Global, Arctic and Antarctic Cruises

After completing her BSc in Biological Sciences and M.Eng. in Biological Medicine Engineering, Zhenhuan is currently reading for DPhil Zoology at Edward Grey Institute for Ornithology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford. She studies Ethno-Ornithology, mainly focusing on the relationship between human culture and bird diversity.

Zhenhuan likes bird watching and all kinds of activities related to wildlife protection. She has been to Antarctica twice and loves this frozen land deeply. “Antarctica is a world isolated from all other continents where humans live and it has the power to transform itself”.

This is the first season working with Aurora Expeditions and Zhenhuan joins our new vessel as an experienced Mandarin Speaking Expedition Guide.

Haining hails from China but has grown up in many places. He loves outdoor activities such as hiking and kayaking, and enjoys reading adventure stories since childhood.

He joined Chinese Antarctica Research Expedition (CHINARE) in 2004 and stayed at Zhongshan station (69°22’S) for one winter season and two summer seasons doing science research. His science projects include Upper Atmosphere Research, Geomagnetic and Sea Ice research. During the Antarctic winter days, he enjoyed observing emperor penguins, Weddell seals and skuas as well as camping and hiking in Larsemann Hills. He then got E.E. Master’s degree and joined multinational companies to pursue a business career.

He is a world traveller and particularly loves glaciers and the aurora borealis. Since 2016, Haining began to work part-time as a polar guide in Antarctica and Arctic regions. Haining has a publishing workshop focusing on polar books translation and publishing. He also provides consulting services to local tour agencies.

Haining is joining Aurora Expeditions' new ship, M/V Greg Mortimer during its maiden season in Antarctica in a role of a cultural guide to assist our Mandarin speaking guests in discovering the wonders of the Frozen Continent.

王海宁，探险队员。海宁来自中国大陆，在多个城市生活。从小喜爱各类户外活动包括徒步，皮划艇以及阅读探险故事。2004年加入中国南极考察队，在南纬69度的中山站连度过一个冬季两个夏季进行科学考察，独立负责高空大气物理观测，并参与地磁观测和海冰观测。在南极冬天的日子里，海宁的业余爱好是观察帝企鹅，威德尔海豹和贼鸥，并热衷于在拉斯曼丘陵地带进行露营和徒步探险。在取得电子工程硕士之后，他加入国际公司追寻商业职业发展。海宁一直热爱环球旅行，尤其热爱冰川和极光。从2016年起，他开始成为南极和北极的极地向导。2018年初海宁拥有自己的专注极地书籍引进与翻译的图书工作室，并为国内的旅行公司提供极地咨询顾问。

Isabelle is from a part of the UK steeped in maritime tradition and grew up spending much time on the water. Familiar with the Arctic cruise expedition industry, Isabelle has been working for the past four years on both traditional sailing boats and expedition vessels in Iceland, Tromsø , Svalbard and Greenland as well as working as an expedition leader on sailing boats in East Greenland.

Having developed an interest in marine biology while working as a whale watching guide for three years, Isabelle enjoys talking about the natural environment and loves to facilitate wildlife sightings for guests, whether it is their first time, or if they have seen polar landscapes and marine animals many times.

More recently, Isabelle has been expanding her knowledge of polar environments working as a guide and living on Svalbard. She loves teaching yoga and has studied to become a sailing boat captain.

Jack’s passion for the wilderness was sparked when he was 12, during an Aurora Expeditions' voyage to the Hebrides & Scotland’s Orkney and Shetland Islands. Since then, he’s been lucky to have had the opportunity to travel to six of the seven continents by the time he turned 18.

A keen outdoor enthusiast, trekking to Nepal’s Everest Base Camp at 14 ranks as one of his most exciting adventures. Walking in the shadow of some of the world’s highest mountains was an enriching experience in appreciating both the harshness of nature but also its immeasurable beauty.

Further voyages through Norway’s spectacular fjords, Spitsbergen in the High Arctic, and to the ecological wonder of the Galápagos Islands only reaffirmed his passion for the ocean and wild places.

Jack competes in competitive ocean swims, and loves surfing, stand-up paddle-boarding & skiing. He also has a passion for writing.

