Matt Bracken – Travel Consultant

The places I’ve visited:

Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Rwanda, Tanzania, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique, Australia, Europe, Mexico, Canada, Hawaii, Alaska, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Caribbean

The number of years I’ve been in the business:

Five, on safari for twenty-five.

The number of years I’ve been with Travel Beyond:

Five

The things I enjoy most about consulting:

Answering questions with substance and experience.

The most interesting trip I’ve designed

1st camping safari through the Okavango Delta, Botswana with my Dad and three great friends.

My most memorable travel moment:

Summiting Mount Kilimanjaro in a blizzard with my sister, uncle, two cousins and eight new and old friends. We were exhausted and cold when one of our guides started singing the most beautiful song I have ever heard—spirits were lifted, the snow stopped falling and we were treated to a red sunrise atop the roof of Africa.

My most embarrassing travel moment:

Late-night, ignorant awkwardness with four very buxom lady ambassadors of the Kigali Serena Hotel bar my first night in Rwanda (I wanted to learn about their country and be a good ambassodor of the US); their enjoyable conversation and Rwandan hospitality persisted to my hotel room after bar close for further geography, and it was only then that my naive mind realized their true professions—it took a struggle of note to get them out the door.

But, the best travel stories live off of wrong turns and adventurous choices.

That’s more funny embarrasing, but the one thing I really am embarrassed about is that I forgot the name of Ian Smith, the Zimbabwean of history, while looking at a photograph in a restaurant he used to hang at in Hout Bay, South Africa. Still, I cannot believe I spaced his name in front of Sir Reginald when questioned; live and learn, though—you can’t always remember everything, but I’m stuck with that embarrassing travel moment: I was the ignorant American.

My favorite travel destinations:

South Africa – the diversity of activities and the weather, and, the Okavango Delta, Botswana – remote safari camps and incredible game viewing

My favorite meal while traveling:

Crayfish and South African sauvignon blanc in Paternoster, South Africa; The bream I caught on the Lunga River in Zambia on my last day working in camp that fed every guest that night, if only one bite each!