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Once called Hulk Bay after the prison ship that was moored here, the Sydney suburb is now known for stately homes and amazing harbor views. This appeared in the August/September 2013 issue.

Kenya’s Mathioya, Tana, and Athi rivers offer some excellent white-water rafting opportunities. Rafting the Athi is considered one of the top 10 river trips in the world and includes steep rapids, giant waterfalls, and stunning views of wildlife along the route. Savage Wilderness, a company in the Sagana region, offers exhilarating and well-guided white-water excursions (as well as rock climbing, archery, and more) and is an easy day trip from Nairobi. At some points of the year, the rivers around Sagana can be too low to raft on, but a range of other activities, from swimming to attempting to kayak through a 50-foot waterfall, are available.

A popular and new cultural attraction in Montego Bay, the Rastafari Indigenous Village offers a fun and insightful day of Rastafari history, music and food to anyone interested in immersing and learning about this unique group. The day begins with a hike to the village, reached by spelunking across a river, and a medicinal plant tour. It continues with various activities, including culinary demonstrations of Rasta “Ital” or organic, vegetarian dishes, drumming circles and stories on the evolution and struggles of Rastafari culture in Jamaica. It’s an easy reach—about 20 minutes from Montego Bay—and a good pick for those short on time.

Situated on a farm a 50-minute drive northwest of Hobart, Two Metre Tall’s brewery is worth the detour. On Fridays and Sundays, the outdoor bar serves experimental beers and ciders made with local apples, hops, and other ingredients. Don’t miss the beer-fed local beef, which visitors can barbecue on-site.

One of only three trains in the world to have been recognized with UNESCO’s World Heritage status (the others are in Austria and India), this scenic passenger route was built in 1889 and stretches for 150 miles from Thusis, Switzerland, to Tirano, Italy, via 84 tunnels and 383 vertiginous bridges and viaducts. The rails don’t just connect this primordial landscape of sparkling teal rivers, hyacinth-blue glaciers, and jagged pink-hued rocks; they also serve a number of cities and towns, including St. Moritz and several Romansh-speaking villages in the stunning Engadine Valley. Keep the camera on, because the train zips past Roman-era chapels, Celtic archaeological sites, modernist thermal baths, and numerous Hapsburg-era castles—some crumbling atop mountains, others perfectly built into the Alps like something from Tolkien’s Rivendell. Highlights include the C-shaped Landwasser Viaduct, a 213-foot-high, six-arch viaduct spanning the Landwasser River, and the nine-arch spiral viaduct in Brusio that will have rail enthusiasts in a tizzy. Though this is not a sightseeing train, highlights are announced (somewhat annoyingly, in five or six languages) on the overhead system as the train passes them. Most trains have panoramic cars with curved glass ceilings and seats costing an additional five to 10 Swiss francs.

A labor of love from local brother-and-sister owners Joe and Catherine Bartolomei, this six-acre, farmhouse-style resort in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley underwent an $8 million renovation in 2015, adding nine light-filled rooms with four-poster beds and fireplaces. The Spa at Farmhouse, modeled after a vintage stable, has double-height ceilings and pine doors for each of its four treatment rooms. The thoughtful details will win you over: a glass of wine at check-in, an attentive staff at the Michelin-starred restaurant, and fresh-baked cookies at turndown.

Unlike many national parks, San Antonio Missions isn’t just one location. Rather, the park comprises a chain of centuries-old Catholic mission churches snaking along the San Antonio River. A daylong tour introduces travelers to several of these structures and highlights what makes each one unique, from the architecture of Mission Concepción to the aqueduct at Mission Espada. Private vehicles can be arranged for the Mission Trail, but active guests may prefer to follow the Park Service’s map via bicycle. Check your hotel for local bike rentals or guided tour options before hitting the trail, and expect to pedal around 8 to 10 miles.

Miami’s food scene reflects South Florida’s diverse culture and international flavor, attracting some of the best culinary talent in the world (and more than its fair share of James Beard Award winners). And when the call of comfort food beckons, head to a down-home restaurant for local favorites like stone crab and fried chicken.

Maui’s culinary scene is having a moment, as a renewed interest in local ingredients—especially heritage ones—powers the island’s restaurants to new heights. Visitors may come for the sun and surf, but they’re lingering for the innovative food, made from ahi, coffee, coconut, kalo (taro), ulu (breadfruit), Spam, and beef raised by paniolos (Hawaiian cowboys). Forget pineapple on pizza, however delicious. Today’s best chefs are focused on Hawaii Regional Cuisine, a movement that started in 1991 to showcase the archipelago’s diversity. Expect to savor Japanese, Filipino, and Native Hawaiian flavors, often in the same dish.

A stroll through Plaza España, a taste of local wine, and a café seat under leafy cottonwoods.

Peggy Dulany, a New York philanthropist and daughter of David Rockefeller, bought J Bar L to protect the 620-square-mile Centennial Valley, a former Native American hunting ground settled by a few cattle-ranching families in the late 19th century—and which still has no towns, let alone paved roads, gas stations, shops, or subdivisions. To conserve the rangeland way of life, she hired locals to run a holistic grass-fed cattle business on the principles of rotational grazing and natural stockmanship. To share the landscape with nature-loving travelers and to keep the valley looking as it was, Dulany restored several abandoned 19th- and early 20th-century homesteads. These self-contained vacation rental homes range from a Sears Roebuck family house, now solar-powered, to isolated cabins on a bend of the Red Rock River. All come with fully-equipped kitchens and are tastefully filled with Western-themed furnishings and antiques; some have outdoor hot tubs.

J Bar L no longer offers working weeks for would-be cowboys but will match guests with geologists as well as with hiking, bird-watching, and fly-fishing guides. Horse lovers can hire ranch mounts for guided daily rides on rangeland that is home to pronghorn, elk, and Black Angus cattle, or up the slopes of the 10,000-foot Gravelly Mountains where wolves, grizzly bears, and bald eagles roam.

For over 37 years, this legendary western clothing shop, run by proprietor Paul Martinez, has been outfitting locals and cowboys with boots, hats, three-piece suits -- and bolo ties, of course.

To the west of Santiago’s historic heart of downtown, here the Chilean capital was founded at present day Cerro Santa Lucía with its lush garden. Now a trendy neighborhood, here top restaurants, bars, cafés, boutiques, parks, and stately apartment buildings make up this happening area around Lastarria street.

One of Tasmania’s top tourist attractions is the crumbling ruins of a penal colony, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit the penitentiary, where 60 stone buildings remain, for a sobering glimpse into the brutal lives of the 12,500 convicts incarcerated here between 1830 and 1877. Visitors can also tour the Dockyard and Port Arthur gardens. There’s so much to see that a guided tour is recommended—especially the one that covers paranormal activity. (There’s also a lantern-lit ghost tour, for brave families only.)