Travel jobs with Audley

We are always on the look out for good people with the right skills to work at Audley. Right now, we have vacancies in 4 of our regional departments: Africa Safari, North Africa and Arabia, Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Plus we have two other vacancies, one in our Marketing Department and one in our Reservations/Ticketing Department. 

For the Country Specialists roles, we are particularly interested in people who have travelled to any of our destinations and possess the right skills to deliver award-winning service to our customers. Planning a tailor-made  itinerary takes a lot of different skills. From knowledge of the destination to a highly organised approach, friendly telephone manner and the ability to put together individual, uniquely planned trips for each of our clients.

In return you’ll find working at Audley is relaxed yet professional, fun and challenging.

Take a look at the Audley Careers website and find out more about working at Audley.

Win a case of South African wine

As summer begins to draw to a close (there’s now a distinct autumnal feel here in Oxfordshire, and it’s still only August!) one of the things I’ll miss most is those warm summer evenings which give you a great excuse to open a bottle (or two!) of wine. And if you enjoy a good bottle of wine, why not enter our South African Winelands competition? Continue reading »

Tiny frog discovered in Borneo

Microhyla nepenthicola was discovered in Borneo

Scientists from the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak and the University of Hamburg in Germany have found a new species of frog on an expedition in Borneo. 

The very cute Microhyla nepenthicola reaches just one centimetre in length and was first discovered in Kubah National Park in 2004; this discovery how now been described in the journal Zootaxa. 

The miniature red and orange creature lives and breeds on a pitcher plant, laying its eggs in the decomposing organic matter that gathers on the plant. Scientists believe the tiny size and reduced webbing of the frog could be the result of negotiating the slippery plant on which it lives.

Incredible video of “Nature’s Great Events”

Just came across this great page of video highlights from the BBC’s series “Nature’s Great Events“. You have to wonder how they managed to film some of this.

The clip I just watched was “The Great Melt” which showed time-lapse footage of the melting ice in the Arctic. Not only have they managed to position the camera in exactly the same place from one season to another, allowing us to see the difference in the landscapes, but they even pan the camera around in the same shot, as the ice melts!

Amazing stuff.

Find out about Audley’s trips to the Arctic

Cruise the South Indian Ocean in 2012

Heritage Expeditions

Ten years since their last expedition to the islands of the South Indian Ocean, New Zealand based cruise company, Heritage Expeditions, has organised a return to this remote location. Continue reading »

Audley cake sale raises money for Pakistan flood victims

Cake sale raises money for Pakistan flood victims

Members of Audley’s Indian Subcontinent team have this week held a cake sale to help raise funds for the devastating flood crisis in Pakistan.

The impressive spread of cakes, bakes and cookies included a lavish looking pavlova, a sumptuous banana and walnut cake and a Dutch apple pie. After the last morsels were cleared and the pounds and pennies counted, the team declared a final tally of £275 in money raised.

This money will be contributed towards aid and disaster relief efforts currently ongoing in the worst hit areas of Pakistan.

Following the country’s biggest flood in 80 years, at least 1,600 people are feared dead and millions left homeless and in need of aid. The growing crisis is exacerbated by reports of further heavy downpours expected over the coming days, with authorities in some areas issuing “extreme” and “imminent” flood warnings.

Find out more about the flood crisis in Pakistan and how you can help support charities working to help people who have been affected – go to www.thebiggive.org.uk.

Celebrating the beauty of the Cotswolds with a photography competition

Arlington Row in the Cotswolds, on a February misty morning

With the travel bug well and truly rooted in our systems here at Audley, it seems only natural that many of us also have a passion for photography. But while some of us are happy with the results of our trusty point and click cameras, others are a bit more practiced with a lens. 

Sarah Howard, one of Audley’s Southeast Asia specialists, is able to combine her love of travel with her passion for photography, and as a professional landscape and travel photographer she also holds photography workshops in the Cotswolds through Image Seen, a company she runs alongside Photoshop expert Martyn Ferry. 

Image Seen is currently running a competition which celebrates the beauty of the Cotswolds and prizes up for grabs include one to one photography tuition with Sarah, a fabulous Ricoh R10 compact camera, accessories from Morris Photographic, and a fantastic 2 night stay at the historical White Hart Royal hotel in Moreton-in-Marsh. 

The Cotswold Scene competition is open to all amateur photographers, including the under 16′s, until 15th October 2010 and will culminate in a six week long exhibition at O3 Gallery in Oxford Castle at the end of the year. This is an excellent opportunity for budding photographers to show off their skills and see their work exhibited in one of Oxfords best galleries. 

With Sarah reaching the final of Travel Photographer of the Year in 2008 and 2009 and the competition being judged by renowned landscape photographer Charlie Waite, and Steve Watkins, editor of Outdoor Photography magazine, this is a competition not to be missed.  

To find out more about visit the Image Seen website.

WildPhotos returns for 2010

WildPhotos 2010 will take place at the Royal Geographical Society on 22-23 October

Exploring, discussing and celebrating the world of wildlife and nature photography, WildPhotos will return this year in a two-day symposium at the Royal Geographical Society in London. Continue reading »

Hiroshima marks 65th anniversary of atomic bomb attack

View of atomic bomb dome, Hiroshima peace park

The Japanese city of Hiroshima today marks the 65th anniversary of the atomic bomb attack that devastated the city during World War II. 

Representatives from 74 countries attended a memorial with a representative from the US, UK and France present for the first time, and a minute’s silence was held at 8:15, the exact time that the bomb fell. 

Approximately 140,000 people died as a direct result of the bomb which was dropped by United States forces on 6th August 1945, but the focus of today’s event was very much on working towards a future free of nuclear weapons. 

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, also in attendance for the first time, said the time had come to move from “Ground Zero, to Global Zero” – a world without any nuclear weapons.

Left over foreign currency helps conservation project

Every one of our travellers has the option at the end of their trip to send us any unused and unwanted currency that is left over from their trip.

We collect all these various notes and coins and when the box gets to the point when it is nearly too heavy to carry we take it up to Friends of Conservation who are able to have this all sorted and converted into Stirling.

Our most recent collection raised £334, and we are continuing to collect more currency.