ITALIAN WINEMAKER’S HOME IS HIS CASTLE

David Ellis

TAKE yourself off to Italy's Barone Ricasoli winery and you'll discover more than a winery – a captivating medieval castle, in fact, that has survived countless wars and feudal attacks from its very earliest  days in the Middle Ages, to aerial and artillery bombardments during World War II.

And while absorbing everything from its delightful wines to a museum that reflects on its colourful history, you'll learn something of the amazing Ricasoli's themselves. For here is a family that's been linked to winemaking since 1141, owns the oldest family-run winery in the world and Italy's oldest winery, and is the second-longest continuously-trading wine company in the world.

Brolio Castle, its winery and adjacent cellars are located in the picturesque Chianti region of Tuscany, 25km from Siena and around 75km from Florence – its strategic territorial border location the reason for so many assaults upon it over the years, including those times when the Ricasoli family had a private army to help in the defence of Florence from attacks by Siena.

And throughout it all it continued on its journey of winemaking history, with its two most significant periods being in the mid-1800s and again in the early 1990s.

In the first of these periods the company had at its helm the extraordinarily far-sighted entrepreneur, major player in the unification of Italy and the country's Prime Minister for nine months from mid-1861, Baron Bettino Ricasoli – the so-called "Iron Baron."

A fervent advocate of the Chianti region, Bettino had an abounding enthusiasm for its wines that included 30 years researching and developing a blend that would become one of the best-known wines in the world, and which he simply named after his beloved region, Chianti.

So pleased was he with this "Chianti" that in 1872 he registered the formula with the University of Pisa, saying it comprised 70% Sangiovese, 15% Malvasia Bianca and 15% Canaiolo fruit, and describing in minute detail its flavours, aromas and structure.

More than a century later this blend was changed by law to require any wine that bore the label "Chianti" to still comprise a minimum 70% Sangiovese, with the remainder any of several varieties of red grapes.

The Ricosoli family was exporting its wines to Holland and England from as early as the 1600s, but it was Baron Bettino who further pushed sales across Europe, and to China, Britain's colonies in Africa and the Caribbean, and to South America.

But the 1970s and '80s saw declining production and sales until a second Baron Bettino Ricasoli, the 31st Baron of Brolio and his son Francesco (the 32nd Baron) came on the scene in the 1990s. They replanted the vineyards, modernised the old winery whilst maintaining its past, and increased wine production so that today few countries in the world do not import Barone Ricosoli wines – not just Chianti but numerous other reds and whites – and boosting production to 3-million bottles a year.

Visitors to Brolio Castle and the Barone Ricasoli winery can see how the castle has been rebuilt and modified over the centuries, including its medieval bastions, Romanesque and neo-Gothic additions, and 19th century Tuscan modifications.

They can also look out over its surrounding 240ha of vineyards and 26ha olive grove, as well as neighbouring postcard-perfect hills, valleys and vineyards, and woodlands of oaks and chestnut trees

Three organised tours can be enjoyed here from March to November. The Castle and Cellars Tour includes not only the castle but its spectacular park and gardens, a history of the Ricasoli family (who still live in the castle) and its chapel and family tomb, and the tower with its collection of 4th to 19th century armour, documents from the public life of Baron Bettino Ricasoli, plus the winery, cellars and a wine tasting.

The Castle, Vineyards and Cellars Tour covers much the same but with the inclusion of a vineyards tour by car, while the Museum Tour includes the  weapons and armoury, documents and personal items dedicated to the political work of Bettino Ricasoli and his research into grape vines and the local soils that led to his documentation of "Chianti," and a collection of lavish furnishings crafted especially for a visit to the Castle by King Victor Emmanuel in 1863.

For details of tour days, times and prices visit www.ricasoli.it/tours.

 

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Photo Captions:

 

[] MAJESTIC setting, the Ricasoli Castle and vineyards

[] CENTURIES of history in the ancient cellars

[] BARON Bettino Ricasoli who turned around the company's failing fortunes in the 1970s and '80s

[] IDEAL setting, cycling through the vineyards

(Images Barone Ricasoli Wines)

 

TWO-WHEEL COASTAL SIGHTSEEING’S A BREEZE

David Ellis
with
Mike Smith

 

FOR as long as he likes to remember, Wollongong's Steve Melchior has had a passion for motor cycles, especially those with the Harley-Davidson badge.

