“The very people telling you to use up your leave are often the people who have the most significant amount of leave accrued,” said Childs. Senior management does not practice what they preach and thus send a mixed message, by their own bad example.

“Australia was one of the few countries in the OECD that allowed workers to accrue annual leave, but by OECD standards our leave proportion was low and our provision of sick, parental or carers’ leave was not generous,” Childs said. While Australia only permits four weeks annual leave, in the UK people begin with four weeks in their first job and work their way up to five or six weeks leave. However they are limited in the amount they are allowed to carry forward.

As companies struggle to survive the global financial crisis, many workers find they are stretched to their limits and taking time off puts extra pressure on co-workers. “For many of us our colleagues are one of our major sources of friends these days and you don’t really want to be dumping on them and you know you’re going to have hundreds of emails when you return to work,” Childs said.

The study also found that one in 10 workers said they accrued their leave because they found they could not get the same time period off as their partner.

An alternative to taking the full annual leave maybe to take shorter breaks more often, such as extended weekend breaks. A five day break in places such as the tropical islands of Vanuatu, in the South Pacific, can give you the feeling of having travelled to a totally different culture, had some quality R and R and not taken too long away from the office.

There are some really great deals for Easter still available, particularly through some of the last  minute booking engines, or sites such as vanuatu-hotels.vu.

2009 was rated as being the worst ever year for airlines and the hotel industry. Airlines were forced to look at the efficiency of how they manage their operations, including providing ways for more passengers to manage their own travel arrangements. Some airlines now offer the traveler the ability to ‘check in’ on line. Airlines have been forced to offer super deals, amidst fierce competition, in order to struggle to capture a dwindled market.

Many people felt economically they were forced to put overseas trips on hold during 2009. Cheap air fare deals, a strong Australian dollar and greater consumer confidence, is leading to a surge in international trips.

In January, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that it is estimated that Australian travelers will flood the overseas market in 2010, driven by a powerful combination of affordable prices and pent-up demand.

“There’s no doubt that many people are getting itchy feet to take off and explore the world after staying home last year,” says a spokesman for Escape Travel, Colin Bowman. The Australian traveler is ready for new experiences.

Due to the natural beauty and diversity of experience, great airline and accommodation deals, tropical island nations such as Vanuatu,  in the South Pacific, will see a last minute rush to book for Easter. The romance of the tropics, friendly people, ancient culture, great cuisine and ‘close to home’ is a great attraction, for an extended visit, or for just a long weekend.

‘March Madness’, found at Seachange Lodge, on Vanuatu-Hotels, combined with great early bird fares from Air Vanuatu, will give some lucky travelers a really top holiday, over the Easter break. Seachange Lodge, in Port Vila, is the best kept secret in town. Make an Easter booking in March and get all the fabulous add-ons from a massage to a bottle of wine.

Last October Dr Margaret McAdam from Brisbane, Australia, along with Weddings-Parties-Evrisamting Ltd, organized a Duck Race in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Participants were asked to purchase children’s plastic yellow ducks, which were then dropped from a helicopter. The first duck over the finish line, won the prize of two airfares from Air Vanuatu.

Second prize was a seven night stay at Seachange Lodge, Port Vila, valued at AU$2000. Irene Kasten was stunned when her name was announced, as she had never won a major prize in her life.

Mrs Kasten would have loved to have spent 7 nights in the luxurious Waterside Chalet, at Seachange Lodge, with her own private spa, overlooking Erakor Lagoon. However, she had a much greater need. She would rather have a washing machine, valued at around $700. All her adult life she has washed the family’s clothes by hand. A gleaming white washing machine was something beyond her wildest dreams.

Helen Politis, manager of Weddings-Parties-Evrisamting Ltd and Seachange Lodge agreed to place the holiday on eBay on behalf of Mrs Kasten.

“We needed to wait until after Christmas holidays and kids back at school, before placing the holiday out on ebay. We wanted to get the best possible price for Irene, so she can finally go and buy her washing machine,” said Helen.

Over the next couple of weeks it is hoped that enough money will be raised, so that Mrs Kasten can see her dreams come true. Some lucky person will be able to purchase seven night’s accommodation on eBay for just over a third of the normal price and a brand new washing machine will be sitting in Mrs Kasten’s simple home in the village, on Erakor Island.

