MORAL COMPASS: Great Places to Go Where the Going Does Good

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Africa, Nature Travel, safari

Wild Planet Adventures Secures Unprecedented 4-Hour Gorilla Trek Permit in Uganda

April 13, 2016 MoralCompass

*Wild Planet Adventures has just acquired a rare four hour Gorilla Habituation Permit in Uganda, quadrupling the amount of time travelers can spend with the gorillas.*

SAUSALITO, CA– Gorilla trekking is the most sought-after African safari after a classic “Big 5” safari and Wild Planet Adventures has just acquired a rare four hour Gorilla Habituation Permit in Uganda.

“There are less than 800 Mountain Gorillas left in the world with more than 60% living in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda. The vast majority of Gorilla safaris include only standard permits, which allow a mere one hour to spend with the gorillas once your guides have located them. One hour is hardly enough time to get much more than a glimpse of the Gorillas, and it’s completely inadequate for most wildlife lovers who dream of having an up-close gorilla encounter reminiscent of Dian Fossey in ‘Gorillas in the Mist’,” said Wild Planet Adventures’ founder and director Josh Cohen.

Thanks to the company’s reputation and connections, for the first time ever travelers now have the opportunity to spend an unprecedented four hours with the Gorillas – four times the time allowed on any other gorilla safari. This VIP experience is included in Wild Planet Adventures’ special 25th anniversary safari Insiders Africa: Meerkats, Gorillas and Africa’s Rare 5.

Guests will spend half a day observing these majestic primates – including silverbacks. This is not just a short glimpse, there’s enough time to see them wake up, hunt, patrol, play, fight, copulate, nurture their young and build their nests. Guides will point out some of the intricate ways they communicate with each other during these activities.

This never-before-available gorilla trek from Wild Planet Adventures is led by experienced scientific researchers. Participants will actually be contributing to the careful habituation of a recently discovered Gorilla troop. This habituation process is critical in order for Gorillas to get used to human presence without abandoning their natural behaviors, losing important survival skills, or becoming reliant upon humans for food.

As Cohen points out, “while it might be seen as advantageous if humans simply refrain from contact with Gorillas and avoid the need for such a habituation process, statistically that has proven to be more advantageous for poachers and deadly for Gorillas. A major advantage of a researcher-led safari is both the access to the four hour permit as well as the extremely high level of knowledge and expertise that the researchers have, allowing for a safe and rewarding encounter with one of the rarest animals on earth.”

Uganda is also an ideal safari destination because it also offers a wider variety of wildlife encounters (including the Big 5) than a classic safari in Eastern Africa. Long known as the “Pearl of Africa”, it is home to the world’s oldest rainforests, glacier capped mountains, roaring whitewater rivers, sparkling crater lakes, classic grassy plains, savannahs and wetlands. Its lush geography includes the Western Rift Valley, the Nile River (the longest in the world), Bwindi – the Impenetrable Forest, Lake Victoria, the legendary Rwenzori range – the Mountains of the Moon and the Ituri Forest. This incredible array of diverse eco-systems allows travelers to see some of the world’s rarest animals all in one trip.

In addition to the Mountain Gorillas, travelers will also join researcher teams for a full day Chimpanzee habituation safari and nighttime walking safari in Kibale National Park (home to over 12 primate species), enjoy safaris for tree-climbing lions and the “Big 5” in Queen Elizabeth National Park and visit the famous “Mountains of the Moon.” Another highlight is observing the intricate courtship and mating rituals of the stunning Kob antelope, and the playful antics of a colony of banded mongoose, cousins of the meerkats.

Wild Planet Adventures offers two ways to experience Mountain Gorillas in depth with their rare four hour habituation permit. Wild Planet’s 25th anniversary Insider’s Africa safari combines the seven day Uganda segment with a five day South Africa safari in the virtually unknown “green Kalahari”, an area south of the better-known Kalahari Desert that receives more rain. Here travelers will encounter habituated colonies of meerkats, along with Africa’s “Rare 5” including pangolin (scaly anteater), aardvark and aardwolf. The area is also prized for its sizeable populations of cheetah, rhinos, black-maned lions and more. The per person double rate for the 12-Day safari starts at $9,998. See: www.wildplanetadventures.com/destinations/?country=south-africa&trip=insiders-africa-meerkats-gorillas-africa-s-rare-5
Those who prefer just the Uganda segment can take advantage of a stand-alone 8 day safari featuring the four hour gorilla encounter. Per person rates start at $6,498. (See: Uganda Ultimate Gorilla & Chimp Safari)

For detailed itineraries, exciting wildlife photos and video galleries and booking information for tours worldwide, visit http://www.wildplanetadventures.com/, call 1-800-990-4376 or email [email protected].

