Check out Native Traveler's full-length KILIMANJARO show!

 
 

Contributor Ann Abel entitled her heartfelt feature for this show I Lost My Job, My Marriage, and My Home, So I Climbed Kilimanjaro. Ann won a North American Travel Journalists Association Award for this story. Deservedly so. It's a compelling kickoff to our exploration of the routes and wonders of summiting Africa’s highest peak, even drilling down to what to bring. And then we talk girl power in tackling such challenges, and other places where women and wilderness are coming together. Cue Mother Superior's solo in The Sound of Music.

 

Ann Abel//Award-winning travel Journalist

Aka Girlie Badass—Native Traveler feature contributor and award-winning travel journalist for Forbes, Robb Report, Departures, Afar, National Geographic Traveler, Islands, Brides and more. Will try almost anything once.

Aka Girlie Badass—Native Traveler feature contributor and award-winning travel journalist for Forbes, Robb Report, Departures, Afar, National Geographic Traveler, Islands, Brides and more. Will try almost anything once.

 

Dervla Pinto // Kensington Tours

Dervla Pinto is a “Destination Expert” for Kensington Tours, a custom-tour company based in Toronto. She’s traveled to 58 countries across six continents and studied in Tanzania, where she climbed Kilimanjaro at age 22. Not surprisingly, she’s an Af…

Dervla Pinto is a “Destination Expert” for Kensington Tours, a custom-tour company based in Toronto. She’s traveled to 58 countries across six continents and studied in Tanzania, where she climbed Kilimanjaro at age 22. Not surprisingly, she’s an Africa specialist, but also has a soft spot for countries like India, Vietnam, and Bolivia.

 

Jennifer Haddow // Wild Women Expeditions

The owner of Wild Women Expeditions, Jennifer Haddow. She's also Editor-in-Chief of the new Wild Women Magazine. See below an excerpt from the first issue's letter from editor.

The owner of Wild Women Expeditions, Jennifer Haddow. She's also Editor-in-Chief of the new Wild Women Magazine. See below an excerpt from the first issue's letter from editor.

"I wanted to read stories about these wild women, who favour cooperation over competition, connection and compassion over ego and fear. Women who are bold and brave adventurers and warriors who protect what we love. Women who are deeply dedicated to the conservation of wild places and who step lightly on the land..."

Check out WWM's first issue:

 

Rozanne Pilbeam // MEC Brand and Event Management Specialist

 

Scenes from Kilimanjaro

(From travel writer, Ann Abel)
(From Kensington Tours Tanzania expert, Dervla Pinto)
(From MEC, Rozanne Pilbeam)

I Lost My Job, My Marriage, and My Home, So I Climbed Kilimanjaro

I Lost My Job, My Marriage, and My Home, So I Climbed Kilimanjaro

Picture this:

It’s 2am and I’m in a tent pitched on snow. I haven’t felt my fingers or toes in a few days. My head hurts. I’m coming down with bronchitis. I’m clutching a hot water bottle inside my sleeping bag but still shivering too hard to sleep. At least I’m excited to be getting this journey over with tomorrow.

Check out Native Traveler's full-length ARIZONA show!

 
 

I've fallen in love with Southern Arizona, thanks to the contributors and guests of today's show. San Francisco-based journalist Breena Kerr shines a light on the colourful, quirky afterworld of old copper mining town, Bisbee. I love this piece. Megan Kimble of Edible Baja Arizona reveals Tucson's rich, inclusive, community-based food scene, of which great restaurants are just one thing. And the writing of award-winning author/journalist Tom Miller beguiles me. Even if you never go to Southern Arizona, you'll be better off for having read one of Tom's books. I know I am. Nine more to go.

 

Writer, Breena Kerr

San Francisco writer, Breena Kerr, takes us to Southern Arizona's wild west afterworld in her Native Traveler feature, The Ghosts of Bisbee.  

San Francisco writer, Breena Kerr, takes us to Southern Arizona's wild west afterworld in her Native Traveler feature, The Ghosts of Bisbee.  

 

Author/Journalist Tom Miller

Award-winning author and journalist, Tom Miller, shares his affectionate, funny, always clever take on his beloved Southwest.

Award-winning author and journalist, Tom Miller, shares his affectionate, funny, always clever take on his beloved Southwest.

 

The voice of all things food in Tucson,

Edible Baja Arizona

Edible Baja Arizona editor Megan Kimble reveals the wide-ranging, community-wide vision of food in Tuscon that helped the city earn a recent UNESCO World Food Heritage Designation.

Edible Baja Arizona editor Megan Kimble reveals the wide-ranging, community-wide vision of food in Tuscon that helped the city earn a recent UNESCO World Food Heritage Designation.

 

Tucson Becomes an Unlikely Food Star // Kim Severson, The New York Times

 

A great overview of why Tuscon has been catapulted onto a world foodie stage.

There are food deserts, those urban neighborhoods where finding healthful food is nearly impossible, and then there is Tucson.
When the rain comes down hard on a hot summer afternoon here, locals start acting like Cindy Lou Who on Christmas morning. They turn their faces to the sky and celebrate with prickly pear margaritas. When you get only 12 inches of rain a year, every drop matters.
Coaxing a vibrant food culture from this land of heat and cactuses an hour’s drive north of the Mexican border seems an exhausting and impossible quest. But it’s never a good idea to underestimate a desert rat. Tucson, it turns out, is a muscular food town.
 

