Many people go into the wilderness to experience it, and if they experience it in comfort, there's very little in a literary sense for them to write about.

A journey is measured in friends, not miles.

Mystery is a resource, like coal or gold, and its preservation is a fine thing.

You have to first be a writer and somebody who loves to write. If I couldn't travel, I would still write.

My concept of drama requires obstacles, and there's no obstacles in comfort.

For me, to find a place that doesn't have an organized tour going to it is becoming more and more difficult. A lot of times it involves danger of a political nature - places where the adventure-travel trips can't go because they can't get any liability insurance.

In the sago palms, you'll often find sago beetles which are about the size of your little finger. The Karowai put those on the fire until they're crispy and eat them. They taste a little bit like creamy snails. But compared to sago, the sago beetle is really pretty good.