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Tucan Travel Staff
Meet our hard-working international team
We're here to make your holiday the adventure of a lifetime
Tucan Travel London Office
Tucan Travel's London office is based in the popular backpacker area of Acton. Many of our staff members are Aussies and Kiwis with a serious amount of adventure travel and tour guiding experience! Tucan Travel's London office is also where the Operations Department is located.
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Matt Gannan
CEO / Managing Director
Read Matt's profile
Where You Come From: Yeppoon / Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. I have lived overseas for 20 years now but still go home each year to visit.
Where You Live Now: Beaconsfield, just outside London on the way to Oxford in the United Kingdom.
Interests: Golf, cycling, walking and spending time with the family.
Travel Experience: Most of Australia, New Zealand and Fiji before really heading overseas. Backpacked through Thailand and Nepal in 1987 then took a double decker bus tour across Asia to London that year, came on a 3 month holiday and stayed 2 years as I liked the Asia trip so much I became a driver for the company! On that trip we did Nepal, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Greece then across Europe to London. As a driver in Europe, I did tours all over Europe and Eastern Europe including Morocco in North Africa and trips throughout the UK and Ireland. Also backpacked through Israel and Egypt before Island hopping my way back to Europe. I then went home for a year in 1989 to work on my fathers cattle property… couldn’t wait to get going again so this time took a year off and never actually made it home to live again! This time I headed off to South America and backpacked for 7 months through Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil before heading back to London to catch up with some mates. Did another trip around Europe driving before heading to Africa to drive safaris. Did 6 months here covering Kenya, Uganda, Zaire (now Congo), Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. I had then decided to get my own truck and start running expeditions in South America which has led me to this point today. Spent several years driving then tour leading expeditions around the entire continent. I also took a stint away from South America again and returned to Europe to drive tours up through Scandinavia and Russia for 3 months, this covered Denmark, Sweden, Norway to the midnight sun, Finland, Russia, Belarus and Poland. I met my wife on an expedition in South America in 1994 and after we got married in 1996, we spent our honeymoon backpacking around Central America. I have also visited lots of other countries on holidays and short trips. My travelling days have certainly slowed up now, though I still get away on business and holiday a few times a year and visit Africa, Asia and Latin America regularly.
Favourite Place: Home! Having lived in tents and hotels for 10 years, I really appreciate being able to come home, relax and do what I want. Colombia was always my favourite travel place though, so beautiful and friendly.
Best Travel Moment: Partying at Rio Carnival, 4 times over!
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Bec Whiffin
General Manager
Read Bec's profile
Where You Come From: Originally from New Zealand.
Where You Live Now: London.
Interests: Music, film, rugby and of course travel!!
Travel Experience: I started my travel career as a European tour leader in 1995, and in 1999 I began working for Tucan Travel as an Adventure tour Leader in Central America. I then spent the following 5 years working and travelling throughout Latin America, leading tours on all Tucan Travels adventure travel tour styles. In my years of travel I have been fortunate enough to have visited 90 countries and all 7 continents, having recently returned from the Galapagos Islands.
Favourite Place: San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico.
Best Travel Moment: Watching the baby turtles hatch from their nests on the beaches of Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica.
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Iain Shiels
General Operations Manager
Read Iain's profile
Where You Come From: New Zealand though have resided overseas for 9 years.
Where You Live Now: London.
Interests: Diving, live music, good food, travel and drinking foreign beers in foreign places.
Travel Experience: Trekking the Torres Del Paine in Patagonia, extreme weather and even the most basic food cooked on the primus stove tastes like a 5* culinary masterpiece, oh and the scenery is pretty bloody fantastic as well.
Favourite Place: Longsheng / Da Zhai - China.
Best Travel Moment: Learning enough of any language to have a conversation (if somewhat basic) with local people and learn more about their way of life.
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Rowena Byrne
Reservations Manager
Read Rowena's profile
Where you come from: Sydney, Australia.