Having worked in the Aurora Expeditions' head office part-time since 2013, Jack spent his first season in Antarctica in 2018-19 working aboard the Polar Pioneer in training to become an Expedition Guide.

Jack is always eager to explore, experience new adventures and share his love of remote places, and he’s excited to work aboard Aurora Expeditions’ new vessel, the Greg Mortimer during its maiden season 2019-20.

Juan grew up in a small town in Andalusia, Southern Spain, where he learned to enjoy nature and the outdoors since his very early childhood. His insatiable curiosity about the world took him away at the age of seventeen and since then he has never stopped exploring.

He studied Tourism and Hospitality Management and later completed a Masters in International Development with the aim of promoting travelling that focuses on environmental awareness and cultural sustainability. This approach allowed him to take part in a wide variety of tourism projects involving vocational education and training in Nepal, community-based programs with Quechua people in the Andean highlands, guiding treks and volcano climbs in the Atacama Desert and Eastern Island, and managing a kayak company in the west coast of Greenland. In the last few years he has been absolutely enchanted by the wilderness of Antarctica where he works in guest services and even leads trips to the South Pole.

In his free time, he will likely be skiing in the Pyrenees, ice climbing in the Alps, or mountaineering in Peru. Otherwise, he may be reading books about Eastern philosophy, writing his personal blog or backpacking with friends and camera in hand.

He believes it is a privilege not only to combine his ideas and passion with work, but also to be able to share with guests the experiences of a lifetime.

Jukka comes to Aurora Expeditions as a professional adventure guide specialising in the Arctic, drawing on 14 years experience in the field, combined with a Bachelor degree in ecology, majoring in ecological zoology from the University of Helsinki.

Born and raised in a small town in eastern Finland, Jukka has been living and working above the Arctic Circle since 2003; in northern Finland, Sweden, Norway and Spitsbergen. His experience and adventures and knowledge in the Arctic come from a broad range of sea kayaking, trekking, glacier guiding, skiing trips, dog sledding, snowmobile trips and Zodiac expeditions.

Jukka's fieldwork has largely been with reindeers and arctic foxes with the Norwegian Polar Institute. While living in Svalbard, he worked as a field safety technician for the University of Svalbard, teaching and training Arctic safety issues to students and researchers, along with managing logistics and field transportations in different field projects, both summer and winter.

Now living in a small skiing resort village Ylläs in NW- Finland, Jukka spends winter guiding in northern Finland and summers guiding Spitsbergen. He looks forward to sharing this wonderful part of the world with you and keeping you safe during your voyage.

Kieran Lawton is a wildlife ecologist, adventurer and mountaineer and currently leads a green-tech start-up.

Kieran has always been drawn to wild places and took the opportunities as an ecologist to do so. Early in his career, he undertook research on the ecology of elephant seals and fur seals on Macquarie Island, spent a year over-wintering in the Antarctic doing research on the energetics and food requirements of Emperor penguins. This was followed by a few years on an international program to understand the year-round carbon flux of boreal forest and tundra ecosystems in Siberia, part of a team looking for the ‘missing sink’ in early global circulation models.

He then went back to the Subantarctic looking into albatross populations, noting significant declines in most species and working to understand why. This involved long periods of field work on Australia’s Heard Island in the Southern Indian Ocean, on South Georgia in the Atlantic, and on the wild Chilean islands of Ildefonso and Diego Ramirez to the west of Cape Horn. The Chilean islands were a particular highlight where the fun included swimming ashore and camping on steep, rugged islands covered in albatrosses with no recorded previous visits.

As part of the team that traced the worrying declines in albatross numbers to commercial longline fisheries, Kieran then started working with fishing companies to find a solution. Over the subsequent decade, significant R&D was undertaken on the ‘underwater bait setter’, an invention that sets baited hooks by stealth deep underwater out of the sight of albatrosses. With over $3M invested in R&D, Kieran is now leading the commercialisation of the invention through his company Skadia Technologies.

Kieran has always maintained an enthusiasm for climbing and mountaineering, and in the late 90s sailed to the Antarctic by yacht and led a team that made first ascents there. That was when he first met Aurora Expeditions' founder Greg Mortimer and began leading trips for Aurora Expeditions the following year. Kieran is looking forward to travelling to and sharing the wonder of these wild places with others.