In April 2014 Wild Planet Adventures received its fifth “Worlds’ 50 Best Trips” award from the editors of National Geographic Traveler for its “On the Jaguar’s Trail; from the Pantanal to the Amazon” wildlife safari in Brazil. Previous National Geographic Traveler awards went to Wild Planet’s Thailand, India, Panama wildlife eco-tours and its ultimate African safari in Zambia. Wild Planet Adventures is also recognized by other top travel publications for its wildlife-focused itineraries in Africa, Borneo, Brazil, Costa Rica, Galapagos, India, Laos, Nepal, Panama, Peru, Thailand and Zambia.

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cruises, small ship cruising

AdventureSmith Explorations Offers Flash Sale on Luxury Tahiti Yacht Cruise

April 12, 2016 MoralCompass

TAHOE CITY, CA– Small ship expert AdventureSmith Explorations is mounting a flash sale on its new eight-day cruise aboard the 24-guest luxury yacht Island Passage through French Polynesia’s Leeward Islands. Select May and June 2016 departures across of the world’s most romantic stretches of water on the new, all-inclusive Tahitian Affair cruise are discounted $1,350 per person when booked by April 29, 2016. This promotion is available on the May 22-29, May 29-June 5, June 5-12, June 26-July 3 departures, subject to availability.

The per person rate, (before the discount) starting at $3,875 for an eight-day cruise, includes on-board accommodation, meals, all non-alcoholic and most alcoholic beverages during the cruise, shore-excursions as per the itinerary, use of kayaks, tenders, snorkel and fishing equipment carried onboard, and an airport ferry transfer.

“Traditionally cruises on these waters are aboard much larger vessels accommodating from 120 guests and up,” said Todd Smith, AdventureSmith Explorations’ founder and president (http://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/). “In stark contrast, the new Tahitian Affair that begins and ends in Bora Bora offers unparalleled intimacy in a relaxing, lagoon-cruising style highly suited to this environment.” See: http://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/tahitian-affair-small-ship-cruise-island-passage-bora-bora-french-polynesia

Island Passage cruises only three to four hours daily on average before laying anchor each evening. This translates to an unhurried pace and ample opportunity for swimming, snorkeling, kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding at will from the motus or small reef islands that only a small vessel can access. Guests may also opt to swim with sting rays and sharks, or to embark on a fishing excursion. The Island Passage’s 7.2-meter aluminum fishing boat is equipped with rods, tackle and gear for line (rod/pole) or deep sea angling. The talented chef is always happy to prepare the fish that guests catch.

For additional fees, guests who are scuba-certified can arrange to dive off a dive boat that will pull up alongside Island Passage; and they can sightsee by helicopter as the vessel has a helipad for a six-seat helicopter.

When they can pull themselves out of the turquoise water, guests can tour village life on the islands of Tahaá, Raiatea and Huahine, visit a vanilla plantation, local markets and the Maeva Marae archaeological site. They may also enjoy being the audience for a local choir and learning how to crack coconuts.

While on board they mingle in the generously spaced dining and salon area and on the expansive aft deck. Oversize 175-square-foot staterooms and 195-square-foot and 235-square-foot suites all have ocean views and are appointed with fine linens, French soaps and toiletries, and fresh flowers.

Menus include local seafood and the best New Zealand organic lamb and Santo beef, fresh produce selected from local farmer’s markets and award-winning cheeses, all presented with a strong European flair. The onboard wine cellar brims with award-winning wines and is frequently updated with new releases plus the Island Passage’s revolving collection that is personally selected from the crew’s favorite boutique vineyards.

For information on all of AdventureSmith’s small ship cruises, itineraries, availability and 2016 reservations, Phone: 800-728-2875 toll-free or visit http://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/.

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OARS ‘Rim to River’ puts Grand Canyon in reach: Hiking Down South Kaibab Trail and slideshow

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ecotourism, Environmental Activism, National Parks, Responsible Travel, Sustainable Travel

OARS Celebrates 100 Years of America’s National Parks with Donations, Sweepstakes

April 12, 2016 MoralCompass

*OARS Rim to River guided tour takes the South Kaibab trail down to the Colorado River, with spectacular views of the Grand Canyon © 2016 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com*

Angels Camp, Calif. — In 2016, OARS is celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the National Park Service by teaming up with the National Park Foundation in support of their mission to protect America’s treasured places, connect all people with parks, and inspire the next generation of park stewards. As part of a 3-year agreement, OARS is donating one percent of company sales from most of its national park tours to the National Park Foundation for a minimum of $50,000 through the end of 2016.

Additionally, OARS has committed to an in-kind donation of $95,000 in national park trips to be used in support of National Park Foundation programs, like Open OutDoors for Kids (www.nationalparks.org/ook) to help get underserved youth into parks. This year, the company will take a group of Native American youth on a six-day rafting trip on the Colorado River through Canyonlands National Park and the outfitter has partnered with Grand Teton National Park to get multiple groups of Latino youth out on three-day sea kayaking trips on Jackson Lake.

