Tag Archives: South India

Long Way Across India: Our Route

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Route-planning for our Classic India Adventure

This week, in addition to wrangling filming kit for our India trip, I’ve been sizing up the route we’ll be taking across this vast country. There’s nothing quite like poring over maps to get the adventurous juices flowing!

Our journey will take us through more than 1,000km of South India, across three of the country’s most spectacular regions – Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. We’ll be skirting inland lagoons and lakes, traversing reserves teeming with tigers, and tackling the steep jungle ascents of the Western Ghat mountain range. Descriptions of our route conjure up magical images – elephants, monkeys and bears, beautiful wetlands and backwaters, ancient monuments and temples, gorgeous sweeping mountain vistas, and hot, dusty plains. Even the place names have a mystique about them – Bandipur, Mudumallai, Kodaikanal, Masinagudi, Ooty…

South India - UNICEF route

Our intended route through South India

South India’s going to be a really exciting and unpredictable place to travel through, especially in the way we have chosen – using classic motorbikes and cars synonymous with travel in India. We’ve already been warned about the changeable weather, unforeseen roadblocks and numerous other obstacles that may force us to veer off our intended route. Throw in erratic road rules and towns and villages teeming with chaotic activity – people and animals everywhere! – and it’s certainly going to be an expedition that will require all our stamina and sense of humour.

Thinking about filming, I’m excited at the prospect of shooting in such a diverse and colourful country. It looks like there’ll be no shortage of extraordinary places to capture on film – not to mention the exploits of our intrepid team as we encounter daily adventures. I’m also looking forward to visiting the UNICEF project in Mysore – a chance to see how the money we’ve fundraised is being used to help kids in need.

As Charley says: “There’ll be long days on the road and we’ll be pushed to our limits on some sections. But we’ll have lots of time to take in the fantastic journey and experience all India has to offer.”

Yup Charley, I can’t wait to be on the road tackling everything India has to throw at us – bring it on!

London Calling

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Union Jacks flying over Covent Garden Market – London’s awash with them right now!

Well it’s been an exciting week here in London! With just seven days in the UK capital, it’s been a whirlwind visit combining catching up with old friends, soaking up some of the pre-Jubilee vibe, and having meetings to kick off plans for my upcoming India Adventure with Charley Boorman and UNICEF – which I’ve already dubbed Long Way Across India!

It was great to meet Alyrene and Francesca at the UNICEF UK HQ in Farringdon this week. I’m liaising with them on how I’ll cover the India trip, and we got very excited talking about possibilities for filming, photographing, blogging and Tweeting at various stages of the adventure. As I heard more about what the trip would involve – the challenging terrain across Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, details about how the Royal Enfield bikes and Ambassador cars will handle on the road, and the wide variety of people who will make up the team – I felt myself getting that familiar buzz: the buzz of a new adventure just beginning!

That buzz grew still more when I met up with the lovely Charley Boorman at his SW London home. At the kitchen table, over a nice cup of tea and biscuits (thank you Ollie!), we started hatching plans for filming the adventure. We agreed that we really want to capture everything that happens as fully as we possibly can, not just for those taking part but for everyone who’s sponsoring and supporting our trip and will be keen to see how it unfolds. Although it’s still six months away, there’s a lot to think about in terms of logistics and equipment and it was great to get Charley’s input at this early stage and feel his enthusiasm about the trip itself.

As my London stint comes to an end, I’ve just been over to Stanfords Travel Bookshop in Long Acre and stocked up on a little light reading for my long plane journey back to Melbourne – road maps and books about South India that I know will render my excitement complete.

The trip may still be six months away, but preparation is half the fun of it and there’s lots to do. So stay tuned for more very soon about our preps and other news about the adventure.