1. USA on $6 a day

In the Spring of 2014, I navigated over 4000 miles, coast to coast across the United States of America.

Planned route

I wanted to walk the whole way, but the length of visa wouldn’t allow me to do it in one visit.
With just £2000 (approximately $3035 USD) in the bank (and a little creative accounting for immigration), my daily budget was $6 a day, for six months.

I wanted to reach specific landmarks on route – all of which were wilderness areas – including, but not exclusive to: Niagara Falls, NY, Devils Tower, WY, Yellowstone National Park, WY, Grand Teton National Park, WY, the Grand Canyon, AZ.

Although not a 100% supportive of the majority of charity efforts, I raised money for the WORLD LAND TRUST. I believe WLT use extremely effective conservation strategies to safeguard vital land, needed for our wildlife to survive and flourish.

I had three simple aims:

Develop awareness, mainky iof issues around nature.
Fundraise for wildlife conservation.
Personal development.

I hoped to call upon the friendliness of the American people. I was well travelled when I started, but I hadn’t yet been to the USA.

2. New York to Alaska

I might always embrace the chance of adventure, but this time, I wasn’t alone.

Possibly more of a test than the US on $6 a day; in the Summer of 2015, I travelled in the back of a tiny truck-camper over 9000 miles with a dithering pensioner. Beginning in New York City, I crossed the continent again to dip my toes in the Arctic Ocean, and travel the length of the Alaskan pipeline.

3. Africa’s Warm Heart

Just before the end of my North America adventures, seemingly impressed by my intrepid spirit, my gung-ho escapades, and possibly some wordsmithing, I received an email from a man I had briefly met a few years earlier. He requested I help him complete a couple of expeditions in a remote corner of Africa, and wondered if I would be interested to help get some projects off the ground. I was heading to some remote and relatively unexplored region.

Apparently, I’m now useful.

The beard was only trimmed (it was hot!). Africa was my next continent – Malawi to be precise.

Life got really interesting – fast.

4. Beard in the Bushveld

After lustfully jacking in city life, tossing myself under strange and extreme circumstances across North America….twice, having a few side quest trips around various countries, boasting about a few corners of “home” under the guise of a “guide”, and following a baptism of fire into the steam room of Africa’s Warm Heart, I figured it was time to make something of all this…

Go Untamed is the Malawian safari business I co-created with my South African comrade.

It’s a far cry from the office-based, disentranced, lukewarm, stodgy, 8-6 lifestyle which I found myself in. Perfect for some, but for me, it was muggy, unventilated, clouded, routinely-monotonous, and it as making me unwell. Sadly, I found myself in London immediately following the crash of 2008. It was a tough time. I struggled to find my way and for a while, I believed life was all about “putting up with problems to survive”. Worse things have happened and no doubt, terrible things will happen again. City life just wasn’t for me.

Not all was bad. Far from it! It was genuinely a difficult decision to leave a lot of hard work behind and I honestly loved London for the great place that it is. More so and even harder, was realising that some relationships would be changed drastically. Leaving to do what some presumed was quite selfish, it would change my life – and to some degree other peoples – definitively. London was never home for me, but it was my amazing half-way house.

Like a phoenix, self employment was born out of a fairly daring and thrilling life flux. Life continued with a base in Malawi and a business partner that wreaked of counter skills, ingenuity and fervour. Ahead, around the African Bushveld, I had new experiences to throw myself at, new challenges to get my ingenuity stuck into, and hopefully many more stories to tell.

For many years, Go Untamed Safaris was my baby, my business, my lifestyle, and my dream modus vivendi. I was very successful, I loved it, and proudly – I was good at it. However, life had different ideas, and a lot changed. Covid, Brexit, political corruption, and the unforgivable behavior of a few individuals lead to some trauma, heartbreak, and a couple of ongoing legal battles. I was forced to pack up my business, move continents, and seek some guidance. I lost elements of my personality that I’m not sure I’ll ever get back. I have found it impossible to be creative since. I haven’t painted, and since leaving Africa, my writing has dried up. The blogs ended here – very suddenly.

What’s Next?

Following the traumatic and sad pack-up of Go Untamed Safaris – I have started again.

If you now fancy an African holiday, feel free to get in touch.
Incorporating my network, my experience, my attention to service delivery, and my passion to focus on personal details: here is my new travel business.
I help design and deliver bespoke African holidays –

www.gointo.co.uk

5. Next Adventure?

Projects have not fallen off the radar. I’m now open to new adventures. There are a few ideas on my desk (they never went away), so when I’m ready to create again – I should have more tales to tell.