SIMON WILSON STEPHENS - Founder SMOKESILVER TRAVEL
(DIARY ENTRY) 12th Sept '95 - fishing on the River Carron, Sutherland. Another hot, sunny day but no water in the river so decided to walk the hill, on my own. After 4 hours stopped for sandwich, sitting on a rock. Spectacular view looking out east across the Kyle of Sutherland - god's country. Helped me make my mind up - promised myself I would live abroad and work outside...' 3 months later, aged 25, I flew to Uganda to live in Semliki, a remote game reserve that lies in the Western Rift Valley, 7 miles from the border of the Congo. It was a decision i'd never regret. I built and managed a new lodge, took clients on safari throughout Uganda, met and worked with some extraordinary people, all determined to restore Uganda's reputation. Another simple way of looking at it - if there's a 'great outdoors dream' I felt I was living it. Since then I've organised safaris for people all over Africa and promoted camps, lodges and safari operators based throughout this extraordinary continent. In 2003 I spent 6 months back in Africa retracing the explorer Henry Morton Stanley's 1873 Trans Africa expedition across East Africa. Where Stanley walked I cycled, where he navigated his rowing boat, the Lady Alice, I kayaked. An incredible journey. SMOKESILVER TRAVEL was founded in 2010 as a result of many years of experience working in this inspirational travel world. It stems from 2 genuine, core beliefs (1) An insatiable passion for experiencing the extraordinary range of outdoor activities available to us all around the world - doing it, not viewing it. (2) Hearing people return from holiday and say 'that was an incredible experience we had on the trip you've just designed for us'. simon@smokesilvertravel.com
Harry Cory Wright is one of the UK's leading landscape photographers. His work is internationally celebrated for its unique ability to pull the viewer into the heart of the landscape, from the vitality of tempestuous seascapes to still, intimate, inland spaces. While equally at home with both 35mm and medium format, Harry's tool of choice is a large format 10x8 inch wooden Gandolfi plate camera. In 2009 Harry established the SMOKESILVER brand following years of working, living, photographing the great outdoors. His SMOKESILVER shop in Burnham Market, Norfolk, sells a unique and eclectic mix of outdoor clothing and equipment. 'Smokesilver is all about that important contact with the great outdoors; in the woods, on the marsh, by the riverbank or in open country....' harry@smokesilver.co.uk
MADDIE HELEY - Horse Riding & Scuba Diving Specialist
Maddie has recently returned from a trip to the Arctic Circle - Spitsburgen. Here she learnt how to drive a team of huskies, for the first time, pulling a dog sledge. 'It's not as easy as it first looks but you quickly learn to keep your balance. You can only admire the strength and stamina of these tough dogs - It doesn't take long to naturally bond with them'. Born and bred in North Norfolk Maddie has a natural affinity with the great outdoors. Trained as an archaeologist Maddie's perfect holiday would combine a week's horse riding with a week scuba diving on old ship wrecks and underwater ruins. So if you're looking for riding or scuba diving holidays talk to Maddie - madeleine@smokesilvertravel.com
JANE de STACPOOLE - Africa Horse Riding Specialist
Jane loves Africa. She's also one of those lucky, wise, people who learnt how to ride from a very early age. Combine the 2 and you have an happy lady who is perfectly at home whether galloping across the plains in the Masai Mara with a herd of zebra or on a long horse trek across the dusty deserts of Namibia. Jane's enthusiasm is totally infectious when it comes to exploring the great outdoors on horseback but she never looses sight of the attention to detail - understanding which trips are suited to which people. Like all the activities we specialise it's essential to have people who know their 'subject' inside out. Jane will be able to tell you exactly which horse riding trips are the most suitable for you. jane@smokesilvertravel.com
STANLEY THE AFRICAN MUTT
Rescued from the streets of Nairobi before she (yes she...) was a month old, Stanley has travelled extensively throughout East Africa (tanzania, kenya, uganda & rwanda) in her namesake's exploratory footsteps. Following this expedition she asked to go to the UK to tell her side of the story, which she duly did at the RGS in Kensington. 6 months in a Chingford quarantine kennels weren't ideal but the beaches of Norfolk now provide the space and freedom that her African instincts naturally seek.