When I am about to embark on a difficult journey, I comfort myself by reading the accounts of the great nineteenth-century travellers, men like Stanley, Burton, Speke, Burckhardt and Barth.

Previous journeys in search of treasure have taught me that a zigzag strategy is the best way to get ahead.

The ability to tell a good route from a terrible one is a valuable skill when leading an expedition. Unfortunately for us all, it was a skill I did not possess.

If hot food is they key to maintaining an expedition's stamina, then low grade gut-rot alcohol is the key to sustaining its sense of pleasure.

My journey to the land of the Shuar tribe had taught me the importance of practical gifts.

Previous journeys had taught me the danger of taking too much stuff.

For me, a journey to Damascus is an amazing hunt from beginning to end, a slice through layers of history in search of treasure.

As far as Samson was concerned I was just another foreigner in pursuit of a lunatic quest.

A journey of observation must leave as much as possible to chance. Random movement is the best plan for maximum observation