Antarctica Cruises & Other Destinations with Aurora Expeditions

Isabelle Howells

Expedition Guide

Antarctica

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.

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Juan Jose Miramon

Expedition Guide

Antarctica Costa Rica Panama

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.

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Richard Dakin

Expedition Guide

Scotland The Arctic

Richard's fascination with wild places was born after he was given a set of black and white Frank Hurley's photos as a child. This sparked his interest for a career working in nature. He now has over 20 years' experience working in environmental management of National Parks and World Heritage Areas and is currently based in the south-east of Tasmania.

Richard completed a Degree and Graduate Diploma in Environmental Management. He volunteers as a guide when he's on leave and has led many teams on adventures around the globe. Richard has summited Mt Kilimanjaro on two occasions and hikes and bikes at any opportunity he has.

Recently appointed Station Leader with the Australian Antarctic Division and was previously fortunate to work for a year as Ranger in Charge at the subantarctic Macquarie Island. He is inspired by wild places and feels honoured to assist in stewardship of Australia's reserve estate. Richard aims to focus his career on advocating for the parks and protected areas by sharing his knowledge and appreciation of the natural world.

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Zhenhuan (Darwin) Zhang

Mandarin Speaking Expedition Guide

Antarctica

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.

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Justin Febey

Expedition Guide

Antarctica The Arctic Greenland

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. ​

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Jack Alscher

AEL Trainee & Expedition Guide

Antarctica

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.

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Peng (James) He

Mandarin Speaking Expedition Guide (中西英文同声传译员)

Antarctica

Peng (James) is one of our experienced Mandarin speaking expedition guides at Aurora Expeditions. He works as a naturalist, expedition guide and simultaneous interpreter in Chinese, English and Spanish. For the past 11 years, James has lived in the capital city of Argentina, Buenos Aires. While on shore, he works as a tour guide and photographer during his spare time.

His footprints have covered almost all of South America. James also been a designated interperter for many business affairs, events and conferences by the Chinese Embassy in Argentina and combines his interpreting duties with his tour guide professional life until today.

贺鹏（James）是奥罗拉探险公司经验丰富的中国探险队员之一，同时也是极地自然向导和中西英语同传员。过去的11年里他一直生活在阿根廷首都布宜诺斯艾利斯，业余时间任南美旅行向导和摄影师，足迹近乎覆盖整个南美洲，他还曾担任过中国驻阿根廷大使馆的很多商务、政务会议和活动的指定译员至今。

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Haining Wang 王海宁

Mandarin Speaking Expedition Guide (探险队员/讲师)

Antarctica

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。

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Jukka Ikonen

Expedition Guide

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.

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Dr Annette Scheffer

Naturalist

Antarctica

Annette is a marine biologist who specialises in whales, penguins and open ocean ecosystems. She holds a PhD in behavioural ecology of king penguins at the Subantarctic islands of South Georgia, Kerguelen and Crozet, and has worked on protected areas for macaroni penguins with the British Antarctic Survey, BirdLife International and CNRS France.

Annette has 15 years of experience as a whale watching guide and advisor for underwater film and photography teams in the Azores and Patagonia. As a guest lecturer for marine biology and sustainability with Heidelberg University in Germany, Annette now regularly takes students to the Azores for first-hand experience of the open ocean and to gain close experience with whales and dolphins, sharks, manta rays and seabirds.

Besides her work as a scientist and lecturer, Annette is collaborating with international education institutions to pass on her passion for the oceans and raise awareness of the fragility of the sea and its inhabitants.

Annette currently lives between Cambridge (UK), Heidelberg (Germany) and the Azores, where she works on sustainable fisheries, whale foraging behaviour and educating the next generation.

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Dr Laura Williams

Naturalist & Ecologist

Antarctica

Laura grew up on Kangaroo Island, a remote island off the southern coast of Australia, well known for its wildlife and pristine beaches. This sparked Laura's love for the natural environment and remote places and she went on to study science at the University of Adelaide. Enthralled by stories of the subantarctic Macquarie Island, Laura decided she would do anything to visit this enchanting place and enrolled in a PhD in subantarctic invasive species Ecology and Management.

