Why Sir Ranulph Fiennes refuses to be called an ‘adventurer’

Our greatest living explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes reflects on his extraordinary life, as he reveals why the word “adventure” is strictly banned from his vocabulary.

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He’s touted as the world’s greatest living explorer by the Guinness Book Of World Records, but Sir Ranulph Fiennes says the word “adventure” is strictly banned from his vocabulary.

“Adventure is a swear word. Adventure can well be going to the local betting shop and having an adventure on the horses,” he tells BW Magazine.

What then is the correct way to describe a man who has broken numerous records including circumnavigating the world along its polar axis, circumnavigating both the North Pole and the South Pole, and discovering the lost city of Iram in Oman — just to name a few.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes has been called the world’s greatest living explorer.

The 74-year-old settles with “expedition leader”. But, some may argue, even that doesn’t do justice to a man who hacked off his own fingers due to frostbite while attempting to walk to the North Pole and was the first man to walk across Antarctica, taking 93 days.

“I think I was a badly behaved child — apparently I didn’t like leaving the beach and I was known as the naughtiest boy,” Sir Ranulph reflects about when his love for exploring began.

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Although he’s commonly referred to as “Ran”, he is known formally as Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, third Baronet of Banbury. And his British upbringing is clear in his tendency to downsize an other-worldly life to a series of humble and measured sentences.

“When I was one year old my father was killed in the war. My Granny wanted to go back to where she came from, Cape Town. Mum, my sisters and I were taken to South Africa for 12 years,” he says.

“I suppose that had something to do with not being totally settled.”

Despite a legacy that few can match already, Sir Ranulph is determined to keep going. He’s currently preparing for his Australia tour, which begins at the end of the month.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes on one of his many expeditions.

His fondest memories of Sydney date back to his first expedition across Antarctica.

“I love going to Sydney and meeting friends there … I remember when we came out of Antarctica on the ship, the boss Anton Bowring had fallen in love with a cook who was there and they got married in The Rocks,” he says.

And that wasn’t the only happy union — Sir Ranulph’s expedition partner Charles Burton also married his fiancee in Sydney before they continued their record-breaking journey.

When you ask Sir Ranulph what pushes him to keep going, his answer isn’t about passion or awe as one might expect. Instead, he says it’s simply that bills need to be paid.

“You don’t make money from expeditions at all so we have only two sources of income: lecturing and writing books. At the moment, I do both,” he says.

“I’ve got a wife and daughter who, like every other wife and daughter, need a source of income so to retire wouldn’t be popular.”

Sir Ranulph Fiennes on his expedition to the North Pole. Picture: Alvaro Canovas/Getty

Sir Ranulph is referring to his 12-year-old daughter Elizabeth, who he reveals has no inclination to follow in the footsteps of her famous father.

“She wants to be a vet and so she’s got seven years ahead of her. Nowadays it takes seven years to be a vet,” he says matter-of-factly.

It’s easy to visualise his life as an action-packed thriller movie — and it’s a thought that hasn’t escaped Sir Ranulph either. He’s already decided that he would like cousin and actor Joseph Fiennes to play the starring role.

“In August last year I spent a month with Joseph and rode Land Rovers going up the Nile and I like him, he’s a good guy,” Sir Ranulph says.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes with Prince Charles in December 2012 in London, England before his expedition to the Antarctica. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty

Sir Ranulph Fiennes rugs up during his expedition to the North Pole. Picture: Alvaro Canovas/Getty

The toughest part of his life to portray would not be the expeditions, or injuries but the death of his first wife and fellow expedition leader, Ginnie Pepper.

“The hardest thing to happen in my life was when my late wife Ginnie died in 2004; I had a year of just uselessness,” he says.

And while it’s easy to think nothing terrifies the explorer, his greatest fear is suffering “a horrible disease like ebola … or slowly losing your memory with Alzheimers”.

* Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Sydney Opera House, April 1.