Wanderlust June/July issue

Wanderlust Issue 120 (June/July 2011) The Himalaya • Rwanda & Burundi • Malaysia by train • Belize • Tongariro, New Zealand • Slovenia • Pocket Guides: Madrid/Valencia, Moscow, Mull, Siena

travel I adventure I CULTURE The travel magazine that takes you further

June/July 2011 I £3.99 www.wanderlust.co.uk

Summer adventures Ride the rails in Malaysia, go canyoning in Slovenia, cycle the Loire Valley…

4 free pock guideet s i n s i d e Siena, V al Moscoencia, & Mullw

Belize Central America’s pocket paradise

Himalaya ways to really feel

21on top of the world Salsa or safari skills?

Cookery, languages, photography – learning holidays for all

New Zealand The world’s best walk – by night

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Win a trip to Texas Mountain gorillas Snorkel & dive trips 12/5/11 18:03:11

Contents JUNE/JULY 2011 • ISSUE 120

360°

Navigator

6 | World in pictures Marvel at Uluru in the

83 | How to... Sketch your travels – plus advice on maps and hippo avoidance 85 | Gear What to pack for a camping caper 86 | Photo tips Expert photographer Steve Davey helps you capture water on camera 88 | Health Be prepared with our essential ‘eight weeks to go’ travel health countdown 90 | Q&A Your queries answered on: travelling to troubled regions, swimming with whale sharks and 24 hours in Dubai…

rain, North Pole icebreakers and Namibia’s indigenous Himba tribe 12 | Shortcuts The world’s travel news: Samoa skips a day, Barcelona bans bikinis 14 | Go Now! Take a cycle tour of the Loire Valley 16 | 10 things to do for free in... Hobart, Tasmania’s lively, compact capital

18 | Trips to take... diving & snorkelling

Turtle watch, meet mantas, see continents collide

Mull & Iona p139

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Madrid & Valencia p137

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Texas p54

Features

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20 | Himalaya

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Learning journeys

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Hike, bike, raft, offroad... the 21 top adventures across the world’s highest mountain range: in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan

38 | Malaysia

Take the scenic (and super cheap) route around historic towns, handsome islands and leafy hill stations using the region’s trains and ferries

56 | Slovenia

Slovenia turns 20 in 2011 – so channel its independent spirit! Explore the cool capital, wild canyons, heady hills and intoxicating winelands

64 | Rwanda & Burundi

Journey into untamed Africa: get up-close with mountain gorillas, before delving into one of the continent’s last frontiers...

76 | Tongariro, New Zealand

Tackle the world’s best day walk – twice. We find two ways through North Island’s volcanic playground for a distinctly different experience

96 Belize

96 | Belize

The best things come in small packages: combine reef, rainforest, Maya magic and more in this tiny sliver of Central America

107 | Learning journeys

Always wanted to master some salsa moves?

Or whip up a mean Goan curry? Take a learning journey to get more from your travels

Nri!ps to...

I W t

g zin as | 54 25 a x Am Te da | 1 132 a | Cantland| 134 Sheussia R

THE FUTURE Like this map?

MAPPING To buy a similar wall map, COMPANY visit www.futuremaps.co.uk 004-005 Contents_SO.indd 4

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From The Road 49 | Ripping yarn How did two friends

escape the rat-race and cross 20 countries, from London to Malaysia, without spending a penny?

50 | Letters etc Emails, blogs, photos and ramblings from around the world – get in touch to WIN Keen gear!

52 | Experiences Readers share their top

travel stories. This issue: an elegy to a US road trip, getting caught in a South African super storm, and Egypt – after the revolution

POCKE T GUID ES

Arrivals

The bits

of the guid ebook you really

135 MOSCOW

Pocket Guides

118 | Books An A-list travel writer charity

137 MADRID

need

& VALE

NCIA

P 135 First P 137 Short24 hours Mosc ow Get all P 139 Great Break Madr id & Valen teary-eyed amon g the onion P 141 Trave British Escap cia Go domes l Icon Siena e Mull & Iona loco in the capita All the highs l. Then Sure beats from these again on the Ladbrokes coast Highl for watch ing a horse and islands race

compilation, an Irish kayak odyssey and other hot new releases 120 | Guides New books on big trips 121 | Music How Cameroonian star Muntu Valdo has invented a whole new kind of blues 122 | World diary Summer’s big bashes, from Mongolian ‘Olympics’ to Mozambique pride 123 | What’s On The best events, talks, TV, DVDs and radio for armchair travellers

135 | Moscow Confusing? Nyet!

