Journeys DEAR Friends

2020 JOUrNEYS DEAR FrIENDS, I’m writing this letter, as I do most every year, from the porch of an old cabin on Flathead Lake in northwestern Montana. It always seems right to reconnect with you from this perspective. There’s a long, family-ready table, and a line of “happy hooks” on the wall waiting for the next wet explorer to slosh in and grab a towel. On still mornings, the gin-clear lake reflects a great big world and compels me to stop, take it in, and enjoy some reflection of my own. It is the privilege of my professional life to do what I do. The entire team at Off the Beaten Path is honored to be your partner in travel and lead you to far-flung places, where you will be happily compelled to stop, take it in, and reflect. Undoubtedly, travel is one of the most important and meaningful elements of life. Travel opens the door to places that change you, and moments when you feel a definite, powerful shift... Emerging in the cool morning hours from your desert tent in the Sahara to climb the nearest dune, nuzzle into the silky sand, and watch a sunrise that pierces your heart with its astonishing beauty. Shift. Change. Such rare moments are your reward for leaving home to step across an unfamiliar threshold. In these pages, we offer our best suggestions for places and experiences that will change your life—from new destinations in Europe and Africa to bellwether locales and national parks in Alaska, the American West, and Latin America. See what inspires you, then call us so we can get down to the good, important work of helping you find new adventure, and that next moment to change your life and remember forever. Wishing you all the best in travel and life, Cory Lawrence, President & CEO Elephants never forget, neither will you. Kenya. Front Cover: You take the high road. Isle of Skye, Scotland. 1 TAKE YOUr PLACE CONTeNTS 1 Dear Friends… SOUTH AMERICA Travelers don’t own the world, they belong to it. They arrive If you know how to really read a map, you know it’s not 3 Where You Can Go, Off the Beaten Path 54 Galapagos Islands at that truth again and again as they watch a bear wade into just names and dots on paper. It’s turtles and bears and 4 The Nature of Travel 56 Peru a river and catch a salmon in its mouth, listen to gentle rain berries. It’s past history and present stories. A map is your 6 Why Travel With Off the Beaten Path? 58 Chile & Argentina falling in a tropical forest, find themselves swimming beside invitation, your clarion call, to go, learn, connect…to take 8 National Parks Conservation Association Partnership AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND a sea turtle, pluck and taste a perfect wild huckleberry, your place in the world. 10 About Small Group Adventures – Substance and Style 61 Australia hike from cairn to cairn in canyon country, and feel the 12 About Private Custom Journeys – On Your Own, But Not Alone 62 New Zealand resonating bass rumble of a bull elephant. UNITED STATES & CANADA EUROPE 14 Rocky Mountains 65 Dolomites 26 Desert Southwest 66 Croatia 36 California 68 Scotland What do you see when you look at the map? 40 Pacific Northwest 69 Portugal 42 Alaska AFRICA Just imagine what you might discover next time you venture off the beaten path ... 48 Northeast 72 Botswana 49 Great Lakes 75 Tanzania 50 Florida 76 Uganda 51 Hawai'i 78 Kenya CENTRAL AMERICA 80 South Africa 52 Costa Rica 81 Morocco 82 Who We Are 83 Responsible Travel 84 Terms & Conditions 85 2020 Journeys Calendar 60 42 81 54 62 56 40 14 48 49 76 78 36 51 26 58 75 68 50 72 80 65 66 52 69 2 800.445.2995 / WWW.OFFTHEBEATENPATH.COM 800.445.2995 / [email protected] 3 The nature of travel is the nature of the unfurling fern. THE N TURE THE N TURE It is stretching. Growing. Opening up to the world a a to become beautifully, fully formed. IN ESSENCE people of Kaikōura, whose ancestor Paikea journeyed to New OF TRAVEL OF TRAVEL “Nature” has as many layers of meaning as the Grand Canyon Zealand on the back of the whale Tohorā. And snorkeling the has layers of rock. The first definition that springs to mind wildlife-rich coral reefs of Belize, then visiting the Maya site is the natural, physical world. Plants, animals, landscapes. Lamanai, called “submerged crocodile” by its first settlers Seasons. Photosynthesis. The water cycle. more than 3,000 years ago. And hiking Capitol Reef National Park before tucking into a dinner of farm-to-table chipotle The second definition shifts gears to describe something more meatloaf and new potatoes. ambiguous than, say, leaf respiration, but no less significant to life on this planet—the inherent qualities or characteristics And that is the nature of travel, or more specifically Off the of something. The