As seen on
Sam grew up in the countryside of Kent in the UK until he walked out one midsummer morning into a lifetime of travel and adventure. Travel and books: these two passions have fuelled journeys to over 70 countries whilst living on four continents, and led to the founding of YellowWood Adventures.
He has always favoured the path less travelled: Whilst living in Japan he took his tent and surfboard and spent three months island-hopping down the 1100km of Ryukyu archipelago; in the Amazon rainforest he spent two weeks with an Indian guide carrying only a machete, fishhooks, salt, sugar and cocoa leaves, learning to live off the land.
Be it the Himalayas, Alps, Andes, the highest plateau in Africa, ice-climbing in the Tian Shan Mountains or exploring the lost assassins’ castles in the Alborz Mountains of Iran; a veritable mountain of history books, novels, travel writings and biographies always accompany these adventures, and wherever possible a horse or two.
Towards the end of 2015 Sam quit his city job in London to spent three months solo hiking around Ethiopia. This particular adventure marked a turning point as he then bought eight tents which he left with local guide Gebre in the Gheralta Mountains of Tigray in Northern Ethiopia, built a website and began to organise small hiking groups to share with people the amazing experiences he had there – and so YellowWood Adventures was born.
He has subsequently expanded the business in over twenty countries. Sam has travelled extensively in most of the destinations now featured, researching these remarkable places in detail, finding the 'path less travelled' and creating itineraries that ensure unique and authentic experiences.
Wax & Gold: Journeys in Ethiopia & other roads less travelled
Author and YellowWood founder Sam McManus has collated 15-years' worth of adventure travel writing in Ethiopia, Japan, Bolivia, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Mongolia, Lebanon, Oman & Costa Rica.
This collection of travel stories revolves around a central solo journey exploring the mountains of Ethiopia over a three-month period, which led to the founding of YellowWood Adventures.
The most prized form of Ethiopian Amharic prose and poetry, loosely translated as ‘wax and gold’ ሰምና ወርቅ [sam-enna warq], is meticulously comprised with a focus on the duality of its meanings. The surface meaning, the wax, must be stripped away to reveal the hidden core of gold underneath.
Ethiopia as a country also encourages you to look deeper within yourself, to fully understand and appreciate a deeply rich spiritual significance, that often resonates beneath simple or plain exteriors...
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