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Africa Week—Malaria-Free Safari in South Africa

A mere 3 to 4-hour drive north of Jo’Burg, you reach the game reserves on the outskirts of Kruger National Park. Here, you not only have the chance to spot the Big Five, but you can do so without the hassle of taking any anti-malaria medication since it’s in a Malaria-Free Zone. Lisa met with owners of two lodges in this region that she really liked. The first is Camp Ndlovu, located in the 35,000-hectacre Welgevonden Game Reserve. Part of the upscale Residence Collection, the ultra-sybaritic suites come with private plunge pools, outdoor showers, A/C, and WiFi. The second property is Madikwe, located in the fifth largest game reserve in South Africa at 75,000 hectares. Depending on whether you bring the entire family or just your loved one, you can stay at either the River House, Farm House, or Owner’s House. In addition to game drives, you’ll be going on bush walks, fishing, bird watching, and dancing with the locals. 

 

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Ski Tahoe

Lake Tahoe resorts are currently boasting the deepest season-to-date snowpack levels since they began keeping records more than a half century ago. Thanks to the snowiest early season on record, skiers and snowboarders have been enjoying powder conditions on almost a daily basis with over 25 feet of snow already blanketing the slopes of the Sierras. This winter’s bountiful snowfall has been attributed to a powerful La Nina weather pattern off the Pacific Coast, with Lake Tahoe’s ideal location channeling powerful winter storms into deep powder. While you’re in the area, check out the latest developments at Northstar-at-Tahoe. The same Ritz-Carlton team that helped transform Colorado’s Beaver Creek from Vail’s forgotten little sister into one of the finest family-friendly mountains in the country has descended on Northstar. A Ritz made its debut December 2009 mid-mountain, surrounded by a greatly expanded teaching area and a new Burton Snowboard Academy. If they have the same success as their Colorado cousin, expect Northstar to rise out of the shadows and challenge Squaw Creek and Heavenly as one of Tahoe’s premier ski areas.

 

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Ontario Lakes Week: First Stop, Bartlett Lodge, Algonquin Provincial Park

As soon as you step foot in that large wooden boat and are whisked away a mere 5 minutes from the parking lot to Bartlett Lodge, tensions start to melt away with the calm Cache Lake waters. Traveling with Amy and Josh from their home in Toronto, it took us about 3 ½ hours to reach Algonquin Provincial Park in central Ontario. Amy had met the owners of Bartlett Lodge, Marilyn and Kim on an Adventure Canada cruise circumnavigating Newfoundland last fall, and she wanted to make this our first stop on a tour of classic Ontario cabins. She started with a winner, the circa-1907 Deil Ma Care cabin, created before the resort even opened by a doctor from Ottawa who would bring patients with TB and other respiratory ailments to Algonquin as a salubrious retreat. After 3 nights at Bartlett Lodge, I’m happy to report that the lodge is just as therapeutic today as it was a century ago! 

The 12 cottages and 4 tents sit on the shores of the inviting Cache Lake. Grab a canoe like we did one early morning before breakfast and you’ll be listening to the distinctive call of the loon echoing across the waters. But even more heavenly than a placid paddle is the chance to swim from the small deck in front of our cabin in the clean refreshing waters. As soon as we arrived, we went for the first of countless swims we would take on our 9-day foray into the lakes of central Ontario. 
 
All meals are included in the price, the highlight being the 4-course dinner, beloved just as much by locals as visitors to Bartlett Lodge. Start with hazelnut gnudi (gnocchi-like dumplings) or wild mushroom arancini before moving on to entrees of chinook salmon or beef tenderloin. But save room for dessert, especially Marilyn’s sublime signature pies, like wild blueberry or strawberry rhubarb. Marilyn is the quintessential host, walking over between courses to all the tables to discuss the history of the place and her love for the region. Not only did her husband Kim and her revive this dreamy waterfront property (they’ve been owners since 1997), but they run a nearby overnight girl’s camp. Off-season, they have a farm outside of Toronto known for its team of Clydesdales. 
 
