社会科学类纪录片，Discovery Channel 频道 ???? 年出品，是 DC Globe Trekker 系列其中之一。
封面
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影片信息
官方网站
http://www.pilotguides.com/tv-shows/globe-trekker/
影片原始规格:
中文片名 ：
中文系列名：勇闖天涯
英文片名 ：Globe Trekker Season 13
英文系列名：DC Globe Trekker
电视台 ：Discovery Channel
地区 ：美国
语言 ：英语
时长 ：约 52 分钟/EP
版本 ：VHS / DVD
发行时间 ：????
影片内容介绍
劇情簡介
Globe Trekker transports viewers to unforgettable destinations through its stunning photography and spirit of adventure. In each episode, we send our charismatic hosts Ian Wright, Justine Shapiro, Zay Harding, Megan McCormick, Brianna Barnes, Holly Morris, Judith Jones and more off the beaten path to soak up the local culture, sample the cuisine and revel in breathtaking vistas. Globe Trekker’s motto? “living as the locals do!”
Explore your favourite Globe Trekker episodes by using the drop down menu below to find out more about your favourite series or show.
分集介绍
Los Angeles
Traveller Megan McCormick spends a week in Southern California, USA, exploring one of theMegan in Hollywood world’s most exciting and glamorous cities: Los Angeles.
Like thousands of wannabe stars who over the years have flocked to L.A.’s most famous suburb Hollywood in the hope of finding fame and fortune in the movies, Megan starts her trip by signing on at the Central Casting agency with other hopefuls trying to land a part in a movie as an extra. After taking a tour around Paramount Studios, she heads to Beverly Hills to learn the tricks of the trade used by the paparazzi who follow the every move of the stars who frequent the area.
Using the city’s surprisingly good public transport system, Megan heads to downtown Megan in HollywoodL.A., discovering the now faded glamour of Broadway’s grand old movie palaces, before checking out the thriving historic Central Market amidst a newly revitalised city centre.
After visiting the L.A. County Coroner’s Office to buy amusingly ghoulish souvenirs of death, murder and mayhem, that could surely only be found in a place as brazenly upfront as L.A., Megan hires a car to escape the well-trod tourist track and heads into the ‘hood.
In South Central L.A., now rebranded as South L.A. to try to avoid evoking thoughts of riots and gang-related crime, Megan visits the quirky Watts Towers, before heading on to East L.A. to see a remarkable project which provides employment to ex-gang members, and helps them erase gang-related tattoos and insignia from their bodies.
The Watts Towers, Los AngelesMoving on to the coast and Venice Beach, Megan works out with the bodybuilders at Muscle Beach, before heading on to Signal Hill near Long Beach, where she discovers how L.A.’s massive expansion as a city was propelled in part by the massive oilfields that were discovered in and around L.A. over the last century.
Finally, Megan heads offshore to lovely Catalina Island, a wonderfully peaceful contrast to the non-stop bustle of the city on the mainland, and a great place to end her journey.
Planet of the Apes
This Globe Trekker Special is all about our fellow primates – lemurs, monkeys, and apes. In Planet of The Apes, hosts Ian Wright, Megan McCormick, Justine Shapiro, Zoe Palmer, Holly Morris, Eils Nevitt, Nikki Grosse, and Zay Harding, travel across Africa, Asia and South America, visiting the last strongholds of many rare and endangered species.
Man’s closest relatives amongst the primates are apes, with whom we share over 95% of our DNA. In Ian Wright at the Orangutan Wildlife Centre, SepilokThailand, Justine Shapiro sees how the world’s most agile ape, the White-Handed Gibbon, is being protected.
In Borneo and Sumatra, Holly Morris, Megan McCormick and Ian Wright, get close up and personal with Asia’s largest ape, the Orangutan – the largest tree- living animal in the world.
In Tanzania and Zambia, we travel to see man’s nearest relative of all, the Chimpanzee. And, in the remote mountains of Uganda, we trek to find the biggest ape of all, the remarkable Mountain Gorilla, of whom only 600 or so survive in the wild.
Whereas monkeys and apes survive across 3 continents, one group of primates, the lemur exists only on the island of Madagascar. In Ranomafana National Park, Ian Wright sees the elusive Golden Bamboo Lemur, so rare that it wasn’t even discovered until the 1980s.
Another recently discovered species is the Black-Crowned Dwarf Marmoset, first identified in the Amazon jungle in the 1990s. Eils Nevitt travels to the remote region to wonder at this remarkable primate – at less than 6 inches tall, it’s the world’s second smallest monkey. Monkeys vary enormously in size – the rare and endangered Drills, for example, are almost as big as humans.
In Cameroon, West Africa, Zay Harding witnesses a veterinary operation Orangutan Wildlife Centre, Sepilokon one of the world’s last surviving Drills. In the neighbouring country of Gabon, we trek in search of a related species – the world’s largest monkey, the Mandrill. Mandrills live in the largest groups of any non-human primate, tracking down a huge horde of up to 500 individuals, we get an unprecedented close up sight of these extremely rarely seen monkeys in the wild.
Unlike most primates, Baboons in Africa, and Macaques in Asia, have learned to profit from proximity to humans, and are thriving – we travel to see these opportunistic species in Zambia, Senegal and Thailand.
In general, however, most primates, and virtually all the Great Apes, are today highly endangered as a result of human activity. The cutting down of the rainforests, the bushmeat trade, and the pet trade, all threaten the survival of numerous species.
Planet of The Apes highlights this threat, and features the work of conservationists who are doing what they can to save our closest animal relatives from extinction.
