• An unexpected Japan
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    An unexpected Japan

    Step outside the cutting edge modernity of Tokyo and you’ll discover a Japan you probably didn’t expect.  My recent journey to the northern region of Japan revealed a land of striking scenic beauty, Shogun history and ancient temples.  Add to that Japan’s amazing foodie culture and unfailingly charming people, and there is plenty to be…

  • andBeyond Mnemba Private Island
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    andBeyond Mnemba Private Island

    “Leave your shoes with me” the boatman says as he hauls me up out of the shallow waves on the eastern coast of Unguja – Zanzibar’s main island. We had just driven across the island dotted with small productive villages growing cloves, nutmeg and black pepper in spice plantations, and passing by historical ruins of…

  • Atacama Adventures

    Atacama Adventures

    From the air the Atacama Desert resembles the surface of Mars we have all become so familiar with. The driest place on earth, the land reflects many beautiful hues of orange, red and yellow, dotted with volcanoes and high mountains of the Andes chain. After a flight of nearly 2 hours north from Santiago, you…

  • In search of crowds, traffic and the real Mediterranean

    In search of crowds, traffic and the real Mediterranean

    Travelling at the end of the Italian Holidays I thought might be a challenge for our ‘Best of the Med’ group, but it’s all been far too easy. I am fast losing all credibility as a World Journeys host as the people and the places are not living up to their expectations! To add to…

  • Exploring the Andes

    Exploring the Andes

    World Journeys Director Chris Lyons is currently hosting a small group of Kiwis on a Grand Tour of South America, and reports back on their experience on the Andean Explorer between Cuzco and Lake Titicaca in Peru. Ten hours sounds like a long time on a train, but in when it’s the very comfortable Andean…

  • Grand Tour of South America

    Grand Tour of South America

    After arriving in Cuzco, to allow easy adjustment to altitude, the World Journeys group went straight to the Sacred Valley of the Incas, a drive of about 90 minutes and some 800 metres lower than Cuzco. On the way we stopped at the little farm at Awankancha, where visitors can learn about the llama, alpaca…

  • Calgary Stampede

    Calgary Stampede

    Unleash your inner cowboy and buckle up!  I recently joined the more than 1 million visitors at the self-proclaimed ‘greatest outdoor show on earth’. The Calgary Stampede is two mad weeks of the world’s largest rodeos, parades, stage shows, concerts, agricultural competitions, chuck wagon racing and First Nations exhibitions.  It’s Fieldays on steroids! The atmosphere is fantastic, fuelled each morning by pancakes…

  • Good news for Gorillas

    Good news for Gorillas

    When you think of Rwanda, images of its dark past are evoked but as the country looks to its future, the country is making a miraculous transformation. Home to Gorillas, volcanoes, mountains and jungle – it’s one worth considering. Especially to see the Gorillas – what’s not to love about these powerful and striking, yet…

  • Elly in Africa

    Elly in Africa

    Baboons running amok at the side of the road, endless streams of people walking alongside the road – I must be back in Africa. Flying in to Victoria Falls Airport I headed to the aptly named Elephant Camp in the Victoria Falls National Park. It was superb, the staff really look after you and I…

  • An obsession with Alabaster
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    An obsession with Alabaster

    I love cruising on the Nile; a good dose of history and culture each morning as you explore, but afternoons are spent on deck watching fishermen busy with their nets, a farmer with his buffalo staggering up the bank with a precarious pile of sugarcane and young men playing football on a rough pitch overlooking…

  • Muscat Ramble, Oman

    Muscat Ramble, Oman

    People were astonished to hear I was taking my children to Oman but having lived and travelled a great deal in the Middle East, I knew we would love it. I use the term ‘children’ loosely; they are 19 and 16 now, independent, well-travelled, smart and funny, and not likely to pass up a Mum…

  • Making the most of Machu Picchu

    Making the most of Machu Picchu

    Machu Picchu evokes images of trekking through impenetrable jungle in search of an ancient city shrouded in mountain-top mist. Thankfully, in reality, The Lost City has already of course been found, and is meticulously manicured by the local Incan people and their llamas! Machu Picchu is a scenic 5 hours by train from Cuzco, arguably…