Dear Walkabout Friends,

Let’s ceLebrate 30 years!2016 is a big year for Walkabout

It all began 30 years ago in 1986… when we launched Walkabout Adven-ture Tours at the Holiday and Adven-ture Travel Show in Melbourne. We had set up a display of our “sign post with cockatoo” logo complete with a picnic table and were surrounded by “big name” tour operators.

At the stand next to us we met Tim Macartney-Snape who was promot-ing his tour company. Two years previously he had become the first Australian, together with Greg Mor-timer, to climb Mount Everest. We

have never forgotten how supportive Tim was when he introduced himself to us - it was very reassuring to have his encouragement on Walkabout’s very first day!

The exhibition proved to be a great launching pad for Walkabout - it was a 3-day exhibition and each day we returned home, rushing to the an-swering machine to check whether any potential customers had left us a message.

Before the exhibition we had printed a small one colour brochure with our proposed walks for the following year - our 1st planned walk was to Fraser National Park at Lake Eilden in Victo-ria. On the Sunday night when we re-turned home from the final day of the exhibition the red light was flashing

on the answering machine and there was a message from Jeanie and Allan Todd who wanted to book our 1st tour together with their friends Margaret and Ken McArthur (Margaret has very kindly written an article about their association with Walkabout later in the Newsletter) - Walkabout was off and running!

euroPeaN sPriNg 2016 WALKABOuT GOurMET AdVENTurES quArTErLy NEWSLETTEr

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Walkabout’s launch 1986

W a l k a b o u t g o u r m e t a d v e N t u r e s | e u r o P e a N s P r i N g 2 0 1 6

IN tHIs eDItIONLET’S CELEBrATE 30 yEArSPrESENTATION NIGHTSMELTING MOMENTS IN INdIA30th MOrNINGTON rEuNIONSPrING WALKSuPCOMING F&W FESTIVALS

Many of our guests often ask us where we got the idea in the first place… it really started already in 1984 in Ger-many before we moved to Australia. Initially we had the idea of organising “Surfing Safaris” and had even printed a brochure complete with a surfing kangaroo as our logo, which received a lot of interest. Our route included many beaches between Melbourne and Sydney but we quickly realised that it was difficult enough promot-ing the concept of Walking Tours and abandoned the idea of Surfing Tours!

The Walking Tours concept came one evening while showing European friends slides of Wilson’s Promontory National Park. Their questions, how they could possibly get there without a car made us realize that it was in-deed very difficult and we saw an op-portunity to change this.

Not only overseas guests but also many Australians wanted to join us on our Australian tours and of course they later convinced us that we should show them the nicest places to walk in Europe. On our Australian walks we were preparing all the food as well as leading the walks. Because our tours were based on healthy, creative and imaginative cuisine, our guests sug-gested that we had to emphasise the “food” side more and so we changed our name to Walkabout Gourmet Ad-ventures.

time to reflect

This year is going to be an oppor-tunity for us to reflect on the many journeys and experiences we have had during these 30 years since we started Walkabout Gourmet Adven-tures. We look forward to welcoming back some of our former guides and those who have left their “footprints” on Walkabout.

We hope Birgitta, much loved by so many of you, with her “million dol-lar” smile, will join us on the Flavours of Bavaria Tour this year and it is high time to get Heather over here who helped us in the very early days pre-paring all the delicious food we took on our Australian Walkabout Tours! She remains the fastest worker in the

kitchen we have ever met… may be now only challenged by her daughter Natalie who will be back this year to help us here in Forcalquier with our apartments… yeah!

Petra is waiting in Lazio to share the Flavours of Lazio with you and Gino, a fantastic Italian chef and very dear friend of ours, will passionately help us discover the Flavours of Piedmont!

We would also like to take the oppor-tunity to not only thank our former guides but also make mention of the fantastic support we get from our cur-rent Walkabout team – without them Walkabout would not be where we are today – thank you Trish (23 years), Sabine (20 years), Gilles (15 years) and of course Pascal, Helmut, Milo and Fatih and the rest of the team.

