Wild Horizons: Tim Albinson on Climbing, Sailing, and Trekking Across Kenya

By Jan Jorgensen, for GlobalAdventure.co

When most 21-year-olds are just beginning to find their footing in the world, Tim Albinson was already walking and sailing far off the beaten path. For six months in the early '90s, Tim Albinson immersed himself in the rugged, untamed beauty of Kenya. He climbed Mount Kenya, sailed ancient dhows along the Swahili coast, and trekked on foot through the vast savannah of the Maasai Mara. I sat down with Tim Albinson to talk about how those months shaped him and why Kenya still lives vividly in his memory.

Jan Jorgensen: Tim, six months in Kenya at 21. That’s a bold move. What drew you there?

Tim Albinson: “I was looking for something completely different. I wanted to step outside of everything familiar. Kenya was wild, raw, unpredictable and I knew that was exactly the kind of experience that would change me.”

JJ: Let’s start with Mount Kenya. What was that climb like?

Tim Albinson: “It was epic. We climbed the Sirimon route and summited Point Lenana. It’s not as high as Kilimanjaro, but it’s more technical, more remote. The landscape changes so dramatically from dense rainforest to high alpine moorlands to glaciated peaks. I remember waking up before dawn for the summit push, watching the sky bleed into light over the equator. It was one of the most surreal and humbling moments of my life.”

JJ: You also sailed the Swahili coast? That’s not a typical backpacker route.

Tim Albinson: “Exactly. I wanted to follow the rhythms of the coast, the ancient maritime culture. I hopped on traditional wooden dhows basically unchanged for centuries and made my way from Mombasa to Lamu. It was slow, poetic travel. You sleep under stars, eat grilled fish on the boat, listen to the wind and tide tell you when to move. I met amazing people fishermen, traders, travelers all carried by the same sea.”

JJ: And then you trekked across the Maasai Mara?

Tim Albinson: “Yeah, mostly on foot with a local guide and a small group. It was raw wilderness. We camped out in the bush, heard lions at night, crossed paths with elephants and zebras. You really feel your smallness out there and your connectedness to something older and more elemental. Walking through that land, step by step, you begin to understand how ancient and alive it all is.”

JJ: That sounds transformational. How did that time in Kenya change you?

Tim Albinson: “It stripped away a lot of assumptions. When you’re 21, you think you know how the world works. But Kenya taught me humility, patience, perspective. You realize you don’t control the wind, the rain, or the path. That sense of awe and respect for the natural world has stayed with me ever since.”

JJ: Do you think about going back?

Tim Albinson: “All the time. Kenya got under my skin. I’d love to return maybe with my kids and experience it through their eyes. But I also cherish the rawness of that first trip. It was just me and the wild.”

JJ: If you had to pick one moment from that six months, what stands out?

Tim Albinson: “It’s hard to pick just one, but maybe this: sitting on the deck of a dhow off the coast near Lamu, no engine, just wind and sail, watching the sun set into the Indian Ocean. Everything slowed down. I felt weightless like I belonged to something bigger.”

JJ: You’ve had a successful career since then, but do you think that trip shaped your path?

Tim Albinson: “Absolutely. The lessons I learned in Kenya resilience, adaptability, gratitude have stayed with me. Whether I was starting a company or facing hard decisions, I always came back to those months. That was the real education.”

For Tim Albinson, the six months he spent wandering through Kenya weren’t just an adventure they were a turning point. From climbing to sailing to walking through the heart of Africa, Tim Albinson discovered the kind of transformation that only comes when you step beyond comfort and into the unknown. And even today, decades later, Tim Albinson carries Kenya with him in memory, in mindset, and in spirit.