Travelwr¡ters UK
 
 
 

 
Ron Toft
TRAVEL JOURNALIST AND PHOTOGRAPHER







GEOGRAPHICAL
SPECIALITIES


RECENT
ARTICLES


PICTURES

BEST TRAVEL
EXPERIENCES


. . .

EXAMPLES OF
PUBLISHED WORK

. . .

PHOTOGRAPHY
SELECTION

. . .

 

 

 

 

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Not many people are lucky enough to make a living out of doing what they enjoy most.

I consider myself to be one of the fortunate few, for I am a freelance journalist and photographer specialising mainly in wildlife and nature-oriented travel features for magazines all over the world.

. . . . .
 

I have been interested in all things natural since I was 11, my main schoolboy passion being astronomy. I also collected rocks, minerals and fossils. I wanted to be an astronomer when I left school, but I was utterly useless at maths. Being reasonably good at English, I took up journalism instead, serving a three-year apprenticeship on a weekly newspaper.

As the years passed, so my interests broadened. Enthralled by the BBC’s natural history programmes, I became hooked on wildlife. Photography - merely a hobby initially - later became an invaluable additional skill.

During my journalistic career, which has now spanned more than 40 years, I’ve turned my hand to all manner of things, from editing newspapers and producing guidebooks to planning PR campaigns.

. . . . .
 

After my leisure and tourism PR consultancy went bust during the economic slump of the early 90s, I began forging a new career as a travel writer. Now I start each day with a zest I never experienced in my early professional life.

I meet genuinely interesting and extremely knowledgeable people in a wide range of fields and get paid to write articles on subjects as diverse as kayaking through the coastal creeks of Gulf Coast Florida, exploring the Avenue of Volcanoes in Ecuador, learning traditional skills from South African bushmen and watching all manner of wild birds along the Rio Grande in southern Texas.

The future once looked as bleak as a grouse moor in the depths of winter. Slowly but surely, however, I’ve managed to turn things around. Today, 18 years after my PR business folded, I’ve got plenty of work, although I always welcome more. They say every cloud has a silver lining, and that’s certainly proved to be true as far as I am concerned.

 


 

GEOGRAPHICAL SPECIALITIES

The world is my oyster. I am prepared to go anywhere at any time (within reason!), although I tend to gravitate towards Africa, North America and Europe.

I have visited many contrasting countries during the past couple of years, including Zambia, Ecuador, Cyprus, South Africa, France, Malta, Greece (Kalymnos and Telendos), the USA (Florida), Cape Verde Islands, Poland, The Gambia and Egypt.

Within the UK, I have roamed from Devon, the Forest of Dean and Pembrokeshire to Northumberland, York, Glasgow and the Orkney Islands.

^

 

RECENTLY PUBLISHED ARTICLES

I have had dozens of articles published in magazines all over the world. The most recent include:

INDWE (inflight magazine of South African Express)
 
Beyond Borders (new Greater Mokolo Nature Reserve in South
  Africa’s Limpopo Province)
 
Gold Wonder (Gold Museum in Cape Town).

PORTFOLIO (Emirates Airlines first & business class inflight magazine)
  The Hidden Planet (newly discovered species of plants and
  animals in the Himalayas)

  Ostrich Farming Takes Flight (ostrich farming in South Africa).
  For Your Driving Pleasure (bespoke Italian sports cars).

VOYAGE (Brittany Ferries’ passenger magazine)
  A Whale Of A Time (whale-watching in the Bay of Biscay)

IF (Irish Ferries’ passenger magazine)
  Planet Gannet (gannet breeding island of Grassholm)

CAGE & AVIARY BIRDS
  Creature Comforts
(Screech Owl Sanctuary, Cornwall)
  The Shadow Of The Tower (Tower of London’s ravens)
  Gardens Of Delight (Bristol Zoo’s birds)

ORYX (inflight magazine of Qatar Airways)
 
Sought-after Saddles (profile of saddle maker Patrick Keane)

HERITAGE
  Discover Greenwich (opening of the £6 million Discover
  Greenwich visitor attraction)

  A Verdant Metropolis (London’s royal parks).

FLYBE UNCOVERED (inflight magazine of Flybe)
  Southampton: My Kind of Town (TV wildlife presenter Chris
  Packham’s views on his home town)

PET BUSINESS WORLD NEWS
  Helping Our Feathered Friends
(feeding garden birds)
  Pecking Order Update (birdwatching)

HAMPSHIRE MAGAZINE
  Watching The Birds Go By (Bird Garden Birdwatch)
 
Foreigners Invade The New Forest (invasive plants)
 
Whole Lotta Otter (comeback for otters in Hampshire)
 
Seals On The South Coast (harbour seals in Langstone and
  Chichester Harbours)

  Sun, Sea, Sand And 2.72 Million Tourists (Isle of Wight)
 
New Forest’s Flying Phantom (goshawk)

VETERINARY TIMES
  Birds Are In Neil’s Blood
(profile of top avian vet Neil Forbes)

MABUHAY
(inflight magazine of Philippines Airlines)
 
Saving The Coral Triangle (protecting wildlife in 6.8 million sq
  km of ocean)

IN (inflight magazine of LAN Airlines)
 
A Really Wild Expedition (Kew plant-collecting expedition to
  Chile)

TRAVEL ZAMBIA
  Shedding New Light on Zambezi’s Crocs (Zambezi River
  crocodile research)

VERVE (inflight magazine of Eva Air)
  Verdant Vancouver (Vancouver’s green spaces)

OPEN SKIES (Emirates’ economy class inflight magazine)
  Stones of Mystery
(Avebury Circle).
  Born to be Wild
(50th anniversary of the BBC’s Natural History Unit).
  City of all Ages
(York).
  Denizens of the Deep
(exotic creatures from the depths of the oceans).
  Monkey Business
(Trentham Monkey Forest near Stoke-on-Trent).
  On the Roman Front
(Segedunum Roman fort in Wallsend).
  Rivers in Peril
(threats facing the world’s mightiest rivers).

