Hunting Polar Bears in Churchill, Canada
Ever since I can remember I have wanted to visit Churchill, Canada. It is the place to see polar bears. A couple of years ago, I was lucky enough to go: An endearing little frontier settlement, sitting on the western edge of Hudson Bay in northern Manitoba, it is so remote it can only be reached by air or rail. For six frenetic weeks each Autumn (October & November) tourists descend on...
Read MoreClose Shaves from Around the World
Getting a shave is without a doubt my favourite experience the world over! It differs completely from country to culture and offers immediate membership (even as a funny looking foreigner) into that international men’s club called: The Barber Shop. You would have thought that at my age I would have had enough shaving practice to get it right. But no, even as I sit here writing...
Read MoreRiddle me this
Despite temptation, I’d suggest avoid using the internet and/or an atlas and see whether you can answer the following questions: There are 10 countries in the world with 4 letters to their (English) name. What are they? There are 4 countries in the world that start with the letter D (again, English spellings). What are they? The world’s newest countries: Name the last four countries...
Read MoreBlading Bridge to Bridge
… (and back again) in San Francisco. In my quest to rollerblade every city I visit this year I pulled out my blades in San Francisco and discovered (surprisingly) that the city wasn’t the best for inline skating. No, not because of the hills – although they did limit the areas I could go – but because I couldn’t find any smooth road surfaces on my blade between the...
Read MoreThe Crew Ship
Adventure on the high seas need not be the exclusive domain of sea-faring souls; even sea-fearing landlubbers can set sail and prove their sea worthiness by crewing on a private boat. First and foremost, let me clarify, I am not a sailor. I knew nothing of boats and even less about sails, but none of this stopped me from successfully crewing aboard a sailboat from Fiji to New Zealand. It was...
Read MoreBlack Water Rafting
Experience # 174 Leave to the Kiwis to take caving one step further to create an adventure sport called Black Water Rafting just so they can clean their clothes. I went underground for the full story. I first discovered New Zealand as a backpacker in 1990. I spent three months traversing the Land of the Long White Cloud and fell in love with every cm of its 2,000kms from tip to toe. I’ve...
Read MoreThe Seven Trials of Tibet
Experience #936 Hoping to tread the path to enlightenment I took the Tibetan challenge and travelled the rough road from Katmandu to Lhasa discovering a rural land trapped in time and ruled by religion. Himalayan hidden and oft-shrouded in secrecy, Tibet has always attracted attention because of its blocked borders. More recently Tibet’s political plight and the Dalai Lama’s celebrity...
Read MoreAmazonian Anomalies
To date there have been 25,000 confirmed plant species, 2,500 fish (a third of the world’s fresh water total), 10 per cent of the world’s bird species, as many as six million insect species found and up to 2,000 butterflies cataloged. Is it any wonder that nature challenges the norm here? The river itself pushes nature’s boundaries. Even after two weeks of exploring the Amazon, it’s...
Read MoreSouthern Exposure
Experience # 901 Travelling to the coldest, driest, windiest and least inhabited place in the world to gape at floating ice cubes is not everyone’s idea of a holiday. In fact, roughly only 10,000 privileged people a year have the passion to venture into this eternal winter wonderland, but for those who do the rewards are great. There is a timelessness about Antarctica that humbles even the...
Read MoreThe Pure Unadulterated Joy of Singing
Experience #1634 I have never been a great singer. Or at least I had been told as much by others. As a child my Mum was quick to point out my notes were flat. Then as a teenager my dear friend, ArtHistorian, didn’t help matters when, during what was supposed to be a confidence-boosting lesson, she fell off the piano stool from laughing so hard at my heartfelt rendition of...
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