There are certain moments in time that are preserved in your memory forever. Some of those precious moments I have detailed below. 

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Michael Palin

During his filming of the series Sahara, Michael Palin happened to be staying at the same campement as us in Djenne in Mali. We got chatting to him in the restaurant, and Michael and I continued our conversation as we walked towards the shared shower block. We entered cubicles side by side and took a shower whilst still talking. So I can honestly say I have talked to Michael Palin in the nude!

I will say that he is every bit as nice a person in real life as he appears on TV.

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An Audience with the Ashanti King

During our tour of Ghana in 2006, we were lucky enough to be granted an audience with the Ashanti King. Protocol forbids you to talk directly to the king, so we would pose out question to our guide who would relay it to the translator who would again ask the king's assistant who finally conveyed the message to the king! What a palaver!

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Audi 100 Bike Ride

Three times David has completed the Audi 100 Bike Ride from Bristol to London for cancer charity - a journey of around 111 miles. Well done David!

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An Audience with the Pope

When in Rome in 1991 we were lucky enough to manage to obtain tickets to have an audience with the Pope (he's the one in white on the stage in the picture!!!). Although I am not a religious person, I found the whole experience extremely moving!

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Butterfly migration

Whilst on a trekking holiday through Guyana in South America, we came across enormous swarms of these little yellow butterflies. They'd be all sitting quite peacefully on the rocks or sand and as we approached, they'd take off en mass. Absolutely spectacular!

They would also fly dozens of them after each other, follow-the-leader-style, reminiscent of the Chinese performance with a ribbon.

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Chinese Lantern Festival

On the way from the railway station to our hotel in Shanghai, we spotted this festival. We managed to arrange a taxi for the six of us to go back - and we were so glad we did! We were the only foreigners there, and we were much of an attraction as the lanterns. The whole experience was surreal!

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Tai-O Village

From Hong Kong we took a ferry across to Lantau Island and a local bus to the samll village of Tai-O. This lady rowed us all around the stilt village, but for me the main attraction was the difference in size!

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Snowy winters

I have many happy memories of winters with two metres or more of snow when I grew up in Norway. Of course, your childhood memories are always happy - I don't recall the clearing of the path or feeling cold.

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Lightning storm

There was no rain in Hammamet, Tunisia, but across the water we could see this spectacular lightning storm. We were sitting in the dry, enjoying a drink in the bar whilst my camera recorded this wonderful natural phenomenon.

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Saving a penguin's life

Snorkelling in the Galapagos amongst my favourite animal (bird), one of my fellow travellers breaks his mask and a piece of plastic floats away. A curious penguin tries to eat it. Realising that the penguin could very quickly choke on the plastic, I start a tug-of-war with him for the piece. I won. I saved a penguin's life that day.

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Nest building

Again in Galapagos, a bird decided that my head would be a good place to build a nest. She landed on the top of my hat and started pulling my hairs through the ventilation hole.  Had it not been so funny, it would have been quite uncomfortable. She was there for several minutes, despite all the laughter from all watching and the moaning from me!

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Sand Racing

Driving across the dried out salt plains of Djibouti, the two cars racing each other - and a gazelle - across the sands. No road, no traffic, nothing. Anyway, we won!

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Boy on Buffalo

All throughout our trip in Vietnam we'd wanted to see the classical scene of 'boy on buffalo', ideally playing a flute! Every time we did see one, by the time we'd stop and get out to take photographs, he'd get off and run towards us. We finally managed to snap this little lad before he discovered us!

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Eyeball to Eyeball

Excerpts from my travel journal (Churchill, Canada):

There are several bears here already, and as if on cue, one of them ambles up to the buggy to check us out. He is as curious about us as we are about him. Wonder if he goes back to his mates and tells them about all the cute little humans he has seen today? Just like us with the bears. He sniffs around a bit and Steve shines his spotlight on him for us to see him better. Then it happens, the classic shot that I have been waiting for all the time I have been out here: he stands on his hind legs and tries to peer into the buggy. Wow. He must have been just a foot or so away from Steve's face. Cameras clicking, we are all uttering sounds of 'aah' and 'ooh' and 'gosh'. The bear walks around the buggy a few times, and although it is cold, I decide to go out on the little viewing platform at the back of the buggy. Waiting for what seems like ages out there in the freezing temperatures eventually pays off: I get the magic photo of him on his back legs from straight above. Wow, wow and double wow! I didn't realise that polar bears are unable to bring their front legs above their heads when standing on their hind legs. Therefore, the highest point of an upright bear is his nose.
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A Day in Paradise