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former Wga guide birgitta!

first Walkabout tour in 1986

Wga bus in tasmania 1992

PreseNtatION eveNINgsThese evenings are always a great place for reunions and getting to know new guests and this year we had an excellent attendance at all venues! A big thank you for coming along… we hope we can soon show you some of our favourite places in this big wide world.

aLmOst meLtINg mOmeNts IN INDIaAfter 9 hours plane travel, we moved from Winter to Summer, our first tour of the season was about to begin. It took us to Kerala, the “land of co-conuts” in the south of India’s west coast. For centuries, South India’s Malabar Coast has been the heart of the spice trade in the Indian Ocean.

In its thriving port cities, the conflu-ence of Greek, roman, Phoenician, Arab, Chinese, and European cultures remain visible in the architecture, reli-gion, and daily life of the people.

In Cochin, with its stunning location along the Arabian Sea, our walks re-vealed the legacies of its European past, from British mansions and dutch cottages to a 16th century synagogue.

In the cool mountain region of Mun-nar our walks took us across the ridges and through the cool tea plantations where we learned a lot about the growing and processing of tea. The very sound of the word Thekkady con-jures up images of elephants, unend-ing chains of hills and spice-scented plantations.

In the Periyar forest of Thekkady is one of the finest wildlife reserves in India and on our walk with a tribal guide we saw lots of elephants and monkeys... very special!

An absolute highlight was our deluxe private houseboat with Kerala’s pic-turesque rural scenes all around us.

Overwhelmingly we all decided that in next year’s itinerary we shall ex-tend our stay on the houseboat for 2 nights - the most relaxing way to end and reflect on our Flavours of India tour before we say good bye.

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cooking class with Nimi in munnar kerala india

shopping at eden spice farm near thekkady kerala

one of many elephants, thekkady, kerala

The freshness of the local ingredi-ents used was always a guarantee for flavoursome food and it is this phi-losophy that has kept the people so healthy. Their strong cultural ways are still practiced and much respected. At Nimi’s cooking school we learned how to prepare native dishes using spices from Kerala’s Western Ghats.

We enjoyed the early morning starts with yoga or meditation, the best way to get ready for the day. Nastassja Clarke helped working on the itiner-ary and wrote about her impressions below:

“Once one dares to step into the un-known, there is always a guarantee that a reaction will occur, which will then lead to a transformation… Per-haps unknown at first, yet I promise you that the imprints will come out sooner or later.A few days in Kochi were exactly what were needed in order to adjust to the complete contrasts of life-styles and of course, the jetlag! After exploring several powerful street scenes such as the wash house, the Paradesi Synagogue, and the Chi-nese fishing nets, we were all happy to get treated by a generous Indian flavoured dish as the evening rolled in.I didn’t exactly know what to expect on my first encounter with India, but I knew that it would impact me on a grand scale. The deep inner connec-tion of the Indian community made me realize that as human beings we sometimes forget that our great-est strength lies inside ourselves. This spiritual energy is immensely beneficial to anyone who is open to be swept into that kind of world and wants to rediscover the small impor-tant things in life. Certainly a highlight before setting off from Kochi was the Kathakali dance, which is a passionate tradi-tional tale, mostly used with the eyes

to express all possible emotions and the use of body language is tested and played on the audience. A must see!As we were driving away from the eclectic city life, and rising towards the mountains, a thought crossed my mind. How blessed are we really, be-ing able to experience something so completely different to what we are accustomed to at home.

I decided from the early stages to completely immerse myself in the culture, the way of living and not have any expectations on how it was meant to unfold. The most rewarding way to travel is to always have an open heart and mind to the experience of what life is providing you. This has helped me greatly to see things I would other-wise dismiss.

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Public ironing station in thekkady kerala india

tea plantation munnar, kerala

Houseboat in kerala

Munnar turned out to be a very colourful village, where the food market and textiles made you wish you had a home close by or a suit-case big enough to bring back bags of freshness and souvenirs. What inspired me most was that peo-ple seemed content with the smallest gestures. As long as they had good company, fresh food and their bright smiles, nothing could ruin their hap-piness. Walking amongst the magical lush tea plantations and meeting the local women working in such hard conditions was a true eye opener as to how strong these people must be, dealing with such strenuous work. After slowly, but surely falling in love with the Indian cuisine, it was time to learn a little bit more of the magic of what happens behind the doors of Indian kitchens. Having a cooking class by kitchen guru, Nimi Sunilkumar, who re-vealed her favourite dishes - Paal-appam, vegetable and mutton stew and lastly Paal ada prathaman (Milk pudding with rice flakes) still has my mouth watering!

