Australia | Pacific | Europe | Asia
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Americas

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The Cat's Meow
The
Sunday Age, 11 December
2011
"Leaning across the railings, I
can see a long, low wooden structure
shaped like a miniature house, with a
pitched roof and a timber deck. It’s all
charmingly amateur in appearance, a
pleasing contrast to the austere and
ornate parliamentary buildings. I
discover later that it’s no coincidence
that the cats set up home here; until
the 1950s the Parliament kept a group of
cats in residence to combat rodents
within the buildings..."
Visiting an
unconventional cat sanctuary in Ottawa, Canada.
Available for republication (print only).
Images available. |

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A Moving Experience
Medical
Observer, 23 September 2011
"As we
approach the Rocky Mountains the landscape
grows ever more impressive, high and
craggy with snow-capped peaks, until we
stop for 90 minutes at Jasper. The
mountain town is an attractive blend of
both natural and human-made attractions,
as all the notable civic buildings around
the station have been built in a
harmonious style involving stone, timber
frames and steep pitched roofs..."
Taking an
epic train journey between Vancouver and
Toronto, Canada.
Available for republication
(print and Web).
Images available.
|

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Fangtastic! The World’s Best
Vampire-spotting Locations
www.lonelyplanet.com,
9 August 2011
Revealing several ways of encountering
vampires in places around the globe (including
locations in Romania, the UK, France, the USA,
Costa Rica and Indonesia).
Not available
for republication.
[Read
the
full article
here] |

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What Lies Beneath
The
Sunday Age, 22 May 2011
"When the architects of
Montreal’s underground shopping mall
beneath Place Ville-Marie drew up their
plans in 1962, they had little idea what
they’d started. As newer malls and
office buildings were constructed, they
were all linked together. Thus the
Underground City was born. RÉSO,
a play on the French word for network, réseau, is now the largest
underground complex in the world..."
Exploring the
maze of subterranean passages beneath
Montreal, Canada.
Available for republication (print only).
Images available. |

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Montreal - with a Twist
NineMSN
Travel, May 2011
"'What’s funny about the
cabaret now is that more straight people
than gay people come to see our shows.
We have boys, girls, groups doing their
bachelor parties and birthdays, straight
couples coming to see the drag queens,
it’s so amaaazing!' It’s easy to be
swept up in the enthusiasm of Mado
Lamotte, drag queen extraordinaire, as
she sits in front of her dressing room
mirror in a leopard-print dressing gown
and prepares for an evening on stage..."
Uncovering
the coolest and quirkiest
attractions of Montreal, Canada.
Available for
republication (print and Web).
Images available.
[Read
the
full article
here] |

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24 Hours in Bismarck
The Age, 19 March 2011
"Take in some country air at
Papa's Pumpkin Patch. Dotted around this
site in autumn are bright orange
pumpkins and attractions with a farm
motif - but you can't beat the trebuchet
for sheer crazy fun. This miniature
catapult launches pumpkins high into the
air at a target a few hundred metres
away...'"
Exploring the
attractions of Bismarck, North Dakota, USA in
a day.
Available for republication (print only).
Images available.
[Read
the
full article
here] |

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Best Vampire Spotting Locales
&
Top Ten Historical Re-enactments
Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2011, November 2010
Two lists of
distinctive travel experiences in locales
across the world (including five in the USA,
one in Costa Rica, and one in Peru).
This book can be purchased
online from Amazon.com.
Not available for republication.
|

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Curiouser and Curiouser
The
Sunday Age, 3 October 2010
"'In like Flynn!' It's an
expression that beautifully sums up
Errol Flynn's attitude to life. Not only
did the Tasmanian-born actor become one
of Hollywood's leading men in a series
of action movies in the 1930s, but he
also lived the rollicking life of a bad
boy star.Then he ended up dead on a slab
in Vancouver. I know this because I’m
standing in the former autopsy room..."
Detailing
seven odd but fascinating attractions in
Vancouver, Canada.
Available for republication (print only).
Images available. |

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New Slant on Native American Way
of Life
Escape, 11 April 2010
(News Ltd's Sunday travel section)
"Guide
Dakota Goodhouse speaks in Mandan, the
language of the tribe which once inhabited
the village, thanking us for spending time
in this place. Then he switches to his
native Sioux tongue. He explains that the
Sioux message was much the same as the
Mandan, except he'd also expressed thanks
for spending time with him 'in the home of
the enemy'. But he says it with a smile
and a twinkle of the eye."
Covering
the Native American cultural highlights of
North Dakota, USA.
Available for republication
(print and Web).
Images available.
[Read
the
full article
here]
|

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At Peaks of Perfection
The Daily Telegraph, 1
April 2010
"Everything
about Montana is big... and up the top of
its “big” list are the glaciers and peaks
of Glacier National Park, a spectacular
spread of craggy mountains, glacial lakes
and huge chunks of ancient ice. 'It’s
incredible to first timers,' says our
driver and tour guide Jana Grindheim.
'People don’t know about Glacier, it’s not
as famous as Yellowstone. But it’s like
nothing they’ve ever seen, and they’re
just amazed at the mountains.'"
Touring
the magnificent Glacier National Park in
Montana, USA.
This article also appeared in:
- The
Courier-Mail (3 April 2010)
- The
Herald Sun (16 April 2010)
Available for republication
(print and Web).
Images available.
|

