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Head to Manly Beach for the Inaugural Australian Open of Surfing

If you happen to be in Sydney this coming February, make your way to Circular Quay and the 30-minute ferry to Manly Beach. From February 11-19, 2012, the birthplace of Australian surfing will be the home of the Australian Open of Surfing. Grab your “cozzie” (Aussie slang for swimsuit) and head on out to one of Sydney’s favorite beaches to watch the surfing elite compete for close to $500,000 in prize money. Live music, fashion, and art shows will accompany the spectacle. If you’re feeling hungry, order some oysters, scallops, or the salt and pepper squid at local seafood favorite, Garfish. If you have to order shrimp on the barbie just to practice your Australian accent, go for it. Whatever happens in Manly stays in Manly. 

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Adventure Cruises, No Longer an Oxymoron

I’m in the midst of writing a story for The Boston Globe on how cruise lines are adding more and more active shore excursions for their clientele. For years, cruise lines were the antithesis of an active lifestyle, catering to a sedentary clientele who were far more fixated on the buffet tables. That’s changed dramatically in the past 3 to 5 years. Cruise brokers like Todd Smith, owner of AdventureSmithExplorations, feature small cruise lines whose specialty is getting people off the ship for a dose of adventure. Next spring, they’re unveiling two ships in Alaska, the M/V Wilderness Adventurer and M/V Wilderness Discoverer, that will feature overnight hiking and sea kayaking jaunts, white water rafting, and fishing charters that pick you up right from the boat. Each ship only carries 49 passengers, which helps them cater to your every whim.

 

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Fantasy Islands Week: Rangiroa, French Polynesia

It’s cold, gray—the best time to put on a bathing suit and commune with fish.

Here are five of the world’s best places to do it.
 
Ah winter, that magical time of year that compels hordes of otherwise well-adjusted folks to shop for bathing suits and sarongs, jet to far-flung isles, don masks, fins, even oxygen tanks, all to hang with the fishies. Nothing chases away garden-variety seasonal disorders like getting up close and personal with some colorful creatures. Deluxe resorts are rolling out their (waterproof) red carpets to divers these days. Better yet, many resorts have gotten wise to the fact that divers do not live on plankton alone. We also crave some activity where the air comes free. With that in mind, we’ve selected five of the world’s top diving spots this week. Ones that also offer great above-water activities, from trekking in Mayan ruins to sea kayaking along secluded beaches to kicking the coconut shells. 
 
First stop, Rangiroa, French Polynesia. When Requin! Requin! (French for Shark! Shark!) is shouted in these waters, swimmers do not speed to shore fearing for their lives. The snorkelers and divers who come to this oval-shaped coral atoll stay in the water for a face-to-face encounter. Grey reef, black-tipped, and hammerhead sharks peer at divers in Tiputa Pass, a channel that connects the island’s lagoon with the open sea.  The perfect place to recover after your adventure with Jaws is Kia Ora Village, Rangiroa’s premiere hotel. Stay in one of the overwater bungalows along the lagoon. Or if you’re looking for a bit more seclusion, retreat to Kia Ora Sauvage, a private island about an hour’s boat ride away. The island has just five basic bungalows and two cooks, who prepare all the meals. That’s what we call getting away from it all.  
 
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A Memorable Segway Ride on Oahu’s North Shore

A mere hour north of the hustle and bustle at Waikiki Beach is the North Shore. This is the Hawaii of yesteryear, home to the Banzai Pipeline and charming towns like Haleiwa, where folks will happily wait in line to try the shaved ice at the local favorite, Matsumoto’s. It’s also home to the largest resort in Oahu, Turtle Bay Resort, which fronts a mind-boggling 5 miles of shoreline. In April, they signed an agreement with the state of Hawaii and the Trust for Public Land to ensure that 666 acres of their property will become a conservation easement, never to be developed. Not many resorts can make that boast. In October, Turtle Bay will complete a 3-year, $30 million renovation that modernized all rooms.

