In Depth:  Jeff Wannell

As Tolkien's 'Two Towers' blazed a trail at the Awards ceremonies this year, Matt and I blazed our own trail around the filming location of Middle Earth.

We took on the vastness of New Zealand, driving, eating and sleeping in a beat-up 1985 Toyata van - complete with blue go faster stripe, nice! The landscape, as I'm sure most of you can appreciate, was spectacular.

Out of all the places that we have visited so far, Sydney has been the only place that I feel that I could have lived in. Which is strange, because until recently Australia was one of the places that held no real draw for me - 'I've seen Neighbours. I know what it's all about!'

However, when it came to flying into Sydney I was as excited as a schoolboy! The first night Matt and I stood next to the famous opera house, we turned through 90 degrees to see the magnificent harbour bridge, through another 90 to see the dark, clear-cut silhouette of the city lit up against the night sky, and through the last 90 to see the Botanical Gardens. I let out a deep sigh and instantaneously declared my love for Sydney. This affinity with the city was strongly complemented by our time in Hillsong Church. Anticipation was high on our first visit to the church. One of my closest friends made a recommitment at Hillsong and talked so highly of the church that it had a lot to live up to, but I wasn't disappointed.

The Himalayas are absolutely incredible.

I think I waxed lyrical about the Taj Mahal last time - and it will probably remain the most impressive structure I ever see. However, when comparing man's handiwork with God's creation, there is no comparison - the Taj pales into nothingness. Let me just say that the mountains are massive. There are ten mountains in the world over 8km high and Nepal has eight of them. Just to try to convey some of the emotion that I went through the first time I saw them on the bus ride: I sat staring up at these snow-capped peaks and had a stupid inane grin ear to ear (that nervous excitement of anticipation that you get when you're a kid the night before Christmas), and both Matt and I were jumping up and down in our seats pointing out the next view, much to the amusement of the locals! It was amazing.

Pokhara. After the sensory overload of India's cities with their pollution, noise, smell, hustle and bustle, and constant need for readiness, Pokhara was like heaven. Nestled next to a smooth crystal blue lake, it was surrounded by sub-tropical forest, foothills and the grandeur of the snow-capped Annapourna mountain range. Beautifully tranquil. The tourist spot where we stayed had clean, cheap hotels and safe food, and the traffic was minimal save for bicycles. So we hired a small boat, swam in the lake, ate fresh grilled fish and felt like we were extras in 'Swallows and Amazons'.

My name is Jeff Wannell (on the right, swigging pop) and Matt Coren is my trusty travelling companion and good friend of eight years.

We met on holiday at Devon Christian Youth Camps way back in the year of '95 and our mutual love for Jesus, table tennis and fascination with 16-year-old girls (our age at the time!) meshed us a tight relationship that has stood the hardest of rigours. Now 23, having both graduated and matured, some things still remain; our faith, our passion for ping pong and travel. At the age of 16-17 we spent many a night sitting together praying and dreaming about being missionaries to far-off lands like Africa, Fiji and Ulan Bator, wherever that might have been. So, with adventure in our hearts, Matt and I set off to the far and distant lands of Plymouth and Cardiff, respectively, for college, and for at least five years the dream did not materialise, that is until now.