Since diving into freelance travel writing a few years ago, it has opened up a lot of opportunities and exciting challenges. Through writing and jumping into social media like Instagram it has enabled my love of photography to have a wider use and given me an outlet to show others some pretty spectacular places in this country.

As well as having stories and photos published, I am taking every opportunity to brush up on my photography all the time. One thing travel writing has done is that it makes me see even well-known places in a new light. I try to look at everything from the view point of what would make me want to explore this area more if I knew nothing about it. Or, if it’s a new destination for me then I not only want to show what you may have expected but something a little hidden or surprising, perhaps a hint or two that only the locals will know.

The last couple of weeks has been busy and exciting with not only new stories accepted by magazines but also the SA Weekend magazine, which is a lift out in the Saturday Advertiser newspaper in South Australia, used one of my photos in their publication, where they highlight photos they’ve liked on Instagram.

I was also really pleased to have been invited to write a guest post on another website. Miriam Blaker is a freelance writer, camper, blogger, outdoor enthusiast and so much more and her website is called ‘Out An’ About’. You can visit her site and my guest post here: https://outanabout.com/2018/04/03/guest-post-caravan-correspondent/

That is another unexpected highlight of blogging and social media, meeting new people with common interests and learning from others. Hopefully in our travels we can get to meet some of these people in person when we are moseying through their parts of Australia. You can learn a lot when you follow other websites and get ideas for what’s engaging and interesting to read and of course find out more about the people behind the writing.

For many years we’ve jumped at the chance to get away and explore with our caravan in tow whenever the opportunity is there but now it has an added attraction for me, with the prospect of having a story published in a magazine. Travel writing is a great catalyst for making sure you take every opportunity to try new things and discover new places.

I was really pleased to read the Editor’s column in the current edition of ‘On The Road’ magazine (March / April) where he explains that in this day of print vs digital, more than 90% of their readers wanted print. As a contributor this is great news for me. I’m an avid user of digital technology too but when it comes to a book or a magazine I always choose print. There’s nothing better, especially when you are on holidays, than to sit back in a comfy chair and leaf through actual pages. It’s so much more interesting and engaging I find, than swiping across a screen. Plus you don’t need power and wifi connection to enjoy it at any time and place. Printed magazines and books also continue the great tradition of caravan and campers in leaving something you’ve finished reading, in the laundry block at a caravan park and perhaps picking up something new.

I was once given a book to read by a lady and neighbour in a caravan park which she handed to me, noticing that I was a reader. I decided to leave it at my next stop after I’d finished it. It got me thinking about how books must travel far and wide around the country too, so I wrote in the front cover of the book where it had started its journey from and then the name of the destination I left it in, encouraging others to do the same if they picked it up and travelled on.

I would love to know where that book is now but I probably never will. It disappeared quickly from the park I left it in, while we were still staying there. Over the years I’ve left plenty of books around the country for others to enjoy and picked up the odd few too.

A great source for reading material when you’re travelling is to go to the local library of a town you are in, they often have ‘retired’ books for sale so you can pick up a lot at a very cheap price and it doesn’t matter if they get a bit dog eared as you trip around.

BUT for the latest in travel, caravan and camping and 4WD magazines don’t forget to drop into a newsagency or shop every now and again and buy the current edition too!

Cheers and happy reading

Glenys