Spirit of Adventure

We were very excited to learn that one of the projects we support through the Peregrine Community Trust – Peru’s Challenge has won ‘Highly Commended’ in the ‘Best Volunteer Organisation’ category of the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards 2009 – the most competitive and prestigious awards of their kind in the world. Congratulations!

Peru’s Challenge was founded in 2003, by Jane Gavel from Australia and Selvy Ugaz from Peru, with the aim of working with rural indigenous communities near Cusco, Peru to alleviate poverty. They work in partnership with local residents, developing functional and sustainable schools and communities with a particular focus on education, health and general well being.

Since 2003, some of their achievements include: hosting over 600 volunteers from around the world, constructing four schools in four rural communities and making a difference to lives of over 2,000 community members.

See our short video clip about the great work Peru’s Challenge does, or see Peru’s Challenge in action on one of Peregrine’s trips that visit the project, like the 12-day Inca Adventure or 28-day South America Circle.

Pumamarca is an agricultural community located in the mountain region above Cuzco. The community survives on their agricultural products, and families struggle to make ends meet on the income farming brings in.

The benefit of non-agricultural activities is that they provide more stable income. Peru’s Challenge helps approximately 200 families through the creation of Talleres, in which mothers work on crafts such as weaving, knitting and jewellery making, however they are finding it increasing hard to fit in the one school classroom available to them.

Through the Community Trust, Peregrine is fundraising for a workshop to be built so that the group can work uninterrupted, and without disrupting the school children.

Dr Graham Robertson, a seabird ecologist, has jointly won an award for a new long-line fishing device designed to reduce by-catch of seabirds. The Underwater Bait Launcher, invented by Dr Robertson and Amerro engineering, was awarded the $45,000 WWF Smart Gear Competition in Spain. Over the years, Peregrine has, with your help, raised almost A$600,000 towards projects aimed at saving the albatross, with particular focus on the Bait Setting Launcher.

The machine is designed for use on surface long-line fishing vessels such as tuna and swordfish boats. It uses a capsule which carries baited hooks six metres underwater, out of reach of seabirds. Each year more than 300,000 seabirds including albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters drown on long-lines when they dive after baited hooks. Dr Robertson said many species of seabirds are threatened with extinction because of long-line fishing practices: “Hundreds of millions of hooks are set off tuna boats each year, so if a new system to stop seabird mortality is not widely used soon; it may be too late for some bird species”.

The machine cost almost half a million dollars to develop, but it is hoped that it will retail for around $25,000. “While the machine may seem expensive, you have to remember that a single tuna can fetch up to $2,000 at the fish markets, so it’s not really that much of an investment for the fisherman,” Dr Robertson said. The Launcher is currently being trialled in the waters off Queensland in Australia, and will undergo further tests in long-lining hot spots off South America next year.

As many of you are aware, Peregrine has donated a significant amount of funds raised to this project and we continue to assist Dr Robertson with this fantastic initiative, through many planned fundraising events and onboard donations for the 2009-2010 Antarctic season and beyond. 2010 will be the most important, as the testing phase will be finished and it is intended that at least one device will be fitted onto a Uruguayan fishing vessel. Finally we’ll start saving the albatross. A big thank you to all of you who have donated over the last eight years.

To learn more about this initiative please visit our website or to donate click here.

Standing in quiet awe as you meet the gaze of one of the world’s few remaining mountain gorillas has got to be one of the most amazing encounters with the animal kingdom one can have! Due to the importance of protecting these amazing creatures, trekking permits to see the gorillas are limited. So if you want to book yourself onto a trip that is guaranteed to depart, without the stress of worrying whether you will be able to secure a gorilla permit, the 2 January 2010 departure of the 8-day Uganda’s Gorillas & Chimps or 19 February 2010 departure of the 11-day Preserving Primates, are safe bets as we have guaranteed permits for these two trips.

Undoubtedly the ultimate highlight of the 8-day Uganda’s Gorillas & Chimps journey occurs the moment we enter the realm of the majestic mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. To be able to witness the strong bond within the gorilla family and the quiet, regal nature and awesome dignity of the silverback, is a rare privilege. Uganda – a country boasting equatorial rainforests, acacia savannahs, great lakes and soaring mountains, also has a number of national parks that offer some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities in Africa. We trek to see the chimpanzees of Kibale Forest National Park – an outstanding opportunity to enter the world of these cheeky primates, while two nights in Queen Elizabeth National Park and a further night in Lake Mburo National Park, deliver a feast of wildlife viewing opportunities, as well as a glimpse into Ugandan life.

The 11-day Preserving the Primates, which visits both Uganda and Rwanda, is a collection of fascinating primate experiences like no other. Against the backdrop of the spectacular Virunga volcanos in the Parc National des Volcans, we undertake two treks – one to visit families of mountain gorillas and one to seek out the rare Golden Monkeys. In Uganda, we also set out on two primate treks, starting with a gorilla trek in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and then undertaking a very special, full day chimpanzee habituation experience. We spend time with the rangers of Kibale Forest National Park and a chimpanzee family, to gradually habituate the apes to the presence of humans.