THE LADY
  
Cornucopia of Curiosities (the £30 million Wellcome Collection in
   London).

  Trek Record
(camel riding in the Forest of Dean).
  Wildlife Wonders (the Isle of Wight’s green attractions).
  Out of This World
(space travel for everyone).
  People Need Plants
(Botanic Gardens Conservation International).
  This Restless Earth
(natural disasters).
  March of the Marionettes
(Charleville-Mezieres’ puppet festival).
  Storm Snapper
(profile of a storm-chasing photographer).
  A Walk on the Wild Side
(Yasuni National Park, Ecuador).

HOLIDAY COTTAGES
 
Wild About Scotland
(Scotland’s varied wildlife).

HOLIDAY VILLAS
 
Wildlife Wonderland
(Everglades).
  Sun-baked and Booming
(Cape Verde Islands).
  Key Attractions
(Florida Keys).
  See Naples and Chill Out!
(Naples in SW Florida).

ALTITUDE (inflight magazine of Nationwide Airlines)
  A Gem Of A Place (Birmingham).
  Bloomin’ Marvellous
(Chelsea Flower Show).
  On The Crest Of A Wave
(Cowes Week).
  King Tut’s Treasures
(Tutankhamun exhibition).

TRAVEL AFRICA
  Ace of Antiquities
(profile of Egypt’s top archaeologist, Dr Zahi
   Hawass).

GULF LIFE (inflight magazine of Gulf Air)
  Jet Set (buying your own aircraft).

CONTINENTAL (inflight magazine of Continental Airlines)
  Vaults of Mystery (Edinburgh Vaults).

TENGRI
(inflight magazine of Air Astana)
  Great British Eccentrics
(wacky British events).

yeahbaby (inflight magazine of bmibaby)
  Green Cuisine
(Café Paradiso, Cork).

SKYHOST  (inflight magazine of Air Zimbabwe)
  City of Charm (Newcastle upon Tyne).

AHLAN WASAHLAN (inflight magazine of Saudi Arabian Airlines)
  Out of Africa (Tribal Textiles business in rural Zambia).
  Delightful Dolphins
(Dolphin Research Centre, Florida Keys).
  Record Breakers
(Guinness World of Records).

PARADISE (inflight magazine of Air Niugini)
  Floral Delight (orchids).

HUMSAFAR (inflight magazine of Pakistan International Airlines)
  Lifeblood of Glasgow (Glasgow’s changing fortunes).

EXAMPLES OF PUBLISHED WORK

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PICTURES

I can provide complete packages of words and high resolution digital images. My photos have not only been used to illustrate my own articles but have also appeared in a wide range of magazines and books.

PHOTOGRAPHY SELECTION

^

 

BEST TRAVEL EXPERIENCES

Getting up-close-and-personal with southern right whales off Cape Town, watching manatees doing belly-flops alongside my boat in Florida, encountering a large black bear in Ramsey Canyon, near Tucson, Arizona, and seeing the Old Faithful geyser spectacularly blowing her top in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

^

 

TO CONTACT ME

I can be reached by email or by phoning +44 (0)1962 761206.

^


. . . . .

 

BY RON TOFT -
EXAMPLES OF PUBLISHED WORK

Thar She Blows! - Bay of Biscay
In recent years, whale and dolphin experts have regularly travelled between Portsmouth/Plymouth and Santander with Brittany Ferries, drawing passengers’ attention to the range of whales, and other wildlife, that can be seen from the decks of cruise ferries, while at the same time monitoring cetacean movements.
 Last year I made two Bay of Biscay crossings aboard Brittany Ferries’ Pont-Aven in the hope of getting reasonably good sightings of whales and dolphins. And I wasn’t disappointed.
Read full article ...

Waterberg Wonderland - South Africa
It was barely 5am, but already the South African bush was alive with the whistles, warbles, screeches, screams and other noises of myriad creatures going about their daily business. Above me, on the thatched roof of my all-mod-cons lodge on the five-star Ka’Ingo Private Game Reserve & Spa near Vaalwater in the malaria-free Waterberg area of Limpopo Province, I could hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet as dainty vervet monkeys chased and played with one another in the early morning light.
Read full article...

Paradise on Earth - Ecuador
From moisture-laden rainforests pulsating with wildlife to mighty, ice-capped volcanic peaks set like jewels in a cobalt blue sky, there’s something for everyone in tropical Ecuador.
 Rainforests are the greatest of all Mother Nature’s pharmacies. For every human ailment, there is almost certainly a natural remedy waiting to be discovered somewhere within these vast, lush cathedrals of trees.
Read full article ...

Secrets of the Sands - Egypt
M
illions of tourists flock to Egypt every year to gaze in open-jawed wonder at the seemingly timeless Pyramids of Giza, the enigmatic Great Sphinx, the elaborate tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the extraordinarily well preserved royal mummies and golden grave goods of Tutankhamun in Cairo’s Egyptian Museum and all manner of other ancient wonders.
  Many, if not most, visitors probably think that modern archaeology has uncovered most of what is left of Ancient Egypt. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth.
Read full article ...

You can see more of my work at TheTravelEditor.com

^

 


Ron Toft


. . .

CONTACT ME
. . .

MY PAGES ON
TheTravelEditor.com

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