The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Travelling life
Colonel John Blashford-Snell Explorer
How often do you travel?
I go on a couple of expeditions a year and travel frequently to Jersey, my ancestral home. I was lucky enough to have flown on the Concorde when I worked with a lecture agency and remember that inside the plane there was a speedometer on the wall. When you reached a certain speed there was a slight jolt and then total silence, as if you had left the sound behind. It was quiet for the entire flight until you approached landing, when there would be a jolt and all the noises started again. It was memorable.
What do you need for a perfect holiday?
Peace and quiet, good food, and plenty of wildlife.
Your earliest memory of travelling abroad?
A day trip to St Malo in France as a schoolboy: the food was rather good.
When did you first start exploring?
After my initial training in the British Army, I was posted in Cyprus and got involved in the local archaeological club. They were surveying lost ruins on the seabeds in the area, and as one of my jobs in the Army was to run a diving team for the Royal Engineers, we did some diving in Roman and Greek wrecks between 1957 and 1960.
Most adventurous travel experience?
The Blue Nile expedition of 1968. We were lucky to get out alive. You can face all sorts of wild animals but it is a completely different situation when you’re facing people with guns trying to kill you. We also did some other expeditions before this one, including two huge other expeditions in Ethiopia.
Most remote place you’ve been?
Part of western Mongolia, which I visited first in 1990 for work. We were there most recently last July. I’ve visited the Antarctic too, but as a lecturer on a cruise ship rather than to explore the region.
Most relaxing destination?
New Zealand. It is such a beautiful country. I’ve been on holiday there before and also on expeditions. My father was ordained in Dunedin, and my parents lived for a time on the South Island.
Best holiday ever?
A trip to Nepal in 1976 where I was doing some white-water rafting, and my family joined me. We stayed in Tiger Tops, a historic lodge, and my two young daughters loved seeing all the wildlife.
Favourite expedition destination?
South America, Burma and Mongolia. Each has some untouched regions. In terms of a holiday, I would choose El Karama, a private reserve in Kenya’s Laikipia district – one of the most idyllic places in the world.
Best place for nightlife?
My idea of nightlife is to sit in a hide, behind an image intensifier, in Nepal, sipping a glass of Scotch and watching animals coming down to drink at a waterhole through the night. What could be better?
Worst travel experience?
In the Sixties, I was in a [de Havilland Canada DHC-2] Beaver aircraft flying in Panama when the engine cut out and we went into a terrifying dive. Fortunately, the engine restarted about 500ft above the ground, which was a small miracle. The rookie pilot had forgotten to switch fuel tanks. In 2005, I was travelling by bus in Bolivia at night along a notoriously dangerous stretch of road.
What do you hate about trips away?
Packing. For an expedition, I start the process a few days before we leave as it takes so long and is so complex.
Favourite airline?
American Airlines.
Where next?
Southern Colombia in May for an expedition to deliver an ambulance boat. I will be in Kenya early next year at Mount Kenya for another expedition for charity and wildlife conservation work. Colonel John BlashfordSnell’s autobiography, Something Lost Behind the Ranges, is out now. More information: johnblashfordsnell.org.uk.