Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Jun 14

Have you ever wanted to snowboard on water?

Rather than the cold weather and excessive clothing required to board your way down a ski slope – why not try a similar sport but in bright sunshine in your shorts!

Wakeboarding is gaining in popularity across the world and can take place in many more countries than snowboarding due to natural lakes and waterways being more common that snow-capped peaks!

Of course you will need access to a boat or land-based vehicle to tow you – but many people prefer the locations and warmer weather!

You also get to choose your funky wakeboard – which is much easier to use and carry than water skis!

What Is Wakeboarding?
It is a combination of snow-boarding, water-skiing and surfing techniques and has been growing its own language and following for some years.

There is the connection to a boat or other vehicle to consider, as many stunts and jumps will need to have you using one hand to hold on with and so will affect your ability to do many twists and turns – and adds a bit to the balance that isn’t needed in surfing or snow-boarding.

photo credit: fincher69

You can’t just use any old boat though – as the wake it creates (and that gives this sport its name) is all important. Boats with low wake just will not be very conducive to stunts and tricks – like Butter Slides and Tantrums – which involve jumping over or onto the wake itself.

Creating Your Own Style:
There are many different wakeboards to choose from – each specific to your needs and the jumping requirements of your technique.

Whether you want to do more surface tricks (with smaller fins) or you want to create good grip in the water for great take-offs (with central channels) – you’ll need a different board set up.

But it can also depend on your mode of propulsion as some set ups like cable parks work better with finless boards – and pipes and rails can be affected by fins and channels on the board too.

There are many places to find all the wakeboard equipment information you need to match your style to an actual board – as well as great tips.

Learning More:
If you haven’t tried this before, or you want to try out different boards or techniques, then why not consider a course or lessons to extend your experience?

Large training schools and experienced operators will have a variety of boards for you to try out as well as differing propulsion methods to see which suits you best.

And learning to wakeboard can actually be a great first step to trying out other freestyle sports like snow-boarding or surfing.

If you are 8-18 and near the West Coast and want to start or improve on your wakeboarding, wakeskating or wakesurfing – take a look at Shasta Wakeboard Camp for some inspiration…..

posted by Travel Cat on Apr 27

There is nothing more worrying than finding an injured person – and you can’t help!

Would you know what to do if you came across an unconscious person? Or if one of your party suffered a serious injury? What if a colleague started having an asthma attack – what would you do?

If you see someone close by on the ground unconscious, is it best to go and call the emergency services straight away? Don’t know the answer or said ‘yes’ – then you could have just made the situation worse!

Being the outdoor type – and the adventurous person who likes meeting others and taking part in organised activities – why haven’t you taken a first aid course yet? Wouldn’t you like to know what to do?

photo credit: North West Air Ambulance

First Aid At Work:
Most people wait to be told to take one for work or as part of a new job or volunteering opportunity – but why wait until then?

Do you not want to be able to help your friends and family in an emergency? Do you only want to know how to save the lives of other members of staff or complete strangers who pop into your shop for 5 seconds?

Why don’t we take a first aid course because we know it will save lives rather than because someone else has offered to arrange it all or it is free!

Your Choice:
You can take a first aid course when you are still at school these days – so why are you now in your 20′s, 30′s, 40′s or 50′s and have no idea what to do?

And even if you did learn something at school – it might not apply anymore. Medical advances and the success of current techniques can change how we should react to emergency situations – so it is a great idea to take a refresher at least every 6 months to make sure your knowledge is best applied.

Anyone can join a first aid course – but make sure that it is run by an accreddited body like the Red Cross or St Johns Ambulance. They may cost more – but you know that you will be learning the correct techniques rather than someone just running their own course from personal experience.

I mean, tipping the head back for nosebleeds, laying on your back with feet raised for fainting and putting creams on burns are all out of date techniques and are not recommended anymore.

Things are always changing for the better – so make sure that you are up-to-date with your skills – as 1 thing will never change:

Emergency First Aid Saves Lives!

posted by Travel Cat on Mar 4

Imagine that ‘dream’ yachting adventure you’ve always wanted – then just book it!

You don’t need to wait and see what each yacht can offer and then have to choose between them – you should be able to decide on the things you want your boat to offer and then find your perfect boat!

Whether it’s got to be large enough for 30 guests or small enough for just the family – no worries; whether you need to stay in touch with your business with a large wi-fi office space or you want to get away from it all with plenty of outside space – no worries; whether you want a large crew to supply your needs or if you want a small launch boat available so that you can entertain yourself on land – no worries!

On your hand-picked luxury yacht charter - you’re the boss!

How Do You Find The Perfect Yacht?
You could use a travel agent, ask a friend or trawl the internet looking for that perfect yacht – but I will guarantee that you will hit many dead ends before you do.

They might have the first few things on your list – like availability and enough berths – but then they might not be able to travel to the places you want to see, or they might not have an onboard gym or jacuzzi – so you have to start looking all over again. Or end up settling for something less than you wanted.

So, why not go straight to a website that can do everything for you; only offers the best, and which has the experience to know what you need – and to find it for you.

We are already busy enough these days – without having to waste time checking that everything we expect is included – so why not leave these things to the experts and you know you won’t be able to find fault.

And Fraser Yachts can offer you just this – an expert to find you the boat that suits your exact needs at a time that you want it!

photo credit: emuphoto

The Ultimate Yacht:
Just one look at their website will tell you how much they care about their customers and you can also see examples of their excellent standards with images of the crew and some of the smaller rooms they offer.

They haven’t just shown you a handful of the ‘best bits’ – they have shown you an image of almost every part of their yachts allowing you to get a true picture of all the boats they have to offer.

