frederick for R&R after her hectic Australian tour, the MV Discovery aims squarely for high yield mainland and in-bound clients and carries just 24 passengers in 12 single class cabins. Equipped with zodiacs for shore excursions, the company also makes a fuss of their premium dining experience.

To the Four Corners …

Lindblad Expeditions

No coverage of expedition cruising would be complete without mention of this truly pioneering company. Spawned from his father, Lars-Eric Lindblad’s ground-breaking company Lindblad Travel, young Sven-Olaf Lindblad launched Lindblad Expeditions in 1979.

The New York based company operates a fleet of vessels of which the 3100 ton, 110 passenger National Geographic Endeavour is perhaps the best known. She travels, quite literally to all corners of the globe including the South Pacific, Antarctica and the British Isles

Quark Expeditions

Arguably the pre-eminent expedition cruising company in the world, Quark transport passengers to truly iconic destinations like the deepest Antarctic, the Canadian High Arctic, Siberia and even the North Pole. Using a fleet of seven, predominantly Russian vessels including the world record holding icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov and the world’s most powerful icebreaker, Yamal, Quark was founded in 1991 and immediately began breaking records and setting new benchmarks in adventure travel.

Ecoventura

This Galapagos specialist operates four vessels, each accommodating just 20 passengers or less. Recently self-accredited as “carbon neutral”, Florida-based ecoventura (aka Galapagos Network) claim to offset their vessels’ carbon output with a variety of projects including reforestation and methane recapture.

Stop the World I Want to Get Off

As published in

When Australia’s Baby Boomers want to get away from it all, they head to Byron Bay. But they don’t leave their hard-earned integrity, status and comforts behind.

Words and pictures by Roderick Eime. Additional photography courtesy the Byron at Byron.

“No one lives for the moment anymore,” laments Lyn Parché, manager of the once controversial Byron at Byron Resort and Spa, “people are just consumed with business and materialism these days.”

Lyn and husband John have spent thirty years in the hospitality business, but their youthful exuberance and enthusiasm belies their extensive international experience. Classic ‘Baby Boomers’, John and Lyn were snared by ‘early boomer’ and entrepreneur, Gerry Harvey, to manage his $45 million resort complex in the eclectic seaside town of Byron Bay on the New South Wales North Coast.

With a higher proportion of the post-war offspring than any town in Australia, Byron Bay is a whacky mix of spaced out surfer types, retirees, holidaymakers, affluent mid-lifers and plain old bums. Despite this seemingly unmanageable demographic concoction, Byron Bay has developed a world famous reputation as a delightful alternative seaside village that has ferociously resisted the tide of development and commercialism.

“When we first opened in 2004, elements of the community were very suspicious,” confides Lyn, “here’s one of Australia’s most successful businessmen bringing tens of millions of dollars into this sleepy little hippy town. Folks were scared we were bringing the Gold Coast to Byron. That was understandable.”

Now, three years on, the dramas are all water under the bridge. Condé Naste and just about every other magazine has been through the resort and declared it one of the country’s gems. Awards and accolades have flowed like Bollinger and The Byron is the toast of the town.

“It wasn’t easy,“ continues Lyn, “but we’ve earned their trust and demonstrated our intentions were honorable and responsible. We employ almost 100 locals and bring a lot of business to Byron that is showing up down the street. Hundreds and hundreds of residents signed a petition in support of us when we wanted to expand our restaurant. That was a touching expression and really appreciated it.”

Byron Shire Mayor, Councillor Jan Barham echoes the community’s sentiments: ”The Byron at Byron provides a quality 5 star tourism opportunity for the region and makes a considerable positive impact through employment, care of the environment and contribution to community organizations.”

The Byron at Byron have now added a further 32 luxury, apartment-style suites, bringing their total inventory to 92.

Lyn, a self-confessed tree-hugger, has been obsessive in maintaining the low impact of the resort on the environment. When Harvey bought the land in 2002, he could see the immense potential and undaunted, pursued his vision of an environmentally harmonious resort that offered a haven of relaxation and therapy to his time-poor and over-stressed generation.

