Breaking the Limit: One Woman's Motorcycle Journey Through North America


Karen Larsen - 2004
    Realizing that years of work and travel in other people's countries made her a stranger in her own, and with an invitation to meet her biological father for the first time, Karen Larsen set out on a fifteen-thousand-mile trip with nothing but her motorcycle and the barest of essentials.Larsen's journey tests the limits of her own endurance, challenges her long-held beliefs and values, and asks what it means to belong to a family. Through the the fields of Iowa and the deserts of the Southwest, over the Rockies and across Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, Larsen confronts questions of femininity, family, independence, and personal identity.Her journey speaks to the immense space and over-whelming beauty of North America, as well as to the diversity and vitality of the people she meets along the way. Breaking the Limit invites you to join her as she braces against the wind, trades security for freedom, sacrifices stability for motion, and opens herself up to the vast canopy of a continent.

A Year in the World: Journeys of a Passionate Traveller


Frances Mayes - 2006
    With her beloved Tuscany as a home base, Mayes travels to Spain, Portugal, France, the British Isles, and to the Mediterranean world of Turkey, Greece, the South of Italy, and North Africa. Weaving together personal perceptions and informed commentary on art, architecture, history, landscape, and social and culinary traditions, Mayes brings the immediacy of life in her temporary homes to readers. An illuminating and passionate book that will be savored by all who loved Under the Tuscan Sun, A Year in the World is travel writing at its peak.

101 Kruger Tales: Extraordinary Stories from Ordinary Visitors to the Kruger National Park


Jeff Gordon - 2014
    A lioness prises open the door of a terrified couple. A leopard helps itself to a family’s picnic breakfast. A fleeing impala leaps through an open car window. A lion charges around inside a busy rest camp. A hyaena snatches a baby from a tent. A tourist takes a bath in a croc-infested dam… These are just a few of the 101 jaw-dropping sightings, scrapes and encounters in this collection of extraordinary true stories from the roads, camps, picnic sites and walking trails of South Africa’s Kruger National Park, as told by the very people who experienced them. There are no game ranger tales here – each and every story happened to an ordinary Kruger visitor doing what over a million tourists do in this spectacular reserve each year. It is a book to keep by your bedside in Kruger, to dip into at home when you’re missing the bush, to lend to friends who’ve never visited Kruger or to pore over before your next trip. Just don’t expect to ever sleep soundly in a safari tent again…

Through the Dark Continent, Vol. 1


Henry M. Stanley - 1878
    He was the first European to explore the Congo River; assisted at the founding of the Congo Free State, and helped pave the way for the opening up of modern Africa.In this classic account of one of his most important expeditions, the venerable Victorian recounts the incredibly difficult and perilous journey during which he explored the great lakes of Central Africa, confirming their size and position, searched for the sources of the Nile, and traced the unknown Congo River from the depths of the continent to the sea. Accompanied by three Englishmen and a crew of Africans, Stanley left Zanzibar in 1874. He traveled to Lake Victoria, which he circumnavigated in his boat, the Lady Alice. Almost immediately, illness, malnutrition and conflicts with native tribes began to decimate his followers. Nevertheless, the explorer pushed on, also circumnavigating Lake Tanganyika, which he determined to be unconnected with the Nile system. Finally in 1876, Stanley was ready to undertake "the grandest task of all" — exploring the Livingstone (Congo) River. He sailed down the vast waterway to the lake he called Stanley Pool, then on to a series of 32 cataracts he named Livingstone Falls. Unable to go further by boat, Stanley continued overland, reaching the Atlantic Ocean on August 12, 1877. Mishaps, hostile tribes, and disease had killed his three white companions and half the Africans, but Stanley had attained his objective.His tremendous perseverance (his persistence led his men to nickname him Bula Matari — "the rock breaker") was complemented by Stanley's abilities as a keen observer and accomplished prose stylist. These talents are fully evident in this exciting narrative. It offers not only the action and adventure of a life-and-death struggle to survive in the African wilderness, but detailed descriptions of native peoples, customs, and culture; the flora and fauna of central Africa; and a wealth of geographical, ecological, and other information. Supplemented with 149 black-and-white illustrations and a foldout map, this monumental narrative will be welcomed by anyone interested in the European exploration of central Africa during the nineteenth century, the exploits of one of the great explorers of all time, and a breathtaking story of human endurance and achievement in the face of immense odds.

