Emmanuel Samatani and George Sandford, owners of the sustainable travel agency 'A Taste of Travel' in Vevey, kindly invited me to give the first presentation in what we hope will be a long series of travel and specific topic conferences given every month. This atypical travel agency offers a variety of unusual and carefully selected and prepared destinations, and acts as a charming coffee shop where one can discover ecological tea or coffee, eat a delicious bio-vegetable soup and some other home-made pastries. I met Emmanuel and George in December when they opened their agency, and as we are all three biologists with similar ideologies, we immediately connected.
Our discussions led to the development of different new travel opportunities which initiated our collaboration between my BlueXplorer concept and their specialised and eco-friendly travel agency. This year, we will be offering two special expeditions aimed at students, nature and wildlife enthusiasts, photographers, divers and adventurers:
- African Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Expedition from July 7-22, 2012 to discover, live and breath the African bush in a small research and conservation centre in the Greater Kruger National Park in South Africa
- Sharks of the Cape of Storms from August 4 - 19, 2012 to discover, encounter and meet the different Shark species, among which the Great White, Mako, Blue and Cow Sharks, living around the Cape in South Africa,
In the spirit of the agency and the travel opportunities, we decided to organise a conference about Sharks to dispel some of the myths about these magnificent creatures, while also present the upcoming Sharks of the Cape of Storms expedition.
The travel agency can accommodate around 25 people on their premises and the RSVP event turned out to be more than a full house. The two-hour presentation was followed by a series of very interesting questions and encounters. That was a really nice evening and a great success. I would like to thank everyone who joined us for that evening, and especially our hosts Emmanuel and George.
