Mark Buckingham

A marine biologist and zoologist by profession, Mark has been involved with expedition voyages throughout all of the world’s oceans. Although lecturing on a diversity of subjects, he maintains a strong interest in his specialty pursuit of venoms and marine toxins. As a professional Dive Master, Mark has lead SCUBA diving expeditions to many of the world’s diving Meccas including Indonesia, New Guinea, the Great Barrier Reef and the Antarctic Peninsula with ice-diving expeditions. Australia’s rugged Kimberley coast, however, remains the focus of his work. He has led in excess of 100 Kimberley coastal expeditions and when not out in the field, he consults to a variety of industries on Kimberley issues and has published several articles on the region. Holding a Captain’s Master Class 5 marine license, Mark also works with the Australian Reef Pilots and resides in Cairns, Australia.

Kevin Coate

Kevin Coate is one of Australia’s leading Naturalists and with a background in forestry, he has been guiding nature-based tours around the world for over 30 years. His expertise lies in birds and other animals, flora and Australian Aboriginal rock art, with an extensive knowledge and interest in early exploration and pioneering history. For many years, Kevin operated a safari tour company, specialising in natural history tours throughout Australia. From the early 1980’s he chartered vessels and pioneered expedition cruises with a strong scientific content, along the Kimberley coast. As well as his vast Kimberley experience, Kevin has led special-interest groups to Kenya, Thailand, New Caledonia, New Zealand (where he lived for seven years), Tasmania, the Great Barrier Reef and some of the world’s most remote Islands including Christmas and Cocos Islands, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, Monte Bello Islands and the Abrolhos Islands. He has written many articles and scientific papers on these areas, and has also co-authored three books on lonely graves and burials at sea as part of his commitment to recording pioneering history. Recently, Kevin’s work has been duly recognised through the presentation of the Western Australian Tourism’s FACET Golden Guide Award in 2000 and the Premiers Award to Legends of the Hospitality and Tourism Industries.

Glen Docherty

Marine Biologist, Underwater Photographer and Dive Instructor, Glen Docherty is originally from Scotland but has lived overseas for most of his adult life. After organising and participating in the first Aberdeen University polar expedition, which won a BP award, he completed a Master’s Degree on Marine Nature Reserves. This was followed by seven years in Egypt where he delivered lectures and courses on the coral reef ecology of the Red Sea. As well as the Great Barrier Reef, he has dived in Scotland, Malta, Egypt, Hawaii, Micronesia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand. Glen's main interests include reef fish behaviour and underwater photography and he is also an avid bush walker and yachtsman.

Chris Done

Chris has lived and worked in the Kimberley region of Western Australia for over 20 years and his long, distinguished career has culminated in his dignified office as the Regional Manager for the state’s conservation and land management authority. A leader in the management of many conservation reserves and native wildlife projects, Chris’s knowledge also extends to such diverse subjects as geology, Aboriginal culture, rock art, botany and history and he is considered an expert on the region’s eucalypts. Chris is one of the most respected and knowledgeable guides in the Kimberley and has led countless journeys overland and along the spectacular coastline. Early in his career, Chris travelled extensively through Melanesia, particularly Papua New Guinea, for more than seven years and this has given him an intimate understanding of the ecology and indigenous culture of one of the world’s most diverse regions. A member of the Eco-tourism Association of Australia, his enthusiasm and engaging manner has firmly entrenched him in the expedition travel industry.

Chris Hassell

Chris Hassell is a prominent ornithologist and naturalist who has been interpreting the wonders of our natural world for nearly 10 years. His lifelong passion for birds and wildlife has taken him through Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas, the Indian sub-continent and Australia. The passion and animation with which Chris shares his extensive knowledge infects people of all ages and interests, making him a sought-after expedition guide. Chris continues to design and lead ornithological courses and extensive research projects, keeping him at the cutting edge of his field. His professional standards have resulted in specialist training and guiding contracts with companies all over the world and his skills are equally at home with expedition cruising. Residing and guiding in Australia’s Kimberley, Chris has established himself as one of the foremost naturalist experts of the area and when not lecturing on expedition cruises, he operates his own successful birding and nature tour company.

Greg Homel

Greg is an ornithologist, award-winning international nature photojournalist, and documentary film producer who operates Natural Encounters Birding-Tours, Inc. and Natural Elements Photo-Video Research, Inc. A birder-naturalist since early childhood, Greg now travels the world on a full-time basis in search of rare and little-known birds and wildlife, which he then brings to the rest of us through his state-of-the-art digital lecture series, television, and publications. At first his work appeared regularly in books and magazines as diverse as Wildbird, The Audubon Society Field Guides to (both) Eastern and Western Birds, Time, Birder's World, Tucson Lifestyle, and Texas Monthly, but since the digital revolution, Greg has moved into television production with the hope of "giving a voice to his truest love, which is the natural world and its inhabitants." Recent documentary work includes a film for Panama’s National Association for the Conservation of Nature in the Daríen Gap, as well as a 2004 film project for the World Wildlife Fund/Russian Wildlife Authority on the wildlife and culture of the Commander Islands. Since 1990 he has guided, educated, and inspired travellers in over 80 countries throughout the world. Greg has personally seen over 50 percent of the planet's 9,800 bird species in the wild.

