No. 8: July 2005
HUGH'S IMPACT DOWN UNDER
HUGH TAYLOR is heading south for the summer. He and partner, Moira McCrossan will tour Australia for five weeks then stop of for a few days R & R in Singapore on the way home.
They’ll be in Victoria covering Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road, Grampians National Park, Ballarat and the goldfields. In the Northern Territories they will travel by motorhome to Ulura and the Olgas, returning via King’s Canyon then flying to Cairns to explore the Daintree Rainforest, the Great Barrier Reef and the Atherton Tablelands.
Activities will include walking, scuba diving, cycling and with a bit of luck a couple of days lying on a beach.
In Singapore they’ll relax in Raffles Hotel researching a feature on the hotel and the origins of the Singapore Sling.
Several features have already been commissioned by newspapers and magazines in the UK and USA but having a seriously irate bank manager means that they are able and willing to undertake a few more.
Contact: travelscribe@btinternet.com
INTO THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE
ROBIN McKELVIE has just finished his third and fourth books on Croatia for Dorling Kindersley and Globetrotter and his Bradt Slovenia and Bradt Ljubljana guides have just come out. In September Robin is travelling out to Bermuda for two weeks to research the Globetrotter Bermuda guide, so any hotels and PRs with an interest in the territory should get in touch. As well as the book Robin will also be writing magazine and newspaper articles for his usual outlets. Robin has already been published this year in the Daily Mail, TNT, Wanderlust, Sunday Herald, The List, Away from Home, ABTA Magazine, Scotland Magazine and CNN Traveller and many other publications. New ideas and interesting press trip invitations are always welcome but as much advance notice as possible is appreciated.
All enquiries to robinmckelvie@hotmail.com
CONTRA DEAL
JOE CAWLEY will be seeing if sandy vistas have really replaced Sandinistas as Nicaragua's tourist icon during a trip to the land of lakes and volcanoes in August. Family travel in Sri Lanka is the angle following a trip in the subsequent month.
Parties interested in words, pics or hosting, contact writer@joecawley.co.uk
SKIING AND SURFING
ALF ALDERSON has just returned from testing a wide range of winter 05/06 skis in the Austrian Alps, hard on the back working on The Ski Handbook (New Holland) due for publication next winter and The Ski Atlas, also from New Holland, so whilst it may be the middle of summer if you're looking ahead for winter/skiing features give him a shout. He'll also be on a campervan surfing and hiking trip in South West France/Pyrenees in August and will have plenty of copy and pics on the back - and as he says "It'll be nice to forget about winter for a while over a nice glass of red in Biarritz". For more info go to www.alfalderson.co.uk or alf@alfalderson.co.uk
ON THE ROAD WITH BUTCH AND SUNDANCE
DAVID ATKINSON is still based out of La Paz, Bolivia, researching a brand new country guide for Bradt Travel Guides (www.bradt-travelguides.com), where his latest journeys included the colonial city of Sucre, the Salar de Uyuni salt desert, Bolivia's greatest natural wonder, and the tinku festival, a huge drunken brawl masquerading as an insight into the indigenous culture of Potosi department.
David recently won the inaugural GoNomad.com travel writing bursary (www.gonomad.com/contest/contestrules.html) and is about to set off retracing the footsteps of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid for a report to publish mid July. He has also taken up a role as the Daily Telegraph Bolivia mentor (http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/mentors/ lapaz.xml).
Finally, you continue to follow his monthly, syndicated travel column (hosted by Intrepid Travel) at: www.intrepidtravel.com/columns.php?author=atkinson2
Email David: atkinson.david@mac.com or call him in Bolivia on 00 591 730 06708.
TIME TO UPDATE
Writer/photographer MICHAEL DeFREITAS is contributing editor for Ocean Cruise Guides' title "Mediterranean By Cruise Ship." He will be cruising the Med in August and September to collect images and info for the new edition due out late 2006 and for future articles. He will be in Italy the last two weeks of August to research pre- and post-cruise options for Rome, Siena, Florence, and Venice. He seeks accommodations in these cities to recommend in the book. If anyone has any good recommendations, press information or PR contacts please forward it along.
