NOMAD AFRICA ADVENTURE TOURS “Return to Africa”
As a child, Alex Rutherford didn’t get the chance to explore Africa. During the 90s there was a trend for South Africans to travel to Great Britain after they finished university in search of adventure and travel. For countless saffas, the UK was the default option for these young adults. This was an option that Alex found himself taking but it wasn’t long before he made the decision to step off the wellworn-trail followed by everyone else and cut his own.
“I desperately wanted to see Africa,” he reflects, “And so I decided that the way to do it would be to drive from London to Cape Town.” After a couple of false starts to his journey, which taught Alex a great deal about vehicle maintenance,
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he was finally underway along with two other adventurers. Together they’d raised £3000 for the trip which would see them travel across the entire length of the African continent. Alex admits that in comparison to the research that can be done today, they really were stepping into the unknown. This was in the early 90s, a period where GPS guidance and internet maps were toys for film characters and the super-rich. Alex and his friends were delving into deepest, darkest Africa with a car, some supplies and a general direction (south) for which to aim. The adventurer now admits that it was actually a pretty grim experience at the time which soon became less about enjoyment and more about completion. However, looking back, he reveals that it set the scene for his entire career and established certain characteristics that he values. Such as self-reliance, optimism, solution-finding and the importance of being unflappable.