For more information about these and our other African wildlife experiences, visit our website.

Everyone at Peregrine is very proud of our local tour leaders. Time and time again they are mentioned in feedback that we receive from travellers and the theme is always the same – they made the trip what it was, and were a vital part of the overall holiday experience. We’re not surprised, as after all, who better to show you around than someone born and raised in the region. Each year we pick the best of the best, so listed below are our 2009 Tour Leader Award winners. Congratulations to them all, we’re very proud of you!

Australia - Adam Slade
Central Asia - Aminov Davlat
China and Tibet - Annie Li
East Africa - James Phillip Urio
Egypt - Mostafa Gamal
Ethiopia and West Africa - Solomon Girmay
Europe - Antonia Maricic
India - Shaliendra Singh
Jordan, Syria and Turkey - Samer Younes
Latin America - Dennis Berk
Morocco - Said Baadoud
Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet - Passang Sherpa
South East Asia - Khamla
Southern Africa - Tracker Spokes

As part of celebrating all of our leader’s tireless passion for their homeland and their diligent approach to their role, we thought we’d feature a short profile of three of the worthy winners:

Southern Africa - Tracker Spokes
Tracker Spokes has a deep-seated intimate love for the bush. It’s his life! When he is not on safari he often sets up a tent in his own backyard, longing to be ‘closer to nature’. What Spokes wants most is to be immersed in the wilderness and share his passion for the bush with his guests. Exploring the wildlife with Spokes is an experience, but wait until you hear his animated camp fire stories. Ask him for his uncle’s honey badger encounter and you will truly laugh your heart out. He needs to write a book! There were quite a few tears shed when we parted at the end of our two-week adventure.
Yes, Spokes had given us exhilarating insights into the wonderful nature of Botswana and its people,
but we all had grown to love him as a friend.

C.M. who travelled with Spokes in August 2008

Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet - Passang Sherpa
On 19 May 2006 Passang fulfilled his lifelong ambition of summitting Everest. Passang mainly leads our climbing and exploratory trips. He comes from the Solu region of the Everest area, but has travelled widely having lived in Bhutan and India as well as Nepal. He has worked for Peregrine for many years and has an excellent knowledge of the Himalayan peoples, their customs and folklore. ‘Passang Sherpa is a truly remarkable man. Diligent and 100 percent professional, he is the most inspirational person I have met. Trekking with him was truly a privilege. Thank you Passang. ’

MH, Melbourne who trekked with Passang in October 2008

Europe - Antonia Maricic
Antonia Maricic has been a tour guide in Croatia for many years and we have been lucky to have her lead our Peregrine trips over the past couple of years. Antonia is proud and passionate about her homeland and has a vast knowledge on the history, culture and traditions of Croatia. She loves nothing more than sharing this knowledge with visitors from around the world. She particularly enjoys leading groups from Australia and New Zealand, as she feels a real connection with these cultures after having spent time here in her youth. Antonia’s enthusiasm, her professionalism and her ability to make people feel like guests in her country make her an exceptional tour leader.

Joining us onboard the 20-night Antarctica, the Falkland Islands & South Georgia voyage (departing 20 January 2010) are award-winning wildlife photographer and author Nick Garbutt, and Mandy Shepherd – an accomplished artist and daughter of renowned UK artist and conservationist David Shepherd.  The Antarctica, the Falkland Islands & South Georgia voyage is our most complete and varied Antarctic adventure. Wildlife abounds as we will be on the lookout for huge Macaroni and King Penguin rookeries, colonies of various species of seals, whale species including Blues and Humpbacks, and numerous seabirds such as the albatross, petrels, shearwaters and skuas.

Nick joined us earlier this year on one of our voyages in the Scandinavian High Arctic, and you can view some of his stunning images from the voyage on our website. In the Antarctic, Nick will run a series of presentations during the voyage to help you with your photography, as well as share his own ‘best of’ images from a lifetime of travel.

Mandy is a Trustee for both the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) and for Falklands Conservation. With a deep passion for wildlife and conservation, her early work and exhibitions were dominated by wildlife subjects and she held her first exhibition in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1980. In 1996, it was the wildlife that took her 15,000 kilometres from home in England to the Falkland Islands to write and illustrate her first book “The Falkland Islands an artist’s portfolio”.  Mandy has kindly offered to donate two of her sketches to auction off on the ship to raise funds for our Albatross conservation project.

We hope that you can join Mandy and Nick on this voyage, as it certainly will be a trip of a lifetime!

We are proud to announce that Australia’s Travel Weekly Green Issue has given Peregrine a perfect Five Green Leaves rating for our Responsible Tourism initiatives; and we are one of only two travel companies to be given this rating.