Where you live now: London.
Interests: I like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain, hehe. Love to travel, have drinks with friends at the pub or at summer BBQ’s, kickin’ the moves on the dance floor, anything really as long as I am having a laugh, being cheeky and always having fun!!!
Travel Experience: Prior to heading to London and working for Tucan I was a travel agent working for Flight Centre in Australia and have travelled through various countries through South America, North America, Middle East, Western Europe, Australasia & the South Pacific.
Favourite Place: Hard question, Favourite City: would have to be Rio de Janiero, beautiful. Favourite World Country: Peru, for the amazing scenery and fantastic people. Favourite European Country: Germany, every city in the country is so different and the Germans really know how to have a great time and they are lovely.
Best Travel Moment: Can’t think of one moment in particular, but I love it when you get to met local kids, anywhere in the world, they are just so innocent and so sweet, bless.
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Kuldeep Sohanpal
Accounts
Read Kuldeep’s profile
Where You Come From: Kenya.
Where You Live Now: London.
Interests: Cricket, football, travelling and a bit of gardening.
Travel Experience: Nepal, 20,000 lakes (near Royal Chitwan National Park). A friend of mine took me there on a motorbike. Just the experience of going through the jungle on a motorbike was something.
Favourite Place: Nepal.
Best Travel Moment: Bus trip in Kathmandu, Nepal, visiting all the popular temples.
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Rob Cadwalader
Senior Designer
Read Rob's profile
Where You Come From: Liverpool.
Where You Live Now: London.
Interests: Reading, music, hanging out with friends…
Travel Experience: Europe, Canada, South East Asia, Peru.
Favourite Place: London.
Best Travel Moment: Dune buggying around the Huaccacina Oasis in Peru.
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Catrionna Grant
Communications Coordinator
Read Cat’s profile
Where You Come From: New Zealand.
Where You Live Now: London.
Interests: Travel, reading, cycling, meeting new people, cooking with friends, live music, theatre when I can get there, films.
Travel Experience: Not as much as I'd like! Cuba, Morocco, Australia, Samoa, New Zealand, Spain, Croatia, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Korea, Peru, a few more in Europe and more to come!
Favourite Place: A cafe in Wellington called Midnight where you can sit with a range of people from politicians to IT professionals to art students to All Blacks to travellers and rock bands, eat a fantastic fresh salad, get your caffeine fix and watch the world go by - the cosmopolitan world of Cuba St that is.
Best Travel Moment: There are lots to choose from but one that springs to mind is singing (then translating) Dave Dobbyn songs into French to entertain our Berber guide, in a freezing cold tent in the Saharan desert of Morocco, with camels snoring outside... beautiful!
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Chris Borland
Sales & Marketing Executive
Read Chris's profile
Where You Come From: Manchester, England.
Where You Live Now: South Ealing, London.
Interests: Travel; Football (Man City), history/real life/biographies, red wine, dancing on bars, beautiful, intelligent women with nice personalities! :o)
Travel Experience: 14 European countries, 12 Latin American countries, 13 US states, Canada, Hong Kong, Thailand, Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Australia & New Zealand.
Favourite Place: Eastlands (Man City's football ground) when we beat Man United. Although Egypt is my favourite historic destination, New Orleans is my favourite party town and Cuzco & Cartagena are my favourite Latin American cities.
Best Moment on Tour: As a passenger: The first time I saw Machu Picchu after finishing the Inca Trail. As a tour leader: The cheesy (but true) answer has to be all the great people (now friends) I met and the laughs we had together. Who could forget the Cusco Pub Crawl, Bus Bingo, Birthday Bingo, The Cheese Cake debate, The Pineapple on Pizza debate, Sangria Parties (think while you drink!) in San Pedro, Pool Parties in Arequipa, The Guacamole, The Yellow Socks on the Inca Trail, Snakes on a Plane & Kangaroo Court!? Happy times!
