Andreas Holland

Andreas is Australia’s leading Latin American specialist. He has lived in various parts of South America for the past 30 years and is arguably one of the world’s most experienced and animated Latin America aficionados. Much of this experience stems from his time living and operating treks and adventures in Peru where he has amassed a wealth of experience that would be hard to equal.

Clive Dougherty

Growing up in the Kenyan bush has inspired Clive to seek out East Africa's greatest adventures. From the summit of Mt Kenya and the Ruwenzori Mountains to the plains of the Masai Mara, his rapport with fellow Africans and local knowledge ensure that our trips in East Africa offer an exceptional insight into the cultures, wildlife and environments of the region.

Richard I'Anson

There are few corners of the world where Richard has not photographed. His work features in over 150 Lonely Planet guidebooks as well as their best selling guide on 'Travel Photography'. Over the last decade Richard has made a significant contribution to our brochures with his outstanding images. Nowadays, Richard enjoys sharing his passion for photography and travel with others as he escorts specialist photography trips to a range of varied and dramatic destinations such as Iran, Tibet, China, Central Asia and Japan.

Dave Turner

Dave Turner is an adventure cyclist with experience in unsupported, long distance and off road cycling trips. He enjoys a life long relationship with adventures at handlebar level. Dave has cycled across the Akhangai Mountains in Mongolia, pedalled over one thousand Himalayan kilometres from Tibet to Nepal and crossed Australia “Gulf2Gulf” from Spencer Gulf in South Australia to the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Pierre Schmid

Pierre is a high altitude mountain guide and co-founder of our partner company in Chamonix. An accomplished alpinist in his own right, Pierre regularly ventures into the Himalayas and Alaska, and has summitted Cho Oyu (8201m) in Tibet. Whilst at home in Chamonix, Pierre coordinates and guides many of our Mont Blanc ascents.

Jon Muir

Described as “one of the most versatile adventurers on the face of the planet”, Jon is recognised as one of Australia's top mountaineers and explorers, as well as one of our most colourful wild-wise characters. While adventuring and exploring for over 30 years, Jon has been on five Everest expeditions and summited in 1988 without sherpas, pioneered a new route to the South Pole, became the first person to cross Australia unassisted on foot in 2001 and has travelled over 5000 kilometres in a sea kayak. In line with his true expeditionary nature he has also completed an unassisted trek to the North Pole and in 2007 became the first person to reach the geographic centre of Australia solo on foot.

Jono Lineen

Jono Lineen is a writer, adventurer and museum curator with deep experience throughout the Himalayas. Jono spent eight years immersed in Himalayan culture studying Buddhism and Hinduism and solo trekking across the mountain ranges. This experience led to the writing of his highly acclaimed travel narrative, Into the Heart of the Himalaya. The book is the story of a single, 2,700 kilometre solo walk Jono made from Pakistan to Nepal. It has been described as the most complete biography of the Himalayas ever written, it was named one of the best books of the year by Good Reading Magazine and the Sydney Morning Herald described it as “the ultimate exercise in mindfulness”. Jono works as a curator at the National Museum of Australia and has been responsible for some of the institution’s most successful exhibitions including Lag Meta Australian, History and Culture in the Torres Strait, and Homefront, Australians during the First World War.

Monique Forestier

Monique has been rock climbing for over 18 years, and has been at the top of Australian women’s climbing for the last 12 years. Being the first Australian woman to climb routes graded 31, 32, 33 and 34, Monique enjoys the challenges offered by different styles of climbing. With extensive climbing experience around the world, she has also travelled extensively to climbing destinations worldwide, including to areas in Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Madagascar, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, Thailand, USA and Vietnam. Monique and her husband, internationally renowned climbing photographer Simon Carter, lead rock climbing trips with World Expeditions in the world’s stunning climbing meccas.

