Inspiring Travel Writing from Mark McCrum
Mark McCrum is the author of three travel books about journeys through South Africa, Australia and Ireland - Happy Sad Land, No Worries and The Craic. As a journalist he has written for, amongst others, the London Evening Standard, the Independent, the Daily Mail, The Sunday Times, GQ, Vogue and Punch. He ghostwrote the true story Jack and Zena and co-authored the best-selling TV tie-in, 1900 House. In 2000 he spent a year tracking the participants in the BBC's first major Reality TV show Castaway for the bestseller of the same name. The following Spring he went on tour round Europe with Robbie Williams, which he documented in 'Somebody Someday' - a no1 bestseller. Recently he has been working with Bruce Parry on his book 'Tribe' and his own book about global etiquette - GOING DUTCH IN BEIJING, which is extracted below. Examples of all his work can be seen on his website - www.markmccrum.com
Articles by Mark McCrum
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Cook Islands
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Mark McCrum
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Cook Islands
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Cook Islands Region
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Rarotonga
If anywhere is the South Pacific paradise of fantasy, it’s surely the Cook Islands. Here are the palm trees, the pristine white sand beaches, the blue lagoon, the beautiful brown girls in grass skirts, swivelling their hips to the island beat...
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Before You Die: Aitutaki
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Mark McCrum
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Cook Islands
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Cook Islands Region
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Aitutaki
Cook Islands, Aitutaki: Have your breath taken away by the lagoon, which truly deserves the cliche ‘breathtaking’, dwarfing the island with its shimmering turquoise loveliness. Do the cruise out to One Foot Island, even if it seems corny...
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Before You Die: How About a Swamp?
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Mark McCrum
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Botswana
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Moremi and Okavango Delta
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Okavango
Botswana: How about a swamp? Though Botswana’s Okavango is now no longer truly remote, you’re still out there in genuine wild Africa, rather than an artificial game reserve. Hire a dug out canoe (or mokorro) and let yourself be paddled...
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Before You Die: The Perfect City Experience
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Mark McCrum
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Australia
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New South Wales
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Sydney
Australia: Go to Sydney for the perfect city experience. Take the ferry to brunch on a sparkling September morning at the Bather’s Pavilion in Balmoral. Maybe the afternoon snoozing on Manly, then head back to town for an ice-cold Toohey...
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Before You Die: Blue Huts of the Xhosas
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Mark McCrum
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South Africa
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Eastern Cape
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Transkei
See the little rounded blue huts of the Xhosas dot the hillsides that run down to The Wild Coast of the Transkei in South Africa. Still largely only accessible by poor quality dirt roads, this is not a stop for the unadventuorus. There are hotels of...
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Country Fashions
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Mark McCrum
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Ireland
Extract from 'The Craic' The famous Rose competition, the taxi driver who drove me into Tralee told me, was supposed to be more about personality than looks. Last year one of the judges had stood up in front of the assembled guests and said,...
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Helimustering in 'Effin Q
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Mark McCrum
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Australia
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Queensland
Extract from 'No Worries' On a journey through Australia in 1994, I found myself staying for a while on a huge cattle station in Far North Queensland – ‘Effin Q as the locals called it. I’m not a terrifically keen flyer at the best...
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Rock and Roll Hotels
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Mark McCrum
Touring with a rock and roll band these days - at least at the top level - is done in the grand style. The days of battered transit vans and dodgy digs are long gone, and are now replaced by state-of-the-art tour buses making a smooth progress...
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Under Pressure
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Mark McCrum
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Cayman Islands
I’m three metres under the water in a swimming pool in Chiswick when I have my first serious doubts about the wisdom of this assignment. I’m encased in full Scuba gear: wetsuit, mask, weight belt, compressed air tank, and the bulky...
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Copenhagen
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Mark McCrum
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Denmark
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Zealand
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Copenhagen
In its laid-back, low key way, Copenhagen is one of the world’s prettiest and most user-friendly cities. The network of narrow streets at the centre is largely unspoilt. The palaces and museums are imposing and interesting without being...