Born in Kenya in 1970, Geoff spent the first 5 years of his life in Uganda.
His first adventure was escaping the dictator, Idi Amin, with his family in a Cessna 175 Skylark. His father flew the tiny plane for 42 days landing in Townsville, Australia.
After completing his schooling in Brisbane, Geoff set off on his first solo adventure. He had set his sights on a bicycle ride from London, England to Nairobi, Kenya. The journey morphed into an odyssey with friends and after 3 solid months of living on $1 a day, the men arrived at the Sudanese border only to find it blocked by civil war.
Whilst trekking up Mt Kenya in 1988, Geoff and his climbing partner had another near death experience. In the wee hours of the morning Geoff awoke with a severe headache to find their tent frozen over. Unable to light a match or rouse his climbing partner, Geoff realised they were in advanced stages of carbon monoxide poisoning.
For the next decade, Geoff focused on vet school and creating a small veterinary empire. Year after year, he was slowly being separated from his first love – adventure.
Geoff’s life changed forever on Boxing Day 2004. Within days of the Aceh earthquake and tsunami, he was working on the ground as a translator as part of the relief team. The death and destruction was a huge wake-up call for Geoff. He realised now was the time for him to shift his attention to the things that were truly important to him – family, adventure and philanthropy.
What Geoff has achieved in the past 11 years is nothing short of inspiring. From near death escapes, grand desert journeys and noble Antarctic expeditions, Geoff now holds three world records:
Today Geoff shares his passion for adventure and zest for life with everyone who joins him on a life-changing adventure. It doesn’t matter if you’re a barrister or a barista, an adventure with 5th Element Expeditions will release the shackles of day-to-day living and reconnect you with your pioneering spirit.
In addition to client adventures, Geoff and his team also carry out large scale philanthropic expeditions to raise money for charity.
Geoff is in training for his next charitable expedition – the longest unsupported human crossing of Antarctica. This time he’ll kite top to bottom, across the uncharted ‘Pole of Inaccessibility’. This 5,200 km route across the world’s harshest environment has never been attempted before and if Geoff is successful, he’ll smash his current world record.
"Men like Geoff don’t come around every year and his feat is all the more extraordinary as it was totally unsupported. Geoff had no physical assistance from a single person for 53 days, relying solely on his own resourcefulness and the wind to cross Antarctica from one side to the other."
