About David French
Running repairs - Wewak to Airtape PNG
Born in Sydney and resident of Rockhampton, David has lived in four Australian states, three capital cities and for a couple of years in the outback. Married with three children, he has travelled extensively within Australia by air, train and from Tasmania to K'Gari to Uluru and the Kimberley, off the beaten track in his own four wheel drive. Overseas David has explored Papua New Guinea' Hong Kong and the North West USA, amongst many other trips for business and pleasure. After running his own business for 23 years, David is now using his skills and experience to write about travel and to help travellers get the most from their dream vacation. With a passion for discovering new cultures and hidden gems, David's writing and advice will inspire you to author your own adventures.
Early start - Airtape to Vanimo PNG
Bio
David French is a writer with over 30 years' experience writing and presenting in print, television and radio. His primary interest is in shining a torch at the intersection of logic and life. He has travelled extensively throughout Australia, PNG, New Zealand, the USA and Hong Kong and Europe. David has a degree in economics and various other business related qualifications.
After running and part-owning a financial service business for 23 years its now time to devote the corresponding research and discipline to helping people get the most out of their travel experiences.
Article teasers
The article is in the idea. The delivery is in the lens. Here are four article ideas ready for commissioning:
Freycinet Tasmania
At 59 years I walked, ran and hiked the 29km trail run at Freycinet national park in Tasmania. In unfamiliar territory and completely outclassed, I nevertheless did the 2-day hike in 5 1/2 hours. The surroundings are beautiful but extreme and it's a surprise to be burdened by exhaustion, doubt and even fear.
Gibb River Road, remote Kimberley, Western Australia
Stretching for 660kms (410mi) between Derby and Wyndham, the remote and rough terrain of the Gibb River Road is alien to the 90 per cent of Australians who live in urban centres. It's an adventure-laden, get-away-from-it-all journey that provides access to the most exquisite of waterfalls, waterholes and Australian Aboriginal Rock art. but the road is now host to more than 400 vehicles a day. They are typically piloted by Grey Nomads, an Australian term for any elderly retired person who spends time travelling around the country in a mobile home. Are we "getting away from it all - with everyone else"?
PNG Highlands
I'm travelling on local PMVs and looking for cheap beer. There is a price premium for being a westerner and one of our three-person party retires to the Lutheran Guesthouse for an afternoon nap. Salty and I are not so discouraged and soon find an SP Lager booth at the local markets. Handing a few Kina through a cage grill, a voice booms from the gloom. All we see is a big shape with very white teeth. This cannot be good.
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"Welcome to Goroka" says Eugene "What are you white guys doing in this bar? Best thing I've seen in years. Let me buy you a beer!". And with that a chain of events was set in place that ultimately led to the business I run sponsoring a woman to come to Australia to work for us and to compete a diploma in business. It was an initiative that changed her life, and the lives of others she came into contact with.
Great Keppel Island
The resort is long gone, but for many the memories linger. Still here, and from time immemorial though is the squeaking white sand, azure blue ocean and the fecund urgency of wildlife and the reef at low tide. Less well known is the fate of the original inhabitants, the Woppaburra. Victims of colonisation of the worst kind and providing stark relief to the prevailing natural beauty, their history dots the island.
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