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After living and working in
Africa for years, Kent Redding and Kelly McElroy opened Denver-based Africa
Adventure Consultants to help adventurous travelers discover the wonders of
this spectacular continent. Their years of experience in Africa uniquely
position them to design and run top-quality adventure trips for a variety of
clients. Their insight into the cultures of Africa, as well as the special
environmental and business issues there, place them at the top of any list of
US-based safari outfitters.
Kent first visited Africa in 1987 and lived there for years. During his tenure
in East Africa, he guided trips through the continent's premier parks and
studied with knowledgeable naturalists. Kent has led private groups from the
United States, Finland, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Dominican Republic,
Norway and many other countries. Kent has also hosted special groups from US
colleges and African park services. In addition to game trekking in much of
East and Southern Africa, he has summited Tanzania's Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt.
Meru, kayaked in Lake Malawi, dune-bashed in Namibia's Skeleton Coast, and
rafted down the Zambezi River below Victoria Falls. He has explored Botswana's
Okavango Delta, trekked through some of Egypt's vast deserts, and mountain
biked through African mountains and bush land. Leveraging his safari guiding
and planning experience, today he enjoys helping our clients discover these
impressive places. Kent is a Kenya Authorized Travel Specialist by the Kenya
Tourist Board, and is a board member of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the
Association for the promotion of Tourism to Africa. In 2006, he was named by
Conde Nast Traveler as one of the top travel professionals in the United States.
After her first safari in Africa in 1997, Kelly knew she wanted to return. Soon
after, she moved to Tanzania where she was Director of Finance for one of the
top Kilimanjaro trekking outfitters in the country. In addition to her
experience handling the financial and organizational issues of a safari
outfitter and assisting VIP clients, Kelly has traveled extensively in Africa.
She has summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, snorkeled off islands such as Zanzibar and
Pemba, explored the ancient geology and unique wildlife of Namibia, and canoed
past hippos and elephants in famous Lake Manyara National Park. She has also
followed the paths walked by Jane Goodall in Gombe Stream National Park and
others in Mahale National Park, and enjoyed cultural exchanges with peoples
such as the Maasai, Hadza and Himba. Today, Kelly enjoys organizing our
clients' safaris and maintaining our back-room operations.
Susan is a seasoned travel professional with more than 20 years experience in
various aspects of the field including leisure travel, corporate travel,
cruises and more. Since joining Africa Adventure Consultants, Susan has whetted
her appetite for exploration in the top destinations in Botswana. She is
wonderful to work with and is often the point person for clients when dealing
with flights, insurance, visas, and other pre-trip services. Susan is a
certified as a Kenya Authorized Travel Specialist by the Kenya Tourist Board.
Lyndsay's passion for adventure travel and world cultures developed during college
while studying environmental biology and cultural anthropology in Kenya in the late
1990s. Subsequently, she worked as a water systems coordinator for LifeWater Kenya
bringing clean drinking water to rural villages and volunteering at a home for street
children in Nakuru. With years of in-depth travel industry experience and countless
adventures through Africa, Europe, India, Latin America and Southeast Asia, she brings the
knowledge and expertise to craft fine adventures for her clients. Lyndsay has trekked in
search of Rwanda's mountain gorillas, beaded with Tanzania's Datoga women, explored Ethiopia's
remote Lower Omo Valley, ambled along Stone Town's narrow streets and sunbathed with penguins
in South Africa. Lyndsay holds a B.S. in journalism and public relations from California
Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo, and several professional certificates in travel
marketing and destination management. Lyndsay is based in our satellite office in Seattle.
She will be working with most of our new clients, helping plan their safaris, and providing
fantastic customer service and advice. She can be reached at
lyndsay@adventuresinafrica.com
Gretchen has had a lifelong passion for travel. She has adventured in Europe, Canada, Latin
and South America, New Zealand and, of course, Africa. She has trekked both the Nursery and
Skeleton routes on Table mountain, has climbed kopjies in Kruger, snorkeled in Lake Malawi,
peered over the edge of Victoria Falls from Livingstone Island, slipped quietly through the
Okavango Delta in a mokoro and walked through the South Luangwa and Busanga Plains in Zambia.
Gretchen is also a certified Southern Africa Travel Specialist, and comes to Africa Adventure
Consultants bringing excellent attention to detail and a high level of client service. Gretchen
can be reached at
gretchen@adventuresinafrica.com
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