Curious Traveller

16/03/2017

North of Quito - among other things of interest - you'll find the Equator, a volcano-forged landscape of astonishing scale, a patchwork of communities of native peoples (mostly Quechua-speaking) and a great many rose-growing concerns. The views are great and hidden treasures many.

15/03/2017

Quito's La Floresta area is about 33 things all at once, including hip, crafty, decaying, renewing, young, old, hopeful and resigned. Come to La Platea for the food. Wander the streets looking for art shops and graffiti.

14/03/2017

Back in Quito, Ecuador, for Curious Traveller's Galápagos, Quito and Amazon journey. Today watched the changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace - one of the last chances for Ecuadorians to turn out and cheer retiring president Rafael Correa, a popular figure. The city has developed so much since our first visit, in 2010! We look forward to many more, and to introducing many more people to its charms.

29/11/2016

Just a few places left on Curious Traveller's 2017 Galapagos voyage. Join us – and a stellar cast of Amazing Galapagos wildlife – next March. Want to know more? Go to http://www.curioustraveller.com.au/galapagos-march-2017.html or give us a call! And seeing as you're over there... why not travel with us for an unforgettable four nights at Sacha Lodge, in Amazonian Ecuador on the edge of Yasuni National Park. What's the big deal about Yasuni? Oh, just that it's arguably the most biodiverse place on earth. More than 120 reptile species; 150 amphibian types; nearly 600 bird species; 655 tree species; 10 co-existing types of primate... C'mon, join us – call us for more information! (http://www.curioustraveller.com.au/contact-us.html)

14/10/2016

Can you think of a better way to spend November days than ambling along Tassie's east coast beaches, doing various things to help the cute-as-a-boot hooded plover? Well, there are a few places left on our November plovers trip: http://www.curioustraveller.com.au/plovers-november-17.html
Give us a call – come along!

13/10/2016

Oops! Sorry for not finishing... watch ABC 7.30 Report tonight for a story about efforts to save the the swift parrot.

13/10/2016

Cool science: Australian scientists (led by a team from Charles Sturt University) have crunched through to atomic level on psittacine circoviral disease – better known as beak and feather disease (BFD) – and reckon they're looking good to advance work on a vaccine. BFD affects many native Australian parrot species, but significantly the four rarest: the western ground parrot, Norfolk parakeet, swift parrot and orange-bellied parrot. Check this: http://www.synchrotron.org.au/news/news/latest-news/985-breakthrough-on-virus-infecting-rare-and-endangered-parrots
But even cooler: who knows about the Australian Synchrotron? Maybe not quite the LHC, but right here in Melbourne: http://www.synchrotron.org.au/synchrotron-science/what-is-a-synchrotron
Watch the 7.30 Report on ABC in about 20 minutes for more...

Experts estimate less than 30 Orange-bellied Parrots remain in the wild. Researchers from Charles Sturt University have partnered with scientists from the Australian Synchrotron to reconstruct the outer shell of a beak and feather disease (BFD) virus cell (inset), which is threatening four species o...

30/09/2016

Celebrating Friday with some Galapagos bird blooper favourites: If the white-cheeked pintail can’t see you, you don’t exist …

30/09/2016

Zen and the art of the juvenile Great frigatebird

30/09/2016

Swallow-tailed gulls playing a bird-brained version of hide and seek

30/09/2016

Celebrating Friday with some Galapagos bird blooper favourites: Nazca b***y showing some impressive flexibility

30/09/2016

Celebrating Friday with some Galapagos bird blooper favourites: And thus was the word peli-flop invented