Laura spent four summer seasons on Macquarie Island studying the native and exotic plants where she fell head over heals for the subantarctic. Laura has spent the past few years working on boats in Tasmania and exploring the back country of New Zealand. Even now, when working as an ecologist in Canberra, Australia, she still finds time each summer to travel to her favourite part of the world and share its wonders with those lucky enough to also explore the Antarctic.

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Dr Pete Gill

Naturalist - Whale Expert

Antarctica

After an earlier working life in the Australian bush, Dr Pete Gill has been involved in whale research since 1983. For 13 years he assisted Dr Bill Dawbin, the “grandfather” of humpback whale research, before branching out into his own studies of humpback and blue whale migration, using small sailing vessels to explore for whale feeding and breeding grounds around New Caledonia and the Coral Sea, the Solomon Islands, in Antarctic waters and around Tasmania. He skippered most of the Oceanic Research Foundation’s In the Wake of Flinders circumnavigation of Australia under sail in 1989, along the way defining the extent of humpback breeding grounds off the Kimberley coast. Between 1990-91, he worked as a Marine Mammal Researcher for Greenpeace Australia, while continuing humpback whale research. During the mid-1990s, Pete also worked on a Sydney University research program on southern right whales at the Head of the Great Australian Bight.

He first discovered Antarctica on the Riquita private sailing expedition to the Ross Sea in 1986 and followed this up with two more sailing expeditions: the Mount Minto Expedition to the Ross Sea in 1988, and the Iniquity Antarctic Whale Project along the East Antarctic coast in 1993. Between 1995-98, Pete helped to inaugurate Antarctic whale ecological research programs aboard the Australian government icebreaker Aurora Australis, and since 1995 has worked from time to time as a lecturer, boat driver and guide on Antarctic tourist expeditions, mainly with Aurora Expeditions. For nearly two decades he worked as a home handyman to support his research and expedition activities.

In 1998, he founded the Blue Whale Study (BWS), a pioneering long-term not-for-profit research program on the ecology of pygmy blue whales in the Bonney Upwelling blue whale feeding area off south-east Australia, the longest-running blue whale research program in the Southern Hemisphere. This was a previously unknown aggregation area which has provided an important window into understanding the ecology and management of this iconic endangered species. BWS also conducts education and mentoring programs engaging local schools and communities.

Pete lives in the bush near Portland, Victoria with his wife Susie and son Felix. He is the author of three books on whales and whale watching and numerous scientific papers, book chapters and magazine articles. His photographs have appeared in many books and magazine articles, and he has lectured on whales, whaling, sailing and Antarctica.

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Dr Gary Miller

Expedition Leader & Naturalist

Antarctica The Arctic Greenland Patagonia Costa Rica Panama

This wildlife fanatic has been exploring and working in the Polar Regions for well over 30 years, initially studying Polar Bears for his MA in Zoology. Whether playing the role of Expedition Leader, or Naturalist, Gary is always willing to share his extensive wildlife knowledge with our curious passengers.

Gary has worked on projects studying Bowhead Whales and Gray Whales in Alaska and Mexico, and has also conducted field research on Desert Bighorn Sheep for his PhD in Ecology. Gary’s passion for the poles quickly drew him to the South to begin research on penguins and skuas in Antarctica; where he eventually spent 10 summers and a winter in Antarctica studying the behaviour, genetics and ecology of the south polar skua as well as Adelie, gentoo, chinstrap, royal, king and emperor penguins. Other projects have provided Gary with personal experience with over half of the world’s different species of penguins!

With over 30 published scientific articles, nowadays Gary is a Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia, focusing on the presence and consequences of diseases to penguins and skuas in Antarctica. With 14 seasons of experience in the Arctic, five seasons in Scotland and over 25 more in the Antarctic, his knowledge and passion for wildlife and nature is second to none.

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Dr Roger Kirkwood

Naturalist

Antarctica The Arctic Scotland Greenland Patagonia Costa Rica Panama

Roger has been exploring polar regions for over 30 years. In 1984, he first travelled to Antarctica as a krill research assistant on an Australian Antarctic Division, marine science expedition. He caught the Antarctic bug and returned nine more times to study zooplankton, seals, penguins and albatross. Mostly he was based in remote field camps – such as in the northern Vestfold Hills, on a glaciated Heard Island, on rock stacks in Drake’s Passage, and he spent a year beside an emperor penguin colony 60 km from Mawson Station – he did his PhD on emperor penguin foraging ecology.