The amazing spices and flavours which were introduced to my pal-ate will remain one of my fondest memories!Our next stop was Thekkady. An-other vibrant town tucked away amongst the lush Indian jungle. A very exotic experience - where we came across a family of monkeys, wild elephants and we might have also seen a tiger… but then again it could have just been my imagination playing tricks!Our journey was nearing its end, yet there was still room for one last ad-venture…Spending the day and night on a boat house in the backwaters of Kerala, Kumarakom was a great way to unwind, enjoy the Indian scenes from a different perspective, and of course indulge in the tastiest Indian food. Sharing some final laughs and reflecting on the trip we shared with strangers who are now friends for life, was exactly how it should have ended.The smallest glimpse into India made me want to discover more of the mystery of this beautiful country.

I know that this is just the beginning of a never-ending journey towards a deeper way of living. I will never forget those moments of utter ecstasy where a smell could send me to heaven, or a smile could brighten up my soul instantly. Thank you for the unconditional love and light India! I still have to absorb the incredible knowledge and wisdom you have supplied, but I know that you came at exactly the right time, and I shall keep the memories and life lessons in my heart forever.” Nastassja Clarke, 2016

flower shop at munnar market

so much fun buying coconuts in thekkady

Posing in the cirque de troumouse Pyrenees france

30tH mOrNINgtON reuNIONWhile Gabriela was in India, Graeme joined the annual reunion of our Mornington Peninsula group, which is always such a special occasion.

Catching up with our first ever guests on a Walkabout Tour and their friends plus other guests who they met on our tours over the years, is such a hap-py gathering!

Without any doubt, the most reward-ing part of our work during the last 30 years has been meeting so many spe-cial and wonderful people. Margaret McArthur and her late husband Ken came on the first tour in September 1986 and she has written a little story about our humble beginnings:

WHeN it all begaN... or Nostalgia

“Without any doubt, the most rewarding part of our work during the last 30 years has been meet-ing so many special and wonderful people. Margaret McArthur and her late husband Ken came on the first Walkabout tour in Sept. 1986 and she has written a little story about our humble beginnings.As one of the initial walkers on their first adventure into the Fraser National Park in Vic, I would like to share some memories about our many walks with Graeme and Ga-briela.In 1986 our close friends Jeanie and Alan Todd had been inspired by Graeme and Gabriela of Walkabout Adventure Tours - which they were initiating at a tourism expo in Mel-bourne and suggested my husband Ken and I join them on a weekend to Fraser National Park.We, in our mid fifties, and not ex-perienced walkers, were concerned about keeping pace with the un-known walkers whom we expected to join us. However as this was their inaugural tour, we were the only 4 booked so the pace was set accord-ingly - (and G &G had invited a

friend - to help them with these old fogies we suspect!)We stopped for coffee and lunch en route, and arrived at the campsite in time for a leisurely walk around the lake, then time to ourselves, while they set up camp and prepared the evening meal. This we had anticipat-ed to be ‘snags on the Barbie’ with the other campers, so we wandered into the bush with a bottle of red (suspecting it was a dry weekend!)

However to our amazement - when we returned - there was a table spread with white cloth, Candelabra, flagons of wine, and enticing platters of food surrounding 2 fondue pots Needless to say we had a wonder-

st ives, cornwall, england

30th mornington reunion

victoria High country 1997

first Walkabout tour fraser National Park

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ful evening under a starry sky - not daunted at all by Gabriela’s only omission - being the fondue forks! In true Aussie style we made gum tree forks, which did the job adequately.To end the perfect day we were each given a T-Shirt with logo, as the first guests of WGA. We retired weary and full of good cheer, to our 2/man tents erected by Graeme earlier. Next day began with breakfast in style, proudly wearing our T-Shirts.Then our initiation! - An introduc-tion to typical G&G walks! - up Blowhard Spur! - Very aptly named for we were certainly blowing hard! (Graeme says it is one of the steep-est grades he has walked). Lunch was again very welcome and enjoy-able, before returning home happily satisfied with our introduction to

