Wanderlust Issue 169 (September 2016) Coast-to-coast Canada by train ♦ 25 best historical hikes ♦ Tasmania ♦ Macedonia ♦ Jonathan Scott ♦ 3-D Travel ♦ Pocket guides: Manila (Philippines), Suffolk & Amsterdam
Tasmania
Escape to Port Arthur on a new walking track
Macedonia
T R AV E L M A G A Z I N E
iTnhail!and W rips to
T
for and Greece two people See page 4
On the trail of bears in three wild national parks
www.wanderlust.co.uk September 2016
COAST-TO-COAST
CANADA
Take the train to explore the landscapes, the wildlife and the cities with our expert guide
25 best historical hikes
Australia USA Namibia Italy Iceland Japan Borneo China Peru Colombia Nepal
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BIG CAT MAN Jonathan Scott
Talks leopards, lions & living wild in Africa
£3.99
♦ Philippines ♦ 3-D Travel ♦ Morocco’s Imperial Cities
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CONTENTS
Issue 169 September 2016
360˚ – NEED TO KNOW
nder 6Viewfi 14GoNeednowto know this month... 16Eat this... 18 5 minutes with… Jonathan Scott 20Know your… Petra 24 Adventure with the experts 26
The plight of elephants, lazing lions, paddling pigs and lush Central Park... Boost your travels with virtual reality apps Head to Hartford, USA, for hills, history and hiking trails aplenty Grab a bowl of grits and dive into the Deep South’s finest comfort food
The ‘Big Cat Man’ on his 40-year career
The rocky city still has secrets to share Take your trip up a notch with the pros
TRAVEL MASTERCLASS
74The masterclass 77Instant expert: William Boeing 80Take better travel photos clinic 82Travel 85Traveller’s guide to… duffel bags
Want to tighten the purse-strings on your adventuring? Read our handy tips on how to bag a travel bargain The man behind the eponymous planes, who helped revolutionise commercial air travel
Learn how to bring out the story behind the image when shooting a crowded scene Set your sights on protecting your eyes with Dr Jane’s advice
We choose 12 of the most desirable duffel bags – perfect for packing those essentials
▲ Cover story
28 Coast-to-Coast Canada
Ride the rails across the length of Canada – from Halifax to Vancouver – with our expert guide, following the route that opened up the country nearly 150 years ago
▲ Special feature
110History of the world in 25 walks
“The Grand Canyon is just shy of two billion years old, the age of the venerable Vishnu schist at the base of this geological layer cake.” Sarah Baxter
Tread the paths that defined the world we see around us today, from pilgrim’s trails and geological wonders to routes that unlock our recent past
16 “Hike Mount Lamentation for spectacular views, take on a sliver of the Appalachian Trail, or visit Dinosaur State Park for a wealth of prehistoric fossils.”
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Canada, p28 Hartford, Connecticut, p16
137
“Old Spanish citadels and skyscrapers nestle cheek-by-jowl and Catholic fervour is epitomised by the many exuberant processions.” Mark Stratton
WIN! A seven-night trip for two to Thailand, p44 A seven-night walking trip to Greece for two, p108
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FLYING HIGH... Boeing, p77 FEATURES
FROM THE ROAD
Getty Images; Jonathan & Angela Scott
Macedonia Sydney 46Beyond 24
Travel’s latest must-visit New South Wales location boastsOz’s some of the wildest isn’t just about most famous city national in Europe. Trek its mountainous – there’sparks a world of epic coastlines, great forests in search of elusivevalleys lynx and bears too wilderness and wine-rich to explore Morocco’s cities India DiscoverImperial the last great habitat Escape hectic a leisurely of the Asian liontourist traps for in Gujarat PLUS: Our wander Morocco’s Imperial past with guide tothrough India’s other must-see species a visit toPhilippines its capitals old Leave and new – Marrakech, behind the bustle Fez, Meknés and Rabat of Manila for the raw splendour of rural Tasmania Follow in thepaddies, footsteps of Luzon, exploring vertiginous rice convicts on the Tasmanvolcanoes Peninsula, cliff-hanging graves andwild spluttering trekkingTanzania its newest trail – Africa the Three Track East isn’tCapes just known – to gainfor anthe insight into – both thetoisland’s dark Big Five head the Mahale penal past for anditsitsstar bright future wild chimps Mountains attraction:
60 82 98 88 116
102Your story
POCKET GUIDES
Reader Rob Howe visits Spain’s answer to Jurassic Park, El Torcal National Park, and Dineke ten Hove peers into Siena’s past... Your pictures Making us jealous with your latest snaps – thanks for sending them in! This month you’ve been to New Zealand, Sapa (Vietnam), Nagaland (India), Havana and our old favourite Petra. Show offs. Letters In our mailbag: ticking off the world’s most remote places; discussing the Faroe tradition of grindadráp; spicing up dinner with Sri Lankan curries; and extolling the wonders of desert islands
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24 hours: 137First Manila, Philippines
Don’t believe its unsaintly reputation – a stopover in the Philippine capital offers a thrilling blend of Catholic fervour and colonial charm Short break: Suffolk Look past the line of pastel-coloured beach huts to Suffolk’s wild side, with dramatic coastlines, a bounty of wildlife and a dash of unusual history
139
141 Travel icon: Amsterdam
The Dutch capital is just made for slow travel – pick up a bicycle and pedal around Amsterdam’s streets, or sleepily ride its web of canal routes. Just don’t go too fast...
