Have you visited a film set?

After seven years off our screens, E4 is bringing back “Shipwrecked” one of TV’s earliest reality shows from 9pm this evening. The basic concept of the show is two tribes of people are put together on separate uninhabited island in the South Pacific and battle it out to win a cash prize. The teams are called Tigers and Sharks as they will live on Tiger and Shark islands. Back when the show was first popular, I was lucky to visit Shark island, or Moturakau to give it it’s correct name, which is part of the stunning Cook Islands. Having left our luxury accommodation on nearby Aitutaki, we sped over the turquoise lagoon to snorkel and swim through shoals of flying fish to glimpse giant clams on the seabed before heading to Shark Island. This was quite a contrast to the luxury left behind us when realising how difficult it would be to live with nothing and how strange an uninhabited place can be.

Watching somewhere on TV or on a film is far more interesting when you have experienced it for real. If you have ever visited Alcatraz for example in San Francisco Bay, you will be amazed how often it is in the background of films or the Statue of Liberty in New York. I used to live near the Colosseum in Rome and the whole city is a famous back-drop to many films.

I visited “Ramsey Street” on my last trip to Australia where “Neighbours” has been filmed for many years and it is quite surreal to stand outside the homes of the famous characters. I actually haven’t watched the soap since I had small children but it still gave me a thrill to be there.

Hobbiton in New Zealand is the set for the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies and attracts hundreds of visitors every day. You can reach here from your cruise ship on an excursion if you’re a fan.

So, have you a memory of a movie set on your travels or would you like to go to one?