Kate Leeming

As an explorer/adventurer, Kate has cycled the equivalent distance of twice around the world at the Equator. In 2010 she became the first person in history to cycle an unbroken line from Africa’s most westerly to its most easterly point, crossing 22,040 kilometres over 10 months. Kate’s journey was not only a physical quest but an odyssey to highlight the development needs and activities of war torn and poverty stricken nations. Kate has two previous world firsts under her belt – the Trans Siberian Cycle Expedition (1993) when she became the first woman to cycle across the new Russia unsupported, and the 25,000 kilometre Great Australian Cycle Expedition (2004/05) which included the first bicycle crossing of the Canning Stock Route by a woman. Kate’s 2016 challenge, Breaking the Cycle South Pole, includes the first bicycle crossing of the Antarctic continent via the South Pole while raising funds and awareness for AIDS in Africa as well as creating an education program about leadership.

Mary Moody

Mary Moody is a former presenter on the ABC’s Gardening Australia and the author of four best selling travel memoirs Au Revoir, Last Tango in Toulouse, The Long Hot Summer and Sweet Surrender as well as numerous gardening books and magazines. Mary has been leading trips in Europe, The Himalaya and North Africa for many years and has a great love and wealth of knowledge of these regions, their natural history, food and flora.

Meraj Din

'Mr Din' has been the driving force behind the operation and management of our Nepal trekking program for the past two decades. His tireless commitment to trip quality and focus on responsible tourism practices has ensured that World Expeditions remains at the forefront of the Himalayan trekking scene.

Mark Bennic

Mark manages all the complex logistics for the operation of our Australian treks and adventures, moving with the seasons. In the winter months he is based in the Northern Territory and keeps our Larapinta and Top End tours running smoothly. Over the summer, Tasmania and Launceston are home base while he coordinates the busy team for Tasmanian Expeditions. Mark has spent a significant amount of time with indigenous communities forging associations that are enjoyed by our travellers and closely ensures that all our Aussie trips maintain a strong eco focus.

Simon Yates

Simon has been at the forefront of mountaineering for almost two decades with pioneering first ascents in the Andes, Himalaya and Karakorum. Best known as the climbing partner to Joe Simpson in ‘Touching the Void’, Simon has developed a strong reputation as an engaging expedition leader and his great passion for the mountains of Central Asia means he always has his hand up enthusiastically to lead expeditions to Mt Elbrus, Peak Lenin and others in the region. Simon has also headed up our Aconcagua, Damodar Saribung Traverse as well as the Summits of Bolivia making him one of our most versatile mountaineering guides.

Andrew Lock

Having completed his Summit 8000 project in October 2009, Andrew has climbed the world's 14 highest peaks above 8000 metres making him unarguably Australia's and the Commonwealth's most accomplished high altitude mountaineer. His impressive mountaineering resume includes multiple ascents of Everest, Lhotse and Manaslu, five Australian first ascents and establishing many new routes. Andrew was also an Australian of the Year nominee in 2010 and the Australian Geographic's Adventurer of the Year in 2009 and 2010. In between expeditions and Antarctic postings, his easygoing nature makes him an ideal choice to lead some of our high altitude expeditions.

Su Zhi Wei

Our association with 'Mr Su' goes back more than two decades when we jointly pioneered the first commercial cycling trips in Southern China. Defying all the odds, Mr Su's vision of providing active, off the beaten track experiences for our travellers to China has been a marvellous accomplishment in a tightly regulated industry. Our adventures in China continue to thrive as a result.

Sorrel Wilby

Sorrel made history in 1991 when she undertook a 6,500 kilometre traverse of the Himalaya with her husband Chris, being the first people to do so. The Buddhist area of Dolpo in Nepal was closed to foreigners at the time forcing the pair to skirt the southern fringes to continue their journey. Sorrel led the 2011 Upper Dolpo Traverse section of the Great Himalaya Trail sharing her knowledge and love of Nepal and its people and realising her dream of completing the missing piece of her earlier traverse. A trek with Sorrel is always a lot of fun and extremely memorable.

Soren Kruse Ledet

Soren is one of our most experienced mountaineering guides. His career started as a member of the 1995 and 2003 Annapurna 4 Expedition as well as a six month traverse of Nepal. Soren joined World Expeditions in 2004 as a mountain guide and has worked closely with World Expeditions to develop and guide many of our trips to challenging peaks. He has led numerous climbs in Nepal, more recently to Cholatse, in Tibet, China and Central Asia and has South America in his sights. Soren is for good reason a popular guide with his highly professional yet easy going nature.