As a marine biologist, Roger has published over 100 research and public articles, and four books - two text books and two children’s books. Away from his polar research, he has held a range of research positions - a fisheries biologist for Tasmanian Sea Fisheries and CSIRO Fisheries, a wildlife manager for Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife, a senior researcher for Phillip Island Nature Parks (investigating seals and seabirds in Bass Strait), and a project team leader at Wageningen Marine Research (in the Netherlands - studying human impacts on marine mammals in the Wadden and North Seas). Currently he lives in Victoria, Australia (with wife Marjolein and kids Jay and Emily), where he works as a contract biologist.

Since 1999, Roger has been a Naturalist and Expedition Leader for Aurora Expeditions - usually in the Antarctic, but also in Scotland and the Arctic. Combined with his academic training and field experience, he holds a Coxswain’s boat-driving ticket and SCUBA experience. He loves his work and is always keen to share his extensive wildlife knowledge with our curious passengers.

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Dr John Kirkwood

Expedition Leader & Naturalist

Antarctica The Arctic

John has been involved in polar and marine research for over 30 years, studying animals ranging from microscopic crustaceans to whales, fish and dugongs. He has a love of travel and the natural world and a passion for exploring the planet’s wild and wonderful places.

John started his career as a marine biologist with the Australian Antarctic Division in the 1980’s, participating in multiple research expeditions to the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. A highlight of this time was the year he spent at Davis Station on the East Antarctic coastline. There he conducted a year-round under-ice SCUBA diving program, documenting the diverse invertebrate fauna of the Antarctic coastal sea floor. He also monitored seal and penguin populations; in one project travelling across frozen seas for hundreds of kilometres to tag Weddell seals and record their new pups. John continued his Antarctic research at Monash University, where he completed a PhD on the ecology of zooplankton in an Antarctic fjord.

Away from Antarctica, John has worked as a fisheries scientist, commercial diver, environmental manager and university academic. He is currently a lecturer at Griffith University, where he teaches integrated resource management and mentors postgraduate student researchers.

Whether in Antarctica or the Arctic, each time John travels with Aurora Expeditions he experiences something new and exciting, and he eagerly anticipates each and every voyage.

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Dr Joselyn Fenstermacher

Naturalist

Antarctica

Part outdoor experiential educator and part field biologist, Joselyn began her global education and travel feats at the age of 13. Since then, she has studied field biology in Tanzania and Ecuador, monitored brown bears in Alaska, worked with endangered birds in the forests of Hawaii, taught rock climbing and backpacking in North Carolina, surveyed rare plants in Texas, been employed as a chef and boat driver in the Adirondacks of New York, worked as a biologist and interpretive ranger at a variety of U.S. National Parks, trained in helicopter operations over Maui and deployed as a wildland firefighter in the western United States.

After earning a Master’s degree in Botany, this eclectic background helped her land a job working in support of the US Antarctic Program at McMurdo Station. She went on to spend several seasons on the ice, including two winters at the South Pole where she for a time, the world’s most southerly farmer! After volunteering to give several local tours for both the station community as well as visiting expedition cruise ships, it was a natural step to join the ship-based expedition world as a way to merge her passion for education and desire to experience more of Antarctica - and really the rest of the globe.

When not somewhere far afield with expedition work, back in the U.S, Joselyn spends most of her time in the Big Bend region of far western Texas where she enjoys guiding, botanising, and watching and listening to life go by in the Chihuahuan Desert from the porch of her off-grid, fancy camping home.

Joselyn is passionate about learning more about the world around her, and sharing that passion with others-- hoping to inspire a broader appreciation for, and understanding of, the fascinating world we live in.

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Jared Hobbs

Naturalist

Antarctica

Jared Hobbs MSc is a Registered Professional Biologist and wildlife photographer based in Victoria, British Columbia. He has worked throughout North, Central and South America finding and photographing rare species, and was the recipient of the international Shikar-Safari conservation award for his dedication to the preservation of species and ecosystems.