In November Murray and Michelle Smith announced they would give up their North Island five-bedroomed family home, in the New Zealand town of Cambridge, in order to raise funds to build a new church and community centre.

By purchasing a set of 6 iconic Waipa District photos, which could be used on your computer as a desktop wallpaper, screensaver, or clip art, the purchaser was automatically entered in a draw to win the family home.

The Kiwi mansion had views over Lake Karapiro. The new owner will be announced next week by Synergy (Cambridge) Trust.

Just as Murray and Michele Smith are passionate about helping the community, so are Rick and Wendy Tendys, who are also giving away their $1.8m home, on the tropical island of Vanuatu, in order to provide high school education grants to kids who have no access to education, without outside assistance. (72 million children across the world have no access to education).

view from Seachange Lodge

Sponsor a student and it could be your chance to be on your way to a fabulous tropical island VIP holiday in Vanuatu, in the South Pacific, as well as have the opportunity to win the unique property. The Win a Resort draw for Seachange Lodge will close in December 2010.

Set in an acre of easy to maintain lush tropical gardens, makes Seachange Lodge a very unique property, in a much sought after area of Port Vila. It has 6, ready to rent, fully self-contained units that will guarantee an instant income to the new owners. The units can be run as holiday accommodation, or permanent rentals. The executive home has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a large lounge with panoramic views of Erakor Lagoon. The peace and tranquility of the property is unsurpassed.

While the world is still reeling, attempting to recover from a global financial crisis, individuals can still get ahead through a deal like this. Someone has to win and it could be you. What are you waiting for?

When you arrive in Vanuatu you can throw away your watch and live on island time. It’s the perfect place for rest and relaxation and simply recharging your batteries. Great food, great people, great scenery.

If you are a CEO, or business owner, it’s the ideal spot to generate new ideas, rather than being forced to operate in the ‘urgent’ realm. (We all know what that’s about – working ‘in’ the business instead of ‘at’ it.

Everybody needs time out to look at the giant stars twinkling in the velvet night sky, watch the huge tropical moon rise over the lagoon, or just listen to the giant schools of fish leaping in the water. Or you might prefer snorkeling the reef, or lazing by the pool. If you are into a bit more exercise you can take the glass-bottomed kayak and paddle the lagoon, or hop into the dinghy and poke around on the water. You have lots of choices.

Balmy temperatures, loads of fresh air, eating organic meat and meeting great people. Where else can you get such great relaxation just a couple of hours out of Sydney, Australia?

All this can be yours for just AU$49.

The best part is that you will be putting some really needy kids into high school as well. With no free education in Vanuatu, only 18% of kids get to go to high school, simply because they don’t have the money for school fees. Kids who really want to do something with their lives, end up being forced to sit under a coconut tree. That’s great, if you need the relaxation, but no good if you can only sit and watch the kids who do go to high school.

Take a break. Help yourself and help someone else at Win a Resort Less than 24 hours left.

Almost forgot, you also get the chance (for absolutely nothing), to win an absolute fantastic tropical island property, Seachange Lodge. This could be yours! But you have to be in to win.

Buy an entry in Win a Resort to win a tropical island holiday for two, airfares paid out of the main centres of Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. You could also win a free trip to the live volcano on Tanna island – an absolutely unforgettable experience! You can’t get this close anywhere else, to a live volcano.

After a year’s hard work there is no nicer way to R&R than on a tropical island in the South Pacific. Balmy breezes, warm blue ocean to soak in, coral reefs to explore, or just relax by the pool and soak up the sun, enjoying doing nothing at all.

You might even be giving away the winning ticket for a $1.8m, absolute water front property. (Wouldn’t that be something). At least you’d have free accommodation for ever. The property is to be drawn in Dec 2010. Just in time for your next year’s holidays. (You don’t want to keep it – sell if for a one-time-fat cheque and walk away with over $1m  CASH).

Vanuatu is just three hours East of Sydney, Australia and very easy to access. Yet it’s a world away as far as cultural differences go. Vanuatu has a very diverse culture of Melanesian, Polynesian and Micronesian people, with a blend of French and English. Nothing like it anywhere else.

