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Dear Walkabout Walkers and Friends,
It's snowing in Provence! A definite sign that autumn is coming to an end and Christmas is just around the corner. I love this feeling of being cosy inside in front of a warming fireplace, reflecting on this last busy season and catching up on all the loose ends. |
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A Place in Provence
We are happy to announce that our apartments Beatrice, Sancie and Eleonore will all have a "facelift" over winter and Blanche had some final finishing, including completion of the staircase with white polished concrete, which looks beautiful. In the making is also a new laundry. All apartments will be available again from the 15th of March 2018, ready for Spring in Provence.
 This is an incredible apartment! From the charming courtyard, to the very clean and well equipped kitchen, to the warm welcome from Gabriella, this was the highlight of my trip to France. Forcalquier is very quaint and quiet village that has amazing natural beauty. The tips from Graeme and Gabriella were very helpful, and they gave me detailed instructions to find the highlights of the area. The best part is having your coffee or wine on the grape vine covered terrace. You will love this apartment and never want to leave!"
Sarah from Chicago, USA [July 2017] |
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 Forcalquier Citadelle at Christmas
Our apartments' courtyard |
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The Balearic Hidden Gem
Gabriela and Nastassja have just returned from their reconnaissance in Menorca and were enchanted by this beautiful island, continue reading what they discovered...
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Lighthouse of Point Nati Menorca
Es Grau Menorca, Spain
Point Niti Menorca, Spain |
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Surprised by Namibia
Meanwhile Graeme and Serjosha have finished the African Walkabout and had a wonderful journey with their group. Here are some impressions from David who was one of the guests…
Great trip. Surprised, especially by Namibia. Vast deserts, long roads, few people. And the animals! Really well looked after, realising how long some of the days were. Everyone remained calm even after hours of corrugations, dust and desert. Dry river beds. Startling horizons and outstanding sunsets. People seemed at least happy and yet there was no doubt they were poor in our terms."
David from Sydney, NSW, Australia [2017] |
Serjosha Clarke who joined Graeme on this tour as the official photographer took all the photos. Our next African Walkabout will start on the 15th October in 2018 and we have made some changes to the itinerary for next year.
We shall begin the tour in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, which guests can fly to from Cape Town or Johannesburg. This beautiful country has some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities in Africa so we are excited to be able to spend more time here in the future.
We have also found some wonderful new lodges so after a day of game drives you can truly relax and enjoy the comfort and delicious food that these new lodges offer.
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Surprises in Namibia
Etosha National Park Namibia
Safari Etosha National Park Namibia |
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We are coming to you, save the date!
Information Evenings are back in February & March 2018
Starting in February through to March we begin our annual Information Evenings in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
Our presentation will include a 30-minute video showing you a typical day on a Walkabout Holiday. We shall then introduce our range of tours for our 2018 season and then guests will have time to ask questions. Afterwards we shall offer drinks and aperitifs - this is an opportunity for guests who haven't travelled with us before to talk with us privately or more importantly chat with other guests who have previously travelled with us.
As nibbles and refreshments will be served and seats limited, please register your attendance below and feel free to bring along any friends who you think may be interested in our Walking Holidays.
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Mon. 12 February 2018 | 6.30 pm
Customs House, BRISBANE
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| NSW |
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Tue. 13 February 2018 | 6.30 pm
RACA, SYDNEY
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| ACT |
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Thu. 15 February 2018 | 6.30 pm
Hotel Realm, BARTON
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| VIC |
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Mon. 19 February 2018 | 6.30 pm
RACV City Club, MELBOURNE
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| SA |
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Tue. 20 February 2018 | 6.30 pm
Mayfair Hotel, ADELAIDE
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| WA |
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Wed. 14 March 2018 | 6.30 pm
Hyatt Regency, PERTH
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Graeme has finished his long season with his favourite walks in the Grampians, Great Ocean Road and Wilson's Promontory. Here is his news…
Grampians, Great Ocean Road
Once again we enjoyed beautiful weather for our tour in the Grampians and the Great Ocean walk.