46 Suffolk, p139
“I was keen not to rush, as many travellers do, ticking off the souks and sights before moving on. Instead, I wanted to take a little longer, get under the skin and behind the scenes of these cities.” Graeme Green
“We spotted the tracks of a smaller bear, probably a female, and then had our eyes so rooted to the ground that we had forgotten to keep looking up too.” Lyn Hughes
Amsterdam, p141
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Macedonia, p46 Morocco, p60
Petra, p24 Manila, p137
“We set off in the sunshine, clomping along boardwalks and well-marked paths through messy eucalypt, the ground like the afters of a carnival, strewn with bark streamers and leaf confetti.” Sarah Baxter
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TALKING HEADS Jonathan Scott, p20 “When I came to live in the Mara, they said: ‘We can’t pay you any money.’ But I said, ‘So long as I can take people on game drives, I’m happy.’”
Tasmania, p88
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TRIP PLANNER
CANADA COAST-TO-COAST 2017 sees Canada celebrate 150 years of confederation, but it was the railways that truly opened it up – take the train to really appreciate this vast, wild and beautiful country up close WORDS ANTHONY LAMBERT
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Canada The dawn of rail
The railways opened up Canada’s distant remote areas and became a lifeline to the communities living there
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Macedonia
Ghost of the Forest
Bears, lynx and snakes await intrepid visitors to the mountainous forests of travel’s newest hotspot: the national parks of Macedonia WORDS LYN HUGHES PHOTOGRAPHS SIMON CHUBB
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Wanderlust Issue 165 (April 2016) xxxxxx ♦ xxxxxxxxx ♦ xxxxxxxxxxxxx ♦ xxxxxx ♦ xxxxxxxxx ♦ xxxxxxxxxxxxx ♦ xxxxxxxxx ♦ xxxxxxxxxxxxx ♦ xxxxxx ♦ xxxxxxxxx ♦ xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Patagonia
Your guide to wild Argentina and Chile
T R AV E L M AG A Z I N E www.wanderlust.co.uk April 2016
South-East
ASIA
17 WORLD HERITAGE WONDERS FEATURING:
Cambodia ∙ Thailand ∙ Indonesia Laos ∙ Malaysia ∙ Borneo ∙ Vietnam Burma & Singapore...
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Bulgaria
Trekking through over 2,500 years of history
Best country in the world?
The results of our reader travel awards – revealed!
Win!
A trip for two to Cambodia people worth over £2,000! See page 4
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♦ New Zealand ♦ Lake District ♦ Hungary ♦ Sulawesi
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Morocco
Life in the SLOW LANE
Skip the bustle of Morocco’s tourist-heavy sights for a self-imposed ‘slow tour’ of its four Imperial cities WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS GRAEME GREEN
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The outer limits
A pair of locals wander the exterior of Fez’s ancient city ramparts
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Pot luck
Fez chef Oulaya Amurani lifts the lid on a fish tajine and other Moroccan treats during a cookery class
O
ulaya Amurani laughed as her mother eyed me suspiciously. “She thinks this is not your first time,” she explained. She was wrong. Of all the situations I’ve found myself in over years of travelling, this was a first. Away from the rush and hustle of Fez’s souks, in the quiet courtyard of Oulaya’s riad, we were making Moroccan black olive bread, and when it comes to kneading dough I apparently have the skills to pay the bills. “Good,” nodded Oulaya’s mother Layla, as I pummelled and folded sticky semolina. With little noise beyond the sound of water running in the fountain, the courtyard made a pleasant change from the frenetic pace of Fez’s markets and alleyways. When our dough was ready, we strolled to the centuries-old communal wood-burning oven where a local man bakes people’s bread for a few dirhams. Our hot ‘salads’ were simmering on the stove. A caramel and orange blossom flan was setting in the fridge. Most importantly, our fish tajine – a traditional Moroccan dish – was prepped and slow-cooking in its clay pot. The essential ingredient in Moroccan cooking isn’t a particular spice, meat or veg, but time. “More time means more flavour,” Oulaya told me, carrying our warm tray of bread back from the oven. “Tajines take hours to cook. It’s the traditional way: slow. If you cook quickly, afterwards it doesn’t taste so delicious.”