nature of zebras to live in herds. The Beaten Path travel. It’s the whole experience of a place—the nature of hope. The restorative nature of wild places to the plants and animals, the local way of life, cultural legacies, human spirit. Your own curious nature. and your complete, exhilarating adventure there. Travel engages us at both layers of PADDLE YOUR CANOE meaning. We seek out beautiful natural A recurring symbol in Māori art is based places to explore, and those places—the on the unfurling frond of a silver fern. The mountains, rivers, saguaro forests, spiral, known as a koru, conveys a sense of graceful groves of giant sequoias— perpetual motion, even while it holds at its galvanize our essential characters. heart an eternal point of beginning. CULTURAL CONTEXT The koru, a word that means “looped” in We Homo sapiens tend to put physical the Māori language, is said to symbolize nature and human culture into separate movement, growth, strength, and renewal. columns of thought, maybe because we Because we at Off the Beaten Path see have supermarkets, climate-controlled everything through the lens of travel, we cars, and Gore-Tex. But nature was surely the organizing recognize those attributes as the essence of a good journey. cultural force for Ancestral Puebloan farmers, bison-hunting You venture out, you grow, you challenge your mind and body, Plains Indians, seafaring Polynesians, Pre-Columbian potters, and you return home renewed. and Aboriginal rock artists. So, hoea tō waka. Paddle your canoe. Let your best travels be That’s why culture is in the essential nature of Off the Beaten a stretch, off the beaten path. Path journeys. Like whale watching with the Ngāti Kuri Is travel part of your essential nature? If so, you’re in the right place—off the beaten path. Unfurl, stretch, journey with us to the confluence of journey and destination, where the heart of the traveler meets the soul of the place. Call us at 800-445-2995 today to nurture your traveling nature. 4 Explore your nature, off the beaten path. New Zealand silver fern forest. 5 WE’RE HAPPY TO LET OUR TRAVELERS ANSWER THAT GREAT QUESTION… WHY TRAVeL WITH OFF THE BEATEN PATH? We’re happy to let our travelers answer that great question… "This was one of the best travel “This was our 4th OBP trip so we knew what to expect. It was excellent!” experiences we have had. You are also JC, Puebloan Mystery, Small Group Adventure one of the best travel companies we have used." WS, Private Custom Journey, "The trip was wonderful! I had tried to plan it on my own and couldn’t figure it out. Rocky Mountains It worked perfectly with my 89-year-old mom." LE, Private Custom Journey, Alaska "Our guide accommodated any "We’ve traveled extensively, but this was our first organized tour. We saw more and did more request and was diligent in satisfying than we would have on our own." LS & MY, Acadia and New Brunswick, Small Group Adventure our needs and interests. She loves Alaska, and it showed." KS & JR, Glacier Bay & the "The itinerary was full of unique hotels and activities, and we really appreciated Inside Passage, Small Group Adventure your attention to detail in meeting our unique needs as a family." PW, Private Custom Journey, Morocco "We did things like rappelling and climbing that we never would have tried on our own. Sometimes we were scared, but our guide encouraged us, and the whole experience bonded our family." MB, Private Custom Journey, Desert Southwest " I wanted long hikes and wildlife, and to see Olympic National Park—and I got it all!" FK, Hiking Olympic National Park, Small Group Adventure Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument; Chaco Canyon; Morroco; Yosemite National Park; Salmon River, Idaho 6 7 A MESSAGE FROM OUR PArTNER DEAR FrIEND, 100 YEARS OF PROTECTING What an exciting time to travel to your national AMERICA’S FAVORITE PLACES parks! In 2019, we celebrated NPCA’s centennial The National Parks Conservation Association was anniversary. For 100 years, NPCA has protected founded a century ago by two of the same visionaries places of unparalleled natural wonder, historical who helped create the National Park Service: Stephen significance and cultural value, not just for Mather and Robert Sterling Yard. They believed that recreation but also for learning. for our national parks to succeed, we needed an agency dedicated to managing them, but we also needed an The stories found in our national parks are what independent organization outside the influence of the define and unite us as a country, which is why we federal government to educate people about parks—and must do all we can to ensure they are recounted advocate for them.

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