CAPPADOCIA, TURKEY
People love dishing out recommendations
about everything from their favourite
hairdresser to the latest addictive podcast.
Who can keep up? But when a professional
jet-setter tells you you really need to go
somewhere, you pay attention. “A must-do
on everybody’s bucket list should be taking
a balloon trip over Cappadocia in Turkey,
seeing the city’s mountains and houses
from above,” Bruce says. Cappadocia is
famous for its surreal cone-shaped rock
formations called ‘fairy chimneys’. The
unusual topography would be worth the trip
alone, but there are also underground cities
and beautiful multi-coloured frescos. The
Goreme Open Air Museum features the ruins
of 1000-year-old churches and monasteries
carved out of caves. You can see it on foot,
but it’s a jaw-dropping place to peep from
the sky. Seriously, have a squiz at pics of
Cappadocia balloons hovering in colourful
clumps over the city, and you’ll realise
you’re itchin’ to hop in one yourself.
PATAGONIA, SOUTH AMERICA
You know that moment in winter when
it looks so dark outside that you put on
your pyjamas, only to realise it’s actually
6pm? Or how about in summer, when you
forget to whip up dinner because it’s still
so light outside? Patagonia, an area at the
tip of South America, will give you extreme
versions of those disorienting feelings,
but in a dreamy and rugged landscape. At
certain times of the year you can experience
almost 24 hours of sunlight. “Patagonia is
one of the last wild frontiers of the world,”
Bruce says. “There are many ways you can
see it – you can drive in and out, or trek
deeper inside and go camping, which is
what I always recommend.” See massive
glaciers, penguin colonies and Ushuaia,
the southernmost city on the planet. Bruce’s
Patagonia non-negotiables are the mighty
Perito Moreno Glacier and diverse Torres del
Paine National Park, where you’ll see lakes,
icebergs, and mountains that will stop you
in your tracks.AN ARCTIC CRUISE
Have you ever wanted to go to the top of
the world (or the bottom, depending how
you look at it)? Well, dear adventurers, it’s
time for you to don your snazziest thermals,
a zillion layers of woollens and some very
cosy trackie-dacks for a journey to the
cold-but-brilliant Arctic Circle. You can see
it up close on a ship with G Adventures’
Arctic expedition team, who can whisk you
to the wild edges of Norway, Greenland
and Iceland. “We’ll take you to Northwest
Spitsbergen National Park – an island in
northern Norway – where you’ll see walrus
colonies, polar bears, reindeer wildlife and
areas covered completely in ice,” Bruce
says. “It’s one of the most beautiful places
in the world, and experiencing it up close
is unlike anything else." Other worthwhile
stops include the tiny Inuit village of
Ittoqqortoormiit (one of the world’s most
remote communities), as well as Northeast
Greenland National Park, where you might
spot orca, humpback and minke whales.This curious travel guide was created in collaboration with G Adventures, a small group
travel company and social enterprise. Pop over to gadventures.com.au for even more
inspiration for your next big holiday.G ADVENTURES X FRANKIE