Walkabout Adventure Tours as they were originally called. We gave such glowing accounts to our friends upon our return that many asked to be included in future adventures, so we had no difficulty in filling the bus for many such tours around Vic - one important criteria being the Black Tie dress for dinner! (Very formal above the table at least!) That was the start of many happy adventures with WGA in Australia - then one evening around the camp-fire at Wilsons Prom, the possibility of European tours was discussed - excitedly we and our friends im-mediately booked to tour in 1990 which eventuated and was fantastic! - walking in the Black Forest, play-ing the Alphorn in our 400 year old Swiss Chalet accommodation, and a husky ride on The Jungfrau saddle in brilliant sunshine, were some of the many highlights.We have all enjoyed many adven-tures since, and happily reminisce at our annual reunions when Graeme and Gabriela and family visit Victoria each summer. On behalf of ‘the Mornington Mob’, I thank you Gabriela and Graeme for initiating those journeys, and for your family friendship over 30 years.”By Margaret aNd keN (deC) MCarthur | Wga guest 1986 & 2010

uPcOmINg WaLksiNtriguiNg sPaiN & morocco

Gabriela and Gilles have just left to begin the European Season with the Follow the Moorish Trail from Valencia through Andalusia and Morocco. This tour offers a wonderful insight into charming Andalusia in Spain and has a distinctly Moorish flavour.

Our walking tracks take us through these intriguing, old-fashioned vil-lages and constantly changing scen-ery. The views are truly unbelievable - from often snow-capped mountains to the glistening Mediterranean. Mo-rocco’s sensuous beauty is legendary, from imperial cities with labyrinthine souks to the awesome grandeur of the Sahara. Our journey takes us through Fez, a walled city suspended in a medieval dream, the Atlas Moun-tains and the Sahara desert, ending in Marrakech.

Follow the Moorish trail | april 3 2017

Walking in the rose valley to visit the kasbah morocco

Walkabout Picnic under the snowgums 1997 sunset in the sahara desert morocco

sPleNdid sicily & tHe aeoliaN islaNds

In May we return to Sicily and the Aeolian Islands for another dose of dolce Vita! Milo, our Sicilian guide will once again show you the best places of his homeland.

We discover Sicily on walks through the splendid riserva dello Zingaro, pristine coastal land backed by steep mountains. The interior of the Mado-nie Mountains reveals Sicily’s deeply rustic culture - tiny mountain villages, farms, shepherds and freshly-made cheeses.

The Aeolian Islands offer excellent walking with some splendid vantage points over the other islands. They are named after Aeolus, the Greek god who kept the winds he controlled shut tight in one of the islands’ many caves...

The 2,600 year-old heart of Siracusa, Ortygia, is set on an island. We walk the narrow streets; explore doric tem-ples and the fabulous Greek, roman and Christian ruins.

The majestic volcano Mount Etna, which dominates a large part of eastern Sicily, is the highest active volcano in Europe. Our walk takes us above 2000m and together with a lo-cal guide we discover this fascinating mountain.

Pantalica Gorge is Sicily’s greatest ne-cropolis. Along the path through the gorge we discover some of the 5,000 Neolithic tombs, hewn into the can-yon walls.

In Piazza Armerina we visit the vast and sprawling complex of the Villa Casale, once a roman hunting lodge dating back to 286 and 305 Ad. The mosaics are virtually intact and the most breathtaking ones are those of the roman-African period.

We enjoy  delicious Sicilian dinners, which consist of a mixture of different traditions. Elements from Greek, ro-man and Arab cuisines are still used la Dolce Vita | May 21 2016 [15 Days]

relax & uNWiNd iN ProveNce

Starting our days on our recent Fla-vours of India tour with yoga and Meditation has proven to be the per-fect start for the day! In July (4-10th) we still have some places left on “re-lax and unwind”... a more spiritual journey through Provence.

Many of our activities are relating to the senses, especially taste and smell. In the walls of a converted 13th cen-tury convent is the uESS, the Europe-an university of Scents and Flavours where we learn the basis of a perfume

Walk in the Zingaro Nature reserve sicily italy

fruit market in siracusa sicily lavender fields valensole Plateau Provence

composition and create our own cus-tomized and unique perfume.

At the end of the workshop we can take home our own “flacon” of self-made perfume.

At the Prieuré de Salagon we visit the ethno-botanical and medieval gar-dens followed by a tour of L’Occitane to learn how they harvest and distil its organic ingredients from the area.

under the gentle guidance of Na-stassja Clarke, we attempt to gain an inner elevation through the practice of yoga and meditation. It will prove to be a perfect option to rejuvenate your soul, mind and body. Everyone deserves a little quality ‘me time’ and holistic therapies are an ideal way to relax and unwind.

