Helen Kennedy

My interest in seeing wildlife, especially primates, has taken me all over the world. At last count I had travelled to more than 50 countries across all 7 continents, but keep returning to my favourite continent of Africa.

Growing up in rural Lincolnshire, I had never even been on a plane before going to the USA by myself at the age of 19. Another, longer trip followed, and not long after I moved to Australia for a year. I thought of Melbourne as my home, but travelled extensively all over the country.

I returned to the UK for a year but was soon off again, well and truly bitten by the travel bug! This time was a round the world trip featuring mainly African and South American countries.

All this personal travel experience led me to work for a major high street travel company for 10 years, and later a wildlife specialist tour operator. I got to add many more destinations to the list including the Arctic, Antarctic, Galapagos, Costa Rica, plus much more of Asia and Africa, but always with a focus on wildlife destinations. Personal travel highlights include Madagascar, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone.

I like to get off the beaten track, and am always looking for new and unusual destinations.

Madagascar will always be a favourite, and I have travelled extensively in various different parts of the island. I worked for a charity in the south of the island researching lemur behaviour and helping educate the local community about conservation. I have also worked with primates in UK zoos and recently completed a degree with the Open University, BSc Environmental Studies. In my spare time I can be found taking my pet ferrets for a walk in the park!