A guide to your first 24 hours in the Russian capital

See33 p1

141 SIENA 139 MULL

& IONA

137 | Madrid & Valencia NEW short-break guide. First: two Spanish hubs in one weekend 139 | Mull& Iona Make the most of western Scotland’s wild isles 141 | Siena Navigate the streets of Italy’s fine old city – in time for the Palio horse race

©Moscow p135

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20 Himalaya

© © © Siena p141

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Tongariro, New Zealand Slovenia

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38 Malaysia

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Tasmania p16

& Burundi 64 Rwanda

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12/5/11 15:24:52

australia

Rock and rain Photographer Peter Carroll

“2009 was the driest year ever recorded in Central Australia, but in 2010 the drought broke and the usually red desert turned green. Wildflowers exploded over the landscape creating blankets of colour not seen for many years.

On 14 October 2010, Uluru received its annual average rainfall in a single night, and I was fortunate enough to witness this rare and spectacular event. The top of Uluru is covered with rock-holes and as these fill, the run-off creates cascades down the rock.

Within an hour of the rain stopping, the waterfalls are all but gone.

As I drove toward the Rock in the pre-dawn dark, the road was so flooded a minibus full of tourists was washed off the bitumen. Light gradually revealed what was already audible: rivers of water snaking their way down the flanks of dark purple rock. Thousands of frogs croaking added to the noise. Not only was the scene an overwhelming vision to behold, but the sound was just as beautiful.”

Peter’s shots of Uluru in the rain are on display at Sydney’s Airport Gallery North until 10 June. www.petercarroll.photoshelter.com

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World in pictures | News | Go now | Things to do for free | Departures

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Places jostling for our attention this month

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Words: Jo Caird. Dreamstime.; istockphoto

From left to right What could be more French than cycling?; the Château de Villandry; typical Loire boats

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Go now! Loire Valley As summer masses make a beeline for the south of France, stay further north to take advantage of a regal range of cycle trails

Why go now?

The sun is shining, the riverbanks are blooming – it’s the perfect time to hit the fine, flat cycle paths of the Loire Valley. Plus French visitors won’t descend en masse until mid-July so it’ll be nice and quiet for a while yet. Go green on the Loire à Vélo (‘Loire by bike’; www.loireavelo.fr), 800km of signposted, easy-to-ride cycle paths running along and around the Loire from Nevers to the Atlantic coast. En route, stop off at Chaumont-sur-Loire, this year celebrating the 20th anniversary of its annual and arty International Garden Festival (www.domainechaumont.fr).

A long weekend The Loire à Vélo links up more than 800 castles, from the petite and picturesque Château de Villandry, to the imposing architectural masterpiece (and home to raspberry liquor),

the Château de Chambord.

A network of 15 local cycle-hire companies means you can hire bikes from one place and return them elsewhere along the route, so you’re not limited to circular itineraries.

For a short trip, the Châteaux à Vélo route is an ideal option, allowing you to visit several castles and their gardens without too much cycling in between (www.chateauxavelo. com). Set off early to avoid the crowds at the more famous sights, including the Château de Cheverny, with its resplendent interiors and 70-strong pack of baying hunting dogs.

A week or more Further eco-friendly diversions include navigating the River Cher in Canadian canoes: the 6km, two-hour itinerary from Chissay to Civray takes you beneath the fairytale arches of the Château de Chenonceau (www.canoe-company.fr).

Or explore the Loire by kayak on excursions lasting from two hours to three days (www.loirekayak.com).

Many bike hire companies and accommodation options offer a luggage transfer service, allowing even those visitors on extended trips to travel light.

Where to stay The Hotel de Biencourt (www.hotelbiencourt.com) in Azay-Le-Rideau is a stone’s throw from the château.

Hotel l’Auberge du Centre (www.auberge-du-centre.com) in Chitenay boasts rooms whose stylish, high-spec décor belies the village’s quaint feel. Both hotels have bike storage and repair facilities.

Where to eat Atmosphere abounds at the Restaurant Côté Cour in Azay-Le-Rideau (www.cotecour-azay.com).

For a healthy lunch, try Isabeau

de Touraine in Loches (www.isabeaudetouraine.com).

Chez Bruno, in Amboise, offers beautifully executed local dishes at reasonable prices (+33 0 2 47 57 73 49).

