“You can’t help but be inspired watching this special,” says co-executive producer and Everest summiteer Didrik Johnck. “It is the closest thing to being there, dazzling and compelling at the same time. It is a wonder to behold.”
Destinations featured on Richard Bangs’ South America: Quest for Wonder:
• Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, is famed for its 887 lava-hewn Moai statues. Nowhere can such colossal statues be found in such great numbers created by so few people. It is the richest, most bewitching open-air museum in existence. Why did an ancient people erect the massive stone figures that haunt this remote island? How did they do it? And why did such an accomplished people nearly vanish into thin air?
• The Iguaçu Falls, spilling mightily between Brazil and Argentina, is a collection of earth-shaking waterfalls to which Niagara pales in comparison. They are taller than Niagara, and twice as wide. Few other natural sites in the world offer such impact and intrinsic beauty.
• Machu Picchu, “The Lost City of the Incas,” is a riddle of a ruin, with temples, terraces, shrines and sundials, all pieces of an exquisite puzzle still unsolved. There is a harmony of elements here, the man-made and the natural, a stunning integration of architecture, setting, function, space and form.
• The Galapagos Islands, floating off the coast of Ecuador, are among the most biologically intact places in the world, harboring a unique ecosystem of giant tortoises, sea lions, land and sea iguanas, fur seals and many singular species of birds. Here, in full showcase, is the wonder of diversity.
“Richard Bangs sets the gold standard in travel with a purpose, storytelling and excellence in filmmaking,” says producer Laura Hubber. “And Richard Bangs’ South America: Quest for Wonder sets the gold standard for travel documentaries.”
Major underwriting for this special, and the Richard Bangs’ Quest series, comes from Orbitz Worldwide, a leading global online travel company that uses innovative technology to enable leisure and business travelers to research, plan and book a broad range of travel products. Orbitz Worldwide owns a portfolio of consumer brands that includes Orbitz, CheapTickets, ebookers, HotelClub, RatesToGo and the Away Network.
In conjunction with Richard Bangs’ South America: Quest for Wonder, Orbitz.com is developing a dedicated microsite featuring helpful information and recommendations about the destinations highlighted by Richard Bangs, designed to help viewers inspired by the programs to explore the destinations for themselves.
“This new partnership between Orbitz Worldwide and Richard Bangs breaks new ground in the integration of television and the Web. Television is the ultimate tool for inspiring people to explore the world, and who better to lead viewers around the world’s most exciting destinations than Richard Bangs, the father of modern day adventure travel,” says Barney Harford, CEO of Orbitz Worldwide. “The partnership between Richard Bangs and Orbitz Worldwide will offer an unprecedented level of integration between inspiration that Richard creates and trip information. Dedicated landing pages and resources will make it easy for viewers to plan trips to the destinations featured on each episode of the ‘Richard Bangs’ Quest Series.’” Viewers who want to see these wonders for themselves now have easily accessible tools for getting there.
Additional support is provided by TravelSmith, clothing gear and advice to go; and LAN Airlines.
Production Team:
Co-executive producer Didrik Johnck is a multi-award-winning filmmaker who also covered the Erik Weihenmayer “Blind Climb” up Mount Everest, and made the summit along with Erik.
Producer/writer Laura Hubber is a long-time reporter for the BBC World Service and producer/writer for several network and cable shows, as well as producer for Richard Bangs’ Adventures with Purpose.
Director Valerie Griffith was the producer/director for the acclaimed public television series Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge. Her husband, a key consultant on Richard Bangs’ South America: Quest for Wonder, is the producer for Rick Steves.
Richard Bangs’ South America: Quest for Wonder is a production of White Nile Media, Inc. of Los Angeles, California.
About Richard Bangs
Richard Bangs is an award-winning travel journalist, author and producer who has published over 1,000 magazine articles and 19 books, produced a score of documentaries and lectured at the Smithsonian, the National Geographic Society and The Explorers Club among other notable venues. Most recently Richard produced and hosted the public television series Richard Bangs’ Adventures With Purpose, co-directed the IMAX film Mystery of the Nile and co-authored the Putnam book of the same name. His recent book, The Lost River: A Memoir of Life, Death and the Transformation of Wild Water, won the National Outdoor Book Award in the literature category and the Lowell Thomas Award for best book. Over the course of his 30 years experience as an explorer and communicator, Richard led first descents of 35 rivers around the globe, including the Yangtze in China and the Zambezi in Southern Africa. In between adventures, Richard serves on a number of technology, travel and environmental boards. www.richardbangs.com
Media Contacts:
Laura Hubber, President
White Nile Media, Inc.
+1 310-435-1827
lhubber@mac.com
Richard Bangs
+1 206-605-8116
richardbangs@msn.com
Orbitz Worldwide
Tim Enstice
+1 312-894-4721
tim.enstice@orbitz.com
TravelSmith
Matthew J. Glerum
President
+1 415-798-3001
mglerum@travelsmith.com
LAN Airlines
Megan Kat Williams
+1 786-265-6333
megan.kat@lan.com
KQED
Lisa Landi
+1 415-553-2221
llandi@KQED.org
About KQED
KQED (kqed.org) has served Northern California for more than 50 years and is affiliated with NPR and PBS. KQED owns and operates public television stations KQED 9 (San Francisco/Bay Area), KQED Plus (San Jose/Bay Area) and KQET 25 (Watsonville/Monterey); KQED Public Radio (88.5 FM San Francisco); kqed.org and KQEDnews.org; and KQED Education. KQED Public Television, one of the most-watched public television stations in the country, is the producer/presenter of national series such as Sound Tracks; California State of Mind; and Essential Pépin. KQED Public Radio is the most-listened-to public radio station in the nation and the most popular in the Bay Area. Visit www.kqed.org for more information.