Expect an array of fragrant vegetar-ian dishes during the short cooking seminars with professional chefs, Ga-briela from Walkabout and Virginie from Les Petites Tables, specialising in fresh local organic produce.

Our walks take us into the gentle hills of Provence with siestas in a field of wild thyme and through small hilltop towns.

relax & UnwinD in proVence | JUl. 4 2016

2 sPots left for icelaNd

We are looking forward to our inau-gural Iceland Tour this year and have had an overwhelming response since we announced this tour. For 2017 we have 2 tours planned, which are al-most fully booked.

due to a recent cancellation we now have 2 spaces available for our tour departing on the 27th July this year. Please contact us for further details.

icelanD explorer | JUly 27 2016 [14 Days]

majestic PolisH & slovakiaN tatra’s

We still have availability on our East-ern Circuit Walk, which will commence in September - a perfect time to ex-perience the autumn colours in the mountains. unlike most of our Walk-ing Holidays, which concentrate on the countryside, the Eastern Circuit actually spends some time in 2 of the great cities of Eastern Europe namely Prague and Krakow. Two nights in each of these cities is enough time to give you a good overview of the history and charm of these cultural gems and don’t think that you won’t do enough walking - both these cities are made for walking!

The majority of our the tour however is spent in the majestic Tatra Moun-tains - our walks take us through both the Polish and the Slovakian Tatra’s, which is rich and alive with wildlife - marmots, chamois, eagles and even bears! don’t miss the opportunity to experience a combination of history and culture with the breathtaking beauty of one of the truly great Na-tional Parks of Eastern Europe.

eastern circUit | next Dep. sept 9 2016

straddling the border of slovakia and Poland in the High tatras

skogafoss waterfall in iceland

a PLace IN PrOveNce FaceLIFtWhile Graeme was busy with all the video evenings earlier in February, Gabriela was overseeing work on our new studio in Forcalquier, which is at-tached to a roof top terrace.

In autumn it will be ready for rental! The other three apartments also had a bit of a “facelift” with new painting, a new stove in apartment no. 1 (Ele-onore), outside lighting on the terrace of apartment no. 2 (Sancie) and in apartment 4 (Marguerite) the televi-sion has finally moved into the lounge room. Another big job was to repaint the stairway between Apt Nr 1 and 2 and it looks all fresh and new in this pretty light colour. Three external walls of the house have been rendered and a new fountain in the garden invites for a relaxing siesta in the courtyard. Just a few kilometres from Forcalquier is now a marvellous 9-hole golf course and golf enthusiasts are always very welcome to stay with us.

apartMents | ForcalqUier, proVence, France

uPcOmINg FOOD & WINe FestIvaLsThere are plenty of events in Australia from Food & Fine Wine Festivals to Gastronomy Expos throughout the year.

These Events bring together Austral-ian and world-renowned winemakers, chefs and industry insiders to enter-tain, educate and inspire, you may also visit farm gates and cellar doors, meet with local producers, attend de-gustation dinners, taste regional prod-ucts or even attend cooking classes!

We have put a list of local and over-seas gourmet events together, here is what’s coming near you:

australia• 08/04 F.O.O.d Week Orange NSW

• 30/04 Grampians Grape Escape

• 01/05 Tasting Australia Adelaide

• 01/05 Hunter Valley W&F, NSW

overseas• 08/04 Food Show Wellington, NZ

• 21/04 Grand Taste Experience durham, uSA

• 20/05 Les Epicuriales, Bordeaux, France

• 26/05 New Orleans F&W uSA

We look forward to seeing you on a walk with us soon and thanks again for being a part of our Journey during the last 30 years.

Our very best wishes,

Gabriela, Graeme& the WGA team

about us Walkabout Gourmet Adventures has

been operating personalised walking

holidays in Australia, Africa, Middle East

and Europe since 1986. We realise how

precious holidays are to you and we

want to ensure that your holiday with

us will remain a special time in your life.

Our aim is to transmit our enthusiasm

to you as our guest and to offer you a

safe and comfortable environment in

which to experience these fascinating

destinations.

www.walkaboutgourmet.comAustralia +612 9871 5526France +336 8738 3837

PO Box 4718 North rocks NSW 2151 AuSTrALIA

ABN 63131608896

New apartment forcalquier