Getting there To keep it sustainable, take the train. Returns to Tours, Blois or Orléans from London on high-speed services start at £89 (transferring in Paris). Journey time is around 3.5 hours, plus a recommended hour to transfer.

Book at www.raileurope.com.

Do say…

“Ce pinard est magnifique – une bouteille de plus pour tenir la route?”

“This plonk is superb – one more bottle for the road?”

Don’t say…

“Allons, rattrapons ce type au maillot jaune” “Come on, let’s catch up with the chap in the yellow jersey”

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things to do for free in Hobart

1 Be wowed at MONA

Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) only opened in January.

Privately owned, it’s has been described as ‘a subversive adult Disneyland’, with thoughtprovoking artworks, plus an on-site café, bar and, er, cemetery. Unusual, avant garde – and absolutely free. www.mona.net.au

2

Bird-watch at the Waterworks Reserve

Just 4km outside the city this patch of pristine woodland and 19th-century reservoirs is an unexpected haven for a range of Tassie birds: large flocks of endemic green rosellas, sulphur-crested cockatoos and the state’s four native species of honeyeater. Take binoculars.

3Ride an ArtBike

Pedal between Hobart’s cultural hot-spots on a free bicycle: ArtBikes are available for pick-up from Arts Tasmania and the Tasmania Museum & Art Gallery – all you need is ID and a desire for active art appreciation. www.arts.tas.gov.au

4 Walk on Mt Wellington

This 1,270m peak offers spectacular views. It’s riddled with walking trails: try the three-hour Organ Pipes hike, which starts at the Springs and winds past the Jurassic-era dolerite rock formations that give the walk its name. www.parks.tas.gov.au

Illustration: Scott Jessop; picture: Alamy

Tasmania’s compact capital has a brand-new museum, an arty bike scheme, a restored jam factory and a seven mile beach on its doorstep. And none of them will cost you an Aussie cent… the Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery 5 Browse Salamanca Market 8Visit Salamanca Place has been a trading hub since the 1830s; today, its colonial buildings bustle with commerce every Saturday from 8am, when artisans, organic-food purveyors and tie-dye-toting hippies descend to sell their wares. www.salamanca.com.au

This museum (part-housed in Hobart’s oldest building) showcases the state’s heritage, from Aboriginal artefacts to colonial treasures. Admission is free. www.tmag.tas.gov.au

into the Henry Jones Art Hotel 6 Swim off Seven Mile Beach 9Nip This long, sweeping strand (the clue’s in the name), 15km east of Hobart, is a beautiful spot, backed by dunes and pine trees. The swimming is safe and the surf’s good too.

Or simply stroll along the crashing shore.

7Wander Battery Point

Walk around this historic warren of fishermen’s cottages, old alehouses and graceful mansions, built in the 19th century.

From here, nip to nearby Anglesea Barracks, the oldest military buildings still in use in Australia: the free museum opens 9am-1pm Tues and Thurs; free tours run 11am Tues.

Get twitchy The Waterworks Reserve is home to the green rosella

This restored jam factory is now one of the city’s top places to see and be seen. You don’t have to stay the night: just pop in to view the 300-odd contemporary artworks gracing the walls. www.thehenryjones.com

10 Stroll Queen’s Domain Head to this hillside bushland reserve to stretch your legs. Don’t miss the (free) Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, home to more than 6,000 plants. www.rtbg.tas.gov.au

and one to break the bank

Par Avion’s Day In The Wilderness fly-sail trip reaches Tassie’s remotest parts. Take a light plane ride over mountains, gorges and wild rivers to Melaleuca, then board a boat for Bathurst Harbour – a waterway the size of Sydney Harbour but untouched by civilisation. Trips cost A$350. www.paravion.com.au

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himalaya 21 great adventures on the roof of the world

Want to experience the world’s highest mountains for yourself?

Trekking expert Robin Boustead picks the best walks, drives and cultural highs in the peaks of India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan and Tibet For a full map of our top 21, see page 36

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the monastery circuit, Sikkim 1 Follow

Sikkim is a land of dramatic scenery, delightful monasteries and hundreds of butterflies, birds and rare plants. Start in Gangtok, the state capital, an easy drive from Darjeeling and the place to learn about Lepcha culture at the Institute of Tibetology.

Nearby is the lavishly decorated Rumtek Gompa monastery (right), home to the head of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

Next, go to Martam, a small Lepcha village with great views of Kanchenjunga’s south face, and Pemayangtse (‘Perfect Sublime Lotus’) Monastery, nestled on a hilltop.

