A voice from the wilderness: Alan and Africa

Alan and Africa

Hello, my name is Alan McSmith and for the past 35 years I have worked and lived as a wilderness and wildlife guide in Africa. Allow me to share a little about my "office" in the column "a voice from the wilderness".

My continent is an interesting place; it is vast, wild, beautiful and inspiring. Africa is a land of savannah, forest and desert, of mountain, legendary rivers and tropical coastline, one of staggering wildlife and riveting landscape.

It is a place steeped deeply in origin, the cradle of all mankind from where all our ancestors emerged. It is a place of mystic folklore and incredibly dynamic and industrious people. It is always vibrant, often controversial, and at times challenging. It is, however, never dull.

Africa’s impact on me

It is through these landscapes, ever exploring, that I came to find not only my vocation, meet my wife and ultimately my family, but to discover my own self. I hope that my column and the stories that emerge from it will help explain what I mean by this, and how the great wilderness of the second largest continent on earth has left her impressions on me.

Magic and endlessness

You see, travel in Africa is an arousing business. Landscapes appear as endless as the next, those of ten thousand hooves of a buffalo herd and the iconic predators tracking them, dusty magenta sunsets, sweltering deserts, mysterious rivers disappearing into the sand, insanely gorgeous sunrises and possibly the greatest array of wildlife diversity on the planet. And the space. Ah, the space. For those in search of solitude, Africa can always ensure a blank spot on the map, this the holy grail for explorer-travellers like you and I.

Africa will move you

But it is not just the travel. There is more to traversing Africa than seeing new places. You feel them. The vistas, the history, the humility of her people and the wildlife all settle deep, but there is something more; something that stirs profoundly within you, and bubbles with inspiration and aliveness. A primeval re-connection with the past, of ancient origins and of future hopes.

It’s easy to stay longer than anticipated here, or return often. It’s easy to fall in love with wilderness and inspire a passion for her conservation, not just for Africa’s wildlife, but to nurture a restorative and regenerative attitude toward our entire natural world.

So with this as a backdrop, welcome to my column. I look forward to sharing insights, adventures and anecdotes from the great continent with you.

Lets safari!
Alan McSmith