This list of special interest topics is not exhaustive, if you have some
other interest just ask us and we will probably be able to help. Of course
we don't only book the tour itself but can also make any other arrangements
you require for a complete holiday. For further information you can visit
the relevant websites according to the country or contact us direct on the
email address above.
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WILDLIFE
We arrange wildlife tours in many continents.
Asia, Indochina and Australasia: Orangutans, proboscis monkeys and turtles
in Borneo and Indonesia, National Parks of India Nepal and Sri Lanka, Special
tours in Thailand. Wildernesses of Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Arctic and Canada: Birds, bears, caribou and whales in Newfoundland, Alaska
central Canada and the Arctic.
South America: The Galapagos Islands, the Amazon and the Antarctic penguins
of Patagonia. National Parks in many South and Central American countries.
Africa: Safaris and Game Lodges in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa,
Tanzania, Ghana , Ethiopia and Madagascar.
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WHALE WATCHING:
In Canada east coast (cruises and kayaking) the Arctic and the High Arctic,
Newfoundland. In the Antarctic waters of Patagonia and Chile. From the coast
of South Africa. From the East and West coasts of Australia and NZ etc. Ask
for full index.
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WILDFLOWERS:
See the deserts bloom in Namaqualand, South Africa and Australia. Enjoy all
kinds of tropical and temperate blooms in Bali the island of flowers. Hunt
for tiny orchids or the largest flower in the world in the jungles of Southeast
Asia. Visit the arctic tundra of northern Canada for the spring flowers.
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BIRDWATCHING:
We have special birdwatching itineraries in Ethiopia, Thailand, Bali, Borneo,
Newfoundland, and as part of other wildlife
tours in The Galapagos, Canada, Alaska, South America, India, Sri Lanka and
Africa.
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SAFARIS:
We arrange all kinds of safari from the classic "Out of Africa" style to
dog sledding across the frozen arctic seas. In Africa we have luxury tented
safaris, exclusive game lodges, fly-in safaris, self-drive camping, tailormade
and standard tours. Ballooning, canoeing, 4WD and walking options are available.
In India we have camel and horse safaris as well as game drives sometimes
on elephants with naturalists in the National Parks.
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CUISINE, COOKING, CULTIVATION & WINERY TOURS
Our destinations include the famous wine growing regions of Australia, NZ,
South Africa and South America so we can arrange for you to visit wineries
in all of the areas. In some places, especially Australia you can stay at
wineries where you will have pleasant accommodation in the countryside and
often gourmet food to compliment the wine.
We also run tours which give an insight into regional cuisines, from the
cultivation of produce, processing, marketing, preparation and cooking to
the ultimate enjoyment of eating.
In Southeast Asia we have several itineraries which can be arranged on request
such as Cuisine and Cultivation in Java & Bali and Sumatran Regional
Cuisines as well as Thai Cooking Courses in Bangkok and a few scheduled
tours annually.
In India we have a 16 day tour Cultural & Culinary Delights of Southern
India which combines cooking demonstration by local people with visits to
spice plantations and all the main sights of the region.
In Australia there are Gourmet Retreats and Gourmet Cycling Tours in Victoria,
SA, WA, NSW and Tasmania as well as various Cooking Courses with Celebrity
Chefs.
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ARCHITECTURE, ARCHAEOLOGY & ANCIENT
CIVILISATIONS
Many of our culture tours visit the sites of the former great civilisations
of Asia and South America. We also have specialised Architecture and Archeology
tours such as Temples & Palaces of Java & Bali, Batak Longhouses
& Minang Matriarchs in Sumatra, Toraja Tombs & Bugis Boats in Sulawesi,
Pagodas & Stupas in Nepal and Ancient Civilisation of NE Thailand.
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FESTIVALS & PERFORMING ARTS
Music, dance, drama and puppetry are still part of the daily life in many
of a our destinations and we can arrange for tailormade tours to include
opportunities to experience them. Festivals are often the best time to see
traditional performances and we can arrange tours to coincide with these.
we also have some specialised tours such as Music and Fiestas of Peru, Festivals
of Nepal, The Yogya Arts Festival and Ramayana Ballet in Java & Bali,
The Pushkar Camel Fair in India.
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TEXTILES, ARTS & CRAFTS
Asia and South America are wonderful places for hand made textiles. We can
tailor tours to visit the places where the traditional techniques can be
seen. Indonesia in particular still has a great range of materials which
are an important part of the culture, from rich gold songket brocades to
primitive bark cloth. We have itineraries which include Batik lessons and
chances to see traditional techniques such as ikat, double ikat, songket,
prada (using gold leaf), backstrap looms and even trek into the hills in
search of remote villages still producing bark cloth. There is a whole range
of other crafts to see such as painting, wood and stone carving,
silverwork, leatherwork, puppet, mask and kitemaking which we can incorporate
into a tour.
