Quarterly Newsletter

December 2013

Where has 2013 gone?  It seems impossible that here we are issuing the December newsletter already when it feels like
only a few weeks since we were camping last Christmas on Lake Cobbler.  2013 has been another record year for Hedonistic
Hiking with us leading more people than ever on our walks through Italy and Slovenia and 2014 looks as though it might
already top that, with spaces booking fast for our European programme.

                         

But first we should talk about you coming to see us in Oz in February, March and April. We still have a few spaces on our
two fabulous new Victorian weekends: The Highlights of Mount Buffalo National Park and Victorian Alps and Vineyards tours.
Each of these will run twice so there is lots of opportunity for you to come across to north east Victoria and the Feb
departures have been designed to run together so you can have a week exploring our lovely part of the world. And, if you
have never seen Victoria's stunning Shipwreck Coast, then why not join our 8 day, 100 km walk in March from Apollo Bay to
the Twelve Apostles.  It's an awe-inspiring hike through beautiful varied landscapes and Mick cooks fabulous dinners along
the route in our cottage-style accommodation.

             

           

Annabel, keeper of the UK Office, will be coming over from the UK for one month only after Christmas!  So, if you've met Annabel in Italy and would like to catch up with her then book yourselves right now on one of the February events!

                                      

Just a brief reminder that we have our 2014 printed brochure available and that we will happily mail them to anyone who hasn't seen one yet.  Just let us know!

Last weekend we had a great feature published in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald written by travel writer Andrew Bain. 
Andrew joined us last May on our first tour of Abruzzo and wrote a wonderful review which you can read by clicking here
Abruzzo is one of the few Italian tours now with spaces free for 2014 - our bookings have been amazing - so if you are
impressed by his article and are thinking about walking in that spectacular wilderness then do get in touch soon.

We hope you continue to follow the Blogs on the website.  Recently we wrote a helpful guide to ordering your coffee when
you get to Italy to avoid common mistakes and we have started a Recipe Page which you can access from the Home Page. Lots
of people on the tours ask us for our lunch and salad recipes so this page will be added to over time as we come up with
new ideas using seasonal ingredients.  We hope you'll find this any easy reference if you're stuck for inspiration!

                  

Clothing now and we continue to offer our range of Hedonistic Hiking shirts and fleeces for Men and Women but we are also now offering a logo service for those of you who already own the perfect walking shirt and would like to help to spread the word about Hedonistic Hiking.  All you need to do is mail the item to Jackie at the address below and she will have the logo embroidered and send it straight back to you! The cost for this will be $20 for a single item and $15 for each item if you have more than one, and the deadline is March 21st 2014. New too to our range is this fab new headband in bottle green and dark grey, for keeping your ears warm on higher mountain days and this versatile neckwarmer for freaky colder excursions, which will come a blue/grey patterned design.

 Mailing address:
Jackie Parsons
Hedonistic Hiking 
PO Box 200

Porepunkah
Victoria 3740

 

                                                   

                                                     The Headband is $25.00 and the Neckwarmer is $30.00

As it's Christmas we thought we'd share with you recipes for three of our favourite Italian cocktail classics, delicious
aperitifs to get your festive celebrations started in style.  First up is the Aperol Spritz - that gorgeous tangy orange
herbal syrup which mixes so well with proscesso or soda.  Serve over ice with a slice of fresh orange in a tall glass
or large wine glass.  Second is the wonderful Bellini made famous by Giuseppe Cipriani at Harry's Bar in Venice.  This is
prosecco (or champagne) mixed with fresh peach juice or peach puree served in a tall champagne flute - luxurious and
indulgent and totally delicious.  Why not buy your prosecco from the Dal Zottos in the King Valley? The third is the legendary Negroni, one third gin, one third sweet red vermouth and one third Campari, best served over ice with a twist of orange in a tumbler. Totally irrestible!

                                                 

As we said at the start, you have all helped to make 2013 another amazing year for Hedonistic Hiking and we want to thank
all our guests, and our valued suppliers and partners in Italy, for their continued enthusiasm and support for our
holidays. We're very excited to be having so many familiar faces back in 2014 to walk with us and, in the meantime, we
would like to wish everyone Buon Natale and Felice Anno Nuovo! Have a great Christmas!