I landed up in the world of travel-writing almost by accident. Having completed a doctorate in English, I was all set to become a university lecturer. But academia didn't quite have the ingredients to quench my wanderlust, so I started looking for something completely different. And here I am: 10 years in the travel game. I still do a bit of teaching and write books on travel in my free time, but Getaway keeps me pretty busy. The job has taken me to some weird and wonderful places: sailing down the Niger to Timbuktu, learning to salsa in Cuba, crossing the Gobi Desert to Kyrgystan or cruising the Kenyan Coast in a dhow. It's a disruptive and nomadic lifestyle, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

The secret south

There’s a sublime stretch of coast between the Overberg and main Garden Route mostly bypassed... read more

Walking Japan

Once an ancient highway through the Japanese Alps from Kyoto to Tokyo, the Nakasendo Way... read more