What you’ll do and learn. How many days you’ll go. The people you’ll meet. The details of your adventure are all tailored to the knowledge and experience of your Field Leader. Through their knowledge and enthusiasm, compassion and care, they’ll change how you look at the world.
Next Expedition:
Bolivia & Chile: Andes to Atacama
Rich first became enthralled by the wonders of the natural world around the tide pools and forests of his native New York. Since then, he’s embarked on a career in nature education and conservation biology that’s ranged from teaching science and environmental awareness to Los Angeles teenagers, to traveling the coast of Alaska’s North Slope by Zodiac to reach remote wetlands where he monitored loon nests.
Next Expedition:
The Birds of Chile
Mark is a frequent leader of small, land-based, wildlife-focused expeditions in Africa, South America, South Asia, and East Asia. He’s a regular lecturer onboard expedition cruise vessels and has traveled widely from the Arctic to Antarctica and so many places in between.
Next Expedition:
Komodo and Indonesia’s Hidden Islands
Growing up just east of San Francisco, Shirley explored local hills during her formative years. Finding bone fragments and stone tools, artifacts of Native Californians, her interests were piqued. After going to school in Missouri and London, she moved to Australia to get her Doctorate of Philosophy from the Australian National University in Canberra.
Next Expedition:
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, July 2024
Brad Climpson has lived and worked in tropical Australia for the last 25 years. With the nearby Great Barrier Reef serving as both playground and laboratory, Brad developed an intimate knowledge of how complex marine ecosystems systems work. A natural leader and a great addition onboard any vessel, Brads experience with remote tropical coastal operations has provided meaningful insights for guests and crew alike.
Next Expedition:
Central Africa: Primates & Predators
Lex began his career working at the then-unknown Sabi Sand Game Reserve bordering on Kruger National Park. There he would wander into the surrounding bush with his notebook and binoculars to record everything he saw, from flowers and trees to lions, elephants, and buffalo.
Next Expedition:
Bolivia & Chile: Andes to Atacama
Dr. Ralph Eshelman is a specialist in geology and paleontology, having worked as a research associate at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History for twenty years. Ralph’s research interests have seen him traverse most of the world, including much of North and South America and Europe. He’s seen most of the ocean as well, serving as a geologist and historian on expedition adventure ships to the Antarctic, Arctic and everywhere in between.
Next Expedition:
The Magic of India
Amber has been loving life as a travel director for nearly 30 years. She thrives on uncovering the more remote destinations fewer travelers have seen. Having begun her career as a young intern with Travcoa, she’s since visited nearly every continent and countless countries. She says no matter how many times she’s been to a particular destination, it still feels like the first time every time.
Next Expedition:
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, July 2024
Mike (or Murph) was born on the Isle of Wight and raised just a stone’s throw from what was once largest passenger ship terminal in the world. He has dived in almost every sea, including eight years in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Murph’s enthusiasm for diving continues, although now mostly in warmer waters…
Next Expedition:
Coming Soon
With over 35 years’ experience, Mike is considered to be the most experienced expedition leader in the industry. He’s conducted research at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in its onshore laboratory and aboard one of its research vessels. Mike is a member of The Explorers Club, holds a US Coast Guard captain’s license, and received his scuba instructor certificate from NAUI.
Next Expedition:
Bolivia & Chile: Andes to Atacama
Rich first became enthralled by the wonders of the natural world around the tide pools and forests of his native New York. Since then, he’s embarked on a career in nature education and conservation biology that’s ranged from teaching science and environmental awareness to Los Angeles teenagers, to traveling the coast of Alaska’s North Slope by Zodiac to reach remote wetlands where he monitored loon nests.
Next Expedition:
Coming Soon
Dan has had a lifelong fascination with marine animals and marine living, having worked as a guide and naturalist nearly his entire life. He began his career by teaching sailing, navigation, mountaineering, and kayaking at Outward Bound and aboard tall sailing ships. It was an easy transition to take his interests and teaching skills to expedition ships. Dan’s had a lifelong fascination with marine animals, having guided tours in Alaska, Iceland, Svalbard and beyond. Ask him about the distinct dialects of orcas. (He’s literally an expert.)
Next Expedition:
Private group departure to Antarctica, South Georgia, and the Falkland Islands
Kelsey has traveled to all seven continents and over 90 countries as a field leader, but he Arctic and the Antarctic are special places to her since her first expeditions in 2014. Kelsey’s attention to detail and friendly nature makes her a great field staff leader.
Next Expedition:
Coming Soon
Brent was born in New Zealand and has been a lifelong birder ever since. In 2003, he rediscovered the “extinct” New Zealand storm-petrel, a bird known previously from only three museum specimens collected during the 1800s. His love for travel, birds, and the ocean has led him to most corners of the world working on small expedition ships—an incredible way to see remote and inaccessible places and their wildlife.
Next Expedition:
Mozambique & South Africa
Chris began his career as a professional safari guide in South Africa 21 years ago. There, in its game-rich areas, he’s had the privilege of guiding travelers, reading animal behavior, and birding—his greatest joys in the field. His fervent admiration for nature—as well as his skill for tracking and observing wildlife—has always left clients with a new and deepened understanding for Africa, its beauty and its exceptional people.
Next Expedition:
Coming Soon
Gary has spent most of his life researching, writing, photographing, and lecturing about distant lands and cultures, and has traveled to over 220 countries and territories. He was one of the first Westerners to live in Tibet since the communist Chinese occupation and has been fortunate to meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama many times.
Explore ⟶
Next Expedition:
Bolivia & Chile: Andes to Atacama
Kristin’s love of beauty and wild things—and of wild adventure—continues to follow her in all that she pursues. With a degree in biology from Iowa State University, she went on to work at the Bodega Bay Marine Lab (through the University of California, Davis), where she spent weekdays with her face underwater and weekends exploring the magnificent California coastline.
