Taking off Travel blog

This week, Natasha von Geldern, aka the Wandering Kiwi, is in the spotlight. Natasha is obsessed with and passionate about travel and has visited 47 countries so far.

What’s your travel background?

I am the Wandering Kiwi, an intrepid traveler and snap happy photographer who has travelled in 47 countries (so far) and is always planning the next trip. Growing up in New Zealand has given me a different perspective on the world. Living in a young, multi-cultural society, in a country where exploring the great outdoors is a given, and being so far away from the rest of the world has created an obsession with action and connection.

What’s different about your blog or site?

The Wandering Kiwi travel blog is about sharing the travel passion. I want every post to be worth reading so the photography has to be inspiring and the writing has to paint a picture in itself. I have seen some of the world’s most visited sights and also traveled in very, remote parts of the world. I have had so many amazing experiences: from the grungiest backpacking to five-star splendor. Active holidays are always a focus for me, especially hiking. I believe that to find the most beautiful parts of any country you need to get out of your vehicle and walk. Wherever you go there is so much to discover.

What’s the most unexpected thing that has ever happened to you when you travelled and how did you handle it?

With hindsight this incident ought not to have been unexpected but at the time it was a shock, and is definitely the worst thing that has happened to me while traveling. After traveling independently through southern Africa for three months without any problems and having an amazing time, I booked on a guided tour of the Cape Flats township that spreads out behind Cape Town in South Africa. The tour was held up at gunpoint and I had my camera dragged from around my neck by a desperate-looking young man who then took off down the road. It made me think how much you make yourself a target when you go on a tour!

Complete the sentence: I never travel without … because …

I never travel without  a big cotton scarf or sarong because they are the best pack-light multi-purpose tip I can think of. It can be a blanket in hot countries, a skirt/dress, a towel, a head covering for cultural sensitivity, a sun or rain shelter…

When it comes to travel and travel blogging, who is your mentor/hero and why?

I’d have to say Gary Arndt, the Everything Everywhere blogger. Apart from sharing his desire to experience everything this world has to offer, as a blogger I subscribe to his philosophy of inspiring people without hitting them over the head.

What place is on your travel bucket list? Why?

At the moment I’m exploring as much of Australia as possible while I’m based here, so things like the Great Barrier Reef and the wild west of Tasmania are on my list. Then I’d like to add to my experience of Asia, with Sri Lanka, China and Japan high priorities.

What is your favorite travel planning tool?

I keep a good archive of travel tips and inspiration found using StumbleUpon and I have found it quite useful asking for tips on Twitter. I use TripIt to keep my travel documentation in order.

Anything to add?

You’ve read all the corny travel inspiration quotes. Make the pages of the atlas real – get out there and discover the world!

If you want to be featured in this slot, check out our post on how to take part in our travel blogger interview series.

This week, I’m happy to feature Justin Mussler of The Great Family Escape. (don’t you just love that name? I know I do!) Justin and his family are ‘obsessed with travel’ and plan a long term trip around the world, traveling mostly by bike!

Justin, what’s your travel background?

Well, I have never been able to get enough travel through my system. I wasn’t raised as a traveler. My family stayed close to home, but once I went off to school and tasted the open road I just never looked back.

The biggest adventure my wife and I ever went on was a year long trip to China. We quit our jobs shortly after getting married and just went. We saw the whole country. The past few years we have been watching our kids grow and realized we want to show them the world. We travel whenever we can. A few years back we drove across America and back with our1 year old daughter on a whim. Often we just go, but this time we are planning for a big adventure.

What’s different about your blog or site?

Our blog is The Great Family Escape.

Well, we are a family that is going from the working and living in Boston to potentially traveling the world by bicycle for many years to come. We are so obsessed with travel, that we just couldn’t bear the thought of traveling short term.

Instead of waiting to travel, I wanted to track the whole process of our journey from beginning to end. I literally started before we had any idea of what, when, and how we were going to do this. In fact, we still aren’t 100% sure, but we have learned so much and have just set a date for December 1, 2012 as our ‘launch’ date.

I think our readers love the truth, candor, and the ability to find something about themselves in the writing. There is a lot of talk about lifestyle, travel, money, kids, etc…

I think people love seeing the process we are going through. And they love the idea of traveling forever. Read more »

This week, the travel blogger spotlight shines on Adam Groffman, who left his job as a graphic designer to start a round the world trip and has never looked back. He writes about his adventures in Travels of Adam.

Adam Groffman celebrates Songkran in Bangkok in Spring 2011.

Adam, what’s your travel background?

Well, I was always interested in travel thanks to my parents who instilled a strong desire to travel in me. More recently, here’s the story: In 2009 I took a short weekend trip to Iceland (from my then-hometown of Boston) and discovered that I actually really enjoyed traveling and backpacking.

I’d been working in a corporate job as a graphic designer already for 3 years and decided NOW was the time to do some more serious traveling. For me, that included resigning from my job 9 months later and then going on around-the-world trip for which I still haven’t returned. I’ve been out of America for almost 18 months now but will finally be returning home this Thanksgiving (in just a few weeks)!

Over the past 18 months, I’ve traveled some of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia. Along the way I always tried to find something interested to do and to keep my mind active–which involved a political internship for a nonprofit in Israel and checking out the tech startup scene here in Berlin.

