In my first ever guest post, Kerim Morris explains how he became my teammate on Mahaweli Challenge, and how the nervous excitement has set in. I vividly remember the day when I heard that Ian was looking for a willing volunteer to accompany him on his Mahaweli Challenge, enticing me… Continue reading
On returning from my Encircle Africa expedition I came up with a list of the must have kit items for self-supported travel in Africa. I wrote then that out of the 20 kilos of kit I chose (and spent five hours packing for the first time in the UK) it… Continue reading
With only a month to go until my next expedition departure date, I think it’s the right time to unveil the webpage for that expedition: Mahaweli Challenge. After Encircle Africa it took me a long time to dream up an expedition as equally ridiculous in form and structure and one… Continue reading
I’m looking for a team member to join me on a two-person expedition from source to sea along Sri Lanka’s longest river. On foot and by kayak we’ll follow the 208 mile length through a variety of Sri Lanka’s landscapes, from the country’s second highest peak, through tea plantations, to… Continue reading
What do you call the area outside of the comfort zone? According to Paul Schmid – and I have to agree – it’s called the pursuit zone. And so the pursuit zone was born, a website dedicated to ambitious pursuits and dreaming big. Hearing of my own attempts to escape… Continue reading
My latest speaking engagement is confirmed as part of the RGS microlecture series. There’ll be plenty of time to grab me for a chat, or to get my signature on a copy of Encircle Africa! RGS-IBG MICROLECTURES 26 MARCH. BOOK NOW. http://bit.ly/1fdK3u5 6.30pm Doors and bar open. Talks start 7pm…. Continue reading
Dear Paul, It is doubtful you will ever come to hear of, let alone see, this letter; nonetheless my passion is so great that these words came to write themselves. You are renowned for being pessimistic in your travel writing, something you have readily admitted to in the past. But… Continue reading
I turn from Oxford Street onto a narrowing side road back to the heart of the city. Shoppers pass me in the opposite direction, mostly empty handed, fists clenched inside coat pockets against the frozen December air. Travelling across the long northern European winter’s night gives me only the slightest… Continue reading
Cologne is not much without its cathedral, save maybe a history of scent, with eau de cologne coming from the city. This is odd given that the gothic edifice was only completed, and its soaring towers topped out, several years after the rail lines that wind beside it over the… Continue reading
After Cambridge, the road barely changes in height, with no noticeable rises or dips. As the landscape makes its slow conversion into water-saturated farmland, the only height amid the fertile arable land comes from stacks of hay climbing high on Ministry of Defence land. Driving through the landscape, with water… Continue reading
