June, 2010 Photo Contest

This month see if you can name the airline whose name means “Dragon” that flies under this fiery logo. Be the first to send an e-mail to editor@travelofftheradar.com with the correct answer and we will send you some sweet Eagle Creek gear. Last Month Congratulations to Tom Wilson of Burlington, VT for correctly identifying Avenida de Mayo in Buenos Aires last month.

Revisiting Tales of Community Conservation – Milking The Rhino

Back in 2007, Off the Radar covered a documentary still in the early stages of screening. Three years later, Milking the Rhino has won countless awards, including Best Nature Film at the Yosemite Film Festival and Best Documentary at both the Pan African and San Luis Obispo International Film Festival. The film documents the Massai people in Kenya and their struggle with conservation laws who have now become spokespeople for community-based conservation and the benefits they are able to reap in effect.  According to a recent update in April 2009, the establishment of Il ...

Travel Talk Show Hopeful

Oprah has begun to accept auditions in the "Your OWN Show" competition series, where participants submit auditions vying for the role of a talk show host for Oprah's new network, OWN. While many creative auditions have been submitted, one contestant caught our eye. Zach Anner makes his case to host a travel show designed to inspire people who never though they could travel. Zach, though physically confined to a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy, shows the freedom to be found in an adventurous and willing spirit. To vote, go to his official audition video here....

Hike & Paddle through the Laos Rainforest and Raft through Buddhist Culture in Bhutan

Sixteen days may be two over your allotted yearly vacation time – but take those two unpaid – because when you join the expert leadership of John Yost, co-founder of Mountain Travel Sobek, to experience the remote rainforests of Laos and the ancient traditions of Bhutan, you won’t regret it. Yost has put together a trip traversing both South Asian countries that combines high quality adventure alongside true cultural immersion. Depending on the season, you will learn to cultivate rice, how to fish Laos style, and about the intricacies of silkworm weaving and production....

Pinning Kingo’s Ultimate Survival on Sustainable Tourism

First published in the ATTA’s Adventure Travel News in March 2010 By Leslie Nevison, Director, Mama Tembo Tours Kingo, a 300 pound (140 kilogram) Western lowland gorilla silverback, and his six wives and children, live in the protected rainforest of Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in the northern Republic of Congo near its border with the Central African Republic. Scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) began habituating Kingo fifteen years ago. At the time, gorilla research had been restricted to Rwanda’s and Uganda’s mountain gorillas, and very little was known about lowland gorilla behavior in the wild. Compared to ...

Dance to the Beat of Mongolian Bling

Ask any youth from the Western hemisphere to name their favorite hip hop artists and they will probably rattle off a few names that come to mind. Ask their parents and grandparents and you would likely be met with a blank stare. Younger generations have come to assume that this culture gulf is wide and incapable of being bridged.  Nasanbat, a 52 year old Mongolian woman, however, can name the first hip hop song that became popular in Mongolia, a few of the bands and artists around town, and is probably ...

The Top 10 Developing Countries for Sustainable Adventure Tourism

Where will you head when the wild calls? We want to go where the best outdoors escapes and adventures offer phenomenal access to well-preserved wilderness areas and parks. We recognise, though, that wilderness integrity depends in large part on the level of responsibility and commitment of local tourism personnel. Given that, where should we look for tour operators eager to join forces to make a positive impact on their surroundings through community development and environmental conservation projects?...

Henderson Island Seabird Conservation Effort

We recently featured Tristan de Cunha, a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean, 1,750 miles away from South Africa. Now move over a bit to the South Pacific Ocean and you'll come across the Pitcairn Islands and of particular interest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Henderson Island. Henderson Island is currently encountering problems with an introduced rat population that has been killing off 25,000 petrel birds each year. On the island there are four endemic land birds: Henderson lorikeet, Henderson fruit-dove, ...

Healthcare and Volunteering Opportunities

One of our readers, Lisa asked about volunteering opportunities that mixed in a little adventure. Her training in nursing love for scuba diving has encouraged her to search for options, ideas, inspiration. Hi, Lisa! Thank you so much for taking the time to contact us about possible volunteering opportunities. There are a myriad of healthcare volunteering opportunities. Take a look at an operator we featured on OTR, Buffalo Tours, they offer a medical trek throughout Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. You might be able to squeeze in a ...

Preserving Mountains, Thriving Culture

Treks up some of the world are most dangerous yet biologically diverse landmarks provide operators and climbers with a bit of a quandary.  The mountains hold sensitive species that must be protected and unique climates that provide locals with valuable resources. Concurrently, mountain tourism also provides social and economic benefits to mountain peoples. However as more and more visitors visit mountain areas, culture and resources are being altered and the landscape is slowly changing. Soon however, mountain tour operators will be able to provide clients, potential clients, and locals a solid ...

Trail Networks Provide Economic Benefits to Communities

From June 4 to September 17, 2006, Western Canada's Mountain Bike Tourism Association conducted a study to measure the economic impact of mountain biking through their Sea to Sky trail network. Not counting spending from other users, mountain biking alone contributed $10.3 million to cities along the paths. Communities are beginning to see and understand the positive economic impact trail networks can have on surrounding communities. The Kimberley Trails Society in British Columbia is one such area that is realizing the significance not only of mountain biking and trails but of adventure tourism altogether and has submitted a ...

Planning Adventure in Southern Europe

Any suggestions for an adventure-oriented trip for a week in August in southern Europe? Thanks! -Roshni Hi, Roshni! Thanks so much for contacting us, we have featured several different tour operators and stories from others who have ventured through areas of Southern Europe. I'm sending you links to the articles, hopefully you find them helpful, many of them mention tour operators and specific areas and activities to do there. Or perhaps they might spark a few ideas of your own... :) Also, be sure to check out StepUpTravel where you can find local tour operators as well as local accommodations in the area....

Online Travel Portal AdventurUS.com Announces Partnerships, Creating Customized Online Adventure Centers

This month AdventurUS.com has released a beta version of an interactive interface that provides adventure travelers with a way to book trips, contact the tour operator directly, buy specific gear appropriate for the trip. This means easier travel prep and planning allowing travelers to focus more on the experience. Partnering with Eastern Mountain Sports, Adventure 16, NRS allows travelers put their outdoor gear to good use on top guided adventures and ease worries by connecting directly with tour operators instead of travel agencies. They list over 300 trips that feature trip itineraries as well as well-written articles to ...