Germany 2
Germany only became a country in 1871, yet no nation has had a greater impact on the face of Europe. Megan McCormick and Justine Shapiro set out on a journey to look beyond theMegan @ Berlin Wallstereotypes and seek out the real Germany.
Megan begins her journey in Berlin. After World War II, Germany was divided into 2 countries: the Communist DDR in the East and the Federal Republic in the West. The most potent symbol of that division was the Berlin Wall which, until re-unification in 1989, ran right through the city. Megan sees one of the last remaining sections of Wall, checking out how the city’s expansive new building programme and modern architecture is transforming the city into a European capital fit for the 21st century. After joining comedian Fatih Cevikkollu to visit the neighbourhood of Kreuzberg, known for its dense population of ethnic Turks, by far the city’s biggest ethnic minority group, she takes a tour of the city’s World War II sites, such as the location of Hitler’s Bunker, where the fascist dictator, who planned the extermination of an entire ethnic group, the Jews, committed suicide at the end of the war.
Whilst Megan stays in an eclectic, hip hotel in the capital, Justine starts her journey in rural Lower Saxony, spending the night in a ‘hay hotel’ near the village of Langeloh -Megan @ eclectic hip hotel, Berlinaccommodation where you literally sleep on a bed of hay! Justine continues to the island of Sylt, a vast sandbar that juts out into the North Sea. Incredible beaches and spas have made it a popular retreat for Germany’s rich and famous but its main claim to fame is as the German birthplace of modern nudism in the 1920s. Justine strips off and joins the naturists hanging out on the beach.
Megan then drives south in an open-top car along the ‘Romantic Road‘, which takes her through some of the prettiest and most historic towns in Bavaria, including Dinkelsbuhl, where she witnesses the colourful ‘Kinderzeche‘, or Children’s Festival.
Justine, meanwhile, catches the Intercity express to in the Bavarian state capital of Munich, where she enjoys a very different kind of festival - Oktoberfest. She finds work as a barmaid at the festival, helping hand out the 6 million litres of beer which are poured down the throats of revellers at the world’s most famous beer festival.
Megan visits the extraordinary, fairy-tale Neuschwanstein Castle, built by ‘mad’ King Ludwig of Bavaria, the grandson of the king who started Oktoberfest. Mad Ludwig was so-Justine Shapiro, Syltcalled because of his bizarre behaviour, decadent lifestyle, and a 20-year spending spree, which almost bankrupted Bavaria – government officials conspired to have him declared legally insane and had him forceably removed from the castle in the middle of the night.
Just a few miles from Neuschwanstein is Oberammergau, one of the most beautiful towns in the German Alps. When the plague struck in 1633, the inhabitants of Oberammergau vowedthat if God spared their town, they would perform a Passion play about the death and resurrection of Christ every ten years. The inhabitants have remained true to their word, and more than half of the town’s 5,000 population are involved in this once in a decade event. Justine meets with Jesus during his lunch break and learns what it’s like to take part in the extraordinary event which is witnessed by half a million people.
Megan heads on to Friedrichshafen on the shores of Lake Constance, to fly in a Zeppelin, before heading on to Duisburg in the Ruhr Valley. The old industrial heartland of Germany is changing rapidly, and many former factories have now been closed down. Megan visits one old steel mill which has been inventively reborn as an adventure climbing centre.
Justine travels on to Berchtesgaden, close to the border with Austria. This was Hitler’s mountain retreat, and although many wartime buildings have been torn down in an effort toJustine Shapiro, Oktoberfest, Municherase the memory of Nazism, Justine meets up with a historian who shows her around what’s left of the site, including the Nazi museum which aims to educate people about the horrors of the regime.
Whilst Justine ends her trip with a mountain climbing expedition up the spectacular Mount Jenner, just outside Berchtesgarten, Megan ends her trip with a riotous and uninhibited party at the Love Parade, Germany’s premier techno festival, as it makes its boisterous way through the streets of Dortmund in the Ruhr Valley.
World War II Special
In this Globe Trekker special, traveller Megan McCormick is joined by Ian Wright, Adela Ucar Innerarity, Justine Shapiro and Estelle Bingham. Together they take viewers on a journey of discovery as they travel to a selection of key World War II key locations across Europe.
Megan begins her journey in a quiet forest in Compiègne in Northern France. It was here that the armistice bringing World War I to an end was signed. Many people believe that as the terms were so punitive against Germany this is also where the seeds of World War II were sown.
We catch up with Ian Wright in Vienna, the birthplace of Hitler, who tells us about Hitler’s early years there. Megan then travels to Nuremberg in Germany. Hitler chose this city as the location for his Nazi Party Rallies in the 1930s that would inspire the German nation to prepare for war.
Hitler’s first sign of expansion was the union with Austria in 1938, as Ian finds out back in Vienna. As the rest of the world continued to turn a blind eye, Hitler continued his expansionunabated. Britain and France finally declared war on Germany after Hitler’s forces invadedMegan McCormick at Fairford Air Show, UK Poland on September 1st, 1939.
The Allied forces were quickly overcome by Hitler’s Blitzkrieg (lightening war) and by the end of May 400,000 Allied troops were cornered at Dunkirk in Northern France. Megan travels to the beaches there to learn about the daring evacuation plan the British undertook, and at Henley-on-Thames in England we see some of the surviving Dunkirk veterans and the little ships.
Megan then travels to the Fairford Air Show in southern England to learn more about the Battle of Britain and see some of the surviving aircraft that helped the British to keep Hitler at bay.