Dr Roger Kirkwood

Roger is a marine biologist specialising in higher predator research. His interest in marine biology developed through scuba diving and his formative years were spent patrolling the Great Barrier Reef. One of life’s twists then directed him south, where he spent 14 years based in Tasmania absorbed in a plethora of marine based activities. He has 'gone south' with the Australian Antarctic Division 10 times now, including expeditions to study elephant seals, krill, emperor penguins, adelie penguins and albatross. His PhD involved spending a year living on sea ice studying a colony of emperor penguins. Roger now works on Phillip Island, Victoria, investigating the local marine life, including fur seals. He spends his holidays either on Antarctic research projects, or lecturing and guiding on expedition cruise ships.

Dr Rob McCall

Natural history has been a ceaseless passion for Rob ever since his earliest childhood days in the depths of the English countryside. His passion has carried him through an undergraduate degree in Zoology at Cambridge University and gained him a Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology and Ornithology from Oxford University. Along the way, Rob has worked on a number of biological field projects, gaining valuable field experience in the Seychelles, Norway, Costa Rica, and Scotland. He now spends his time sharing his passion for the natural world with other people, by means of his work in the expedition cruise industry and through television research and broadcasting. He has lectured on expedition cruise voyages since 1995 and has travelled much of the Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, North Atlantic, Mediterranean, Pacific, and Red Sea on board a variety of ships. His recent television projects include the critically acclaimed Triumph of Life series on PBS and presenting natural history documentaries for UK’s Channel 4 and The Learning Channel. When not afloat, Rob lives and works in Bristol, England. In line with his Ph.D., Rob’s main specialty is birds and birding, but his interests, knowledge, and endless enthusiasm encompass geology and botany as well.

Max McGuire

Max McGuire is a master mariner, naturalist, SCUBA diver and expedition leader with twelve years experience in the adventure travel industry, having worked and travelled throughout every ocean and every continent. Born and raised in Australia’s island State of Tasmania, Max was lured by the joys of wilderness exploration from an early age. Early in his career, the vast, natural labyrinth of the Great Barrier Reef became Max’s office… studying, exploring, photographing and educating others on the wonders of tropical reefs. In the early 90's Max worked extensively throughout the Malay, Indonesian and Melanesian archipelagos. This experience launched further journeys through every part of the tropical world as well as regions as varied as the high Russian and the Norwegian Arctic, Antarctica and the South Georgia Islands, the British Isles, New Zealand, Tasmania and the Mediterranean. Complimentary to his extensive marine knowledge, Max also holds a USL Master Mariners Certificate Class IV as well as both diving (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) and powerboat (Royal Yachting Association) qualifications. A prominent personality within the industry, Max’s enthusiasm and experience adds dimensions to any expedition.

Michael Pigneguy

Born on England's south coast, Michael spent most of his childhood living on boats before joining the merchant navy as soon as possible after his sixteenth birthday, where he explored the world as a deck officer. Arriving in New Zealand in 1964, Mike adopted a land-based existence with his wife Dee, but there has always been a boat in the family. Mike converted an old coastal trading schooner into a charter/cruise boat and over 16 years he came to specialise in exposing people to the rare and endangered species of New Zealand's native flora and fauna found around the coast and on the many magnificent sanctuary islands created to preserve them. Mike and Dee now lead small groups on natural history cruises along the fascinating coastline of the Inside Passage in British Columbia and SE Alaska. Mike also works occasionally as a relieving captain on boats ranging from superyachts to harbour ferries. Anything, just to be afloat! Both Mike and Dee are writers and find ample subjects to write about in their many and varied travels.

Kim Saunders

A teacher and writer, Kim is a graduate of international politics and history and holds a master’s degree in education. She has lived in Hong Kong and Indonesia, and has travelled extensively throughout East and Southeast Asia. Her interest in the people and the arts and cultures of the Asian region continues to grow, especially with regard to textiles. She is the author of Contemporary Tie and Dye Textiles in Indonesia, published in 1997 by Oxford University Press, and is currently engaged in research on tourism and handicraft production in Southeast Asia, with the University of North London. While living in Indonesia, Kim acted as chairman of the Ganesha Volunteers (Indonesian Heritage Society), a multinational organisation that promotes Indonesia’s cultural heritage. She also trained guides for the National Museum in Jakarta. Currently living in Singapore, Kim acts as lecturer and consultant on issues relating to contemporary Asian culture. She has also worked with the travel and tourism industry for the past ten years, promoting awareness and appreciation of locally produced Southeast Asian handicrafts.

