Sedona Golf club

We arrived at the Sedona Hilton on Saturday afternoon.  The weather was warm and sunny, such a pleasant change from the cold and ice back in Ontario.  We checked  into our wonderful 1 bedroom suites equipped with mini kitchen and fireplace.  Everyone relaxed, unpacked, some went for a walk and later we met for dinner. The hotel staff set or tables outside on a private patio.  Dinner was wonderful.  Early to bed this evening to get over our jet lag.
The following morning 9 of the ladies played 18 holes of golf at the Sedona Golf resort.  The weather was a bit unpredictable. sunny and warm one moment then overcast and cool the next. Overall the day was great and the ladies really enjoyed the course.  One of our traverlers is an artist so she set up he canvas and worked her magic capturing the beauty of the red rock views from our hotel.  I had the pleasue of spending the day at the Hiltons eforea spa.  First a steam bath, then an hour long meditation massage, next a manicure and pedicure and finished off my day relaxing by the out door pool basking in warm sunshine.  We met for an afternoon happy hour cocktail before getting changed for dinner.  This evening we had the pleasure of dining at Cucina Rustia, voted as one of Sedona's best restaurants.  It was traditional Italian fare with excellent food, delectable Chianti wine, yummy desserts and wonderful service.  Certainly a restaurant I hope to visit again one day.

Monday our driver guide took us for a quick tour of Uptown Sedona and  through the Verde Valley up to the town of Jerome, once a thriving copper mining town and now a charming artist community.  We browsed in the local art galleries and quaint shops.

Next stop, Alcantera winery to meet Barb Predmore, owner and woman extraodinaire. She and her wine maker Greg gave us the history of the winery, taught us a bit about their wines and led us through a wonderful tasting of 5 of their popular wines followed by a delicious lunch of cheeses, meats, artisan breads, Napa salad and yummy brownies for dessert.  A wonderful time was had by all.  This evening we are looking forward to relaxing and doing as we please.  Tomorrow is another golf  and spa day.  

Africa's Elephants and Rhinos are becoming extinct.

Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa are some of the most beautiful countries to visit, offering tourists stunning landscapes and abundant wildlife.  Unfortunately a tragic situation is happening in these countries. Poaching. This horrible crime is diminishing the population of the elephants and rhinos and affecting the livelihood of park rangers and local village people. For instance, Kenya statistics say the numbers of elephants in the country 30 years ago was 170,000, that number is now 30,000. 

These alarming facts were a key topic at the recent Conference held in London on Illegal Wildlife Trade.  The conference was founded by Royals Prince Phillip and Prince Andrew who were instrumental in enlisting the participation of 46 nations. Countries present at the meeting included several whose elephant populations are under severe poaching pressure, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Kenya and Tanzania. Other countries that represent major transit points for ivory shipped from Africa to Asia were also in attendance, including Togo, the Philippines and Malaysia, and significantly, China, the major market for illegal ivory.
The conference has renewed the focus on the alarming situation created by mass poaching in Africa. Estimates are about 50,000 elephants are killed each year across the continent.  Kenya is one of the key habitat centres in Africa and is often cited as a benchmark for assessing the state of wildlife under siege by poaching.Extinction can't be far behind. Prince William states "We have to be the generation that stopped the illegal wildlife trade, and secured the future of these magnificent animals and their habitats, for, if we fail, it will be too late"
Kenya is also a centre of wildlife tourism in Africa. It is the second-largest source of foreign exchange revenue for Kenya, following agriculture.  Most of the tourists are booked on photo safaris at one of the 19 national parks and game reserves.

Protection for the animals is essential.  "We've lost a lot of elephants to poachers, especially in the southeast and southwest parks, that are bigger and more sparse" said Munene Ngotho, the general manager of the Fairmont Mara Safari Club, a luxury tented resort in the Masai Mara region of Kenya. The Fairmont participates in funding full-time protection for two rhinos on the lands of the Mara. Armed guards stay near the docile white rhinos which graze close to the camp.

For over 25 years Kenya-born Daphne Sheldrick lived and worked alongside her husband David, during which time they raised and successfully rehabilitated many wild species. Daphne and her family have lived and worked in the Nairobi National Park, where they have built the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and its pioneering Orphans Project, into the global force for wildlife conservation that is today.
offer hope for the future of Kenya’s threatened elephant and rhino populations as they struggle against the threat of poaching for their ivory and horn, and the loss of habitat due to human population pressures and conflict, deforestation and drought.

To date the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has successfully hand-raised over 150 infant elephants and has accomplished its long-term conservation priority by effectively reintegrating orphans back into the wild herds of Tsavo, claiming many healthy wild-born calves from former-orphaned elephants raised in our care.
With the help of these organizations the eyes of visitors have been opened to the stunning and serene power of the nature of Africa.  
HELP ENDING POACHING AND WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING.

To learn more about how you can help, visit the WWF WEBSITE.

Debbie Ross, Womens Travel Network.ca