Our journey continues to the island of Crete where Adela meets veterans and locals who fill her in on the first major airborne invasion ever when German paratroopers descended in May 1941, causing the allied troops there to evacuate the island.
Buoyed on so many victories, Germany pushed further afield. But 3 key events were to signal a turning of the tide in the war. Firstly, in June 1941, Germany invaded Russia, but… fighting on Battle of Crete Memorial2 fronts left her overstretched. Then, in December 1941, Germany’s ally Japan attacked Pearl Harbour, and the USA entered the war, and finally, British Intelligence had a vital breakthrough as they cracked the German’s Enigma Codes. Megan travels to Bletchley Park just north of London and meets a veteran code breaker who explains the vital work they undertook there in the war.
The European Theatre of War stretched as far as North Africa - as control of the Mediterranean coast was so important. We learn more about the Germans’ last stand there from Ian who is at Merath, Tunisia.
As the Allies begin to push the Germans back, we catch up with Estelle Bingham in Anzio, Italy and Justine Shapiro on the Normandy beaches in France where the D-Day Landings took place in June 1944, which would see the German troops being pushed back to their homeland.
Megan then learns about the Lancaster Bombers at Fairford Air show. These British Aircraft were key in bombing German cities in attempt to wear down and defeat the Germans. Megan then travels to Dresden in Germany, the site of horrific and controversial allied bombings just weeks before the end of the war.
Checkpoint Charlie, BerlinMegan then visits Germany’s capital Berlin where the final stages of the war were fought and Hitler commited suicide, just as the Russian and Allied troops began to close in on the German army.
But as one nightmare ended, another started, as the truth about wartime Nazi atrocities and the Nazi concentration camps became fully revealed. Justine Shapiro travels to Auschwitz in Poland, the most infamous of them all, and where several of Justine’s relatives lost their lives.
Our journey ends in Nuremberg, Germany, where Megan visits Courtroom 600, where the surviving Nazi Leaders were put on trial for war crimes against humanity.
Volcanoes – Ring of Fire
Volcanoes have always both fascinated and frightened mankind. Often causing massive loss of life, they’ve been worshipped as gods, and feared as homes for the devil. They emit hugeMegan McCormick, Hawaiiamounts of poison gas and ash, yet provide some of the most fertile land on Earth.
In this Globe Trekker Special – Volcanoes: Ring of Fire – travellers Megan McCormick,Ian Wright, Justine Shapiro, Alex Riley, and Sami Sabiti explore the world’s most spectacular volcanoes, travelling from the heart of Europe, across the Atlantic and Caribbean, to the deadly Pacific Ring of Fire.
In Europe, Ian Wright visits the Italian island of Stromboli, which has been continually erupting for at least a thousand year. Justine Shapiro travels to the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, which was destroyed in 79AD by an eruption of the nearby volcano Vesuvius. And Megan heads to the Greek island of Santorini, where 1500 years before the demise of Pompeii a cataclysmic eruption destroyed local Minoan cities, and caused a vast tsunami to surge across the Mediterranean.
In much more recent times, volcanic eruptions have also frequently had devastating consequences. Megan McCormick visits Krakatoa in Indonesia, which killed over 36,000 people when it erupted in 1883. We travel to Mont Pelée on the Caribbean island of Martinique, which erupted in 1902 causing the deaths of 30,000 people. Sami Sabiti climbs to the summit of Mount Saint Helens in the United States, and meets scientists and survivors of the massive eruption here in 1980 – casualties were fortunately few, with just 57 killed, as the volcano is located in a sparsely populated area.
We travel to numerous other volcanic hotspots across the world:
Montserrat in the Caribbean, where eruptions in the 1990s destroyed the capital city and caused half the island to be evacuated;Izalco Volcano, El Salvador
Kilauea in Hawaii;
Faial in the Azores, visited by Megan McCormick;
Mount Fuji in Japan, climbed by Ian Wright;
Santa Ana in El Salvador;
Arenal in Costa Rica;
Pacaya in Guatemala;
Cotopaxi in Ecuador;
Mount Yasur in Vanuatu, where Ian Wright gets close up to the most approachable highly active volcano in the world.
Ian Wright, Mount Fuji, JapanThe extraordinary power of volcanoes has brought death and destruction to many parts of the world for thousands of years, but of all the world’s volcanoes, one has scientists worrying about the future more than any other.
Alex Riley visits La Palma in the Canary Islands, discovering how an eruption could make a 500 cubic kilometre chunk of the island crash into the sea, creating a massive tsunami that could cause an international catastrophe, surging all the way across the Atlantic to devastate cities on the east coast of the United States. It might not happen for another million years, of course, but it could happen next Thursday!
The Transatlantic Slave Trade
In this Globe Trekker Special - The Transatlantic Slave Trade - Zoe Palmer, Ian Wright, Justine Shapiro, and Megan McCormick, travel throughout Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and North and Zoe Palmer with Stephen Tomkins, Willian Wilberforce’ biographerSouth America, discovering the terrible truth about this shameful episode of history, which saw 12 million slaves taken out of Africa, and 2 million killed.
All along the West African coast, from the 15th century onwards, dozens of European forts were built to house captured slaves, before they were shipped across the Atlantic to the Americas. Justine Shapiro is at Ouidah in Benin, Megan McCormick travels to Elmina in Ghana, whilst Zoe Palmer visits Goree Island in Senegal, as well as the Cape Verde islands just off the African coast.