From here, Darjeeling is only a day away.

How long? Eight days.

How tough? Easy, in any vehicle.

When to go? Mid-October-May, for views (although winter gets cold); Chaam, Pemayangtse’s lama-dancing festival, is held Feb/Mar. Get started: A 15-day travel permit (extendable to 45 days in Gangtok) can be issued with your India visa. Arrange tours through agents in Gangtok or Darjeeling.

Previous pages: Getty. These pages: Photolibrary; iStock

local, Arunachal Pradesh 2 Live

From Guwahati, in Assam, it’s 350km of winding through valleys to reach Tawang, one of the most remote towns in the Himalaya. The Dalai Lama took this route out of Tibet in 1959, believing it was the least likely place anyone would look for him.

A sprawling Buddhist monastery dominates Tawang, and snowy peaks mark the border with Tibet. At nearby Thembang, there’s a homestay programme that’s an ideal base for exploring the surrounding Monpa communities. From Tawang it takes a few days to reach the idyllic plateau of Ziro, home to the animist Apatani tribe, famed for their facial tattoos and wooden nose-plugs.

The Apatani are one of the dozen-or-so tribal groups here, some only a generation away from being head-hunters.

How long? 14 days.

How tough? Easy, in a 4WD. When to go? April-May and OctoberNovember. Dree, the major Apatani festival, is in July.

Get started: Inner Line Permits are only available through authorised agents in Delhi and Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh’s capital.

Thembang homestay can be booked through WWF-India (tbccamc@rediffmail.com).

the Toy Train, West Bengal 3 Ride

For 130 years the Himalayan Railway – or Toy Train (right) – has delivered respiteseeking passengers from the heat of the

Left: The hillsides of Kashmir are sometimes troubled – but spectacular This picture The Buddhist monks at Rumtek Gompa, Sikkim, meet for puja (prayer)

plains to the hilltop bazaars of Darjeeling, 86km away. The railway was Unesco-listed in 1999, and travellers taking the 2,200m ascent up into the hills today will soon discover its old world charms.

But beyond Darjeeling’s magnificently manicured tea estates, a trek through the forests of pine, conifer and rhododendron lead to a ridge that forms a natural border with Nepal and into Singalila National Park. Home to red panda, black bear and two sorts of leopard, the park is best seen when wildflowers are blooming. Circular routes visit the high point of Phalut (3,600m) for an outstanding panorama of Kanchenjunga and, to the north-west, Lhotse and Everest.

How long? Ten days (treks four to six days, plus days for train and Darjeeling).

How tough? Easy, though slippery during the monsoon.

Best colonfor ial charm

When to go? Wildflowers are best March-May and October; the best views are November-January.

Get started: Trekking tours can be organised in Darjeeling. New Jalpaiguri station, for the Toy Train, is on the main Kolkata-Delhi line; see www.dhrs.org.

to a high panorama, Uttarakhand 4 Hike

The Kuari Pass is an iconic Himalayan trek.

Head up to Joshimath and then to the trailhead at Auli where the mountain vista begins immediately. Nanda Devi rises to the south-east as more and more peaks form a 270° panorama around the Kuari Pass.

The views continue for the next few days as you descend into the Brithi Valley via some surprisingly untouched villages. The trek ends at Ghat, a day drive away from the traveller’s magnet of Rishikesh.

How long? A seven- to eight-day trek from Haridwar or Rishikesh.

How tough? Moderate.

When to go? Trails are open June-October; the best views are from mid-September.

Get started: Agents in Haridwar, Rishikesh and Joshimath can organise permits and crew but expect to pay some ‘along the trail’ fees to local communities. Regular train services link Delhi to Haridwar (five hours). > Wanderlust June/July 2011 | 23

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Malaysia 1

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South-east Asia: tropical islands, I Classic 1 cool and colonial history 1 I highlands

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Fly UK-Singapore or Bangkok (around 121 hours), then board the local train 1

Oct-Feb, for fun festivals

the great eastern The most enjoyable way to explore Malaysia’s laid-back islands, sizzling street food and historic towns is by train and ferry. Your fare? Just £95…

Words Roger Norum

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9/5/11 17:23:37

Malaysia

That was mutton-headed.

Pleading with the train staff resulted in little more than grunts, raised eyebrows and shaken heads. The crotchety conductors weren’t going to let me board without a ticket, and the last berth had unfortunately been sold the previous evening – to me.

