Patagonia… Tierra del Fuego… Cape Horn… There’s no doubt these are words that spark the thrill of adventure.
But add to that some wise words about ecological responsibly and a little insight into the mating habits of penguins -- and you’ve got one eclectic adventure travel presentation on your hands!
Rudyard Ullrich, market manager at Chile’s Sportstour with Christine Boecker,
agency owner at TravelBoecker Adventures and Fernando L Florian, Canada
sales representative at Australis.
When she’s not busy inspiring her clients to venture off the beaten track or championing travel products that are environmentally responsible, agency owner Christine Boecker of TravelBoecker Adventures in Burnaby, BC, regularly invites keynote speakers to host travel presentations for her clients.
Which is exactly why Fernando L Florian, Canada sales representative for Australis -- who partnered for the event with Rudyard Ullrich, market manager at Chile’s Sportstour -- was such a perfect host for the TravelBoecker presentation.
Fernando L Florian, Canada sales representative at Australis, hosts an informative
and eclectic presentation at TravelBoecker Adventures in Burnaby.
“I’m not going to talk about Australis as an employee. I’m going to talk about it from the perspective of somebody who has done the actual cruise,” Florian explained to the group of TravelBoecker clients. “This is a special trip. It’s for people who want to see nature undisturbed.”
What followed was a highly informative and eclectic presentation that highlighted everything from the important work undertaken by onboard oceanographers to the mating habits of penguins.
“One of the big differences between an exhibition cruise and a party cruise,” explained Florian, “Is that on a party cruise you go to the casino and the pool -- but you can do that anywhere. On an exhibition cruise you actually learn something.”
Christine Boecker, agency owner at TravelBoecker Adventures is passionate
about environmental responsibility.
One of the other major differences is the exclusive nature of the journey, given that Australis’ vessels are small enough to go through narrow, shallow fjords and passages of Patagonia, while the bigger cruise ships have to travel on the open sea.
“We only have two ships -- one on the Chilean side, the other on the Argentinian. We basically cross each other. The only other ship you’re going to see on the five-day journey is our sister ship. It’s not like when you go to Alaska and you have 500 ships behind you with 3,000 people on each of them.
“The company could build another 100 ships tomorrow and Patagonia could become another Alaska, but they refuse to do so because our main commitment is not commercial – it’s to the environment.”
The team take questions from TravelBoecker clients.
It’s an important ethos echoed by agency owner Boecker: “I always look for products that are sustainable and are responsible,” she enthused. “I will not deal with someone who thinks that being sustainable is using LED lightbulbs.
“I have a daughter who is 20 -- and I want her children to be able to go to these destinations too.”
Vickie Sam Paget Western Correspondent
Hailing from the UK, Vickie Sam Paget is a travel and tourism storyteller located in Vancouver, BC. When she’s not on the road, creating engaging travel content or gazing at the North Shore Mountains, you can usually find her curled up with a good book or sipping a pint of the good stuff in her local Irish bar.
