Escape + Explore – Family Travel Ideas in South Australia and Beyond

Well I’m just back from an all-too-swift visit to Adelaide for the Tasting Australia festival of South Australian food. And I’m desperate to get back to South Australia, not just for the grub but to experience some of the fantastic animal encounters I heard about.

I was one of the lucky bloggers invited to attend ‘Words To Go,’ a day long conference for food and travel bloggers. We heard such interesting talks from many people, including Greg Snell, the young Canadian who is currently holding one of The Best Jobs In The World, that of Wildlife Caretaker for South Australia.

Greg showed us some of his videos and many photos and I quizzed him later about the trip I’d most love to do with my kids.

Snorkelling With Sea Lions off South Australia

Greg said that swimming with sea lions was the most interactive animal experience he’d had in his life. I’m keen to jump into the water and come nose to nose with these beautiful sea mammals. Greg recommends  Adventure Bay Charters in Port Lincoln and Baird Bat Eco Experience.

       

Here’s a photo of Greg from his blog Greg Goes Global. Pop over and check out his photos and videos, you’ll love them

And where are these places? No idea! Here’s a Google map of Port Lincoln. Doesn’t look too far from Adelaide at all. Can’t stop… off to pack up my snorkel, kids, flippersand wetsuit.

Responsible Tourism 2

I’ve been reading a bit more about Responsible Tourism. Can I introduce you to a couple of organisations:

The World Tourism Organisation –   the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

 The Ethics and Social Responsibility Programme (ESRP) of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) –  is tasked with the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

I read a blog post in the marvellous Going Anyway blog about hill tribes in Thailand, and it sounded like a good example of responsible tourism. Read it here. 

The Going Anyway family organised their stay with a company called Natural Focus, so I had a look at their website and liked what I read:

‘We believe that Community Based Tourism provides an opportunity to exchange knowledge and understanding between visitors and the local community, and promotes local cultures and the natural environment.’ 

So much to learn, about responsible tourism and about this big, wide and beautiful world we have the privilege to inhabit.

I’ll leave you today with a quote that I read this week and just had to immediately write down. A sailing analogy always goes down very well with me. I spent my childhood and young adulthood mucking around in sailing boats.

Do you have constant itchy feet like me?

Hope you have a happy weekend.

Safe travels.