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Prices start from $1370 per person twin-share ex Sydney and the offer is valid for sale until December 31 for departures to March 31.
Visit www.megaholidays.com.au.
The traditional custodians of Darkinjung, Darug, Dharawal, Gundungurra, Wiradjuri and Wonnarua Country will play a leading role in this year’s Blue
Mountains Festival of Walking, which starts next Saturday (October 5) and runs to October 13.
Mountains Festival of Walking, which starts next Saturday (October 5) and runs to October 13.
From the Gundungurra Ancestral Pathways Walk leading into the festival, the official opening at a site of Aboriginal significance, walks by indigenous people throughout the festival and a commemorative walk to wrap up the event, Aboriginal people of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area will be involved every step of the way.
Visit festivalofwalking.com.
On November 12 it will be exactly 25 years since AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch set up the world’s first commercial bungy-jumping operation at Queenstown’s historic Kawarau Bridge.
To celebrate, New Zealand adventure tourism company AJ Hackett Bungy will commence 25 days of celebrations on October 18, including stunt jumps, celebrity events, discounts and competitions.
Visit www.bungy.co.nz.
What is the world’s most popular cycling tour? According to the Cycle Tours Global website, it’s the Annapurna Fun Ride, a 10-day easy-to-moderate round-trip from Kathmandu in Nepal through alpine meadows in the Himalayas, Buddhist villages and the deepest valley on Earth between the 8000-metre-plus peaks of Annapurna and Dhalagiri.
Operated by Snowy Horizon Adventure, the tour runs weekly from September to November and March to May each year and is available from $2200 per person twin-share, ex Kathmandu, including mountain-bike hire, lodge accommodation, all meals on the bike expedition, B&B accommodation in Kathmandu, a farewell dinner and two flights within Nepal.
Other rides in the top three were World Expeditions’ Vietnam by Bike, a 15-day ride between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and Hannibal Expedition, a 27-day, 2400-kilometre trip from Barcelona to Rome, tracing the epic 218 BC warpath of one of history’s greatest military commanders.
Visit www.cycletoursglobal.com.
And talking of travel hot lists, Abercrombie & Kent notes that the island of Chiloé, in southern Chile, is rapidly emerging as one of the world’s prime luxury destinations.
Fishing and subsistence farming are the major industries but it’s also famous for its handicrafts and unique timber architecture. There are some 150 wooden churches there, many with World Heritage listings, and the colourful palafitos (stilted house over water) are dotted all around the archipelago.
Just about the only place to base yourself is Refugia, a new 12-room hilltop lodge.
Phone 1300 590 317 or visit www.abercrombiekent.com.au. 
Travel from Sydney to Adelaide by rail on the Indian Pacific, cruise the Murray River for three nights on the Murray Princess paddlewheeler, then return to Sydney with a four-night cruise on the Queen Mary 2.
The adventure begins on March 5, with prices from $3309 per person twin-share, including a night at the Sebel Playford Adelaide.
Phone ecruising.travel on 1300 369 848 or visit www.ecruising.travel.
Le Boat, which operates one of the largest fleets of self-drive craft on Europe’s waterways, has added Poland’s magnificent Mazurian Lakes to its offerings for 2014.
Guests will be able to explore more than 2000 interconnected lakes, all surrounded by lush and unspoiled nature.
Le Boat’s craft availability extends to countries such as France, the UK, Belgium, Italy and Germany.
Visit www.leboat.com.au.
Australians travelling on APT’s Royal Experience European river-cruise program next year will be guests at an exclusive performance by Vienna’s Mozart Boys’ Choir.
The venue will be the city’s newly refurbished City Palace, official residence of the Liechtenstein Royal Family.
As well as the opportunity to view the palace’s many artistic masterpieces, guests will also enjoy a cocktail reception followed by an exclusive and private soiree featuring members of the choir.
Phone 1300 278 278 or visit www.aptouring.com.au.
Take a three-night family escape to Spicers Hidden Vale, a 12,000-acre working farm in the Lockyer Valley less than an hour’s drive from Brisbane.
Pay from $925 per night per family (two adults, two children), including breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.
Also includes animal feeding, bush walking, a 4WD tour, a session at the Shooting Academy where guests can enjoy archery and laser clay target shooting, one massage, a pony lead each morning and one yoga session.
Phone 1300 179 340 or visit www.spicersgroup.com.au.
PIC: spicers.jpg — Spicers Hidden Vale … a 12,000-acre working farm in the Lockyer Valley. 
Wake up to an extra night at Daydream Island Resort and Spa in the Whitsundays for only a dollar extra.
Pay from $449 per person twin-share for a garden-balcony room and get a fourth night for $1.
Children aged up to 14 inclusive can stay and eat breakfast free of charge; free guest activities including kayaks, catamarans, stand-up 
paddle boards, stingray and shark feeding shows, an open air cinema, rainforest walk and gym.
paddle boards, stingray and shark feeding shows, an open air cinema, rainforest walk and gym.
Book by December 13 for stays until March 28.
Phone1800 075 040 or visit www.daydreamisland.com/dollardeal.
Take advantage of opening specials at the 13-room Frangipani Green Garden, in downtown Siem Reap, the gateway to Cambodia’s amazing Angkor Wat complex of ancient temples. Pay from $US35 per night per room, including breakfast.
Robust property-wide wifi; restaurant offers Khmer and western cuisine.
Visit www.frangipanihotel.com. 
Experience the luxurious side of the French capital with Tempo Holidays’ four-day Taste of Paris Deluxe package. Pay from $1034 per person twin-share for three nights at the legendary Hotel Sofitel Le Scribe, on the popular Right Bank.
Get a two-day hop-on hop-off bus pass, two-day Paris sightseeing pass offering entry to more than 60 museums and monuments including the Louvre, airport transfers and daily breakfast.
Valid for sale and travel to December 31.
Phone 1300 558 987 or visit www.tempoholidays.com.
