Blue Mountains

Title – Blue Mountains
Date – January 2001
Location - New South Wales - Australia

Exploring the Blue Mountains just outside Sydney can provide a real escape from the heat of the summer on the coast. The Blue Mountains are not actually mountains at all, but rather a vast plateau that has been washed away by weather and rivers over hundreds of millions of years. Descend into the river valley and you enter an environment so different from the plateau itself you feel like you are in a different world and one where the giant fern is king. You can explore the miles of tracks, all well marked and identified by length and difficulty, to allow you to choose the track you are best suited to.

At Beyond The Blue we also believe in presenting workshops that are relevant to you. We don’t simply roll out a generic course ignoring your destination and ignoring your preferences. We make workshops relevant to all those attending, this may seem to be difficult considering the diversity of the individuals present, but we know where the overlaps are and we know the relevance of each subject to the countries you intend to visit. Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop helps you to prepare for your travel no matter where you are going and no matter what you intend to do. We achieve this by asking you to fill in a Pre-booking Form prior to attending with details of all your plans and ideas for your trip.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com

Image – ©Peter Mayhew

On top of the Pacific

Title – On top of the Pacific
Date – January 2001
Location - Kandavu, Fiji

This view over the Pacific is much as it must have been in 1643; 130 years before Captain Cook and his crew came across it again on their famous trip to the South Seas. But the discovery of Fiji belongs to the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman who earlier had discovered Tasmania, which nearly two hundred years later was finally named in his honour.

Fiji is truly a beautiful country, it has traditions which it defends fiercely and still remains a society governed in the main by the village elders, who receive the great respect they deserve and have kept Fiji from going down the road of some of it’s, not so close, pacific neighbours. To this day a visit to Fiji, is in some ways, a visit back in time; Kava ceremonies (traditional ceremonial drink with slight narcotic effluences) to welcome visitors or seal friendships are still very common and demonstrate the living tradition that exists on this island nation.

Kava is prepared in the tanoa (a large ceremonial bowl). The dried and powdered root, wrapped in a piece of cloth, is mixed with water and the resulting concoction looks (and tastes) like muddy water. You will then be offered a drink from a bilo (half a coconut shell). Clap once, accept the bilo and say 'bula' (meaning 'cheers', or literally, 'life'), before drinking it all in one go. Clap three times in gratification and try not to grimace. The drink will be shared until the tanoa is empty. You are not obligated to drink every bilo offered to you, but it is polite to drink at least the first

Beyond The Blue runs Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop designed to give you a head start when travelling to remote parts of the world, as well as when travelling closer to home. We examine the traditions and cultures of your destinations and share our stories and any you might have from previous trips, with all those attending to give everyone the tools to travel safely and with confidence.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com

Image – ©Peter Mayhew

The Beach

Title – The Beach
Date – January 2001
Location - Kandavu, Fiji

The film ‘The Beach’ certainly exaggerates some aspects of the concept, but the beauty of some of the world’s best and undiscovered beaches can never be suitably described.

Fiji is known for its hospitality and the friendliness of its people. When you visit here it seems impossible to think that within the last 35 years since independence in 1970 there have been several coups and several attempted coups. But these are done on ‘Fiji time’ and although there are still tensions between the two main groups of inhabitants (the Indians brought here during colonial times and the indigenous Fijian) the country is on the whole, serene and beautiful.

The acceptance you will find in Fiji can lead to experiences that will stay with you for a life time. Waking up on a Christmas Day to see this beach outside the tent was a surprise enough to make anyone’s day, but to be invited to join the local villagers in their Christmas day celebrations took the experience to a whole new level. The highlight has to be the lovo, a traditional meal cooked underground for the whole village. The food is cooked in the ground, which acts as an oven; surrounded and filled with hot rocks and burning embers, the food is buried wrapped in palm and banana leaves and left to cook for 6 hours. The resulting meal is a feast fit for a village of the kindest people you could wish to meet. It may be our tradition to eat turkey on Christmas day, but there was not even the slightest feeling of home sickness, everything was just perfect.

Beyond The Blue recognises the positive effect that blending into your new environment can have on your experiences. Through our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshops we guide those people planning a trip through the highs and lows they will encounter along the way. We offer advice and information on how to make the most of the experiences and opportunities that you will be presented with. In some countries like Fiji you will have no option but to feel at home because the local people simply will not allow you to feel any other way.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com

Image – ©Peter Mayhew