ORGANIZED TOURS ARE BACK..

LAST MONTH, I DEVOTED my column to renewed organised motorcycle touring, so it might seem a little strange that I am about to beat the same drum again. But there is a good reason; in fact, there are two.. Firstly, the Greek alphabet has us under its spell again, and as I write this, the omicron variant of the plague is in the news. But- and this is the important thing- it also seems to have reached its summit, and is dropping back. So don’t let its effect scare you off, even though Europe is reacting quite badly to Australia’s number of cases. When the time rolls around for any tour you book now, omicron will be one with Nineveh and Tyre, or at least with the delta variant.

Secondly, although I focused on overseas operators in the previous column, a couple of well-regarded Australian tour companies have since been feeding me good news as well.”Let’s finally dust off those passports!” says Mike Ferris from WOW! World on Wheels Tours. “It’s been a world without travel over the past couple of years for many of us. After our enforced hihibernation’reeady to get out there and start foraging, and it’s looking like we’re finally free to roam again — so we’re here to share a few of our stunning WOW! destinations with you.”Dalmatian Delights: Evergreen Slovenia; the Dolomites of Italy, coastline of Croatia; National Parks of Montenegro; history of Bosnia’s Sarajevo, amazing Albania -sensational food and wine throughout! Bookings open for MayYaks ‘n’ Yetis: Joy flight to MtEverest, Tigers Nest Monastery, Birthplace of Lord Buddha, Magical Kathmandu, full traverse of Bhutan, Darjeeling Zoo, Assam tea gardens.Moroccan Magic: The AtlasMountains; Sahara camel safari Mediterranean Coast; Imperial citadel of Fes; mystical Marrakech Hendrix’s Essaouira, the Bloe city of Chefchaouen Bookings open for SeptemberIncredible Iceland: Land of the Midnight Sun; endless fjords to side; geothermal springs; Icelandic horses, volcanoes; glaciers; the Arctic Circle magnificent waterfalls; world’s oldest parliament.

Bookings open for June. Himalayan Heights: The world’s highest road; Kashmir houseboats on Dal Lake; visit to the Taj Mahal, high, day “Little Tibet’; not so dry highways, the mighty Royal Enfield; our flagship tour, for 28 years now!Beautiful Baltics: Ex-Soviet states; Lithuania andLatviai;, quirky little Estonia, the Hermitage museums of St. Petersburg, ride the Baltic Sea coast, the beautiful Polish city of Gdansk, a sobering visit to Auschwitz. Bookings open for August”We’ll be gradually re-introducing our complete portfolio of tours for 2022-2023″, concludes Mike,” an d we hope you’ll be able to joinus somewhere, on the Road to Recovery Oh, and after 28 years professionally on the road, Mike has recently become an officially qualified motorcycle Riding Instructor. Talk to him about the Rider Training courses he is now assisting to run with Stay Upright in Sydney. Meanwhile, after a reorganization Compass team is raring to go.

Here’s what they say: “No mountain is too high, no valley too deep, no storm too wild. We always make it through,” they say “.Our tours are not for everybody- they’re for the adventurers. The voyagers. The discoverers. They’re for you.”Community is at the heart of everything we do at Compass, and our Compass community is strong. It is strong because of our diversity. When we’re out on the road, you might be riding alongside a truckie from the next town over or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. You could be aware of animals in Southsharinsharingrip with a veteran of the forces or a national celebrity, but truly, none of that’s important. What’s important is that we’re in this together. Without further ado, here’s what we’ve got coming up – we’ve got a ton of news for you, so read on for a snippet of what we’ve been working on.”There is financial risk in committing now and securing your spot with a low 5% deposit. It’s important to note that if your tour is unable to run due to ongoing travel restrictions, your deposit will be refunded in full