Email: michaeld@iwritetravel.com Website: www.IWriteTravel.com
ANSWER TO A MAIDEN'S PRAYER?!
Winchester-based freelance journalist and photographer RON TOFT will be surrounded by 10,000 maidens in September when he attends the Royal Reed Dance Festival in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa! The four-day festival celebrates the start of womanhood for the young ladies who are invited from all South Africa to take part in this prestigious event. Each maiden is required to cut a reed growing alongside a river. Zulu mythology decrees that if a non-virgin takes part in the festival, her reed will break and dishonour will befall her and her family.
Just before the South Africa trip, Ron will be attending the Highland Games in Scotland and the annual sponge-diving festival on the Greek island of Kalymnos.
Ron recently returned from the Gulf Coast of Florida where he interviewed Brits who have emigrated to the sunshine state.
Other trips planned this year include Kent, Suffolk/Norfolk and Shetland in the UK, the Egadi islands off the coast of Sicily, mainland Spain, southern and western France and Georgia USA.
Ron, who can provide complete packages of words and pics (slides or digital) can be contacted at: ron.toft@btinternet.com
GETTING INTO THE SWING OF THINGS
The last six months has seen LINDA JACKSON suck heads in Louisiana, relish a gourmet ‘safari’ in South Africa, face a fiery dragon in Austria, get scrubbed in the desert and take a hay bath in the Tyrol. She’s not only cruised up the Dalmatian Coast in unadulterated luxury, secreted herself behind a mask at the Santa Cruz Carnival, frolicked with dolphins and fallen big-time for Spiderman in Orlando … but also got into the swing of things on golf courses in Louisiana, Portugal, and Arizona.
She’s pretty snap-happy, with a large photo-library, and is interested in visiting anywhere, any time, for any topic. Linda particularly enjoys writing about ‘soft adventure’ breaks, walking with wildflowers (or anything flora/fauna-related), wining and dining, honeymoon hot-spots, pampering spa breaks, family fun and ‘active’ holidays, as well as ‘hidden’ or unusual destinations. As freelance Travel Correspondent for up-market Devon Life magazine and Devon Brides magazine, she’s always looking for suitable destinations to write about, so please get in touch if you have one to suggest … or a commission to grant.
Email: linda_jackson@btopenworld.com Telephone: 01892 822783
LYON HEARTED
MIKE GERRARD is currently updating guides to Corfu and Tunisia for Thomas Cook, and has just been approached by a publisher with a view to doing a guide to Paris and what will be the first English-language guide to Lyon, France's second city.
Email: mail@mikegerrard.com
HIP HOTELS ARE ONE THING, BUT THIS IS RIDICULOUS
PETER HUGHES is temporarily grounded this summer having just had a hip replaced – a condition he puts down entirely to too many years lugging heavy suitcases. He expects to be fully mobile again by September. He had better be because he already has assignments confirmed in China, the Champagne country and two in the Indian Sub-Continent.
Email: peter_hughes@liberty6.demon.co.uk
WHAT THE BUTLER SAW
JEANNINE WILLIAMSON has been checking out the exclusive villas that opened in May at One&Only's Le Touessrok resort on Mauritius. Each of the three villas boasts a butler on call 24 hours a day, private infinity pool, high tech gadgets and gizmos and all you could wish for in an beach playground retreat. If you're planning a feature on luxury properties Jeannine would be delighted to recount her experience of being thoroughly spoilt.
Closer to home, she's heading to Barcelona and Sitges, Spain's leading gay resort, this month.
Telephone: 01323 641078 Email: jeannine@motcombemedia.demon.co.uk
NB ALL PRs!
