Top Dream Days of 2017, Silky Oaks Lodge, Australia
Guest Post and Photos By Lisa Leavitt
A major perk of being a Virtuoso travel agent is the fam trip. Fam is short for familiarization and these trips are usually low cost to travel advisors to appealing destinations around the globe. Nevertheless, once you arrive, you are fair game to any tourism professional or hotelier in the region. Each one wants to show you their property, activity and special corner of the universe. When I went to Queensland, Australia, in March of 2017, I expected countless hotel viewings and long-drawn out meetings with crocodile park owners.
Instead I was pleasantly surprised to experience one of my dream days of 2017. I woke up in Silky Oaks Lodge in Mossman Gorge, in the middle of the Daintree Rainforest, the oldest living rainforest on earth. After a breakfast overlooking the flowing river, we boarded helicopters to view the dense forest from above. The pilots surprised us by landing on rocks next to a waterfall so we could experience feeling completely surrounded by this wet tropical landscape. Whisked away moments later, we were brought back to the lodge for a luscious swim down a cool river.
The best part was yet to come! We boarded a van to go into Port Douglas the largest town in northern Queensland and home to many boutique shops, great restaurants and a harbor where Quicksilver Cruises is based. We boarded Wavedancer, a large catamaran that soon was cruising out to sea toward the setting sun. With drink in hand, I toasted with my new friends and watched a spectacular sunset. Back on land, we ate a delicious dinner involving Moreton Bay “Bugs,” which look and taste a lot like our Maine lobster. On the way home, we stopped on the side of the road, got out and took a moment to take in the magnificent Southern Hemisphere stars together. It was certainly a day I will always remember.
The whole eastern half of the US is getting walloped this winter with snow. Come spring, the melt-off will produce some of the best whitewater we’ve had in years. This week, I’m going to delve into my 5 favorite whitewater rafting locales in the East. You’d be wise to book one of these trips in May and June, when water levels will be highest, making these rivers especially fast. First up is the Penobscot River in Maine. The 14-mile stretch of the West Branch of the Penobscot River from Ripogenus Gorge to Baxter State Park is a turbulent waterway that drops over 70 feet per mile through a narrow, granite-walled canyon. Within moments of leaving the put-in, you’ll cruise over your first set of rapids, the Exterminator, with Baxter Mountain looming in the background. Next up is Troublemaker and then Cribworks, the most ferocious rapid of them all. Your day will swiftly become an exhilarating blur of running over these steep falls, screaming with your friends and family, as the raft bends, twists, and turns backwards with every succeeding drop. Go with a reputable outfitter like 
They say the best views of Puerto Rico are from the water. Watching the palms sway, seeing horseback riders gallop along the beach, and eyeing lighthouses as they stand tall, sending their beacon of light over the ocean waters. This is especially true if you’re on a board surfing Rincon. Called the “Caribbean Pipeline,” surfers from America, Europe, and South America flock to the western tip of Puerto Rico to glide atop the consistently large swell at spots like Maria’s, a monstrous reef break. The problem with Rincon was always the crime. Come back from a morning of surfing and your room is broken into. So it’s a joy to finally find a place that’s not only safe, clean, and serves delicious local food (included in the price), but is owned by a world-class Brazilian surfer. Roger Wagner’s six villas, 
Not unlike many cities in North America, the wide streets of downtown Salt Lake City were practically deserted once the business day ended. Workers might stay late to catch a performance of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or have a business dinner at Christopher’s Prime Steakhouse, but there were relatively few options to lure you to the downtown corridor. 
Those of you who’ve been reading my blog for years know I’m a big fan of Lather products. I came across their goods in LA, but now I’m starting to see their olive oil based soaps and mint thyme hair wash in the northeast, recently at several