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The world’s most travelled man makes his 601st visit to Kenya

Fred Finn, who holds the title in Guinness World Record of the most travelled man in the world, during an interview at Leopard Beach Hotel in South Coast. [Omondi Onyango, Standard]

The man who holds the Guinness of World Records as the most travelled human being is in the country again.

He was on the first and last Concorde flights and had flown in the now-decommissioned, iconic British-French supersonic jet 718 times.

Fred Finn from Canterbury, near London in the United Kingdom, returned aboard a British Airways flight for a two-week visit that has seen him take part in a number of events and also sample a number of tourist attraction sites in the country.

In this trip that marks 601 as the number of times he has landed in Kenya, Finn, 79, who describes himself as a wanderlust has tagged along with one of the world’s best rugby players, Victor Ubogu, formerly of Bath Rugby club and England National Rugby team from 1992-1999 for the tour.

Ubogu is the owner of VU Limited, a leading provider of high-end corporate and hospitality firm that deals with sports, music concerts of global repute.

Finn first travelled to Kenya in 1958 aboard an oil tanker vessel that called at the port of Mombasa while on a working tour of the South Coast.

“This is my other home,” said Finn told The Standard in an exclusive interview at the Leopard Beach Hotel in Diani.

In Nairobi, both Finn and Ubogu took part in a series of events to promote rugby within correctional service centres and toured Kamiti Maximum Security Prison where Ubogu took to the pitch after a 20-year break to play amongst inmates serving various jail terms.

Ubogu, 57, who is originally from Nigeria was upbeat about the Kenyan tour and promised to return soon.

“It’s my second trip to your beautiful country. I was here more than 15 years ago and so much has changed,” he said as they prepared for a two-day tour of Tsavo East National Park where they were to travel via Madaraka Express Passenger train to Voi from Mombasa.

Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Planning and Trade members hand a carving to Fred Finn during the WTM fair in London, 2016. [Courtesy]

He extolled the beautiful corals off Diani beach where they took a dive and he come face to face with creatures from beneath the ocean waters.

“During the dive, visibility was excellent and I was able to see all the beautiful creatures underwater. I will definitely come back for more dive trips here,” Ubogu said.

Prior to taking the train safari, Finn and Ubogu retreated to Tamarind Village in Mombasa County for a day.

For Finn, who has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, travel will only cease when he gets to 100 years.

“I have a special liking for Kenya hence my frequent trips around the globe must include a visit to this great nation,” he said. 

Finn who is considering retirement when he clocks 100 years, is a former consultant with Africa’s leading airline, Ethiopian Airlines.

The widely travelled man will not be around for Christmas as he hopes to fly back home on December 22, to be with his family but hopes to come back again in January.

His title as the world’s most travelled man was recorded in the Guinness World Records under “the most mile travelled man” in 1983.  

Finn has visited 142 countries in his lifetime but holds a special memory of his first visit to Kenya back in the 50s.

He has flown over the Atlantic more than 2,000 times he recounts, adding that he has seen the transformation in the global airline industry with technologically advanced planes now taking reign of the skies unlike in his formative years where aeroplane cabins were the real deal.

In his life, he has done 24 million kilometres of flying – a sharp contrast to how many ordinary people make by the time they take on their next life.

Finn ekes a living out of travel consultancy and has major airlines across the globe as his clients tap from his decades-long expertise in the skies.

He opines enthusiastically that Kenya is a safe haven for anyone looking for a memorable holiday and he always travels to Kenyan as an assurance that it is the place to be even when the tide seemingly is against, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to ravage the world.

Fred Finn at Tamarind Village in Mombasa County. [County]

In his current tour, he hopes to travel to Birds Island Lodge within Lake Bogoria in the Rift Valley, and to meet with Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, Najib Balala.

“I have interacted well before with officials from the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) including its chief executive, Dr Betty Radier who have all proved to be full of energy and zeal to promote destination Kenya,” he said.

The key destination for him to visit in Kenya is the iconic Masai Mara. But the abundance of wildlife in the country, natural sceneries such as the snow-capped mountains and expansive savannahs hosting wild animals cement his love for Kenya.

Besides the amazing jungle life Kenya has, he is more into the coastal life which he says, he cannot trade for anything.

“A visit to Kenya must include the Coast which has amazing people and geographical features,” he quips.

Anytime he comes to Kenya, Finn spends most of his time at the coast and spends quality time in this part of the country.

“I always like waking up early in the morning and going for a slow walk along the white sandy beaches of Diani. The early morning walks are so refreshing each day as I meet fishermen returning their catch or encounter beach operators who have lots of stories to tell,” he said. 

Finn has met the high and mighty through his travel enthusiasm. He recalls meeting former President Daniel Moi in 1997 when he led a tourist delegation to Kenya. He prides in talking to billionaire Richard Branson – the proprietor of Virgin Group – into visiting Kenya for the first time.

The British travel consultant also convinced Prince Michael of Kent and Sarah, Duchess of York to travel to Kenya, which they did in 1994.

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