The conditions in which the slaves were held in these forts were shocking, but even worse awaited them on board the ships that took an average of eight weeks to sail from Africa to the New World. All told, around 2 million slaves are estimated to have died on board the ships.
For those Africans who did survive the voyage, life in the Americas was no better. We visit sugar and cotton plantations formerly worked by slaves in the Caribbean, and the United States – Ian Wright travels to Jamaica and the Turks & Caicos Islands, Zoe Palmer visits St. Lucia and Guadeloupe, whilst Megan McCormick and Justine Shapiro are at former slave plantations in the United States. The average life expectancy for enslaved Africans on plantations was a mere 7 years. Plantation owners did their sums and calculated that Liverpool Docksrather than looking after the slaves they “owned”, it was cheaper to work them to death and then ship across fresh slaves from Africa.
Portugal and Spain were the first slaving nations, and today their cities abound with the fabulous wealth generated thanks to the countries’ first explorers and slavers. Other leading European nations, such as France, and the Netherlands, were heavily involved, but by the end of the 18th century, it was Britain that had become the largest slaving nation in the world. Zoe Palmer discovers how many of London’s most famous companies and institutions were founded and developed on the back of slavery.
Subsequently, the British MP William Wilberforce led a long campaign in Parliament to abolish the slave trade. Zoe Palmer explores the background to the successful campaign,including the influential contribution of freed slave and best-selling author Olaudah Equiano. Megan McCormick and Justine Shapiro, meanwhile, see how the Civil War in the United States American Civil War re- enactmentchanged the course of history and finally led to the freeing of slaves in the slave-owning south.
Finally, at the world’s most dazzling carnivals, we celebrate the cultural legacy of slave culture. Ian Wright is at the world’s most famous carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Justine Shapiro is at theTrinidad carnival, Megan McCormick visits the Notting Hill Carnival in London, whilst Zoe Palmer sambas the night away in Cape Verde, off the coast of Africa. It’s a happy modern day ending, sadly not shared by the millions of enslaved Africans who died and were appallingly abused for hundreds of years prior to the abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century.
Cape Verde & Senegal
Located on the west coast of Africa, Senegal is one of the continent’s most exciting destinations. Host Zoe Palmer starts her journey in the capital Dakar, the vibrant home of Zoe Palmermore than 2 million people. After checking out the city’s colourful markets and pulsating nightclubs, she visits historic Gorée Island, just offshore, to learn of its infamous past as one of the centres of the slave trade in West Africa.
Zoe catches a gig by the godfather of Senegalese music,Youssou N’Dour, and also learns about the harsh reality of poverty in Senegal, when she meets one of the thousands of Senegalese who over recent years have risked their lives attempting the perilous journey in small fishing boats to Europe in search of a better life.
Leaving Dakar, Zoe travels deep into the interior of Senegal, stopping off at the Muslim holy city of Touba, en route to the Niokola-Koba National Park. Heading onwards into the remote territory of the Bassari people, Zoe visits the village of Oubadji, where she is privileged to see a rarely witnessed traditional tribal ceremony.
Making the long journey back to Dakar, Zoe flies on to the little known Cape Verde islands, 500 kilometres off the Senegalese coast. With a spectacularly beautiful volcanic landscape, Holly at Victoria Fallsthese islands were once at the centre of the trans-atlantic slave trade. Offshore from Santiago Island, she goes wreck-diving and explores a collection of barnacle-encrusted anchors belonging to old sailing ships, many of them slavers, which centuries ago crowded the now tranquil harbour.
Moving on to Mindelo, on the island of Sao Vicente, Zoe joins in Cape Verde’s biggest celebration of the year:Carnival, strutting her stuff in costume along with all the other dancers on the streets. Finally she climbs the mighty volcano on the island of Fogo, which last erupted in 1995. She is rewarded at the summit at nearly 3,000 metres with breathtaking views stretching across the Cape Verde islands and the Atlantic beyond. It’s been a fantastic journey through Senegal and Cape Verde, two dream destinations for the adventurous traveller.
Caribbean Islands St Lucia, Martinique and Montserrat
Welcome to The Caribbean Islands! Globe Trekker Zoe Palmer travels to the spectacularly beautiful islands of St Lucia, Martinique and Montserrat. Steeped in a hybrid of English, African and French culture, Zoe Palmer, Castries Market, St. Luciadotted with volcanoes, lush with tropical rainforest, surrounded by turquoise oceans, and teeming with marine life, these islands are a real picture postcard.
Zoe starts in St Lucia’s capital Castries and home to a third of the islands population of 170,000. It’s also one of the busiest ports in the Caribbean with cruise liners passing through and cargo ships unloading their wares. Here Zoe explores the famous Castries Market and picks up some goodies before heading out of town.
The Caribbean islands are known for their sun, sea and sand – and St. Lucia is no exception. However, the island also has a dramatic mountainous interior to explore. From Castries Zoe travels to Fond D’Or Bay, and on to Pigeon Island where she learns about St Lucia’s history of slavery, before heading south to Soufrière, where she hikes the majestic Gros Piton mountain with guide Jimmy Haynes. Sacred to the island’s first inhabitants, the Arawak Indians, the 800 metre high Gros Piton was named a UNESCO world heritage site in 2004, and provides fantastic views from its summit of St Lucia and the Caribbean Sea beyond.
From St Lucia, Zoe takes a short ferry ride north to the French island of Martinique and its capital Fort-de-France, one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the French West Indies. HereZoe Palmer, St. LuciaZoe visits the remains of the birthplace of Martinique’s most famous colonial daughter,Empress Josephine, and explores the La Pagerie sugar cane plantation.
