Fiona Harper
LONELY PLANET INSPIRES SLOW TRAVEL
Lonely Planet inspire travellers to see the world by bike and by foot. Slow travel takes a whole new meaning at this sort of pace. New guidebooks are especially for travellers who like to combine cycling and running with their travels .
Lonely Planet’s first travel guide book was famously an accident according to co-founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler. The story goes something like most adventures do when a plan is formulated to travel somewhere new and unknown. Then things go awry.
You know how it goes. You depart on your trip, find something interesting that evolves into a deviation and before you know it the plan has gone out the window and you’re going off on some tangent to who knows where with a stranger who has recently become your BFF. That’s the joy of independent free-spirited travel, right?
The best travel adventures evolve from serendipity
This is exactly how some of my most fun travel adventures have played out. Like the time I was contracted to help deliver a yacht on a simple delivery from A (Tonga, actually) to B (Japan). Before too long the delivery turned into a island-hopping sojourn as the skipper revisited old stomping grounds, a mutiny ensued, I jumped ship in Guam, found a lift on a yacht sailing south and eventually returned home to New Zealand 6 months later.
Or more recently, when I flew to New York to run the marathon and ended up in Argentina then cruised to Antarctica on a squid games hunt for colossal squid ‘since I was in the area’. Travel is all about serendipity, being in the moment, having random conversations with strangers and taking up opportunities when they present.
The Wheelers didn't plan on becoming travel book publishers
The Wheelers original plan was to travel overland from London to Australia back in the early 1970s, spend a few months in Sydney then continue travelling around the world, returning to London within a year.
It turned out that people were fascinated with how they did their overland trip and wanted to know all the details. These casual conversations with other travellers eventually turned into LP’s first published guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. That first guide launched what would eventually become a global publishing house. But more importantly it became the catalyst for countless young travellers to leave home and see the world.
My first Lonely Planet book inspired a lifetime of travel
My first LP book was Southeast Asia on a Shoestring. I remember its distinctive canary yellow cover containing an inordinate amount of information. It talked about the logistics of travelling SE Asia, places to stay, where to eat and how to get around. It was enticing fodder for a teenager yearning to escape the boundaries of well-meaning parents and teachers.
I planned and dreamed of taking off with just a backpack, a head full of curiosity and a yearning to see the world. Eventually I did just that, though it was some years before I actually got to South East Asia. I left school, tossed my backpack onto a Greyhound bus and went north to Broome, hitching lifts to Australia’s east coast before eventually returning to Perth. That first independent travel adventure led me to buying my first yacht, which led me down a path that still resonates today (but that’s a whole other story).
Back then there was no internet and LP guides were gold for independent travellers. These LP guidebooks were trusted and respected and revered. They were thumbed through, yes religiously, like Catholics might treat a Bible. In so many ways LP’s later blue spines were indeed the travellers bible, passed around hostels with every word treated as gospel.
They still are. Though they’ve recently changed the look of their classic guidebooks as the company celebrates 50 years.
Despite the plethora of travel information at our disposal in print and online, LP remains at the forefront of travel guidebooks. It’s hard to argue against 50 years of publishing.
Lonely Planet guidebooks are not just for backpackers
Though these days you’re more likely to find their guidebooks on coffee tables or piled up beside beds for night time reading rather than tossed into backpacks. LP’s digital resources are constantly updated making the website far more valuable for travellers on the ground looking for up to date info.
With titles like Best Bike Rides Australia, Best Bike Rides New Zealand and Epic Runs of the World, LP produces travel titles that tap into our desire to combine travel with personal interests. Seeing the world from the perspective of a runner or a cyclist is the ultimate form of slow travel.
I’ve ridden bikes and participated in running events all over the world, motivated by active adventures as a reason to travel to a particular destination. So, when I saw these biking and running titles I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them. I’m still devouring them, lingering over every single page as I plan future travels.
Lonely Planet feeds my wanderlust
Like any self-respecting traveller with itchy feet waiting to hit the ground running, I’ve bookmarked pages and earmarked future runs and rides. My mind wanders while flicking through their pages each night before falling asleep, plotting, planning and dreaming of my next active adventures.
The truth is, I could use each book as inspiration for the next few years and still not get close to doing all of these runs or rides. But travel has never been about ticking off destinations or places like a shopping list. Rather, the planning and the dreaming and hitting the Confirm button on that airline booking site is as tantalising as the travel itself.
Which is ultimately the true pleasure of books such as these. They ignite our enthusiasm for travel while continuing to feed the flames of inspiration with the turn of each page.
Which epic run or ride ignites your flame? Australia’s Gold Coast? New Zealand’s South Island? Paris perhaps? The savannahs of South Africa? Let me know in the comments where you’re headed!
About these running & riding travel books
Epic Runs of the World
In this comprehensive runner’s companion, you’ll find 50 of the world’s greatest running routes – from short city runs and must-do marathons to cross-country trails and challenging ultras – plus a further 150 courses around the globe to satisfy runners of all abilities.
Each run is accompanied by photos, map and toolkit of practical details – where to start and finish, how to get there, where to stay and more – to help you plan the perfect trip. Suggestions for similar runs around the world are also included.
Organised by continent, Lonely Planet’s Epic Runs of the World takes runners past giraffes, zebras and rhinos in Africa, along courses the length of Vancouver’s Stanley Park Seawall in the Americas, offers spectacular views of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak in Asia and jogs along Rome’s Tiber River in Europe, while inviting athletes to push themselves to the limit in Oceania’s Blue Mountains Ultra.
Best Bike Rides Australia
– 40 day trips on two wheels from easy to hard, a few hours to full day rides. . From rail trails to coastal pathways, there’s easy-to-follow trails for cyclists and E-bike riders.
Colour maps (including elevation charts) and images throughout.
Special features – on Australia’s highlights for cyclist, kid-friendly rides, accessible trails and what to take.
Region profiles cover when to go, where to stay, what’s on, cultural insights, and local food and drink recommendations to refuel and refresh.
Featured regions include: Sydney and Around, Byron Bay to the Sunshine Coast, The Daintree and the Far North, the Outback, Southwest Forests to the Sea, Flinders to Fleurieu, Grampians to the High Country, the Prom to the Great Ocean Road, and Tasmania
Essential info at your fingertips – ride itineraries accompanied by illustrative maps are combined with details about ride duration, distance, terrain, start/end locations (including bike rental options) and difficulty with over 50 maps.
Best Bike Rides New Zealand
38 day trips on two wheels to explore New Zealand, from a couple of hours to a full day, from easy to hard. From rail trails to coastal pathways we cover the country with easy-to-follow trails for cyclists and E-bike riders.
Colour maps (including elevation charts) and images.
Special features – on New Zealand’s highlights for cyclist, kid-friendly rides, accessible trails and what to take.
Region profiles cover when to go, where to stay, what’s on, cultural insights, and local food and drink recommendations to refuel and refresh.
Featured regions include: Marlborough, Bay of Islands, Akaroa, West Coast, Central Plateau, Milford Sound, Waiheke Island, Kaikoura, Mackenzie Country, Waitomo Caves, Canterbury, Rotorua, Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown and more
Essential info at your fingertips – ride itineraries accompanied by illustrative maps are combined with details about ride duration, distance, terrain, start/end locations (including bike rental options) and difficulty with over 48 maps.
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