Listen to the new radio advertising segment for Air Austral.
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A blog about the Indian Ocean - its people, places, cultures and wonders | If you have travelled to any of the great places that make up this huge area, want to travel to them or know all about them - let us know. We want to hear all about the Indian Ocean destinations of Mauritius, the Seychelles, Reunion Island, Madagascar, Comores and Mayotte and Africa | Email us sales@abhols.com.au
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Exploring North West Madagascar | Silhouette Cruises' exedition vessell Maya's Dugong
In my opinion, the most spectacular array of diversity in Madagascar is to be found along the north west coast. Rare birds, lemurs and chameleons share a stunning backdrop of tropical islands, ancient baobab trees and white-sand beaches.
Due to the remoteness of this area the majority of this region cannot easily be accessed. At sea, using a vessel with the kind of range necessary to travel these distances, we can unlock the secrets of Madagascar’s northwest coast.
In 2010, Above and Beyond Holidays are offering travellers the chance to discover the amazing northwest region of Madagascar aboard the expedition vessel Maya’s Dugong. A Silhouette Cruises vessell | see past Silhouette Cruises blogs
This former research vessel has been completely retro-fitted for expedition cruising – perfect for the traveller seeking an out-of-the-way adventure holiday, without forgoing the comfort and service of a modern yacht.
Maya's Dugong has only 9 cabins and a maximum of 24 guests. Expedition cruises are also small enough to give guests freedom and flexibility in deciding how they wish to discover Madagascar, be it trekking through the wilds looking for wildlife or diving the many reefs and lagoons. Aboard the vessel and throughout the cruise passengers have the experience and knowledge of a dedicated onboard naturalist and dive guide to call upon.
This is a unique opportunity to experience Madagascar and see its true diversity. On a full 14-night expedition aboard Maya’s Dugong, you will venture north from Nosy Be to Nosy Hara and then south to Baie de Mourambe. Each day allows guests to experience the numerous and varied coastal attractions along the way.
Shorter cruises of 7-nights can also be booked. Choose between the northern or southern leg of the 14 day journey. All departures leave from Nosy Be.
Past Madagascar Blogs | Lile De Nosy Be, Madagascar | The day it rained in Madagascar
Past Silhouette Cruises Blogs | Kayak Adventures Seychelles and Comoros
View the 2010 Maya's Dugong brochure and itinerary online
Due to the remoteness of this area the majority of this region cannot easily be accessed. At sea, using a vessel with the kind of range necessary to travel these distances, we can unlock the secrets of Madagascar’s northwest coast.
In 2010, Above and Beyond Holidays are offering travellers the chance to discover the amazing northwest region of Madagascar aboard the expedition vessel Maya’s Dugong. A Silhouette Cruises vessell | see past Silhouette Cruises blogs
This former research vessel has been completely retro-fitted for expedition cruising – perfect for the traveller seeking an out-of-the-way adventure holiday, without forgoing the comfort and service of a modern yacht.
Maya's Dugong has only 9 cabins and a maximum of 24 guests. Expedition cruises are also small enough to give guests freedom and flexibility in deciding how they wish to discover Madagascar, be it trekking through the wilds looking for wildlife or diving the many reefs and lagoons. Aboard the vessel and throughout the cruise passengers have the experience and knowledge of a dedicated onboard naturalist and dive guide to call upon.
This is a unique opportunity to experience Madagascar and see its true diversity. On a full 14-night expedition aboard Maya’s Dugong, you will venture north from Nosy Be to Nosy Hara and then south to Baie de Mourambe. Each day allows guests to experience the numerous and varied coastal attractions along the way.
Shorter cruises of 7-nights can also be booked. Choose between the northern or southern leg of the 14 day journey. All departures leave from Nosy Be.
Past Madagascar Blogs | Lile De Nosy Be, Madagascar | The day it rained in Madagascar
Past Silhouette Cruises Blogs | Kayak Adventures Seychelles and Comoros
View the 2010 Maya's Dugong brochure and itinerary online
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Kayak Adventures | Seychelles and Comoros | Silhouette Cruises
Kayak Adventures in the Indian Ocean | Seychelles and Comoros Adventures | Silhouette Cruises | For Indian Ocean Kayak Blogs | See also : Mauritius Ocean Classic | Naiade Events
These unique Seychelles kayaking trips are not for the faint hearted. Operated from Silhouette Cruise's fleet of yachts and Dutch schooners - lucky kayakers on these Seychelles island adventures get to explore stunning remote beaches, tiny coves and some of the Indian Oceans most beautiful and secluded islands.
Guests have the comfort of the yacht to fall back on when arms start to feel like rubber - and in the evenings the chance to enjoy some of the most incredible and remote tropical surroundings you can find. The Sea Star and Sea Bird accommodate guests in supreme comfort across 9 air conditioned cabins.
Other onboard facilities include a salon and bar, a dining salon and beautiful teak sun decks to stretch out and enjoy the view from. Your service-oriented crew includes 2 deckhands, a dive instructor, 3 stewardesses, and a dedicated chef, as well as the captain and engineer.
These 7 day itineraries are operating again in 2010 - 2011
Departures : 4-11 December 2010 | 19-26 February 2011 | 10-17 December 2011
As the official partner for Silhouette Cruises in Australia - Above and Beyond Holidays have some fantastic holiday package deals to the Seychelles.
Check out Simon Willis great footage from a past Seychelles Kayak Adventure
Looking for other Kayak stories? Read our blog on the Mauritius Ocean Classic
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Promoting Tourism to Reunion Island | Outside of France........