We are thrilled to have received the Five Green Leaves rating as it reflects our whole company approach to Corporate Social Responsibility and Responsible Tourism. The key to our success is the PereGreen team, consisting of a volunteer from each area of the business who acts as the eco-warrior for their team. They provide constant support and enthusiasm, ensuring that initiatives such as sourcing 100% renewable power and fundraising for the Community Trust don’t get forgotten as we go about our day-to-day tasks. We are also very proud of our compulsory carbon offsetting for tours and staff travel, a move that will see us offsetting approximately 7000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the first twelve months of the program. The offset payments support renewable energy programs in the developing world.

Recently, Peregrine sponsored a field trip for the dedicated trainees at KOTO restaurant – KOTO stands for ‘Know One, Teach One’ and is a restaurant in Hanoi that provides vocational training and hospitality experience to underprivileged youth.

The trainees had a challenging and enjoyable time on this year’s KOTO field trip which included visits to Hoi An, Hue, Marble Mountain, and many for exciting destinations. For many of the trainees the field trip is the first time they have travelled outside of the Hanoi region, and the first time they have been to the beach. Activities included a talent show where both trainees and staff act, sing and dance together.

“The aim is to put the trainees in both challenging and educational situations, while still allowing them to have a great time along the way,” said KOTO founder and International CEO, Mr Jimmy Pham.

“Every year I see the trainees’ self-confidence grow so much after the field trip because they’re doing new and challenging things in a foreign environment. The field trip would not have been possible without the generous support of Peregrine and we thank them for their efforts. KOTO immensely values the wonderful relationship it has with Peregrine and looks forward to it continuing into the future,” said Mr Pham.

Visit our website to find a Vietnamese adventure that visits the incredible KOTO restaurant.

A Peregrine Charity Challenge is a unique travel adventure for those keen to make a difference in the world. Together with our partner, Inspired Adventures – who create and manage charity challenges on behalf of Australian charities, we are offering a series of incredible journeys across the globe, one of which is the Camp Quality Trek and Cycle Peru Challenge.

Charity: Camp Quality (Northern Territory)
Date: 15-25 November 2009
Fundraising Target: $8,200
Trip Duration: 11 days
Having explored Lima and the old Inca city of Cusco take on a two-day bicycle ride into the beautiful Sacred Valley, stopping at numerous Inca sites along the way. Discover the colourful market town of Pisac and the fortress village of Ollantaytambo, then hike along old Inca trails, on to the ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu. This is Peru at its best!

Our Cape York tour is a true adventure exploring the top of Australia. Feel the excitement of being one of the lucky few who ultimately stand at the northernmost point of the continent, then head into the Torres Strait for a unique cultural experience on Thursday Island.

A visit to the ancient Daintree rainforest will have us hearing the wonderful sounds of the birds and wildlife, and smelling the rainforest flora in what is still, thankfully, a relatively unspoilt wonderland. We may even spot a crocodile on the river!

An undoubted highlight of our trip will be walking alongside tribal elder and story-teller Willie Gordon into his ancient tribal ‘birthing site’, for an incredible journey of dreaming, birthing, and beginning. Whilst we’ll see amazing rock art, we’ll also hear their stories, and leave having experienced an educational and thought-provoking insight into Australia’s Indigenous culture.

There will also be the chance to get our hands dirty at the Cape York Turtle Project. Here, subject to timing, we may find ourselves measuring and tagging nesting turtles, removing deadly ghost nets from the beaches, fitting protective devices to keep feral pigs away from turtle eggs, or even protecting the hatchlings as they make their way to the sea. This is a wonderfully rewarding experience to help save an endangered species.

So, when we finally reach the top of Australia, we will certainly have an amazing array of memories from this unique part of the world. The Cape York – Top of Australia 12-day adventure has departures from May to September this year.

The cocktails will be flowing this May to celebrate KOTO students completing their training program at the KOTO restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam. Join Peregrine and Box Hill Institute for a very special evening to support the work of KOTO and celebrate the graduation. KOTO founder and CEO, Jimmy Pham, will be there, along with a KOTO graduate, so you can hear first-hand about the great work that KOTO is doing.

KOTO (Know One Teach One) is a not-for-profit restaurant and vocational training program for street and disadvantaged youth in Vietnam (www.koto.com.au). With a 100% employment rate for graduates, KOTO trainees are supported through a two-year, internationally-accredited hospitality, English language and life skills program. One way Peregrine provides support to KOTO is by visiting the restaurant on all of our trips that visit Hanoi — offering real experience to students and income to this venture.

During the cocktail evening we’ll be auctioning a Peregrine Glimpse of Vietnam trip for two in Vietnam (international airfares not included) and the money raised will be used to fund the annual field trip for KOTO students. We hope you can join us to help this worthwhile project.

Melbourne KOTO Cocktail Fundraiser
Where Life Saving Victoria, Port Melbourne Yacht Club
When 26 May
For more information about this event please contact: cynthia@koto.com.au