There were lots of lovely wildflowers still out in the Grampians and our walks to the Pinnacle and Mt Stapleton region in the North were outstanding. Along the Great Ocean Walk we enjoyed the rugged coastal scenery around Port Campbell and one of the nicest sections was the walk beside the coast from Apollo Bay towards Cape Otway.
On our final night we savoured both the view and the delicious food prepared at Chris's tree top restaurant at Beacon Point.
Wilson's Promontory
Our final tour of the season was our Explore Wilsons Promontory - as always it never disappoints! It is certainly one of the most beautiful places in the world.
It is hard to imagine that you can have such pristine beaches all to yourself - the combination of breath taking coastal scenery and cool temperate rainforests, which grow right to the coast is quite unique. One of the highlights was the discovery of Fairy Cove at low tide on our last walk!
Each evening we returned to the comfort of our beautiful accommodation overlooking the coast near Walkerville where Juneen would spoil us with her delicious and healthy dinners.
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Koala, Wilsons Promontory
12 Apostles, Great Ocean Road
The Pinnacle Grampians NP |
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Availability for Iceland 2018
Just a little update on our Iceland Explorer and some good news to let you know that we have now some places available on the tour, starting 10th August next year, and the same dates will also apply in 2019.
Please contact us for further details if you are interested.
Iceland is full of amazing landscapes - thundering waterfalls, steaming (and stinking) geothermal areas, tiny communities sandwiched between cliffs and fjords, beautiful glaciers and more. We loved the hikes over ridges and down green misty valleys, alongside old lava flows and through 'Game of Thrones territory'. And puffins are impossibly cute! It was great to hike again with Graeme and Pascal and the local guides who joined us were also terrific. Another first class experience with Walkabout."
Jane from Canberra ACT, Australia [2017]
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This was an excellent round trip of Iceland, with experiences of the vast grasslands, lava and volcanic areas, impressive waterfalls, ice and the beautiful coastline. Plus we had the unexpected bonus of the Northern Lights twice. Staying in quaint little towns, such as Siglufjordur and Seydisfjordur was fantastic. The walks were very good, particularly over the pass from Siglufjordur on a glorious sunny day. The local guides were excellent and their local knowledge, including the folk-lore greatly enhanced the joy and value of the trip."
Graeme from Shepparton VIC, Australia [2017]
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Leirhnjukur volcanic fields
Krafla volcanic field
Namafjall geothermal area
The Goddafoss, Iceland |
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In brief...
Upcoming 2018 Brochure
The brochure is finished and will be mailed to you this week. This is once again much later than we would have liked but we think the delay was well worth it because not only have the apartments gone through some changes but the brochure as well!
You will receive it shortly and we hope you will like this fresh approach of our new 2018 brochure.
2017 Tour Videos
Gilles has been busy copying all the videos and we are happy to say they are all ready to be sent in the next few days to reach those guests who have travelled with Gilles or Gabriela in 2017.
Serendipity House at Byron Bay
Now that the most urgent work is out of the way, Gabriela and Nastassja are also looking forward to their approaching journey to Australia where they shall join Graeme and Serjosha, spending some time together in their holiday rental at Byron Bay for a well earned rest before the next season.
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Preview of our 2018 Brochure
Cape Byron Lighthouse |
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Upcoming Festivals for Foodies
There are plenty of events in Australia from Food & Fine Wine Festivals to Gastronomy Expos throughout the year. These Events bring together Australian and world-renowned winemakers, chefs and industry insiders to entertain, educate and inspire, you may also visit farm gates and cellar doors, meet with local producers, attend degustation dinners, taste regional products or even attend cooking classes! We have put a list of local and overseas gourmet events together, here is what's coming near you:
Australian events
Overseas events
See all Gourmet events for 2018
If you haven't had a chance to do it yet, please tell us your thoughts, memories of little details that made your day and your personal highlights by signing our guestbook so we can continually improve our services for you.
After a busy season, we will all take a well-earned rest over our winter and look forward to meeting with you again in February or March for the Australians Information Evenings.
Until our next newsletter or our next walk with you somewhere around the globe, we wish you a Peaceful Christmas Time!
Gabriela, Graeme and the WGA team
PS: Remember that you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
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Taste of Tasmania
French Show Food Wine, London
Sign the guestbook!
Print version (PDF)
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