Cheryl Bart

Cheryl Bart and her daughter Nikki Bart made history on the 24th May 2008 when they became the first Australian mother and daughter team to climb the Seven Summits (the highest mountain on each continent) with their ascent of Mt Everest, the last and highest of the seven peaks. In 2008, Cheryl and Nikki were awarded the Australian Geographic “Spirit of Australia” for being the first mother/daughter team in the world to climb the Seven Summits and in 2009, Cheryl was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for service to the economy and cultural development in South Australia, work with welfare organisations and contribution to sport.

Tim Cope

Tim has journeyed over 10,000 kilometres from Mongolia to Hungary by horse, rowed 4,500 kilometres in a leaky wooden boat down the Yenisey River from southern Siberia to the Arctic Ocean, and cycled from Moscow to Beijing by bike – a 10,000 kilometre journey that took him 14 months. Needless to say, he’s incredibly adventurous. An accomplished writer and documentary maker, Tim was deservedly titled Adventurer of the Year by Australian Geographic in 2006. In 2015, Tim was named Mongolian Tourism Envoy and is the recipient of the Mongolian Tourism Excellency Medal. Tim has led a selection of expeditions in Mongolia since 2011 and there is certainly no one better qualified or enthusiastic to do so.

Tim Macartney-Snape

Tim is Australia's best known mountaineer and an inspiring World Expeditions leader. He has climbed Everest twice and many other peaks in the Himalaya including Ama Dablam and Gasherbrum 4. Tim's mountaineering success stems from his passion and talent for exploration. He combines this with his deep interest and knowledge of the natural history of the Himalaya and its people, to give participants on his treks the ultimate mountain travel experience. Once a year, Tim takes small groups into the most isolated and wildest places. He is an inspiring leader and brings different tangents to exploratory treks with his natural history knowledge and genuine understanding of the Himalayan culture.

Simon Carter

Simon Carter is a professional outdoors photographer with an admirable reputation as being one of the world’s best photographers. Having been named as the World’s Best Adventure Photographers by Men’s Journal Magazine (USA) and called “arguably the greatest climbing photographer of all time” by the Rock and Ice Magazine (USA), his reputation is well deserved. Simon leads rock climbing trips alongside his wife, Monique Forestier.

Edmund Capon

Edmund Capon is one of Australia's most respected, admired and recognisable figures in the Arts. Edmund is known for his Directorship of the Art Gallery of NSW, a position he held for 33 years until his retirement in 2011. An expert in the field of Chinese Art and Archaeology, Edmund has written extensively on the arts in China and has led trips for World Expeditions in China tracing the journey of Buddhism along the northern Silk Road. A head of knowledge, quick wit and a great sense of humor make Edmund one of our most admired escorts.

George Negus

George is one of Australia’s most enduring and respected journalistic figures. He’s spent years globe-trotting for programs like Nine’s 60 Minutes, the ABC’s Foreign Correspondent and SBS TV’s Dateline. Having travelled both professionally and personally for more than 30 years, George brings extensive knowledge and experience gained from his myriad of global travel destinations. He also leads Travel for the Mind trips with World Expeditions that focus on getting travellers beneath the surface of a country. Visiting destinations such as Venezuela, Cuba and Iran, Travel for the Mind trips are international excursions for the politically and culturally curious.

Angel Armesto

Angel Armesto lives and works in Argentina and has an extensive climbing background. He has led over 70 Aconcagua expeditions and has climbed and guided widely in the Andes, Antarctica, and Himalaya, where he has reached the summit of Everest twice. There are few people on the planet with more knowledge and enthusiasm for Aconcagua than what Angel brings to every expedition.

Wangchuk Samshu

Since 1985, Wangchuk has managed our operations in India and has a real knack for developing programs centered on discovery of the regions using active travel as the vehicle. This philosophy is reflected in our trekking, cycling and camel riding holidays in northern India. Wangchuk, who himself lives and breathes adventure, ensures that our itineraries are at the cutting edge of tourism development.