 
But my family was most excited about Turtle Bay Resort’s 2-hour guided Segway Tour. I’ve taken Segway Tours in Tampa Bay and Minneapolis, but these Segways had fatter tires so you could go on dirt paths and sand. It ended up being one of the highlights of our trip! We cruised through forests of swaying palms to secluded beaches where only a handful of spearfishermen were hanging out, or to small sheltered coves beloved by local families. Far from the manicured grounds and overpopulated beaches of Waikiki, this part of the island felt raw, authentic. Afterwards, we dined on ahi pokes and kalua pork sandwiches at Ola, overlooking Turtle Bay Resort’s shoreline.  A perfect outing. 
 
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Climb Mount Chocorua, New Hampshire

I spent Memorial Day Weekend in the White Mountains with family and friends, finally bagging Mount Chocorua. Standing 3,478-feet high, it doesn’t make the 4,000-foot club and therefore many avid climbers blow it off. They shouldn’t. This is a classic New England climb with an exquisite panorama of the southern Presidential range and enough granite to leave your quads burning by the end of the trek. We took the Champney Falls Trail, named after the artist who painted the distinctive rocky summit of this peak. Within an hour, we reached picturesque Champney Falls and watched the rushing water stream down a series of ledges. Two hours later, after scrambling through rock, we reached the summit, initially socked in a cloud. Once it started to clear up, we were treated to glorious views of the lakes and green valley below, the snow-covered trails of Mt. Washington in the distance. 
 
Instead of staying in the honky-tonk town of North Conway, we chose the pastoral setting of the Snowvillage Inn in Eaton, with easy access to the Kancamagus Highway and Chocorua’s trailhead. The inn was just named in Yankee Magazine’s Best of New England issue for Best New Menu. Indeed, the food was excellent, from the fresh johns river oysters and lobster fettuccine we had at dinner to the blueberry pancakes, genuine maple syrup, and homemade sausage we had for breakfast (included in the room price). It was a treat to sit on the patio, look out past the apple trees to the peaks, and see hummingbirds dart in and out of the feeders. This is especially true when you have a can of Moat Mountain Iron Mike Pale Ale in your hand after climbing a White Mountain. Be on the lookout for my story in an upcoming Boston Globe travel issue.

 

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Legoland Opens in Orlando on October 15th

I’m not a big fan of theme parks. I find them overwhelming, with far too many humans waiting at hour-long lines for a 2-minute ride. But I’ve always enjoyed visiting Legoland, just north of San Diego when my kids were younger. It’s a much mellower version of a theme park, catered to the 2 to 8-year-old crowd, even fascinating parents with all the items made out of Legos, from amusement park rides to cities around the world. Now a new Legoland is being unveiled in Orlando on October 15th, making it easier for East Coast families to sample the Legoland experience. The 150-acre park features more than 50 rides, shows, and attractions.
 

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Adventures in Oregon, Sampling the Cristom Pinot Noirs

Last time my brother Jim and I were in Salem, we tracked down Cristom Vineyards and barged in on winemaker Steve Doerner. We had just spent a week traveling the Oregon coast and our favorite pinot of that trip was a Cristom Jessie Vineyard served at the Portland den of fine Northwestern cuisine, Wildwood. On this latest trip, we called Doerner well in advance and were greeted by him and the owner’s daughter, Christine Gerrie, the Cris in Cristom (along with her brother Tom). Many of the Oregon pinots are bright, redolent of fruit, have a fine nose, but on his small plot, Doerner has managed to bring layers of complexity to his wine. The Jessie, for example, named for the owner’s grandmother, has hints of black cherries, tangy plum, and cinnamon, with a smooth finish that will have you reaching for your credit card to order a case, the exact move my brother and I made. The Marjorie Vineyard, named for the owner’s mother, is bigger and bolder than Jessie but has that same soft finish, with a nose full of black raspberry. At most wine tastings, I’m happy to spit. But when you make it to Cristom as infrequently as I do, you take your time, luxuriating in the wine and drink every drop, even if it is only 11 in the morning.

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