Having gone freelance after five years at Business Traveller, DINAH HATCH would be grateful if you would put her on your mailing list for press releases concerning travel clients. She writes for a wide range of travel titles from trade publication Travel Weekly to The Observer Escape section and would really appreciate being sent updates and news on all travel companies.
She would also appreciate being invited on press trips as copy from these is always easiest to pitch and get placed!
Pls email at dinahhatch@hotmail.com or send to Flat 3, 6 Lansdowne Place, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 1HG.
AND YOU THOUGHT BIG BROTHER WAS INTERESTING...
TONY KELLY is just back from Englishtown, an extraordinary Spanish mountain village which is part language school, part cultural exchange and part group therapy session in the Sierra de Alcarama north of Madrid. He's not going to reveal everything he learnt on the trip, but put 20 English speakers and 20 Spaniards together in a remote village and cut them off from the outside world for a week, and you can imagine the sort of thing that happens. After five trips to Croatia and visits to both Serbia and Montenegro in the past year, his Balkan odyssey continues with a first trip to Macedonia and eastern Albania in July, followed by a week in Istanbul updating the CityPack guide for the AA. Email: tonykellytravelwriter@btopenworld.com
BRAND NEW WEBSITE LAUNCHED BY INTERNATIONAL PHOTOBANK
Six months work by PETER BAKER and his business partner Gary Goodwin have gone into the preparation of images for Photobank’s new website and clients can quickly search for specific pictures from a collection of 15,000 images on the web for their travel picture requirements.
The site has full lightbox facilities and once registered and set up with access by a chosen password the researchers can download low res. images for layout purposes and can email the results of their search to International Photobank requesting High Resolution Images for use on their pages.
There is a gallery of pictures and keywords will find other subjects within the search. It is easy to use, so why not give it a try and see a superb collection of British and World subjects, both faces and places from Photobank’s photographers who have travelled the world in search of the best images.
Log on to: www.internationalphotobank.co.uk and give it a go. Email peter@internationalphotobank.co.uk for all requests for pictures
GEISHAS AND GEYSERS
Roaming adventure specialist STEVE THOMAS has been as busy as ever recently. A whirlwind tour of Malaysia and Borneo, his favourite haunts, was followed by an early somere voyage around Japan, which included biking around volcanoes of Mount Aso, trundling through the back streets of Kyoto and a visit to the world famous keirin cycling school, a first for a western journalist.
Following on from a clean up visit back to Wales he'll be heading to Iceland for another remote cycling adventrue before returning to Borneo to take part in an adventure race, kayak with sea gipsies, retrace the famous death marches and head jungle again, in search of remote head hunting tribes.
To keep track of Steve and his images go to www.imageadventure.co.uk or mail him at steve@imageadventure.co.uk
IF YOU GO DOWN TO THE WOODS ....
.... you just might be lucky enough to catch the teddy bear's picnic. GILLIAN THORNTON recently travelled to the forests of Finland to spend a night in a log cabin hide, where she was captivated by the comings and goings of around 15 European brown bears ranging from tiny cubs to the King of the Forest. Once she'd come back down to earth, Gillian headed off for an in-depth tour of eastern and southern Corsica. Next up is The French Alps followed by eastern Mallorca. One happy editor has commissioned a Silver Wedding themed piece from Gillian, based on a romantic hotel in Edinburgh, but she's still looking for a suitably special self-catering location to satisfy another one. All suggestions considered, UK and overseas. Contact: gillian.thorntons@btinternet.com
TRIP SPA GURU
MARI NICHOLSON is now the official Spa correspondent for TRIP, the travel and lifestyle magazine, and is feverishly searching out spas with new and exotic treatments. In a spirit of sacrifice she spends long hours lying in perfumed rooms having her chi balanced, her ying and yang aligned and her body being being massaged and oiled to within an inch of its life. "It's a tough job", she says, "but someone's gotta do it". She is particularly interested in "just a week-end away" areas, whether in Europe or the UK. Next month she will be visiting Windsor, then Northern Ireland (Belfast & the Mournes), Taormina and Girona and would be happy to hear from editors who need destination pieces.
