Why We’re Taking Our Kids to Unique Biomes & Biodiversity Hotspots
THEMATIC FAMILY TRAVEL
Each year, our family chooses an over-arching theme for our family travels. Since we travel continuously with one-way tickets every 4–6 weeks, we find it exciting to plan around a theme.
It helps us narrow down where we want to explore, and it gives us incredible ways to compare and contrast what we’re experiencing because there is a “threadline” to connect it all.
In a collaborative process with our four children last December, we mutually decided on some goals for the coming year. Both my husband and I and our four kids (ages 6, 8, 10 and 12) wanted to:
- Experience a wide range of unique ecosystems
- Learn about endangered animals
- Study environmental concerns
- Explore how to be agents of positive change in the world
In short, we were interested in exploring Unique Biomes & Biodiversity Hotspots around the world. We had a theme!
We then had a naming contest and decided to name our year Journey into Wild. Then we built a travel show around it.
BIODIVERSITY AS A THEME
Biodiversity is the basis of all life on Earth, and yet so little focus is made about conservation in traditional education.
One of the top things we should be teaching our children is how to protect and preserve these hotspots as they are home to species and habitats found nowhere else.
There are huge threats to biodiversity, with the main ones being habitat loss, exploitation, invasive species, climate change and pollution.
If we lose biodiversity, we loose our planet.
What are the Unique Biomes of the World?
A biome is a geographic area of the world categorized because of the plant and animal species that are there.
There are are five major biomes in the world: aquatic, grassland, forest, desert and tundra.
- AQUATIC includes freshwater and marine
- GRASSLANDS include tropical grasslands (called savannas) and temperate grasslands (including prairies and steppes)
- FORESTS include temperate forests, tropical forests, and boreal forests — which are called taiga in the arctic regions
- DESERTS include hot/dry deserts, semiarid, coastal and cold
- TUNDRAS are areas that are mostly unlivable, and are found in either arctic or alpine regions
Within each of these biomes are a variety of ecosystems which provide different habitats for organisms to thrive.
What is a Biodiversity Hotspot?
There are 36 biodiversity hotspots in the world. Whenever possible, we want to overlap our travels with biodiversity hotspots. These are extra special places in the world which are:
- Irreplaceable. Each has a minimum of 1,500 endemic plants that can’t be found anywhere else on Earth
- Threatened. 70% or more of their original vegetation has been lost
Due to their incredible uniqueness, preserving our planet’s diversity depends on our ability to conserve the species in these biodiversity hotspots.
BIODIVERSITY THEMED DESTINATIONS
After a great deal of research, our family chose to focus our travels (with four kids) this year on these extra special destinations:
- Sahara Desert — Morocco [Unique Biome]
- Nile River Wetlands — Egypt [Biodiversity Hotspot]
- Mediterranean Basin — Greece [Biodiversity Hotspot]
- Cape Floristic Region & Savanna— South Africa [Biodiversity Hotspots]
- Arctic Fjords — Norway [Unique Biome]
- Malay Peninsula — Thailand, Malaysia & Brunei [Unique Biome]
- Indonesian Archipelago — Bali & Java [Biodiversity Hotspot]
- Australian EcoRegion— Australia [Biodiversity Hotspot]
- New Zealand Archipelago — New Zealand [Biodiversity Hotspot]
- Hawaiian Archipelago — Hawaii Island [Biodiversity Hotspot]
- Boreal Forests of Alaska — Alaska [Biodiversity Hotspot]
- Central America— Costa Rica [Biodiversity Hotspot]
- Amazon Rainforest — Brazil [Biodiversity Hotspot]
- Tropical Andes — Patagonian Chile [Biodiversity Hotspot]
WHY THESE CHOICES?
By this point, you’re probably wondering HOW in the world we got to these choices. None of them are by accident, I assure you. Here’s a behind the scenes peak at our ongoing process of choosing destinations.
Researching travel is a lengthy endeavor, and where you start matters. We were in Spain when we started our collaborative theme-choosing process at the end of last year.
Knowing our theme and focus, we were already well on our way to choosing destinations. So we asked:
What country is in close proximity to Spain that has a unique biome and interesting culture?
Answer: MOROCCO
Morocco was the obvious choice because of the great Sahara Desert, the Islamic culture, the nomadic Berber tribe, and being famous for great food and art. We could easily fly from Barcelona to Marrakech for less than $50/ticket, so it was decided that January would be about exploring Morocco and The Sahara Desert.
We would base ourselves for a month in an condo in Marrakech, then take weekend trips to places like the city of Casablanca and to the Agafay Desert. Our month would culminate in a nine-hour drive each way over the Atlas Mountains to Merzouga, where we could trek into the Sahara Desert by camel and camp in the middle of the desert with the Berbers.
- Marrakech — Enter
- Agafay Desert
- Casablanca
- Atlas Mountains
- Merzouga
- Sahara Desert
- Marrakech — Exit
So if we were to be in Morocco at the end of January, where to next? We studied the map of Africa and asked:
What other country in North Africa has a major land feature important to the continent?
Answer: Egypt
We found that the Nile River was one of the most important geological features of Africa, winding its way through 11 countries and straight through the heart of the desert. We also knew that Egypt was crucial in understanding world history. Sounded like a win!
We checked Google Flights and found we could easily fly between Marrakech (Morocco) and Cairo (Egypt) as both are in Muslim majority countries. They are therefore friendly to each other, making transit easy at $80/ticket.
So it was decided that February / March would be a our time to travel along the river from Upper Egypt to Lower Egypt, learning about the mighty Nile and studying ancient civilizations. It was ideal to do this in the cooler months of February and March so as to avoid the sweltering desert heat.
