Elliot - Travel Specialist at Tailored Journeys

Elliot Hawthorn

elliot@tailoredjourneys.co.uk

+44 (0)1442617777

Elliot's Blog Posts

How to Pack for a Safari

Mozambique’s Bazaruto Archipelago

Read More Blogs

About Elliot

I grew up in the UK, but with foreign born grandparents, my wanderlust for exotic lands beyond our shores came to me early. My love for travel grew further from the roughly three years I spent in my late teens and early twenties living, travelling and working in Australia, New Zealand, Latin America and Europe.

The endlessly changing landscapes, diverse wildlife, exciting activities and eccentric characters I met had me hooked from day one. Fast forward a couple of decades and around 60 countries, and little has changed. Though now, with less free time I look for efficient, high quality travel programs to make the absolute most out of a destination. The campsites and hostels may have been replaced with more luxurious offerings, but the thirst for adventure has never waned.

Shortly after joining the travel industry in 2013 I had my first taste of Africa, with an unforgettable safari in Tanzania. The raw, untamed wildness and unique beauty had me hooked from day 1. I have since explored a dozen African countries in depth, mostly in Southern and East Africa. I proposed to my wife Botswana and we honeymooned in Uganda. Despite all this, I feel like I’m just getting started.

When you're not working or travelling, you're...

Hiking, playing table tennis or experimenting in the kitchen.

How many languages do you speak?

English and conversational Spanish and German.

Which place exceeded your expectations on your travels and why?

Namibia. The whole country is achingly beautiful, full of stunning landscapes and diverse wildlife, and rich in human history dating back over 25,000 years

What is your first great travel experience?

My first adventure after turning 18 with my three best friends. After a culture-shocking but fantastic week in Hong Kong, we arrived in Sydney, bought an old car with a quarter of a million miles on the clock and hit the open road. Over the following months we discovered the visceral delights of this great country, from the amazing inland waterfalls and swimming holes, through tropical rainforest to unspoilt beaches and coral reefs before cutting a path through the Outback to the opposite coast.

Which is your favourite beach, why and where is it?

Any of the remote beaches in Western Australia. Sand dunes give way to soft powder sand and tropical waters with not a soul in sight for miles in either direction.

Which passport stamp are you the most proud of?

Colombia, from the early 2000s.

What destination is at the top of your bucket list?

Madagascar: a unique ecosystem and still an unspoilt destination. Much of the flora and fauna can be found no where else on Earth, and along the coast there are stunning beaches and superb coral reefs with some of the best snorkelling and diving on the planet.

Have you ever worked abroad?

After qualifying as a Divemaster, I worked in Spain as a dive guide and assistant instructor. Whilst travelling in my late teens/early twenties I took multiple casual jobs in hospitality and agriculture to fund my travels.

If you had just 24 hours in a big city, which one would it be?

Cape Town. There’s just so much to do. I’d start by abseiling down Table Mountain, then I’d explore the museums and cultural heart of the city and finish the day with one of the many amazing culinary experiences to be had there.

What’s the best party you have been to while travelling?

My engagement party in the Okavango Delta. After I’d proposed in a canoe at sunset overlooking bathing hippos and elephants, an impromptu party sprang up in our tiny campsite. With just a small speaker for music, head torches for lighting and a patch of sand for the dancefloor, we danced the night away with our fellow guests, guides, drivers and cooks.

What’s the funniest/strangest thing that’s happened to you abroad?

Being delayed 24 hours at the Panama/Colombia border post (a shed with a desk in it) as the border officer was out fishing. After spending the night in the front room of a local resident, who regaled us with his life story despite our linguistic shortcomings, we once again found our border guard absent the following morning. This champion of flexible working hours

turned up less than an hour before the only boat of the day across the border, fishing gear in hand.