Images of Bisbee Arizona

(Thanks to Breena Kerr and the Town of Bisbee)

 

Linda Ronstadt's Borderland // Lawrence Downes,

The New York Times

 

We love the insight here, both into the borderlands of Southern Arizona and Linda Ronstadt.

We are driving outside Naco, Ariz., near the Mexico border, on a two-lane blacktop under a half-moon and stars. The distant mountains are lost in shadow, and there’s not much to look at beyond the headlight beams and the rolling highway stripes.
In the middle seat of the minivan, Linda Ronstadt is talking about her childhood.

Check out Native Traveler's full-length DENMARK show!

 
 

If you think North Atlantic gales and cottage getaways are an odd pairing, well, you're not alone. But you'd be wrong. The Danish way is full of such seeming contradictions.  Come along on this enigmatic North Atlantic road trip.

 

Denmark Tourism

 

Restaurant Palægade

 

The Year of Hygge, the Danish Obsession with Getting Cozy // The New Yorker

Hygge (pronounced "hoo-guh"), a Danish term defined as “a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being,” is said to have no direct translation in English, though "cozy" comes close.

It was a finalist on the Oxford Dictionaries' 2016 Word of the Year shortlist, and for good reason—over the last year, the concept of hygge has become something of a global obsession. For a closer look at this uniquely Danish concept and its international appeal, check out this article from The New Yorker:

Finding the Hygge

Finding the Hygge

Ah, those inscrutable Danes—bold yet reserved, stylish yet unaffected, pragmatic yet mysterious in a steely Nordic way. Even their most cherished of holiday regions feels infused with bits of contradiction. The Jutland Peninsula is in many ways Danish cottage country, but it’s also a window to the sort of oblique Danish sensibility. Our road trip exploring this ethereal North Atlantic strand began in Billund—the hometown of LEGO. It was a few years ago now, but here’s the story of that journey.

Beyond Noma: Why Denmark Is Europe's Best Country for Food // Condé Nast Traveler

Copenhagen has rightly earned a name for itself as one of the best culinary destinations in the world, thanks largely in part to the much-lauded Noma. But it's not the only reason Denmark should be on your foodie bucket list—Henne Kirkeby Kro, a cluster of homey, thatched cottages nestled in the Jutland far west of the city, has a charm (and a mouthwatering menu) all its own.

New Openings: Copenhagen's top five new restaurants // The Telegraph

From smørrebrød to flæskesteg, Danish cuisine is the best part of any trip to Denmark—and no city does ultra-local, modern dishes better than Copenhagen. Take a look at The Telegraph's list of the best new restaurants in town:

Check out Native Traveler's full-length SOUTH AFRICA show!

 
 

South Africa. The cradle of humanity. Home to some of the world's most iconic wild spaces. Timeless, yet changing rapidly, among other mysteries, and beautiful and challenging contradictions. South Africa is an epic story still in progress. Listen in.  

 

Can Tourism Save The Rhino?

In his recent Globe and Mail piece below, travel and culture journalist Drew Gough kicks off our show with a nuanced look at one experience of a big game safari.  

“It’s okay—come closer. They won’t hurt us. They’re curious about you.”

It’s near dusk in the Phinda Private Game Reserve, a few miles from South Africa’s northeastern coast in KwaZulu-Natal province. The late-afternoon drizzle has let up slightly, and the soft light and gently humming insects fill this clearing in the forest with a false calm—punctured regularly by the eight 5,000-pound white rhinoceroses stomping around nearby.  Read the full article.

 

From The Divine Destination Collection

Allison Frame of The Divine Destination Collection shares TDDC'S experience of South Africa's incredible diversity—from the natural splendour of Cape Town to the wineries in Stellenbosch or a Big Five safari next to Kruger National Park. You know what they say about a picture. See below.

 

The Great South African Cookbook

From Publisher and Creative Director of Quivertree Publications Libby Doyle.

67* of South Africa’s finest cooks, chefs, gardeners, bakers, farmers, foragers and local food heroes let Quivertree Publications into their homes—and their hearts—as they shared the recipes they made for the people they love. Each recipe is accompanied by stunning original photography that captures the essence of this beautiful country. Featuring over 130 recipes, from tried and true classics to contemporary fare, The Great South African Cookbook showcases the diversity and creativity of South Africa’s vibrant, unique food culture.

* Nelson Mandela gave 67 years of his life to the struggle for human rights and social justice. The Great South African Cookbook was released in conjunction with Mandela Day in July 2016, and The Nelson Mandela Foundation received all royalties from sales of the book to develop and support community food and agricultural projects that would improve the lives of those who are in need of food and who need to be freed from poverty.

Other Recent Quivertree Titles

 

Check out Native Traveler's full-length MALLORCA show!

 
 

Today we explore the soulful Balearic Isle of Mallorca, Spain—its rich, multi-layered culture and its draw as home to cycling's inner sanctum. In many ways, this show is also an ode to MAMILs (middle-aged men in Lyrca). Sometimes misunderstood by their non-road riding partners (ok, maybe that was just me)—their experience (and mine) tackling some of their most epic rides around the world reveals, with epiphanic clarity, why they keep climbing onto that hard narrow little saddle. Push off and clip in, this is a good one.

Mallorca insider, Hamish Gordon

 

Mallorquine Chef, Luis Matas