We are proud to annouce the arrival of The African Gorilla trek Promotion! Developed with our friends at Plan International and Gecko's Adventures, we are offering the opportunity to win a trip for 2 to Uganda for an experience of a life time! 

Why Africa? Well, it is the native land of coffee, and we have recently released 2 delicious new blends called Latin Americas and Africas.

Jump online or head to your nearest Coles Supermarket and buy a pack of global cafe direct and send in the barcode and in 25 words or less tell us what global cafe direct fairtrade organic coffee means to you.

It means a lot to us!

Good luck! Entry form link below.

 

ENTRY FORM

CONDITIONS OF ENTRY

1. Information on how to enter and prizes forms part of these conditions of entry. Participation in this promotion is deemed acceptance of these Conditions of Entry.

2. Entry is open to all residents of Australia except employees of the Promoter and their immediate families and agencies associated with this promotion.

3.The Promoter reserves the right to verify the validity of entries and entrants (including but not limited to an entrant’s identity, age, place of residence and proof of purchase and to disqualify any entrant who tampers with the entry process or who submits an entry that is not in accordance with these Conditions of Entry. Failure by the Promoter to enforce any of its rights at any stage does not constitute a waiver of those rights.

4. To enter, during the promotional period purchase any product from the Global Café Direct range of products from any Coles Supermarkets and participating retailers. Complete the coupon found in this issue of BBC Australian Good Food magazine, telling us your contact details and in 25 words or less “What does Global Café Direct Fairtrade Coffee mean to you?” attach the barcode from your product purchase to the coupon. Send in your completed entry to BBC Australian Good Food Global Café Direct competition Locked Bag 4999, South Yarra, VIC 3141. Promotional period commences at 00.01EST on 1st September 2008. Entries close at 23.59 EST on 30th November 2008. The promotion will be judged by a panel of judges appointed by the Promoter. This is a game of skill, chance plays no part in determining the winner. Each entry will be individually judged based on literary and creative merit and originality. The promotion will be judged at the premises of ACP Magazines Limited (Victoria office), Level 2, 102-108 Toorak Rd, South Yarra, VIC 3141 on 8th December 2008 at 11.30am EST. Winners will be notified by mail using contact details provided in their entry and their names will be published in ‘The Australian’ Public Notices section on Monday 22nd December 2008.

5. The judges decision in relation to all aspects of this promotion is final and binding on all who enter. No correspondence will be entered into.

6. Multiple entries permitted, subject to the following: (a) only one entry permitted per specified purchase requirement; (b) each entry must be submitted separately and in accordance with entry requirements; and (c) each entry must be submitted in a separate stamped envelope. The best entry as determined by the judges will win the Major prize valued at $14,758. This prize includes 2 return economy class flights from the winners nearest capital city in Australia to Kampala, Uganda, local payment, 2 nights accommodation at the Cassia Lodge Hotel - Kampala, 8 day Gorilla Express guided-tour (most meals and trek-style accommodation all inclusive), local specialist guides for the Gorilla trek, all park fees, one pre-purchased gorilla permit for the winner and their travel companion and transfers. Prize will be awarded in the form of a letter and travel voucher redeemable from Gecko’s Adventures.

7. Total Prize Pool valued at $14,758. prize does not include additional expenses, including airport departure taxes, meals not specified in the chosen trip itinerary, insurance, any optional tours or activities during free time, tips and items of a personal nature and any other ancillary costs associated with redeeming this prize. This is the responsibility of the winner. It is a condition of redeeming the prize that passengers take out comprehensive travel insurance (at their own expense) for use in conjunction with the prize. The prize winner and their travel companion must take out travel insurance covering accidents, injury, illness and death medical expenses, including any related to pre-existing medical conditions, emergency repatriation (including helicopter rescue and air ambulance where applicable), and personal liability. Prize winner and their travel companion are required to carry proof of insurance with them and produce it if requested by Gecko’s Adventures employees or suppliers. The winner (and their travel companion) is responsible for ensuring that they have any and all required travel documentation. The winner (and their travel companion) must depart from and return to the same point of departure and travel together. It is a condition of accepting the prize that the winner and their travel companion hold a passport which is valid for at least six months after trip end date and contains all the necessary visas prior to travel. These costs are not included in the prize and are the responsibility of the winner and their travel companion. In the event that the winner cannot obtain such documentation in time to redeem their prize, the winner will forfeit their prize and cash will not be awarded in lieu of the prize. 