Email: mari@maritravel.entadsl.com
HOT ROCK BOTH HOME AND AWAY
Jordan is considered to be one of 2005’s ‘hottest’ destinations. DI TAYLOR and partner, Tony Howard, were responsible for discovering and developing the climbing and trekking potential of its desert mountains back in 1984. Consequently, the spectacular mountains of Wadi Rum and the indigenous Bedouin inhabitants with whom they worked and climbed are still very much part of their lives and they remain closely involved with the development and promotion of Rum for the benefit of its people.
Current projects include a series of illustrated articles for the Jordanian press and a new edition of our Wadi Rum climbing guide. They have also been able to escape the computer and grab some wonderful British summer days on rock as hot as any in Jordan, providing us with opportunities for UK based articles.
Email: di@nomadstravel.co.uk Website: www.nomadstravel.co.uk
THE DA VINCI CODE
JIM GRACIE has been commissioned to contribute a Scottish chapter to Fodor's latest speciality guidebook, Fodor Guide to The Da Vinci Code. The book will provide historical and travel information on the locations within the best seller, such as Rome, Paris and London. Jim will be writing about Edinburgh and Rosslyn Chapel. This has meant a reread of Dan Brown’s book and planning two or three research trips through to the chapel in the near future.
He's also putting the finishing touches to a new edition of The Country Living Guide to Rural Scotland, which is due out in early autumn, and will be providing the captions for a large coffee table book of photographs of Scotland for the American market called Spectacular Scotland . This latter book, due out in late autumn, was first commissioned in 2004, with Sod's Law dictating that work should now begin on it when he's up to his ears in other projects.
Email: j.gracie@blueyonder.co.uk
NEW BOOKS
JON SPARKS has added three new books to his list: 'Lancashire Moods' and 'Portrait of Lancaster' both appeared on the Halsgrove imprint. 'Scrambles and Easy Climbs in Snowdonia' is from Grey Stone Books and is co-authored with Tom Hutton and Jerry Rawson. With a Lake District volume already on the shelves and ‘Peak and Pennines’ on the way, this is turning into a successful series.
'Scrambles and Easy Climbs in the Peak and Pennines' (again a collaboration with Jerry Rawson) is one of the projects that will be keeping Jon busy this summer, along with another Halsgrove title, ‘Moods of the Lakeland Fells’. Jon is also planning to cover Wilderness ARC - a 5-day multi-discipline, expedition-style Adventure Race in Lochaber, Scotland in August, which will be the British Adventure Racing Championship and qualifier for the World Championship. While home ground is occupying most of his time right now, Jon has managed to fit in a trip to Mallorca (mountain biking and road cycling) and is just back from the Austrian Tirol, where mountain biking, canyoning and river rafting were all on the agenda. Jon was very glad he had invested in a waterproof housing for the camera when the raft he was 'driving' managed to flip upside down two minutes into the trip. Needless to say, these trips have produced hundreds of images.
Jon’s next trip overseas will be to the Isle of Man (well, he’s going by boat!) in September for the End to End mountain bike challenge - 70km and 1500m of ascent - now how is he going to find time for any training?
Phone: 01524 381077 Email: jsparks@dircon.co.uk
PLAYING LITERARY DETECTIVE
Famous anniversaries and literary trails have been keeping NICK CHANNER busy during the last few weeks or so. In May he spent a week in South Devon, completing four walks linked to Agatha Christie who lived locally in a wonderful house overlooking the Dart. Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of her death. Several of the walks were in the vicinity of Burgh Island which she used in several of her mystery stories. Then it was a Trafalgar walk at Portsmouth for Country Walking before racing up to Scotland to try and trace the route taken by fugitive Richard Hannay in John Buchan's classic adventure yarn 'The Thirty-Nine Steps'. This October marks the 90th anniversary of the publication of the novel. Nick then travelled over to the Isle of Man to join Terry Marsh, Dennis Kelsall and co for the island's annual walking festival.