Dr Sandy Scott

Dr Sandy Scott has worked in travel program development since 2000, after some ten years as the principal of residential colleges at the University of New England in Armidale. Prior to this he lectured in science education for 18 years. As an adjunct to his regular employment Sandy became an experienced study leader for groups in a variety of countries. In the last 16 years his interests have focussed on supporting travel for adult participants and recently he has conducted educational travel programs in a wide range of settings. Stemming from his research in plant ecology and his strong interests in biology, geomorphology, human cultures and history he is able to use his extensive knowledge to help people interpret elements of landscapes experienced during their travel. His travels include remote inland Australia, the rural communities of England, the back blocks of China on the Silk Road, Vietnam and Cambodia, ancient Syria and Jordan, the historic sites of Scotland and Ireland, Sabah and Sarawak and the archaic lands of the Kimberley in Western Australia. Sandy also spends time as an on-board guest lecturer in northern Australian waters and his enthusiasm for his discipline is displayed during his many talks in Australia, NZ and other regions.

Tim Soper

Tim Soper was raised on the Devon coast of Southwest England. Constantly in and around boats, Tim developed a passion for the sea and enjoys spending most of his time on the water. Qualified by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors and the Royal Yachting Association, he has worked both above and below the waves teaching Scuba diving, sailing and powerboating. The opportunity to work as a zodiac driver and divemaster exploring the Indo-Pacific first lead Tim into the world of expedition travel, however wishing to pursue his interest in the marine environment, he returned to the UK to earn an honours degree in Ocean Science at the University of Wales, Bangor. Studying a combination of Marine Biology and Oceanography, Tim worked aboard a research ship in the Arctic, which focused his interest on sea ice and Arctic management. After graduating, Tim returned to expedition travel, working year round as Expedition Leader, Zodiac Driver, and Divemaster. Voyages in the last eight years have taken him to every continent and across every ocean, into the ice at both ends of the earth, and numerous exciting destinations in-between.

Bob Tonkinson

Bob is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at The University of Western Australia in Perth. His fieldwork has taken him frequently into the wilds of the Australian desert, and has yielded two major ethnographies and many book chapters and papers, which have earned him a reputation as one of Australia's foremost anthropologists. Since 1966, he has also been doing intensive research in Vanuatu, and has published on topics as diverse as migration, identity, adoption, sorcery, and religious change. The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia recognised his contribution to scholarship in 1988, electing him as a Fellow. Bob is also active in land-claim research on behalf of Aboriginal people. Much of his writing revolves around social and political change, ritual and religious dynamism, identity, and the politics of tradition. His boundless enthusiasm for the mind-expanding power of anthropology comes through very strongly in his lecturing, and he revels in the opportunity to be back in the field, talking to and about the local people.

Dr Ingrid Visser

Ingrid Visser is a whale biologist who completed her doctorate studying orca (killer whales). She is the only person to study these animals in the South Pacific and bases most of her research in her native country, New Zealand. Ingrid is one of the few people in the world to study orca underwater, and does this without backup support such as ‘shark cages’. She has worked with internationally renowned Discovery Channel to produce a documentary about her research. Ingrid is an avid wildlife photographer and her work has been published in National Geographic and BBC Wildlife magazines. Qualified as a marine biologist and diving instructor, she has dived in many locations around the world and specialises in photographing whales and dolphins underwater. During her teenage years Ingrid lived aboard a yacht and sailed around the world. Since then she has worked aboard expedition ships in both the Arctic and Antarctic and areas such as Russia, Iceland, Europe, South America, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific and has visited all seven continents. In her spare time she writes educational books for children and continues on with her orca research in New Zealand, Antarctica and Papua New Guinea.

Tim Willing

Born in East Africa, Tim graduated in Geography at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. A horticulturalist for many years, he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1985 and undertook tropical horticulture studies in Africa and Madagascar. Tim has surveyed Australia’s Kimberley Coast for many years as a contract botanist with the Northern Australian Quarantine Strategy and he has also participated in wildlife research on turtles and seabirds as well as various Landscope Expeditions. An acclaimed author, in 1996 Tim co-authored the book Broome and Beyond: Plants and People of the Dampier Peninsula, which was awarded a CSIRO External Medal for excellence in research achievement. His most recent publication is the book, Under a Regent Moon, which is an important historical account of Joseph Bradshaw and Aeneas Gunn’s attempts to settle the remote Prince Regent River in the 1890’s. With an incessant passion for sharing his vast knowledge, Tim has widespread experience as a contract environmental and historical guide on many expedition cruises along the Kimberley coast. Today, Tim is Conservation Officer for the West Kimberley with the Department of Conservation and land Management based in Broome.