Newsletter Issue 19 - April 2003

Hello and welcome to another update from Karibuni…

Our summer season is now well underway and the great weather of last weekend has really fixed people’s minds on the fun and adventure that can be had in the UK – and just how good it feels to be outside and active!!

May and June can be some of the best months for getting away and getting active – with the places being a bit quieter, some good weather and the long nights that are perfect for barbeques and meals outdoors!

Our trips for the summer are starting to fill up, so read on for further details and you can always check out our wide range of trips on the website at http://www.karibuni.co.uk

Please read on for further details, and for all the news and money saving offers from Karibuni.

Coming up in this exciting issue: -
Karibuni News
- Adventure Days
- May Bank Holiday to Snowdonia
- Are you up for the 3 Peak Challenge
- Sneak preview of 2005 Ski Season
Travel News
- Yet more no-frills airlines
- Surf time
Destination Feature
- Mountain biking in Sardinia
Global Quickies
- Humorous news from around the world

Karibuni News

It’s summer time…and no excuses for not getting out there!
Our programme of Adventure Weekends is updated through to August and features some new and exciting weekends, as well as many of the regular favourites.

Next Trip – Lake District Walking
Leaves London on Friday 7th May – weekend includes boat cruise, explore the Lake District and walk some of the great classic routes in this beautiful countryside. Fully guided – just £130.
Details at www.karibuni.co.uk/lakesweekend_walking.htm and book online at www.karibuni.co.uk/bookenq.htm Mention this newsletter in the “Any special requests” - and save £10!

Adventure Days
Short but very sweet… escape London for the day and get a good blast of fresh air and a taste of the beautiful countryside that can be found all around London. We head to the Chilterns for some great hiking, rowing and biking… We offer a convenient and relaxing day including lunch and all activities, transport etc. and you will be back in London in time for a Saturday night out!
Our Adventure Days are running on Sat 12th June, and 24th July – just £60 all inc.
Details at www.karibuni.co.uk/adventureday.htm

Bank Holiday in Snowdonia (28th – 31st May)
Take advantage of the long 3-day weekend, and come with us to Snowdonia, N Wales. We will be enjoying mountain biking, horse trekking, walking, a thrilling ropes course and always taking in the splendour and scenery of the Snowdonia Mountains. Always a popular trip – we do still have spaces, but book soon to avoid disappointment.
Full details at www.karibuni.co.uk/snowdonweekend_BankHol.htm

3 Peaks Challenge – are you up for it?
Climb the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales – and all within 24 hours!
That's the Three Peak Challenge - A thrilling event that’s open to anyone…

The 24 hours includes the walking and driving time, but we use our experience and equipment to make sure you are in the best condition for each of the mountains. We prepare food for you, and you can all sit back and relax as we take care of the driving. Our minibuses are spacious and comfortable, and so you can rest and sleep before the next mountain challenge.
Details at www.karibuni.co.uk/three_peak_challenge.htm

Just a quick word about Skiing and Snowboarding!
After another exciting season in the French Alps, we are currently working on the details for Winter 2005. The website will be updated in the next few weeks, and in the next edition of this newsletter we will announce details of our Winter 2005 Launch Party – to which you are all invited! So come and share a few drinks on us, win some prizes and get discounted ski and snowboard holidays… Keep an eye out for more news coming soon.

Travel News

Do you mind which airline you take?
A new twist in the search for cheaper online airfares, has led to people paying for their flight reservations before finding out which airline they will be flying with.
The “opaque fares” are being used by some online sites such as www.deckchair.com and www.bargainholidays.com to fill empty seats at discounted rates. They have previously been available in the US with www.priceline.com but have now become available in UK on flights to US, Kenya and South Africa. Customers specify dates, times and airports but are only given the name of the airline after paying for their flights. With savings of £30 per flight you may be tempted – especially given assurances that all airlines are reputable carriers with direct flights. British Airways are one of the airlines using the system, but full details on all carriers is not made available and so there is still uncertainty as to who you will end up flying with…

More no-frills airlines and airports!
Thomsonfly have recently launched their new range of flights to Europe from Coventry Airport, and have now also announced details of further expansion from a new airport. The catchily named “Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield Airport” is to become Britain's newest airport and will offer low fares flights and holidays for 2005.

