After reading about my Grand Adventures project, Marc Lambert contacted me to say that he had done exactly this – saved up money, made a plan, and headed off on an adventure…

“In 2010 I did exactly as you’ve described in your Grand Adventures campaign. I set myself a realistic and quite fun target of saving enough cash to get myself to the island Madagascar, and off I went! I flew to Madagascar with a map, a tent, a camera, a whole lot of patience (much needed for African adventures!), and spent 5 weeks solo-travelling around the great island, trying to hitchhike and walk as much as I could.

What were a couple of highlights?

I’mve always found solo travel to be so rewarding. Not speaking English to anyone for most of the trip was a real challenge but such a great experience. My favourite memory has to be getting on board the Fianarantsoa to Manakar train, a 12 hour journey across some of the world’s most incredible landscapes, all seen by sitting in the open carriage door of an ancient train. Amazing. I camped every night under the stars, and was treated to the most incredible night skies with shooting stars fizzing by, all accompanied by the chorus of jungle animals and insects the size of a human hand.

Why did you do it?

This journey was always meant to be an adventure, but also a learning experience. Madagascar is a fragile land, deforestation and bad farming practices have damaged it beyond repair, and I wanted to experience this fantastic place before it’s too late. Many of the animal species in Madagascar are not found anywhere else in the world, it’s like a modern day Jurassic Park.

What were you doing beforehand?

Working the 9-5 and very much living during the 5-9. I had a good job, a normal job, but a simple bit of money management and a lot of planning was all it took to make the adventure happen.

What impact did this adventure have on your life?

I’mve always had a sense of adventure, forever dreaming up new ways to travel and new places to visit. This solo journey dropped me right in the middle of a modern day adventure, and I came out the other side with some great photos, memories and even better stories. I’mve since been back to Africa and last year led an expedition to drive around Lake Victoria, self navigating from Kenya, across Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and back Kenya, but that’s another story!

How did you turn your ‘˜dream’ into reality?

You’ll meet people who say that they’d “love to come with you”, or say “that sounds amazing, I wish I could go”… but they never do. I just didn’t want the trip to always be a dream, a conversation in the pub or at dinner. And so I simply committed. I booked the flights, and then worked towards the day of my flight with all of the planning and additional money saving.

What do you know now that you wish you’d known before your trip?

That African adventure travel is like no other adventure travel in the world. It takes patience, perseverance, and an understanding of TIA… ‘œThis Is Africa!’ But if you can just embrace it and smile, it has so much to offer.

What practical steps should people take to make their adventure happen?

Book flights as soon as you can, and then work towards that day, it gives you a focus point and something to aim for, always remembering that £40 spent on a Friday night is a week’s worth of food when you find yourself camping under the stars at the Equator. Either that or it will buy you a top of the range mosquito net!

Read about Marc’s other adventures on his blog.

My new book, Grand Adventures, is out now.
It’s designed to help you dream big, plan quick, then go explore.
The book contains interviews and expertise from around 100 adventurers, plus masses of great photos to get you excited.

I would be extremely grateful if you bought a copy here today!

I would also be really thankful if you could share this link on social media with all your friends – http://goo.gl/rIyPHA. It honestly would help me far more than you realise.

Thank you so much!