World Travellers

Caroline Poynton our expert of the day, writes:

For the modern traveller, the world is your oyster. Okay, maybe you’re not prioritising a summer visit to currently war-torn countries such as Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq or Sudan. Likewise, tales of drug-trafficking, kidnapping and armed muggings might put you off a two-week sojourn in Venezuela or Colombia. But perhaps you are considering something a little more off the beaten track - a holiday that will test your nerves a little, or that will embed you in a completely different culture or environment?

Many a modern traveller now explores further afield, with Australasia, South America, Asia and Africa proving very popular for those with an adventurous spirit (who don’t mind long plane journeys). But for any such trips, there are known - and unknown - dangers that you may want to research before you leave. Visit Australia and you’ll probably be bombarded by people listing its dangerous creatures - box jellyfish, crocodiles, redback spiders, taipan snakes, sharks, and so on - together with a litany of tales surrounding those backpackers who never came back… But go to ’safe as houses, no dangerous animals/plants here’ New Zealand and you may not realise that its capital city, Wellington, sits on a major earthquake fault line that is well overdue a ‘big one’!