ABOUT US

GUIDES

Meet the Guiding Team

We blend the passion and knowledge of our UK team with the enthusiasm, understanding and deep experience of our in-country local guides. On your trip you'll be accompanied by a professional and highly experienced Wilderness Journeys guide either from the UK or locally based. The skills and experience of our guides are dependent upon the itinerary and type of activity and at each turn of your adventure, you can be sure that they will doing everything to maximise your safety and enjoyment.

Included in our team are UIAGM qualified mountain guides, native African professional safari-guides and qualified sea-kayak specialists. When you need advice on paddling in a Patagonian wind, visiting a local Maasi home, or which restaurant to eat in Buenos Aires they will be on hand ready to share their expert knowledge and personal experience.

On each of our trips we work in close association with a network of local partners and specialist guides. Our commitment to sustainable tourism places great emphasis on participation at a local level in the environments and communities where we visit. There is no doubt that through our extensive network of local guides, we can ensure that you contribute directly to the areas you visit - and give you the best 'on the ground' knowledge you can get. In our view, this combination of "trip" guides and "local guides" can assure you that every aspect of the trip has been taken care of.

HERE IS A SELECTION OF SOME OF OUR INTERNATIONAL GUIDING TEAM.

Jackson Looseyai - Kenya, Safari Guide

You may have already heard of Jackson Looseyia, as he was the star of the acclaimed BBC’s Big Cat Live series. Jackson was born in the heart of the Maasai Mara and his intimate knowledge of the local area and wildlife which resides there is unbeatable. Tracking wild animals is in his blood and he comes from a long line of master hunters and trackers. If you were to join him on one of his trips he will show you a hidden and fascinating side to the Mara which most visitors never see.

Dusitn Davis - Alaska, Yukon Canoeing

Dustin is a certified teacher who has a strong love for educating, whether it is in or out of the classroom. He has worked extensively in the north with Canada’s First Nations, and has enjoyed guiding wilderness trips for the past 12 years. He is an instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and is deeply satisfied by the jack-of-all-trades lifestyle that his Yukon small business owner life style provides. Currently he spends his winters in the community of Carcross in the southern Yukon, and summers at Cabin Lake.

Roope Roine - Norway, Sea Kayaking

Roope Roine is an immensely passionate and highly skilled guide whose remarkable life and work experiences have taken him all over the world. From Croatia to Canada and from Nepal to Norway! Even when pushed he can’t make up his mind where he is most at home on the mountains or at sea, as long as he is sharing the experience he is happy. Roope’s fantastic energy is infectious and did we mention he is multilingual? There is just no stopping him…

Tim Francis - Bhutan, Mountain Biking

Tim Francis, Senior Guide
A passionate biker and hill-walker, Tim is a former business development manager who spent 4 years working in South America before returning to the Highlands to live and become a mountain biking and walking guide. We're pleased to say that he is now a much happier chap, becoming one of the most respected guides in Scotland. Tim is equally at home guiding gentle walks through the Hebridean machair as battling a Cairngorms blizzard on our winter trips. Tim's favourite trip is the epic Coast to Coast - insisting that this is one of the best mountain biking holidays you can find anywhere.

Williams Davalos - Peru, Trekking

Williams, a Cusco native, has also lived in Switzerland, Germany, Uruguay and Chile. Cusco lured him back, however, with its array of available outdoor activities. Williams has successfully summited Mount Aconcagua in Argentina—at a height of 22,841ft (6,962m), it is the highest peak in the Americas. When he is not working, he enjoys vacationing at the beach and trying new recipes in the kitchen. His expertise include Inca history and local flora and fauna. Besides being fluent in Spanish and English, Williams also speaks German fluently and is one of our top German guides.

Myles Farnbank - Greenland, Sea Kayaking

Myles is an experienced outdoor leader with many years of sea kayaking, canoeing, sailing and hill walking in Scotland and many of the world's wildest places. A Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society and a Master Educator of Leave No Trace, Myles is a fountain of knowledge. He guides our sea kayaking adventures in Greenland and Sardinia. Myles recently went on a two month sea kayaking expedition in the banana belt - the Antarctic Peninsula. Myles didn't see any monkeys there but he did see some chin strap penguins, baby condors, hump back whales and leopard seals. He also came home with lost of awe-inspiring stories too.

Robbie Fenlon - The Alps, Ski Touring

Robbie is a UIAGM qualified international mountain guide. Based in Chamonix, we work with Robbie on our ski mountaineering programmes. A specialist in this field, he will open your mind to the magnificent world of the Haute Montagne. Orginally from Dublin, Robbie is vastly experienced and has trekked and climbed all over the world.

Derek Nelson - Alaska, Sea Kayaking

In his colleagues' words, Derek found a home and a dream in the North Country and is one of the Senior Guides you will meet on our adventures in Alaska. A degree in marketing and a seven-year culinary education in kitchens across the West of the United States has allowed Derek to mesh cravings for wilderness and cooking enthusiasm into a well-loved career. From volcanic summits in the Aleutians to arduous traverses of the Alaska Range, Derek has ranged far and wide in a career full of adventurous antics. He is sure to keep you entertained (and well-fed!) during your time in Alaska.

Jean Du Plessis - Tanzania, Safari Guide

Jean is a bush person. When he gets that itchy feeling in his feet, nothing can hold him in town. He leaves Arusha behind in the search of wilderness, always true to his philosophy of a hands-on approach and ever in love with the bush. “It’s important to get out there”. Jean holds a business degree in tourism and is one of the most experienced safari guides in the region. He has advised and guided on a number of pioneering film/tv projects including work with National Geographic. At some point he moved from his native South Africa to Tanzania, and finally ended up where he is today – the founding director of our wilderness safari operations in Tanzania.

Gabriel Ewoi, Kenya - Trekking Guide

Gabriel is our lead walking safari guide and he is fluent in Natural History as well as four languages. Gabriel is an excellent teacher. Without bombarding guests with information Gabriel is able to offer insight into the natural world in Northern Kenya as well as its many cultures and traditions.

Wilderness Journeys
Inverdruie House
Aviemore
Cairngorms National Park
Scotland, PH22 1QH

Tel:+44 (0)131 625 6635
Email: info@wildernessjourneys.com

© 2012 Wilderness Journeys