The Adventure Company: The Real Swiss Family Robinson

Ever wished you could wake up on a beautiful desert island, and not have to worry about work and doing the school run? Yep, us too!

We all know of one fictional family who actually did it: The Swiss Family Robinson.



So, when we heard about the new series on BBC featuring English families who are actually living on an island paradise to escape the pressures of the Noughties, we were intrigued.

The classic adventure story
To refresh your memory, The Swiss Family Robinson was a novel written in 1812 by a pastor named Johann David Wyss. His intention was to teach his sons the values of family, hard-work and self-reliance.



To do this, he created the story of a family who become shipwrecked in the East Indies as they make their way to Australia.

This enduringly popular children’s book classic has been adapted for the small and silver screen many times.



In 1960, Disney brought the adventure to screen, and followed the family as pirates force their boat into the path of a storm, find their island and begin to build their home. The family consist of Father, Mother, Fritz, Ernst and Francis.



Throughout the film, the elder boys help to construct the home, and the younger becoming the island’s David Attenborough as he tries to identify as many animals as possible. After helping to rescue a damsel in distress, fighting pirates with coconuts, and having races on animals, at the end of the film most of the family choose to stay on the island and live their lives in paradise.



Fast forward to 2009, where the words “recession” and “credit crunch” are constantly muttered, it is no surprise four families have turned to the famous tale and used it as a guide to swapping their humdrum lives in Blighty for an island adventure.

Watch the show

The new BBC series, The Real Swiss Family Robinson, which starts this Friday 26th March, follows four families who, after a tough year during which they have lost their businesses and struggled on tight budgets, have finally decided to jack it all in and to break away in order to rediscover what’s important in life.



Sounds ideal? Well, it’s not easy. The four families are transported for three weeks to far-flung destinations and instructed to fend for themselves. Destinations include Kirbati, Panama, Tanzania and The Cook Islands.



This week’s family, The Dyes are an Essex clan who have recently lost a business which put an end to their luxurious lifestyles. Dad Andy wants to get his family out of the smoke, and into more simple surroundings so they can re-evaluate what’s important in life. His daughters who are used to the best of creature comforts, don’t always agree with his decision...



Each week, the series follows a different family as they arrive in deserted paradise and try to make homes, find food and mingle with locals. Watch the families as they struggle to adapt to simple life in gorgeous surroundings.



Each family also gets their own “Man Friday” in their first week who dishes out a few essential tips and tricks. The second week leaves them totally isolated as they attempt to survive in the wild, and by the third week they have to touch base with locals and cook a big thank-you feast in their newly constructed homes. The programme also follows up with the families back home, to see how they’ve readjusted within society.

Book your own Swiss Family Robinson adventure!

If you and your family are feeling the pinch but need an adventurous break, or a gorgeous castaway destination to explore together, look no further!

Following the series, The Adventure Company’s Turtles, Islands & Mountains Family Holiday visits both Panama and Costa Rica where the kids can snorkel, save turtles, explore National Parks and walk amongst the leafy hills of the Highlands of Boquete.



Combine the Swiss Family adventures with The Jungle Book and visit Tanzania on the Safari & Spice family holiday. On this fabulous 10-day trip, you can scramble over the Uluguru Mountains, set up camp on a beach in a game reserve, and truly experience happy solitude.



Take part in a walking safari from here to see zebras, giraffes and elephants, and the kids also have the chance to visit a local school to meet other kids their own age. Your little adventurers will also get their own Man Friday who will take them on a “Safari Guide Course” and teach them some amazing skills.



If the kids (and you!) are fans of the book, then the best place for your brood is Trinidad, where the story was filmed in the 60’s. The Viva Cuba Family Holiday visits Colonial Trinidad where you can snorkel and explore unspoiled Caribbean beaches, and hike in the mountains where you spend a few days exploring the lush forests.

Find more family adventure holidays on the website.

Thanks for reading,
The Adventure Company

The Adventure Company: Family Trip To South Africa!

Our latest blog comes from Eleanor, who travelled to South Africa to take part in our Rainbow Nation Family Holiday. Below are a few highlights of her trip:

"Our South African holiday has to be our best ever family holiday..

The Soweto tour was a wonderful start. Almost straight away we got invited to join a party. Some of the teenagers were a bit dubious about the food on offer, but we all appreciated the friendly welcome. It was a Sunday and we were all amazed at the number of churches and people dressed in their Sunday best.

Mandela’s and Desmond Tutu’s old houses were a must as was The Hector Peterson Museum. My daughter and I had recently watched a documentary about the schools uprising in 1974 and I was moved to watch her take her 13 year old brother under her wing to explain what had happened there. We were also all invited to meet Queen Elizabeth of Soweto.



The visit to the Shangana village was another special day. The kids were invited to blow the welcome horn and some of them even managed to make a noise!



They then got a chance to join in a dance with some of the local children.



Kruger cannot fail to delight. Our list of animals and birds seen grew to about 30 including all the ones you would expect – elephant, giraffe, monkeys, 57 varieties of antelope! But the special highlight was seeing not one but 2 leopards with cubs.

Our driver Khosa deserves special praise for not only having amazing game spotting skills (something he puts down to the effect on his eyes of the smoke from so many nights round camp fires!), but also for his limitless patience in helping us all to pick out the leopards that were so well camouflaged in the trees.



The bats at a café we stopped at one day were another unexpected treat:



Another real plus was simply life on the road. Not just for the places we saw but travelling itself because this was where the teenagers really started to gel as a group, due to them having to help with the chores – loading the vehicles, cooking and washing up.

I know some children are very outgoing and can make friends almost instantly but my two are quite shy and having to work together as a group really helped to break the ice. So much so, that the seating pattern in the minibus changed after that, with all the youngsters at the back playing games while all the adults got the seats near the front. My children are still in touch with the friends they made on this trip via facebook.