The current operation from Coventry serves Ibiza, Jersey, Malaga, Marseille, Naples, Nice, Palma, Pisa, Rome, Valencia and Venice and can be booked online at http://book.thomsonfly.com/en/index.html

Easyjet Winter Flights to Geneva unveiled on July 4th
Just a quick reminder that flights to Geneva with Easyjet this winter will be available to book online from the 4th July. This is definitely the best time to book your flights and get the cheapest prices for those skiing flights…So have a look at our skiing website at www.karibuni.co.uk/Snow/snowhome.htm to book your trip and make sure you can take advantage of the cheapest flights.

Mountain Biking in Sardinia – Spring and Autumn delights

As the rain beat down into the tarmac and turned to hailstones we were a little unsure as to whether Sardinia was such a good option for an early-season break in the sunshine!

The weather reports had promised a respectable 18 – 20 degrees C with mainly clear and sunny weather. Perfect for a spot of mountain biking – not too hot, not too cold but certainly better than Britain was to be offering in late March!

Sardinia is located in the Mediterranean, just below Corsica and only 185 km from the African coast. It receives an average of 300 days of sunshine a year, so with figures like that you can see why the locals were embarrassed as we jumped the puddles and ran for cover to avoid the deluges.

We were heading for the southwestern corner of Sardinia – the Costa Verde - where the mountains and hills plunge down to the sea, and sandy beaches line the coast. The rain was still driving down, but after meeting our guide Sandro and heading towards the coast it gradually seemed to be lifting and improving. With the first pizza and glass of Ichnusa (the local beer) things were looking up as we discussed our plans for tomorrow.
Talk of 5 kilometre off-road downhill tracks tend to lift the spirits on a biking holiday, although there was always the thought that somewhere there was going to have to be a few long uphills as we were embarking on a circular ride!

Come morning and the weather had improved immeasurably. The rain had passed in the night, and it was amazing how quickly things dried out in the weak half-hearted sunshine of the morning. Sandro described the route, and looked genuinely pleased himself to be embarking on this ride down to the famous sand dunes of Piscinas.

We started on the quiet local roads and passed through the old mining village of Montevechio – now sparsely inhabited and appearing like a ghost town, shut away behind the traditional shutters. We soon turned off the tarmac and onto the winding gravel roads which linked the old sprawling tin and zinc mines, remnants of which we were soon whizzing by in a gravel induced blur.
We started to descend and the twisting turns on gravel tracks were fast and fun, and focused the mind – but the main challenge was to come with a route that criss-crossed a small river 18 times. The path narrowed to a single track, and the old iron workings gave the rocks and stream a rusty orange colour. The depth of water varied at each crossing and it was a lottery as to whether you would get a simple splashing, or lose your feet in the rusty water…

We survived the river crossings and made our way across the wide delta and onto the sand dunes, with views across the sandy beaches to an exciting looking surf. Not a soul around for the past 2 hours, and it was almost that way when we pulled up at a beachfront restaurant where Sandro assured us we would find lunch.

Of course he was right, and the family soon went to work producing our fresh seafood pasta meal even though we were the only customers they were likely to see that day. Apparently during the summer it is a busy resort with the magnificent beaches of the Costa Verde drawing many Italians from the mainland – but in March it was just solitude and peace with spectacular scenery.

Our return route led us up exposed ridges and past herds of goats feasting on the un-seasonally green grass, and the views back across to the sea always lifted the spirits as we regained our height. Sandro navigated us back through the vast network of paths and tracks and we soon re-appeared in our deserted mining village after a great day’s riding.

Taking in the panorama from the terrace it was soon apparent that we had just scratched the surface of this region and our day’s ride had taken in only 2 or 3 valleys. The potential was huge and it was a shame we had to move on the next day – but the Costa Verde had already showed itself as an excellent location for mountain biking.

The isolation and remoteness were in sharp contrast to the UK and the bike seemed the perfect way to explore this landscape. The goats were our only observers and they seemed to approve!