Reunion Island is a truely wonderful place to visit. Sure, it has issues to deal with for promoting its tourism to the outside world and handling tourists on the ground but what country doesn't ?
Réunionese culture is unique - a mix of European, Creole, African, Indian and Chinese. The most commonly used language, Réunion Creole, is essentially derives from French.
Reunion Island offers spectacular travel oppurtunities ranging from quiet and relaxing to highly active. If you're the kind of traveller more interested in an adrenaline rush than sunburn, Reunion Island has a plethora of awesome adventure activities available to you.
Options include hiking the towering heights of the islands famous "cirques" or exploring the underground on a canyoning trip, discovering cascading waterfalls, as well as scuba diving or surfing in the clear waters this Indian Ocean island.
On the south coast is the Piton de la Fournaise "Peak of the Furnace", an active volcano, in fact one of the most active in the world. This is a spectacular day trip - one not to be missed.17 miles of beaches stretch across the west coast, and there are lenty of mountains and forests to explore in between.
Tourism to Reunion Island has been focused on attracting main land French for so long that it appears Reunion Island has forgotten about the outside world.
Ground handlers, like Papangue Tours do a fantastic job in handling the new and challenging tasks of an influx of Australian tourists. Hotels are facing up to the fact that a passing knowledge of English is simply not good enough to make the first impression required to inspire tourists to recommend Reunion Island as a holiday destination. Airlines are making changes to their on board service to handle Australians used to having the choice of the worlds best airlines flying out of Australian airports.
Reunion and Beyond have brochured a dedicated stopover and holiday program for Air Austral with 10 pages of Reunion Island content.
Many peolpe ask our opinion on how tourism in Reunion will progress. Now that Air Austral have entered the Australian market, there is competition for the Australian Mauritius market. And by all accounts Air Austral arent going anywhere - reporting a modest profit in the midst of the 2010 GFC.
The task facing Reunion Island is not an insurmountable. Often people point to Mauritius as a shining example of how to implement a holistic tourism aproach with fantastic results. Mauritius is only 45 minutes away - on a clear day you can see one island from the other.
During such a conversation however it is crucial to never compare the two destinations.
Mauritius is an independant country, while Reunion Island is basically a French outpost in the Indian Ocean. With this comes its own problems but also leadership and funding.
The two landscapes are like chalk and cheese and existing tourism infrastructure in Reunion in comparison to Mauritius is non exisitent.Where Mauritius has more 5 star resorts than it knows what to do with - Reunion's 4 & 5 star resorts can be counted on one hand.
We think tourism in Reunion will grow - and that in general the island will experience a tangeable benefit from this through their economy.
Reunion Island is a place to get out and explore, discover and learn where Mauritius is a place to relax in resort oppulence. The two actually compliment each other perfectly as combination of adventure and rest.
Check out the 2009 Saatchi and Saatchi Reunion Island Tourism Promotion Video
View our Travel Agent Educational Trip Review of Reunion Island
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Reunion Island offers spectacular travel oppurtunities ranging from quiet and relaxing to highly active. If you're the kind of traveller more interested in an adrenaline rush than sunburn, Reunion Island has a plethora of awesome adventure activities available to you.
Options include hiking the towering heights of the islands famous "cirques" or exploring the underground on a canyoning trip, discovering cascading waterfalls, as well as scuba diving or surfing in the clear waters this Indian Ocean island.
On the south coast is the Piton de la Fournaise "Peak of the Furnace", an active volcano, in fact one of the most active in the world. This is a spectacular day trip - one not to be missed.17 miles of beaches stretch across the west coast, and there are lenty of mountains and forests to explore in between.
Tourism to Reunion Island has been focused on attracting main land French for so long that it appears Reunion Island has forgotten about the outside world.
Ground handlers, like Papangue Tours do a fantastic job in handling the new and challenging tasks of an influx of Australian tourists. Hotels are facing up to the fact that a passing knowledge of English is simply not good enough to make the first impression required to inspire tourists to recommend Reunion Island as a holiday destination. Airlines are making changes to their on board service to handle Australians used to having the choice of the worlds best airlines flying out of Australian airports.
Reunion and Beyond have brochured a dedicated stopover and holiday program for Air Austral with 10 pages of Reunion Island content.
Many peolpe ask our opinion on how tourism in Reunion will progress. Now that Air Austral have entered the Australian market, there is competition for the Australian Mauritius market. And by all accounts Air Austral arent going anywhere - reporting a modest profit in the midst of the 2010 GFC.
The task facing Reunion Island is not an insurmountable. Often people point to Mauritius as a shining example of how to implement a holistic tourism aproach with fantastic results. Mauritius is only 45 minutes away - on a clear day you can see one island from the other.
During such a conversation however it is crucial to never compare the two destinations.
Mauritius is an independant country, while Reunion Island is basically a French outpost in the Indian Ocean. With this comes its own problems but also leadership and funding.
The two landscapes are like chalk and cheese and existing tourism infrastructure in Reunion in comparison to Mauritius is non exisitent.Where Mauritius has more 5 star resorts than it knows what to do with - Reunion's 4 & 5 star resorts can be counted on one hand.
We think tourism in Reunion will grow - and that in general the island will experience a tangeable benefit from this through their economy.
Reunion Island is a place to get out and explore, discover and learn where Mauritius is a place to relax in resort oppulence. The two actually compliment each other perfectly as combination of adventure and rest.
Check out the 2009 Saatchi and Saatchi Reunion Island Tourism Promotion Video
View our Travel Agent Educational Trip Review of Reunion Island
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