We didn’t make our fortunes gold panning but it was lots of fun.



Swaziland was another big hit with old and young alike. Even I enjoyed the market - and I am well known for hating shopping in all its forms.



After the market we went on to Malolotja – a magical place where the youngsters got to scramble over some amazing boulders as the sun set.



I think we were all a little sad to say goodbye to the wild places and head for the coast but Umhlanga (pronounced Umshlanga) was a good place to chill, enjoy the beach and some more upmarket facilities. The sea was warm enough for some of the group, despite being August and therefore winter.



It was also good to enjoy the freedom to wander without our tour guides and there was still wildlife to be found in the rockpools for those who wanted to.



We had chosen to include the Cape Town extension and were very glad we did as it is such a colourful city in every respect.



We were lucky enough to see Table Mountain without its ‘tablecloth’ of cloud and enjoyed seeing the penguins at Boulders Beach. But the things that really stand out in my mind were the visit to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent so many years and the District Six Museum.

After such a wonderful trip we can’t wait to do another!"

Eleanor and her family travelled with us on the Rainbow Nation Family Holiday.

Please check the website for the latest pricing, availability and a full itinerary!

Thanks for reading,
The Adventure Company
"Adventure is our middle name"

The Adventure Company: Happy Birthday Charles Darwin!

In 2009, The Adventure Company and fans of Charles Darwin will have a double-celebration on their hands. Not only will 12th February be the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth, but 24th November will also be the 150th anniversary since the publication of his influential work the "Origin of Species".

To commemorate Darwin’s life, fans across the globe will be taking part in Darwin Day on February 12th, the day of his birth.



With this in mind, we think it’s an ideal time to share some information about the life of this important figure, how his ideas have shaped the way we see the world, and how his own travels can still inspire Adventurers today.

Biography

Born in Shrewsbury, England on February 12th 1809, Charles Robert Darwin was the fifth child of Robert Waring Darwin and Susannah Wedgewood. When he was eight, his mother died and after this was largely raised by his elder sister, Caroline.



Both his father and his grandfather were physicians. In his youth, Darwin attended both Edinburgh University and Christ’s College in Cambridge where he studied natural sciences, biology, zoology and geology. He outshone the other students so much, his botany professor made sure he had a place on the H.M.S Beagle soon after graduation.



This wasn’t just a farewell present from his favourite teacher, it was a prestigious place to serve as a Naturalist on a five-year British surveying expedition which would take him all around the world. However, his newly trained status meant Darwin was not the captain’s first choice.

The Galapagos Islands

Whilst away on his travels, Darwin spent nearly two months in South America. Originally a stop off point to collect tortoise meat for their lengthy voyage, it proved to be one of the most important stops on his journey.

He had many successful findings on the Galapagos Islands; after noticing the wealth of unique plants and animals found there, he also noted that between islands many different breeds of the same animal had similar features. They had seemingly adapted to each of their environments.



It was here that Darwin began to adapt his revolutionary theories. One species on the island, which helped form his ideas were the different types of finches, which each had varying diets, such as cactus and seeds, fruits and blood. His theory that all finches were descendents of the same family line was eventually included within his future book. Because of this, there are now some breeds in the area that are named in his honor.



He also visited the San Cristobal Islands, where he found many species including marine iguanas, giant tortoises and the Galapagos hawk. The Beagle also moved on to Floreana where the English Governor of the islands claimed he could tell which island a tortoise came from because each had a different shaped shell. Whilst there he also explored Isabela Islands, Santiago and the Pinta Islands.



After the Beagle Voyage

On his return, his findings made him one of the countries leading geologists, and his notes published after the voyage also made him a celebrated author. Intrigued by the distribution of wildlife and fossils he had seen and witnessed whilst away, Darwin begun to look into evolution and in 1838, he finally concluded and published his science-shattering theory of Natural Selection.



Soon his ideas reached other naturalists in his field, and Darwin decided to devote the next few years to researching and writing up his theories. He also married his cousin, Emma Wedgewood and together they had ten children. Unfortunately in 1851 his daughter Ann Elizabeth died of tuberculosis at the age of ten.

In 1859, he published his collection of ideas, findings and theories On the origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. At first he was afraid of the controversy he would create within a religious society. Because of this, his first book doesn’t address human beings. His next two books, which did present his theories on the issue: The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex and The Expressionof the Emotions in Man and Animals also helped cement Darwin’s important place in both society, and the shaping of scientific thinking.



After his death in 1882, aged 73 he was one of only five non-royal people to be given a state funeral and a place of rest in Westminster Cathedral, where he is buried close next to his friend John Herschel and Issac Newton.

Follow in the footsteps of Darwin!

If you feel inspired to travel to the Galapagos, you can do it on one of the dedicated Galapagos Tripsfrom The Adventure Company, or add on a ‘Galapagos extension’ to one of their South American tours to Peru and Ecuador , all of which cover the same route as Darwin’s expedition.



A new-year trip to theGalapagos is perfect for nature lovers, as 2009 also celebrates the 50th anniversary since the creation of Galapagos National Park, which Darwin sailed through during his voyage.

Mums and Dad’s who are in charge of junior naturalists will be pleased to hear that there is also a range of family tours available.



The newly created Ecuador & The Galapagos tour and the Galapagos & Amazon trip are great for kids. Although it is possible to sail on yachts and cruise boats along the same route as Darwin, there are also a variety of land-based options for those with little ones meaning there is still plenty of exploring to do by foot, and to stay in small hotels at night. There is also a chance to stop off at the Charles Darwin Research Station and a hike up a volcano, to witness the panoramic views.

Thanks for reading,
The Adventure Company
“Adventure is our middle name”