My Life In Travel: Peter Tatchell, human rights campaigner

First holiday memory?

Sorrento, on Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula in 1960. We stayed in a spooky, ramshackle old house on a cliff edge, with pounding surf below. There was a ferocious thunderstorm one night. I was eight and found it very exciting.

Best holiday?

Tasmania. Hobart is a spectacular cross between Sydney and Cape Town. The harbour rivals Sydney's and Mount Wellington rivals Table Mountain. I loved hiking along the 300m-high sea cliffs, and surfing on the east-coast beaches in dazzling Tahiti-blue waters. Climbing Cradle Mountain was awesome, too.

Favourite place in the British Isles?

The Devon and Cornwall coast, from Torquay to Ilfracombe. It has rugged seascapes, hinterland, picture-postcard villages, and a fascinating history.

What have you learnt from your travels?

Travel really can broaden the mind. To get the most out of a trip, research your destination – not just the tourist attractions, but the history, politics and culture. Make it a fun experience, where you also learn something new.

Ideal travelling companion?

Cristiano Ronaldo – or anyone who is a happy mix of cerebral, adventurous and fun. But I quite like travelling alone. That way you meet more people and discover more about the place you are visiting.

Beach bum, culture vulture or adrenalin junkie?

A bit of all three, but more adrenalin junkie. I'm into adventure activities such as snorkelling, body surfing, caving, exploring ruins and mountain trekking. I live in the over-crowded, busy, noisy, polluted concrete jungle of London, so I love to escape to the exact opposite: quiet, remote, pristine, natural wilderness. Give me an isolated beach, forest, waterfall or mountain and I'm happy.

Greatest travel luxury?

I don't do luxury – I'm too poor!

Holiday reading?

A book about the place I am visiting.

Where has seduced you?

Angel Falls, Venezuela, which at almost one kilometre high is the world's highest waterfall. When I went in 2001 there wasn't even a sign or a handrail, let alone hotels or restaurants. Apart from a muddy trail to the base of the lower falls, it felt as if it was just as it was when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Extraordinary, given that it is one of the greatest natural wonders in the world.

Better to travel or arrive?

It's better to arrive. Getting there is mostly a means to an end. Saying that, I would love to do a boat trip down the Amazon, from its source in Peru to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Brazil.

Worst travel experience?

Flying through a thunderstorm in a six-seater plane in the Papua New Guinea highlands. We were tossed around like a moth in a wind tunnel, lost altitude and had to fly through clouds with no instruments to tell us where the mountains were. It was scary. We made a bumpy emergency landing on a steep, grassy hillside and waited until the storm cleared.

Worst holiday?

Getting stranded for two days in the bush by Lake Malawi, being swarmed by mosquitoes at night and having to eat rancid fish-eye soup and stale cornmeal, which was the only thing I could buy from local villagers.

Best hotel?

The Royal Savoy in Funchal, Madeira. It has two huge, heated salt-water swimming pools and stunning views over the adjacent Atlantic Ocean. The interior design is great and the roof is planted with herbs, flowers and 1,000-year-old olive trees. The staff are also superb.

Favourite walk/swim/ride/drive?

The drive from Miami to Key West over the long bridges that connect the islands of the Florida Keys. On one side of the road is the Atlantic Ocean and on the other is the Gulf of Mexico. I hitch-hiked that route in the 1970s, when the road was mostly single-lane wooden bridges. It was simply spectacular.

Best meal abroad?

Sometimes cheap and cheerful is the most tasty and authentic. I still remember a Mexican burrito from a hole-in-the-wall by the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood in 1985; and a roadside stir-fry in Bangkok in 1989.

First thing you do when you arrive somewhere new?

Dump my bags and explore the area where I am staying.

Dream trip?

I'd love to go into space. I grew up in the 1960s and remain fascinated by space exploration. More realistically, a motorbike trip along the length of the Americas, from Alaska to the southern tip of Chile.

Favourite city?

Sydney, for its mix of culture and nature: the harbour and bridge, opera house, restored colonial quarter, art galleries, museums, surf beaches and the nearby rock stacks and gorges of the Blue Mountains.

Where next?

I'd like to revisit Madeira. It is a wild wonderland of jagged mountains, deep ravines and towering sea-cliffs, with breathtaking hiking trails that traverse over mountain-top ridges, along rock ledges, and through tunnels carved into hillsides. It's a brilliant place for hikers and adventure-sports enthusiasts.

For more information about Peter Tatchell's human rights campaigns, or to make a donation, go to petertatchell.net and tatchellrightsfund.org

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