Tropical Ice, Elephants and Adventure

 

A review of Outsider – A life with the Elephants and Mountains of Africa by Iain Allan, Vanguard Press, 2024

In this memoir Iain Allan retraces his times in Kenya from the 1950s to the present.  Originally from Scotland, he arrived in Nairobi as a preteen. There he found the stiff British Kenya culture stultifying. He did not prosper in school but found his niche in rock climbing. He honed this skill and summited Mounts Kilimanjaro and Kenya by the age of eighteen. Upon graduation he followed loves to England and Australia before realizing that his destiny lay in Kenya.

Once back home, Allan became a safari guide specializing in taking clients up Kilimanjaro and Kenya. On his own time, he pioneered climbing routes on those mountains and on other cliffs.  (Indeed, a good part of the memoir details just what was done and where. Rock climbers will undoubtedly find these descriptions fascinating.) Ultimately Allan started his own company called Tropical Ice that focused on adventure experiences on the mountains but also in the bush, especially walking treks through the national parks of Tsavo West and Tsavo East. 

The author recounts good safari stories of encounters with wild animals. He tells of conquests of mountains around the globe. Throughout he names people – friends and adversaries – encountered along the way.  He muses over changes in clients’ attitudes towards safaris ranging from enthusiastic flexibility in days past to demands for precise undeviating information today. He attributes this to the impact of modern information-on-demand culture. He also tracks the vicissitudes of Kenyan government policy regarding poaching. Finally, he notes with understanding and regret that Kenya’s burgeoning population increasingly puts pressure on the wild spaces and creatures that he loves.   

In sum Allan’s recollections constitute a good story; one well worth reading. People who know Kenya – its geography, people and challenges -  will enjoy his perspective. He called them as he saw them.  I learned a lot about rock climbing.  I especially enjoyed the passages about walks along the Tsavo River.  They brought back memories. My wife Connie and I participated in one of those excursions in 1983 with Iain and Mohamed as guides.