From Fort-de-France Zoe Heads travels north towards St. Pierre in an open-top jeep with local guide Marc Martial. At the beginning of the 20th century St. Pierre was the economic capital of Martinique and a flourishing port city with a thriving population of around 30,000. In 1902 it was tragically devastated by Mont Pelée‘s massive volcanic eruption which killed virtually the entire population in the space of minutes. Today Mont Pelée provides a scenic and peaceful backdrop to St. Pierre, as Zoe discovers when local English teacher Jacques Bajal takes her on steep climb up through lush green vegetation to the crater of the volcano. Zoe cools off with a fascinating dive in St. Pierre’s harbour where approximately 18 ships were devastated by the volcano. Accompanied by local diver Jacky Imbert, she explores The Roraima which is the largest wreck in the bay, whose 50 passengers and crew lost their lives when the vessel sank during the eruption.
From Martinique, Zoe travels north to Guadeloupe, switching ferries at Pointe- a-Pitre before continuing her journey to the remote island of Marie-Galante where Zoe practices with the Tche Kreyol Ballet, Martiniquesugar cane production was thriving back in the 1800s. Today the island’s countryside is dotted with the scattered ruins of 100s of abandoned sugar mills. Although slavery has long since been abolished, sugar cane is still harvested here, much as it was during the 19th century at the height of the slave trade. English-speaking local guide, Sebastien Narcisse, takes Zoe to the only working sugar mill on the island. The majority of its sugarcane is supplied to the island’s 3 main rum distilleries. Zoe visits the Bielle Distillery where she learns about rum production methods and gets to sample the finished product.
Zoe continues her journey northwards by boat to the island of Montserrat. Access is severely restricted to the southern half of the island which is now an exclusion zone, given the danger of further eruptions. Lethal hot lava flows, volcanic ash, and rocks, have been known to hurtle down the volcano at speeds of well over 100 kph. Zoe embarks on a helicopter trip around the area with Roderick Stewart, Director of The Montserrat Volcano Observatory to witness the destruction wreaked on this idyllic island by its volcano. She also gets special permission to trek through the area on horseback. Travelling with local radio presenter, Rose Willock, she visits the Belham Valley and the former capital of Plymouth which is now a ghost town.
Zoe and the Globe Trekker film crew, MontserratJust days after the filming of the programme, the Montserrat volcano erupted once again. Within minutes, a deadly pyroclastic flow surged into Plymouth and the surrounding area. Luckily, Zoe and the Globe Trekker film crew got out just in the nick of time..
Travelling through the Caribbean Islands is truly a magical adventure. Zoe is enchanted and surprised at the power of nature to simultaneously destroy and create such amazing landscapes and abundant vegetation. Chilled by vibrant reggae music and warmed by the sun, the smiles, and the laughter of the local people – Zoe will definitely be back for more!
The Balkans
In this Globe Trekker, Zay Harding visits the Balkan countries of former Yugoslavia: Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia Herzegovina and Montenegro. Underscored by a rollicking gypsy inspired Zay Harding, Mostarsoundtrack Zay discovers 4 countries rich in tradition and history, with a common desire to live life to the full!
Starting in the Kosovo, which became independent in February 2008, Zay explores the capital city Prishtina, and spends the night Albanian dancing to local band “Machiato”. An incredible 50% of the population of Kosovo is under the age of 20, and since independence, the local music scene is thriving.
The next day Zay visits Gazimestan, a memorial to a war that took place over 500 years ago. It is where the Serbians fought the Turks in 1389. As a concession to Serbian withdrawal from Kosovo, the memorial is now heavily patrolled by UN troops, an eerie feeling for a tourist site.
Zay enters the moustache competiton, KalenicNext stop Serbia, and Zay’s first point of call is at a traditional farming festival outside the Kalenic Monastery. Zay is most excited about the moustache competition, even the Guinness book world record holder Zoran Pontic is there. After fudging his way into the event with a 30 cm long fake moustache, Zay manages to get onstage before his moustache falls off in front of everyone! The next day, Zay visits the local monastery. He works hard to make amends for his antics by mucking out the stables and milking cows with the nuns.
Zay travels on to the Serbian capital Belgrade, the former seat of power for the whole of Yugoslavia. It is a city that is famously located where 2 great rivers meet – the River Danube and the River Sava – and it is also famous for its nightlife! After checking into his floating backpacker barge Zay hits the town joined by Eurovision Song Competition winners “‘The Beauty Queens”.
Leaving Belgrade by train, Zay is off to enjoy another popular festival, The Guca Trumpet Festival. Over 4 days and nights, gypsy or Roma bands and their imitators battle it out in Gypsy musicians, Belgradopen competition. It is a cacophony of brass and hundreds of thousands of people attend to eat (mainly meat on a spit), drink (beer), dance and be merry!
When travelling in the Balkans, reminders of the 1990s wars are never far away and nowhere is this more apparent than in Sarajevo, Zay’s next destination and capital city of Bosnia Herzegovina. Between the years 1992 and 1995 Sarajevo was under siege, with Serbian troops and Bosnian Serb forces firing on the predominantly Muslim Bosnian population. Zay visits the site of a tunnel, which was dug out during the siege and is now a museum. For the local people it was their only way in and out of the city.
A beautiful city, Sarajevo was once the site of the 1984 Winter Olympics. Zay continues his journey, trekking high up into the Bjeslasnica Mountains, stopping overnight in Bosnia’s highest village Lukomir. As a result of its isolation, and years of conflict, life has barely changed here in 100s of years, and that’s a common theme to rural life in The Balkans.