Jared has been studying and photographing endangered species since graduating from UBC in 1994. In 2007, he published his first book with Douglas and McIntyre and is currently preparing another book on bats of western Canada for the Royal BC Museum.

Jared continues to travel internationally, constantly striving to increase his knowledge of the world’s flora and fauna. During his travels, Jared is always in pursuit of unique and intimate images of wildlife in their natural habitats, motivated by his passion to increase public awareness and encourage conservation of wilderness areas.

His images are represented by All Canada Photos and Getty Images and are regularly featured in publications worldwide.

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Dr Alan Burger

Naturalist, Expedition Leader

Antarctica The Arctic

Born and raised in the bushveld of South Africa, Alan has a life-long passion for wild animals and wild places. After a year in Portland, Australia as an exchange student, he studied Zoology and Botany at the University of Cape Town, culminating with a PhD on Lesser Sheathbills in the Subantarctic.

Alan made three expeditions, totalling two years, to subantarctic Marion Island. In addition to sheathbills, he worked on albatrosses, petrels, penguins, and terrestrial invertebrates. Alan emigrated to Canada in 1980 and is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Victoria in British Columbia.

Wildlife conservation is a key element of Alan's professional and private life, and he is heavily involved with the biology and management of the Marbled Murrelet. He has published numerous scientific papers, which include studies of whales, seals, oceanography, and Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems. Alan's research has taken him to many remote seabird colonies and islands in South Africa, Galapagos, Newfoundland, New Zealand, and British Columbia.

Alan and his wife Andrea spent a year in the Seychelles, studying seabirds, publishing a handbook for monitoring tropical seabirds, and establishing a seabird working group for the Seychelles archipelago. Interpreting science and helping others enjoy the wonders of nature is one of Alan's main interests and he has given many presentations, written newspaper and magazine articles, and led groups on nature trips.

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Tory Stewart

Kayaking Guide

Antarctica

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.

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Liz Gifford

Photography Guide

Antarctica

Liz Gifford is a sea kayak guide and photography instructor in some of the most remote parts of the world. With her undergraduate degree in Cultural Anthropology and her Masters in Teaching, she is a natural and curious leader, always looking for an opportunity to teach and discuss what she sees around her. Most recently her “office” has included sea kayaking in Alaska and Greenland with humpback and sperm whales, teaching photography under the imposing edifice of Denali, and living her Pippi Longstocking dreams while immersed in the cultures of Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Liz has always had an affinity for living on or near water and currently calls Juneau, Alaska home where she owns a cozy houseboat named the Myriad.  She first moved to Alaska almost 20 years ago to combine her love of the outdoors with her passion for education. She enrolled at the University of Southeast Alaska and obtained her Outdoor Leadership Skills certificate. Her favorite class was by far Expedition Sea Kayaking so when offered a job with the U.S Forest Service as a wilderness ranger travelling primarily by sea kayak, she jumped at the chance. Liz spent three seasons protecting and educating visitors in the remote wildernesses of Glacier Bay National Park and Tracy Arm Wilderness Area.

Liz firmly believes in lifelong education and takes any opportunity to expand upon her skills. Most recently, Liz has been working on gaining more experience on the ocean and how to help people be safer in the outdoors. She earned her Master’s 100 Ton Captain’s license and is a Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician. Liz is certified through the American Canoe Association to be a sea kayak instructor and has taught  kayak courses for the National Park Service. All of these certifications have helped her as a “bi-polar” guide in the Antarctic and the Arctic waters. She has been a sea kayaking and photography guide on small tourists ships that ply the remote ice filled waters of Svalbard, Greenland and Shackleton’s South Georgia. This will be her eighth season in Antarctica and as a photographer she is always inspired to photograph ice. She loves the impermanence of each piece, knowing it is only a small matter of time before it melts and changes. Each excursion out into the ice is like a visit to a new and pristine sculpture gallery. Antarctica is like the holy grail for a photographer.

When she is not guiding, you can find Liz with a cup of coffee in one hand and her camera in the other. She pre-apologises for all of the puns and bad jokes she can’t help but share. It is a genetic fault which she blames entirely on her dad. Most importantly, Liz loves exploring wild places, especially in the company of amazing individuals who also feel compelled to visit them.