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Spencer Neal
Sales Executive
Read Spencer’s profile
Where You Come From: East End of London.
Where You Live Now: South West London.
Interests: Cooking meat on a fire and washing it down with a good brew. Ancient history, West Ham United football club and camels.
Travel Experience: Cut my teeth in South East Asia for year in ’91 been back many times since. Spent a summer camping in the Cotswolds. Worked as a tour leader in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria and Turkey. India for a year, two years in China and short stints in Pakistan and Tibet. Many a coast to coast business trip to Canada and road trips through USA and Australia. Also a year in Wellington, New Zealand and five years in South Africa – Jo’burg. Short trips to Peru, Europe and Asia.
Favourite Place: Airport arrival halls.
Best Travel Moment: Trying to ride a camel with no saddle at midnight under a full moon in the middle of the Tengger Desert to the great amusement of drunken Mongolian camel herders.
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Kevin Smith
North America Sales Executive
Read Kevin's profile
Where You Come From: Toronto, Canada.
Where You Live Now: Toronto, Canada (a good 25% of the time...)
Interests: I read, play guitar, enjoy karaoke, this winter I tried to knit a scarf but only made it half through, snowboard, hike, bike and I like dark beer (but light is okay too).
Travel Experience: South, Central America (pretty much have this continent covered), Europe (all of western and bits of Eastern), Cuba, Barbados, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, US.
Favourite Place: Havana, Cuba.
Best Travel Moment: The buzz of arriving in any new city.
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Celine Fortin
Asia Destination Manager
Read Celine’s profile
Where You Come From: France.
Where You Live Now: Bangkok, Thailand.
Interests: Responsible travel / sustainable tourism, exploring new cultures, tasting local cuisine, conservation work, photography, yoga, country running, trekking, diving, badminton, drums, salsa dancing, paragliding.
Travel Experience: Independent traveling and tour leading for 3 1/2 years in Central and South America, travel in Europe, Australia (1 year), New Zealand, South East Asia (Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia).
Favourite Place: Dalat in Vietnam, I took the local bus and met a lovely family that invited me to stay overnight in their home, I was thrilled by such generosity and a fantastic experience, cooking with them, eating on the floor, sharing the room of 2 teenagers showing me their posters and English books, trying to communicate with my hands and phrase book provoking lots of laugh from all family members, has to be my very best memory.
Best Travel Moment: Getting to the summit of Cotopaxi volcano in Ecuador, climbing in the ice by night, watching the sunrise through the stalagtics of the glacier and over the all valley, the most challenging physical experience of my life and the most rewarding too. (skydiving over the Mont Blanc was pretty amazing too).
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Natalia Cohen
Latin America Destination Manager
Read Natalia’s profile
Where You Come From: Born in South Africa – grew up in the UK.
Where You Live Now: London, UK.
Interests: Travel, dancing, swimming, photography, people and cultures.
Travel Experience: I have travelled, lived, worked, taught and tour led in parts of Europe, Australia, Egypt, Israel, Jordon, Morocco, Turkey, Nepal, India, Tibet, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Central America, Cuba, Mauritius, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia and previously worked as South East Asia Destination Manager for Tucan Travel.
Favourite Place: I have loved them all... but if you’re making me choose – mind-blowing landscape in Tibet, magical people and innocence in Nepal, sensuality and dancing in Cuba, safaris and Masai children in Kenya, the sunsets, sunrises and starfilled sky in Africa (there is nothing quite like an African Sky!), passion and culture in South and Central America, the beauty of the city of Cape Town, the temples, smiles and food in South East Asia and the contrasts and different energies waiting around every corner of the wonderful world of Bangkok. I could go on...
Best Travel Moment: So many… how can you choose? Sometimes it’s those unexpected moments and circumstances that could be a disaster that turn into the highlight!... interaction with random people from different cultures… having a smile returned… seeing, living and breathing every moment… it’s all about enjoying the journey – where ever it may take you.
