This issue: Gypsies bush gear * Carbon Neutral * Free First Aid Course * Zorba the Gypsy * Bight Bits * Tour Guide Training * more!

Always wanted a Global Gypsies cap? A monogrammed polo shirt? How about a warm cuddly fleece for winter? Or a sleeveless fleecy vest proudly bearing the gypsy logo that's perfect for spring or autumn? Well, we've just received a shipment of quality Global Gypsies bush gear and you can order it on-line! (or by good old-fashioned Australia Post!). Great for presents, to pop in the suitcase for an upcoming gypsy safari or to relive wonderful memories of a previous gypsy tour.

How to order? Just click here to check out our new 'clothing shop', decide what you want, download the order form & send it off to us with your payment. Stock comes in a range of sizes and colours...collared polo shirts come in navy, forest green or midnight black; sleeveless and long-sleeved polar fleeces come in navy or forest green; and monogrammed caps come in any colour you want as long as it's khaki!! Get your order in today!

Hey Kermit! It’s so easy being green! We are proud to say that we are the first tour operators in Western Australia to help off-set the carbon emissions generated by our tours! In a new partnership with WA-based non-profit organisation Carbon Neutral, from now on we will make a daily cash donation for the duration of each of our tours and will encourage our clients to do the same. Funds raised will enable Carbon Neutral to plant native trees in WA. With each tree costing about $3 to plant and nurture, in one year alone our contributions could result in the planting of 2000 trees! Carbon Neutral was formed in 2001 by Men of the Trees Inc to help community and industry take responsibility for the effect of greenhouse gas emissions on the environment. Since their inception, they have planted over 1,700,000 native trees, mainly in WA.

We chose them as our environmental partner because they operate in WA and our donations will be used to plant native trees in our own State. This means we can help fight the salinity problem, improve air quality and help offset carbon emissions at a local level. We can even help plant the trees if we wish and then watch them grow!

We all love free things, and this 'bargain' is too good not to pass on. For a limited time only, St John's is offering a FREE on-line basic first-aid training course! It takes just 30 minutes to complete and could help save the life of someone you love. And you certainly can't argue about the price! To take your on-line ‘crash’ course, simply click here and follow the prompts. But you must do it before June 30!

Yanks! Love 'em or hate 'em, you can't ignore 'em! And one of the best things about the USA is its scenic Southwest – California, Arizona, Nevada, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Big Sur, LA, San Francisco, Las Vegas, San Diego – all those cruisy iconic destinations you've read about and maybe always wanted to visit.

Well, we 'rekkied' the US Southwest 'circuit' a couple of years ago with the idea of offering a road trip to keen gypsy clients one day. Now that time is fast approaching! If we get sufficient numbers, we hope to run a “California Dreaming” motorhome safari in 2010. We'd all drive hired motorhomes (RV's to the Yanks!) and travel in a small convoy led by Jeremy & Jan, communicating by two-way radio. Unlike our Aussie tag-alongs, we'd all need to self-cater – it would be a bit hard to take the catering trailer! But other than that things would be the same – great destinations, great Tour Guide and great company – and as always, you'd be independent but not alone.

We're working out a detailed itinerary & getting quotes for the motorhomes as you read this, but we need to know fairly early whether we could get our minimum numbers. To express your interest, please send us an email or give us a phone call. And to get in the mood, dig out an old Mammas & Papas recording of “California Dreaming” – we’ll be singing it with you as our motorhomes go rolling along!

Just a reminder about our fabulous Mediterranean Magic Tour happening on April 19 - May 4, 2009. This excellent 16-day adventure will combine a week on the Greek mainland visiting all the historic highlights with a laid-back week exploring the picturesque islands of Mykonos and Santorini, PLUS an optional two-day stopover in Dubai with Dinner in the Dunes! In addition to tour escorts Jan & Jeremy, we’ll have local English-speaking guides, will stay in 4-star accommodation, travel by ferry & A/C coach & most meals will be included. As usual, we’ll only be taking a small group of fortunate travelers, so don't miss out! Ask for a copy of the itinerary today - and start practising your Greek dancing, you Zorbas & Zorbettes!

