It is this time of the year again... Lets plan a meetup again :D

Travel restrictions are slowly fading away (knock on wood). So where to?

Usual options:
* Pick sth everyone can get to easily. Praha seems like a nice option.
* Pick sth where there is a host. Praha, Netherlands, Hamburg, Zurich, Luxembourg, London, ...
* Pick sth nobody has seen. Hard to do nowadays. Either hard to get to or newly inscribed.
* Pick sth where a special experience can be arranged.
* Pick sth Els has on her schedule.

Best: All of the above.

General questions to answer:
* Weekend trip or longer?
* Europe, near Europe, intercontinental flight?
* Month?
* Quality over quantity?

Some topics I have on my bucket list:
Odessa/Ukraine when the war has ended (hopefully soon)
Azores, Morocco, Japan/Korea, Italy. Georgia,

Els currently has this on her plans:
Madagascar/Reunion

Some areas that are hard to get to but could be arranged:
Rio Abesio (Peru), Socotra , Greenland (hellish expensive), Remote Japanese Islands, M'Zab Valley/
Tassili n'Ajjer/Algeria.

Good initiative, nfmungard!

We could also look at the 2022 and 2023 nominations.
- A Caribbean excursion? Forests and Volcanoes of Martinique
- (2023 is particularly poor, maybe Hopewell in the US, Wadi al-Natrun)

Would be in favor of Odessa as well, but hard to plan right now.

It may be tough for me to join up, but I would be hopeful to do so, especially if it is cheaply accessable from London (so Europe and pockets of North Africa)

Even if I can't join, it is always fun to do a bit of vicarious travelling on the WhatsApp group.

And as ever if anyone is coming though London or the South East of England I am always happy to have a mini meetup.

+1 for hopewell

Hopewell may not be the most exciting world heritage site (if inscribed), but depending on interest and "unvisited" WHS, one can head South to Mammoth Cave National Park, West to Cahokia Mounds, or East to Fallingwater. Hopewell, as a serial property includes 2-3 days worth of excursions if one wishes to "complete" all the components. I would certainly try to join if this meeting happened, since its in North America.

+1 Socotra

Pimachiowin Aki (Canada) would be an interesting "meet-up" location, starting at Winnipeg and perhaps flying to Aikens Lake. This would be an alternative to trying to reach boundary locations, which can be a lengthy effort and ultimately not completely satisfactory.

I actually got a quote for Aikens Lake in 2021, but border restrictions prevented a potential trip. Interesting fact, the Advisory Body Team stayed at Aikens Lake for some of their on-site evaluation. Not surprisingly, they wanted some comfort with some extra cost!

From my email [shortened]:

"Thank you for your patience on me getting this info to you. We are excited to hopefully host you this upcoming summer for a visit to Aikens Lake, located in the Pimachiowin Aki UNESCO heritage site. We are an ideal setting for you to commune with the pristine surroundings at our lake. I've prepared a bid for your visit this summer. It is for 3 nights, but I can change it to a shorter or longer stay. The bid includes price reductions for being unguided and I've offered you a discount under the guise of this being a UNESCO visit. The dates in the bid are to be determined (TBD).

We are very glad to hear that the reviews you've read about us prompted you to connect with us. Our aim is to exceed expectations, we'll certainly hope to do so for you as well. To answer your questions in your original email, we have canoes and kayaks on site that you'd be free to use. Your package would also include access to a boat and motor to further offer you access the all the reaches of the lake and its waterways. The Gammon River, which feeds Aikens Lake, flows in at the falls one mile away from our docks. Across the lake, the downriver portion of the Gammon offers another 5 miles to explore. Our operation is in the boreal forest, pre-Cambrian shield/Canadian Shield. Large concentrations of granite and spruce trees abound. Local wildlife such as Moose, Black Bear, Woodland Caribou and smaller forest-dwelling animals can be found on our shores. Many different breeds of birds and waterfowl call Aikens Lake home. As a nature lover, you'll be in Heaven here at Aikens. The star gazing at Aikens is first-rate, 0 light pollution to be had. We do have a network of trails that we tend on our peninsula. Our network of trails stretches a couple miles and offers such great views onto different parts of the lake. As for other hiking/walking sites, some of our older forest sections on the lake can be easily hiked and explored. We also have a couple smaller portage lakes that are accessible by boat or canoe. We are confident that you will find a visit to Aikens Lake a quite rewarding experience.

