✨ Welcome to our brand-new series, TravMedia's Travel Writer of the Week! ✨

Each week, we'll be shining a spotlight on one of the incredibly talented, passionate, and inspiring Journalists or Editors from our amazing community.

This week, we'd like to shine the spotlight on Rupert Parker - travel journalist, outdoor enthusiast and TV producer. 

We hope you enjoy - happy reading !!

Where are you based?
I live in London.

What outlets do you write for? Who is your audience? What are your travel specialties?
I specialise in food, adventure and travel and have written for Metro, The Daily Telegraph, Times Online, Sunday Times, Scottish Sunday Post,  Jewish Chronicle, Selling Travel, The Travel Magazine, Silver Travel Advisor, Trip Reporter, National Geographic Traveller and Women's Own. My speciality is the great outdoors - hiking and biking, in particular, and it helps that I'm in better shape than some of my fellow journalists. After a long day in the fresh air, I always relish good food and drink, something else to write about.

Are you in-house or freelance (or both)?
Freelance

What are your professional pet peeves?
I hate those short press trips where you spend all day on the plane, get one day in the destination, and then spend the third day travelling back. It's not good for the planet and doesn't give me much material. And flight delays in Europe are becoming increasingly commonplace so often you spend hours in airports.

In your past professional life you were …
For many years, I made documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic and Discovery which often involved travelling with a whole army of people. Now it's just me and my notebook, much better. 

Where would you like to return to?
I went to China 50 years ago when it first opened up to westerners. In September, I'm going back to many of the places I visited in Yunnan, South West China, and it will be interesting to see how it's changed.

What's on your bucket list?
I love South and Central America and have been to most countries apart from Argentina. Iran, now even more difficult, is definitely on my wish list.

Where do you travel for fun?
I'm always travelling so London is the place for holidays. Even though I've lived here for many years, I still love exploring. And not many people realise that London is a walking city – circuits like the Capital Ring and the London Loop, as well as the Thames Path, allow you to discover new areas. And for more challenging walks, the Chilterns, North West of the city, are just a tube or train ride away.

Your funniest (or most harrowing) travel story is …
I was once on safari in a small game park at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. It was getting dark and our jeep driver was rushing to get back. Suddenly he slams the brakes as there are two elephants having sex right in front of us. He reverses into a tree behind us, and we can't go further. Suffice to say, the elephants are not happy, trumpeting loudly, and as night falls we realise there are not just two elephants but a whole herd, slowly surrounding us. 

The poor driver is on his own, doesn't know what to do, and we're all terrified by the trumpeting of other elephants in the shadows. Finally, when it's pitch black, we tell him there's no other option but to take a chance, He guns the accelerator, the jeep lurches forward, and we're hoping that there's no elephant blocking our path – even though we can't see anything. Thirty minutes later we're enjoying a stiff drink in the lodge, relishing our narrow escape.

What advice would you give your younger professional self?
If you're not enjoying what you're doing for a living, and start looking forward to the weekend, then change your job. Better to choose a new career or pursue new directions.

What nugget would you like to add that we haven't touched on?
Don't be afraid of travelling to places where you can't speak the language. Pointing and gesturing always work and now, of course, there's google translate. However once when I was in a restaurant in Tibet, I indicated a dish that somebody else was eating and mimed that's what would like to order. The waiter went across to their table, picked up the plate and thrust it in front of me, despite my protests.

How best should people contact you?
Send me a message on TravMedia or an email.