Safari: A Memoir of a Worldwide Travel Pioneer

Safari: A Memoir of a Worldwide Travel Pioneer

Geoffrey Kent

Language: English

Pages: 336

ISBN: 0062299212

Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub


In this breathtaking travel memoir and adventure guide, the legendary founder of the world’s premier luxury travel company, Abercrombie & Kent, takes readers on a whirlwind tour around the globe, sharing his best-kept secrets and the story of his success and his life.

In 1962, Geoffrey Kent had nothing but a Kenya pound and an old Land Rover when he hosted his first safari in Nairobi, Kenya. Today, he is the co-owner of Abercrombie & Kent, a half-billion dollar international corporation that provides unique, stylish luxury travel to the planet’s wildest frontiers, for an exclusive clientele that includes Bill Gates, Ted Turner, Ralph Lauren, and DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.

In his first book, this “Indiana Jones meets James Bond” entrepreneur who invented the cutting-edge travel industry tells his story—his life reads like a work of fiction, growing up barefoot in the African bush, riding his motorcycle across the continent, and ultimately becoming the most sought-after travel professional in the world. Safari: Memoir of a Worldwide Travel Pioneer is a breathtaking and exhilarating trip to some of the most exotic and stunning locations on earth. Beginning in Africa and ultimately spanning the globe, it is packed with sometimes harrowing and always entertaining memories from Kent’s life and career, revealing fascinating tales from his personal and ultra-exclusive celebrity clients. The book is also filled with insider travel tips and award-winning photography. In addition, Kent provides an inspiring bucket list of must-see sites, so that every class of voyager and even armchair travelers can experience the wonders of the world.

From sophisticated cities to far-flung locales, Safari lets readers indulge their spirit of adventure, whisking them to the places of their dreams—and beyond through the lens of this larger-than-life action adventurer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

that we have a years-long waiting list. Right away we habituate one troop of seven or eight gorillas, and with all the momentum coming at us, I hire a Kenyan named John Webley to open an A&K office in Kampala. A few dozen clients visit the park each season, and they’re falling in love with these gorillas, whose communication is so similar to our own. Our guests have the opportunity to observe a band of gorillas in their natural habitat—eating, grooming, vocalizing—for one hour each day. A

Mummie might have had of my suffering loneliness or boredom. With Omolo in the family, I was never alone—and certainly never bored. Every day he woke me up and ushered me to the kitchen, where he’d serve me my morning tea and his delectable scrambled eggs on toast with the crust sliced off on all four sides. “Omolo,” I’d tell him with a mouthful of toast, “did you know that I was born when Daddy was on safari?” “No, GJ,” Mummie would interrupt, using her favorite term of endearment for me, my

Little Red Ship, the Explorer was designed by one of my earliest and biggest competitors, Lars-Eric Lindblad, specifically for expeditions. My mind raced back to a day in the early 1970s when I’d heard that the brand-new Explorer was docked in Mombasa, preparing to sail to the Seychelles. I travelled to Mombasa from Nairobi to have a peek. “Mr. Kent.” A young steward approached me as I stepped onto the gangplank. “I’m very sorry, Mr. Kent, but Mr. Lindblad thought you might show up here. He

in the world—to me. Of course I will take Harry somewhere, I tell him. I didn’t want him to worry about a single thing. When we hang up, I call Caroline. “We need to create an itinerary that starts out at Kilimanjaro Airport.” “But Geoff, remember when Joan Rivers travelled to the Serengeti? Even there, the tribesmen recognized her.” “I set that up as a spoof, remember?” In 1994, a Masai tribesman stopped Joan Rivers and cried, “Joan Rivers?! What are you doing on safari?” Joan was a

“It’s all right, darling. Listen, I’ve mailed letters to my friends along the way. Hang on to the list of addresses I tucked in the side pocket of your bag, and look up those contacts as you go. It could save your life.” “I will do that.” I head into the center of Nairobi, where I buy a Shell Oil road map, and then I stop at the Salvation Army to get a poncho and a tarpaulin sheet. Then I visit the motorbike shop to have containers for spare water and fuel fitted onto my bike. Then, on the back

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