Ian is a Glaciologist, Marine Climatologist, Oceanographer and Geologist. He has 40 years research experience in the fields of climatology, paleoclimatology, polar glaciology, climate change science, coastal and marine geoscience, coastal oceanography, and maritime prehistory. Ian is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales, and Adjunct Research fellow at the Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia. Ian is also the principal scientist of the consultancy ClimaLab.

Ian has completed 10 scientific expeditions to East Antarctica as glaciologist, glacial geologist and paleoclimatologist, and has served as field and scientific leader on most expeditions. His work, spanning 1984 to present, has resulted in the exploration, mapping, and glaciology of new frontiers in Antarctica. These include leader of the 1985-86 over-wintering Wilkes Land glaciological traverses, and summer, field programs in the Prince Charles Mountains, Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf, Law Dome and Windmill Islands, Mill Is, Shackleton Ice Shelf, eastern Wilkes Land, George V Land, northern Victoria Land, and participated in US Antarctic Research Program, NZ Antarctic Research Program, Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions, and the US Coastguard. Ian served as Ice Specialist on the US Coastguard Polar Sea voyage in 2001.

In addition, Ian has served as Co-leader role in the International Trans Antarctic Science Expedition (ITASE) of SCAR 1997-present. He has also served as Coastal geologist and oceanographer on land-based and ship-cruise, field expeditions throughout Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, Samoa, Cook Islands, Hawaii, South Africa, Chile, USA, and Baja Mexico.

Since 2017, Ian is also an Ecotourism presenter and field guide working in Antarctica and Chile. He has also worked as a Professional Photographer and Scientific Communicator with the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) and has a forthcoming book on Past Climate and Antarctica. He is a keen surfer, skier, mountaineer and sailor. Ian also provides extreme weather forecasts to the NSW Government and is an advisor to Risk Frontiers on coastal and meteorological hazards, to Weatherzone and Swellnet, for wave forecasting.

Alasdair is a Sydney-based painter, writer and historian, who has enjoyed a love of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean spanning more than 30 years.

Alasdair’s contact with the region began on the 1983 Heard Island Expedition – his first big adventure – in which he played a supporting role in the second only ascent of 3000-metre Big Ben, the active volcano that dominates the island. Two voyages with the Australian Antarctic Division's Humanities Program followed in the next couple of years.

In the late 1990s, Alasdair was the artist and photographer for two Mawson’s Huts Foundation summer conservation expeditions to Cape Denison, then in 1999 Alasdair staged Mawson’s Antarctica: A view from the huts, a major exhibition of his Antarctic paintings and photographs. In 2000, Alasdair curated the Australian High Commission to Canada's photographic exhibition, '… that sweep of savage splendour': A Century of Australians in Antarctica.

Alasdair has published three books with Antarctic themes: Mawson’s Huts: An Antarctic Expedition Journal (1999); Antarctica: that sweep of savage splendour (collected writings – editor 2011); and a biography of the renowned polar photographer Frank Hurley: A photographer’s life (2004). His other books include Grand Obsessions: The life and work of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, winner of the 2011 National Biography Award.

Away from Antarctica, Alasdair writes regularly for Australian Geographic and his research and creative interests range over architecture and design, natural history, and the history of exploration.

Alasdair has worked as a lecturer on tourist voyages to Antarctica since 2005, and has been a keen member of Aurora Expeditions’ Antarctic expedition team since 2012.

Born and raised on Orust, an island off the Swedish west coast, Birgitta Mueck naturally gained a big passion for the ocean and its inhabitants. From a very young age the underwater life became an important part of her own life.

Her strong passion for nature and wilderness led Birgitta to an education in wilderness tourism and nature photography. Since graduating, she has spent the majority of her time in the field as an underwater camera operator working on natural history productions for national television.

