Kia Abdullah

Kia Abdullah is a Times bestselling author and travel writer. She has been to over 70 countries and has written for The New York Times, The Times, The Guardian and the BBC among others. kiaabdullah.com
south island short walks – Franz Josef Glacier emerged from the clouds

Battling weather at Franz Josef Glacier

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We attempt the Franz Josef Glacier Valley Walk in pouring rain and dwindling humour

We were in low spirits. Our heli-hike to Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand had been cancelled due to bad weather which meant we couldn’t get onto the glacier itself. In fact, given the vast and murky blanket of cloud, there was the distinct possibility that we would not see the glacier at all.

We were wary. In 2015, we almost missed seeing Machu Picchu because of endless fog. A few months after that, we trekked to Torres del Paine in Chilean Patagonia to find it completely shrouded in cloud – a disappointment that haunts Peter to this day.

Extinction tourism

Polar bear death: has extinction tourism gone too far?

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A cruise ship guard recently shot and killed a polar bear. Did the bear get too close, or the tourists?

I don’t usually dig myself into holes that I can’t climb out of. I like strong arguments and clear answers – but there’s only one answer here and, sadly, it’s one I don’t like.

Let me start at the start: on 28th July, a cruise ship guard shot a polar bear in Svalbard, an Arctic archipelago that lies between Norway’s mainland and the North Pole.

rotorua geysers steaming in te puia

Exploring the Rotorua geysers in New Zealand

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We visit the Rotorua geysers on New Zealand’s North Island in pursuit of Pohutu, the largest active geyser in the southern hemisphere

We smelled Rotorua before we even set foot in the town: an unholy triad of pungent sulphur, blocked drains and rotten eggs. Built on a geothermal hotspot, Rotorua is a place of bestirred primordia: boiling mud pools, hot springs, spitting vents and erupting geysers.

skydiving in cairns

Skydiving in Cairns: jumping from 16,000ft

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After a month in Australia, skydiving in Cairns seemed an apt way to finish an epic trip

I slumped into the pillow with the desultory air of someone faced with 200 channels and not a decent TV show between them. I sighed, then yawned, then slouched.

After seven days of diving in the Great Barrier Reef and all the wonder and adrenaline that comes with it, spending two days cooped up in a Cairns hotels seemed like a damp squib of a way to end our month-long trip across Australia.

Diving Steve’s Bommie in the Great Barrier Reef coral moorish idol 1

Diving Steve’s Bommie in the Great Barrier Reef

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A first-hand report of diving Steve’s Bommie in the Great Barrier Reef including information on when to go, how to get there and what to expect

It started with a whisper, as if he were revealing a state secret or the coordinates of Atlantis. His shoulders eased into the buttery leather of his seat, his stance loose and casual, as if this were any other drink on any other evening of our small-ship expedition across the Great Barrier Reef. His tone, however, betrayed something different: a low and certain intensity, alerting us to the fact that this dive would be like no other.

He would need special dispensation from the captain, said Colin, our dive instructor on the expedition. We’d have to leave early and take the dinghy and be back before breakfast. Nothing was guaranteed, but he’d talk to the captain and we’d wait and see.

The Plus seating area offers the best view of the penguins

Phillip Island Penguin Parade: the day we saw 613 penguins

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We visit the Phillip Island Penguin Parade in Australia to see if it’s worth the hype

There is a palpable tension in the air. It reminds me of the atmosphere at a standing-only gig just before the doors open: everyone acts calm but then rushes forward in a desperate attempt to secure a good spot, pushing people like me – short, slight, little – to the outer margins of the room.

Needless to say, I hate standing-only gigs.

We chose not to visit Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park

Things to do on Kangaroo Island, Australia

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From charming wildlife to soaring sand dunes, we share the best things to do on Kangaroo Island in Australia

Kangaroo Island doesn’t get much billing among the famous sights of Australia. There’s Uluru of course and the Great Barrier Reef and the cities of Sydney and Melbourne, but Kangaroo Island remains less known – perhaps no bad thing.

Home to around 60,000 kangaroos, this island has more roos than it does people. The roads are straight and empty and the pace of life is slow: a little bit prairie, a little homegrown.

To Penguin Island from Perth, Australia

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We visit Penguin Island from Perth to hunt for Australia’s most adorable creatures.

I was determined to see penguins in Australia. My hunt for penguins in the Galápagos was only just successful with a one-minute sighting after three days of searching. I hoped that Australia would deliver a closer encounter.

And so we headed to Penguin Island from Perth a day after arriving in Australia (following a 24-hour delay no less).

lessons from travelling the world

I’ve officially travelled the world. Here’s what I’ve learnt

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Seven years ago, I asked a question on Quora: what qualifies as having travelled the world? It prompted an interesting discussion there and, later, here on our own site. We decided that it wasn’t the number of countries visited or borders crossed that mattered, but the number of Risk map regions you had seen. The logic was that visiting half of the 42 Risk regions would offer a better sampling of the world.

