What's a good tour for two or three weeks in Japan?
R. Hurcum, Tamworth, NSW
Tanpopo Journeys operates a small number of textile trips to Japan each year and their Textiles and Traditional Arts of Japan tour visits several cities famous for their temple gardens. Australia-based tour operator Internationally Different operates a 14-day craft-based tour starting and finishing in Osaka. The tour is hosted by Valerie Kirk, a tapestry weaver and former senior lecturer and head of textiles at the Australian National University. ASA Cultural Tours has a 15-day 'Cherry blossom and the art of the Japanese Garden' tour led by Jim Fogarty, a landscape designer and gardening media personality with a specialist interest in Japanese gardens.
My partner and I are spending six days in Ravenna, Italy, and want to take day trips to nearby towns. We have spent time in Bologna previously. We are particularly interested in art, history, architecture and archaeology. We are also taking our family to Rome for a week including our 11 and eight-year-old grandchildren, any suggestions for kid-friendly activities?
G. Wilson, Northcote, Vic
Expect to spend at least two days exploring Ravenna, it's a world-class wonder, packed with early Christian and Byzantine churches that preserve a superb legacy of mosaics dating back to the fifth century AD. Its UNESCO monuments bear witness to the greatness of Ravenna from the time when this was the capital of the Western Roman Empire. Be sure to include Ca De Ven ('house of wine'), a beautiful restaurant at the heart of the old city, famous for its Romagna cuisine in a cavernous, cathedral-like medieval wine store.
Just a short distance away, Faenza is home to the International Museum of Ceramics with a superb collection of works from all over Italy and beyond. Rimini is another worthwhile day trip, famous for its Tiberius Bridge and the Arch of Augustus as well as its grandiose cathedral, the Tempio Malatestiano, designed by Alberti, with frescoes by Piero della Francesca.
In Rome, you might take your grandchildren to the Gladiator School operated by the Gruppo Storico Romano, where they'll see Roman swordplay in action and 'train' as gladiators in a safe environment. The vast grounds of Villa Borghese are a great place for them to let off some steam while the Explora Children's Museum is a hands-on discovery museum full of electronic and scientific wizardry. They might also try a gelato-making workshop or a pasta- making session.
We're spending a few weeks in Tanzania next year, any recommendations on less-visited game parks as well as locally based operators who offer budget trips? How long should we spend in Dar es Salaam and what are the attractions?
R. Saltman, Mosman, NSW
Ruaha National Park in central Tanzania is one of the largest in the country, but despite its size it gets relatively few visitors. Together with neighbouring Kizigio and Rungwa River Game Reserves, Ruaha forms one of East Africa's largest nature conservancies. Ruaha's wildlife population includes over 10,000 elephant, 30,000 buffalo, 20,000 zebra as well as lions and leopards and more than 400 bird species.
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