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TREKS & TREKKING
Walking, Horse and Camel riding, Dog Sledding,
cycling
We arrange treks of all grades from afternoon strolls to expeditions and
mountain peaks in many parts of the world including:
The Himalayas: Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Tibet, Ladakh
Southeast Asia: Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo, Sulawesi, Java, Bali, Sumatra,
New Guinea Australasia: Australia, Tasmania, NZ, Papua New Guinea
The Americas: Canada, The Arctic. Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
*Cycling tours in Australia, Bali, Thailand India and Ecuador.
* Horse and camel safaris in India,
* Dog sledding in Canada.
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HIGH PEAKS ALONG THE EQUATOR (trekking without climbing)
Because of the temperature conditions on the equator it is possible to reach
remarkably high altitudes without any special climbing skills or apparatus.
The best known peaks are Kilimanjaro (Tanzania 5895m, 19340ft), Kinabalu
(Borneo 4101m) and Cotopaxi (Ecuador 5897m) but we can also arrange treks
to other volcanos in Ecuador such as Chimborazo (6310m) Tungurahua (5087m)
Sangay (5320m) and in Indonesia such as Rinjani (Lombok 3726m), Semeru (Java
3676m), Agung (Bali 3142m), Singallan (Sumatra 2878m), Kerinci Sumatra 3805m).
Mulu & The Pinnacles (Borneo 2379m) .
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CANOEING, RAFTING, KAYAKING, SAILING and other water based
activities
We arrange many kinds of water based activities such as canoeing, sea kayaking,
white water rafting, bamboo rafting and sailing from tropical seas to arctic
waters in:
Canada, Alaska, Australia, NZ, Thailand, Indonesia, New Guinea, Namibia and
South America.
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DIVING & SNORKELLING
Our destinations include some world class dive sites including coral reefs
where the underwater life is spectacular and clearly visible even by snorkelling;
such as Sulawesi, Flores, Moluccas, Thailand, Borneo, Australia, Vietnam,
Madagascar and the Galapagos Islands.
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RAIL JOURNEYS
We arrange journeys on many of the worlds most famous trains and we can often
arrange equivalent journeys on standard scheduled trains. For example:
The Eastern Orient Express (Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Chiang Mai),
run by the same people as the Venice-Simplon Orient Express (which we can
also book).
The Palace on Wheels - a complete seven day luxury train tour across northern
India and Rajastan including some nights in Palace Hotels and visits to many
of the famous sights. We can also arrange tours which include scheduled trains
and some of the narrow gauge tracks up to Hill Stations such as the Darjeeling
Toy Train.
In Australia The Ghan across the "Red Centre", The Indian Pacific from
coast to coast across the Nullabor, and the Queenslander along the northeast
coast.
Rovos Rail and the Blue Train luxury travel around southern Africa
and up to Victoria Falls.
In South America we can arrange many Great Rail Journeys such as the Inca
route through the Andes Quillabamba - Machu Picchu- Cuzco- Lake Titicaca
or Quito to Riobamaba. Scheduled trains in Argentina have been privatised
and effectively suspended indefinitely but we can arrange for you to join
escorted tours on chartered trains.
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RIVER & SEA JOURNEYS
If you don't want to paddle your own canoe you can join river boats or standard
and luxury cruises all over the world e.g. Alaska; The Inside Passage, South
America; from Amazon river journeys to Glacier cruises including The Galapagos,
Southeast Asia; river trips from Bangkok, Tropical Island cruises, sailing
schooners, India; the backwaters of Kerala in your own houseboat, Australia;
sail the Whitsunday Islands in your own charter yacht or take a houseboat
on the Murray river.
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EXCLUSIVE HIDEAWAYS OF THE WORLD (from super luxury to
simple)
There are some beautiful small hotels and lodges hidden away in the hills,
on tropical islands or out in the bush. Many are super luxury standard and
you have to pay commensurately for the privilege of enjoying their exclusivity,
others are more modest but equally charming retreats. We can also book the
leading hotels of the world.
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SELF DRIVE & FOUR WHEEL DRIVE
We arrange pre-booked or fully accommodated self drive tours in Australia,
NZ and Namibia. You can also join escorted and non escorted self drive 4x4
adventures in Southern Africa and Australia.
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PHOTOGRAPHY
Most of our destinations are naturally photogenic and we can arrange tailor
made tours specifically for photographers. Occasionally we also run group
tours for photographers such as those run at Riding Mountain in Canada.