8. Delivery of prize: the prizes will be delivered direct to the winner using contact details provided in their entry. Prize must be redeemed in full by 30 November 2009 and must be taken to coincide with organised Geckos Gorilla Trek schedule. Prize cannot be redeemed during Australian calendar public holidays or Australian school holidays. The winner must travel between the 1st January, 2009 and the 30th November 2009. Prize is subject to booking and availability. Redemption of prize is subject to availability at time of reservation and reservations must be made at least 56 days prior to the departure date of the tour. Standard conditions for tickets and accommodation apply. The winner may be required to present their credit card at time of check in at accommodation to cover all incidentals they may incur during their stay at the hotel. If the winner is under the age of 18 years, the prize will be awarded to the winners parent or legal guardian. Age restrictions apply. The decision for any person under 18 years of age to travel is at the absolute discretion of the management of Geckos Adventures. Any minor guest must be accompanied by their parent/legal guardian on the trip and all responsibility for the said minor remains at all times with their parent/ legal guardian. 

9. All components of the prize must be taken together. In the event that for any reason whatsoever a winner does not take an element of the prize at the time stipulated by the promoter, then that element of the prize will be forfeited by the winner and cash will not be awarded in lieu of that element of the prize. The prize is valued in Australian dollars. The Promoter will not be liable for any prize that has been lost, stolen, forged, damaged or tampered with in any way. Prize is not exchangeable or transferable by the winner and cannot be sold or taken as cash. Redemption of prize cannot be taken in conjunction with any other offer (including but not limited to frequent flyer deals). 

10. The Promoter and Gecko’s Adventures reserve the right to refuse to allow the winner and/or their companion to take part in any or all aspects of the prize, if the promoter or Gecko’s Adventures determines, in their absolute discretion, the winner and/or their companion is not in the mental or physical condition necessary to safely participate in the prize. The winner must not have a heart condition, history of heart disease, or other medical conditions that would make it dangerous to participate in the prize. The winner will be subject to a medical examination/s prior to participating. 

13. By accepting the prize, the winner and their companion acknowledge that during the Mountain Gorilla trek they will be exposed to some activity and occasional hard travelling days. Accommodation can sometimes be quite basic. Physical preparation is important and a flexible, open-minded approach is essential. By accepting the prize, the winner and their companion accept that on treks they may be hiking up to six hours a day through steep terrain, sometimes at altitude, and a good level of physical fitness is required. 

14. The Promoter is not responsible for any loss incurred in the event that a scheduled trekking tour is postponed, rescheduled, cancelled for any reason beyond the control of the Promoter. 

15. In the event that a portion of the prize is awarded to the winner in the form of a voucher/ ticket/ pass, redemption of that portion of the prize will be subject to the terms and conditions stipulated on the voucher/ ticket/ pass. The Promoter will not be liable for any voucher /ticket/ pass that has been lost, stolen, forged, damaged or tampered with in any way." 

16. Except for any liability that cannot be excluded by law, the Promoter (including its officers, employees and agents) excludes all liability (including negligence), for any personal injury; or any loss or damage (including loss of opportunity); whether direct, indirect, special or consequential, arising in any way out of the Promotion, including, but not limited to, where arising out of the following: (a) any technical difficulties or equipment malfunction (whether or not under the Promoter’s control); (b) any theft, unauthorised access or third party interference; (c) any entry or prize claim that is late, lost, altered, damaged or misdirected (whether or not after their receipt by the Promoter) due to any reason beyond the reasonable control of the Promoter; (d) any variation in prize value to that stated in these Conditions of Entry; (e) any tax liability incurred by a winner or entrant ; (f) participation in the promotion and/or (g) redemption of the travel prize. 

17. In the event that the prize, or part of the prize, is unavailable, the Promoter reserves the right to substitute the prize or part of the prize in its discretion with an alternative prize or part of the prize to the same and equal recommended retail value and/or specification subject to reference to all relevant state and territory regulations.

18. In the event of war, terrorism, state of emergency or disaster the Promoter reserves the right to either provide an alternative travel destination to the same value as the original prize or to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the promotion subject to reference to all relevant state and territory regulations. 

19. The collection, use and disclosure of personal information provided in connection with this promotion is governed by the Privacy Notice (see contents page of BBC Australian Good Food magazine for location in each issue). 

