Inspiring Travel Writing from Barbara Erasmus
Barbara Erasmus is a freelance journalist and author who lives in Cape Town and writes for publications such as Mail&Guardian, Mens Health, Business Day, Sunday Times, Equinox, Teacher and Cape Times, winning the GlaxoSmithKline Media Excellence Award in 2001. She has written features for the travel supplements of the Saturday Star, Cape Argus, Sunday Tribune, Travel Now, Diversions and Alive describing trips to Russia, Alaska, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Europe, North America and Africa. Her short story Blog won the South African Woman&Home short story competition in 2007.
Her novels Kaleidoscope and Even with insects were published by Penguin (South Africa) in 2004 and 2005 and both were selected as part of Exclusive Books annual Homebru promotion, the leading book store in South Africa which makes an annual selection of the best local fiction available Kaleidoscope was nominated by Penguin for the Commonwealth Best First Novel award and long listed for the Sunday Times Fiction Award, the leading award for fiction in South Africa. Her third novel, Chameleon, has not yet been published. While none of these novels are travelogues, her life-long addiction to far-away places ensures that travel plays a role in each, based on personal experience.
Her novels Kaleidoscope and Even with insects were published by Penguin (South Africa) in 2004 and 2005 and both were selected as part of Exclusive Books annual Homebru promotion, the leading book store in South Africa which makes an annual selection of the best local fiction available Kaleidoscope was nominated by Penguin for the Commonwealth Best First Novel award and long listed for the Sunday Times Fiction Award, the leading award for fiction in South Africa. Her third novel, Chameleon, has not yet been published. While none of these novels are travelogues, her life-long addiction to far-away places ensures that travel plays a role in each, based on personal experience.
Articles by Barbara Erasmus
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A Sip of Southern Spain
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Barbara Erasmus
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Spain
The windmills of Don Quixote turn slowly against the backdrop of a blue, cloud-free sky as we drive through a flat, thirsty landscape en route from Madrid to Seville. The only clue that we’re in Spain is the series of giant 8m metal bulls...
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Alaska
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Barbara Erasmus
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United States
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Alaska
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Anchorage
Awesome is a word which has been undervalued by teenagers, who apply it to everything from hamburgers to denim jeans. It takes on its true dimensions in the grandeur of an Alaskan landscape. Older than history. Jagged mountain peaks carved by...
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Argentina
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Barbara Erasmus
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Argentina
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Buenos Aires and the Pampas
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Buenos Aires
Standing in the queue for foreign passport holders at Buenos Aires’ revamped international airport, I wondered what to expect from Argentina. My major source of information at that stage was Andrew Lloyd Webber. I had a lot to learn. First...
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The Global Village
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Barbara Erasmus
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Japan
Anna and the King was a block-buster on the cinema circuit. It’s easy for the audience to imagine the culture shock of the English governess who lands in Bangkok – a city of temples, foreign tongues and even the occasional elephant! Air...
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Rural Russia
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Barbara Erasmus
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Russia
Russia: Step into a time warp in remote villages with unfamiliar names. Kitzi – amazing wooden churches with cupolas and shingles reflecting the filtered sunshine. Uglich and Gorritsy – multi-coloured domes and spirals; a cappella...
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Calving glaciers in Alaska
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Barbara Erasmus
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United States
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Alaska
United States: We see the Harvard Glacier from miles away - a cliff of tortured ice, increasingly spectacular as we draw nearer. An ominous crack of thunder. Our mouths fall open as a block of ice larger then a double-decker bus trembles on the...
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A night drive in the Kruger Park
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Barbara Erasmus
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South Africa
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Mpumalanga & Kruger
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Kruger National Park
South Africa: The sun is fading and the trees are etched against the sky. A grey loeri calls its familiar cry as a discord of hadedahs flies overhead in formation. The stars came out to stud the sky like glow-worms. We’re silent and excited as...
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Japan
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Barbara Erasmus
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Japan
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Kanto
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Tokyo
First impressions are surprisingly rural as the plane dips over a network of paddy fields, green with food for a populous nation. The buzz of urban Japan is immediately evident at Narita, Tokyo’s huge, immaculate airport where our queue moves with...
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Russia
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Barbara Erasmus
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Russia
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Baltic Coast
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St Petersburg
I became a bit hesitant about mentioning that I was going to Russia. Most people looked incredulous. “Why?” was the standard reaction. Even my husband looked decidedly hostile as he boarded the plane, brooding morosely on the prospect of multiple...
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Starry Nights
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Barbara Erasmus
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South Africa
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Western Cape
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Sutherland
As pensioners, we know that our days on the planet have moved into the count-down phase so our policy is to seize any opportunities that arise - including a mid-winter excursion to Verlatenkoof, a rustic chalet, lit only by candles. It sounds...