And they cater for all sizes too – whether you want a compact 26 meter yacht to cruise the South Pacific with a handful of friends or you want a 70 meter mega yacht charter for 30 friends in the Caribbean – it’s all on their website.

With access to a large number of the best boats on the water – your dream vacation could become a reality for you. So all you need to decide is when you want to go – and they will do the rest!

Looking at some of the boats available – this would be so much better than hiring 5 or 6 rooms in a hotel for your family – or conference facilities for that work meeting!

Imagine a week of totally undisturbed bliss in crystal clear waters on your super yacht charter! No interuptions during business, no other ‘tourists’ getting in your way and only having to unpack once – but getting to see as many different destinations as you want.

It puts ordinary vacations to shame!

posted by Travel Cat on Dec 7

It’s not difficult these days to find a job in the location of your dreams!

Why continue working in a job you don’t really like – waiting for those few weeks off you get each year!  Why not look at getting a job you do like in a place that you can only dream of?

There are a whole host of jobs out there that include accommodation – but are on the other side of the world!

Whatever you fancy taking a stab at – whether professionally or just for the fun of it – I’m sure there is somewhere out there which could cater for it!

And the great thing about these types of jobs is that they are often on a set timescale without appraisals or 4 weeks notice - so you don’t need to work overboard on these things – unless you want to of course!  You just have to give it your best for the length of the season or chosen timescale – and then you know you can head back home – or on to another job!

Skiing In Canada:
Why not consider a whole season out in the Rockies as a gap year from uni?  Imagine the experience you could gain from running a resort, catering for thousands or managing a ski course for kids….  The choices are endless – and of course they come with all your bills and food on top of a great snow chalet in the mountains! 

Orchid Tours In Guatemala:
Why not settle down for some botanical beauty and work in an exotic flower garden?  Not only will you learn all about some amazing native plantlife – you will be working outside in the sunshine – and no doubt see plenty of hummingbirds and butterflies all in a days work!

Teaching In China:
There are always vacancies for willing workers to teach English to school children around the world – but in China you could end up working for a specialist business or medical speaker.  You can get very handsomely paid to teach the medical terms, business jargon or technology data to a degree level or professional qualification standard.  They don’t want to know the translation for ’where is the bus station?’ they need things like: ‘…that differentiate after gastrulation into mesothelium, endothelium, and myocardium’!

Singing On A Cruise Ship!
I know it sounds a bit ‘cliche’ but there are hundreds of jobs on boats out there – and they don’t all include singing.  All skills from catering, hospitality, retail, dry cleaning, casinos and much more – all on board a lovely boat – with cabin and food included.  Just imagine the places you could end up visiting!

And, Running An Eco B&B In Africa
So, you think you can handle giraffes eating your trees and crocodiles swimming in your pool? As well as the guests?  Well, you will certainly need some managerial experience and maybe the grasp of a second language to win this job – but I’m sure it beats working in a shoe shop!

As you can see, there is a huge variety of seasonal jobs out there just waiting for you to apply!  You just need to get-up-and-go in the first place – or maybe you want to save your company some money over the quieter winter months and fancy a change of scenery.

Knowing that you are only away for 3 months – or some other set period of time – and knowing that you still have your old job to come back to could make the whole experience even more rewarding!

So, what are you waiting for?

posted by Travel Cat on Feb 24

Before rushing off to book that equine adventure – make your checks!

It’s not so simple to just book yourself onto a week long horse adventure without a care in the world – it’s not like a normal all inclusive, although your food will normally be included here too.

So, here’s a few things to consider before making that booking:

Are You Insured?
Check you holiday insurance details before you make a booking just incase your full trip or part of your intended journey isn’t covered.

A short ride along a beach is probably ok for most; but 4 days trekking through the Andes or wandering across the Sahara for a week might not be a sure thing!

Are They Insured?
And, are you liable for any injuries to the horse or pony while you are riding it? 

And what if the horse you are given for the ride becomes unsuitable for riding – do they have to supply another one for you?  Make sure you know before you go!

The last thing you need is an extra bill at the end of the trip - or a few days riding missed as they have no backup plan!

Are You Ready?
Just because you love horses and riding, is that enough to think that you can sit on one for several hours a day, and for several days in a row?

Sitting in the saddle for a 2 hr trek seems fine – but what about 6 hours at a time – day after day?

And 6 hours of riding can be very tiring for someone who isn’t used to it – and what about all that cantering across huge fields and along beaches.  Can you keep up?

Are You Dressed?
You need to find out what equine equipment is available to you, or whether you should bring your own – or whether you are allowed to bring your own.

For example, it is always advised that you bring your own hat as you cannot guarantee that those supplied (if any) are up to your own countries safety standards, and that they even fit you!  A riding center can’t supply several of every sized riding hat in case you turn up with your very small head!  And a wrong sized hat will not do the best job in terms of your safety.

Some centres might like you to bring your own gloves and boots, but can you use a crop, spurs or other preferred equipment?  You need to find out the stables policy on anything you like to use when riding to see if it all adds up.

Are You Hungry?
Most all inclusive and full board vacation packages supply vegetarian options or have buffet meals to give you the freedom of choice – but vegans, celiacs and any other allergy sufferers might have trouble unless they plan for this in advance.

By making your food preferences known before booking or as soon as possible afterwards you will find that you will be eating without any problems.  I mean the last thing you need on an active holiday is to go hungry!

Are You Alone?
Many activity holidays share accommodation, rather than give single rooms to everyone.  Some times they are 2-shares but sometimes depending on the age of the group, you may all share bunks in the same room!

If you want your own space in the evenings check that there is the opportunity for this on your trip.  If it is in a remote location this might not be possible – so do this before you book anything!

Are You Still Up For It?  Then get that vacation booked!