20. All entries submitted become the property of the Promoter. Entries will not be returned to any entrant. As a condition of entering into this promotion, each entrant agrees to assign all of their rights, title and interest (including copyright) in and to their entry to the Promoter. Each entrant warrants to the Promoter that each entry submitted is an original creative work of the entrant which does not infringe the rights of any third party. The entrant agrees to indemnify the Promoter against all claims and costs by third parties arising from a breach of the warranty set out in this condition. The Promoter is entitled to use any of the entries submitted for any purposes at its discretion, including for any future promotion, marketing and publicity purposes. 

21. It is a condition of participating in this promotion that the winner agrees to be interviewed and/or photographed by the Promoter and/or Coffex Coffee Pty Ltd. The interview and photographs of the winner will be conducted at the discretion of the Promoter. The Promoter is entitled to use any of the work (including but not limited to photographs taken) submitted by a winner for any purposes whatsoever and in any media (including, but not limited to television, publishing, and online) for future promotional, marketing and publicity purposes. Use of any material submitted is at the complete discretion of the Promoter and/or Coffex Coffee Pty Ltd. 

22. By entering the competition, the entrant consents to receipt of any email regarding the competition, and other emails which inform the entrant of the Promoter’s other publications, products, services and events and to promote third party goods and services it may be interested in. 

23. The Promoter is ACP Magazines Ltd of 54 Park St Sydney 2000 Australia. A.B.N. 18 053 273 546.

 

Partners

 

About Gecko’s Adventures

Gecko’s Adventures are about getting to the heart and soul of the country you are visiting. For us, travel is about discovering the authentic side of a country with leaders who are born and bred in the region. It’s about being immersed in local customs and uncovering experiences you may never have found on your own, grassroots style. It’s what we consider ‘real travel’ – we don’t sanitise the destination, we embrace it.

We’re responsible travellers on the road…
Respect for local people and the environment are at the heart of all Gecko’s trips. Whether it’s Cancun, Cairo or Cape Town, we aim to minimise our impact on the environment and maximise respectful interaction with the local people and culture. Apart from simply being the right thing to do, we believe that this greatly enhances your travel experience.


Going local
Travel is all about getting to the heart and soul of the places you visit and discovering what really makes each place tick. Not only is ‘going local’ the best way for you to have a real travel experience, but working with local people and supporting their businesses means that the economic benefit derived from your holiday stays with the communities that you visit.

By staying in small family run hotels and community run campsites, using local transport, and eating in local restaurants, we are supporting the local economy of the region and giving the local people a real benefit from our visit. In as many ways as we can, we support local businesses and communities in our travels – it’s the ethical way.

Local Leaders & Community benefits
One of the main reasons many travellers choose Gecko’s is the fact that we exclusively use tour leaders who were born and raised in the region. They are highly qualified, English-speaking, and their intimate knowledge of their homeland enables them to unlock doors and show you things that other travellers miss out on.

A lot of travel companies talk about ‘responsible travel’, but employ ‘western’ tour leaders. This deprives locals of the full economic benefits of tourism. With Gecko’s, you can travel knowing that the money you spend directly benefits your leader, your leader’s family and the local community. Aside from the benefit to you, the traveller, we are proud to say that by employing locals, we are providing income, training and a career to local people.

The Gecko’s Community Trust
We’ve developed The Gecko’s Community Trust with the assistance of the Charities Aid Foundation Australia to provide funds for local community projects and initiatives that promote responsible and sustainable tourism development in the destinations we operate. The Trust operates on a not-for-profit basis, so every cent that is donated by Gecko’s, our staff or our travellers goes to the nominated projects.

Gecko’s International Partnership
We have once again teamed up with Plan International Australia in an effort to contribute directly to local community development. Currently, Plan and Gecko’s share 28 countries of operation and Gecko’s is a financial sponsor of selected Plan projects in many of these countries.


Our special projects in Africa
Around the globe, we identify selected community projects that we can support through our trips The East Africa Mission Orphanage cares for more than 100 children ranging in age from just a few days to 18 years. By providing for all the needs of the children, including a full school education, the orphanage has helped thousands of homeless orphans from a life on the streets in Kenya.

Gecko’s is proud to help support these efforts by taking clients right into the orphanage itself. We have also donated a large part of the funding to build a new nursery, enabling the orphanage to provide care to abandoned babies. We also support the East African Wildlife Society (www.eawildlife.org) and The Endangered Wildlife Trust (www.ewt.org.za), which are both engaged in conservation of wildlife and endangered species in eastern and southern Africa.