Sardinia has always been a poor region in Italy with an economy dependant on agriculture but recently it has now embraced tourism (with the assistance of the European Union) as a viable alternative. This is clearly illustrated in the number and choice of Agriturismo’s which are farms offering a guest house service, which provides a great way of experiencing rural life, local customs and of course food and drink! All rooms are spacious and with good facilities but perhaps the best part came at breakfast and dinner, which were always included.

Despite visiting out of season and being the only guests in some of the places we stayed – the hosts were always keen to make sure we were well fed with hearty local fare. Breakfast would consist of fresh coffee, breads and pastries as well as the fresh oranges that tasted sweet, juicy and full of the sunshine (which was thankfully re-appearing!)

The Italian meal consists of several courses, and it was always a treat to guess what would come next, and to speculate whether that was the final course. One particular farm near Arbus must have brought 5 or 6 courses, and the coffee and chocolate flavour liqueur was a perfect ending to a meal which pushed the limit of how much local freshly made pasta, cheese and sausage could be safely consumed. Our grasp of the Italian language was left wanting so the drink remains a mystery – but imagine a Baileys beefed up and blended with a strong espresso shot and it’s a great way to end a sumptuous meal after a great day of mountain biking.

Ryanair fly daily to Alghero and there are some great value flights to be had, particularly so in the off-season. Flights from £1.99 are available, and so a total of £35 all inc. is attainable.

Temperatures in mid-summer get up to 30 degrees and make it very hot for biking during July and August, but the spring and late summer provide warm, sunny conditions which are perfect for a relaxing break. Even in January the average is 11 degrees C.

Public transport is available to access the Costa Verde (coaches and trains link into Cagliari in the south of the island) but very few of the biking routes and tracks are signed or way marked. For this reason it is best to have that local knowledge and backup that comes with an organised tour, and you can relax knowing you have the best accommodation and service at hand…(as well as someone to call when the up hills become too much!)

Dolce Vita Bike tours offer a range of cycling and mountain bike tours in Sardinia, and Sandro will be your friendly and knowledgeable guide throughout the year. They offer fully escorted tours as well as self-guide trips with full luggage transfers and vehicle back up.
Full details can be found on their website at http://www.dolcevitabiketours.com/f_eng/homepage_eng.html

Other web resources for Sardinia are limited as it’s not yet a major destination for British holiday makers…but on our past experiences it soon will be. The island is perfect for biking, water sports, beaches, touring and culture and well worth discovering.

http://www.sardegnaweb.it/

http://www.regione.sardegna.it/inglese/index.htm

http://travel.roughguides.com/roughguides.html

Global Quickies

A few more bizarre news stories from around the world that we spotted in recent weeks…

Chubby, barefoot man outruns police
SYDNEY, Australia - A chubby, barefoot Australian man outran police when he bolted through security gates left open at the back of a court he was being led into, officials said.
Security footage showed the seriously overweight man dashing down a back lane in central Sydney pursued by at least four police and prison guards, two of whom tripped while giving chase.
"There was about seven or eight fellows but they couldn't stop him. He was a big fellow, pretty strong, but he could run," witness Chris Swift told reporters.
Red-faced police and prison officials were left to blame each other for the security slip-up. Asked how an overweight, barefoot man had outrun police, inspector Peter Thorne said: "I don't know, I wasn't there."
Reuters News Service

'Blonde angel' robs frisky patient
BERLIN - A German laid up in hospital with multiple fractures telephoned out for a prostitute to help him end weeks of sexual frustration.
But it ended up costing more than he bargained for. Unable to walk, he gave the woman his bank card to collect her fee and she helped herself to his cash.
"I'm told it's a common problem in hospitals. People get frisky," said Wolfgang Jungnitsch, a police inspector from Nordhessen district in central Germany.
The 47-year-old car crash victim had asked the woman, described in her newspaper ad as "Blonde Angel, aged 18," to take $185 from his bank account. Only later did he discover she had taken $2,500.
Reuters News Service

Well, that’s all again for this time – and we hope you enjoyed it. The next edition will be out in June with more snippets of news from around the world and updates from Karibuni on the adventure and fun to be had in UK!

And don’t forget the big announcement about our launch party for the Winter 2005 Ski and Snowboard season. We hope to see lots of you there for a fun evening and the chance to win and book discounted ski and snowboard holidays… Keep an eye out for more news coming soon.

Many thanks, and happy travels

Paul