After keeping a diary of his travels through the Amazon and Africa, Alistair McGuinness decided to turn his jottings into a book some years later.
Little did he know how popular his travel tales would become with readers, and his new-found love of writing eventually tuned into a hobby and profession.
The traveller- turned travel writer will share tales of his adventures at the upcoming Festiv Arty Festival as part of the Writer’s Festival.
The 52 year-old’s travel adventures began after he was made made redundant from his UK- based automobile job just over 14 years ago.
He and his wife decided it was the ideal time to pack up and go travelling to the Amazon and Africa.
“When we were there the English teacher left the camp we were at, so I ended up becoming an English teacher, teaching the local community just by the banks of the Amazon River,” he said.
“We were there for a month and after that we went through to Peru and did the Inca Trail then went off to Bolivia.”
“Basically, by the time we got to Australia I had kept a travel diary the whole time and it wasn’t until ten years after, when I was 48, that I decided to write it up.”
McGuinness said he attended writing classes to ensure his book was written to the best standard that he could.
“I wanted to be able to share the story with my children and tell the story of what made us move from England to Australia,” he said.
“After that, people began to ask me what it was like to live in Australia. “So, my second book was purely about Australia.”
McGuinness has written three travel-based books, and had travel articles published in the West Australian newspaper. The English-born travel writer is now based in Busselton and works at Muja Power Station.
Nowadays, McGuinness said he enjoyed exploring Western Australia with his family, and has plans to go back to his family’s favourite holiday destination - Kalbarri.
As part of the Festiv Arty Writer’s Festival, McGuinness will share an insight into the writing process, and speak about some of the highlights and dangers he has encountered during his travels.
Local cooking sensation Wannaporn Hooley will be providing a Thai cooking demonstration, followed by the talk by McGuinness.
For more information or to book a ticket to An Evening with Alistair McGuinness, go to www.festivarty.com.