Together with her father, Armin, and sister, Nanna, they run Crystal Water Film Production, a Swedish film company that produces underwater films in collaboration mainly with Swedish National Television (SVT) and Norwegian National Television (NRK). Birgitta is an experienced diver, a certified PADI Divemaster and PADI AmbassaDiver. She has been operating as an underwater camera operator in multiple television productions. To name a few, Birgitta’s most recently worked on “Winter Whales of Norway”, dedicated to orcas and humpbacks in Northern Norway and “Life Against All Odds”, highlighting the importance of protecting underwater areas, which includes footage from Scandinavia, Azores and the Mediterranean.

When Birgitta is not on an expedition, she lives on a sailing boat while capturing the marine life on film and still pictures, both in the warm tropical waters and in the cold Arctic.

Carol’s passion for archaeology began with rescue excavations of medieval English towns, ports, churches and castles. After receiving a Masters degree in Archaeology and History from the University of Glasgow, she continued this work with investigation of some of the great medieval abbeys, palaces and gardens of England. In 1988 she returned to her native Scotland, and since then has lived and worked amongst the windswept islands of the Outer Hebrides, with field researches focused on ‘the archaeology of survival’ - the study of remote communities and deserted places.

Until 2012, Carol also worked for the National Trust for Scotland as archaeologist for St Kilda, helping to understand and preserve the unique heritage of this World Heritage site.

She also travels worldwide and in the polar regions as a guide and lecturer on expedition ships, including to Svalbard, Greenland and extensively to Antarctica, where she has found a second home under canvas on the ice cap.

Chris grew up amongst the mountains, forests, rivers and coast of his beloved New Zealand; hiking, climbing and skiing in the Southern Alps and travelling around in boats. After studying protected area management in New Zealand and a post-graduate degree in Australia, Chris has taught natural resource management at a First Nation tertiary college in the Northern Territory. After returning to New Zealand, he had an ecological restoration business; worked for the New Zealand Department of Conservation; and for a decade was a manager and environmental advocate with a prominent New Zealand conservation NGO.

Chris has spent the last four years as a guide, lecturer and Zodiac driver in the Arctic (Russian Far East), New Zealand and Australian Subantarctic Islands, and in Antarctica. He loves sharing his passion for wildlife and wild places, botany, nature conservation and history.

When not on ships, Chris does remote field work with the New Zealand Department of Conservation and works as a hiking guide around the South Island. He has also worked as a volunteer in Nepal, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

Jane is an IFMGA qualified mountain and ski guide based in the South Island of New Zealand. She began trawling around the mountains during her time at Otago University, where mountain huts were an excellent substitute for lecture theatres.

Prior to guiding full time she worked a number of years in outdoor related industries including ski patrolling in NZ and the USA; as an outdoor instructor in Scotland and for Outward Bound NZ, and as part of the Aoraki Rescue Team based in Mount Cook Village, New Zealand.

During a 5 year nomadic work-travel stint around the globe she spent three months in a tent living at Patriot Hills, in the Antarctic Interior. Her memory numbed by the cold, she went back for a second season, and visited the South Pole with a crew of astronauts.

She speaks Japanese, has a side line interest in Plant Based Nutrition, and finds the simplicity and awe of life in the mountains a very fulfilling and humbling place to be.

Mattias started his career 1998 in Sweden as a dive instructor and has since then worked in several countries where the underwater world is as fabulous as it can get, such as Australia, Thailand, Fiji and Egypt.

In 2012, he started working as a guide on expedition ships in Svalbard and he was directly stunned by the grandeur and the wildlife that the Arctic offers.

This line of work has also brought him to places like the North Atlantic Islands, Galapagos, New Zealand, Namibia, Falklands Islands, and the jewel in the crown: South Georgia and Antarctica.

Ever since then, Mattias has been taking people for kayaking, guiding and lecturing.

Since he visits all these beautiful places on earth, he captures the impressions with his camera, and therefore besides kayaking, photography is another passion of his.

Edwin is an avid outdoor enthusiast with a passion for all activities based on, in and under water.

He’s an Australian currently living in Arizona, USA.

Edwin is an experienced polar ice diver, he holds many diving certifications with several agencies, including: Divemaster, Master Scuba Diver, deep diver and extended range river, rescue diver, gas blender, Trimix, DPV, and emergency oxygen provider. Edwin has been a certified diver since 1986 and has dived in the polar regions with Aurora Expeditions aboard the Polar Pioneer, where his love affair with the polar regions started.