For 1-2 cabins depending on the number of people, this could be a very memorable experience with the kayak/canoeing, motor boat excursions, hikes, and fishing (for those inclined). The cost is also more manageable with a group.

Yay! I really hope to be able to join! Even if it might not be so easy...


(Long) weekend would be easier, of course. Longer would be nicer.


I fear an intercontinental flight would be too much for me if not in August, mostly because intercontinental = more time


Personally I am rather tied up until end of May, with the exception of Easter's window... which might be too early. June/July might look better, August is always the freest month for me. After August it's just fog of war.


Quality! :-D
PS: I still have to finish readingthe definitive guide to travel quality :-P


I fear that Odessa still won't be realistic next year, maybe I am just pessimistic. But why not.

* * *
Now, I know it might not be particularly enticing, but, as I probably already mentioned, I might help organise a stay in proximity of the evaporite karsts (upcoming 2023), in particular the (apparently) little trodden sites in Reggio Emilia's province. I know, Italy is quite familiar to everybody... maybe as a small local,regional meetup as appetiser for a more "serious" one? I could personally host few people (7 is a crowded maximum). PS: Good food! :-)
* * *

While maybe I'd leave something "hellish expensive" like Greenland aside, as much as it would be a beautiful destination :-)


I like this idea very much because it looks reasonably feasible, easy to reach and "self-contained"!


That would be great!

I'd certainly be interested in a 2023 meet-up, though it would depend on when and where.


Certainly seems like it would be interesting, and I really hope that the war will end soon. Still, I'm concerned that uncertainty in the region is detrimental for long-term planning.


The Caribbean has a lot of options for visits. I'd be up for something like this.


This could be feasible for me, depending on dates and location.


This is currently on the US State Department no go list, so although it would be a great location for a visit, I would have to skip out on this one for the time being.


Yup -- it would be expensive, but it would be fascinating to see. This one would interest me.


I think the biggest factor affecting this one is time (and that most active community members are closer to Europe).


If folks are interested in heading to North America, winterkjm is exactly right that there would be a lot to see in this area. Cincinnati, Ohio, would make a good base, and is nearby to not just Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, but other TWHS such as Serpent Mound and the Dayton Aviation Sites. I'm not sure that Serpent Mound has much chance to ever be inscribed, and I'm not sure Dayton Aviation Sites is strong enough on its own (I'd rather see a joint nomination with Wright Brothers National Memorial in North Carolina), but they would be interesting side trips. Dayton is also home to the impressive National Museum of the United States Air Force, which includes historic presidential aircraft used as Air Force One as well as a space gallery. Cincinnati is about 3.5 hours by car from Mammoth Cave, which would make a feasible day trip. The western part of Kentucky en route to Mammoth Cave includes both bourbon country and Thoroughbred horse country. Cincinnati is just over a five hour drive from Chicago (which would be the closest gateway city to enter the US), but is also a short flight from Chicago or New York.


That's an interesting idea. I'd previously only looked at driving up to Bloodvein from Winnipeg.


I always love trips to Italy, and you wouldn't have to sell me on the food!

"Pimachiowin Aki (Canada) would be an interesting "meet-up" location"

This would be an unforgettable meeting

Remote part of Canada. More like an exciting joint travel proposal (like Surtsey last year) than an original meetup. Would assume Quebec or Calgary to be better meetup places.


That sounds like a good place to have a meetup in the original sense. Question is if these Karst sites get inscribed or not.

Looking at the map, plenty of locations (Medici Villas, Spa Towns, Pile Dwellings) around and some tents (Via Francigena, Carrara) , so I guess there would be sth new for everyone plus very good food.

Personally, I would head south to maybe Florence, Orvieto and Bagnoregio, do the Etruscan graves again, and end in Rome with a visit to the Via Appia, Ostia and the Sistine Chapel.


Not sure what the proper time of travel is. Single site intercontinental flights dont make much sense to me, so would need to know what other sites are nearby. Martinique probably requires an overlay in Paris for most.


Lets put Odessa down for the year the war has ended.