In Search of Greener Grass


Graham Field - 2012
    Written with a dry, cynical and opinionated wit, this book offers advice on preparation for motorbike travels. It's part guidebook - Graham describes routes worth travelling and what to expect from them - and part life story, full of anecdotes and knowledge generated by a quarter of a century of travelling. Graham's narrative is full of insightful observations, occasional wisdom and sporadic alcohol fuelled inspiration, a little rebellious and somewhat defiant. The book offers insecurities and enlightenment, banter and bollocks from inside the helmet of someone who did know better, then forgot again. All the way to Mongolia and then a bit further, discovering truths, wondering if they're right then reassessing it all. Graham rides into the unknown, before moving on again, deciding that contentment must be around the next corner, occasionally finding it and then missing it.

1000 Days of Spring


Tomislav Perko - 2014
    He was determined to put down everything he knows about traveling, and with that, answer the questions that many people ask him for years: - How is it possible to travel with almost no money? - Is his way of traveling safe enough? - What are the worst, and the best moments on the road? - How can you earn money while traveling? - Where to look for sponsors? - How did his parents and friends react? - Why is he traveling in the first place? Since it was impossible to give a simple and short answers to those questions, he started answering them in the only way possible - by telling his life story. Tomislav wrote about his student days, about the days when he had a well paid job as a stockbroker, about going bankrupt, about turning his life around, about first ventures on the road with a backpack on his back, and about finding a way that he will follow in the years to come - by traveling. Tomislav wrote about hitchhiking in numerous countries, sleeping in homes of strangers, camping on the side of the road, eating in supermarkets and drinking beer in parks, volunteering, many anecdotes that he encountered on the road, natural beauties that left him breathless, and about the beautiful people that he met on the way. Tomislav wrote about love."

Blind Curves: A Woman, a Motorcycle, and a Journey to Reinvent Herself


Linda Crill - 2013
    The problem—she doesn’t know how to ride and has only thirty days to learn.Four short weeks later, Linda joins two men and a woman for a white-knuckled, exhilarating road trip along the west coast from Vancouver, Canada, to the wine country of Mendocino, California. Along the way she encounters washed-out mountain roads, small town hospitality, humming redwoods, and acceptance from gentle souls who happen to have tattoos and piercings.By heading into the unknown—the blind curve—she faces her fears, tests old beliefs, and discovers not only a broader horizon of possibilities to use in building the next phase of her life, but also the fuel to make it happen.Funny, irreverent, and extraordinarily honest, it’s the perfect read for people looking for ways to reinvent themselves, and anyone asking: “What now?”

Wanderlust: A Love Affair with Five Continents


Elisabeth Eaves - 2011
    Young and independent, she crisscrosses five continents and chases the exotic, both in culture and in romance. In the jungles of Papua New Guinea, she loses herself -- literally -- to an Australian tour guide; in Cairo, she reconnects with her high school sweetheart, only to discover the beginning of a pattern that will characterize her life over the long-term: while long-distance relationships work well for her, traditional relationships do not.Wanderlust, however, is more than a chronological conquest of men and countries: at its core, it's a journey of self-discovery. In the course of her travels, Eaves finds herself and the sense of home she's been lacking since childhood -- and she sheds light on a growing culture of young women who have the freedom and inclination to define their own, increasingly global, lifestyles, unfettered by traditional roles and conventions of past generations of women.

Perfect Vehicle


Melissa Holbrook Pierson - 1997
    She sifts through myth and hyperbole: misrepresentations about danger, about the type of people who ride and why they do so. The Perfect Vehicle is not a mere recitation of facts, nor is it a polemic or apologia. Its vivid historical accounts-the beginnings of the machine, the often hidden tradition of women who ride, the tale of the defiant ones who taunt death on the racetrack-are intertwined with Pierson's own story, which, in itself, shows that although you may think you know what kind of person rides a motorcycle, you probably don't.