With the wind whistling through his handle-bar moustache, Steve has little hesitation to announce "I just love this job".

And why not, when you consider that eight years ago he swapped an engineering maintenance job at Qantas to turn his love into a career, taking guests on chauffeured Harley-Davidson sightseeing rides along such spectacularly scenic routes as Lawrence Hargrave Drive linking Royal National Park with Wollongong, and the amazing Grand Pacific Drive.

Steve wasn't exactly born to be wild. However, he couldn't think of a better way to spend a day than to put on a helmet, don an ex-Police leather jacket, and go for a ride.

His company – Just Cruisin' Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Tours – has a selection of privately-owned bikes at its disposal for a ride on the back of, or in a sidecar. A Trike, if you are after a bit more stability, can also be booked for one of his informative and entertaining road trips.

With the NSW South Coast turning on a clear day we opted to take a Harley pillion ride behind Steve ($100 per hour) through the southern reaches of the Royal National Park. This is Australia's oldest national park, with shaded pockets of rainforest and breathtaking views from Bald Hill, site of a memorial to pioneering aviator Lawrence Hargrave who experimented with flying box-kites and other flying machines here in the 19th century, and popular today with hang gliders and paragliders.

Ideally located nearby is Pauline Smith's long established Otford Pantry, a popular spot for a coffee and her famous homemade apple pie.

A couple of minutes south is the jewel in the region's crown, the Sea Cliff Bridge, which meanders like a large serpent for 665 metres, jutting out over rocky platforms and the waters of the ocean – a far safer alternative to the previous cliff-hugging single lane highway that was regularly closed by rock falls and landslides.

On the southern side we park and jump off the bike for a leisurely walk across a section of the bridge as do many on a sundrenched weekend. To join Steve on his sightseeing ride is one of the pleasurable reasons to visit Wollongong and the scenic coastal strip.

Book a night or two at the centrally-located beachside retreat of Novotel Northbeach, and you will have the chance to experience a city which offers a lot more than at first meets the eye.

And maybe at some stage swap the motor cycle for a pushbike through such companies as Mobile Bike Rental, and so combine some exercise with sightseeing along a dedicated path from Wollongong north to Bulli, at times with the beaches just over your shoulder.

You may even try your hand at the tandem hang gliding from Bald Hill or skydiving from North Wollongong before or after driving to the top of the escarpment to walk along Illawarra Fly Treetop Walk with its far-reaching views of the coast.

While the views are many, so too are the dining options, including an inviting Samuel's at Thirroul, a smart boutique style restaurant where the service is warm and friendly and the dishes so varied and tantalisingly listed that the most difficult part is in the choosing.

In a prime location overlooking the protected waters of Wollongong Harbour and just a five-minute stroll from the lighthouse, is the renowned Harbourfront restaurant, its speciality of fresh Santorini prawns a highlight as an entrée, or try  the tempura prawns and scallops.

A chilli and prawn linguini is also popular both as an entrée or a main course, and so too the black mussel and crab risotto. And, of the mains, the John Dory is a tasty choice – but be prepared to dine on portions more generously sized than you'll find in many a capital city restaurant of the same standard.

For breakfast, Diggies on the beachfront at North Wollongong is a favourite among locals, and doesn't burn a hole in the pocket. And to explore such eateries provides as much food for thought as joining Steve on his ride along the Grand Pacific Drive.

DETAILS: Check out these sites: www.tourismwollongong.com; www.grandpacificdrive.com.au; www.justcruisintours.com.au

 

PHOTO CAPTIONS:

[] "I just love this job," Steve Melchior sums up his 'work.'

[] THE coast from historic Bald Hill.

[] WOLLONGONG Harbour lighthouse park is popular with tourists – and seagulls.

[] VIEW from spectacular Sea Cliff Bridge.

[] GOOD place to prop for the night: Novotel Northbeach.

[] DIGGIES a popular breakfast spot.

 

(Images: Mike Smith)

Struth! For crying out loud

IN his continuing search for the more weird, whacky and wondrous in the world of travel, David Ellis says passengers boarding a short domestic flight in the US earlier this month were surprised to find a plastic bag of lollies on every seat in the second Economy Class compartment – and a note inside it apologising in advance for any screaming from two 14-week old twin boys making their first flight, plus the offer of ear-plugs available from their parents (see picture.)