Outside his passion for water activities, Edwin is also a helicopter pilot and an entrepreneur. He has successfully started and managed several start-up companies from inception to multinational status. Edwin has a Master’s degree in Management from Macquarie University in Sydney and has worked in the commercial lighting industry for over 30 years.

Dedicating his life to the open waters, Al has been paddling the world for the past four decades. He has kayaked and guided adventures throughout North and South America, Japan and the South Pacific, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and for the past 21 years he has been leading our small groups of keen kayakers out into the icy waters of Antarctica, the European Arctic and the Russian Far East.

As well as being a qualified sea kayak instructor, in his outdoor career Al has taught and examined Nordic ski instructor courses, swim instructor courses, whitewater rafting courses and qualified in swiftwater rescue. He raced competitively at a national level in cross-country skiing and has developed sea kayak, rafting and cross-country ski programs in many countries. He has also worked as a helicopter ski guide, rafting guide and Wilderness First Aid instructor.

When not travelling the world with his kayak, Al returns home to Switzerland where he manages his own sea kayaking business.

Alex was born and raised in Northern California, an area wilder and closer to nature (and colder!) than most imagine. Since he could hold his head up, he was seated in a kayak, eventually beginning to lead tours off the rough and rocky Santa Cruz coastline after graduating from the University of California.

Spending his entire youth climbing and skiing the Sierra’s, surfing, kayaking and boating off the coast, and travelling the world with his parents led him comfortably into a life of guiding. His education in earth sciences at the university inspired an environmentalist attitude, as well as a research-based approach to science and learning. Working among scientists and leading experts has allowed him to make friends with and learn from some of the brightest and enthusiastic members of the industry since the start, and inspired a passion for the birdlife and lichen ecology of the polar regions.

After beginning work with a world-class surf kayaker in Santa Cruz, Alex has travelled the world, continuously challenging himself in and out of a kayak. Guiding month long kayak trips in the Patagonian Fiords, paddling the deceivingly tricky and frigid waters of the Pacific Northwest, and providing hands-on logistical support for whole-season scientific field trips in the High Arctic, among others have provided lessons and experience in leadership and wilderness conduct.

Although these skills are useful for guiding work in polar regions, they also transfer well to Alex’s personal life. When not guiding, he can be found climbing, paddling, skiing and fishing around the Lofoten Islands which he calls home.

Allie has been a sea kayak guide and instructor since 2011 when she first took up the sport. After working in numerous and varied fields (none of which were outdoors) including photography and yoga, she has found that kayaking enlivens her senses like nothing else. Being on the water, particularly the ocean, provides a whole-body sense of well-being more than words could duly describe - it's the only thing that balances her fire inside.

Allie hopes others find their solace in the moments of wonder and awe that nature provides. Her favourite places to paddle are areas of abundant wildlife, as the sentient creatures are what creates the dynamic environments she so enjoys, whether it's her travels in the polar regions or temperate and tropical rainforests.

When not paddling, Allie travels extensively, chasing the sun, riding her bikes and exploring for the pure joy of new places and different challenges that give rise to more questions than answers.

She is a free spirit full of bubbly energy, always ready with a laugh and a smile.

Jeff grew up in London where he qualified as a doctor in 1983, but after his general practice training, he soon headed south where he worked for 20 years as a family doctor in a small town on the east coast of New Zealand.

Jeff has spent the last ten years of his career working in remote and rural locations in Australia and around the world. In Australia, he has worked all over the country, doing everything from working with local Indigenous communities and the Royal Flying Doctor Service to running small town hospitals.

In the vicinity of Australia, Jeff worked through the Indian Ocean, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Micronesia, but his medical practice has also taken him from the Shetlands in Scotland to the Falklands in the South Atlantic. It was five years ago, while working on the Falklands, that Jeff first got an opportunity to start doctoring down in Antarctica, and he has been heading back every season since.

Jeff still calls New Zealand East Coast home, where he lives with his wife and three children.

John is an Australian Family Doctor with an interest in expedition and travel medicine. He has worked across Australia in a myriad of roles including Aboriginal health in Kempsey and in both Accident and Emergency and as family doctor in Sydney and rural Australia.