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Zoe Brooks
General Operations Assistant
Read Zoe’s profile
Where You Come From: Derbyshire (England). It’s easier to say Sheffield though.
Where You Live Now: London in delightful Acton Town.
Interests: Travel – that’s a given! eating, animals (mainly cute and fluffy, sorry), swimming (anything to do with water actually) socialising, music.
Travel Experience: My parents have always travelled and taken me. My first trip alone beyond loutish holidays to Tenerife and the Spanish Islands with my fellow chavs was to Australia to participate at a student exchange at the University of the Sunshine Coast. From there I had a good look round New Zealand, Fiji and then Cuba. Following that I participated in Camp America and travelled extensively afterwards with the small fortune I earned! Then I worked seasons spending summer in Greece and winter in the Alps. Proceeding that I became a European Tour leader with Tucan Travel. There’s a huge amount of world I’ve yet to see and I’m rather impatient to do so.
Favourite Place: Can't choose, so far Gozo – A little island off the coast of Malta, Salema on Portugal’s Algarve coast & Chesterfield of course.
Best Travel Moment: Black water rafting in New Zealand, hiking to the top of Angels Landing, Zion, Utah, USA & Frasier Island, Australia – everything about it, I just liked it.
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Sara Della Torre
General Operations Assistant
Read Sara's profile
Where You Come From: A little town not far from Milan, Italy.
Where You Live Now: Groovy London.
Interests: Having a great time whenever I can, cycling (a lot!), reading, countryside weekends, outdoor festivals, great food and lots of ice creams.
Travel Experience: Mainly backpacking around Central America, South America & Cuba, various Europe destinations, Morocco, cycling around the Isle of Wight, and hopefully more to come.
Favourite Place: Patagonia, Bolivia, Ecuador, the Italian Dolomites, the English countryside and the little shanty town of Arembepe in Bahia, Brazil.
Best Travel Moment: All of them!
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Aaron Liersemann
Latin America Accounts Coordinator
Read Aaron’s profile
Where You Come From: Dallas, Texas, USA.
Where You Live Now: London, UK.
Interests: Sports, travel, reading, anything outdoors.
Travel Experience: Central America, South America, Australia, Galapagos Islands Hawaii, Caribbean Islands, Harlem NYC.
Favourite Place: Utila, Honduras.
Best Travel Moment: Diving with a school of hammerhead sharks at Gordon Rocks, Galapagos/ volcano boarding at Cerro Negro in Leon, Nicaragua.
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Debbie Morales
Reservations Consultant
Read Debbie’s profile
Where You Come From: London.
Where You Live Now: London.
Interests: Travelling, learning new languages and cultures. Yoga, knitting, thrift shopping, baking and hand-making things.
Travel Experience: Europe, South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and North America.
Favourite Place: Vietnam and Greece.
Best Travel Moment: Too many moments to mention! But I can tell you my first travel experience! My family come from the Philippines, my earliest memory of travelling there is so vivid I can still smell it. As we left the airport a tremendous heat hit me, it was very late at night yet there was this amazing heat. If you have ever been to Asia you know what I mean. It was chaotic and vibrant - taxis, tricycles, jeepneys, horns beeping erratically. Relatives waiting excitedly for loved ones, calling out their names through the masses. The air was so exotic. It was all very foreign to me but yet so exciting. This was my first ever travel experience abroad and I loved every minute of it!
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Lizanne Van Wyck
Reservations Consultant
Read Lizanne’s profile
Where You Come From: Cape Town, South Africa.
Where You Live Now: London.
Interests: Having a good time with friends, wine wine wine, the beach although I am not getting much (or any) of it at the moment, rugby.
Travel Experience: Africa, Europe. So many places to explore still there is just never enough time…or money!
Favourite Place: Africa - there is just no place like home!
Best Travel Moment: The excitement as I am boarding a flight and arriving in a new city. Meeting the locals.
