Kumuka Venture, November 2007, Travel to Europe

Free Time in Europe

Until Kumuka came along the terms ‘tour’ and ‘free time’ had never been synonymous, the choice was all or nothing. Leaving those who enjoy a bit of both stuck with nowhere to go.

The main difference about Kumuka Europe tours is the fact that we write a great deal of free time into our itineraries, at the same time offering guided city tours, activities and options. Giving our clients the opportunity to take time out from the group and explore at their own pace, as well as being guided, shown historical sites and enjoying some group meals.

So, what do our clients do with all of this free time? We’ll herein lies the beauty of having a tour leader at hand to help.

Susan Burns from Europe lists her top 10 tips for free time and travelling with Kumuka in Europe.

1. Try things you can't get at home. Taste it. If you don't like it, at least you know.

2. Talk to locals. Pigeon English, sign language, mime, whatever works.

3. Get lost! The back streets away from the touristy areas are where the surprises are.

4. Its not better at home. It’s just different.

5. Visit places outside your comfort zone. Even if you don't listen to it at home, classical music sounds amazing performed live.

6. Always look behind you when you leave somewhere. It’s so easy to leave something important behind.

7. Become outgoing, even if you're not usually. It'll make your holiday so much better.

8. Bring postcards or photos from home. Show them to friendly locals to get conversations going.

9. Never prejudge your fellow travellers. Take away the age gauge and the outside appearance and you might find more in common than you imagined.

10. Remember this is the best time of your life!

Travel with Susan in Europe

Are you a past Kumuka traveller? Did you know that you automatically qualify for a 5% discount over and above any published discounts! So what are you waiting for, Venture even further…

NEW EUROPE BROCHURE OUT NOW!

Kumuka Europe Early bird.
7.5 % OFF - Book and pay in full within 7 days.
Offer ends 20 dec 07.
Excludes Anzac day tours.
Our Europe prices remain unchanged from 2007 – 2008.
Check out our New Greece tours.
Croatia is the new Black.

Order your copy of the NEW Kumuka Europe Brochure or view it online here.

PHOTO COMPETITION 2007 WINNERS

A big thank you to everyone who entered the Kumuka Photo Competition this year, the response has been better than ever with 1000's of entries.

Finally... here are the winners >

FAMILY ADVENTURES TO AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND ARE NOW AVAILABLE!

Ranging from 5 to 11 days, Kumuka family tours to Australia and New Zealand are perfectly suited to families looking for a more adventurous holiday.

Greetings from Croatia

We’ve just been in Slovenia which has the most amazing scenery and according to the girls on the tour the most gorgeous guys in the whole of Europe and that was before the cocktails started going down! Yep also the best cocktails in the whole of Europe then if feeling peckish in the early hours of the morning get yourself a burger from the hot horse burger stand where it is 100% horse meat! Ok so maybe that’s not for everyone!

Croatia is definitely a country of 2 contrasts scenery wise. But we are here for the beaches. The seafood (meat eaters will be as happy as a pig in muck as everything is done whole on a spit - lamb, pig etc) is the best and the country’s history is still very new. They just get themselves out of communism to only get stuck into a fairly lengthy civil war, amazing the people are as happy as they are!

Makes you humble.
Cheers Kerry

Kerry was travelling on Kumuka’s Eastern Delight tour

Do you have a Postcard you wish to send us? Email Meg

Choose Kumuka Kev’s fate!

The reader's section where you choose the destiny for our valiant traveller.

Last issue, after buddying up with Ian from Ireland as a tent mate, we asked if Kumuka Kev should hit the town for a bit of a party after a wild time in Victoria Falls or stay back at camp and natter by the fire.

Overwhelmingly, the Venture readers voted that Kev should hit the bars, as Shannon Griffiths summed it up. “I have to say Kev, you must paint the town RED. After just returning from Vic Falls it was an awesome place for music and fun!!! I suggest you head down to Shoestrings Lodge for a few drinks and then go on to "The Kingdom" with the locals for a great night of dancing and drinking!!... You will have a ball!!!”

And so he did, and how glad he was. The Africans really know how to let their hair down, the music was great, the rhythm was unsurpassed and the beer was cold. Kev and Ian made their way back to camp filled with good cheer and bonding well as buddies.

