about zeman mccreadie

Zeman arrived in Cambodia in early 1994, shortly after the UN held elections, as a traveler looking for adventure in South-East Asia. Stability was only slowly returning to a country with a clouded history. In 1994 it was considered adventurous travel to the southern port of Sihanoukville, with only the most foolhardy traveler attempting the poorly paved and bandit-littered highway after 12 midday.

Ten years later, Sihanoukville is a comfortable, 3-hour drive from Phnom Penh, on one of the country's best kept and busiest highways.

Growing up on a dirt bike in Wales, Zeman was keen to pursue his favourite hobby on the myriad of trails that criss-cross Cambodia. But it would be another few years before dirt bikes appeared, with the first Honda XLR 250 becoming available to rent in 1996. Many parts of the provincial areas of the country were still considered unsafe and in the hands of poor and heavily armed, disbanded soldiers.

Ten years of stability in the country has allowed Zeman to travel to every corner of this exotic and exciting land. Camping in Angkorian Era temples so remote that they could only be reached by dirt bike or helicopter; SCUBA diving the most exciting waters the country has to offer; taking boat trips along the myriad of river systems and coastal areas previously known only to a handful of local fishermen.

In 2002 Zeman returned to the UK to work with a specialist jet boat builder and operator, Ocean Dynamics, where he gained an MCA (Maritime and Coastal Agency) commercial passenger boat skipper and advanced powerboat license. And experience driving some of the worlds most respected Rigid Hulled Inflatable (RiBs) jet boats built by Ocean Dynamics, operating in what is reputed to be the worlds most dangerous stretch of water, Ramsey Sound in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. This also allowed him to indulge in another of his passions, the study of wildlife as Ramsey Island is a nature reserve owned by the RSPB (Royal Society For The Protection of Birds).

Drawing on his vast experience of the country and a lifetime spent in the pursuit of adventure Zeman decided to use his knowledge along with a stable of custom built or purpose modified expedition vehicles, dirt bikes, boats and trucks, to take people to the Cambodia he had come to know and love, the Cambodia lost way in the bush at the far end of a remote river or lesser beaten trail, and with camping equipment to stay a while and really check it out.