Next stop Mostar, where a 25 metre high bridge built by the Ottomans in 1566 has now become the site of an extreme sport, bridge jumping! Zay makes the training jumps at Zay Harding, rafting the Tara River10 metres, but chickens out of the 25-metre jump.
This is the last country Zay visits on his Balkan adventure… trekking all the way from the glamorous coastline to the dramatic and scenic interior. Montenegro means “black mountain” and 4 fifths of the country is made up of mountains. Zay swaps a mountain bike for a traditional log raft to complete the final leg of his journey. He rafts the Tara River Canyon, the deepest canyon in all of Europe and a World Heritage site… It’s a dramatic end to the show when the raft becomes stuck on rocks, in the middle of ice cold rapids!
Colorado & Utah
Globe Trekker Holly Morris discovers a land of cowboys and old mining towns, a land that time forgot, a place where people fleeing religious persecution found their promised land and outlaws became legends… Welcome to Colorado and Utah!
Holly Morris at the Durango RodeoHolly begins her trip in Denver the capital of Colorado – also known as Mile High City because it stands 5,280 feet above sea level. Over the past few decades the city has attracted many artists and bohemians whose influence is reflected in the city’s architecture – notably the Denver Art Museum, designed in part by world famous architect Daniel Liebeskind, and the Clifford Still Museum, designed to present the work of Colorado’s most eminent painter. Holly takes a tour of the city’s coolest sights with resident pop artist Phil Bender.
Denver is also the home of the cowboy so Holly has to pay a trip to Rockmount, the best cowboy outfitters in the West. Run by the world’s oldest CEO “Papa Jack” Wilde, Rockmount has made cowboy clothes for countless film and music stars – most recently for the Oscar-winning movie “Brokeback Mountain“.
A little known fact is that one in 3 cowboys were in fact African Americans so Holly pays a visit to the Black American West Museum to learn more from its curators. The museum was Holly Morris with the curators of the Black American West Museumthe brainchild creation of retired barber, Paul Stewart, who was so amazed to see black cowboys roaming the city he felt compelled to record their existence for posterity.
It’s time to hit the road and Holly continues her journey, hitching a ride through the Rocky Mountains, and heading south west. She stops off at the ghost town of Carson which thrived during the late 19th century Gold Rush but was abandoned at the end of the boom. From here she hikes a stretch of the legendary Colorado Trail.
Holly and her guide Pete Turner set off for Silverton – it’s a 2-day hike 3,500 metres above sea level, and covers around 40km. Taking in the Lost Trail Creek, Cataract Lake, Cuba Gulch - the Colorado Trail runs along the Continental Divide and is flanked by the the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean on each side. Holly is enthralled by the amazing cacti, alpine meadows, hummingbird moths, butterflies, and rock formations she encounters along the way.
Next stop is Silverton an old Victorian town – home to the Colorado silver mining boom of 1874 – where a hot bath and a good night’s sleep await our weary traveller. The following morning Holly Desert scenery, Utahcontinues her journey to the end of the Trail by steam train. The Durango to Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad was used to haul precious ores to and from the old mining towns. Holly enjoys 70km of breath-taking mountain scenery on her journey to Durango where she can’t resist the challenge of a Saturday night rodeo!
Historically, rodeo was introduced to Durango by the Mexicans, who colonised the area until the mid-1800s. The local horse wranglers – orvaqueros - had contests to see who could stay the longest on a bucking horse. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Shows later popularised the sport and brought it to an international audience.
From Durango Holly heads north through the Rockies to Crested Butte, birthplace of the mountain bike – and continues her journey cycling onwards to Aspen. The trail has challenging terrain and all manner of treacherous drops – it’s a ride considered to be a rite of passage for mountain bike enthusiasts, including Holly!
Exhausted but exhilarated, Holly flies 500km from Aspen to the state capital of Utah: Salt Lake City. Utah is the adopted home of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,Holly Morris with skiing buddiesotherwise known as the Mormons. Fleeing religious persecution, in 1847 Brigham Young brought his 147 pilgrims to Utah’s Great Basin and they settled here in 1847 to build their new promised land. Today roughly 75% Utah’s 2.5 million residents are members of the Church which has a following of some 10 million members worldwide.
Mormons are considered to be some of the best genealogists in the world. Their interest comes from their belief in the eternal family unit – which maintains that ancestors can be converted to the Mormon church even after their death. Holly meets members of the local Mormon community and discovers some surprising ancestral connections of her own!
Next on the agenda is the annual Pony Express re-ride just outside the city. Holly is itching to take part in this 4km ride – along with 100s of other participants – but first has to make a pledge to clean living and honesty, as ordained by the Pony Express founder, Alexander Majors in 1860.
Beyond the Salt Lake Flats, Holly discovers Utah’s mountains are a mecca for adventure sports enthusiasts like herself. The state has a wealth of fantastic ski resorts on offer in the northern Wasatch Range, the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Great Salt Lake. There are also 5 national parks to the south (e.g. Arches, Zion and Bryce Canyon).
Holly travels onwards and south to Circleville, home to the outlaw (and former Mormon) Butch Cassidy who was immortalised in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Butch Cassidy’s childhood home, CirclevilleButch was renowned for robbing banks and trains with the Wild Bunch Gang throughout the south west. He fled to South America with his partner Sundance Kid in 1901 and was allegedly killed in a shootout in Bolivia.