Email: nickchanner@freeuk.com
THE ROCKIES BY TRAIN AND HORSE
Canadian writer LAURA BYRNE PAQUET travelled from Saskatoon to Vancouver on VIA Rail's famous cross-country train, The Canadian, in May. Along the way, she spotted elk, narrowly missed seeing a grizzly bear, and interviewed several British travellers on their impressions of the country. ("I never knew so many trees existed in the world," said one.) Once in Vancouver, she spent a few days focusing on food-related spots (a chef's tour of Chinatown, a visit to a gelato shop with 200 flavours). She also did a quick side trip to Victoria, on Vancouver Island, to go kayaking and stay in a newly renovated hotel that is home to a 1600-piece art collection. Laura has also recently done a girls' getaway weekend at the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff National Park in the Rockies (where she went trail riding and checked out the enormous spa), and an all-American tour of the countryside around the National Baseball Hall of Fame in upstate New York. Looking ahead, she's off to Barbados in January for a week to update a travel guide, and she's eager for additional assignments on that destination.
Contact: Email: laura@cornerstoneword.com
PICTURE THE USA
PAUL FRANCE Photography is planning a trip to the South West Areas of USA in February 2006 for 3-4 weeks...from around Feb 1–28? We maybe also starting the trip in New York State for 4-5 days...taking in Niagara falls and Ithaca City where Cornell University is based....
Areas we plan to include in Nevada State are The Las Vegas Strip, Laughlin, and Area 51 (Little Alien in Rachel and Extraterrestrial Highway 375 – which was paid for by ID4 film company). In Arizona State: Sedona & Energy Vortexes, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley (Western Films and John Wayne Country), Lake Powell and Slot Canyons etc..
In Utah State: Arches National State Park in Moab & Bryce Canyon National Park & Dixie National Forest, and Zion National Park.
The trip will cost around £6-7000 in flights hotels cars etc. (we did the trip in 2002 and 2004 for which we have some stock shots available?)..... "We are looking for sponsors and or commissions to cover parts or whole cost of the trip.
Anyone needing Panoramic Landscapes, Travel and Lifestyle Images for Articles or Stock please e-mail: Pix@paulfrance.co.uk or Ring 07881 757074.
Please contact us before Nov 24th 2005 to discuss in detail. (Final details to be decided by then.) Travel Diary notes and words can be added to the pictures ...by Denette France. Design of Posters and other materials using pictures from the trip can be done afterwards by our Graphic Designer Lee Mason who is a genius at design.
See a few previous examples of USA pics on www.wpu.org.uk and www.paulfrance.co.uk
We also have a DVD available of Stock shots (200) of British Garden Birds taken in June 2005 if anyone would like to add to their library.
WALKING AND TALKING
TERRY MARSH is currently racing round Lancashire to completely revise a Pathfinder Guide to the county before heading north of the Border for a few days on assignment in Dumfries and Galloway. Then it's all feet to the Coast-to-Coast walk, as he races west to east and east to west across 190 miles of one of Britain's finest long-distance walks, revising his award-winning Cicerone Guide.
Recently published are the second edition to his guidebook to The Dales Way (Cicerone, £10), and a new book of Walks and Cycles Rides in the Northwest of England for AA Publishing. He has just completed work on Colors of Australia, a coffee-table book for the AA, and due out in the spring.
September will see him back in France, specifically in Aveyron, and later in the Cathar Country of southern France. With a bit of luck and a tail wind he may even manage a trip to Canada to see if he can find any grizzly bears.
He also continues his monthly Travel File on late-night BBC Radio Lancashire, and is always looking for suitable short break destinations to feature.
Contact: terrymarsh@wpu.org.uk Websites: www.countrymatters.net and www.countryimages.info
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