Ethiopia is Back — And we’re over the moon!
Dear Fellow Adventurers,
I hope this finds you well and as eager as we are for the longer, lighter days on the horizon. Spring is just around the corner! It’s been great to see that so many of you are booking travel…having trips to look forward to certainly makes all the difference.
We know we’ve mentioned this before, but we’re absolutely thrilled to announce that Northern Ethiopia is open for travel once again!
This remarkable country holds a special place in our hearts; it’s where YellowWood first began.
We can’t wait to return and would love for you to join us. Explore our upcoming Ethiopian adventures here.
Destinations & Adventure Travel Shows
It was wonderful to meet so many of you at the London travel shows earlier this year; the energy and enthusiasm always make these a lot of fun.
A huge thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello… It’s always great to connect in person and talk about future adventures. The whole team really enjoyed it.
On the Sunday morning of the Destinations Show, I had the pleasure of presenting The hidden gems of the Canary Islands on the Sunday Times ‘Meet the Experts’ stage showcasing where and where not to go in this diverse archipelago.
If you couldn’t attend, you can watch the replay of the talk here.
Mongolia festivals
If you are interested in discovering Mongolia then why not combine it with one of our local festival adventures?
Mongolia's Naadam Festival at Lake Khovsgol
Mon, 7 Jul - Sun, 20 Jul 2025
Mongolia Sagsai Eagle Festival
Thu, 11 Sept - Sat, 20 Sept 2025
Our recent Bhutan Webinar
Despite a few technical hiccups at the start (never close your laptop), our recent Bhutan webinar saw record attendance! A huge thank you to everyone who joined us live. A special shoutout to Sarah Marshall, award-winning travel writer, for her insightful presentation. Sarah’s experience and passion for travel truly brought Bhutan to life.
If you missed it, the replay is available here.
I’m currently reading……
Venture to the Interior by Laurens Van der Post (1971).
If Hemingway was the favourite author in my 20s, then I could happily argue that Van der Post was my favourite author in my 30s (and having just turned 40 who’s next….?)
His writing is just magical, magnetic, haunting, spiritual with incredible depths and breadth of experience. This is the book that put him on the map - and it just so happens to be about MALAWI! In classic Van der Post style he doesn’t actually reach Malawi until halfway through the book - that’s just the kind of guy he is.
Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by S.C. Gwynne (2010).
When I imagine native American Indians it is always on horseback - but actually this is historically inaccurate: Horses evolved in the Americas around four million years ago, but by about 10,000 years ago, they had mostly disappeared from the fossil record. They were reintroduced to North America by Spanish conquistadors in the late 1400s, reaching the mainland in the early 16th century with the Spanish colonization of Mexico, when they quickly again spread across the continent. The Comanches were the undoubted masters of the horse (and also shooting a bow from the saddle), compared with the majority of other indigenous nations; making them the toughest and final tribe to capitulate to colonisation.
I’m always on the lookout for great recommendations, so feel free to share your favourites!
Embracing the Great Outdoors
With brighter days ahead, it’s the perfect time to get outside. This month, I swapped hiking boots for some horse-riding at Westerlands Farm in West Sussex — a stunning countryside escape just a stone’s throw from the South Downs.
Find out more about our spiritual headquarters here.
We’ve got some fantastic trips coming up, and there’s nothing like having an adventure to look forward to, so if you’re pondering your next getaway, you can browse our upcoming adventures here.
Until next time,
Sam McManus, MD
