8th December 2009 | How to Drive a Tank..., Journalism, Travel, explore
Over the last few weeks readers of both my book and blog have been asking me how they can get involved in some of the adventurous activities that I like to get up to in my own life. So over the next few weeks I’ll be writing a series of short articles that give you ideas on how you can join expeditions to the ends of the earth or learn how to jump out of planes, drive cars sideways or shoot guns.
To start let’s have a quick update from this year’s Explore at the Royal Geographical Society. Did you know there are more than 90 organisations on the RGS’s books looking for volunteers or staff to join their expeditions?
To give you a prime example, the gates have just closed for gap-year students with a lust for adventure and a passion for environmental science on The British Schools Exploring Society’s Extreme Arctic expedition to Svalbard this spring.
To find out more and search the database of organisations looking for people just like you, go here.
In the next two articles I’ll be profiling some of the opportunities available and giving you ideas for two years of space exploration, driving skills and tactical firearms on British soil.
19th November 2009 | Journalism, NatGeo Adventure, Travel, explore
Being Bedouin - A Talk
The evenings are drawing in, but it’s time once again to girdle your loins and brave the weather for an evening at the National Geographic on Regent Street.
This months speaker, Mark Abouzeid, is flying in directly from expedition in Jordan to join us on the 24th. His talk “Being Bedouin” will be about the disappearing desert culture of Wadi Rum, accompanied by video and images.
“How do you capture the entire character of a culture that has no written record, has lived for centuries in relative isolation and exists in complete harmony with one of the world’s most extreme environments?”
I’ve worked closely with Mark over the last couple of years, from the North Pole to the desert, and I can guarantee that he is a totally engaging speaker and this is an opportunity not to miss.
He is one of the founders of the Bedouin Heritage Project and I’ll be featuring some more videos from them over the coming weeks.
As ever the talks are free and last an hour and you will retire to a local hostelry after.
WHERE: 1st Floor, The National Geographic Store, 83-97 Regents Street, London W1B 4EW (see map)
WHEN: 6.30pm, Tuesday, 24th November, 2009.
12th November 2009 | Journalism, NatGeo Adventure, Travel
If you want to be an explorer get yourself along to the Royal Geographical Society for the EXPLORE weekend in London and find out about all the opportunities open to you. Starts this Friday, the 13th of November with drinks and an opening lecture from George McGavin.
Full details on the talk below, more details on the weekend here, or go to: www.rgs.org/Explore.
 George McGavin Lecture: Full Details Explore 2009 Friday night lecture
Exploring biological discoveries from the ends of the earth.
A talk by George McGavin
· Friday 13 November 2009 at 18.30
· Royal Geographical Society with IBG, London SW7 2AR
Cost: £10. Free to Explore delegates and speakers.
A handful of scientists and some of the world’s top wildlife filmmakers have visited remote locations in the dense jungles of Borneo, Guyana and Papua New Guinea to document the wealth of wildlife that lives there and highlight the threats to its survival. Working in these difficult environments can test people and equipment to breaking point but the rewards are more than worth it.
Nothing else comes close to exploration and biological discovery for drama, excitement and danger.
George McGavin shares his exciting discoveries with film clips from his three BBC expeditions, with a talk to open the Explore 2009 weekend.
George McGavin is an Honorary Research Associate of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and Visiting Professor of Entomology at the University of Derby.
His research has taken him from the tropical forests of papua New Guinea to the caves of Thailand and from the jungles of Belize to the savannas of Tanzania.
George has written numerous books on insects and other animals , and was the chief scientific consultant for the BBC landmark series, Life in the Undergrowth, presented by David Attenborough. He co-presented Expedition Borneo a five part BBC series shown in 2007 and Lost Land of the Jaguar, a three part series screened in 2008. The most recent BBC expedition series,Lost Land of the Volcano, filmed in Papua New Guinea, will be shown on BBC1 in September 2009.
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3rd November 2009 | Journalism, NatGeo Adventure, Travel
Watch the Video: What is Explore?
Ever wanted to plan your own expedition? Raise funds? Learn how to communicate and navigate, deal with logistics and politics when you’re on the road, or find out what to do with all that information and experience when you’re back?
Then you need to get yourself along to EXPLORE – the expedition & fieldwork planning weekend. Held each year for the last four decades it’s where the potential explorers of the future meet to plan their expeditions, network, and learn from those who’ve already been.
It’s the kind of thing I wish I’d known about years ago.
The weekend includes lectures and workshops with expert speakers in all fields designed to help you realise your dreams and give you the opportunity to mingle with other like minded people. So don’t sit there wondering ‘What if?’, make it happen.
You could be designing and leading your own expedition before you know it, whether it’s a mountaineering and trekking expedition, tropical forest expedition, polar & arctic environment, desert and savanna environment, above and below the oceans, river canoeing and kayaking, vehicle based expedition, or a bicycle expedition.
To find out more click one of the following links or watch the ‘What is Explore?’ video presented by Paul Deegan.
Programme | Speakers | Opening Lecture (with George McGavin) | Book Online
20th October 2009 | Cool bloggers, Travel
Top 101 Adventure Twitterers
Barely a week on the web and I’m at number 47 on Mindaugas Markus excellent new travel blog and online TV show Abroadening, but hey, it’s in no particular order so I’m chuffed to bits.
So check out the top 101 adventurers and while you’re there why not make their day and sign up to their tweets?
Here’s the 101 Most Awesome Adventure & Travel Twitterers You Should Be Following in full.
Don’t forget to add Markus and me to your own Twitter feed:
16th October 2009 | How to Drive a Tank..., Journalism
Over the coming weeks I’ll be adding material to this site, and the web channel over at National Geographic, that’ll add a little bit of flavour to some of the chapters in the book. Here are three videos to begin with from the How to Beat Security Systems Chapter.
The first is to show you how easy some fingerprint scanners are to crack. As you’ll usually find it explained somewhere in the documentation on your home computer, they’re not security measures. First check out the guys at Mythbusters as they show you how easy it is to crack open a ’secure’ locked doorway using nothing but a photocopier print out: Read the rest of this entry »