And a passenger who snapped the bag and its note and posted it on a website certainly started something they didn't expect: the site got over 1.5 million views and drew 3000+ comments in just two days.

Most respondents lauded the parents for their thoughtfulness, although some were pretty blunt as to their views about even allowing young children on planes.

And one suggested that instead of all the lollies, the bag could also have contained a complimentary couple of Xanax tablets for other passengers – pills used to control nervous tension and anxiety.

 

Struth! Best address on world's shortest street

IN his continuing search for the more weird, wacky and wondrous in the world of travel, David Ellis says there's a street in Scotland far north that's just 2.06m long (6ft 9ins) and has just one address on it – a bistro in the local pub.

Ebenezer Place at Wick in Caithness County, was created in 1883 when Alexander Sinclair built a hotel at the corner of Union and River Streets. As the local council required him to identify his hotel on all faces, Mr Sinclair had "Mackays Hotel" painted on its Union and River Street sides, but "Ebenezer Place" at the top of the short and blunt end where the other two sides met.

But as that "corner" did not have a door in it, Mr Sinclair had to install one – and as soon as he did so, the Council then recognised the "corner end" of the hotel as an official address because it gave access to Mackays Hotel, and thus Ebenezer Place – all 2.06m of it – was declared an official street and an official mail delivery address.

Today Mackays Hotel still occupies the corner, with the one and only address on Ebenezer Place the No 1 Bistro within the hotel.

And interestingly, as well as laying claim to being the world's shortest street, Ebenezer Place has another interesting bit of history to it: Robert Louis Stevenson spent some of his childhood in Wick while his father built a breakwater in the local bay.

Stevenson Jnr later made reference to Ebenezer Place at "the five hand way" (Union Street, River Street, Bridge Street, Station Road and The Cliff that all joined at Ebenezer Place) in his novel Treasure Island.

FAMED GARDENS ONCE WERE THE PITS

David Ellis

IT was over a neighbourly cup of tea one day in 1909 that Canadian housewife Jennie Butchart bemoaned the fact that her husband Robert's one-time limestone quarry next door on Vancouver Island off Vancouver City, was not only an eyesore, but "that dust from it gets in everywhere."

Her neighbour suggested that maybe a nice little lattice screen out the back would help, and a few days later kindly dropped-in with a half dozen sweet pea plants to grow over the lattice that Jennie said she'd order.

And those half dozen sweet peas prompted Jennie Butchart to start visiting her local plant nursery in search of other annuals and perennials to block out the dust from Robert's old quarry, whose limestone had been used to make cement.

It was a tiny start to what has become one of the world's grandest and most-visited private gardens, attracting over 1-million goggle-eyed green-thumbs a year.

As her little garden started to expand, Jennie asked Robert if she could borrow some labourers he still employed to decommission the quarry, to help her prepare more ground for her sprawling displays of flowering shrubs, trees, bulbs and summer bedding plants.

Within a few years complete strangers were popping-in for a chat with the effervescent Jennie, every one of them being offered a cup of tea, a biscuit and a chat and a look at her garden. On one particular day, not realising who Jenny was, a visitor offered her a few cents as a tip for her hospitality: quick as a flash she replied: "Oh no, Sir, you don't know old Mrs Butchart, she'd never allow it."

On another, visitors walking around the gardens were aghast to look into the old quarry and see Jennie, dress swirling and under her trademark straw hat, swinging down the quarry walls in a rented bosun's chair, popping hundreds of ivy cuttings into every little nook and cranny.

Soon after she bought a farmyard of manure-enriched soil and had it delivered to aboard a fleet of horse-drawn carts, and once again asked Robert if he had some labourers to help her spread it over the quarry floor.

Robert took great pride in his wife's efforts, and when his quarry finally and officially closed in 1916, he turned his attention to assisting Jennie and developing his own interest in exotic birds, collecting from around the world numerous species from peacocks that strutted their front lawn, to ducks for the ponds Jennie had created in the quarry, pigeons and parrots… and animals from bears to zebras for a small menagerie.

He also collected quirky statues and castings to scatter amid the gardens.

By the 1920's an amazing 50,000 people a year were pouring through the Butchart's place during the warmer Canadian months, all being welcomed free of charge to admire the quarry floor that Jennie had turned into a spectacular Sunken Garden, plus a Japanese Garden, an Italian Garden on what had been their tennis court, a Rose Garden on their once-kitchen garden, and a Star Pond.

