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All posts for the month June, 2014

Experience Gallipoli with Lt Col Peter Sweeney

Posted by Jod on June 30, 2014
Posted in: Battlefield Tours, Middle East. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
"Those Heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives .. You are now living in the soil of a friendly country, therefore rest in Peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lay side by side, here in this Country of ours ... You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears, your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well!" Ataturk, 1934

“Those Heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives .. You are now living in the soil of a friendly country, therefore rest in Peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lay side by side, here in this Country of ours … You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears, your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well!” Ataturk, 1934

Lieutenant Colonel Peeter Sweeney RFD (Retired)

Lieutenant Colonel Peter Sweeney RFD (Retired)

Lieutenant Colonel Peter Sweeney RFD (Retired) joined the Australian Army Reserve (Infantry Corps) as an Officer Cadet in 1966 and served, raising through the ranks until he officially retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2000. He has received a number of Awards and Commendations during his service, and during his service and since retirement has travelled to a number of Historical Battlefields across the world including Gallipoli, Islawanda, Rorkes Drift, Pearl Harbour and Normandy to name a few. Today Peter is a Gallipoli Specialist and member of the Guild Of Battlefield Guides (UK).

We have been incredibly lucky to have Peter ask to lead two great departures to Gallipoli in 2015 – the year, 100 years on from when the ANZAC Forces landed in the Dardanelles during World War I.

11 days, Australia to Australia, we spend a brief time in Istanbul before heading down to the Dardanelles for an in-depth look at the battlefields of the Gallipoli Campaign. From Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair, where the Australian and New Zealand Forces were stationed. To Kabatepe, and the Turkish positions, to the French area of operation in Cape Hellas to Sulva Bay in the North where the British Landed.

We have 2 fantastic departures, one in July and one in October, for more information, read on ..

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Uganda: Preparing for an “Experience Of A Lifetime”

Posted by Jod on June 28, 2014
Posted in: Africa. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
When tracking Gorillas in Uganda (or Rwanda for that matter) you are not guaranteed a sighting, but if you manage to get some face time in with these unique primates it will be something you remember for life

When tracking Gorillas in Uganda (or Rwanda for that matter) you are not guaranteed a sighting, but if you manage to get some face time in with these unique primates it will be something you remember for life

Since the 1600’s European culture has been rife with the tales of the dark continent, and later stories by authors like Edgar Rice Burroughs (the author of Tarzan), and films – especially from the 40’s and 50s, helped cement the image of an untamed wilderness filled with exotic creatures and an element of danger in the ‘western’ psych.

While those of us living in the mordern world realise that these images that have been conjured up for generations are more fantasy than reality, a trip to Africa is always exciting, especially for the first time traveller. They know they are going to encounter a part of the world unlike that in which they live, and while there they may have the chance to encounter a number of things they wouldn’t at home. From the larger animals like Elephants, to smaller monkeys, birds and reptiles.

Some of these wildlife encounters though are not something that you are going to be able to do on the fly. Especially if you want to see the Gorillas. These days the best Gorilla sightseeing is in Uganda and Rwanda, occurs in only a few parks and even then the number of visitors and time allowed to be spent near them is limited, and the permits often sell out months in advance. Add to that fact that if you want to do 2 days of Gorilla Tracking and  1 day of Chimp tracking you are looking at spending up to US$1200 per person on permits alone. So, if you want to head to Africa – be it Uganda or Rwanda to track Gorillas, then you should always plan it out as far in advance as possible so that the chances of you being able to do it when you want is more likely.

The three major draw cards of primate sightseeing in Uganda are the Gorillas, the Chimpanzees and the Golden Monkeys, and as it has been stated planning your trip in advance is worthwhile. The planning though is for much more than just what you want to see, but for where you want to stay.

Why? because where you stay can have as much of an effect and imprint on you as the sightseeing and trekking itself,  each camp, lodge or hotel has its own atmosphere, element and feeling, and can lend or detract from your trip. For an example let me introduce you to a property near Bwindi that will only enhance your trip to Uganda .. The Clouds Mountain Gorilla Resort

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Touring, Group vs Individual

Posted by Jod on June 27, 2014
Posted in: Special Departures, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

khiva-uzbekistan

We have been packaging up our destinations now as Allworld since 2007, and between our main staff we have been organising these destinations even longer. One question that keeps coming up is “Do I have to travel with a Group?”which is normally followed pretty soon afterwards by the query “Isn’t it more expensive to travel on your own?”

