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The Pros of Hiring a Private Guide on Safari

On safari, you have the choice of booking a lodge and going out on game drives with their respective guides or hiring a company like Epic Private Journeys where former lodge owner and Tanzanian native Rob Barbour will act as a private guide. Obviously, there’s an extra cost involved, but if you’re splurging for this amazing opportunity, it’s important to do it right. The lodge guides we had the past two weeks were hit or miss. Laser-eyed Lazarus at Lamai Serengeti was brilliant, spotting a leopard high up in a tree after a kill and a male lion hidden in the tall grass. We watched as other Land Rovers simply drove past, not seeing the amazing sights we were witnessing. At other lodges, however, I could barely understand the guide’s English, and some couldn’t get the right position for getting the best photo, like a cheetah resting under a tree at sunset. 

 
Rob works with the driver and guide, telling him when to stop, spotting lions others had missed, and giving us a well-rounded description of each animal, including probable age. Just as important, he was with us practically the entire trip, helping with travel logistics. Don’t take this for granted. There are no airports in the Serengeti, Grumeti, or Mwiba, simply strips of pavement for small airplanes to land. So you better double-check to see exactly when your plane is arriving the next day or you won’t be leaving. Most of all you develop a relationship with a private guide that lasts far beyond one trip. Rob travels all around east and southern Africa, from Uganda to Botswana, with clients who request his services year after year. Travel with Rob and you have a genuine friend for life, one who has an encyclopedic knowledge of the African bush. 
 

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Stowe Earns My Respect

It was Martin Luther King Day, 2006, when I skied down an icy patch at Stowe, only to turn awkwardly and hear my ACL snap. The conditions had been horrible, raining all morning but I wanted to ski Upper Lord, one of the oldest runs on the mountain that swoops down along the ridgeline from the top of Vermont’s highest peak, Mount Mansfield. Since that time, I have been back to Stowe on several occasions with the kids but always stuck to the fairly easy trails on neighboring Spruce Peak. This past weekend, blessed with an excellent instructor, Mike Beagan, and a dusting of six inches of snow, I conquered my fears. Beagan started off on a couple easy blues like Ridge View and Sunrise, going off trail to ski through the trees. Feeling comfortable, we then did a couple jumps on the terrain park at Tyro. Then we hit Upper Lord. It was icy up top and I was feeling nervous, but I think the joy of skiing with my son, Jake, an excellent skier, and under the steady guidance of Beagan, who’s been teaching at Stowe for 15 years, I carved those turns and felt comfortable. Comfortable enough to take the gondola up to the top and ski Perry Merrill, one of my all time favorite New England trails, twice. That afternoon, I earned my apres-ski pint of Switchback ale at the Stowe Mountain Lodge. I had finally overcome my anxiety and relished the fact that I could ski this classic mountain once again. 
 
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Use Liftopia When Heading to a Ski Resort This Winter

With a chill in the air and the leaves starting to change color in Boston, I’m going to preview the ski season this week on ActiveTravels. First up is the website Liftopia. What Liftopia does is simply offer deals at over 150 ski resorts in America. Pick the date and ski area you’re headed to and you could get a serious reduction on the price of a lift ticket. So much in fact that it should always be your first stop before heading to the mountain. For example, this week they’re offering 40% off the early season pass at Utah’s Snowbird, 78% off a lift ticket at Colorado’s Monarch Mountain, and 61% off Bolton Valley in Vermont. You can also follow them on Twitter @liftopia.
 

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Stowe Mountain Lodge Continues to Evolve and Impress

One of the main reasons I gave Stowe top billing in this month’s Yankee Magazine cover story on New England’s top winter towns is due to the creation of Stowe Mountain Lodge. The most sybaritic ski-in/ski-out resort in New England, the 312-room Stowe Mountain Lodge has the feel of a ski lodge in Jackson Hole, especially when you enter the lobby with its towering two-story high ceiling. The resort uses indigenous wares everywhere you look, so there’s real Vermont birch twisting around the columns and Lake Champlain marble on stairs leading to the après-ski bar, Hourglass. They have been on a serious building spree since their inception, creating 36 holes of golf, a stylish spa with heated outdoor pool in winter that rewards you with views of the mountain you just conquered, and the Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center. 
 
Having just spent the weekend with the family at the resort, I was excited to see the latest changes. A skating rink has opened behind the property near a branch of the popular Burlington creperie, Skinny Pancake. Behind the skating rink, construction workers were hard at work atop a new building that when complete in March will feature a climbing wall and recreation center for kids, along with 19 new condominiums (all sold out). Next door is another new wooden building with large stone chimney in the center that will soon transform into a wine bar. On Saturday afternoon after a day of skiing, kids were making s’mores around fire pits outside as adults swigged their Switchback Ales at the Hourglass bar. The place was a buzz of excitement as a world class ski-in/ski-out resort should be. 
 
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Self-Guided Driving Trips Around New Zealand

New Zealand is one of my favorite places to go on a road trip. The country is blessed with exquisite scenery around every corner, friendly and hospitable people and a plethora of activities to keep you busy. Lately, we’ve been working with an excellent ground operator, New Zealand Fine Touring, to create wonderful self-guided driving itineraries for our clients. If you’re willing to drive (left side of the road), New Zealand Fine Touring will set you up with car rental, provide in-depth directions, and suggest great ideas for activities at each locale, like local hikes to stretch your legs along the way. They also arrange lodging at top-rated B&Bs and hotels. Take it from our clients; New Zealand Fine Touring is a real find. 
 
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Back on My Feet

Three times a week at 6 am, a select group of runners head to Boston Common to work out. One day, it could be sprints, the next day a long jog. The one thing these folks have in common besides a good sweat is that they are all homeless participating in the Back on My Feet program. Launched in 2007 in Philadelphia, the nonprofit organization has become such a success that it has already moved on to Baltimore, Washington, DC, Chicago, and this past May, Boston. Obviously, the program is much more than a good run on an often chilly morning. Back on My Feet builds self-esteem and confidence through leadership training. Though it doesn’t provide shelter or food, the organization does help with connections to housing, job placement, and self-sufficiency. All you have to do is be present at least 90 percent of the workouts to show your commitment. As I always say to my kids, strong body, strong mind.
 

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Top 5 Mountain Climbs in the Northeast, Mount Mansfield, Vermont

Bagging Vermont’s highest peak, Mount Mansfield, is a formidable challenge but certainly no strenuous climb like mighty Katahdin in Maine or the highest ascent in New England, Mt. Washington. It’s a steady ascent that rewards you with views of Lake Champlain in its entirety, Burlington, a 45-minute drive to the East, and the highest peak in New York, Mount Marcy. 

There are many ways up Mansfield. Families should opt for the Long Trail south from Route 108. A little steeper is the Laura Cowles and Sunset Ridge Trails from the backside at Underhill State Park. If you really want to test your mettle, go on the Hell Brook trail.  The unrelenting path starts from Route 108 at about 1900 feet and 1.3 miles later, you’ve hit the 4,000-foot mark. It’s a favorite of locals as evidenced by the number of Vermonters listed in the logbook at the trailhead. About 2 hours into the climb or the 1.3 mile mark, you’ll reach the so-called Adam’s Apple of the mountain. There’s also the Forehead and Nose of Mansfield, but for some reason The Chin, at 4,393 feet, is the highest point.  It must be one of those Yankee chins. 

See the story I wrote on hiking Mount Mansfield for The Boston Globe.

(Painting by Barbara Hamm)
 

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