Looked at possible trips. Public transport in the US is a joke. With a rental, I think the sensible thing to do would be Chicago (Early Skyscrapers is very high on my to visit List), Columbus, Mammoth Caves, Cahokia Mounds and back to Chicago. Or one way rental Washington DC to Chicago or sth.

However, if going outside Europe, my preference would be New Mexico. Loads of stellar sites (Taos, Chaco, Mesa Verde, Carlsbad Caverns, Grand Canyon) plus great tentatives (White Sands, Petrified Forest) clustered around Albuquerque.

At another time in our lives, myself and Mrs Meltwaterfalls would be very keen on this one (she already has a route planned I think). Alas not at the moment for us, but would certainly be a fun trip.

New Mexico is also great, I think it is very under rated as a destination in the US, the red and green chilli option with everything is also something that should be adopted in all cuisine worldwide :)

Whilst I have little interest in the specifics of evaporite karsts (I'm sure I would like it if I visited though) I think that certainly seems appealing to me.

But again don't factor me in too much< my chances of joining are more limited.

Yup -- it's certainly not as efficient as Europe. Our cities vary widely in the quality of public transport (Chicago and New York are pretty good; Washington, DC, is a a little less so), but there are rail lines between many major cities. Amtrak's Cardinal route connects Washington, DC (and New York) to Chicago, via Cincinnati, Ohio. Any sites outside a city and its suburbs (basically all the sites mentioned in Ohio and Kentucky) would best be seen by rental car, though.


I definitely get that -- it's a beautiful state, and I've been many times. A rental car is absolutely necessary to maximize time and expense.

I'm totally with you on this one! I've never been to the Americas, but this is on top of my US-wishlist!


Of course they'll get inscribed!!! :-D
Yes, there are many possibilities to go around and I would be glad to organise/join in, even if some would be revisits. Closest is Modena's cathedral, just a bit farther Bologna; doing the mountain pass (very winding road!) to the other side of the Appenines one reaches La Spezia and the Cinque terre, going through aspiring TWHSs of Lunigiana, and from there one is in Tuscany etc. etc. Lots of interesting non-WHS places and activities too! :-)


Double combination of something French + Caribbean? I think that a good thing, if I'm not mistaken, is that flights to Martinique and Caribbeans are quite affordable with respect to many other destinations.

Last time this was discussed there was a suggestion of a trip to Russia (Kizhi Pogost / Lake Onega). I would 100% have been up for that. Right now I think it's wise to relegate that to the back-burner for a few years...

For those who want something easily accessible in Europe, I'd be happy to meet up anyone coming to NW England. Although we don't have a confirmed UK T-list yet (apologies, we are changing Prime Ministers more frequently than our bed linen right now) I'd say there are a number of benefits to basing yourself in Chester for a few days:
- easily accessible by direct train from either Manchester or Liverpool airport
- easy access by local trains to a number of sites bidding to get on the T-list: Port Sunlight (which has done enough to convince me it warrants a place), Birkenhead Park (very committed local campaign but I'm not convinced) and Sankey Viaduct (just no)
- direct trains to Conwy (or to Bangor for local bus connection to Caernarfon) for anyone who wants to re-tick Gwynedd Castles
- direct trains to Bangor and then local bus connections to Penrhyn / Bethesda / Llanberis / Porthmadog for Welsh Slate Mining Landscape
- Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Jodrell Bank in easy day trip territory (as is Liverpool even though there's nothing there for us now)
- as a major rail junction you have trains running direct to London or only one connection away from Lake District or York (stand out proposal for T-list in my view). Via Liverpool or Manchester airports (or Birkenhead / Holyhead ports) plenty of connections to check out updates in Ireland (Republic and Northern)
- Chester itself is nice, with an authentic Roman street layout and two-tiered medieval shopping arcades (the 'Rows' - they failed to get on the T-list last time around but the new MP has campaigned for a second try (Mmay have missed the opportunity there though). It complements York.in my view (Chester better for Roman heritage, York outstanding for Viking heritage, York also takes the prize for medieval)

Maybe an option for 2024 (or anything more ad hoc) once we know the new T-list. In any case, if anyone does come to this neck of the woods let me know and I would love to meet up or at the very least provide tips.