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Rebecca Thompson
Reservations Consultant
Read Rebecca's profile
Where You Come From: New Zealand.
Where You Live Now: London.
Interests: Rock climbing, guitar, hiking, travel.
Travel Experience: My first big trip was a study year in Argentina, followed by various working and backpacking holidays through New Zealand, Australia, Asia and Europe.
Favourite Place: Queenstown, New Zealand.
Best Travel Moment: Taking a boat to the base of Iguazu Falls and almost losing my camera overboard! Then travelling back through the jungle by 4WD with hundreds of varieties of butterflies fluttering around.
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Rolf Stanley
Latin America Reservations Assistant
Read Rolf’s profile
Where You Come From: Aarhus, Denmark.
Where You Live Now: London, UK.
Interests: Volleyball, kayaking, hiking, dogs great food good wine.
Travel Experience: Bits of South America, North Africa, United States and Europe.
Favourite Place: Mama Africa, Cuzco.
Best Travel Moment: Cooking (and eating) Paiche on a campfire on one of the many sandy beaches on the Amazon river after a long day of kayaking with the dolphins. Beautiful.
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Tucan Travel Sydney Office
Tucan Travel's Sydney office is based in the beachside suburb of Randwick, and all of our Sydney-siders are well-travelled, experienced and passionate about helping you have the adventure of a lifetime.
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Pip Tyler
Co-Founder & Director (Retired)
Read Pip’s profile
Where You Come From: Born in London, England in 1950.
Where You Live Now: Clovelly in Sydney, Australia, not far from the beach or the city centre, a great spot to live.
Interests: Good food and red wine, long walks with the dog, spending time with my wife travelling.
Travel Experience: It all started back in the early 1960s when I got the travel-bug and started my travels around Europe on holidays from London, the usual; Spain, France, Austria (skiing), Soviet Union, Turkey, Morocco and many others. Then in 1973 I hitchhiked around Europe ending up in Greece and Israel (in a kibbutz). The bug then really set in and was in my blood for good! The next big trip was an overland to Australia in 1976 where I travelled through Europe, through the Middle East (inc. Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan) to Nepal then back via India, Burma, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore & Indonesia to arrive in Perth where I spent the next 12 months as a bus driver! After driving around the top end of Australia and down through the middle, I ended up in Sydney where I was to make my home (well on amd off when not travelling). My next trip was to take me through Africa; starting in South Africa, then Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi, Kenya, Sudan and Egypt before finishing up in the UK once again to save more money. The next big trip was to change my life completely as I flew across to San Francisco and backpacked from the USA through Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador (during the civil war), Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. From here I flew and joined an overland company for a 3 month trip from Bogota, Colombia to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in time for my first Carnival in 1981 (6 more times since then). From Rio exhausted after continual partying I flew back to South Africa which was the start of my next segment up through Botswana, Zimbabwe (very soon after the re-naming after being Rhodesia), Zambia, Tanzania, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Hong Kong, Philippines and back to good old Oz. It was not too long after this trip that I became a tour leader in Europe doing the usual trips down as far as Turkey but I only stayed the one summer season as I was offered a job in South America as an overland tour leader. I did this for about 2.5 years with a summer season also running tours in Canada. It was during my time in South America that I met my wife Liliana in Bogota where after a short time we got married in Panama City before continuing running tours (together now) in South America. After the tour company which I was working for pulled out of South America we went to live in Spain and then started Tucan in 1987. At first Liliana and I ran all of the tours ourselves on public transport before buying our first truck in 1990. I continued to run the odd trip, through Central and South America and ran quite a few educational trips for travel agents during the 90s; I retired from leading tours about 5 years ago but have not lost my travel-bug. We still travel several times a year either on business or holidays throughout the world which I still thoroughly enjoy immensely. I have travelled to over one hundred countries and still crave for more!
