I’ve been described (among other things) as a “wildlife freak” by many people. My first trip to South America was to Peru in 1992 and it had to include a journey into the Amazon rainforest, the highlight being an overnight camp on an island in the middle of a river to see the macaws at a famous mineral-rich ‘clay-lick’ – there’s now a lodge nearby but it hadn’t been built at the time of my trip. My first trip included an extended Inca Trail trek which took in Salcantay Base Camp. That was the start of my long fascination with Latin America. Since 1992 I’ve returned many times, twice to the Galapagos, explored the rainforests in Ecuador and again in Peru (Manu National Park). My most recent trip in 2018 included Carnaval (Brazil), the ancient fortress of Kuelap (Peru) and the Carretera Austral (Chile).
In 2002 I undertook the first of several voyages to Antarctica. The ‘White Continent’ became another obsession, along with the Falkland Islands and, my favourite, the magnificent island of South Georgia, home to over 100,000 pairs of King Penguins and, in my opinion, to the world’s most beautiful bird, the Wandering Albatross. In 2007 travelled on the icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov to visit the Emperor penguin colony near Snow Hill Island.
My first trip to the Arctic was in 2001, another in 2009 circumnavigated Svalbard. In July of 2018 I reached the ‘Top of the World’ The North Pole.
Countries Visited
Argentina (2001, 2007,2009 & 2015), Brazil (2015, 2018), Bolivia (1993 & 2013), Chile (2013, 2015, 2017 & 2018), Ecuador &Galapagos Islands (1996, 2013 & 2017), Peru (1993, 2014, 2016 & 2018), Colombia (2014 & 2015) , Cuba (2016).
Antarctica, Falkland Islands & South Georgia (three 18-25 night voyages, one Icebreaker voayge including Snow Hill Emperor penguin colony)
Svalbard (Spitsbergen), North Pole & Franz Josef Land (three voyages 10-15 days in duration)