John and his wife Kirsty have lived, travelled and worked in over 50 countries over the past decade. While in Nepal John worked at an Himalayan Rescue Post, 3 days walk to the nearest hospital. While in Ethiopia he worked at a Rural Malaria Clinic and while in Peru he worked a remote hospital. After visiting Antarctica for the first time in 2000, John is always keen to return.

John has been living and working in General Practice at Bondi in addition to working regular shifts in Accident and Emergency. In his spare time he enjoys hiking, kayaking, rock climbing and paragliding as well as a swim at Bondi Beach.

Growing up, Judy’s family travelled around the world giving her an appreciation of other cultures and beliefs and an ongoing thirst for travel.

A relative late comer to medical practice, she returned to study when her children were in primary school. The travel bug continues to impact her developing medical career, seeing her in positions throughout Gippsland in Victoria.

She is a procedural GP and enjoys working in rural and remote settings.

She recently worked as an Antarctic Medical Practitioner at Davis station for the Australian Antarctic Division and spent three years working with the Royal Flying Doctor Service in the Kimberley in Western Australia.

Outside of medicine, her passion for exploring the great outdoors has taken her to such places as Nepal on a 21 day trek around Himalayas including Everest Base Camp and extensively around Australia.

She also has a passion for cars and motorsports, and volunteers with a group providing medical services to motorsport events around Australia.

Mari was born in Japan and moved to the UK as a child with her family. After qualifying in medicine, she travelled around the world, and fell in love with Australia. She later moved to Sydney with her husband, who is himself a paediatrician, and three children where she has lived for the past 20 years. She currently works as a GP for Justice Health, providing much needed healthcare to prison inmates, as well as part time work in emergency services.

Mari is no stranger to working in remote conditions however. For the past 10 years she has worked on and off in remote indigenous communities in Australia. She has worked with asylum seekers on Christmas Island, Nauru and in Sydney. She has also volunteered on a medical trek in Nepal and assisted conservation research teams as the camp medic in the forests of Madagascar and the Amazon rainforest in Peru. She loves trekking and kayaking in her spare time.

Mari had her first voyage with Aurora Expeditions last season, when she worked as a doctor on the last voyages onboard the Polar Pioneer and is now looking forward to being one of the first doctors on the Greg Mortimer.

Rural, remote and expedition medicine have been the mainstays of Peter’s career following his graduation from Adelaide University in 1982. His passions for medicine and travelling have led him to every state in Australia, from major towns and cities to remote mining and indigenous communities.

Peter has also held placements around the world, practicing medicine in Ireland, the Solomon Islands, New Zealand, the Southern and Indian Oceans, as well as working as an Antarctic Medical Practitioner at Casey Station for the Australian Antarctic Division.

Peter’s love for the great outdoors doesn’t stop with his career; he is also an avid bush walker, rock climber, diver, and sailor. When not globetrotting he returns home to Hindmarsh Island, South Australia with his wife and three children.

Growing up on a farm in South Australia, Rachel always loved being outdoors, but when she was stuck inside, she enjoyed reading books about nature, wildlife and different environments, including the polar environments, however until recently she didn’t dream of visiting them!

After graduating from the University of Adelaide, she trained to become a rural GP anaesthetist and has since worked in country towns throughout Australia, including work for the Royal Flying Doctors Service, and she even spent a short time volunteering in the PNG Highlands.

In 2016 Rachel overwintered at Casey Station in Antarctica as the Medical Practitioner for the small group of expeditioners stationed there. Spending the year on the ice was a life-changing experience which has left her with an abiding love for the continent.

In George's 30-year travel career, he has always focused on adventurous, off the beaten path destinations. He has worked and traveled to all seven continents, exploring diverse destinations such as Antarctica, Galapagos, the upper Amazon, the Canadian Rockies, India and Hawaii’s adventurous nooks, to name just a few.

George believes that travel to remote, authentic lands enriches us more than just about any other activity.

Martha is Aurora Expeditions’ resident Irish expert. Hailing from the Wicklow Mountains, Ireland and spending summers on the west coast of Ireland in Connemara since a young child.