Within a few years Jennie and Robert had a whopping 20ha of gardens, re-named their home "Benvenuto," Italian for "Welcome," and had hired staff to serve Teas and other refreshments.

Visitors by the mid-1930s were coming by their bus-loads, and free admission remained the case until 1941 when a small fee had to be introduced to meet maintenance costs.

Today over 1-million-plus visitors invade the Butchart Gardens every year, marvelling at 400,000 Spring flowering tulips, 400,000 annuals in flower from March to October, more than 3000 roses, the Japanese and Italian Gardens, and Jennie's artificial lake that's now home to scores of duck species from around the world. In all 700 varieties of bedding plants blossom through March to October.

The Butchart Gardens are still family owned and run, and the original "Benvenuto" that once had such luxuries as its own bowling alley and an indoor swimming pool is a restaurant and offices.

The gardens are open daily from 9am (1pm Christmas Day,) and do not close until 9pm mid-June to early September, and from December 1 to January 6.
 
Footnote: And despite the huge number of visitors annually, the Gardens have never had to put up a notice asking visitors not to pick the flowers.

                                                   

Photo Captions:

 

[] THE pits – Sunken Garden in the original lime quarry

[] ITALIAN Garden on what was the tennis court outside the family home (now a Restaurant)

[] FOUNTAIN in the deepest part of the old quarry

[] LOOKING across the lawns to the original Butchart family home

[] THE Star Pond

(Photos: Butchart Gardens)

 

BEAUTY OF SPAIN’S RONDA WILL ROCK YOU

SPAIN's Ronda: "Nothing more startling than this wild and mountainous city."

David Ellis

.

TO ask whether the Andalusian town of Ronda in southern Spain is spectacular is somewhat akin to asking if Julia Roberts is a pretty woman.

Famous 20th century Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke summed it up when he wrote: "I have sought everywhere the city of my dreams, and I have finally found it in Ronda. There is nothing that is more startling than this wild and mountainous city."

He wasn't alone. Others to shout its praises have included Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemmingway and Hollywood legend Orson Welles. Both loved the town for its uniqueness – and for its bullfighting tradition, the local bullring being Spain's oldest and probably most famous. Hemmingway wrote about the town, while Welles, a talented painter, captured it on his canvases and was so smitten that he asked to be buried on Ronda's outskirts.
        
Tourists marvel at how the city perches atop both sides of a 68-metre wide, 120-metre deep canyon, along the bottom of which flows the Rio Guadalevín.

And its very name Ronda, simply means rocky.

THE Puente Nuevo (New Bridge):
prison and torture chamber in centre span.

The city also abounds with violent history: the Romans and Carthage's Hannibal clashed here, and later Catholics fought furiously against the followers of Islam with the worst conflicts in the 16th century, when countless Spanish residents were slaughtered, and then in retribution, countless more Muslims. In the second wave of killings, those Muslims not slaughtered in battle were sold into slavery.
        
And a famous scene in Hemingway's classic For Whom the Bell Tolls is based on a particularly violent episode of the Spanish Civil War when 500 Fascist sympathisers were executed – simply by being thrown alive from high on Ronda's cliff-faces into that 120m deep gorge.

And interestingly some 70 per cent of photographs taken in Ronda are of its Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) that spans the canyon, although it is now anything but new having been finished in 1793 after 40-odd years of effort.

ENFRENTEARTE Hotel's unusual
welcome for visitors: half a Fiat 600.

Somewhat bizarrely the bridge has a number of rooms built into its centre span that were used for a time both as a prison and torture chamber – and later taken over for more humane purposes by a bar owner. Today it's a museum.

And while it was being built, José Martin de Aldehuela who was actually the second architect to work on the bridge after the first pulled out after 26 troubled years, turned his talents on the side to designing Rondo's next most-photographed building, the Plaza de Toros bullring that was completed in 1784.
        

UNUSUALLY sculptured pool chairs to fit one's back-side.

The annual 'Corrida Goyesca' is a bullfght that draws aficionados from around Spain… with Giorgio Armani in recent years designing the colourful costumes for famed bullfighter Cayetano Rivera Ordonez for the event, wrapping him in satin jackets, trousers and cloaks in a shade of his trademark Armani Greige (a mixture of grey and beige).
          