Holly reaches her journey’s end in Monument Valley, Kingdom of the Navajo Indians, and spectacular backdrop to countless classic Hollywood Westerns.
Holly is enthralled by the landscapes of Colorado and Utah. It’s a region rich in culture and steeped in the history of the Wild West and blessed with breathtaking mountains and stunning desert scenery.
Honduras & El Salvador
Brianna Barnes travels to Honduras and El Salvador, 2 of Central America’s least known but most rewarding destinations for the adventurous traveller.
Starting her journey in the Honduran capitalTegucigalpa, Brianna heads to the Caribbean coast, catching a ferry to the gorgeous Bay Islands, the country’s most popular tourist attraction. On the island of Roatan she not only swims with dolphins, but also descends over 2,000 feet down into the offshore Cayman Trench in a miniature submarine, coming across weird and very rarely seen deep-sea fish species and marine life.
In the early 20th century Honduras was renowned as the archetypical “banana republic”, and even today the banana is of vital importance to the country’s economy. Back on the Caribbean coast, near the port of La Ceiba, Brianna spends a day at a huge banana plantation, discovering the amazing lengths to which the growers go to keep the fruit utterly unblemished, to meet the expectations of Western supermarkets and consumers.
Travelling inland, Brianna visits the remarkably beautiful ruins of Copan, once one of the most important cities of the Mayan empire, before heading on to the nearby town of Santa Rosa Cigar rolling, Santa Rosa de Copande Copan, where she learns how to roll cigars.
Moving on to El Salvador, a country now recovering from more than a decade of civil war which tore the country apart in the 1980s, Brianna heads to the spectacular National Volcano Park. Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, El Salvador is a volcanic hotspot, prone to devastating eruptions and earthquakes. After climbing the perfectly symmetrical cone of the dramatic Izalco volcano, now dormant, but once known as the “Lighthouse of the Pacific” for its virtually constant eruptions, Brianna goes waterfall trekking in the nearby El Imposible National Park, then mountain bikes down to the beautiful Pacific coast.
From the coast, Brianna travels to the capita lSan Salvador, where she learns about the tragic history of the civil war, before heading to the Guazapa volcano, which was a guerrilla stronghold during the war. Here she meets Marisol Galindo, a former guerrilla commander, trekking across the volcano on horseback, visiting the remains of underground hideouts, bomb craters, destroyed villages, and now overgrown guerrilla cemeteries.
Izalco volcanoAfter enjoying the rodeo at the annual fiesta of the lakeside village of San Luis del Carmen, Brianna’s final destination is the mighty 7,800 feet high Santa Ana volcano, the highest volcano in El Salvador. Santa Ana last erupted in 2005, and Brianna is granted special permission to climb the still dangerous volcano with a team of vulcanologists who are monitoring the volcano’s activity.
Brianna ends her trip on the summit of the majestic volcano, with spectacular views all around, hoping that the team is right when they conclude that another eruption isn’t imminent!
Zambia & Malawi
Holly Morris travels to the heart of Central Africa to explore two countries which were forever changed by the legendary Scottish explorer Dr. David Livingstone and retraces two Holly at Victoria Fallsepic journeys that led to his most celebrated discoveries:Lake Malawi and the Victoria Falls.
Holly’s journey begins in Blantyre, named in honour of Livingstone’s birth place in Scotland. She travels by bus to Liwonde town and by bicycle-taxi to Liwonde National Park, the most beautiful park in Malawi and prime wildlife viewing destination in Africa. Following in his footsteps, Holly explores the Shire River in Liwonde National Park by boat, and encounters the same wildlife noted by Livingstone in his diaries: elephants, hippos, crocodiles and antelopes and the very same ancient baobab tree, mentioned in his journal, which to this day is still alive.
Guided by his books Holly reaches one of Africa’s secret wonders: Lake Malawi, where she dives along with Professor Mackay and learns more about the lake-s 600 – 1,000 endemic species.
After hitchhiking to Monkey Bay, our globe trekker takes the Ilala ferry across the lake to the beautiful Children selling mice on sticksand remote Likoma Island. Once there she visits the local witch doctor, before heading off toMfuwe in Zambia.
Heading north she explores the bustling and fast growing Lusaka, Zambia’s capital city, for a stroll around its vibrant market and a visit to the Wanga Manga Environmental Park to learn about conservation and release programmes of the wildlife brought to the centre having been rescued from the bush meat trade. She then visits Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage, one of the largest and oldest sanctuaries in Africa, a safe haven for the highly endangered chimpanzees.
Finally Holly lands at Livingstone town near the Victoria Falls and visits the Livingstone Museum, gaining privileged access to its most treasured exhibits: some of Livingstone’sHolly at Victoria Falls personal letters and belongings as well as original notebooks and artefacts.
She then heads to the spectacular Victoria Falls, which are the largest waterfalls in the world and are listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Holly braves the dangerous currents to take a dip in the Devil’s Pool right on the lip of the falls. Her feelings of wonder and exhilaration recall the words that Livingstone wrote in his journal inspired by the awe he felt in front of the extraordinary magnificence of the falls:
“Scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight…”
For Holly too, the Victoria Falls, framed by spectacular rainbow, are a glimpse of heavenly splendour, providing a truly fitting climax to an amazing journey.
Trekking the Pacific – The Cook Islands & Kokoda Trail, Papua New Guinea
Travellers Zoe Palmer and Matt Young embark on 2 epic journeys through the Pacific. Zoe heads off to the South Pacific to explore the idyllic Cook Islands whilst Matt explores Zoe Palmer, Atieufascinating and remote Papua New Guinea.
