There is something about such an outfit that suggests it must be earned through years of adventuring, trips to some of the world’s darkest corners and perilous encounters with deadly animals.
So, at the age of 78 and with dozens of expeditions under his utility belt, Colonel John Blashford-Snell is rightly comfortable beneath the brim of a safari hat.
He has been shot at, held prisoner by Ethiopian bandits, charged at by wild beasts and, most recently, has come face to face with a 15ft king cobra on a trip to Assam in northeast India.
He is an adventurer in the truest sense and, in black and white photos, could easily be mistaken for a Victorian explorer, ready to pioneer new routes through a dense jungle or navigate a previously unmapped river.
Colonel Blashford-Snell was in the Island this week to chair a meeting of the Jersey Scientific Exploration Society, deliver a presentation on two recent trips and hunt for volunteers for expeditions he is running to Mongolia and a remote part of Colombia next year.
The 78-year-old former Royal Engineer has a deep love for Jersey and spent his childhood exploring the Island after moving here from Hereford, where he was born in 1936.
While growing up here his passion for exploration was ignited by clambering around the coast, crawling through disused tunnels left by German forces and hunting conger eels with a spear-gun.
And while with the British Army he set up Operation Drake, a two-year round-the-world excursion patronised by Prince Charles that enabled young people from different countries to take part in exploration, research and community projects from 1978 to 1980.
The success of that project led to Operation Raleigh, which helped 4,000 young people build skills by exploring and working in different parts of the world.
That project became Raleigh International, which continues today and has helped more than 40,000 young people take part in global expeditions.
And while organising his own adventures, Colonel Blashford-Snell also helps to pair young Island explorers with sponsors so they can travel to different parts of the world.
He said that his trips usually had a specific purpose and often involved delivering medical supplies, building new infrastructure for remote regions and teaching conservation techniques in order to preserve different animals and plants.
On a recent excursion he led a team to Costa Rica after he was contacted by an American woman who said her life had changed after joining a Raleigh expedition.
‘Every project we do has a purpose,’ he said.
‘One recent one in Costa Rica was to go to assist a very wonderful bio-diversity park called Corcavado, which is an interesting place because it’s where Sir Francis Drake landed in 1879.
‘One of the people who took part in Operation Raleigh, an American woman, said her whole life had been changed after being on the scheme.
Find out more about Colonel Blashford-Snell’s recent trip to Costa Rica here
‘She set up a lodge in Corcavado park and was trying to protect and popularise the park and so on.
‘She asked if we could help and I couldn’t resist going there.
‘The idea was the same with all our expeditions – to go and help local people and by helping them they help us by resisting killing off animals and cutting down trees.
‘We took in a medical and dental team and also some engineers to build a bridge to give better access to the park.
‘That was our main aim as well as bringing in school books and reading glasses.’
Other trips have included delivering a piano to the remote Wai Wai tribe who live deep in the Amazonian jungle – and a return journey several years later to retune it.
Colonel Blashford-Snell, who was educated at Victoria College, was also part of the first party to conquer the Blue Nile, one of the two major tributaries of the Nile, and pioneered white-water rafting during the journey.
His expeditions, which tend to last three weeks, cost around £3,000 for participants and he also funds his journeys by giving lectures and through the donations of charitable sponsors.
He practices with a pistol to ‘keep his eye in’ should he encounter any dangerous situations and has, over the past five decades, stood before some of nature’s fiercest creatures.
‘Sometimes you do meet potentially very dangerous animals.
‘When I was in Assam in December last year we were crossing a dry river bed and I saw what I thought was a water pipe.
‘I thought what a funny place to find that.
‘But it was actually a king cobra that was about 15ft in length so we stood very, very still and just watched it for about 20 minutes.
‘We filmed and photographed him, which was quite exciting because this is one of the most venomous snakes in the world – it has enough venom to kill an elephant.
‘But most wild animals will move away from you.
‘You do get meetings with things like tigers, but I love animals so one isn’t necessarily that frightened of them.
‘I’m particularly passionate about elephants and have done 11 or 12 expeditions in India, Nepal and in Africa using elephants.
‘I used to do a lot more trips to Africa, but it has become a lot more densely populated and very difficult politically in recent years.
‘Parts of South America are still some of the least developed places.
‘Places in Bolivia are the wild west and some parts of Ecuador and Paraguay are still a long way behind the rest of the world and you’ve still got to be careful where you go because of the drug trade.
‘A lot of people are armed.
‘I also love Asia and my favourite countries there are Mongolia and Burma.
‘I want to go back to Burma in April 2017 as there’s a river there I want to explore – there’s no shortage of places to visit.
‘There are lots of places I would still like to go as long as the good lord gives me time to visit.’
And after a lifetime of adventuring Colonel Blashford-Snell, who is the husband of Judith Blashford-Snell and has two daughters and three grandchildren, has dozens of trinkets, brought back from the many places he’s visited.
Among his collection, which he says wife Judith claims make their house ‘look like a museum’, are spears, long bows, blowpipes and hand-woven baskets made by tribes who continue ancient and traditional ways of life.
But one of his most prized possessions is a simple compass that is said to have been owned by Sir Henry Morton Stanley while he searched for pioneering medical missionary Dr David Livingstone in Africa.
It was given to Colonel Blashford-Snell by a woman who had no heirs after she heard the explorer describing some of his adventures on the radio.
Next year he will lead two trips: one in February to Colombia during which the team will deliver medical supplies and help the region’s Wiwa tribe design bridges and water supply systems, and another in July to Mongolia.
Members of that excursion will again deliver medial and dental aid and also carry out archaeological, botanical and zoological studies in the area.
The Colombia trip costs £2,900 excluding airfare and the Mongolia journey £3,150 before air travel costs.
Anyone who is interested in finding out more can visit johnblashfordsnell.org.uk or contact Anne Gilby by emailing jbs@ses-explore.org.
‘For Columbia we are really looking for people with engineering, medical, nursing, or dentistry knowledge, or people who have done community projects or farmers,’ Colonel Blashford-Snell said.
‘For Mongolia you’ve got to be able to ride a horse and again we’d like people with medical, dental, engineering or farming skills. Most people who’ve had a modest education can contribute in some way.’
But what advice does the explorer have for Jersey’s would-be adventurers?
Exploring can be a dangerous business – but what essentials can to be found in Colonel John Blashford-Snell’s back pack?
- A trusty Swiss Army penknife
- A good pair of jungle boots
- A reliable watch
- An iPhone or satellite phone for more remote areas
‘Keep a steady nerve. Nothing ventured nothing gained is one of my mottos.
‘People these days, particularly the young, are fit and healthy, but might not have much money.
‘And by the time they’ve got money they might not necessarily have the same level of energy they once had.
‘So I always tell people forget the money, get out and see the world. Meet people, see different countries and at the same time try to make the world a better place.
‘To older people I say there’s still the opportunity to do things and as long as you’re fit enough to catch a bus, go and do it.
‘We have quite a number of people over the age of 70 who come and take part in our trips. Youth is just a state of mind.’