We set up home base in an Airbnb in Luxor for a few weeks, then worked our way down the Nile, exploring Cairo/Giza, going through the great delta, and ending in Alexandria in this order:
- Cairo — Enter
- Luxor
- Hurghada / Red Sea
- Cairo / Giza
- The Delta
- Alexandria
- Cairo — Exit
From there, we wanted to explore more of Africa.
North Africa is very different than the African savanna with it’s richness of flora and fauna, so we asked:
What country offers the African savanna and a range of other special experiences as well?
Answer: South Africa
After a great deal of research, it seemed that South Africa had the most to offer. We could fly from Cairo to Cape Town for $180/ticket.
Cape Town is stacked with fascinating land features, add to the nearby wine lands, then consider the luscious Garden Route, and tack on the great Addo Elephant Park (safari lands), and you’ve got an insanely amazing trip in pretty autumn weather.
So it was decided that April / May would be about traveling the southernmost coast of the continent of Africa in a great, month-long road trip:
- Cape Town — Enter
- Stellenbosch
- Mossel Bay
- Knysna
- Plettenburg Bay
- Tsitsikamma
- Addo Elephant Park
- Bloemfontein
- Johannesburg
- Cape Town — Exit
But from way down there, not many places in the world are easily accessible! It would be almost June by then, so it would be a good time to get WAY north when the weather is good. So we asked:
Where in the Arctic region could we fly to affordably from Cape Town (since it’s the other end of planet Earth)?
We checked Google Flights and found that there is an affordable flight path at $220/ticket from Cape Town to Oslo. There it is! Norway!
Answer: Norway
Norway is nearing its warmest time of year in June, though it’s still chilly in most of the country and even experiencing snow in the north. We wanted to see the country’s diversity without all the snow so we could see what all that water produces — the waterfalls and greenery.
We decided we could loop an epic three week long, 3,000 mile roadtrip from Oslo up the coastline, into the Arctic, down through Sweden and back, in this way:
- Oslo — Enter
- Kristiansand
- Jæren
- Stavanger / Pulpit Rock
- Bergen
- Eikefjord
- Geiranger
- Bud / Atlantic Road
- Trondheim
- Arctic Circle Center
- Cross into Sweden
- Hällbacken
- Klövsjö
- Oslo — Exit
From there we would be ready for a hot summer after all that arctic weather. So we asked ourselves, given that Norway offers affordable flights to virtually anywhere in Europe:
What would be a great example of the diversity in the Mediterranean Basin in the height of summer?
Answer: Greece
We found we could take an easy detour by going from Oslo to London for $40/ticket, where we could spend three weeks exploring London, Stonehenge, the Cotswalds, and go into Wales as well. From there, fly from London to Corfu Island for $60/ticket and start our journey around Greece.
Greece has over 6,000 islands plus a fascinating mainland rich with history, culture, amazing food, and biodiverse marine life.
We decided to make an S shape by started in Corfu, crossing onto the mainland by ferry, then driving over to the north to see Meteora, then down through the heart of the country to the capital, Athens.
From there, we could drive to the Pelepennese peninsula over the Corinth Canal and across to key sites, and back to Athens.
From Athens main port, we could take our car onto a ferry boat to island hop in a loop back to Athens like this:
- Corfu Town— Enter
- Corfu Island
- Ferry to mainland
- Meteora
- Athens
- Corinth Canal
- Napflio
- Olympia
- Athens
- Milos Island
- Santorini Island
- Paros Island
- Athens — Exit
So in thinking about going east from Greece, where could we fly to easily that would show the teeming biodiversity of Southeast Asia?
Answer: The Malay Peninsula & Borneo Island
- Bangkok — Enter Thailand
- Hua Hin
- Khoa Lak / Little Amazon
- Phuket
- Phang Nga Bay — James Bond Island / Panyee Island
- Bangkok — Exit Thailand
- Kuala Lumpur — Enter Malaysia
- Penang
- Kuala Lumpur
- Fly to Miri — Enter Borneo
- Malaysian National Parks
- Weekend trip to the country of Brunei
- Brunei Rainforests
- Fly back to Kuala Lumpur — Exit Malaysia
From Malaysia, where would be a logical jump to explore the richness of Indonesia’s diverse islands?
Answer: Bali
We discovered we could fly from Kuala Lumpur to Bali island for $58/ticket and from there, rent a villa on the south peninsula for a month, and explore the island with that as a home base. This is our next step in our journey as we are currently in Malaysia and heading next week to Bali.
- Denpasaar — Enter Bali (Indonesia)
- Canggu
- Medewi
- Pemuteran
- Lovina Hot Springs
- Kintamani / Mt. Batur Volcano
- Amed
- Ubud
- Uluwatu
- Denpasaar — Exit Bali
That’s how far we are in the planning as of October 20, 2022! This blog is to be continued as we get into the next destination’s plans which will be:
- Australian EcoRegion — Australia [Biodiversity Hotspot]
- New Zealand Archipelago — New Zealand [Biodiversity Hotspot]
- Hawaiian Archipelago — Hawaii Island [Biodiversity Hotspot]
- Boreal Forests of Alaska — Alaska [Biodiversity Hotspot]
- Central America — Costa Rica [Biodiversity Hotspot]
- Amazon Rainforest — Brazil [Biodiversity Hotspot]
- Tropical Andes — Patagonian Chile [Biodiversity Hotspot]
Subscribe to get updates as this unfolds and follow the journey. Thanks for reading!