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John Weir

Kayaking Guide

Antarctica

John has spent much of his life exploring rivers and oceans in kayaks and rafts. He has led commercial sea kayak trips on remote waters in Australia, Fiji, and The Solomon Islands. He has guided the most wilderness rafting trips in Australia from the Franklin River in Tasmania to the Herbert River in North Queensland. His padding and mountain adventures have taken him from Australia to India, Nepal, Fiji, America, Russia and New Zealand.

In 1989, John led the Australian Whitewater Rafting team to a competition on a freezing river in Siberia. In the years following, he lived in Russia travelling extensively in forbidden, remote and untrod mountains. He was presented with the Australian Geographic Young Adventurer of the Year award for his adventures. In 2005, John led a film crew back to the Alati Mountains in Siberia to create a film about whitewater rafting in Russia. The film was shown internationally and won numerous prestigious awards.

For many years, John led young people on long self-contained wilderness expeditions, both mountaineering and rafting, aimed at building confidence and character. John delights in helping others to find inspiration through wilderness travel.

Having recently run his own outdoors retail and tours business, John has returned to his passion for leading trips to the world’s most remote and inspiring places.

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Mike Roberts

Ski Tour Guide

Antarctica

Mike is a Kiwi IFMGA Mountain Guide who found his calling climbing, skiing and guiding mountains worldwide. He has led numerous expeditions to high peaks, including guiding the seven summits at least twice and nine ascents of Everest. Combining a love of travel and culture with the mountains, his wide-ranging exploits have taken him skiing in the Norwegian Arctic, Northern India, Japan and Chinese Pamir Mountains. Mike thrives on variety, be it rock-climbing, heli-skiing, doing a transalpine trip in the Southern Alps, trekking in the jungle of West Papua or on a city tour of Saint Petersburg.

Antarctica has been a constant draw for Mike and in total he has spent 27 seasons in a variety of roles including: guiding Antarctica’s highest summit, Vinson Massif; many seasons working with glaciologists and geologists through the United States Antarctic Program; a yacht trip to the Antarctic Peninsula; instructing Antarctic survival techniques and guiding scientists on the US Coast Guard Ice Breaker, Polar Star.

After living in Alaska, Colorado and Chamonix, Mike has returned home to Wanaka, New Zealand where he enjoys down time on a yoga mat, mountain bike and with a book in hand. Mike enjoys imparting his knowledge of Antarctica, mountains and natural environments.

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Peter Wainwright

Assistant Ski/Snowshoe Guide

Antarctica

Peter's career has taken him down several unusual paths, from a stint in the military, to Civil Engineering, to working on TV survival shows, and to life in a Tanzanian National Park working for a well-known wildlife conservation trust. But he now spends his winters heli-skiing as one of the head guides for Bella Coola Helisports and at several backcountry ski-touring lodges. In the fall he spends much of his time guiding guests to view grizzly bears in the Bella Coola valley.

He also guides rock climbing and sea-kayaking trips. Born in Montreal, and having lived and guided for many years in Europe, the lure of endless white-capped mountains and the pristine Pacific Ocean enticed Peter to British Columbia where he can live his passions everyday and share his love of wild untouched places with others. He spends every possible moment exploring and adventuring in the backcountry on skis, in a kayak, trail running, climbing or surfing.

Peter is always up for a new adventure, the more remote, the better. His down to earth, relaxed demeanour and wealth of experience make him a great companion in the mountains or on the sea. Peter loves practicing his Spanish.

He is certified through the British Canoe Union as a 5-star sea kayak Leader and through the SKGABC as a Level 3 guide. He has guided trips all over Canada, Scotland, Norway and Iceland.

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Bronwen Waters

Climbing Guide

Antarctica

Bronwen is an NZMGA assistant ski guide and lives on the South Island of New Zealand. A trip to Nepal in her teen years created a lifelong love of mountains and the art of travelling through them.

She began her pathway into the winter guiding profession through years of ski patrolling in New Zealand, Canada and Norway. She now spends time in both hemisphere's winters, ski guiding and teaching avalanche courses in New Zealand and Japan.

When not on her skis, Bronwen works as a trekking guide. She has guided in Nepal, Mongolia, Bhutan, and on Mt Kilimanjaro. She has also completed a traverse of the New Zealand Southern Alps over three months.

