THANKS TO FORMER RUGBY INTERNATIONAL
A former international rugby captain has teamed up with a Harrogate travel company to offer his expertise in helping people discover the hidden delights of Africa.
Brian Currin – who led Zimbabwe’s squad to the 1991 Rugby World Cup scoring two tries against the Scots – now runs Africa in Style and has joined forces with the triple award-winning Langford Travel Services.
“This new venture takes me two-thirds of the way towards realising my passion,” explained Brian, who grew up on a farm in Zimbabwe, then Rhodesia. “I was extremely fortunate with my sporting and work background to travel extensively and tour much of Africa and decided I wanted to do that again.
“With my African ancestry dating back to the 1652 Dutch settlers, I have immense pride in my country and the continent and want to help more people discover it. I don’t just mean the obvious destinations – Africa is a mix of countries of such diverse cultures and spectacular environments and I’d like to help bring them to the forefront. Tourism helps so many people by bringing money and employment into their communities and there are some relatively unknown areas that could really benefit.”
Brian moved to the UK nearly nine years ago with his wife Camilla – also from a farming family – to escape the increasing hostility and unrest surrounding white farmers in Zimbabwe and the subsequent demise of the economy. He set up a home repairs business before deciding to follow his dream of a bespoke travel service – and contacted Michael Langford to see if there was any mutual interest.
“We’re very careful about joining forces with associates – we need to be absolutely sure that they operate to the same high standards and hold the same values that have helped Langford Travel Services grow so successfully over the past 24 years,” said Mike, whose recent successes include topping a ‘mystery shopper’ survey by Travel Weekly, the travel industry’s leading online resource, for his expertise and personal service.
“When Brian got in touch I was immediately interested in his rugby background and, as we talked, it became clear that his immense knowledge about the whole of Africa was something that could really add to our ethos of offering our clients the very highest quality service and creating outstanding trips for all budgets.”
Brian is currently arranging a series of talks throughout Yorkshire ‘Travel in Africa’. The first focuses on South Africa and takes place in Harrogate on Wednesday, February 29. Anybody who would like to attend should visit www.africainstyle.eu/contact-us/ or telephone 01423 531383.