She has worked for Tourism Ireland for a number of years and in the words of her friends is the ‘most Irish person you’ll ever meet’! Martha loves animals, having grown up with a menagerie of pets and is a bit obsessed with dogs... Not content with staying put in Ireland, Martha has lived in Dublin, New York, Charleston - South Carolina and now finally calls Sydney home.

In her spare time, she also loves snorkelling, hiking, cooking, eating and crime dramas.

Alex caught the travel bug from a very early age. Growing up in Belgium, her family made the most of being so close to everywhere and took her on numerous holidays. She was instantly hooked and up to this day, still spends her life looking forward to her next trip.

She lived a few years in the UK where she studied Tourism and had a stint with PR – she loves her puns!

She then spent the next few years working for Club Med in the UK Head office, as well as a few months in one of their resorts in France, putting together conferences and incentives and sometimes escorting groups around the world.

Looking for ‘a sunnier version of London’, she landed in Sydney and has not looked back since! After Translation studies, she missed travel too much and worked for a wholesaler promoting Europe and the South Pacific for over 5 years.

Ready for a new challenge, she joined the Aurora family in November 2017 and is very excited to tell everyone about our stunning and unique destinations!

When she is not at work, she loves to spend time catching up with friends, looking for unusual fun activities, or working out behind the ‘barre’!

Amanda's passion for Antarctica began when she was Expedition Coordinator on a 2001 expedition to Macquarie Island, Cape Denison and Dumont d'Urville. A life changing experience for her, she has lived and breathed the Antarctic ever since, working as an Assistant Expedition Leader and Expedition Leader for 10 years with Aurora Expeditions. She also works in the High Arctic, and developed a passion for the northern climes, including Norway, Scotland and Greenland. Amanda has been onboard since the inception of our Papua New Guinea voyages, and loves the friendliness and wonders of this part of the world. Her desire is to share the life changing experiences of the Antarctic, Arctic and other remote wildernesses, and the joys and challenges of marine travel.

Armed with accounting qualifications, a diploma in photography, and marine qualifications, Amanda has a wide array of skills. She has worked in a variety of fields, including marine import and export, yacht production and yacht racing. She was part of the crew on the 'Survivor' television series in Panama and Vanuatu and her work as yacht delivery crew satisfied her adventurous nature. A keen sailor, Amanda has sailed the eastern Australian coast many times, worked as a deckhand and cook in the Whitsundays on a 55ft timber ketch, and sailed for several years on the tallships HMAV Bounty and SV Svanen. She has twice sailed to Lord Howe Island with Nuclear Free Seas and has actively participated in a number of Greenpeace campaigns.

Since the birth of her daughter, Amanda utilises her comprehensive knowledge of Aurora’s destinations and style, by managing and developing the expedition team… and living somewhat vicariously through their adventures!

Ania became fascinated by the idea of travelling when she saw her first Lonely Planet episode on the Discovery Channel as a teenager. She has dreamt about combining her passion for travelling with an inspiring job ever since.

The urge to explore the world prompted her to study Spanish language and literature at university. Since then she has lived in Poland, Spain and Canada and she has worn many hats working as a language teacher, translator and a city guide in her home town of Krakow, Poland.

After several years of a semi-nomadic life, inlcuding roadtrips through the Rocky Mountains, West Coast of the US and the Australian Outback, she decided to settle in Sydney, trading her beloved Polish mountains for the Australian sun.

She decided to pursue the job opportunity at Aurora Expeditions after she found out that it was founded by Greg Mortimer, a man whose story she admired a year before while visiting the Trailblazers Exhibition at the Australian Museum. She believes there are no coincidences in life.

As a expeditions team coordinator she is excited to work with people that most of the people only read books about.

Outside work, Ania finds joy in listening to people’s stories and hearing different languages. She enjoys everything outdoors, in particular hiking and snowboarding. She writes a Polish blog about Australia.

Being born and raised in Southern Africa, Anna has always had a passion for adventure and the travel industry was the most obvious and natural career choice for her. Over the last 25 years, Anna has worked in various aspects of the travel industry from travel consultant to airline sales representative, to Hotel Manager.

Anna loves helping others see the world, and she dedicates a lot of her spare time to exploring our wonderful world herself - having visited over 50 countries to date.