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Driving with
Dinosaurs
The
Sunday Age, 7 March 2010
"Michele Fromdahl works with a
tyrannosaurus rex. She’s cool with that,
but some of her visitors aren’t. The
gigantic model of the fearsome
prehistoric creature is the first thing
you see as you step through the door of
the Fort Peck Interpretive Centre,
lunging towards you with its jaws open
for the kill."
Traversing
the dinosaur trail across Montana, USA.
Available for republication (print only).
Images available. |

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The Full
Montana
The
Sunday Age, 10 January 2010
"'We've got some live ones on
this flight. What are you, British?'
When it comes to the sprawling American
state of Montana, the fun starts on the
flight in. There’s not much space in our
snug 50-seater from Denver to Missoula,
so the sassy blonde flight attendant is
a disciplinarian by necessity. However,
the request for tea has thrown her
routine into a loop.But you don’t visit
Montana for the tea... "
Describing
ten essential attractions of Montana, USA,
including glaciers and beer.
Available for republication (print only).
Images available. |

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American Pie
The Age,
1 January 2010
"To visit America for the first
time is to encounter the strangely
familiar. Like every Australian, I’ve
spent a lifetime immersed in the
television and film output of the USA,
absorbing the nuances of its culture. I
even understand why it’s upsetting to
have been cast as Benedict Arnold in the
school play (thanks, Brady Bunch). Which is why it’s mildly
disconcerting to find that America is,
in fact, much as it appears on screen."
A letter from
Bismarck, North Dakota, discussing the USA's
food culture. Available for republication (print
only).
Images available. |
 |
Bohemian
Rhapsody
Medical
Observer, 6 March 2009
"La
Chascona is charming and colourful,
reflecting a man with an extraordinarily
creative and active mind. That he also
liked to stroll around the house dressed
as a sea captain, or even a nun, is
neither here nor there - great men must be
allowed their little foibles. I suggest to
Gonzalo that Neruda could be regarded as
eccentrico, and he replies 'Si...
or maybe loco.' But he says it
with a smile."
Outlining
the attractions of Santiago, Chile, with its
bohemian Barrio Bellavista quarter.
Available for republication
(print and Web).
Images available.
|
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Ice(berg)
With Your Drink, Sir?
The
Senior Traveller, November 2008
"Salud,
dinero y amor! This is no idle toast.
Without warning, the pilot sails up to a
small iceberg, rams into its flank, and
extracts a large chunk with the aid of an
ice-pick. A few minutes later we’re
milling around, clinking glasses as we
toast each other - with 12 year old Scotch
containing 50,000 year old ice. Sure, it’s
a gimmick - but what a gimmick."
A cruise
through the glaciers of Patagonia, in
Chile's south.
Available for republication
(print and Web).
Images available.
|
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Chilled
Out
The
Australian, 23 September 2006
"Sometimes,
when you’re travelling, there's a moment
so grand and inspiring that you want to
crack a joke or laugh, just to bring it
down to size and try to fit it inside your
head. This is one of those moments. The
air is freezing cold, a light rain has
started spattering our hats, and in the
distance is a massive dirty blue glacier
stretching back into the snow-capped
mountains."
A cruise
through glacier territory in the Magallanes
region of Chile.
Available for republication
(print and Web).
Images available.
|
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Eccentric
Orbit*
The Age,
9 September 2006
"It may
be pushing midnight on a Tuesday, but it's
all happening at the Barrio. Barrio
Bellavista does a good line in perky
black-clad waitresses, along with
energetically mad beggars, folk who loom
over your outside table or harangue you
with a smile as you try to use a public
phone. It's all part of the local colour,
and we take a tolerant view of their
unscripted interventions."
The
eclectic highlights of Barrio Bellavista,
Santiago's bohemian nightlife district.
Available for republication
(print only).
Images available.
* My title
|
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Ice Blue
Frontier
Medical
Observer, 17 February 2006
"If you
saw this glacier in a movie, you'd assume
it was a special effect. Filling our field
of vision is a cathedral of ice, ranging
from pure white through blue shades to
almost indigo depths. Great vertical
cracks resemble caves, promontories look
like spires. Gigantic cracks hint from
where the next giant chunk of ice will
fall, as the glacier makes its way down
from the heights."
Account of
a cruise through the glaciers in Chile's far
south.
Available for republication
(print and Web).
Images available.
|
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From Tattoos to Tanks
Sydney
Morning Herald, 1 October 2005
"One of
the strangest is the Spam Museum in
Austin, Minnesota. The statistics are
staggering: the museum houses 4,752 cans
of Spam from all over the world. As
visitors enter, they walk directly beneath
a towering wall of Spam constructed from
3,390 cans. And the museum houses a letter
from President Eisenhower, about the role
the product played during World War II."
Ranges
through the world's oddest museums,
exhibiting everything from sulphur to Spam.
Available for republication
(print only).
|
More travel
writing:
Australia | Pacific | Europe | Asia
For
additional examples of Tim's travel writing, including
full articles not published elsewhere, visit Tim's
travel blog Aerohaveno; Tim's guide to
Australian accommodation Aerohaveno
Nights; and Travelroads.com.
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Travel: Americas
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I'm a member
of the Australian Society of Travel Writers.
This page contains examples of my travel
writing, organised by location. Each
entry includes a sample paragraph, and
indications of available rights.
I also
have a selection of high-quality digital
images available, depicting a variety
of international locations.
See examples of my
travel photography.
If you'd
like to republish one of these
pieces, or would like a new piece
written about the same location, please get
in touch via the contacts below:
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postal:
Tim Richards
507/225
Elizabeth St
Melbourne VIC
3000
Australia
email:
tim@iwriter.com.au
phone:
0411-242327
(international
+61-411-242327)
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