What’s different about your blog or site?

My blog, Travels of Adam, is what I’d like to call a “hipster travel blog” which basically means anything you want to mean. I try to find and share interesting and unique stories from around the world, whether political tours in Israel or Polaroid photography exhibits in Berlin. I’m also not afraid to stay away from controversy. I think it’s important to be aware of local politics when travelling because more often than not, most travelers don’t pay attention to the important things that happen in the cultures or societies that they visit. Travel can have a big impact on a culture so it’s important to know what we may be affecting when we visit.

What’s the most unexpected thing that has ever happened to you when you travelled and how did you handle it?

I’d have to say that the most unexpected thing that happened to me while travelling is the fact that, after 18 months, I’m still abroad. I never expected to last this long, to go to so many places or do so many things.

Complete the sentence: I never travel without …

My Moleskine notebook. It’s where I write down just about anything from reminders to Skype with my parents or the really good stories that I probably shouldn’t share online

When it comes to travel and travel blogging, who is your mentor/hero and why?

Well, it’s pretty cheesy, but I’d have to say that my travel hero would be my older sister. When she was in her mid 20s she also quit her job and spent several months backpacking in Europe. While she was travelling, she’d send these e-mails home which were always a lot of fun (and oftentimes interesting) to read. I actually chose the name for my blog based on what she called her e-mails.

What place is on your travel bucket list? Why?

I’ve wanted to go to Russia for a long, long time. I studied a little bit of Russian history and literature and I’d love to see the country up-close.

What is your favorite travel planning tool?

It used to be my iPod touch until that broke when I was backpacking in India. It was a quick and easy way to access information, maps, e-mail, Twitter — all the necessities!

Anything to add?

Some travel advice: When you’re abroad, don’t be afraid to talk to strangers. It makes everything so much easier and people are so much friendlier than we might think.

(Image: agroffman)

Today’s featured travel blogger is Brian, a fellow British expat who lives in and blogs about the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. His site, Discovering Puerto Rico, gives you an in-depth look at the island and its attractions, with some great pictures too. Follow Brian on Twitter at @coqui2008.

Brian, what’s your travel background?

I am an expat Brit now living in Puerto Rico and so my site naturally focuses on the Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico. Prior to Puerto Rico I lived in the USA (Florida and North Carolina) for a few years and before that the majority of my life in the UK. I visited several European countries and traveled extensively around England. Most exotic destination to date: Kenya for an amazing Safari. Longest trip to date: 3.5 week road-trip exploring the beauty of British Columbia, Canada.

What’s different about your blog or site?

I started Discovering Puerto Rico (it was actually named something different at first) to help with the adjustment of moving to Puerto Rico and I used it as a way to research and get to know the island and people.

One of the things I noticed immediately was the lack of up to date information on things to see and do in Puerto Rico on the web, so I believe my site helps to fill in some of those gaps plus gives visitors to the site a local perspective on things rather than the big corporate feel of some of the more well known tour guide sites. My in-laws are always telling me that I know more about places to see here in Puerto Rico than they do, so I guess my site is doing something right

What’s the most unexpected thing that has ever happened to you when you travelled and how did you handle it?

To celebrate my wedding anniversary I arranged to stay at a hotel on the west coast of Scotland overlooking a loch. I naturally made a reservation for a loch view which I confirmed several times before arriving. On arrival the room was very nice but to my complete surprise we had a view of a huge road bridge (and slight water view). The next morning we left the hotel and found an even better one close by where we celebrated our wedding anniversary in style.

Complete the sentence: I never travel without … because …

I never travel without an open mind, because you can miss so much if you visit a place with a preconceived mind set.

When it comes to travel and travel blogging, who is your mentor/hero and why?

I really like the work of Julie Schwietert Collazo from the Matador Network. I like how she captures a destination and integrates a lot of local perspectives into her writing.

What place is on your travel bucket list? Why?

It’s a place that I have already visited (so hopefully it will still count as a bucket list item). Kenya (or Botswana) for a safari. I had such an amazing time the first time I went to Kenya back in the 90s that it is #1 on my list of places that I have to visit. It’s probably not going to happen any time soon; but it will happen.

What is your favourite travel planning tool?

A cop out, I know, but I’d have to say the internet. I know there are a lot of online and phone apps for planning trips, but I do not have one single tool that I use. I’d rather just use a search engine and plan my trip that way.

Anything to add?

For anyone that has recently moved to a new country/city, I strongly urge them to start a website or at the very least start collecting information about the place. It’s a great focused way of finding out about a new place and will get you out of the house exploring and meeting locals.

Thanks, Brian. Want to be featured in this slot? Leave a comment on this post to be considered. (Image: james.rintamaki)

If you’re a travel blogger on Twitter, then you probably already know about Travel Tuesday. It’s when travel bloggers highlight their favorite travel tweeple and things with the hashtag #traveltuesday. It’s been a long time coming, but Park Ride Fly USA now has its very own Travel Tuesday Twitter list. As I write this post, it’s got 31 members, but I’ll be updating it every time I find someone I would recommend to other travel people. Here’s the list.

I met the following people through my involvement with the location independent/digital nomad community.

• ManVsDebt
• codymckibb
• BrooklynNomad
• gotpassport
• ozlemercan
• PluginID
• BizBackpacker
• Technomadia
• almostfearless

Read more »