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DANCING from Balinese Joged to Cuban Salsa
Dancing is still a major part of the culture in many of the places we visit.
If you would like to take part or witness any particular kind of dancing
contact us for details.
HONEYMOONS
We arrange a lot of honeymoons because we specialise in giving a truly personal
service so that you get exactly what you want. We can even help with overseas
weddings and we have personal experience of this. We do not have a special
honeymoon brochure because you can choose anything from our wide range of
destinations. Often people are looking for a romantic hideaway at the start
and end of their honeymoon with an interesting and memorable holiday of a
lifetime in between. We can offer all of these. This is what some recent
honeymooners said about the arrangements we made for them:
"We had a fantastic time and despite the extremely
complicated itinerary I don't think there was a single hitch..... I have
never had such a selection of "bedroom vistas" on a trip
before." Honeymoon combining adventure and luxury in Indonesia.
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What Arc Journeys Offers
JPC Travel Award Winners 1997-98
Small Group & Exclusive Tailormade Holidays at standard tour
rates
Arc Journeys specialise in designing personalised itineraries to suit
your requirements which need cost no more than a standard tour. You tell
us what you would most like to do and see and we prepare itineraries for
you to consider- it's as simple as that! The result is more than just a holiday,
it is a unique experience. Whether you want a totally tailormade service
or a combination of standard tours we will arrange it and we provide quotes
free of charge and without obligation. This year we are also offering a wide
range of tours to our favourite destinations that depart regularly throughout
the year. (See latest news)
We can arrange all this and more:
ROMANTIC HIDEAWAYS, HUG AN ORPHAN ORANGUTAN,
DOG SLEDDING IN THE ARCTIC, CRUISE IN THE GALAPAGOS,
ESCAPE THE MILLENNIUM, SNORKEL CORAL REEFS,
CLIMB VOLCANOES, WHALE-WATCHING, GREAT
TRAIN JOURNEYS, JUNGLE RIVER CRUISES, GOURMET'S
CYCLE TOURS, EXCLUSIVE HOTELS OR LOCAL HUTS, TREK
THE HIMALAYAS OR THE ANDES, CAMEL, HORSE, ELEPHANT OR WALKING
SAFARIS, APPRECIATE ARCHITECTURE, ARTS, CRAFTS, TEXTILES,
MUSIC, FESTIVALS, DANCE AND CUISINE.
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Arc Journeys
Destinations
South East Asia
Visit ancient temples and traditional villages, relax
in exclusive hideaways, witness colourful festivals, learn about textiles,
local cooking or music and dance, cruise jungle rivers, meet orangutans or
trek the jungles and volcanoes .... We are acknowledged experts on this region;
this is what the Indonesia, Malaysia & Singapore Handbook says about
us: "Arc Journeys have excellent cultural and natural tours run by people
who understand and care for the country, its people and environment."
Australasia
Meet the koalas & 'roos, visit the wineries, stroll deserted beaches,
dive The Reef, climb The Rock, experience the open spaces and untouched
wilderness. Escape the crowds. Accommodated self-drive, treks, 4WD tours,
gourmet cycle tours...indulge in the Aussie way.
India and The Himalayas
Walk through small villages among 8000m peaks, receive blessings from a Buddhist
Lama, stay in magnificent palaces, search for rhino and tiger. Himalayan
treks, rail journeys, camel & horse safaris, palace hotels, houseboats
or homestays...
Africa
Meet the curious lemurs, look out for the Big 5, climb Kilimanjaro, visit
villages where time has stood still. Luxury lodges or camping expeditions,
Self-drive or escorted 4WD safaris, horseback safaris, rail journeys, treks,
fly- in tours ......
South America
Discover the mysteries of the Incas, explore colonial towns and Indian markets,
hear the music and festivals, trek the Andes, take great train journeys,
cruise the Amazon and the Galapagos, meet blue footed boobies and giant turtles.
Small group tours and tailormade itineraries.
The Arctic
Dog sledding, polar bears, birds & whalewatching, cruise Alaska, Greenland
or rivers, touch an iceberg, see the Northern Lights or midnight sun, experience
the wilderness of the Arctic. Small group tours and tailormade itineraries.
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CONTACT DETAILS
Email 
David Halford Travel 102 Stanley Rd Cambridge CB5 8LB UK
UK Tel 0207 681 3175 Fax +44 2076813175
Australia Tel & Fax +61 3 9923 6158
Home page http://www.travelarc.com
Alternative website
http://members.aol.com/ArcJourney/index.htm
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