Antarctic, Arctic and Beyond Expeditions

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.

As a Korean adoptee growing up in rural NSW, Matt has always been fascinated with the mountains and remote destinations featured in his parents' National Geographic magazines. Following university, he set off on multiple trekking expeditions across South America. Armed with a small point and shoot camera, Matt fell in love with exploring and photographing the natural world. Shortly after returning home, he then set off on a 3.5-year journey around the world, working across various vocations, all the while taking more and more photos.

In 2017, Matt embarked on a project for Olympus Australia across Central Asia and has been since working closely alongside them as an Official Ambassador. What he loves most about photography is the incredible locations you get to document and the amazing people you meet along the way. Sharing in those 'Wow' moments amplifies the experience in a way no other vocation can compare

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.

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。

Jack’s passion for the wilderness was sparked during an Aurora Expeditions’ voyage to the Hebrides & Scotland’s Orkney and Shetland Islands. Further travels 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.

A keen outdoor enthusiast, he trekked to Nepal’s Everest Base Camp at 14, competes in competitive ocean swims and loves spending time surfing, stand-up paddle-boarding & backcountry skiing. He also has a passion for writing.

Having worked in head office part-time since 2013, Jack now works within the Product Team on a casual basis helping with the onboard development of Aurora Expeditions' new vessels, while spending as much time as he can on the waves of our blue planet as part of our experienced Expedition Team.

Jack is always eager to explore, experience new adventures and share his love of remote places.

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.

Justin Febey is an indigenous Tasmanian Ranger with 20 years’ experience in the management of wildlife in Tasmania and its’ off shore islands. Inspired by an early introduction to Sir David Attenborough documentaries, where he developed a passion for wildlife, he undertook a degree in Environmental and Cultural heritage management. Justins’ wildlife work specialises in threatened species management programs and in fur seal management in Tasmanian waters.

Justin was a member of the highly successful Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Program which succeeded in the total eradication of the introduced European rabbit, black rat and mice, where he worked and lived on the Subantarctic Island for 13 months as assistant team leader of the eradication team. Justin is part of a small specialist team in Tasmania that undertakes whale rescue at stranding events and the disentanglement of cetaceans and seals caught in marine debris. He has 9 years’ experience working with the Australian Antarctic program as a watercraft operator and watercraft coordinator where he has worked at the Australian Antarctic bases of Casey Station, Davis Station and Mawson Station. ​

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.

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.

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.

Tory has always been an ocean lover and self-professed ‘water baby’.

She grew up in Brisbane, Queensland, and has spent most of her time chasing water, whether it be frozen or flowing. Tory is a qualified Level 2 Ski Instructor through the NZSIA, having spent almost 8 years travelling in New Zealand, Japan and Canada doing back to back ski seasons. She then relocated to Hobart, Tasmania, where her love for paddling flourished.

Gaining her Australian Canoeing Sea Guide qualifications, Tory has worked as an Expedition Sea Kayak Guide for 8 years in many remote parts of Tasmania’s rugged south west coast and Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Flinders Island in the Bass Straight, Western Australia and Queensland.

Tory spends the cooler months working in outdoor education programs for schools and instructing future outdoor guides in vocational education. She has a drive to upskill and she’s continually building on her knowledge and experience. In her spare time, Tory enjoys swimming, rafting, and sailing.

Tory’s love for unique marine environments, her passion for educating and sharing unforgettable experiences in wild places, along with her sense for adventure will bring great energy and experience to your polar explorations.

Angela’s love for the outdoors began at the tender age of two when her parents brought her on her first wilderness canoe trip. Since then, she has pursued a life as an outdoor guide. Angela has explored many remote and unique parts of the globe as a whitewater kayak guide, sea kayak guide and ski guide.

She spends her winters as a backcountry ski touring guide in the interior of British Columbia and is certified through the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides.

During the summers, she guides sea kayak expeditions to remote locations around the world. Greenland and Norway are two of her favourite places to sea kayak and explore. She is certified by the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of British Columbia.

Angela spends her time off at her home on the Canadian West Coast surfing and enjoying the rugged beauty of Vancouver Island.

An experienced IFMGA-certified mountain guide, Anna hails from one of the world's best climbing destinations - New Zealand. With ski descents and climbing ascents form Nothern India's Kedarnath to Denali's West rib as well as wins in International Adventure races and New Zealand's Coast to Coast, Anna has spent her life zipping around the great outdoors.

In addition to running her own ski guiding business in New Zealand, Anna works as a Mountain Guide trainer and examiner for both the New Zealand Mountain Guide Association (NZMGA) and the American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA). She has taught avalanche safety courses of New Zealand Mountain Safety Council, Utah Avalanche Centre, the American Avalanche Institute and Utah Mountain Adventures.

After years of travelling, guiding and adventure racing around New Zealand and the world, she and her family returned home in 2009. Now each year is spent travelling between winters - Castle Hils Village in the Southern Hemisphere and Salt Lake City, Utah in the Northern Hemisphere - so Anna and her family can make the most of their winters and brief spring/summers to ski and climb in the beloved environs.

