Travel Seminars at the Royal Geographical Society

Audley will be holding another day of travel seminars at the Royal Geographical Society.

Following the success of last year’s travel seminars at the Royal Geographical Society, we have decided to run this event again. The Royal Geographical Society has been helping travellers to plan their trips, map out their routes and research new destinations since the 19th Century, and so it seems fitting  to hold a day of Audley Travel seminars here.

There are four seminars to choose from: ‘Seasons of New Zealand’, ‘Jordan: Highlights and Hidden Secrets’, ‘Peru: Machu Picchu and more’, and ‘India Uncovered’, all of which will take place on Friday 19th March 2010. Each seminar will last approximately one hour and there will be time before and after the seminar to have a chat with our specialists.

Visit the events page on our website to learn more about these seminars and to register.

‘Come Dine With Me’ at Audley

A mouth-watering main course made by South America specialist Richard Kerr.

Never ones to let a fun opportunity slip by and inspired by a programme of the same name on Channel 4, Sian and Lou, two of our New Zealand specialists here at Audley, decided to organised a ‘Come Dine With Me’ competition using willing participants from around the company. 

Such was the interest that four months have had to be dedicated to the culinary contest, and with 16 budding chefs stepping up to the plate (pun intended!) expectations have been high. 

The first round of dinners kicked off in January with personalised cocktails, hot chocolate fondant with coconut ice cream and chocolate and chilli risotto all on the menu. There can only be one winner from each round though and this prestigious title was awarded to South America specialist Sarah Powell for her Moroccan chermoula prawns followed by slow roasted pork belly with spiced lentils and chocolate truffle and meringue ‘cheesecake’ to finish. 

The second round of dinners begins this week with another four willing contestants putting their cooking skills (as well as their colleagues’ stomachs) to the test to earn a place in July’s final. 

Let the cooking begin!

Air New Zealand offers beds in economy

Air New Zealand is now offering beds in economy class

With a flight to New Zealand taking almost a day, the report that Air New Zealand will be implementing beds into their economy class cabins will come as welcome news to the airline’s passengers. 

From April passengers will be able to buy the seats, which work by foot rests rising to the level of three adjacent seats. Passengers will be required to purchase all three seats but the middle seat will be charged at approximately half the price of the standard economy fare. 

As an airline that we use regularly here at Audley I’m sure our clients will be pleased to hear about the new beds which will take up the first 11 rows Air New Zealand’s new Boeing 777-300 planes, as will our specialists, who often use the airline to visit New Zealand on familiarisation trips!

Audley’s Winter Wonderland

As the country freezes in the grip of what is apparently the coldest winter for 30 years, we present a selection of snowy scenes from our offices at New Mill in Witney.

Click on an image to enlarge it and then use your browser back button to return to the gallery.

No worry, chicken curry!

Follow the adventures of the Whittle family in India

I have just read the wonderful and inspiring story of the Whittle family, Geoff and Cherie, James (9) and Olly (11), who rather radically decided to leave their home, family and friends in the UK to live in India to help save the tiger.

After a tough time in the UK, with rising debts and a failing business, they decided to make a radical change to their lives and move to India where they spent a total of seven years, set up two charities and dedicated themselves to helping to save the tiger.

Continue reading »

Adriana Calcanhotto in Oxford

Brazilian singer and composer Adriana Calcanhotto.

Here, one of those employees, Rebecca Profit, a Brazil country specialist, describes the evening.

Continue reading »

Top 10 website features for travel inspiration

Our website is a great source of inspiration as much as a guide to all of the countries that Audley offers. I thought it would be interesting to share with you the top 10, most-visited inspirational sections of our site. Continue reading »

Wear It Pink Day at Audley

Wear It Pink Day

Today was “Wear It Pink” day at Audley and we had a great support from everyone who made a great effort and dug deep into their pockets for this very worthwhile cause.

Thanks to the efforts of Catherine in our Southeast Asia team, almost everyone turned up in some sort of pink attire and with more money raised through a pink cake sale, we managed to raise £205!

Well done all!

Zambia’s Amazing Bat Migration

Kasanka National Park attracts millions of bats annually from October until December.

Did you know the world’s largest mammal migration takes place in Kasanka National Park, in the Bangweulu Wetlands of Zambia, every year from October until December.

An astounding eight million Straw-coloured Fruit Bats arrive from the Congo to feed on the wild musuku fruits.

Audley work closely with The Bushcamp Company, and we can arrange guided trips into the park from 2010 to witness this fascinating spectacle close-up.

In the mean time you can watch this stunning event in the ‘Mammals’ episode the new David Attenborough Life series, which is on BBC1 on the 26th October.

Visit our Zambia section of the website or contact us online.

Interested in Vietnamese Culture?

Image: From the film 'The Story of Pao' which was filmed in Vietnam's Ha Giang region.

Between now and the end of this month there will be a series of events in London’s South Kensington, celebrating the Vietnamese arts and culture. 

You might find the film offerings of particular interest if you have been or are contemplating visiting Vietnam, and in particular The Story of Pao, which was filmed in the remote and fascinating Ha Giang region of the country.

For more information and to book tickets visit the Vietnamese Festival of Culture website.