The Cook Islands lie 3,500 kilometres north east of New Zealand and comprise 15 coral atolls and volcanic islands. Zoe’s journey takes in the 4 islands of Rarotonga, Atieu, Mitiaro, and Takutea.
Her adventure begins with a trek across Rarotonga, the largest of the islands with a population of 10,000 people. The island measures 32 kilometres in circumference and, with a circular road following the coastline, it’s not difficult to get around. Renowned for its beautiful beaches, 70% of Rarotonga’s surface is mountainous, and covered in almost pristine native forest. From the tiny capital city Avarua, Zoe hikes along an ancient pathway to the centre of the island and historic ceremonial site of Te Rua Manga where local people once carved the faces of their gods into the rockface.
Back in Avarua, Zoe takes part in the Mire Tarai Festival, an annual celebration of local culture, crafts and traditional sports. She joins an all female team of canoeists to compete in a canoe race across the local lagoon. No one knows who wins – or fact cares – it seems the Local couple, Atieufestival is more about celebrating ancient customs and having fun.
From Rarotonga, Zoe flies to the island of Atiu, where Captain Cook landed in 1777. Cooks landing party were met by curious islanders who’d never seen white people before in their lives. Cannibalism was known to take place on the Pacific islands so their Tahitian interpreter was terrified when he noticed the islanders preparing a large bonfire. Luckily, his fears were unfounded and the the party received a warm welcome from the Atiu islanders.
Two years’ later Captain Cook was in fact killed and cooked (literally!) by Polynesians in Hawaii. Ironically, the Polynesians had much in common with the man they killed – just like Cook they were highly skilled navigators and intrepid explorers. There is also archaeological and genetic evidence dating back 1,000 years that suggests Polynesian canoes sailed 2,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean, discovering en route: Hawaii, Easter Island, and New Zealand.
Next Zoe hitches a ride to the nearby island of Mitiaro in a traditional voyaging canoe named the Te Au o Tonga. Built in 1994, it’s the only voyaging canoe of its kind on the Cook Islands Traditional canoe, Rarotongatoday and an exact replica of an ancient canoe design. Apart from voyages of discovery, this type of canoe would also have been used for regular warrior raids when cannibalistic Atiuans launched terrifying attacks on the terrified Mitiaro islanders. Thankfully, the Atiuans are a much friendlier bunch today. And, when Zoe arrives at Mitiaro, the welcoming festivities are in full swing. These days having the voyaging canoe in port is a really happy event and Zoe is treated to a traditional Polynesian welcome.
The final leg of Zoe’s trip takes her to the nearby uninhabited island of Takutea where she gets to test her survival skills. Following in the wake of ancient warriors and intrepid explorers visiting these remote, idyllic islands has been an unmissable experience. Zoe is enthralled by the Cook Islands.
Meanwhile, Matt Young is en route to Papua New Guinea which is situated 150 kilometres north of Australia and has some of the world’s most impenetrable rainforest. From the Matt Young and local village chiefcapital Port Moresby, on the south coast of Papua New Guinea, Matt flies to the remote village of Kokoda where he treks in the footsteps of Australian soldiers battling with the Japanese during World War II along the infamous Kokoda Trail, otherwise known as “the devil’s design, the ultimate military obstacle course”. The Kokoda Trail is centuries old, and has traditionally been used by locals to travel between their villages and to move from the mountains to the coast. Today, apart from flying, hiking the trail is still the only connection between the villages along the Owen Stanley Range.
When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour during World War II, Port Moresby was of great strategic importance. Had it been captured by the Japanese, Australia would have been at risk of attack. As it happens, the Japanese landed on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in 1942. Their plan was to advance along the Kokoda TrailWWII army helmetsand capture Port Moresby. After fierce fighting Japanese troups advanced as far as Kokoda within a week and the Australian forces had to retreat towards Port Moresby with the Japanese in hot pursuit. Matt Young retraces the combatants’ terrible struggle for survival, as they fought their way through almost impenetrable rainforest and across steep mountain ranges.
Setting out from Kokoda, Matt is drenched by rain and perspiration as he treks for days through the humid, dense rainforest. En route, he is invited to take part in a traditional wild boar hunt by the villagers of Kovelo. he finally arrives at Isurava village, site of a major battle in 1942. Continuing his journey, Matt passes some recently discovered WWII artefacts war – amongst these a collection of hand-grenades, flares, sub-machine guns, an unexploded bomb, and the wreck of an American B25 bomber. He also meets a remarkable old man who was one of the local “Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels“, and affectionate nickname given by the Australian troops to the Papua New Guineans who helped them during the fighting.
Traditional dancersFinally, having climbed over the highest ridge of the Owen Stanley Mountains, Matt’s trek of a lifetime ends at Brigade Hill, site of one of the Kokoda Campaign’s bloodiest battles in 1942. This marks the spot of the first defeat on land for the Japanese Army in the Pacific. Although the Australian forces were greatly outnumbered, they fought back with ambush, delay tactics and by frustrating the enemy in every way possible. Over 2,000 Australian troops were killed during the Kokoda Campaign and – of the 20,000 Japanese soldiers who fought on the Kokoda Trail – it’s estimated that 13,000 lost their lives.
Trekking the Kokoda Trail has been a gruelling experience both physically and mentally – just like the Australian soldiers during the Kokoda Campaign, Matt couldn’t have done it without the help of the locals. Jam packed full of war history, local culture and spectacular scenery, Papua New Guinea has been a truly is a fulfilling experience for Matt.