The Glove Box Interview: William Gray of 101 Family Holidays ? The ...

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Fiona Hilliard

William Gray is a busy man. Not only is he an award-winning travel writer and photographer, he?s also the author of Travel with Kids and Editor of 101 Family Holidays. ?Lucky for us, he had a few minutes to spare this week to take part in our weekly Glove Box interview?

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William Gray

Q1.? If you had to offer fellow travellers one ?golden? tip what would it be?

Pause often and take the time to enjoy the ?moment? rather than being caught up in a busy itinerary and constantly anticipating the next bit of your trip.

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Q2. What do you never leave the country without?

A sad farewell to our pet Labrador, Holly, who always gets ?suitcase anxiety syndrome? when she sees us packing and knows she?s about to be put in kennels for a week or two.

Q3. What if any is your travel philosophy?

Travel can, and should, make a positive difference to the local livelihoods and environments that you are privileged to be visiting. Only then can it be truly sustainable.

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Q4. What is your favourite city and why?

I prefer real jungles to urban ones, but if I had to choose a favourite city it would be one that acted as a springboard to wilderness. Vancouver (or Victoria on Vancouver Island) fits the bill nicely ? you can be sipping a latte in a downtown caf? in the morning and trekking through old-growth rainforest before lunchtime. Cape Town and Brisbane have similar appeal.

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Q5. In your opinion, which country has the best cuisine?

I?m a bit of a surf ?n? turf man ? and you can?t beat Kenya for its combination of steaks (cooked over an open fire on safari) and richly spiced Swahili seafood.

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Q6. What is your favourite travel memory?

It?s difficult to pick just one. My fondest memories are generally those that involve returning to old haunts but with my children in tow. The twins are 12 now but watching their faces light up when they first set eyes on Victoria Falls was magical. Then there was the time they saw their first whale (in the Gulf of St Lawrence), snorkeled on the Great Barrier Reef, husky sledged in Lapland?

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Q7. Where do you go when you want to take some time out to relax?

Cornwall. Apart from researching my Cornwall with Kids guidebook there a few years ago, it?s a destination reserved for simple pleasures, like surfing, playing beach cricket and walking the Southwest Coast Path.

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Q8. Of all the countries you?ve visited, where could you imagine yourself moving?

New Zealand, Canada, South Africa? each has been the subject of wistful daydreams with my wife. But since we?ve had children, England feels more and more like home. No matter which far-flung place we?ve just been to, we always love returning here.

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Q9.Which destination offers the best value for money?

The one that you return home from, having had the best time of your life, not begrudging a single penny you?ve spent.

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Q10. What has been the most dangerous country that you have visited?

It?s not a particularly ?dangerous? place, but I suppose we?ve had more than our fair share of ?near death? experiences in Namibia: rolling our hire car off the dirt track on the way to Fish River Canyon, taking our five-year-old twins on a hunting safari with Bushmen and narrowly missing a leopard and a large puff adder?

Q11.What is your favourite thing about travel?

It?s always the same thing: been blown away by how beautiful and diverse the world is; finding yourself beyond the road?s end and a wifi hotspot, and experiencing natural spectacles unaffected by people ? whether it?s watching the northern lights in Lapland far from any light pollution or snorkeling with a whale shark that?s migrated across half an ocean.

Q12. Which destination has surprised you most?

Iceland is full of surprises. You imagine it to be bleak and uninviting, but there is something utterly addictive about its volcanoes, waterfalls and icecaps. It?s a superb self-drive destination (particularly if you rent a 4WD and venture onto the interior tracks), the whale watching and birdwatching is superb and there are some excellent places to stay and eat. I?d like to visit again soon ? particularly to witness a volcanic eruption.

Q13. What are your top three travel books/writers?

For laughs: Bill Bryson?s Walk in the Woods or Redmond O?Hanlon?s Into the Heart of Borneo; for inspiration: Charles Darwin?s Voyage of the Beagle; for page-turnability: Tim Butcher?s Blood River.

Q14. How do you deal with jet lag?

Usually with gritted teeth and a scowl.

Q15. Where are you travelling next and how do you plan to get there?

Alaska hopefully. Iceland Air have a new flight between Reykjavik and Anchorage, raising the tempting prospect of a few days touring my favourite spots in southwest Iceland followed by bear watching in Alaska?s Denali and Katmai National Parks.

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For more advice, check out 101 Family Holidays and pick up some great ideas for your next trip away with the kids or follow 101 Holidays on Twitter.

Fiona likes to travel ? especially to cities. Her favourites include: New York, London, Copenhagen, Madrid and Lisbon. Just don't mention budget airlines, baggage restrictions, airport security queues?

Source: http://blog.arguscarhire.com/the-glove-box-interview-william/

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