Ronda is also home to the EnfrenteArte Hotel (which means In Front of Art), a somewhat weird and wonderful place that's a magnet for those looking to not only stay in one of the more unusual hotels in the world, but to photograph it almost as much as its host city's famed bridge.

CIRCA 1784 Plaza de Toros bullring,
Ronda's 2nd most-photographed icon.

Descriptions of the EnfrenteArte abound in its Guests Book: Bohemian, Fascinating, Funky and Bizarre amongst them. And little wonder ratings agencies put the hotel high on the WOW (Weird or Wonderful) factor: as soon as the visitor walks into Reception just off the oldest paved street in town, they're confronted by the front half a bright yellow Fiat 600 motor-car sticking out of one of the walls. (Just where the rear half is located is another story for another day….)
          
The whole of the EnfrenteArte Hotel is decorated with such original and historical "artworks." Car tyres have been converted into occasional tables ... a surfboard serves for dining, and around the swimming pool are outrageously sculptured chairs specially shaped to fit one's back-side.

HOTEL courtyard and pool.

And the unusual lighting, that includes glowing from kitschy fake bird's nests in old basketballs, glitters out over wall murals immortalising the likes of Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury.
        
A unique establishment? You betcha.  

Rooms: 12

 For details go to www.enfrentearte.com. The hotel offers a complimentary 'Doctor Fish' pedicure, has a sauna, outdoor pool and Jacuzzi, and all drinks and breakfast are included in the room price.

                                          ………………………………..



(Images: Aerial and Bridge, Spain Tourist Board; Plaza de Toros, Wikipedia; hotel, EnfrenteArte Hotel)

Voyage to the Stars

Captain Cook - Obsession and Discovery actor Matt Young as Captain Cook
holding his sextant on the stern deck of HMS Endeavour.
Photo: Simon Cardwell © Film Australia

It’s all well and good to build a lovely ship and go sailing off toward the horizon, but how do you find your way? Roderick Eime tracks back in time to locate the earliest navigators.

I’m sure my schooling was similar to yours. We were all taught about the famous Captain Cook and his marvellous voyages around the world, Christopher Columbus was mentioned and so were the likes of Captain Bligh and maybe Abel Tasman. Sure, these capable chaps were great navigators and Cook’s most valuable contribution was his superb cartography, many maps still in use hundreds of years later. But before them, how did the Egyptians, Chinese, Portuguese, Vikings and Polynesians complete their enormous voyages without falling off the edge of the world? Answer: the Moon, sun and stars.

As far back as 200BC, American researcher, Rick Sanders theorised that Captain Rata and Navigator Maui set out from ancient Egypt and sailed as far as South America using a strange-looking navigational instrument called a tanawa; such an instrument was known in 1492 as a torquetum and a drawing of it can be found in caves in West Papua.

Even longer ago, it is believed a Greek navigator, Pytheas, from the colony of Massalia (Marseilles) circumnavigated Britain around 350BC. An expert mathematician and astronomer of his time, Pytheas mastered the "Gnomon," an instrument described by ancient Greek historian Herodotus, borrowed from the Phoenicians, and brought to Greece about 575 B.C.

When Columbus was blundering about in the Atlantic in the late 15th Century, celestial (star) navigation was still a mystery to most Europeans, but the Portuguese were slowly getting the hang of it. But Columbus groped his way across to America by the clumsy method of ‘dead reckoning’.

The most impressive of the early navigators were almost certainly the Polynesians who traversed all of the central and South Pacific Ocean on their fabled migrations between Hawai’i, Aotearoa (NewZealand) and Rapa Nui (Easter Island).

Studying their complex method of wayfinding (non-instrument navigation) has intrigued early European and modern researchers alike. In 1774, wealthy Chilean artist and administrator, Andia y Varela Ignacio, visited Tahiti and attempted to fathom their mysterious technique.

"They have no mariner's compass, but divide the horizon into sixteen parts, taking for the cardinal points those at which the sun rises and sets.

"When setting out from port the helmsman partitions the horizon, counting from E, or the point where the sun rises; he knows the direction in which his destination bears. He observes, also, whether he has the wind aft, or on one or the other beam, or on the quarter, or is close-hauled. He notes, further, whether there is a following sea, a head sea, a beam sea, or if the sea is on the bow or the quarter. He proceeds out of port with a knowledge of these [conditions], heads his vessel according to his calculation, and aided by the signs the sea and wind afford him, does his best to keep steadily on his course.

