About VentureCo Worldwide
We established VentureCo in 1999 to enable travellers to visit far flung destinations and discover different cultures. Exploring the world with a spirit of adventure, cooperation, and, if the opportunity presents itself, a willingness to give something back, helps to make the wheels go round.
VentureCo was set up by current directors Mark Davison and David Gordon. A chance conversation in a back street ceviche bar in Quito, Ecuador in 1998 gave rise to the idea of combining our experience and creating VentureCo. Looking back over the years, the travellers’ tales and experiences that we have to share would fill volumes! The satisfaction of life with VentureCo today is that hundreds of travellers, as well as our friends from all over the world, also have stories, experiences and, most importantly, an understanding of each other that can only be for the good of the global village in which we all live.
“Giving something back” is at the heart of VentureCo’s ethos and our objective is to work in partnership with responsible travellers to achieve a mutual exchange between the traveller and the host community.
The VentureCo Team
Our office in Tavistock is staffed by experienced travellers and expeditioners: we are people-orientated, and the company is small enough to take a personal interest and professional enough to be efficient.
Our leaders are one of our greatest strengths. Individuals are trained in the hard skills of outdoor leadership, and selected in the first place for an intangible quality that we call “role-modelability”. The whole VentureCo organisation is passionate about what we do, and the way we do it.
Our office in Tavistock, Devon is staffed by
Mark Davison | Joint Owner
I worked for many years in Africa as an expedition leader but now spend rather more time driving the office than driving a Land Rover. I’m occasionally allowed out of the office and have recently visited Patagonia, Morocco and India.
I am keen amateur botanist and birder and am a volunteer with the National Plant Monitoring Scheme N.P.M.S. an organisation that seeks to establish habitat-based baseline data for the entire British Isles – a task that hasn’t been undertaken before.
I am a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
David Gordon | Joint Owner
– Multiple circumnavigations of the South American continent (1984 to 1990)
– Explored the Amazon and trekked in Patagonia
– Followed the Mekong river through Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.
– Explored East Africa
– Driven the Hippie Trail to Kathmandu.
– More recently David has established most of Venture Co’s projects and co-operation initiatives
– David is Chairman of the Book Bus
Hannah Tainsh | Reservations
Hannah makes sure everything happens when it’s supposed to happen! Dependable, thorough and with an amazing eye for detail. Hannah grew up in Africa and is familiar with all the famous places as well as the remote airstrips that no-one has ever heard of!
Ruth Lee | Riding Leader
As a big fan of travel, any excuse is used for an adventure! I’ve canoed the Klondike gold rush route 400km down the Yukon river in Northern Canada, mustered cattle on horseback in Queensland, Australia and ridden deep into Kananaskis country in the Rockies, cowboy style.
I have more than 11 years’ experience of leading youth expeditions to countries including Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, China, Egypt and Uganda. In the 1990’s I turned nomad for nearly 3 years backpacking and working in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Canada.
Led two amazing riding trips to Rajasthan, India with Venture Co to ride the incredible Marwari horses; followed by the Barbary Coast ride in Morocco and the Patagonia trek through the Andes. I’m looking forward to leading future rides!
Kelly Geoghegan | Book Bus – Zambia
I am now in my fifth year of leading Book Bus projects and I still wake up every morning and look forward to work! There is always a new challenge, adventure or surprise around the corner. But best of all is to see the children reading, interacting and enjoying their learning. I also love to help the volunteers explore beyond the Book Bus.
In addition to the Vic Falls project, I have experience of the Meheba refugee camp and Luangwa Valley projects in Zambia, and the Malawi project. In Spring 2013 I travelled to India to help set up the pilot project in India. Leading the Book Bus is not a job, but a way of life and I love every minute of it!
Jackie Wigglesworth | Leader and riding leader
– Has led 3 VentureCo expeditions in South America: Inca Summer Venture, Patagonia Venture and Inca & Amazon Venture.
– Helped set up and later worked on running ‘ The Book Bus’ in Zambia, Ecuador and Malawi.
– Leading the Mongolia riding trip 2013
– Has lived and worked on six continents combining teaching English, teaching Yoga, leading trips and community projects.
– Still suffers from Wanderlust. Might be incurable!