Sunday, June 27, 2010
Bio Bio Expeditions featured on MSNBC.com!
Bio Bio Expeditions was recently featured on MSNBC.com!
To read the article, click the image or visit the link below:
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Monday, April 26, 2010
National Geographic - 50 Tours of a Lifetime for 2010 - Drangme Chhu River, Bhutan
Friday, December 4, 2009
First Raft Descent of the Drangme Chuu River in Bhutan is a big success!
On November 14th Bio Bio Expeditions joined forces with Ultimate Descents, to run the first raft descent of the Drangme Chuu river in Eastern Bhutan.
Dave Allardice of Ultimate Descents writes " Let's not mince words here: Bhutan is the cutest little kingdom on earth. A gigantic staircase rising from the Indian border to the high Himalayas of Tibet, the soaring peaks of Bhutan are an untapped treasure house of whitewater. The rivers are powerful and challenging. The mountains are magnificent. The people are delightful. The architecture and art is superb. All together, this is a world-class odyssey in a magical land. Far from being a static, restricted environment, Bhutan is a dynamic country whose development is focused on meeting the practical, spiritual and aesthetic needs of its people. Compared with the countries that surround it, Bhutan is succeeding remarkably well."
Bhutan is only 130 miles wide but still takes 4 full days of driving to cross the country and arrive at our put-in. Along the way we visited Dzongs (large fortresses), monastaries, and enjoyed an amazing 20 k raft descent of the class IV Mangde Chuu river. We arrived to the far eastern reaches of the country near Trashigang, Bhutan and got our first glimpses of the Drangme Chuu river. The river was running clear with an estimated 4000 CFS. We spent the next 7 days rafting and kayaking 120 K from Trashigang to the Indian Border. We were thrilled to find one of the finest rafting experiences in Asia. We found big fun class 4 + whitewater, with an occasional class 5 rapid, big beaches, wildlife, very few bugs, and plenty of interaction with local Bhutanese people. Simply put, the river canyon is a gem and we were all excited to have the opportunity to experience it still in its pristine state.
The people of Bhutan are some of the most gracious people we have ever met, warm and welcoming, and the country has left us with an indelible image of what is possible in an otherwise chaotic world. Hope for our planet is very evident in Bhutan.
We look forward to running the Drangme Chuu river again in 2010.
Click here for a short video preview - Final video coming in January.
Friday, May 1, 2009
National Geographic Traveler Magazine Selects our Zambezi trip as 50 Tours of a Life Time - 2009
“Every year, the editorial team combs the world to find the most authentic, most innovative, most immersive, best-guided, and most sustainable tours,” notes senior editor Norie Quintos. “This year, we wanted to make sure that the trips we picked were also a great value, given the economic climate. What we found is that there is no better time to go on a guided tour than now as the traditional savings offered by an outfitter being able to negotiate better rates on a trip’s components is magnified by cheaper airfares, a strengthened dollar, and more discounts, freebies, and extras.”
Raft the Zambezi
Jen Eastwood vividly recalls the exhilaration she felt on this trip after rafting the mighty Zambezi with its Class IV and V rapids stacked up at almost one per mile. "We were rounding the bend and started hearing this music. The people who live on the hill above where our camp was that night had come down and were singing and dancing in our honor. We pulled the boats up onto the rocks and joined them." The outfitter has long had a stake in Zimbabwe and its people—to the extent of helping local river guides launch a kayak rental business. Bio Bio Expeditions: "Zambezi Explorer, Zimbabwe," 13 days; $3,700.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Aconcagua, Baby
Laurence and Ken, age 70, reached the summit of Aconcagua, (at 22,841 feet, the highest peak in the Americas) on Feb. 19th at 3:15 pm. Laurence reports that it was a great challenge, but good weather prevailed and made the summit attainable. Other members of the climbing party reached their own personal summits - whether reaching the highest camp, Berlin, or just challenging themselves in a whole new element. Trekking to Aconcagua is a tremendous accomplishment - kudos to Laurence for trip leading such an amazing journey!
The Aconcagua trek is a far cry from the creature comforts of the Bio Bio Futaleufu camp. Laurence was eager and ready to get back to his home-away-from-home along the banks of the azure Futa. Laurence has been in Chile since late November and has been at the helm of our Futaleufu operation throughout the South American summer. He has been loving watching his daughters, Sabine and Saskia, grow and learn in the clean air and beautiful sunshine. Sabine (age 3 1/2) has been learning to ride horses with her very own saddle while Saskia is going to be a very sure-footed young lady perfecting her walking skills on the hills and in the pastures of Patagonia.
SafeSubscribe