Why? It is a steep, wild, mountain river - one of the last great wild rivers in the world - and it was where I first realised that the measure of all things is not man-made.

The best thing? It is constantly changing. I've been down it 40 times now and it is different every time.

My ideal day: I would reserve the whole day for swapping stories with my travelling companions, sitting around a fire on a beach.

My advice: The joy of a trip like this is getting to know your fellow travellers. So listen to their stories rather than bore them with your own.

Getting there: By boat from Melbourne, Australia. Cheapflights (cheapflights.com) lists flights between Gatwick and Melbourne from around £500 return.

What is the best hotel you have ever stayed in? Aren't they all universally vile?

Where do you want to go next? I'd like to kayak the Fitzroy River, Kimberley, south-west Australia.

What do you never travel without? A fear that there may be some truth in the idea that 'sightseeing is ever the art of disappointment'.

· Richard Flanagan's third novel, now out in paperback, is Gould's Book of Fish: A Novel In 12 Fish, published by Atlantic Books, priced £7.99.