Swim, paddle, take a Tom Thomson tour with Malcolm (which I’ll discuss tomorrow), hike through old growth forest or up the hillside for vistas of the shorelines, and then return to the Bartlett Lodge for gin and tonics in the Muskoka chairs (the Ontario version of Adirondack chairs) and another fantastic dinner (BYOB, so stop at the province-run liquor store, LCBO, on the way in). It’s a winning recipe for a 3-day add-on to Toronto or Ottawa. Share your dates with ActiveTravels and we’ll check on availability and pricing. 
 
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Spending All Next Week with The Trustees of Reservations

While Crane Beach is still the best-known Trustees of Reservations site in Massachusetts, the group maintains more than 112 locales in the state, from Field Farm in Williamstown to the recently acquired Dunes Edge Campground in Provincetown. The William Cullen Bryant Homestead in Cummington is a pastoral landscape of pastures and fields of wildflowers, largely unchanged for more than 150 years. Slocum’s River Reserve in Dartmouth is a 47-acre coastal farm on the shores of Buzzards Bay, an ideal place to view warblers during the spring and fall migration. All next week, I’ll be traveling around the state introducing readers to at least 20 Trustees sites—research for a story I’m writing for The Boston Globe on my personal favorites. So please check back! 

 
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Saturday, September 18, is Maine Lighthouse Day




This coming Saturday from 9 am to 3 pm, 25 lighthouses around Maine that are usually closed to the public will open their doors for the second annual Lighthouse Day. The list includes my personal favorite, Portland Head Light, made famous by Edward Hopper, Curtis Island Lighthouse overlooking Camden Harbor, and a lighthouse I saw close up earlier in the summer, the red and white West Quoddy Head in Lubec. Lighthouse historians Bill Thomson and Jeremy D’Entremont will do a presentation at Portland Head Light at 10 am. 


Illustration created by Alan Claude

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Dream Trips 2010, Rafting the Yampa River, Colorado

With a proposed water pipeline in the works, 2010 might be the last year folks will be able to cruise down the Yampa River in its natural state. Roaring 72 miles through northwestern Colorado, the Yampa River is the last major free-flowing tributary in the entire Colorado River system. This Class III river, ideal for families, is in its prime in early June when the snowmelt fills the channel of Dinosaur National Monument. Butch Cassidy found these slickrock walls and layers of cavernous rock to be the perfect hideaway. 2,000-foot deep sandstone gorges create a colorful canyon maze that effectively blocks out the world. In its place, you’ll find one of the largest concentrations of endangered peregrine falcons in the States, golden eagles, and bighorn sheep. Adrift Adventures features five-day runs on the Yampa.  Minimum age is 7.
 

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Memorable Spring Bike Rides, Biking the Shores of Keuka Lake

Known for its award-winning Rieslings, the Finger Lakes deserve its reputation as one of the best spots in America to go wine tasting. Yet, its resplendent beauty also lends itself well to adventure. At the southern end of Seneca Lake, we hiked alongside a handful of waterfalls in the famous gorge of Watkins Glen. The next morning, my wife and I kayaked through a cattail-laden marsh and saw countless herons, turtles, and a beaver. Talk about adventure—a 40-pound carp jumped out of the marsh and slammed against my arm as I shrieked. But my favorite part of the weeklong trip was a quiet bike ride along a peninsula that juts into Keuka Lake. Start your ride from Keuka College and follow East and West Bluff Roads as they pass the small waterfront cottages with cute names like Hide N’ Seek. There’s one killer hill on the 20-mile ride that takes you atop a bluff, before cruising downhill back to the college. Afterwards, we rewarded ourselves with a lobster roll and glass of semi-dry Riesling at Heron Hill’s outdoor café. We were fortunate to book the next two nights at the Black Sheep Inn in Hammondsport, on the northern tip of Keuka Lake. Owners Debbie Meritsky and Marc Rotman spent over 6 years refurbishing the rare octagonal-shaped house, which turns 157 this year.

 

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