Following lavish praise in the world’s luxury travel media, the cavalcade of celebrities ultimately followed. Names such as Tara Reid, Barry Humphries, Fred Schepsi, Allan Lamb, Brian Wilson, Lavinia Nixon and Moby have all appeared in the register, some more than once! Clearly it’s not just the individual and free spirited, Baby Boomers who flock to the Byron. The independent and entrepreneurial Generation X seems to approve too.

“The resort is a paradise for relaxation where I can recover my spirits with a variety of spa treatments, enjoy the warmth of not only the weather but of the fabulous staff and enjoy the food, comfort and ambience of this luxurious haven,” says Barry Humphries, “When I visited recently, I bumped into an old friend from Melbourne, the highly regarded Dame Edna Everage from Moonee Ponds, who just adores The Byron. For the first time in history, we were in cordial agreement!"

The latest news from the Byron is the successful extension of the award-winning restaurant’s trading license. Previously just servicing in-house guests, ‘The Restaurant at The Byron’ now serves the general public both lunch and dinner seven days a week.

Head Chef Gavin Hughes has been with the resort since the opening. Hughes’s impressive background includes the Aqua Luna (with Darren Simpson), The Bathers Pavilion (with Serge Dansereau) and Aqua Dining (with Jeff Turnbull) in Sydney. Prior to moving to Australia Hughes trained and worked in his homeland of Scotland’s finest restaurants. These include the Michelin starred and AA awarded Inverlochy Castle Hotel, 1 Devonshire Gardens and The Airds Hotel.

“Our menu uses the freshest local ingredients and is lovingly planned and prepared,” says Gavin. “The food is light Mediterranean style and based around the best of what’s available locally. And we use Bangalow Sweet Pork, Alstonville chicken, Yamba prawns, Hervey Bay sea scallops and the fish we get is second to none. Right now I’m making a fresh local snapper, pan roasted with yellow zucchini, gazpatcho vinaigrette and vine ripened cherry tomatoes. My other little love is zucchini flowers filled with ricotta and spinach, served with a basil mayonnaise, rocket salad and lemon.”

Clearly the resort has now melded successfully with the unusual community of Byron Bay. Lyn, John and Gerry’s lofty vision and expert execution was obviously grossly underestimated by the detractors. Instead of bleached concrete towers and painful glitz, the Byron is a shining, if somewhat camouflaged example of how modern architecture, big business and a loving vision can create a retreat from the pressures of the modern world in a delicate and protective community.

About The Byron at Byron Resort and Spa

The Byron at Byron Resort was designed to blend effortlessly with the majestic rainforest which surrounds it. The open plan construction and the wide covered verandahs, furnished with oversized cane lounges and slow turning ceiling fans, evoke a feeling of instant serenity and harmony with the environment.

Tranquil water features throughout the resort create ripples of peaceful sound, while lush gardens and rich timbers have the effect of nurturing the soul and delighting the senses. The apartment style rooms are a triumph of modern Australian architecture and include every luxury imaginable, from a king sized bed with choice of feather or foam pillows, to a free-standing bathtub big enough for two.

Located five minutes from the heart of Byron Bay and a ten minute walk along the rainforest boardwalk to unspoiled Tallow Beach, The Byron at Byron Resort & Spa also features a 25m heated pool, a sumptuous restaurant operated by award winning chef, Matthew Wild, a lobby shop and tour desk and day spa.

For further information on The Byron at Byron Resort and Spa, telephone 1300 554 362, or visit www.thebyronatbyron.com.au.

A Pukka Rose

Article from:

In the skyrocketing cruise market, there’s still room for good old fashioned charm. Roderick Eime lied about his age for a glimpse of retro-cruising, British style.

The small crowd watches on with palpable anticipation. Ted stares purposefully toward the small pile of rope rings arrayed on deck and takes his shot. His red quoit lands tantalisingly short but slides delicately toward the yellow ring occupying the coveted centre circle. Then, impact, and the yellow quoit is ejected from its smug position and deposited on the perimeter of the target, leaving Ted’s projectile in its place. He celebrates the masterful stroke with a little jig.

“Oh you brute,” admonishes Cynthia, expecting Ted to do the gentlemanly thing and allow the ladies to win. But this is deck quoits - and there are only winners and losers.

Within the burgeoning world wide cruise market, the big players are striving to outdo each other with grandeur, scale and opulence. The recent visit to Sydney by Cunard’s two enormous Queens: QE2 and QM2, the latter being the world’s largest cruise liner, is a vivid testament to the growing popularity of the mega ship experience.