Currently Bronwen's favourite place to go on holiday is…New Zealand! With many skiing, climbing and tramping trips constantly on the plan…as well as running the hills close to her home.

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Danny O'Farrell

Kayak Guide

Antarctica

Danny O’Farrell is a natural resource management specialist, biologist and wilderness guide with over 15 years of experience in a variety of areas related to marine and freshwater fisheries, wildlife, forestry, traditional knowledge mapping, environmental consulting, natural resource management and ecotourism.

Danny has been involved in many different projects across North America and Iceland with indigenous groups, government and private sectors. He also completed the first biological study of its kind, regarding the potential impacts on the range expansion of European Flounder, Platichthys flesus, on native salmonid populations in the Westfjords of Iceland due to influences of climate change.

Danny has experience working as a hiking, skiing and kayaking guide in Iceland, Canada and West Papua. He is an experienced climber, recording numerous first ascents in both rock and ice throughout Canada and Iceland. He established one of the longest sport climbing routes in Canada in the summer of 2018 and recorded over 20 first ascents of new waterfall ice climbs along the West Coast of Canada in the last few years. He is also an avid surfer and has pioneered new breaks along the North-west coast of Iceland Westfjords region.

When Danny is not traveling and guiding, he is a fisheries biologist focusing his efforts on salmon restoration and ecology in Canada’s pacific northwest working with indigenous and governmental organisations.

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Tarn Pilkington

Head Ski Tour Guide

Antarctica The Arctic Scotland Costa Rica Panama

Tarn works year round in the outdoors of NZ and is qualified as an IFMGA Mountain and Ski guide. Since visiting Antarctica for the first time in 1994 he has returned over 15 times and admits to being completely addicted.

He is based in Queenstown NZ, his home of 25 years. Tarn spends the winter months heli skiing and ski touring and during the long South Island Summers he guides and works on film and television productions as a safety officer. He is also contracted as the Crew Chief for the local Air Ambulance service and volunteers for the local Alpine Cliff Rescue Team.

In his spare time, Tarn gets out on his mountain bike or skis as much as possible to explore his home patch in the beautiful southern lakes of the South Island.

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Laetitia Campe

Snowshoe Guide

Antarctica

Laetitia, who is of French/German origin, grew up as a sailor circumnavigating the globe with her family over seven years. She completed a Bachelor of Arts, graduating from Brown University in the USA and later a Graduate Diploma in Fine Arts in printmaking from Otago School of Art.

Laetitia lived in Chamonix, France before making Wanaka, New Zealand her home in 1993. She is an NZMGA qualified ski guide and an alpine trekking guide. Laetitia lives in Wanaka and works in the winter months as a heliski guide.

In the summer months, Laetitia is the chief guide and owner of Wanaka Heli Hikes. Over the years, ski touring and heliski work has taken her to the European Alps, Himachal in northern India as well as the glaciers of Greenland. Amongst the numerous ocean trips, Laetitia sailed from Brasil to Argentina across to South Georgia and onwards to South Africa, combining sailing with climbing. Laetitia speaks fluent French, German, and Spanish.

Her nomadic childhood, as well as later travels, have instilled a life-long passion for the interpretation of landscapes. As an artist, Laetitia paints, but lately she has been focusing on printmaking.

As a mother of two, Laetitia balances being a practicing artist, a mother and working as a guide.

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Dr Rachel Hawker

Expedition Team Medical Specialist

Antarctica

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.

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Dr Suzanne Knapp

Expedition Team Medical Specialist

Antarctica

Having been raised on a farm in rural costal New Zealand, Suzanne developed a love for nature, hills and the sea which has influenced her medical career choices. After completing her GP training in the Highlands of Scotland, she lived and worked in Nepal. The first two years spent on a community project in East Nepal followed by three months at Manang with the Himilayan Rescue Association.

Back to New Zealand, Suzanne spent the next 25 years owning and running a rural practice in Akaroa whilst bringing up two children with her husband.

Over this time in Akaroa, she completed postgraduate training in Travel and Wilderness Medicine and her lust for adventure was able to be fulfilled with time off to work in a number of countries including Vanuatu, Sahkhalin Island and rural Australia as well as being an expedition doctor travelling to East Antarctica and the Subantarctic Islands, the Antarctic Peninsula and the Arctic.

