https://www.scmp.com/rss/505121/feed Over three decades as a freelance travel journalist, Mark has written for most of the world’s most prestigious media, including the BBC, CNN and National Geographic. His 2022 book Kopi Dulu (which means "Coffee First"), describing a 15,000km journey across Indonesia, was first published by Penguin Random House. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Mark Eveleigh Mark Eveleigh “The lion crossed this track shortly after dawn,” says Christiaan Swanepoel, our wildlife guide, squatting beside the deep pugmarks of what is clearly a very big male cat. This is probably the same lion whose distant roar reverberated through the canvas walls of my safari tent early this morning. It is no surprise that the big cat would still be hunting, but I wonder how the tracker could be so exact in his estimate of the timing. “He walked over these insect trails,” says Swanepoel, tracing a... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3319542/walking-lions-inside-south-africas-karoo-safari-and-rewilding-success-story?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3319542/walking-lions-inside-south-africas-karoo-safari-and-rewilding-success-story?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Jul 2025 23:00:09 +0000 “Indonesia has been described as the world’s most invisible country,” says Bali-based travel writer Mark Eveleigh, even though “invisible” is “a strange word to attribute to the world’s fourth most populous nation, an archipelago of more than 13,000 islands, sprawling across three time zones. “While Bali and Java – and perhaps Sumatra – might be relatively well-known travel destinations, most people would have trouble locating Indonesia on a map,” he explains. It was with the aim of placing the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3187059/indonesia-has-been-called-worlds-most-invisible-country?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3187059/indonesia-has-been-called-worlds-most-invisible-country?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Jul 2022 08:15:20 +0000 A herd of deer blocks the potholed forest road, so I ease the car to the side of the track and switch off the engine. As I watch a young fawn foraging quietly near its mother, the rasping call of a green junglefowl – a wild cousin of our domestic chicken – breaks the silence. Then, from up in the canopy, comes the bickering chatter of two gleaming white Bali starlings, which are among the world’s rarest birds. After living in west Bali for six years, it still strikes me as almost inconceivable... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3073983/balis-hidden-gems-and-stunning-secret-spots-where-tourists?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3073983/balis-hidden-gems-and-stunning-secret-spots-where-tourists?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2020 06:30:07 +0000