postcard from Minaret Station

waterfall at Minaret Station (c) 2019 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

I took a short hike this morning before breakfast through the mountain valley in which Minaret Station is found. With just four cabins set in the midst of 60,000 acres, Minaret Station is both the largest and the smallest Virtuoso resort in the world. It is utter luxury to live in total comfort, enjoying meals, in the midst of such raw and natural beauty. So remote, we helicoptered in yesterday ... but so close, it's just 20 minutes from Queenstown.

Never knew about Minaret Station, but it's now on my radar as the best adventure travel resort in New Zealand ... and one of the most spectacular settings in the world. Thank you, Minaret Station, Southern World, Tourism New Zealand, and Virtuoso for making this visit possible.

copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

interview with Alastair Vere Nicoll

I published a review of Riding the Ice Wind: By Kite and Sledge across Antarctica in my post on September 28. The book tells a compelling story of extreme adventure travel. I was privileged to have the opportunity to conduct an email interview with Alastair. Here is the text of our correspondence. (You can order the book here).


(1) One of the conflicts in your narrative concerned your worry about frostbite on your face and toe — but then you never resolved that conflict at the end of the book. How did everything work out?

The frostbite on my ears, cheeks and nose was in the end relatively superficial, and although I didn't look my best — a combination of a very dodgy beard and the healing frostbite — it left nothing more permanent than a little bit of lighter skin on my nose which seems a bit more susceptible to sunburn! All in all not very dramatic. My toe, too, very suprisingly, healed as I was convinced it would be lost. The blood flow and feeling are impaired, but it is absolutely no inconvenience. I wish I could tell you that I had to hack it off with a handsaw, but I can't!


(2) Becoming a father was obviously a very moving experience for you — congratulations! I'm wondering how that new responsibility is shaping plans for your future adventure travel? (There are much less extreme forms of adventure travel!)

Fatherhood has been wonderful, and I also now have a little boy! But I can't deny that I get restless; I'm not made for pushing swings (although do try to do my fair share!). I have a very loose agreement with my wife that I can disappear for a week or so a year to try something a little off the beaten track. So far that has been climbing/trekking in Georgia in the Caucasas (just before the Russian invasion), trekking/climbing in Uganda - Mount Stanley, followed by Gorilla tracking on the Rwanda/Congo border (my wife flew out to join me for the Gorilla part which was magical, meeting me at the bottom of the mountain), and going trekking in the Alps. So I agree, it is possible to do some fun things for a week or two, although I still think that you don't properly get away (mentally more than anything else) unless the trip is longer than a couple of weeks.


(3) What are your present and future travel plans. I know you're now in Asia — presumably doing something more adventurous than sitting by the pool at the Peninsula Bangkok or getting massages!

Hilarious question as I'm now sitting in the Peninsula in Hong Kong — perhaps I will go to the spa! Nice idea. Actually my life is not that adventurous in the 'extreme' sense, but I consider what I'm currently up to as more adventurous in a more layered way than anything I've done before. I started my own business (with three others) in 2007 with the aim of building renewable energy generating capacity in developing countries. In many ways it is a parallel journey to the Antarctic expedition — fund raising, financial risk, asking people to believe in you, having a vision, trying to make it happen, taking on uncertainty, and asking your family to accept that...

The business has started with an Asian focus. The massive growth here means the power demand is huge, and we want to supply it — green and clean (small hydro, wind, solar, waste to energy). We raised around $100m during the financial crisis — which I'm really proud of — and are starting to put it to work in India, Sri Lanka and the Philippines initially. This means travel to the financial centres (Delhi, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Manila) but also regularly to the sites of our projects which are way off the beaten track in the mountains, up rivers, in deserts and plains. I love it! Last month I was up in the Himalayas checking out a little river valley in the middle of nowhere. In these countries, even trips to the cities can also be adventurous, and only last night I was in Delhi sipping tea with a man who claimed to be 110 (ok, I know, he saw me coming...) outside the Nizamuddin in Delhi listening to Muslim prayer time. It was surreal and beautiful and another world — yet only half an hour previously I had been discussing debt finance with a bank! Funny, wonderful world that this is!

So — current plans are devoted almost entirely to my business. I need and want this to be a success and am trying to blend a more adventurous mix into my real life rather than periodic escapes, which was one of my learnings from my book. The risk and stress in entrepreneurial ventures is truly analagous to adventure...