What a day to remember (Borneo): in the morning we set out on foot from the longhouse, trekking through the pouring rain with a very knowledgable guide who picks up various leaves, roots and twigs along the way. When we reach the river, the dug-out canoe is waiting to take us further upstream to this bend in the river. The boatmen had been fishing and cooked their catch over an open fire whilst steaming rice in hollowed out bamboo stems. Delicious. Having our lunch, we hear a commotion in the trees above us - we'd disturbed a male orang utan who was breaking off branches of the tree and throwing them down at us to try and scare us away.

After this little performance, we continued upstream to a waterfall near the Indonesian border where we had a refreshing swim and shower under the spray.

Back in the longhouse, the guide talks us through each of the items she picked up on our walk this morning, explaining the health benefits and culinary uses of each one.

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Light my Fire

Fire dance in Fiji, with the performer on a hobby horse, sending the glowing embers of the coconut husks flying with each step he takes. Breathtaking.

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On the Road to Danger ~ Part One

After a long and dusty drive through rural Gambia, we stop to photograph the sunset. The lorry arrives on the horizon, edging his way to the top of the long, drawn-out hill. It stops - intrigued by five westeners in this remote location I suspect - but no-one thinks to put the hand brake on. The passengers on the roof jump off rapidly and everyone rushes around trying to stop the lorry in its tracks with large boulders underneath its moving wheels. A dangerous undertaking, but the risks pay off and the truck grinds to a halt. We all breathe a sigh of relief.

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On the Road to Danger ~ Part Two  

Papua New Guinea - from my travel journal:

The track can be charitably described as bumpy, it is in fact more akin to a dried-our river bed than a road. Large boulders with a little gravel between them make the two hour journey an endurance test. We barely travel 25km during that time, and en route we only see five other vehicles: one Jeep, one bus and three lorries. Only the sturdiest of vehicles will survive these conditions: our mini bus is basic, but robust, a proper little work-horse. As we move out of town, the people appear friendlier, especially the children; or is it that we have gained some confidence after the daunting start? I am delighted to see so many primitive outfits; the people are a photographer’s delight. I don’t feel confident enough to ask the driver to stop when we see two men walking along the road with their faces painted bright yellow. How I wish I had! This is just so amazing. The bridges are an experience in themselves: a simple metal structure, covered with a few logs. There are more gaps than there are logs, and in some places a metal plate is covering the surface. Once or twice Harold gets out and moves the wood around a bit, making it less treacherous to cross. The bridges are vital to the survival of the local people, and are the first to be attacked during tribal disputes.

There is much consternation in the bus when a fracas is spotted ahead. A man from Medang, driving a hire car has been robbed at knifepoint. Unfortunately he fought with the robber and ended up badly injured. The locals love a drama and are revelling in this tale. The raider has driven off in the hire car, and we make a road block with the three buses to try to catch him. Peter holds his machete tight and admits that “we are very scared”. Luckily (for us) the local inhabitants trap the gangster first, tie him to the bumper of the car and beat him senseless. They are now waiting to hand him over to the police, who will probably batter him further. We gingerly move on, willing the throng of people to disperse so that we can get through. Peter is still scared and keeps sounding his horn to break up the crowd.

Getting to the airport is proving a little ominous though. During clan disturbances in the night, a bridge was burned on the main road, so we have to take a diversion through the outlying villages and some rather narrow, rudimentary tracks. Again we pick up a few police constables for protection during our journey. David and I are both enjoying the change of scenery and a different route, and view the whole thing as an adventure, but Peter is once more fearful for our safety. Obviously we are far too naïve to realise the dangers we are in. At the airport, Peter is concerned when we meander around chatting to the locals, and makes us enter the locked and barbed wire protected airstrip enclosure until the plane arrives.

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