Gloucestershire, UK, An early hoop one has to jump through when starting a company, is to decide what to call it. It sounds elementary, but it’s not as easy as one might think. Not only does your name have to have a catchy ring to it, it also needs to give strong clues as to what you actually do. The aim of my small travel company was to help people pursue interesting journeys away from the mainstream, mostly involving walking, trekking and climbing in Africa and Nepal, but also more unusual, off-the-beaten track safaris and journeys in Africa.

The name Traverse Line literally jumped into my head on a walking trip – I was following a climber’s traverse to the base of a climb in the Lake District, when the name came to me out of the blue, with very little pre-thought. I had spent weeks trying to come up with something, and was becoming increasingly frustrated. There I was, off-the beaten track, on an unmarked path, away from tourists in trainers, about to test myself on a mountain adventure – in this case, a climb of Bowfell Buttress in Langdale. As climbers, skiers, trekkers or even walkers do in mountains or on hillsides, I was following a “Traverse Line”. The phrase conjured up exposure and adventure in mountain terrain, and simply stuck - this had to be it! It also had parallels with other forms of travel in remote, wild places… following a pencilled red line across a map empty of roads (think: Mobile Camping safaris in Northwest Namibia), finding a course through the African bushveld completely off-track (think: walking safaris in Zambia), and so on, and so on.

Seven years on from the date Traverse Line was founded, the name still reflects the company’s core values and travel portfolio – we have been running hikes and climbs in Nepal, Southern Africa and Kenya very successfully, as well as walking safaris in South Africa, Zambia and Namibia, alongside a range of other tours. Most of these are fully bespoke, carefully put together with strong attention to detail, and huge amounts of enthusiasm. We also run a number of fixed date tours, mostly trekking based, but also small group mobile adventures, and trails in game reserves.

Most recently, we’ve leveraged our local knowledge and organisational skills in a completely new direction by hosting school trips in South Africa. Our first school trip was run in 2012, and we are already looking to take about 50 students from two international schools to South Africa in early 2013 – these trips focus hiking in the Drakensberg Mountains, the Zulu War Battlefields and community work in Zululand, finishing off with an exciting safari. Students quite simply love it!

About Traverse Line:
Founded by Angus Maclaren in 2005, Traverse Line is a UK-based travel company which specialises in arranging bespoke treks and safaris in Southern Africa, Kenya and Nepal. There is a strong emphasis on walking and hiking, more off-the-beaten track safaris and personalised adventures, stemming from Angus’ interests and regional knowledge. The company arranges a wide range of both tailor-made and fixed date tours in all its key regions - these include treks in the Drakensberg mountains, guided mobile camping adventures into remote corners of Namibia, walking safaris in Zambia, self drive tours in South Africa and climbs of Nepal’s trekking peaks. Behind all this is a strong attitude of personal service, detail and thoroughness, backed by selected, trusted, in-country guides.