Michael is an experienced CEO with more than 25 years of experience successfully building and managing global international sports brands including Nike, Hurley, O’Neill and Surf Hardware International. His passion for the outdoors, the environment and surfing make for a great fit culturally with Aurora as well as his extensive global experience marketing to adventure focused consumers.

After completing university, Mick hopped on the well-worn Kangaroo route to the UK which ignited a life-long love of travel. Mick has backpacked extensively across most of Europe and visited many parts of Asia, North and South America and the Pacific Islands and has spent time living and working in London and Dublin. A trip to Antarctica remains elusive but hopefully he’s found himself at the right place to get the opportunity sometime in the future.

Mick has over 17 years’ experience in the travel industry having tried to weave a path that mixes his love of travel with his practical accounting qualifications! When he’s not in the office Mick is an avid lover of most sports and will be found playing or watching pretty much any game. Growing up in a camping family Mick also enjoys getting away from it all and getting out into the countryside or down to a beach, especially with his two young sons.

When Carolyn hit the backpacker trail straight out of high school it was the start of a 10-year adventure that saw her swim in the Dead Sea, sail down the Nile in a Felucca, and complete her Australian pilgrimage to Gallipoli in Turkey. The travel bug certainly bit hard: she's now traversed all seven continents, often with her UK husband and kids in tow.

Based on Sydney's northern beaches, Carolyn spent a decade overseeing the HR function at Surf Life Saving NSW before joining Aurora Expeditions. She's a true 'people person' who thrives on developing meaningful relationships and helping others succeed and grow. She's the person who ensures your expedition team is highly skilled, supremely qualified and dedicated to creating magical moments.

Deeply passionate about working for purpose-driven companies committed to respecting the majestic beauty of our planet, Hayley Peacock-Gower and Aurora Expeditions are a perfect fit. With more than 20 years experience in strategic branding, marketing and media for an array of iconic Australian and global brands—such as Canon, Earth Hour | WWF, QANTAS, News Corp, Fairfax Media, Hong Kong Tourism Board, CommSec and PayPal, among others.

Hayley is passionate about championing Aurora Expeditions’ perspective altering experiences that change people’s lives and believes the best outcomes in expedition travel are best achieved with an ongoing commitment to bold, dynamic and active environmental initiatives.

With a lifelong obsession for nature and the ocean, Hayley is always on the lookout for the perfect sunrise.

Sitting in the grass while looking into the eyes of a gorilla. Floating around a river bend while being greeted with the sounds of energetic chanting from New Guinea tribesmen. Spotting the red-flared tails of a Bird of Paradise mating ritual.

These are just a few reasons why Lisa has spent 25 years in travel. After graduating from the University of Washington, Lisa immediately went to work as a copywriter for Society Expeditions, a Seattle-based expedition cruise company.

From there she moved into public relations and advertising handling travel-related accounts such as Holland America and Westmark Hotels. She then spent the next 15 years at Virtuoso, the industry’s leading leisure travel network handling marketing and later cruise sales.

She moved to the supplier side in 2013 joining Zegrahm Expeditions as the Director of Sales responsible for developing revenue with outside sales channels including retail travel agents. She moved from expedition cruises to exotic land experiences when she joined the fabled 261-year-old tour operator, Cox & Kings, The Americas in 2017.

Lisa couldn’t be happier getting back into small-ship cruising and joining Aurora Expeditions in January 2020. One of the most favorite and rewarding aspects of her job is developing strong personal relationships within the travel advisor community.

When Lisa isn’t building the Aurora Expeditions' brand in North America, you can find her working on mosaics and gardening at her home on Whidbey Island in Washington State.

A leader in small-ship and destination led travel, Jos has 20+ years of experience in the industry, most recently as Global Managing Director for discovery cruise and tour company, Voyages to Antiquity.

Jos also spent many years managing the Antarctica product for heritage lines Voyages of Discovery and Swan Hellenic.

Jos is passionate about the environment and those authentic travel experiences that connect us with the real world that we inhabit and that also serve to educate our protection of it.

Jos grew up by the sea with a professional scuba diver father who instilled a great passion for the ocean and its diverse ocean life. A passion that has now settled firmly with expedition cruising, a topic on which Jos has widely consulted and written many articles.

Outside of work, Jos enjoys trekking with his golden retriever and exploring the UK coastline by kayak. He has also written and published a children’s book and played a double for Pierce Brosnan in the James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies.

Languages: English (Native), German (Limited), Spanish (Limited)

David has been with the fire service for the past 25 years, training and working as a medical first responder. For him, coming to people’s aid in an emergency can be extremely challenging but also incredibly rewarding. He has been fortunate enough to have spent two years working at three different research stations in Antarctica. During his stint at a research station at the South Pole, he had the opportunity to work alongside research scientists and explore the Ross Sea, the world’s largest marine protected area.

His favourite destination is South Georgia for its grand mountains and abundant wildlife, its historic whaling stations frozen in time and its history of exploration. He reminds expeditioners not to miss the opportunity to do a polar plunge. They are a blast – always a mix of apprehension and jubilation!