To me it feels in some ways like a running battle to keep people informed, but the truth is that almost anywhere that you travel on group tours you can do individual tours with your own private guide and drivers, so the answer is always NO, you do not have to travel with a Group. See? Nice and simple! The next answer though is not, because the price will vary widly dependant on where in the world you are travelling. For example if you travel in Egypt or Vietnam the cost of independant travel is usully within a few dollars per day of what you would pay on a group tour on a daily basis, so no it isn’t really more expensive to travel individually. In Europe though a private tour is incredibly more expensive then a group tour, so yes in some cases it is more expensive to travel individually.

It is for these reasons that we work differently in each of our destinations. For most of our destinations we work on individual tours, because the price is similar to group travel, or in some cases (like Yemen for example) trying to run scheduled group departures just are not feasable. In some destinations we offer a combination, like in Peru where we can orgainse a trip suited for you, but put you on regularly scheduled day tours with other travellers in the main cities and towns to keep costs down. Then we have destinations like Turkey, where the majority of our tours are group departures, simply because doing things individually with a private guide and driver for small groups (2 – 6 people) can be incredibly expensive.

So as you can see, the whole “Group vs Individual”travel is not something that is always straightforward, at least as far as cost reward goes. In general though for the majority of our destinations we don’t hesitate to tell people that Individual Travel Options are much better than group travel, and we can tell you why!

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ANZAC DAY Commemorate the 100th Anniversary at Gallipoli

Posted by Jod on June 26, 2014
Posted in: Battlefield Tours, Limited offers, Middle East, Special Departures. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment
ANZAC Cove, where the ANZAC Day Dawn Services are held is not the landing point of the ANZAC Forces. The actual landing point was a short way up the Peninsula and was a much steeper point along the cliffside

ANZAC Cove, where the ANZAC Day Dawn Services are held is not the landing point of the ANZAC Forces. The actual landing point was a short way up the Peninsula and was a much steeper point along the cliffside

In 2015 we commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the landing of the ANZAC (the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps) forces at Gallipoli, on the 25th April in 1915 during World War 1.  The Campaign at Gallipoli was one the first battlefront and theatre of war that Australians had participated in during World War I, the first conflict we had entered as a united nation.

While Australians as members from individual states, and eventually a united federation, had fought in South Africa during the Boer War, and while as many Australians, and New Zealanders for that matter, died in any number of single battles on the Western Front in a single day as died during the entire Gallipoli Campaign, it was the Gallipoli Campaign that began to solidify the image of what it meant to be an “Australian” both to the Australian people, and to those elsewhere in the world.

Battlefields Of The World have been providing quality battlefield tours for over a decade, have led ADFA Study Tours through France, have organised Veteran Return visits to Vietnam, Singapore and more. We are proud to announce that with their assistance we will have one dedicated departure in 2015 to help people attend the 100th Anniversary of the Gallipoli Landings. For more information .. read on!

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A Touch Of Spice: A Culinary Tour Of India

Posted by Jod on June 24, 2014
Posted in: Asia. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Indian-spices

India is a destination with an incredible array of sights to see, people to meet and foods to taste. People travel there regularly to do all three, and enjoy themselves immensely. Sometimes though, it is worth putting a trips effort into one aspect of what you want to see .. and in this case we are pleased to preview one of our favourite tours, a delightful culinary tour of India. Filled with gourmet foods, unique cooking experiences, luxurious accommodations and incredible sights.

On this tour we will experience some of the finest restaurants, stay at some of the finest hotels and experience the most exotic sights and the smells of the spices and delightful foods. Cultural visits, cooking talks and demos, visits to spice markets, boat ride (Shikara) on the Dal lake and catch your own trout fish in the serene streams of Kashmir. This tour offers not only culinary and cultural highlights but also fest to keen photographers.

We spend a fortnight exploring the highlights of North Indian, Mughlai, Hyderabadi, South Indian and International platters as we explore Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Sringar and get a taste of the history of the Nizams, the Mughals and the Shikras

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