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Time is of the essence in Morocco, as I was learning on an easygoing journey through its Imperial cities: Marrakech, Fez, Meknès and Rabat. Each has served as a capital under the seven dynasties that have ruled the country since the kingdom was first formed in 789 AD by its founding father Idriss I. The labyrinthine souks, streets and alleys of the medinas (old cities) are perfect for wandering and, voluntarily and involuntarily, getting lost. But more than that, I was keen not to rush, as many travellers do, ticking off the souks and sights before moving on. Instead, I wanted to take a little longer, get under the skin and see behind the scenes of these cities. And so it was that I found myself in Oulaya’s huge courtyard, the kind of sanctuary most travellers not only wouldn’t see but wouldn’t even imagine existed behind its small wooden doors, tucked away in the narrow alleyways of Fez.
Back to the start
My trip had begun much earlier in the ‘Red City’, better known as Marrakech. “For many years this was the capital of the whole empire of Morocco,” local guide Seddik Aassim told me on our early-morning parade around the quiet outskirts of the medina, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. “The city was founded in 1062 AD and was so important for trade that foreigners started calling the whole country ‘Marrakech’, from the original Berber ‘Murrākush’, meaning ‘Land of God’. In time this became corrupted and mispronounced in English as ‘Morocco’, which gave the country its name.” ⊲
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A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN 25 WALKS
Ancient trails, legendary landscapes and pilgrim’s paths – from laid-back wanders to the planet’s most challenging hikes, these are the walks that shaped the world around us WORDS SARAH BAXTER
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⊳
1
BRIGHT ANGEL & NORTH KAIBAB TRAILS Arizona, USA
PERIOD OF HISTORY: 1.75 billion years ago (canyon’s oldest rock) WALK LENGTH: 34km; 2–3 days The Grand Canyon, which cuts an almighty dash through the Colorado Plateau, is 446km long, up to 29km wide, more than 1.6km deep and just shy of two billion years old. That’s the age of the venerable Vishnu schist at the base of this geological layer cake, which is best viewed by walking from canyon top to bottom and back up again. Follow in the footsteps of the Ancestral Puebloans, using the Bright Angel Trail to descend from South Rim to the Colorado River, via ancient pictographs and a riot of ever-changing rock. Spend a night in the canyon’s bowels before ascending the North Kaibab Trail to read the rock strata in reverse.
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ULURU BASE WALK Northern Territory, Australia
PERIOD OF HISTORY: 600 million years ago (rock formation began) WALK LENGTH: 10.5km; 3.5hrs According to the indigenous Anangu, Uluru was created by spirit people at the dawn of time. According to geologists, however, it was
formed around 600 million years ago, when sandy deposits condensed below a long-gone sea. Either way, a circumnavigation of the mighty monolith reveals an unexpected array of cracks, crevices, formations and fissures that aren’t visible from a distance, caused by aeons of erosion (or ancestor snakes, depending on your beliefs). The Base Walk is also the most respectful way to appreciate Uluru – the Anangu consider the rock sacred and the path up it dangerous, so ask you not to climb.
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Walking the wall
Hikers traverse the ravines of Namibia’s Naukluft Mountains; (left) hiking around Uluru
NAUKLUFT TRAIL Namib-Naukluft NP, Namibia
PERIOD OF HISTORY: 45–80 million years ago (age of desert) WALK LENGTH: 120km; 8 days
Hiking the Naukluft Trail is hot, thirsty work. But then, this is a hot, thirsty place. The Namib is considered the world’s oldest desert, and arid conditions have prevailed here for at least 45 (perhaps 80) million years. The trail itself loops through the ravine-sliced Naukluft Mountains, which demarcate the Namib’s eastern edge, and which date back two billion years themselves. Follow dry rivers and plateau-top paths, and use chains to haul yourself through narrow gorges. The only signs of life will be fellow trekkers at the well-placed huts and a menagerie of hardy wildlife, from quiver trees and rock dassies to weaverbirds and oryx. ⊳
Previous spread Alamy This spread Dreamstime; Alamy
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