And then, just as the besuited station manager probed his pockets for the tin whistle and green flag to announce our departure, a wily man in a white T-shirt sprang across the track in front of us. Out of breath, he handed me a brown envelope.

I opened it, then stood there in disbelief.

There was my ticket, stamped in bright purple with the ungrammatical admonition: ‘Valid Ticket. No responsibility in case of lost’. The concierge had discovered it in my room and sent a moped-powered messenger speeding after me to the station. Had the emissary arrived 15 seconds later, I would have been hitchhiking to Malaysia.

Of course, there is more than one way to get to Malaysia from Bangkok – such as aboard the coveted and absurdly lavish Eastern & Oriental Express, a British racing green luxury train with private cabins that let you pretend you’re living large in 1890s Siam or Indochina. Still, the E&O’s £1,330 price tag means that it’s not the kind of ticket you’d want to misplace. And since an Orient Express journey is as much about spending time on the train as off it,

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connoisseurs of experiential travel might rather prefer something more local.

I wanted to know what people travelling on normal trains in Asia were doing – and what their lives were like. And so I decided to shell out 1,120 baht – saving roughly £1,307 in the process – and booked a passage on the local train.

Strangers on a train The Bangkok-to-Butterworth ‘Special Ekspress’ was packed with a dramatis personae of Malay monks, Thai spinsters, Emirati couples and American backpackers.

I heeded the words of Bangkok-based >

Previous page: Getty. This page: Alamy; Dreamstime; Corbis; Roger Norum

I

t began as every great journey always should: with a lost ticket. At 14:27 sharp, I dashed out of my Bangkok hotel room and dived into a taxi bound for the 14:45 sleeper train south to Malaysia. When the car pulled up to the curb at Hualamphong Station 13 nail-biting minutes later, I scrambled out with my luggage onto the platform towards the old blue train braying on the tracks.

In the flurry of excitement that often surrounds international train departures – the deliberate packing of bags, the sourcing of bottled water and chocolate bars, the stealthy hoarding of hotel bath and hygiene products just before checkout – I had set aside my train ticket for safe keeping. That was wise. Only now, I couldn’t remember exactly where.

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Clockwise from left Hualamphong Station in Bangkok; the Great Buddha Hall in Georgetown, Penang; boats moored on Langkawi Island; we reckon this flag means ‘floor it’...

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ANIMAL KINGDOMS The gorillas are the stars, but there’s more to Rwanda: head south for regal history and – in neighbouring Burundi – hip-swinging nightlife Words Jeremy Head | Pictures Dale Morris

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Rwanda & Burundi

T

he first sign we were getting nearer was the stench. Gorilla pee is not the most attractive of aromas but, smell it, and you know you’re close.

We’d ditched our bags and were proceeding in silence through a bamboo thicket, the sky obscured by its thick fronds. Carrying just cameras, all eight of us were a little nervous. Then a sudden thrashing immediately above my head sent my pulse leaping – was a gorilla about to drop on top of me?

But he didn’t penetrate the canopy, crashing off to my right instead. However, within moments, we found Gukonda, the park’s largest silverback – all 120kg of him. Officially you’re not supposed to get closer than 7m, but the only way past him was the trail we were on. That took us within a metre...

He looked on serenely as, first, we went slightly crazy with our cameras, and then crouched dumbfounded, eyeball to eyeball with this almost motionless giant – all huge, dark, disdainful eyes, vast black hands and thick hairy shoulders.

Uganda •

Musanze

Rwanda • Kigali • Nyanza •

Nyungwe NP •

DR congo

Butare (Huye)

Burundi •

Bujumbura

Tanzania This was my first encounter with mountain gorillas, but not with Rwanda. I lived there in 1987 as an 18-year-old volunteer teacher. Back then, no one had really heard of the place.

The gorillas were the sole tourist draw, but few visited them. How things have changed.

The gorillas now rank as one of the world’s ultimate wildlife encounters, and the world certainly knows about Rwanda – the genocide in 1994 ensured that. Many tourists still associate the country with only these two things: they fly in, ‘do’ the gorillas, fly out, maybe stopping off to visit the moving Genocide Memorial Centre on the way back to the airport.

But my return visit – from gorilla-stalked Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda’s far north to the ancient royal capital of Nyanza in the south, then over the border to neighbouring Burundi, ending on the shores of Lake Tanganyika – proved there’s far more to see in this largely unvisited part of Africa.