It has some of the most amazing places you could ever wish to visit. A live volcano, the largest fresh water lake in the South Pacific, giant grave stones (shades of Stonehinge). Then you have people who still live the same way their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. A visit to a truly cultural village is something you will never forget.

Of course, it takes more than just a quick week’s holiday to access the Outer Islands, but if you have the time, it’s a truly amazing experience. Like stepping back in time.

We forgot to mention, when you visit Vanuatu, you throw your watch away until you are ready to leave again. Time is strictly island time. Fantastic as a cure for that high pressure stress, most of you live under.

As for the people – you won’t find anyone more friendly than the Ni-Vanuatu people. They truly steal your heart away and the only thing you say as you step onto the homeward bound plane, is “I’ll be back again.”

For just $Au49 you could be giving a seven day holiday to your best friend, or just give yourself a gift.

We are extending the current draw to Dec 15^th, just before Christmas. Get in now for a special bonus offer.

See you in the winner’s circle.

We forgot to mention, you will be helping some really great kids get an education as well!

The story unfolded across the 83 tropical islands of the archipelago, which stretches across 1000kms. On each island the stars of the story uncovered wonders that not many know about, from giant burial stones, to a fire walking ceremony, to where giant lobsters and coconut crabs live.

In the final chapter of ‘Vanuatu Treasure’ the two central characters, Natou-Kole and Laena are seen standing  with the treasure chest, outside Roi Mata’s cave home, on Lelepa Island, while Maui, the tortoise, completes a victory roll in the sky.

Ancient Cave Drawings

Chief Roi Mata, was a powerful 17^th century Melanesian chief and the last of Vanuatu’s paramount chiefs. He was widely known for his social reforms and conflict resolutions. He was the first to hold the great peace feasts, where he introduced a system of totemic clans, binding the people together through maternal links.

Roi Mata is still an inspiration and source of power for many of the Ni-Vanuatu people. It is believed the ancient cave drawing on Lelepa depicts Roi Mata.

For over 400 years custom tabu (prohibition) has applied to Roi Mata’s mass burial site, containing over 25 – 50 members of his retinue, who were buried live with him. It is understood the men were permitted to drink kava, a soporiphic local drink, but this privilege was not allowed for the women.

According to legend he was the first chief to conquer the land and unite the tribes. Though Roi Mata had a peaceful reign, he was poisoned to death by his brother.

Roi Mata’s body was removed to the island of Artuk for burial, as the locals feared his spirit. A small community living on Artuk was relocated to the main island of Efate.

Because of the oral tradition to the culture, it is very difficult to find very much written about this powerful chief, but no one since has dared to take the name of Roi Mata.

“It was a matter of organization, from Melanesian Tours busing in the students from school, to Guy Deroin having drawn 35 marvellous cartoons to illustrate the story, to student teachers from Malapoa Training College assisting the students. On the day it needed to flow like a factory assembly line, with a sentence being completed and written down every 39 seconds.”

YouMe Support  Foundation staged a successful Guinness World challenge on 19^th November, in Port Vila, on the tropical island of Vanuatu, in the South Pacific.

When asked if there were any hitches Stenberg-Tendys said “We started at 7.30 in the morning and by 10.00 o’clock it looked as if the challenge was going to fail. We were already 100 students down on our schedule. This was when everyone began pulling together.”

People were literally coerced off the street to add a sentence to the continuous scroll. Everyone was determined not to be beaten after three months of hard work.

The attempt was successfully completed at 5.30 p.m. just 10 hours after starting. The only Asian Pacific Guinness World Record adjudicator, Chris Sheedy, had expected to go the full 24 hours to see the completion of the attempt. In his declaration of  success, he complemented the organizers, YouMe Support Foundation on their efficiency in preparation.

In his opinion, the Challenge had embraced and enhanced the rich and strongly diversified Melanesian, Polynesian and Micronesian cultures, which have been strongly flavoured with both French and English culture. This is what makes Vanuatu so unique.

The achievement was even more remarkable in that many of the students were not only writing in their second or third language, but they live in a culture that is very strong in its oral traditions.