Lac Assal in Djibouti

Salt of the earth: visiting Lac Assal in Djibouti

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We visit Lac Assal in the Afar Depression where three diverging tectonic plates have created some of the strangest sights we’ve seen

Lac Assal in Djibouti is wickedly deceiving. At first, it appears as a glorious expanse of blue-green water and blinding white sand, easily mistaken for a Maldivian beach. Behind the facade, however, lies a painful lesson: the vast white plain is not sand at all but salt: jagged shards that bristle on skin and leave you itching for water.

female adventurer lead image

Where are the female adventurers?

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The TV explorer has become an archetype of sorts: dashing, intrepid, personable – and nearly always male. We ask where are the female adventurers?

“Have you been watching Walking the Himalayas?” asked Peter’s father. “The presenter in it reminds me of Pete.”

“Tall, dark and handsome?” I asked. “Well, I can certainly get on board with that.”

Later that week, I started the TV series as advised, noting with amusement that presenter Levison Wood (pictured below) did indeed look a bit like Peter.

We watched with interest until five minutes in when Levison makes a meal of crossing a mere river.

interesting facts about Djibouti whale sharks in djibouti close up

Swimming with whale sharks in Djibouti

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Swimming with whale sharks in Djibouti promised to be the highlight of our trip – but would it live up to the hype?

I’m a pessimist and Peter’s the opposite, so while he was brimming with anticipation at the prospect of swimming with whale sharks in Djibouti, I sat dolefully in a corner wondering if a) we would even see a whale shark and b) if I would be able to keep up with it.

Does my bruise look big in this? The trouble with an outdoors lifestyle

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In planning a trip to the home of bungee, Kia laments the effects of an outdoors lifestyle

This year, I turn 36 and if it hadn’t been for the dismaying discovery that cellulite also creeps across stomachs, I may have continued my diet of sugary snacks and drinks forever. Instead, I’m becoming a little more mindful about the things I eat. There are still desserts and ice creams, but a little less all round.

The fact that staying in shape will now take more effort is not a huge surprise; after all, beauty magazines have been telling me so for about two decades now. What is surprising is having to think about how I treat my body in other ways.

We get comfortable in the water while diving in Djibouti

Diving in Djibouti: my first wreck

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Diving in Djibouti doesn’t appear on many bucket lists, but as we learn on our trip to the country, it can be even better than Mauritius or Tahiti

Djibouti, it is said, is the Dubai of the Horn. Its port location and peaceful nature in an otherwise restive region has made it a prime location for foreign interest. The country is home to Africa’s largest US army base and France’s biggest Foreign Legion deployment. China, Japan, Italy, Germany and Spain among others also have soldiers stationed there.

The Lion of Judah Statue on an Addis Ababa walking out

Addis Ababa walking tour: how to do it yourself

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We venture out on a DIY Addis Ababa walking tour and share our insights into exploring the city

So to Addis Ababa, the final stop on our month-long Ethiopian epic. It’s not unfair to say that this rambling expanse of brown-hued avenues has little cheer or charm. Most tourists stop only in transit en route to the country’s better sights.

How to shoot-outdoor-video on a smartphone-pixel-2

How to shoot outdoor video on a smartphone

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We share 12 practical tips, techniques and recommendations for improving your outdoor video footage

“You should do more video.”

This has become both a request and a rebuke from our friends and readers at Atlas & Boots. Admittedly, video has played third fiddle on our travels after writing and photography.

Trekking the Simien Mountains lead image

Simien Mountains National Park: trekking Africa’s Grand Canyon

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After Erta Ale and Dallol, would Ethiopia’s Simien Mountains National Park live up to the hype?

If Simien Mountains National Park really were ‘Africa’s Grand Canyon’, how was it that I knew nothing of it? Was this just Peter’s ploy to drag me out camping again?

I knew of the park by name, but couldn’t point to it on a map, or tell you what I might find there. To be honest, prior to planning our trip, I had no idea there were proper mountains in Ethiopia – a result perhaps of TIA syndrome which conjures dusty, flyblown vistas and not the vast gorges of lush beauty that populate Simien Mountains National Park.

The battlemented parapet of Gondar castle

Exploring Gondar castle in the ‘Camelot of Africa’

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Ahead of a three-day trek in the Simien wilds, we take a breather to explore the magnificent Gondar castle

Gondar castle is improbable. It’s improbable in size, style and design, but mostly in location. After all, this is Ethiopia and if TIA is to be believed, we should be looking at desertscapes dotted with baobab trees, not a Camelot in the sun.

Tigray churches over the plains

Leap of faith: hiking to the vertiginous Tigray churches

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To reach the Tigray churches of Ethiopia, one must scale sheer rock, inch along narrow ledges and skirt around yawning chasms – all in bare feet. Naturally, we leapt at the chance

I was feeling uncharacteristically nervous. It wasn’t the narrow ledges with sheer drops that had me spooked, but the prospect of climbing with ropes – something I’d never done before.

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