Keep an eye out readers, there are a few cyclists dotted about this wrap. However, Travel Weekly does not condone any excessive honking or road rage.

Queensland’s first combined Cycling & Hiking Adventure

In a first for Queensland, a combined cycling and walking tour is now available and within easy reach of Brisbane.

This unique adventure combines 2 days cycling on the newly opened Brisbane Valley rail trail, with a luxurious 2 day hike on the Scenic Rim track, categorised as one of ‘Australia’s Great Walks’. Walking and cycling holidays are experiencing huge popularity right now and what better way to enjoy both activities than on a combined experience.

And this is a first for Queensland. Get up close with nature, experience the newly opened longest rail trail in Australia (the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail), star gaze from your luxury tent and learn about Indigenous history and culture from trained local guides. Finish with a celebratory lunch and special wine tasting at the ever popular Sirromet Winery.

Fully guided with luxury accommodation and 2 nights premium glamping, chef prepared meals and wine tastings, this active getaway is perfect for those seeking an adventure with all the comforts of a 5 star tour.

The cycling is graded as easy/intermediate and the hiking intermediate to challenging so some level of fitness is required. Both are fully guided and supported.

A full detailed itinerary is available from Tour de Vines.

International Rail continues to diversify to benefit agents

Australian owned International Rail has just launched its new hotel and apartment division with a dedicated agent booking system- “International Hotel”, designed with loyal agents in mind, who were looking for a secure and reliable accommodation option with strong local support, said managing director Jonathan Hume.

To celebrate the addition of this product to our stable, the company is offering agents an incentive of a $100 Dan Murphy voucher to agents who make one booking on each of the three booking sites for rail, transfers and hotels by 31 March 2019.

This live booking system offers more than 500,000 hotels, apartments and resorts with highly competitive rates and instant bookings. It is powered by French based accommodation provider “MisterRoom” who has aggregated many of the global reservations systems, including Booking.com and Expedia into one super simple, secure and price competitive trade only solution.

Some of the benefits include access to unique apartment style accommodation and the ability for agents to hold bookings at a fixed price until 72 hours prior to the confirmation deadlines.

WIN A TRIP TO PARIS FOR 2 WITH DRIVEAWAY!

DriveAway, together with Air France, Atout France and Peugeot Open Europe – is giving one lucky Australian travel agent an all-expenses-paid trip to Paris for two.

Prizes include; 2 x flights to Paris, 7 nights accommodation, AU$1,000 spending money and tickets to the Moulin Rouge and Bateaux Mouches experiences.

To win, travel agents have to simply make a Peugeot Open Europe booking from today until the 30^th of June 2019 – for collections in 2019.

Don’t miss out on this amazing trip – just be in it to win it!

Eight new cycling itineraries from World Expeditions 

Cross Jordan from north to south

Following a mix of quiet roads, scenic trails, dirt tracks and even caravan paths, Jordan by bike takes in some of the country’s most sought-after visitor experiences – from covering yourself in mud and floating on the Dead Sea to spending a full day at Petra and sleeping under the stars at a Bedouin camp in Wadi Rum.

• NEW! Jordan by bike with World Expeditions (8 days) launches 3 March, with further departures in April, September and November, from $3,590 per person.

Encounter epic scenery and fascinating minority cultures in southern China (E-bike option available!)

Travel where few outsiders have been before: riding quiet backroads through the lesser known parts of the Guizhou, Hunan and Guangxi provinces, you will delve deep into the heartland of the local ‘hill people’.

• NEW! Cycle Remote South China with World Expeditions (14 days) launches 24 May, with further departures in August and October, from $3,230 per person.

Ladakh Cycling Epic with Kate Leeming

This is a trip through some of the most starkly beautiful – and challenging – cycling terrain on the planet.  Kate Leeming is an elite cyclist, whose passion for adventure cycling has seen her complete epic long distance cycle expeditions in Africa, South America and in the Australian desert.

• NEW! Ladakh Cycling Epic with Kate Leeming with World Expeditions (20 days) is a one-off departure which departs 12 August, 2019 from $4,790 per person.

Bike (and hike!) your way around the wilds of Madagascar

Mingle with the friendly Malagasy people and experience Madagascar’s untouched beauty in true adventurous spirit. From capital Antananarivo, ride the wilds of Madagascar across wide-open savannah, punctuated by otherworldly rock formations.

• NEW! Bike and Hike Madagascar with World Expeditions (15 days) launches 5 May, with further departures until October, from $5,290 per person

Explore the remote temples of Cambodia at handlebar level

A new cycling adventure that takes you off the beaten track in northern Cambodia. After spending a full day exploring at handlebar level the glorious Angkor Wat, the itinerary continues to some of Cambodia’s lesser known (and less frequented) temples, such as: Preah Vihear, atop a 525-metre cliff in the Dangrek Mountains, the natural border between Thailand and Cambodia; the sprawling jungle temple of Beng Melea, largely overrun by trees growing from its broken towers; the mountain Koh Ker Temple, whose seven decks rise 35 meters high; and the Roluos collection of monuments, which represent the remains of the first major capital of the Angkor era Khmer Empire.

• NEW! Remote Temples of Cambodia by Bike with World Expeditions (8 days) departs monthly year round, from $1,740 per person

Follow the Rum Runners Rail Trail and travel back to the ‘Prohibition’ era

In the prohibition of the 1920s and ’30s, many sailors in Nova Scotia stopped fishing and became international smugglers. Boats would pull into secluded coves and islands, while beaches and woods provided many discrete hiding places for liquor.

• NEW! Halifax to Lunenburg: The Rum Runners Rail Trail with World Expeditions (6 days) launches 5 June, with further departures until October, from $1,690 per person

Immerse in the beauty of Cuba as Havana gears up to celebrate its 500^th anniversary in November

Cuba is a Caribbean gem ideally geared for a two-wheeled holiday, where World Expeditions’ local guides will introduce you to their favourite haunts and hideaways.

Discover a mountain biking paradise in Morocco

Morocco’s exotic fusion of experiences makes it an ideal destination to explore by bike and the opportunities on this new cycling trip, beginning and ending in the 1,000-year-old ochre-coloured city of Marrakesh, are both physically exhilarating and culturally infused.

• NEW! Morocco Cycle Adventure with World Expeditions (12 days) launches 10 March, with further departures until October, from $2,460 per person