While the two royal dames enthralled Sydney, following right behind were two smaller ships, Saga Rose and Saga Ruby. Had it not been for the impressive fireworks display orchestrated for the Saga sisters’ visit, most Sydneysiders may never have noticed them.

These two elegant siblings, mere courtiers by comparison, sailed gracefully up Port Jackson and out to sea to separate and continue their respective round-world cruises.

At just 25,000 tons each, the “Saga Sisters” are relatively small cruise vessels by today’s standards and carry just 600 passengers, give or take. These graceful darlings are no spring chickens either, with Rose launched in 1965 and Ruby in 1973. But they’re “proper ships” as one of our party rightly observes.

Despite continual refurbishments, the old, very British girls have not lost their charm and grace. Brass and polished wood abound and the plush lounges, bars and common areas reflect an era of yesteryear without looking tired or tawdry.

Kent-based Saga Holidays reserve their vessels for strictly over-50s, so there are plenty of good old-fashioned shipboard frolics like quoits, shuffleboard, bingo and ballroom dancing. As an underage interloper, I am tempted to look upon some of these pastimes as quaint and anachronistic, but there is no mistaking the enthusiasm of passengers for these otherwise antiquated activities.

Chatting and mixing with the mainly English passengers is not as daunting as I first imagined. Sure, there’s more than enough eccentricity to go around, but there’s something to be said for the old-school, archetypal pom. They’re invariably polite, well spoken and patient, even when dealing with Aussies, and complain with such eloquence it’s almost poetic.

“Everywhere I look, there’s old people,” scoffed Roger, 79, from Bury St Edmunds, while tucking into an excellent mushroom, truffle cappuccino soup, “you just can’t get away from them!”

“And what’s been your highlight?” I innocently enquired.

“Finding a quiet corner of the library, if that’s at all possible, and falling asleep over a good book!” To which the entire table erupts into laughter while his ever-suffering wife just shakes her head dismissively in the background.

I think Roger is foxing. This is their fourth Saga cruise and he’s going again.

Certainly there are the Rogers, but all around me I see others scurrying between dance classes, health seminars, wine tastings, gym sessions and lectures from eminent academics. In one such event, I sat enthralled as Captain Tim Orchard recounted, in wonderful detail, his 20-year experience as commander of the world’s only supersonic airliner, the Concorde.

As my brief, five-day snapshot of the ship’s 100-something day circumnavigation attests, the passengers clearly enjoy a similarity of spirit and sense of restrained adventure that belies their age. I’m also impressed by the mainly Philippine service staff who go about their duties cheerfully and competently without gushing and fawning over you. The food is not only ample, but is served either in the dining room in true fine dining style or in the more relaxed Lido Buffet for those seeking a more casual atmosphere.

I stopped by the gallery and perused the photos laid out for passengers’ inspection, and see smiling faces in sequins and tuxedos interspersed with chinstrap penguins, marine iguanas and stone moai. The adjacent wall map chronicles their most comprehensive adventure and looked more like a voyage from de Gama, Dampier or Cook.

It’s hard to imagine a more dignified excursion, sailing past icebergs and tropical islands while sipping fragrant tea and eating scones with lashings of strawberry jam and cream. Oh, how youth is wasted on the young!

[Fact File as supplied]

Saga Rose Cruises are sold exclusively in Australia by Cruiseco; 100-nights Round-World from Southhampton on January 2008 costs from $22,711pp twin-share including a 40% Early Bird Discount (EBD). “Half World” (Southampton-Sydney or vv) starts from $10,658pp with EBD. Many other Saga Cruises are available in the world’s most popular cruise destinations: as an example 22 nights in the Mediterranean in October 2007 costs from $7320pp, including 15% EBD. For brochures and the name of your nearest Cruiseco agency phone 1800 225 656; EBDs can be withdrawn at any time. Air is additional in all cases.

There’s a Bear in There

Story and photographs by Roderick Eime

Beyond the well trafficked sea lanes and cruise ship haunts of Alaska's Inside Passage lies the true Alaska. Still a wild frontier where, if you stroll in the woods, you take a cut lunch and a .303!

