Far & Wild's 2018 - a corker of a year!

2018 has been a busy, and spectacular first year for us here at Far & Wild central. We started the new company with just Ben and Rebecca up here in Cumbria, and now we're a team of 11, with an office in Clapham Old Town down in London too. Our year began with a full Africa and Indian Ocean programme, and ended with the launch of India, Sri Lanka and the Middle East. As for next year...you'll have to watch this space. Exciting plans are in the pipeline.

In the last year we've:

• organised over 250 trips.
• discovered that our clients are really interested in the lesser known places such as Sao Tome & Principe, Malawi and Ethiopia.
• been featured in the press: The Times, Spectator, Daily Mail, BA Highlife Magazine, Adventure Travel Magazine.
• installed a swearbox in the office for whenever anyone uses the world 'Experiential' - but we're in no doubt that this has to be the focal point for our trips in 2019...it'll be all about what you want to 'do' rather than where you want to 'stay'.
• planned several group tours, and intend to do more of this next year.
• helped 6 interns learn about the world of travel.
• forged great partnerships with people all over the world, among them Robin Pope Safaris, Governors Camps, Kafunta Safaris and Hemingways, who all supported our end of year Christmas Party. Which was certainly a day to remember.

We also invested in a lot of staff travel so we're ready to take on 2019...trips included Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Zambia, Madagascar, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.

The Far and Wild Christmas Party 2018

The party started off with a surprise event, with the majority of the staff unsure as to what to expect. After closing the office at 2pm, we travelled into Penrith where we stopped off at Dockray Hall for a drink and to learn about what we were going to be doing. We were put into four teams of five and sent into town armed with a list of challenges to carry out. Each challenge was worth a certain amount of points and the team with the most points at the end of the allotted time period would win. Needless to say, the prize of a hot air balloon ride across Cumbria certainly brought out everyone’s competitive sides. Some of the challenges were quite easy, like having a drink in a pub, or finding a Christmas jumper – others, however, were harder, such as getting a photograph of a team member wearing handcuffs in the back of a police car, or speed eating two cream crackers in under a minute (the latter possibly being the hardest one of the lot). Other challenges included striking a Beatles cover album pose on a zebra crossing, climbing into wheelie bins and some brave people letting their team members cut their hair.

To complicate matters, all teams had to reach the next venue – the picturesque Knipe Hall by 5pm or risk losing points, leading to a mad dash for taxis. Upon arrival at the hall, points were tallied up and the winners of the competition were announced, and there was time for more drinks before heading to The Greyhound pub in Shap for a lovely three course meal to finish off a fantastic Christmas party.

The stakes have certainly been set high for next year!

Thanks to all our partners, colleagues and customers for such a fantastic first year. We couldn't have done it without you, and can't wait to see what 2019 will bring.