Future big picture plans: Ultimate aim is a Haj across the North Africa from Mauritania to Arabia over a year, on foot, camel and river. I want to learn Arabic, and that is the ten year plan. Ambitious, may never pull it off or put in motion, but you have to dream and I do aim to try... Perhaps that will be another book — the mid-life crisis to follow the quarter-life one!


(4) Knowing what you know now about traversing Antarctica, what would you do differently?

This is an amazing question. And so, so hard. I would spend more time working out kit solutions that worked for me in advance. Success is in the details. I hated my boots and had not worn them before setting foot in Antarctica, and I would opt for an entirely different system. On my face, I started with suggestions from others, but they just didn't work for me and luckily had brought other options but none perfect. Everyone is unique, and small differences in kit can make big differences in comfort. It may surprise people, but there is no kit that is designed for Antarctica that is readily available. It is all mountaineering and skiing gear engineered for distinct environments, so previous experience of your needs can make a big difference to what you select — although ultimately all of it is a compromise.

It's easy to say, now that I've seen it, but I wouldn't, in the future, go via the South Pole. It's a monstrosity, and being obsessed with going through or via it can lead you to miss out on more virgin ground. Paul, from my expedition, went a year or two afterwards to the Pole of Inaccessibility - the point most distant from any coastline - wow. And you know what he found there, a huge golden bust of Lenin put there by the Russians years ago. The station had been covered by snow leaving only a golden figurine sitting serenely, like a Buddha, on the ice, about to be engulfed itself by snow like the edifice it rested on (a wonderful metaphor for the steady disappearance of Communism as an ideology).


(5) Do you have any advice for "extreme adventurer travelers."

Extreme travellers embrace risk and love discovery (even if it's been done before, it hasn't by them) and so generally hate to receive advice. Besides, many travellers have been to places and done things, under the radar, that make my achievements look puny, and I should be taking advice from them!


(6) If you had it to do all over again, would you? Was the journey worth the financial cost, the pain, and the risk to life and limb?

I wouldn't do it again (i.e. a second time). There's just too much out there, and not knowing what was in store made it all more bearable. But would I do it again (a first time) knowing what I know now — yes. Although parts were awful, parts were incredible, and I really believe that the up is always worth the down — otherwise life is just flatlining. And hindsight makes almost every experience worthwhile; after all our bodies have no lasting memory for pain — memory that you experienced it, but no way of feeling it again in the same way that you can relive emotion.



adventure travel (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2010 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
.

adventure travel

Adventure travel has been defined as any trip that includes at least two of the following three features: (1) physical activity, (2) interaction with nature, and (3) cultural learning or exchange (see the 9/27/10 issue of Travel Weekly). Within the category of adventure travel, further distinction can be made between "hard adventure" trips which involve caving, climbing, and trekking and "soft adventure." By any standard, trekking across Antarctica qualifies as hard adventure.

I just finished my review copy of Alastair Nicoll's account of his expedition to Antarctica, Riding the Ice Wind: By Kite and Sledge across Antarctica. The book — part narrative, part philosophical musings on the nature of life, and part rhapsody on the beauty of this arctic wilderness and the ordeal of his journey — raised for me a basic question: what drives a select few among us to risk their lives, live on the edge for months, and push their bodies beyond the point of what they thought they could do?

Perhaps this quote from the book articulates the appeal that hard adventure holds for some:

Much of Antarctica is about experience. The less you know about yourself the more uncomfortable you are. It was revealing for me that everything seemed to boil down to self-awareness — not just mentally but physically, too. The more you know about your own body and how it copes in various conditions the more you can try to work within yourself. How can you tell when you are just tired and when you're at breaking point? Is your Achilles tendon just painful or is it tearing irreparably? Are your extremities numb or are they getting seriously frostbitten? Who knows? I certainly didn't. (pg 113)

Nicoll tells an engaging story with a compelling subtext: will he make it home in time to be present at the birth of his first child? Although it's not the most skillfully structured narrative, I definitely got "hooked" by the book and fascinated by this account of extreme adventure travel.

order Riding the Ice Wind from amazon.com.


adventure travel (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2010 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
.

luxury adventure travel to exotic islands

I'm not a big fan of cruises. I much prefer to stay and sleep on land, to wander and explore the interesting neighborhoods just outside the door of my hotel. But there's an exception to that rule: sometimes luxury adventure travel takes you to exotic destinations that are best explored by sea. Two such cruise expeditions have come across my desk in recent days.