The story of two kids and a giant tortoise was brilliantly illustrated by Guy Deroin, a local Ni-Vanuatu artist. Deroin, though French speaking, has spent all his life in Vanuatu, apart from the time he travelled to Noumea for education. His father was French, his mother from the Vanuatu island of Ambae. He is planning a tourist attraction based around his cartoon characters. It is hoped the three characters of the Guinness World Record will find a place in the Cultural Museum, to mark this red letter day.

The attempt was successful with 838 participants taking part, mainly school students from around Port Vila. The record was previously held by Novum Verlag Gmbh in Neckenmarktt, Austria, with 797 participants, in 2007.

Student Writing Into The History Books

The students were bused in from their schools, by Melanesian Tours and registered. The teachers from Malapoa Teachers Training College then assisted the participants, in groups of 24, to form a sentence. There was a further registration before the sentence was added to the continuous scroll. Often the students waited patiently for up to 1 hour, as only one person was permitted to write at a time, according to the rules laid out by the Guinness World Record organization.

Chris Sheedy, the only Asia-Pacific Guinness World Record adjudicator said, “It was the first time I have been invited to a Pacific island to adjudicate an event.” In his speech declaring the attempt successful, he complemented YouMe Support Foundation on such a well organized event and the fact that it embraced and enhanced the local culture.

The 35 chapters of ‘Vanuatu Treasure’, was brilliantly illustrated by a local Ni-Vanuatu, cartoonist, Guy Deroin. The plot involved two children and a giant tortoise searching across the entire tropical island archipelago of Vanuatu, for clues to a hidden treasure chest. On their way they uncovered all the exciting and interesting things that can be actually found in Vanuatu, from the giant kauri forest in the south, to the largest South Pacific fresh water lake on top of a volcano, to water music in the far north. The story will be published as a book, that the public will be able to purchase.

Prime Minister Edward Natapei was present to see the event announced as a success, just 10 hours after it had commenced. He believed that a Guinness World Record is the ideal promotion for Vanuatu abroad, as many people are not sure just where one of the best holiday destinations in the South Pacific, is located.

The Prime Minister agreed that the three life size characters and the scroll should take their place in history, in a display at the Cultural Museum in Port Vila.

This is the second Guinness World Record for Vanuatu. The only other one is held by the underwater post office at Hideaway Resort.

The Guinness World Record attempt was part of the ongoing promotion of raising funds for high school education grants. Just as Marter Homes and Boy’s Town raise funds in Australia, by raffling expensive homes, so YouMe Support Foundation is raising funds by raffling a prime piece of real estate on the Internet, on winaresort.com.

In order to raise awareness of the special education needs of the children of Vanuatu, the Tendys will bring together 820 senior high school children to challenge ‘How Many People to Write A Story in 24 Hours’.

Each student can only write one sentence each in a continuous story that will tell how two children, riding on a magic giant tortoise, will fly the length of Vanuatu, on a hunt for pieces of a treasure map. The story will be illustrated by Guy Deroin, (a local Ni-Vanuatu artist) and student teachers from VITE Teachers Training College will assist. The story will be published as a hard copy book.

On November 19^th, all the Tendys’ years of teaching experience will be put to the test, as the challenge is made more difficult by the fact that for the vast majority of the students will be writing in their third language (English). Vanuatu has approximately 156 separate languages, second only to the number in Papua New Guinea.

The Tendys retired’ to Vanuatu in 2004, after teaching English as a second language in Hong Kong. Instead of retiring the Tendys renovated a property and opened a boutique 6 roomed holiday accommodation, Seachange Lodge. Finding themselves quickly involved in a local community, they formed YouMe Support Foundation, to assist the local children gain a high school education.

Putting their ‘money where their mouth is’ they set about raffling Seachange Lodge on the Internet. For just $Au49 some lucky person will own the prime piece of water front real estate, Seachange Lodge, in December 2010.

As part of their ongoing programme, they came up with the idea of creating a Guinness World Challenge that would highlight the need of the local children. In Vanuatu there is no free or compulsory education. With no ‘social security system in place, many islanders are out of work and have no way of raising funds for educating their children. As Nelson Mandela said, ”The only way to make lasting change is through education.”

The Guinness World Record staff are happy to see a small South Pacific country make a world name for itself and are hoping the challenge will succeed. A Guinness World Record adjudicator will be present on the day, to present a framed certificate, if the record is broken. The current record was created in 2007, by an Austrian group, with 797 people participating.