“Walk loudly, sing songs, whatever,” says the pimply young ranger at Anan’s visitor station, “you don’t want to surprise the bears. If they hear you coming, they’re a lot more relaxed.”

We’ve just arrived at the Anan Bear Sanctuary in Jim Leslie’s 600hp jet boat, Chutine Warrior. The trip took less than an hour from the quaint little seaside village of Wrangell, tucked delicately into a sheltered bay on the island of the same name. It’s here that Jim and wife Wilma operate, Alaska Waters, a tiny tour company that caters for small groups and independent travellers in search of the ‘real’ Alaska. For many, the postcard perfect fishing hamlet is just another whistle stop on a big ship Inside Passage cruise.

Australians are travelling to Alaska in record numbers, the vast majority travelling aboard any of the huge luxury liners plying the pristine waters of the Inside Passage between Vancouver and Anchorage. But I'm here for a longer look at the charms of small town Alaska.

I stood by and watched as the enormous Norwegian Sun disgorged its cargo of 2000 sandal-clad, rubber-necked tourists onto the wharf at Wrangell. I saw them disappear into the little stores and boutiques while some others were whisked away on whirlwind city tours to the museum and native monuments. All the while I wondered what they were really experiencing of the wild, untamed Alaska that lurked just a few miles way.

Back at Anan Jim corrals us together for the short trek to the viewing station. The path is a plain dirt track leading into the woods and along the edge of a rushing stream overflowing with spawning salmon. Jim slings his .303 over his shoulder, but his big can of pepper spray is our first line of defence. “I’ve never used either so far,” admits Jim, “… here.”

Around the first corner we sight a massive Grizzly Bear sitting in the middle of the stream. We all immediately gasp in unison, some clutching nervously at each other, but Jim invites us to linger a moment and watch.

“Hey buddy,” yells Jim at the big carnivore, making sure he knows we’re there,” howya doing?”

The burly bruin turns momentarily in our direction, but just as quickly goes back to playfully swatting salmon with his huge paw. He’s completely unconcerned at our presence.

“The only time you’ll get into trouble,” Jim reminds us, “is if you get between a mother and her cubs or their intended destination, whatever that is. The bears are so full of salmon they’re not interested in eating you.”

The viewing station is little more than a picnic shelter and gives us somewhere to hide from the light rain that continues to fall. It’s not long before a female black bear and two gorgeous cubs amble past the station en route to the fish-laden river.

She barely glances our way as she leaves her two cubs to wait on the bank while she deftly extracts a salmon from the stream. The trio then trot off into the woods to enjoy their meal. This scenario plays out several more times over the hour as mothers and cubs come to feed on the ridiculous oversupply of pink-fleshed fish.

The river spills into a lagoon where the corpses of expired and half-eaten salmon wash up on the shore. Each of the tall pines encircling the lake contains one or more juvenile Bald Eagles. These magnificent birds are almost swarming on the smorgasbord laid out for them and overhead many more weal in formation just for the heck of it.

My stay with Jim and Wilma is for a scant five days, but in that time I’ve explored glaciers, fished for and caught salmon, hung on for dear life as Jim shoots the rapids and experienced daily life in the little town when it wasn’t thronging with tourists.

You’ll see an awful lot of fabulous scenery from the deck of your cruise ship, but step off and disappear into it to discover the true wonders of wild Alaska.


Fact File:

Where: Wrangell, Alaska [see Google maps]

Local Sights and Attractions: Stikine River, Shakes Glacier, Telegraph Creek, LeConte Glacier, ancient petroglyphs and Anan Wildlife Observatory

Activities: Hiking, fishing, sightseeing, golfing, bicycling,

Accommodation: Stikine Inn, Zimovia B&B, GrandView Bnb, Rooney's Roost B&B, Fennimore's B&B, Thunderbird Hotel

How to Get There: Alaska Airlines flies daily to Wrangell from Seattle (AS65) or Juneau (AS64). The Alaska Marine Highway ferry system visits Wrangell four times a week in summer.

Contact: Australians can arrange travel to Wrangell with local Alaska specialist, Spectrum Holidays.

Spectrum Holidays,
511 Whitehorse Road,
Mitcham VIC 3132

Email: enquiries@spectrumholidays.com.au
Web: www.spectrumholidays.com.au

Tel: +61 3 8804 2420
Fax: +61 3 8804 2426