Intrepid Journeys

infobox television
show_name = Intrepid Journeys


genre = Reality show
picture_format = 16:9
audio_format = Stereo
runtime = 60 minutes
("Including commercials")
creator =
starring = "See below"
country = NZ
location = "See below"
network = TVNZ
first_aired = 2003
num_episodes = 37 (As of March 19, 2007)
website = http://tvnz.co.nz/view/tvone_minisite_index_skin/tvone_intrepid_journeys_group/

"Intrepid Journeys" is a New Zealand television series, which screens on TV One. Debuting in 2003, the show focuses on New Zealand "celebrities" who travel over to exotic countries to see the country's history, culture and people.It is a multi-award-winning travel series. It is not a “Survivor” style manufactured “challenge” show. It is about meeting real challenges in the real world, travelling to lesser-known places and then getting around the way locals do… by foot, bus and camel.

Aside from being physically challenging, Intrepid Journeys also acts as a conduit to other cultures and countries that may otherwise only be seen on the news when all hell is breaking loose. This series is a chance to get past stereotypes, myths and bad press, to get out into the real world and experience life challenging and changing travel.

Across each hour-long episode, Intrepid Journeys follows a celebrity traveller for two weeks in a rough and ready destination. The appeal of the show is two-fold. Aside from seeing a personality rise to a real challenge, there is also the chance to gather real working knowledge and understanding of places, lives, events and happenings foreign to Western culture.

Although they are celebrity travellers, they travel and live as the locals do - ride bumpy local busses with chickens and goats, stay in ethnic villages and eat traditional food which stretches the palate. As a result, are able to reflect on what is special about their lives in a Western and privileged world.

Travel shows tend towards luxury, spa and beach breaks while Intrepid Journeys gravitates towards countries with interesting and troubled pasts and presents. Destinations include Libya, Borneo, Iran, Uganda, Myanmar, Tibet, Madagascar, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Cuba, Vietnam, Ecuador and Mali.

eries one (2003)

eries four (2006)

eries five (2007)

Intrepid Journeys is made by Jam TV Ltd.

Jam TV seeks to create high quality innovative and quirky non-fiction broadcast and new media content that engages and inspires its audience through stories focusing on journey, discovery and challenge.

Work To Date:

Intrepid Journeys – Series 1-5:

Adventure travel off the beaten track

Off The Rails with Marcus Lush:

Exploring New Zealand and New Zealanders through the rail lines that run the length of the country

Our Lost War: Passchendaele:

Tracing the story of one soldier’s sacrifice at a WWI battle that is our worst military disaster yet is a battle few New Zealanders have heard of

Working Holiday: Eight young Kiwi’s get the chance to do an OE all expenses paid… but they’ll have to work for it.

Ice: Marcus Lush spends Christmas on the ice to delve into New Zealanders explorer heritage and link with the ice

Jam TV are:

Melanie Rakena

Not everyone can say they are living their dream but Melanie can – global adventure travel is what makes her tick. Having got a huge kick out of backpacking to far flung corners of the globe, her passionate tales of travel sold TVNZ on the idea of taking local celebrities off the beaten track and out of their comfort zone and thus the format for Intrepid Journeys was born.With that format off and running, Melanie turned her hand to Off The Rails, creating a train show that was not just a train show, one of the hit shows of the year.

Jane Andrews Jane cut her teeth in the newsroom but found cutting deals for tuktuks, cyclos or camels in developing countries was her true calling.Having survived a journalism degree from the New Zealand School of Broadcasting and five years in the TVNZ newsroom, career highlights now include reaching the summit of a mountain in Borneo, maintaining phone contact with a hostage-taker while police engineered a rescue attempt, mounting a successful public campaign to free a War Veteran who faced spending his 80th birthday behind bars, being kissed by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and playing the late, great Johnny Cash’s guitar

Incidents

On Jon Gadsby's Myanman bus took 12 hours to travel the distance from Auckland to Taumaranui. "It took less than that to fly from Auckland to Hong Kong," points out Gadsby, "think about it!" The delay involved several breakdowns, the air conditioning overheating and having to stop to buy black market petrol.cite web | title =On the Road | publisher =TVNZ | url =http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/410965/460848 ]

A bystander was shot in the streets of East Timor during Karyn Hay's trip, the crew were held by armed guards outside Cambodia's American Embassy,cite web | title =On the Road | publisher =TVNZ | url =http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/410965/460848] a bomb exploded in Kathmandu when Paul Henry was passing through and the leader of Hamas was assassinated while Danielle Cormack visited the Middle East.cite web |title =On the Road | publisher =TVNZ | url =http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/410965/460848 ]

Travel obviously has risks, from terrorism right down to food poisoning, but the crew believes preparation is the key. Series Co-Producer, Jane Andrews, explains she carries needles, syringes and a very comprehensive medical kit complete with a plan for most emergencies. "Donald Grant Sunderland got quite sick in Guatemala so a whipped out the kit and started dosing him up with the appropriate pills," she explains. Both of the series' producer's believe it is important to venture further afield and to experience realities of everyday life in countries where peace and tourism are young. "When it came to visiting Myanmar," says Rakena, the shows producer.cite web | title =On the Road | publisher =TVNZ | url =http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/410965/460848] "There was much discussion on whether it was appropriate to go given the political situation." The repression of local people by the extremely harsh ruling Military Junta is disturbing and is largely unaddressed by world governments and aid agencies. "Clearly the people were still being oppressed and the junta are not going anywhere in a hurry. Sanctions are touted as the answer by many Western countries but it doesn't seem to be achieving anything".cite web | title =On the Road | publisher =TVNZ | url =http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/410965/460848]

References

External links

* [http://tvnz.co.nz/view/tvone_minisite_index_skin/tvone_intrepid_journeys_group/ Official site]
* [http://www.intrepidtravel.com Intrepid Travel home page]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366033/ "Series 1" (2003) on IMDb database]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443712/ "Series 2" (2004) on IMDb database]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0484336/ "Series 3" (2005) on IMDb database]