Celestial navigation has been a subject all modern sea captains must master. There have been numerous accounts of ship and aircraft crews scrambling into lifeboats after a torpedoing, ditching or other disaster and having to find their way to safety on their wits alone. In wartime, celestial navigation had the advantage of requiring no electronic equipment that might give telltale signals or be jammed by the enemy.

Nowadays, of course, increasingly cheap satellite-based GPS navigational devices are available for motorists and bushwalkers to guide them through every step of their journey, whether it be to Mount Kosciusko or Woolworths.


Sextant 101

Sextant (Wikimedia)

A sextant uses two mirrors. One of the mirrors is half-silvered, allowing some light to pass through. In navigating, you look at the horizon through this mirror.

The other one is fixed to a moving arm. Light from the sun reflects off this mirror. The arm is then moved to a position where the sun's reflection off this mirror also reflects off the first mirror and through the eyepiece. This occurs when the sun (or star) is superimposed on the other (the horizon). Then read the angle between the two objects off the scale. A sextant is very accurate in this regard, capable of measuring an angle to within ten seconds. (1/60 of a minute, which is 1/60 of a degree)

To find latitude, first measure the angle between the horizon and the sun when the sun is at its highest point at noon by your watch or chronometer. Refer to your tables to tell you which line of latitude the sun is above on that particular day. eg, at noon on December 21, and the sun is directly overhead. On that day the sun is above the Tropic of Capricorn, so your latitude is 23.5 degrees S.

World's top 10 hazardous golf courses

Golf typically conjures up thoughts of manicured greens and collared shirts (or even beer carts and side bets), but some rounds are a little more extreme.

If you want to raise the stakes – and your adrenaline level – Cheapflights.com.au has named some of the world’s most world’s most hazardous golf courses.

Prison View Golf Course, Angola, Louisiana, USA
The Louisiana State Penitentiary is the largest maximum-security prison in the United States. It is a working farm and runs both a radio and TV station. To top it off, it also has a 9-hole golf course, complete with practice facilities and a clubhouse, for use by the public for $10. There are a few catches: Playing this course requires some advanced planning, as you must allow 48 hours for a background check before you can even schedule a tee time. The course is on the ground of the penitentiary, so you must also be willing to submit to personal and vehicle searches. Finally, be prepared for play to be suspended in the event of a riot or attempted jailbreak). Search and compare cheap flights to USA



Singapore Island Country Club, Singapore
This historic club, the oldest and one of the most prestigious on the island nation of Singapore, will always be associated with wild animal encounters after the infamous 1982 pro event where Jim Stewart came face to face with a 3-metre cobra. He killed it, only to watch in horror as another snake emerged from its mouth. While much has changed in Singapore since 1982, a round at the Singapore Island Country Club can still be an adventure. Members are now warned of wild boar encounters, with advice to walk calmly away when crossing paths with one. The official “local” rules of the course include the addendum that any area damaged by digging from wild boar, monkeys or other non-burrowing animals may be considered “ground under repair.” Search and compare cheap flights to Singapore



Lost City Golf Course, Sun City, South Africa
A relaxing round of golf in the wild beauty of South Africa sounds ideal, right? Certainly it does when the course is designed and built by South African golf superstar Gary Player and showcases the desert, the mountains, the parklands and 28,000 square metres of water features. But don’t be lulled in by the scenery as danger and excitement lurk alongside hole 13. Here, the water hazard guarding the green is home to roughly 40 Nile crocodiles, some six feet or more in size. Players are cautioned to bring extra balls and take a drop rather than venture after a shot in or near this imposing crocodile pit. Search and compare cheap flights to South Africa



Merapi Golf Course, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
People visiting this public course on the outskirts of the ancient city of Yogyakarta report beautiful weather, stunning views and an almost mystic feeling from the location. It’s an awe-inspiring round, especially when you realize the mountain overshadowing the course is Mount Merapi, an active volcano that last erupted in December 2010. The wave of ash that blew over the course and the surrounding area has been cleaned up and play has resumed. Just keep an ear out for the emergency warning alarms! Search and compare cheap flights to Indonesia