Not to make you too jealous, but our Brilliant Bight Tour back in March was better than just ‘brilliant’, it was fan-bloody-tastic! What a great group, and such amazing weather! Starting in Kalgoorlie we headed south to explore such wild and pristine destinations as Toolina Cove, Baxter Cliffs, Bulbinya Dunes, Israelite Bay, Point Anne & Woody Island.

It was so warm that almost everyone went swimming (some wearing more clothes than others!) in the Southern Ocean, quite an accomplishment for that time of year! We only had one rainy day when it absolutely bucketed down and it was all hands on deck to dig out trenches around the tents! But the scenery, the sunsets, the spectacular ocean views, the 4WD’ing, the food and the company, well, you just couldn’t top it.

Royal Hakea - what a beauty!

We even did our bit for charity by raising $300 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service through a series of ‘fun fines’ for various ‘crimes & misdemeanours’ such as swearing before breakfast, driving without headlights while in convoy, naked swimming & excess tent cleaning & boot polishing. Great fun and all for a worthy cause!

The gypsy crew also got stuck into track renovations at Point Culver in the Nuytsland Nature Reserve. The winding track leading to Bulbinya Dunes had been upgraded with the addition of a much appreciated 100m or so of rubber matting which turned a steep, possibly impassable, stretch of very soft sand into a super 4x4 experience with magnificent views. However, due to heavy use, a deep pothole had developed at the end of the rubber matting where it rejoined the sand track. To the unsuspecting, the dropdown could give a nasty jolt and do some serious damage to a vehicle’s undercarriage and suspension. The Gypsies grabbed their shovels and worked up some sweat as they filled up the hole with rocks and sand & restored the track to its original condition. Well done Graham, Ross & Jeremy!

Our thanks to a top group made up of Kay Andrews, Ross (Mister) Bunney, Frankie Drake-Brockman and daughter Jane Fenwick, Ken & Dianne Desmond, Charlie Gilbert, Noreen Leyden, Harry Butt & Mary-Ellen O’Hagan, Bill & Marion O’Neil (enjoying their 10th safari with Global Gypsies!), Graham & Donna Slessar, Jeremy & Jan, and our trusty Safari Hostess, Rebina, who as usual pulled rabbits out of hats (but fortunately didn’t put any of them in the pot!). The area is truly one of the most beautiful parts of the world you could ever visit, so with us or without us, please add it to your ‘must see’ list!

Those of you who have followed our progress over the years will know that right from the beginning we have been committed to Tour Guide training.

Our dream was to have as many WA guides ‘trained up’ as possible and, ideally, accredited in some way, so as to improve the quality of Tour Guiding in our State, deliver a better - and safer - visitor experience, and to give the profession the status, respect and esteem it deserves and enjoys in many other parts of the world.

Excellent degree courses in guiding are available at a number of respected learning institutions, but we think that most aspiring Tour Guides don’t want to become academics – they want to be out in the bush!

Believing that an inexpensive short course was the key to wide scale training, five years ago in conjunction with Murdoch University & Tourism Council WA we developed Safari Guide Workshops - Australia’s first basic, weekend introductory course for remote area Guides. It was a good start, and certainly better than nothing, but it wasn’t accredited, nor was there any Government or employer incentive for potential Guides to attend.

Now hopefully that could soon change! Together with the WA Hospitality & Tourism Industry Training Council, we’ve just been awarded a State Government grant to develop a short – & accredited - Tour Guide training program for WA Guides! It will be the first of its kind in the country, and if the metropolitan pilot program is successful, we hope to expand it statewide, and who knows – maybe even nationally!

The course will cover such subjects as interpretive presentation, driving skills, customer relations, duty of care, safety, risk management, dealing with emergencies, leadership, cultural & environmental awareness, conflict resolution & more. It’s a very exciting project for us and we will be involving WA’s top Tour Guides in the development of the curriculum, as well as our friends at WAHTITC, Murdoch University, Tourism Council WA and David & Delores Marshall of Wrightways Driver Training.

The first training session is scheduled for November - wish us luck!!

Until next time, happy travels from -