The next morning was an early one and by this stage Kev and Iain had no regrets about going out but perhaps they could have had one or two less Zambezi beers! The tour leader, Kaz, told the boys to drink a lot of water, as it was a hot African day and she didn’t want them to dehydrate!

The group headed off in the big blue Kumuka truck and after a pleasant days drive through the African countryside made it to a stunning location called Chobe National Park in Botswana and camped up on the edge of the Chobe River. Just as the sun was tumbling toward the horizon ablaze, the group went out onto the river on a sunset safari cruise. There were elephants and African animals galore grazing, adorned in dusk hues. His digital camera sure got a work out.

Back at camp there were a few boys trying to sell magnificent hand carved African animals. Kev really wanted one but didn’t have any cash with him. The boys were keen to trade for goods.

Kev had a choice of things he could trade with, they were:

• A packet of sweets from home
• A few beers
• Some note books and pens
• T-Shirt

Click and email me your choice and why, we’ll find out art Kev ends up with.

Click on your choice and send me an email, feel free to tell me why?

The most popular vote will determine what Kev trades and set the scene for the next edition of Venture Online where we will see what happens on Kumuka Kev’s adventure?

Visit www.kumuka.com to choose your own adventure.

Meet Eleni Kokkinos Europe tour leader.

Better known as Eleni from Kilkenny, (her home suburb in Adelaide Australia), Eleni was once in the corporate and circus world, where she juggled her time between training in customer sales and setting peoples behinds alight! She fled Australia after igniting one too many derrières and swapped her life for the life of a traveller, taking her to 5 of the worlds continents, finally settling in as a tour leader in Europe where she has been for the past 4 years.

In her own words.

Favourite destination?
Germany, I adore the whole country. 82 million Germans to meet, so much diverse culture and 2 separate histories that still struggle to balance out.

Most recent fun night out?
Oktoberfest dressed in traditional party dirndl (see photo attached). It was crazy, thousands of people in the Lowenbrau tent all having a goodtime. I was truly in my element as I had been shopping for a dirndl the month before. We arrived at the tent at 9am, I left at 4:30pm to relax a little before going out parting at the Kitty Kat Club, arriving home at dawn…

What did you have for breakfast today?
I’m in Budapest, Hotel Ibis Vulgar (great name!)… I had a piece of French toast, a cup of hot chocolate and some cheese… I would kill for some vegemite on toast!

Quirky habits?
I name everything I own to personalise it, I.e., My laptop is Emma, I Pod is Patricia, my bicycle is Monika, the coach is the BusO’ Luv (ok I don’t own this one but I live on it 9 months of the year) our electric saucepan is Second cousin of Gerry….cousin of Gerry was stolen. I could go on but I’m sure you get it.

Venture a little further with Kumuka Worldwide

• Indonesia has 167 of the 850 active volcanoes known in the world, more than any other country.

• The leaning tower of Pisa's original purpose was that of a Bell Tower.

• American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class.

• The Mediterranean sea gets it's name from the Latin phrase meaning "sea in the middle of land".

Dear Meg

I returned from a Kumuka Europe tour in June this year and have been meaning to write ever since, but life got in the way. Better late than never though!

I just wanted to let you know what a fantastic time I had. I was on the second Central Europe summer tour for the year - four weeks from London to Paris. Susan and Kevin were our tour leaders, and they made the tour the memorable trip that it was. They were both so professional but fun at the same time. Kevin's expert driving made us feel in safe hands, and Susan was fantastic in giving us all the information we needed about each place, and being so helpful with anything we needed. I think they went beyond the call of duty to make sure we all had a good time.

Before this trip, I hadn't heard much about Kumuka, but booked with Kumuka because of the "free days" in each place. Susan was so helpful in ensuring we had enough information about each place so that we could get the most out of our free time and I felt like we really got to see a lot of each city/town we were in.

I will certainly be choosing Kumuka again for my next trip back to Europe, with Spain next on the agenda.

Thank you to Susan, Kevin, and the rest of Kumuka for a great trip!
All the best,
Michelle Paddy

Michelle travelled on Kumuka's 28 Day Central Europe Tour

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