Camp Bonifas, Panmunjom, South Korea
Camp Bonifas is home to a single hole, par-3 “golf course” abutting the most heavily fortified border in the world. The camp, the base for the United Nations Command, is 400 metres south of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that serves as a buffer between North and South Korea. The 175 metre hole is lined by a 5.5 metre security fence and unexploded mines that can be triggered by errant shots. Players report wild animal encounters too, including brushes with local “vampire deer” and a creature described as a “man-bear-pig”. When you have only one hole to play, at least it’s good to know every time out is an adventure in the making. Search and compare cheap flights to Korea



World Ice Golf Championship, Uummannaq, Greenland
This Greenland golf course changes annually, dictated by the moods of nature and the shape of ice. Each March (climate permitting) the nine-hole course is laid out across a field of fjords and icebergs. Players then face off against each other and the elements in a 36-hole tournament, the only one played in the Arctic Circle. With ice as the “green,” golfers play with red balls and may scrape the surface to smooth the putting line. Otherwise, it’s a regular round of golf, if you don’t mind -50 degree Celsius temperatures, periodic shifts in the course as you play it and the potential for crossing paths with a polar bar. Search and compare cheap flights to Greenland



The Ocean Course Golf Course, Kiawah Island, South Carolina, USA
Players on this course have more than just a tough course design to deal with, they must also face the wrath of Mother Nature. Built above the sand dunes at the farthest point of the island, the course is exposed to gusty or even whipping ocean winds that stretch a typical round to five-and-a-half or even six hours. Playing that long in the heat and humidity of South Carolina’s low country might seem the scariest part, but really it’s the creatures waiting for you to come searching for your windblown, off-course ball. You’ll hope it’s a gator and not a copperhead, rattlesnake or a water moccasin. Search and compare cheap flights to South Carolina.



La Jenny Golf Course, France
There’s no shortage of balls on this course which is one of the few places in the world where you don’t have to worry about a golf-dress code. In fact, the fewer clothes the better. This is Europe’s only naturist golf course. The resort course features a par-3 and par-4 holes is open to the public and hosts tournaments during the year. Search and compare cheap flights to France.



Skukuza Golf Course, Kruger National Park, South Africa
Here’s your chance to combine a safari with your round of golf. This course backs up to Kruger National Park, one of the largest game reserves in Africa. Lions, elephants, leopards, warthogs, buffalo and more wander onto the course regularly. Don’t really believe it? Read the information sheet (and the indemnity form you are required to complete) before heading out. It will tell you what to do when you come across these animals (hint: don’t run!). Stay clear of the water; it’s ripe with hippopotamus that are big, fast, lethal and not scared of you, or your golf club. Search and compare cheap flights to South Africa



Cape Kidnapper’s Golf Course, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Don’t play this course if you are scared of heights. The cliff-top course offers a breathtaking, 180-degree view of the Pacific Ocean and kilometres of coastline. Six of the holes, though, walk you along the edge of a 183-metre sheer drop into the sea. Steel yourself in particular for 15th hole, known as the “Pirate’s Plank.” Here you walk an increasingly narrow fairway down to the 18-metre-wide green, featuring a plunging drop with no protection. Don’t walk backward lining up that putt! Search and compare cheap flights to New Zealand




(Images: Featured, tony_the_bald_eagle; Louisiana, wikipedia.org; Singapore, goosmurf; Indonesia, Jimmy McIntyre – Strange Lands Travel Blog; South Korea, Jon Ã…slund; Greenland, ilovegreenland; South Carolina, rjones0856; Kruger, Mister-E; New Zealand, tony_the_bald_eagle)

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Cheapflights Media is an international media network helping over 11 million visitors a month find top travel deals. Our Cheapflights brand was launched in 1996 and pioneered the online comparison of flight deals for users. Today, users compare a wide range of deals from hundreds of partners including online travel agents, consolidators and airlines to find the very best flight deals. With a mission to be the starting point for travel, Cheapflights works to deliver the industry’s best airfare bargains, expert tips and inspiration. There are currently Cheapflights sites in the U.K., U.S., Canada, Germany, Australia & New Zealand, France, Italy and Spain. For more information, visit http://www.cheapflights.com.au/. Our newest brand, Momondo, is a leading travel search engine for finding comprehensive worldwide pricing and availability on airfares. Winner of several awards, the site is ideal for users on specific travel schedules. For more information, visit momondo.com.