The Chains of Heaven: An Ethiopian Romance


Philip Marsden - 2005
    ‘Ethiopia bred in me the conviction that if there is a wider purpose to our life, it is to understand the world, to seek out its diversity, to celebrate its heroes and its wonders – in short, to witness it.’When Philip Marsden first went to Ethiopia in 1982, it changed the direction of his life. What he saw of its stunning antiquity, its raw Christianity, its extremes of brutality and grace prompted his curiosity, and made him a writer.But Ethiopia at that time was torn apart by civil war. The north, the ancient heartland of the country, was closed off. Twenty years later, Marsden returned. The result is this book – the account of a journey deferred.Walking hundreds of miles through a landscape of cavernous gorges, tabletop mountains and semi-desert, Marsden encounters monks and hermits, rebels and farmers. And he creates an unforgettable picture of one of the most remote regions left on earth. As in his award-winning book ‘The Spirit-Wrestlers’, Marsden reminds us of the brilliant heights that travel writing can attain, whilst celebrating the ageless rewards of the open road and the people for whom the mythic and the everyday are inextricably joined.

Ubuntu: One Woman's Motorcycle Odyssey Across Africa


Heather Ellis - 2016
    The idea just feels right – no matter that she’s never done any long-distance motorcycle travelling before, and has never even set foot on the African continent. Twelve months later, Heather unloads her Yamaha TT600 at the docks in Durban, South Africa, and her adventure begins.Her travels take her to the dizzying heights of Mt Kilimanjaro and the Rwenzori Mountains, to the deserts of northern Kenya where she is befriended by armed bandits and rescued by Turkana fishermen, to a stand-off with four Ugandan men intent on harm, and to a voyage on a ‘floating village’ on the mighty Zaire River. Everywhere she goes Heather is aided by locals and travellers alike, who take her into their homes and hearts, helping her to truly understand the spirit of ubuntu – a Bantu word meaning ‘I am because you are’.Ubuntu is the extraordinary story of a young woman who, alone and against all odds, rode a motorcycle to some of the world’s most remote, beautiful and dangerous places.

251 Things To Do In Tofino: And It Is Not Just About Surfing


Kait Fennell - 2016
    They call this the “end of the road” for Western Canada, but you are going to be calling it the start of the best time of your life. All you need is this eBook, an open mind, an open heart and the sense of wonder and adventure to embark on the journey of a thousand lifetimes.Whether you are here to find out why this is the Surf Capital of Canada or to check out the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve or to find something entirely new and exciting, this is the book that will help you start your journey and this is the place to find the magic that you seek. 251 Things to do in Tofino indeed does have that many suggestions (and more).This eBook also includes:• First Nations history, local artists & galleries• Amazing outdoors and fun kids’ activities• Annual events, entertainment and local gourmet eats• Great tips to make unforgettable memories• Voices of 100 local contributing authors• A comprehensive, detailed directory of Tofino• And so much more!ABOUT THE AUTHORKait Fennell is a permanent resident of Tofino who finds herself more at home in the water than anywhere else. An islander at heart, she has travelled all over the world - from flying and developing pilot guide books in the Okavango Delta, Botswana to volunteering for a small pilot school in Durban, South Africa. Recognized as a National Garfield Weston Foundation Scholar, and graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Technology with a Commercial Pilot License, she left her aviation roots to pursue her passion for surfing, healthy living, the environment and indigenous culture. She can be reached at author@251thingstodo.com

One Man Caravan


Robert Edison Fulton - 1937
    First published in 1937.

Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman


Alice Steinbach - 2000
    “For years I’d made my own choices, paid my own bills, shoveled my own snow.” But somehow she had become dependent in quite another way. “I had fallen into the habit of defining myself in terms of who I was to other people and what they expected of me.” But who was she away from the people and things that defined her? In this exquisite book, Steinbach searches for the answer to this question in some of the most beautiful and exciting places in the world: Paris, where she finds a soul mate; Oxford, where she takes a course on the English village; and Milan, where she befriends a young woman about to be married. Beautifully illustrated with postcards from Steinbach’s journeys, this revealing and witty book transports you into a fascinating inner and outer journey, an unforgettable voyage of discovery.

Into the Heart of Borneo


Redmond O'Hanlon - 1984
    O'Hanlon, accompanied by friend and poet James Fenton and three native guides brings wit and humor to a dangerous journey.