Paul Whitfield was born in the UK in 1961 and emigrated to New Zealand with his parents aged 13. He spent formative years in Auckland and Hastings before moving to Christchurch to study Chemical Engineering. The food industry put a roof over his head for a few years but his real home was on the road, travelling through the Americas, cycling through Europe and North Africa and trekking in Nepal. Wanting to share his experiences, he started writing travel guidebooks for the Rough Guides in the early 1990s, first in Scandinavia quickly followed by guides to Wales, California and New Zealand. With these under his belt he branched out to Alaska, Mexico and Yosemite National Park. All the while he was complementing his writing with photography, both for Rough Guides and OurPlace World Heritage, documenting UNESCO World Heritage sites. He now lives in his adoptive homeland, New Zealand.