Also, starting this month, the company is giving away a trip for two each month to one of four national parks, including trips in Canyonlands, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Grand Teton, and Yosemite National Parks. The sweepstakes runs for six months leading up to the National Park Centennial on August 25^th, 2016. Visit www.oars.com/sharethewonder for complete details.

“OARS believes that America’s national parks provide transformative, life-changing experiences that everyone deserves to have which is why OARS hopes everyone will have a chance to share the wonder of our National Parks and other public lands this year with someone they love.”

Since 1969, when company founder George Wendt established OARS as the first exclusively oar-powered rafting outfitter authorized to run trips in the Grand Canyon, the family-owned company has worked directly with the National Park Service to share the grandest canyon on Earth with tens of thousands of visitors. Since then, OARS has expanded to operate in eight national parks, including Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Crater Lake National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, Grand Teton National Park,Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park and Grand Canyon National Park.

In a short video, OARS highlights the words of President Theodore Roosevelt: “There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant sequoias and redwoods, the Canyon of the Colorado, the Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Three Tetons; and our people should see to it that they are preserved for their children and their children’s children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred.” Watch the video here.

OARS is an authorized concessioner of Arches, Canyonlands, Grand Canyon and Grand Teton National Parks, an authorized concessioner in Dinosaur National Monument and operates by special permit in Crater Lake, Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks. See www.oars.com/national_park_adventures/ for more information.

OARS ‘Rim to River’ puts Grand Canyon in reach: Night at historic Phantom Ranch and slideshow

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Historic Places, Historic Preservation, National Parks

Obama Designates Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument in Washington DC

April 11, 2016 MoralCompass

Women's Suffrage Rally at Alva Vanderbilt Belmont’s Marble House, Newport, Rhode Island, 1914 (credit: The Preservation Society of Newport County) — *Women’s Suffrage Rally at Alva Vanderbilt Belmont’s Marble House, Newport, Rhode Island, 1914 (credit: The Preservation Society of Newport County)*

On this year’s Equal Pay Day, April 12, President Obama is designating a new national monument at a historic location in Washington, D.C., to honor the movement for women’s equality. The new Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument will protect the iconic house that has served as the headquarters for the National Woman’s Party since 1929. From this house, known in recent years as the Sewall-Belmont House, members of the Party led the movement for women’s equality, authoring more than 600 pieces of federal, state and local legislation in support of equal rights.

The designation will permanently protect one of the oldest standing houses near the U.S. Capitol and help preserve an extensive archival collection that documents the history, strategies, tactics and accomplishments of the movement to secure women’s suffrage and equal rights in the United States and across the globe.

Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, seen in a portrait in Marble Hall, worked to pass the 19th Amendment. (credit: The Preservation Society of Newport County) — Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, seen in a portrait in Marble Hall, worked to pass the 19th Amendment.
(credit: The Preservation Society of Newport County)

The new monument is named for former Party president, activist and suffragist Alva Belmont (known also as Alva Vanderbilt), who was a major benefactor of the National Woman’s Party, and Alice Paul, who founded the Party and was the chief strategist and leader in the Party’s ongoing fight for women’s political, social, and economic equality.

After playing an instrumental role in the passage and ratification of the 19^thAmendment guaranteeing women’s suffrage, Paul led the Party’s advocacy work from the house, including drafting updated Equal Rights Amendment text, writing provisions that were later included in the Civil Rights Act to prevent discrimination on the basis of gender, and working to get women’s equality language incorporated in the U.N. Charter. A fierce advocate for women’s equality her entire life, Paul died in 1977 at the age of ninety-two.

Efforts to protect the site date back to the early 1970s, and more recent proposals to include the site in the National Park System have garnered Congressional support – including bipartisan legislation introduced by Senator Mikulski – as well as strong support from local elected officials, community leaders, women’s organizations, conservation groups and historians. The National Park Foundation will announce that David Rubenstein is contributing $1 million dollars to support the site and address immediate restoration needs.

In 1997, the National Woman’s Party became an educational organization and today, seeks to educate the public about the ongoing women’s rights equality movement.

In addition to protecting more land and water than any President in history – more than 265 million acres – President Obama has sought to protect places that are diverse, culturally and historically significant, and that reflect the story of all Americans. By honoring the history and accomplishments of the movement for women’s equality, tomorrow’s designation will build on this effort towards a more inclusive National Park System and tell the story of women’s fight for equality for generations to come. Our national parks and other protected sites that represent America’s diverse history and culture will continue to be an important priority for the Administration as the country celebrates the National Park Service Centennial this year.

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