The Azores and Canary Islands. This tour begins in Granada with a guided tour of the incredible Alhambra (a highlight of my recent trip to Spain). Boarding the ship in Malaga, subsequent stops include Gibraltar and Morocco (with an optional two-day excursion to Marrakech) before heading out into the Atlantic to explore the natural and cultural attractions of the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Azores. The expedition is led by expert naturalists including a marine biologist, a professional birder, and a horticulturalist.

Circum-navigation of Sicily. This tour begins in Malta with an exploration of Valletta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Boarding your ship there, the cruise traces the coast of Sicily and includes guided visits to varied historic and cultural sites including Greek temples, Roman theaters, and Arab castles. There will be abundant opportunities for wine and olive-oil tasting, visiting local outdoor markets, with free time in the evenings to dine on your own in the picturesque coastal towns of Sicily.

These unique experiences are offered by Zegrahm Expeditions, a select Virtuoso company specializing in luxury adventure travel and eco-tourism. With over three dozen exotic trips planned for 2011, some by sea but many by land, there is bound to be an adventure that will intrigue your imagination. Want to plan something totally different for next year? Get in touch with me to explore the possibilities!


luxury adventure travel (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2010 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
.

Clayoquot Wilderness Resort

Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, located some 20 miles east of Tofino, BC, offers guests a beautiful and secluded wilderness setting for the ultimate active vacation. Our wilderness adventure began the moment we departed the Seair terminal (adjacent to the Vancouver, BC airport) for a one hour sea plane flight which landed right at Clayoquot's dock where we were greeted by the resort's staff (and a few of their friendly canine staff as well). Our bags were taken straight to our luxury tent while we were brought to the dining hall for hors d'oeuvres (including freshly shucked oysters) and drinks.

Clayoquot is about luxury camping. Clayoquot is not -- and does not pretend to be -- the kind of luxury hotel you'd find in the middle of civilization. It's a camp, and an extremely comfortable camp at that. The tents are large and furnished with rustic antiques. Our queen size bed was extremely comfortable with a custom foam mattress (with three inch "eggshell foam" topper), and we slept very well each of our three nights. Our tent was heated by a thermostatically controlled gas fireplace. It didn't have "indoor plumbing;" each tent has a private outdoor composting toilet. There is a shared bathhouse in which each tent has its own private shower with plenty of hot water generated from Clayoquot's woodburning hot water furnace.

So why come to Clayoquot?

Natural beauty. This is the view from the dining hall where you will enjoy all of your meals. The view changes as the tide ebbs and flows and as the lighting conditions change, but you'll never tire of feasting your eyes on the panoramic views of sea, forest, and mountain.

Wilderness adventures. Everything is included here. Want to go hiking? Fishing? Go by speedboat into the Sound to watch for whales, eagles, and sea lions? Kayaking? Rock climbing? Horseback riding? There's no need to "sign up early" to reserve the activities you want. There are enough private guides on staff so that guests can choose their own individual activities each day. And if you want to do one thing and your kids want to do something else, this kind of flexibility is what Clayoquot is about.

Want to pamper yourself in the spa? One spa treatment per guest is included (we each had a great one-hour massage), and Virtuoso guests get the amenity of a complimentary second spa treatment during their stay.

Great food. Chef Timothy May is an incredible chef, and your meals, prepared from fresh local fish, meat, and produce, are outstanding presentations worthy of the finest restaurants. Fine wines and all beverages are included. You can even sign up for cooking lessons.

Smooth-as-silk service is what makes Clayoquot a five star resort. Managing Director John Caton, pictured at the left, is a gracious host who has assembled the most welcoming staff you'll ever experience. Everyone on staff seems genuinely happy to be there ... and so will you!

Who should visit Clayoquot? I recommend this resort for two types of guests:

• Families looking for a fabulous upscale travel adventure in the Canadian wilderness.
  
• Honeymooners who want a unique, active experience in a beautiful outdoor setting.

Clayoquot Wilderness Resort (search here on Google)


copyright (c) 2007 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
.