Oliver Berry is a writer and photographer based in Cornwall. His first trip abroad was to the south of France at the tender age of two, and since then his travels have carried him from the chestnut forests of Corsica to the snow-tipped mountains of New Zealand's Southern Alps, and from the palm-fringed beaches of the South Pacific to the dusty deserts of the midwestern USA. Along the way he has learned a few useful skills, including how to catch Fijian sand crabs with your bare hands, the best way to avoid falling into a crevasse on the face of a glacier, and an excellent Samoan recipe for home-made mosquito repellent. He has also been drained by leeches, devoured by mosquitoes and deeply discouraged by the general calibre of aeroplane food, but his passion for world travel has somehow remained undimmed. Oliver first started writing for Lonely Planet in 2002, and has since written for many titles including France, Great Britain, England, Western Europe, Rarotonga & the Cook Islands and South Pacific & Micronesia. He graduated with a first-class degree in English Literature from University College London in 1999 and has written for a wide range of film, music and travel publications, including national newspapers, magazines, books, journals, encyclopedias and webzines. His writing has won several awards, including The Guardian Young Travel Writer of the Year and the TNT Magazine People's Choice Award. He is a contributing editor of Stranger Magazine (www.stranger-mag.com) and also runs The Ark (www.ark-online.co.uk), a film and media production company based in Cornwall. Check out his personal portfolio at www.oliverberry.com. Olly's favourite place: The sequoia forests of Northern California or the mountains of New Zealand's South Island. Best travel tip: Bring a torch, a lighter and a bottle opener, even when you're absolutely certain you won't need them.