North of Toronto’s urban sprawl lies a secret universe of undulating hills and dense forest, not to mention the best horseback riding in all of Ontario. Rawhide Adventures operates out of Peace Valley Ranch in the Mulmur Hills, where the cattle are grass finished and the resulting beef is amazing (order a grilling box before the summer is […]

P.T. Barnum may have had “The Greatest Show on Earth”, but that was over 100 years ago. And you had to pay for it. These days, the finest, funnest, freakiest show we know happens every day in Marrakech’s Djemaa el Fna square. And it’s free. If Morocco is a target for the traveller craving the […]

Brazil’s not known as a country to cover its charms. And yet, the little towns of Paraty and Tiradentes are largely hidden from the traveller’s initial glance. One is tucked in the mountains of the interior, the other snuggles the coast (about halfway between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo). Geographically they’re 430 km apart, […]

The best thing I ever did to improve my already stratospheric enjoyment of snorkelling was to buy an underwater case for my camera. For about $150 USD, you can transform your point-and-shoot into a mini-submarine, and your holiday snaps into a National Geographic special. It helps if you have picuresque friends, too. All the major […]

If you’re keen to explore the pata-negra heartland of Spain’s Extremadura region, make the Monasterio de Rocamador your base. Surrounded by the oak groves typical of Extremadura, which teem with semi-wild pigs munching on acorns and getting tastier by the minute, Rocamador is a weird, wonderful and totally unique hotel, in a quite unlikely part […]

How can it be that a town of two thousand people (give or take a thousand), a hundred temples and shrines (give or take a dozen), and a 350 ft high granite rock (give or take an elephant) doesn’t feature on Google Maps? You can zoom in ‘til the holy cows come home, but you […]

Lodge-to-lodge trekking out of the Kasbah du Toubkal gives you access to some of the most beautiful parts of the Atlas, remote rural communities, and sweeping other-worldly landscapes. The well-known Kasbah du Toubkal has been doing up lodges, scattered in the hills and valleys around Imlil, which the lodge uses to put together multi-day treks beginning and […]

It’s a commonplace that Paris is a great city of culture. But if you don’t speak French, and you’re bored of staring at paintings, traipsing around the shops and learning about the revolution, what exactly do you do? Actually I can think of many things, but few are as fun as a last-minute ticket to […]

First things first, it’s pronounced ‘Why-Hecky’. And it’s a tiny island in New Zealand. Not the North Island, nor the South Island, Waiheke is it’s very own dot on the map. Okay, so it’s more of a speck. I think everyone knows by now (or has been told ad infinitum) that New Zealand is a […]

The United Nations gets a lot of flack these days. While we don’t care to express any political views, we would like to shake the mighty UNESCO arm of this global goliath. Way back in 1945 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded with the immodest goal of “building peace in […]

If you can’t swing the fare (north of $200,000 USD) for Virgin Galactic’s forthcoming flights to outer space, perhaps it’s time for a visit to Turkey. Specifically, make your way to the central region of Cappadocia. Here you’ll find a landscape so surreal and magical you could easily feel you were on the moon. The […]

Don’t get me wrong – I love elephants as much as the next guy. Their behaviour is fascinating, their intelligence undeniable, and the little ones are just so darn cute. Observing them from the safety of a Land Rover is common on safari, though interesting as it is, one can’t help but feel removed. Walking […]

If ever you find yourself with a day in Nairobi, don’t panic; the city once referred to as ‘Nairobbery’ is much safer than it used to be. There are actually some cool things to see and do, like visiting the Kazuri Beads factory or taking high tea at Giraffe Manor. You may even have heard […]