She plans to continue doing locum work in Australia, working with the indigenous population in between other adventures around the globe.

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Dr Mari Fleri

Expedition Team Medical Specialist

Antarctica

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.

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Dr Judy Braga

Expedition Team Medical Specialist

Antarctica

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.

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Dr Sophie Plowman

Expedition Team Medical Specialist

Antarctica The Arctic

Sophie is an Australian General Practitioner who is passionate about rural medicine having grown up on a sheep and cattle farm in North East Victoria. She currently flies into remote communities in outback Queensland to provide primary healthcare. In her life before medicine she worked as an outdoor guide and cameleer with Australian Desert Expeditions and spent many happy years working and wandering the North of Australia from Alice Springs to Darwin and across the Kimberley region. She still tries to fit in one desert trip a year as an expedition cameleer/doctor in the Simpson Desert.

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Dr Peter Lovell

Expedition Team Medical Specialist

Antarctica The Arctic

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.

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Dr Lesley Cadzow

Expedition Team Medical Specialist

Antarctica The Arctic Scotland

Lesley is a Scottish doctor who has worked as a neonatal paediatric registrar transporting sick babies around New Zealand before becoming an academic General Practitioner in Melbourne. Before leaving her regular family practice in Melbourne she was also an acupuncturist with a special interest in musculoskeletal medicine and she continues to teach medical students.

With the Royal Flying Doctor Service she has travelled to many Indigenous communities of the central desert of Alice Springs, Kowanyama and Elcho and Tiwi islands.

Currently Lesley is a roving rural and remote General Practitioner who has travelled around Australia providing relief for solo GPs in the bush in places such as Norfolk Island, Mallacoota, Broken Hill and the Darwin correctional centre. Having been a community radio communicator, Lesley continues to write medical articles for local newsletters. Travelling rurally has allowed great opportunity to explore the fantastic Australian landscape by bushwalking and horseriding and Lesley has been enticed into all sorts of rural activities such as pastel and life drawing, community singing and any dance form she can find.

When in Melbourne she is a 'Mentone Iceberger' and a baby surfer on the Great Ocean Road. She loves the raw beauty of the Antarctic, Arctic, Scottish and Far East Russia trips, and over the past four years she has had the pleasure of working with the wonderful family of Aurora Expeditions.... but still needs a few more penguin photos!

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Dr John Barry

Expedition Team Medical Specialist

Antarctica The Arctic Greenland

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.

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James Turner

Business Development Manager

James is deeply passionate about exploring the Great Outdoors, and loves all things penguin & polar bear related!

With over a decade of experience in the cruise & expedition travel industry, James’ working life to date has taken him from living in the Swiss Alps, where he summitted various 4000+ meter peaks, to Antarctica and most recently Svalbard & East Greenland where he was fortunate to witness the Northern Lights whilst sailing amongst spectacular gigantic icebergs. He is very excited to share his stories and help travel partners develop their knowledge of the polar regions and other wildly remote destinations on the planet.

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Gloria Guo

Business Development Manager

Gloria is responsible for developing and actively managing relationships with all trade distribution partners throughout China, East Asia and South East Asia. She joins the team with over 20 years of experience, having previously worked in various global travel businesses in BDM roles based in the UK and China, including; GTA, Kuoni, and Hotelbeds.

Gloria has been lucky enough to have worked and visited many countries to date and thoroughly enjoys trekking and hiking when she’s not at work.

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Anna Powell

Business Development Manager

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.

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Matthew Backo

Reservations Consultant

Matt has always lived and breathed travel. After completing an Advanced Diploma in Tourism 2013, he then commenced his career within wholesale travel before starting work with Aurora Expeditions.

Since joining, Matt has developed a knack for complementing our Polar Voyages with amazing pre and post excursions. He has travelled extensively throughout New Zealand, Bali, North America, Europe and most of Australia.

Matt brings a wealth of knowledge, passion and expertise to the Aurora Expeditions team, and is always happy to help plan the journey of a lifetime.

