Join host, Richard Bangs, the father of modern adventure travel as he journeys across the planet in search of ecological challenges and ecological solutions. Leader of 35 first descents of rivers around the globe, a mountain climber and renowned author-Richard brings a lifetime of experience to Adventures with Purpose.
Details
LENGTH: 12 x 60 Minutes
FORMAT: Series
CAMERA: HDCAM
INTERNATIONAL TRACK: Yes
TEXTLESS: Yes
CLOSED CAPTIONS: No
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
PRODUCTION YEAR: 2007-2012
RELEASE YEAR: 2007-2012
SUPPLIER: Small World Productions
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
RIGHTS TERRITORY: Worldwide exclusive of USA
Adventures with Purpose is a series of one-hour adventure travel, eco-conscious, historical documentaries. According to Bangs, “Adventures with Purpose not only quicken the pulse and fire the synapses, they are also journeys of enlightenment and discovery-odysseys that make a difference.” Adventures with Purpose is produced by Small World Productions, the makers of Smart Travels-Europe and Pacific Rim with Rudy Maxa and Travels in Europe with Rick Steves. The series is co-produced by KCTS/Seattle, and Richard Bangs Productions of Marina del Rey, California.
Episode 101: Egypt: Quest for the Lord of the Nile
Follow Bangs up the Nile River and deep into the heart of ancient Egypt. Egypt is a vast desert; a searing sun beating down; inhospitable to man and beast. Rain almost never fell. But once a year the river magically surged with water, and with this annual flood, thousands of crocodiles washed into the lives of the ancient Egyptians. Death by crocodile was common. Richard’s goal is to catch a glimpse of this legendary creature in the wild and along the way come to know the powerful god he inspired thousands of years ago.
Episode 102: New Zealand: Quest for Kaitiakitanga
Bangs ventures to the southernmost reaches of civilization, in a down under world with an upright world-view. Join Richard in search of an age-old Maori concept that might hold a key to our planet’s future survival. He hikes the Franz Joseph Glacier in southern New Zealand, takes a wild raft ride down the Kaituna River through sacred Maori land and waits for sperm whales to surface on a Whale Watch boat near the town of Kaikoura.
Episode 103: Switzerland: Quest for the Sublime
Follow Bangs on a quest to discover the roots of adventure travel and to search for what philosophers and poets of earlier times called “the sublime.” This search for a deeper connection takes him to the scenic splendor of Switzerland. He begins in Lucerne, with stops at Mr. Pilatus and nearby Entlebuch Valley, St. Moritz, and the famous Glacier Express train. He side trips to the Jungfrau region, and finally lands in Zermatt to experience the rapture of a deadly mountain that helped change our perception of nature – the Matterhorn.
Episode 104: Morocco
Morocco is sometimes called the land of “a thousand Kasbahs,” referring to the way-stations of ancient caravan routes traveled by countless tradesmen and adventurers. These diverse peoples carried with them a bounty of crafts and skills, customs and beliefs, and they found shelter and social interaction within secure Kasbah walls. And throughout the centuries, these Kasbahs, strong and enduring, have kept silent vigil over their cultural store.
Episode 105: Norway: Quest For The Viking Spirit
Bangs kayaks on a Norwegian fjord in his latest special, Adventures with Purpose—Norway: Quest for the Viking Spirit. A thousand years ago Vikings set out from these fjords striking fear across Europe. Yet today this ruggedly beautiful country is the home of the Nobel Peace Center, of explorers and adventure travelers and is one of the most eco-friendly countries on earth.
Episode 106: Assam India: Quest for the One-Horned Rhinoceros
This time Bangs is traveling in a remote state on the northeastern cusp of India called Assam, which is steeped in religion and philosophy that revere all life. Bangs concludes that nothing happens unless we dream, and Assam is a dream awakened.
Episode 107: Greece: Quest for the Gods
On this trip of time, history and emotion, the distances Richard travels inside are as great as those outside. He begins in Athens, and then heads to, Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games. He travels to the island of Ithaca, the site of mystical oracles at Delphi, and finishes at the home of the gods, Mt. Olympus.
Episode 108: Hong Kong: Quest for the Dragon
This time Richard Bangs journeys through a city that blazes like a great pageant of light…a land of giants in both steel and dreams…a place that pushes the limits of the possible…and not so much predicts the future, as invents it.
Episode 109: Costa Rica: Quest for Pura Vida
Richard Bangs explores the ecological nexus of North and South America, in the small but potent package of a country, Costa Rica. The people of Costa Rica are on a tear to preserve the extravagant biodiversity of their national field of dreams—and it seems to be working. What is the secret of their success? Richard is off to find out, as he traverses a land oft cited a green beacon to the world, as well as a place two recent international studies proclaimed “the happiest country on earth!”
Episode 110: Pearl River Delta: Quest for Harmony
Richard Bangs is pulled back to China and the Pearl River Delta in search of the roots of the human desire for harmony. In Hong Kong, Bangs discovers how the rounded shoulders of tradition find poise and meaning with the new and modern. In Macau, he explores how western sensibilities integrate with eastern aesthetics. And in Guangdong, Bangs takes a look at how some today are rediscovering ancient attitudes about integrating human workings with the natural world.
Episode 111: Geneva and the Matterhorn: Quest for the Water Castle
This time adventurer Richard Bangs’ voyage takes him up one of the world’s great rivers—the Rhone—a waterway that spills from the roof of the European continent, bringing health, wealth, pleasure and inspiration. A vital source of life, it’s a river that lights cities, powers the world’s best rail systems, and slakes the thirst of millions. Richard explores the Geneva and Matterhorn Region of Switzerland to find out what bounty the Rhone has bestowed to the country and to the world. He seeks to learn how the river has been harnessed, explored and celebrated.
Episode 112: Basel and Lucerne: Quest for the Cross Roads
In this latest episode, Richard Bangs is on a journey through a junction where time and place and eternity somehow meet; a small, fierce, rugged place at the meridian of Europe. The Swiss regions of Basel and Lucerne link to one another, and to the world, like hubs to wheels of commerce, enterprise, democracy and freedom.
Awards
Recent Awards for Richard Bangs:
2011 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Gold Award
2011 CINE Golden Eagle Award
2011 Bronze Telly Award “Documentary”
2011 Bronze Telly Award “Travel and Tourism”
2010 Lowell Thomas Gold Award for Broadcast Journalism
2007 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award: New York Times article by Richard
2007 Mark Dubois Lifetime Achievement Award: from Friends of the River recognizing Richard’s contributions to worldwide river and wilderness conservationAdventures with Purpose Documentary Honors:
2012 Emmy Cultural Documentary
2012 Emmy Photography
2009 Emmy Nomination-Photography: AWP-Switzerland
2009 Emmy Nomination-Documentary: AWP-New Zealand
2008 CINE Golden Eagle: New Zealand: Quest for Kaitiakitanga
2008 APT Programming Excellence Award: AWP-New Zealand
2008 Environmental Media Assoc. Nomination—the “Green Oscars:” AWP-New Zealand
2007 Documentary Silver Telly Award: Egypt: Quest for the Lord of the Nile
2007 Travel & Tourism Silver Telly Award: Egypt: Quest for the Lord of the Nile