Through inclusions on our tours we also support Bushara Island Camp in Uganda, The School of
St Jude in Tanzania, Spitzkoppe campsite in Namibia, local school in Hwange, Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, the Khama Rhino Sanctuary and the important conservation work of the Antelope Park.

Prized trip:
Gorilla Express
Visiting the highland mountain gorillas of Uganda is an amazing experience. These giant apes are critically endangered, with just over 700 of them left in the world. Your visit provides a source of income that helps to protect them and their unique way of life.

Trip blurb: If you are short on time but who have always wanted to see some of the rarest primates on the planet, then this is the trip for you. We travel from Entebbe to the south-western corner of Uganda, Bwindi, to spend time with the majestic highland mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Passing incredible landscapes, meeting local Ugandans and visiting a chimpanzee sanctuary on a small island on Lake Victoria are other highlights of this trip. Coming face to face with endangered gorillas in their own environment is a real privilege and an experience that will be indelibly etched in our minds. There is no real way to describe the intimacy of getting close to these giants – for many, it is a deeply moving experience. Quite simply trekking to visit mountain gorillas is one of those ‘must do’ things and Uganda offers an incredible opportunity to achieve this.

Unlike most other companies Gecko’s pre-purchases gorilla permits from the Ugandan authorities to ensure that we are able to offer them for each departure. Please note that the Ugandan government may revoke or change permit conditions at any time (including after purchase) without prior notice. Gecko’s Adventures does not accept responsibility for loss of enjoyment or compensation resulting from any changes beyond our control.

From our joining hotel in Entebbe, our customised safari vehicle, takes us on our journey through Uganda. We stay in local hotels or tented camps that are fairly basic, but all offer hot showers at the end of the day. A local leader escorts us during our safari, giving us a valuable insight into the cultural aspects of the country and the local ways, whilst expert trackers help us in our quest to find the mountain gorillas.

Countries visited: Uganda

Highlights: Mountain Gorilla Trek, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Gorilla Trekking - Bwindi Forest, Lake Bunyoni, Bushara Island, Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary


Trip Overview

Day by Day

Detailed Trip Notes

 

About Plan
Plan’s vision is of a world in which all children realise their full potential in societies that respect people’s rights and dignity. Plan is a not for profit change agent for the sake of children. We work at the grass roots level in developing world, to empower communities to overcome poverty, so that children have the opportunity to reach their full potential. 

We encourage children to express their views and be actively involved in improving their communities. Together with our supporters, Plan is a catalyst for change, free from political and religious agendas, existing only for the sake of children. 

Working with children, families, communities, corporations, Non Government Organisations and governments in 49 developing countries in Asia, Africa and the Americas, supported by 17 further offices in donor countries, Australia being one of them. With over 70 years of operation, Plan has established a long-standing reputation of being a highly ethical, effectives and committed development organisation.  

Coffex and Plan partnership
Coffex has been a partner with Plan since 2007.  Recently Coffex made a generous donation of $15,000 to Plan’s Reducing Community Vulnerability to HIV and AIDS program in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.  This donation will help children, households and communities to strengthen their responses to the multifaceted challenges they face as a result of poverty and HIV and AIDS. 

With Coffex’s support, this project works at the grass-roots level to help communities:

1. reduce discrimination stigma and denial of rights of people affected by HIV and AIDS
2. strengthen the capacity of communities, community based organisations, NGOs and governments to respond to the needs of people affected by HIV and AIDS
3. increase the capacity and opportunities for orphans and vulnerable children to develop within their communities.

Gecko’s and Peregrine Adventures partnership with Plan
As a travel leader specialising in tailored journeys around the world, Gecko's and Peregrine support of Plan is an expression of their commitment to responsible tourism and support for the communities they operate in. Since 2006 Gecko's and Peregrine have supported not only Plan’s reducing community vulnerability to HIV and AIDS program, but they have also provided support to the following projects:

1. Water and sanitation project in Timor Leste 
2. Strengthening Plan’s early childhood and development project in India
3. Creating sustainable Livelihoods in Philippines.

Plan’s child centred community development approach assists communities to make long term sustainable improvements in education, health, housing and livelihood opportunities.  This helps break the cycle of poverty so that children can realise their potential.  This work is made possible thanks to organisations like Coffex, Gecko’s and Peregrine.

For further information on Plan please contact 13 PLAN (13 7526) or visit www.plan.org.au