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Mark Lee

Product Manager - Voyages

After graduating from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Arts (Art History and Spanish), Mark was a lost soul. Having backpacked around Europe after high school, he decided to again escape to Europe for a one-year working holiday and although he didn’t find himself, he felt somewhat qualified to pursue a career as a travel agent after returning to Australia. However, a nine-month stint at STA Travel proved he wasn’t resilient enough to be on the frontline as a retail agent, whereupon he retreated into the world of horticulture and garden design for five years.

But after a holiday to Indonesia, which sparked a passion for Asia, Mark returned to the travel industry working for Asia specialist tour operator Travel Indochina, where he stayed for almost 12 years taking on various roles in sales before settling down in his ideal role as a product manager. An incurable bout of wanderlust took him to South Africa, North America, and Latin America where he stayed for nine months practising Spanish, including two months volunteering as an English teacher in the Ecuadorian Amazon, teaching English to staff at Napo Wildlife Centre and to the local indigenous community.

Mark’s a self-confessed ‘tennis tragic’ who loves playing and watching tennis, and aspires to attend all four grand slam tournaments. Wimbledon and US Open are the remaining two tournaments yet to be ticked off the list. He also loves to write and isn’t afraid to be the first clown to get out on the dance floor.

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Marcel De Graaf

CIO

Marcel immigrated to Australia in 2001 from The Netherlands. In The Netherlands he worked for large engineering and contracting firms that had a global appearance. During this time Marcel worked on very large projects in Eastern Europe, South Africa, Canada, UK and France. This is when he developed his travel bug.

In Sydney, after a number of years as General Manager of a manufacturing facility for industrial batteries, Marcel became the Finance and Operations Manager of an IT Managed Services Provider and during this time he also became involved with Aurora Expeditions. Currently he shares his time between the two companies.

When Marcel is not at work he spends as much time as he can with his young family preferably in the Sydney outdoors. He thoroughly enjoys bush walking.

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Leani Gray

Direct Sales Executive

Leani recognised her passion for all things travel at an early age, studying tourism during her final years at high school. Even after brief forays into the worlds of hairdressing and television, not even the celebrities she encountered could sway her interest away from a career in travel.

Her first job in the industry was with tour company Globus/Cosmos, where she spent five years honing her skills as part of the reservations team. During this time she traveled extensively; exploring Western Europe, Asia and the Pacific islands.

When not busy helping our passengers with their additional travel arrangements, Leani can be found, worshiping the sun at the beach, shopping or relaxing back with a mudpack watching the latest comedy release.

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Karen Hollands

Inside Sales Trade Executive - UK & Europe

Karen's passion for travel started early in life. When she left school, her first job was working in a boarding school high up in the mountain town of Crans-Montana, Switzerland. This started her love affair with mountains, travelling and adventure.

Since then, she worked for British Airways for over 15 years in various roles – mainly within corporate communications and the London Gatwick press office. After leaving British Airways, Karen lived in Virginia, USA with her family for 4 years. Returning back to the UK, Karen then worked for a Canadian luxury train operator, before joining Aurora Expeditions.

Karen's motto is ‘I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list!’

Karen has four children, and her parental advice amounts to ‘ travel – go and see the world!’

When not travelling or working, you can find Karen clay shooting, paddle boarding along the River Wey, horse riding in the Surrey Hills, or just walking and enjoying the beautiful countryside she is lucky to call home.

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Jennifer Mills

Trade Marketing Executive

After graduating with an Advanced Diploma of Tourism and a Bachelor of Marketing, Jennifer knew she wanted to work in the Tourism Industry though, the question remained, what sector? Having a passion for travel, Jennifer went on a 12 night cruise to the South Pacific and fell in love with cruising.

Over the past 5 years Jennifer has worked for both cruise wholesalers and retailers, more recently working as a Marketing Executive with Cruise1st before joining the Aurora team in 2017. With her family being of European background, Jennifer lived in France for the earlier part of her childhood, before calling Australia home. From a young age Jennifer has had the travel bug from visiting family in Europe to spending her 21st birthday in Las Vegas!

Jennifer was drawn by Aurora’s passion for environmental considerations and how the company is redefining expedition cruising - she’s excited for the new challenges that lay ahead.

When Jennifer’s not at work she’s catching up with friends and baking cakes!

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