Down with the tribe On my second morning in Volcanoes National Park I was up early to hunt for a much smaller endangered primate – one that receives far fewer visitors. Golden monkeys are only found here and across the borders in adjoining Congo and Uganda; if it wasn’t for their bigger cousins, these striking creatures would be the stars of the show.

We picked our way around farm plots before crossing into the National Park to trek for about an hour along squelchy trails skirting fresh piles of wild buffalo dung.

While the gorillas had been pretty disinterested in us, the golden monkeys were curious – bright bundles of gold and black fur clattering through the bamboo.

We spent a fascinating hour surrounded by them. There were eight people in our group, just like the day before, but whereas with the >

Clockwise from top Banging tunes in Bujumbura, Burundi; the magisterial presence of a silverback; tea plantations dominate the Rwandan highland scenery; one of the Nyungwe trackers gets word of some chimpanzees on the move

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9/5/11 16:45:05

is this still the world’s best day walk?

Yes, providing you can ditch the crowds. So here’s TWO different ways to do New Zealand’s famed Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Words & pictures Sarah Baxter

Weird water The Crossing’s Blue and Emerald Lakes look pretty, but give off a sulphurous stink

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Crossing round the clock At 19.4km, the Tongariro walk is a challenge, whether you choose to reach its lusher northern slopes by day, or tramp at night to watch sunrise over its vivid lakes

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was alone on Mount Doom.

Well, almost. Stew huddled next to me under the tarp and, somewhere a touch further down the volcano, John was leading Doris steadily up the scree towards us.

So – to be precise – me, Stew, John and Doris were alone together on Mount Doom (actually, Red Crater): four sole souls braving the potential magmatic rancour of Tolkienscaped Tongariro National Park.

You might think it detail too far to be told the identities of people you’ll likely never meet. But it’s not often you can personally introduce every walker simultaneously tramping the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

This 19km hike is the headline act of its namesake national park, which sits bangcentral on New Zealand’s North Island – ‘bang’ being the right word for this geologically temperamental terrain. The popularity of the Crossing – often said to be the country’s, if not the world’s, best day walk – means platoons of trekkers march it every day: up to 700 in peak season.

They come for the variety: an astonishing mix of active volcanoes, lava flows and fumaroles, odd-coloured lakes and virgin

Tongariro, NZ 1

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NZ’s classic day walk – and explore I Tackle 1 its Imost 1geologically diverse playground

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Fly UK-Auckland (27 hours), then fly to1 Taupo (45 mins) to access Tongariro 1

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Tongariro National Park

bush, all crammed into seven or so hours of manageable walking. But because they come in such numbers, the Crossing’s worldbeating status feels compromised; the congestion detrimental. Now, in order to get the maximum out of this fine tramp, you need to take a more leftfield approach – luckily, I had two up my GoreTex sleeve.

And it was because of Leftfield Approach Number 1 that Stew, John, Doris and I had the place to ourselves: we were tackling the world’s greatest day walk at night.

Tongariro 1: Dark forces afoot A 2am pick-up was cruel – only just past bedtime for most of the travellers sharing my motel in National Park, a village from

the Ronseal school of nomenclature just outside Tongariro’s boundaries. Stew was chirpy; I was bleary, but grateful that the night was clement and clear – indeed, spectacularly so. As we set off along the trail our headtorches were a flimsy imitation of the innumerable stars that stippled the blackness – and occasionally shot across it with wish-fulfilling promise.

None of us knew much about all those constellations, but it didn’t really matter – while trying not to trip on rocks I couldn’t see, I applied a more creative join-the-dots approach to astronomy, making up my own star signs. There were plenty to chose from, to the extent that even without the moon (which had already set for the night) the celestial chorus emanated enough light to silhouette the park’s iconic profile.

Walking in the dark was wonderfully strange. Perhaps it should have been eerie, what with conical Mt Ngauruhoe and his volcanic chums looming over proceedings – these are the malevolent mountains that doubled as Mordor in The Lord Of The Rings films, after all. But actually it felt anything but. The stillness and silence were both calming and invigorating. And when you have to face a 378-step ascent, lovingly called the Devil’s Staircase, it’s probably better not to be able to see where you’re going. > Wanderlust June/July 2011 | 77

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LEARNING JOURNEYS Interviews Tom Hawker | Portraits James Clarke & Bella Zanesco

Always wanted to speak Portuguese, dance salsa or ID animal droppings?

These travellers did just that. Sign up for a learning trip, and you can too...

>

d Learnreaphy g to o h p skills einy Turk

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Learning Journeys Right tasty Jane and Ken picked up some useful tips to spice up dinner time

Ken Smith, 54 IT Consultant Learned Indian cooking with wife Jane in Goa, with tour company On the Menu (www. holidayonthemenu.com) <

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ou don’t enter competitions onions properly! expecting to win them. But One day, Judy took us to the market after entering a draw for in Panaji, the Goan capital, where she an On The Menu cookery showed us all the fish, fruit, vegetables course in Goa at the BBC and condiments. Afterwards she took us Good Food Show, some months later we to a spice plantation to see some of the were told we were the lucky people. old colonial Portuguese churches. It was Jane and I do tend to cook from scratch interesting sightseeing – they were places but we’d never thought of going on we wouldn’t have visited if we’d been on a cooking course. However, it seemed a beach holiday. like a good reason to visit India.

Our skills did improve – the course taught There were only three of us on the us to take care in preparing food; you can’t course because we travelled off rush things. We also learned that season. The days were busy: at dishes such as biryani aren’t so Top tip the start, our teacher Judy difficult. cuisine would explain what we were The course was aimed at questions Before booking a cookery cooking that day. Then we’d people who like to cook for course, check dietary detail: is cook for about three hours, enjoyment rather than as it suitable for vegetarians or vegans? Or people with food trying various dishes. At the a profession, and it certainly allergies? What produce end, we’d sit out on the gave us a taste for Goa. will be in season when you travel? terrace overlooking the river It’s a place we had never and enjoy our meal, watching the considered going to before, but our boats sailing by – it was an idyllic decision to go back again the following location. year was a no brainer. We were so busy the By the time we got back to the hotel, we’d first time that we didn’t get a chance to have a few hours before the sun went down appreciate the restaurants – we’d eaten so to think about what to do that evening. well at lunchtimes. But we addressed that on Food wasn’t high on the agenda because the second trip! we’d eaten so well at lunchtime!

How to do it Judy was outgoing, friendly and fun. The Cookery courses are great ways of course wasn’t serious or rigidly structured – immersing yourself in local culture; no it was enjoyable and informal. But it was experience is necessary. On The Menu very informative, with lots of hints and > Vietnam, advice – not least the importance of cooking runs foodie trips to Goa, as well as

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learning trips FOR foodies

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Cook up a classic

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Something fishy

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Become beverage smart

Thai and Indian are two of the most popular long-haul cuisines, and day courses are widely available in travel-friendly towns. Thailand’s Chiang Mai Cookery School (www.thaicookeryschool.com) is well-established and the Pimenta in Kerala (www.thepimenta.in) comes recommended. Back in the UK, Northern Ireland’s Belle Isle cookery school (www.belle-isle.com) teaches Thai, Indian, Italian and local Irish dishes in a bucolic lakeside setting.

Fish is the staple diet of communities from Padstow to Papua New Guinea. For a taste of the fishing lifestyle, you could catch and eat lobster and oysters on a shellfish safari in West Sweden (www. vastsverige.com) or visit a Vietnamese floating market on the Mekong with Wendy Wu (www.wendywutours.co.uk).

Wine enthusiasts can taste their way around Provence or try the ancient art of sabrage – opening a champagne bottle with a sabre – with Grape Escapes (www.grapeescapes.net). If tea is more your, er, cup of tea, Real Holidays offers tailormade trips to the plantations of Darjeeling (www.tailormade-india.co.uk).

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Arrivals Guides

Top 10

A few for the shelf

If you could take one book with you into exile on a desert island, what would it be? A story that inspired you to travel or one that kept you company on a long trip? Last month, Wanderlust blogger Alastair Humphreys shared his favourite travel-related reads and invited forum members to do the same. Here are your top ten suggestions:

1 As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning Laurie Lee 2 Wind, Sand and Stars Antoine de St-Exupéry 3 For Whom the Bell Tolls Ernest Hemingway 4 Arabian Sands Wilfred Thesiger 5 The Worst Journey in the World Apsley Cherry-Garrard 6 On The Road Jack Kerouac 7 The Way of the World Nicolas Bouvier 8 In Patagonia Bruce Chatwin 9 Naples ’44 Norman Lewis 10 Travels with Myself and Another Martha Gellhorn In search of inspiration or want to share your travel-related recommendations with other readers? Log on to www.wanderlust.co.uk/ mywanderlust to have your say.

Selected new guidebooks ASIA

Publisher

Edition

RRP

Cambodia & Laos

DK Eyewitness

2011

£ 15.99

China

Rough Guides

6

£ 18.99

Seoul

Rough Guides

1

£13.99

EUROPE The C2C Cycle Route

Cicerone

1

£ 12.95

Eccentric Britain

Bradt

1

£ 16.99

Pennine Way

Trailblazer

3

£ 11.99

Shortlist Madrid

Time Out

1

£ 7.99

Walking in Abruzzo

Cicerone

1

£ 14.95

2

£ 19.99

2

£ 13.99

2011

£ 7.99

AFRICA Southern African Wildlife Bradt NORTH AMERICA Yellowstone & Grand Teton Rough Guides LATIN AMERICA Top 10: Buenos Aires

DK Eyewitness

Big daft adventures equals great summer reads – we investigate the latest madcap travelogues One Steppe Beyond Thom Wheeler (Summersdale, £8.99) What’s it about? A caper

across the former Soviet Union in a rusty VW camper.

What’s the journey?

Unfulfilled delivering sandwiches, a job offer in Estonia gives Thom and Jo a taste for the unknown. When Uncle Tony asks them to drive to Vladivostok for another job, they start out on what may be the longest ever commute.

Zany zenith: Corrupt officials, film-star mechanics and over-friendly gangsters.

Into the Amazon John Harrison (Summersdale, £8.99) What’s it about?

A couple’s survival in the Amazonian jungle.

What’s the journey? French explorer Raymond Maufrais went AWOL in the Guiana Highlands in 1950. John Harrison and his wife Heather decide to retrace his steps armed only with a canoe, shotgun and sense of humour.

Zany zenith: Life-threatening encounters with potentially widow-making wildlife.

Canyon keep-fit Emma Kennedy on her US road-trip

White Fever Jacek Hugo-Bader (Portobello, £16.99) What’s it about?

One man’s road trip across Siberia with only a bust CD player for company.

What’s the journey?

As a 50th birthday present to himself, Polish-journo Jacek Hugo-Bader sets out to drive from Moscow to Vladivostok, taking in post-Communist Siberia en route. But despite the deep psychological scars left by Stalin and co as well as the utterly bleak prospects for its inhabitants, the region’s dark, dark humour still burns like home-brewed vodka on your throat.

Zany zenith: Slim pickings – this is more heart-breaking than side-splitting.

I Left My Tent in San Francisco Emma Kennedy (Ebury, £11.99) What’s it about?

The best-selling author of The Tent, The Bucket and Me returns with another memoir of travel travesty.

What’s the journey? It’s 1989 and disaster-magnet Emma and best pal Dee head to the USA to chase the American Dream, only to discover they

o Go To r nlin ead e Ke with our !

ww nned Emmchat w.w y, h a co.uandeead to k/1 rlus 20 t.

can’t even get a job in McDonald’s. With next-tozero cash, they head from the west coast to NYC having to survive mainly on their wits. It gets ugly, quickly.

Zany zenith: Plenty here, in the form of snakes, earthquakes, black magic and a sex-crazed midget.

Ten Pound Pom Niall Griffiths (Parthian, £9.99) What’s it about?

A former ‘£10 Pom’ – the migration scheme used to populate a booming Oz – explores Australia, its people and its national identity.

What’s the journey? Thirty years since he left Australia, Niall Griffiths climbs into a rental van – his brother in tow – to relive their formative experience of driving from Brisbane to Perth in the back of his parent’s station wagon.

Zany zenith: The amusingly contrasting – and often moving – experiences of ten-year-old Niall recollected in tandem with his modern day roadtrip.

One Man and his Bike Mike Carter (Ebury, £11.99) What’s it about?

A two-wheeled wander around the entire British coastline.

What’s the journey? Hacked off with ‘broken Britain’, Mike Carter packs in his job, jumps on his bike and decides to ride around the whole of the island’s 5,000km coast.

Starting from London, Carter heads to Essex and begins to make his way anti-clockwise around the coast. Over the course of his five-month adventure, he meets enough pleasant, ordinary people – and some proper eccentics – to convince him that maybe things aren’t quite so grim.

Zany zenith: Getting hammered with a rabble of Ali-G quoting drunken priests.

Dreamstime; Alamy

desert island books

Off we go again…

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