Favourite Place: That’s a hard one, once it was Afghanistan & Burma but they have both changed since I was there but I still love Asia (as I love the food & the people), especially India, Cambodia and Vietnam but obviously Latin America is still very much in my blood but I get there a lot, so not so much a favourite but more like popping home! Buenos Aries is my favourite city in Latin America and probably Colombia is my favourite country as my extended family live there and always give us a great time when we visit.
Best Travel Moment: Meeting Liliana in Bogota, marrying her in Panama, honeymooning in Cartagena and Santa Marta! Also setting site on mainland Antarctica for the first time, everything is so white and enormous.
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Liliana Tyler
Co-Founder & Director (Retired)
Read Liliana’s profile
Where You Come From: Born in Bogota, Colombia sometime in the 20th century.
Where You Live Now: Clovelly in Sydney, I have lived in Australia for 10 years now.
Interests: Reading, movies, music, dancing (Latin American music), meeting other cultures.
Travel Experience: In 1980 I travelled across to Europe with my family where we visited Northern Ireland (my sisters wedding), UK, France (other sister lived in Paris), Spain, Switzerland and Italy. When I met Pip in late 1984 and after getting married the following year we travelled throughout South and Central America including all three of the Guyanas and many of the Caribbean Islands including Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, St.Kitts, Antigua, Guadeloupe, St.Lucia, Barbados and St.Vincent. Since then we have travelled all over Asia, Fiji, Tahiti, New Caledonia, New Zealand back to Europe on several occasions, we in fact lived in Spain for 5 years. I have visited 75 countries… some more to go still!
Favourite Place: I love Sydney and also Buenos Aires but my all time favourite is Villa de Leyva in Colombia (where else).
Best Travel Moment: First time in Machu Picchu and also visiting the Taj Mahal, they were wonderful experiences.
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Justin Ewin
General Manager
Read Justin profile
Where You Come From: Sydney, Australia.
Where You Live Now: Sydney, Australia.
Interests: The world, life and happiness.
Travel Experience: Bits of every continent… although mainly Asia.
Favourite Place: Best Travel Moment: Either the Kumbh Mela (festival of Sadhu’s that only happens once every 4 years and is the biggest gathering of humans on earth) or being in Leh (a Tibetan town in far north India) when the Dali Lama arrived for the 1st time in 8 years.
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Leonie Fraser
Reservations Manager
Read Leonie’s profile
Where You Come From: Sydney.
Where You Live Now: Sydney
Interests: Anything outdoors – scuba diving, snowboarding and going to the beach.
Travel Experience: Asia, North America, Central America, South America, Antarctica, New Zealand, Australia.
Favourite Place: Too many to choose from, but I love Canada for its amazing mountains and great snowboarding. Also, Buenos Aires rates very highly – fantastic city with much awesome shopping.
Best Travel Moment: Again, so many! But recently – enjoying the sight of three humpback whales breeching alongside our boat for an hour on a beautifully sunny afternoon in Antarctica.
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Kerstin O'Sullivan
Accounts
Read Kerstin’s profile
Where You Come From: Germany.
Where You Live Now: Australia for over 10 years now.
Interests: Reading – any spare moment you’ll find me hiding behind a book. Unfortunately since the birth of my daughter, the moments are too far and inbetween. The occasional gardening – don’t have much of a green thumb though. If plants don’t survive on neglect then they pretty much have no place in my garden. Skiing – has been a bit neglected since I’ve come to Australia, but hoping to get back into the swing of things.
Travel Experience: Europe, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
Favourite Place: There are many, but I must say I’m always happy to come back home.
Best Travel Moment: Backpacking through Iceland with my sister for four weeks when I was 18. Just enjoying the magnificent scenery and soaking in the hot springs whenever possible.
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Ann-Marie Guirguis
Sales Representative
Read Ann-Marie’s profile
Where You Come From: Brisbane, Australia.
Where You Live Now: Melbourne, Australia.
Interests: Travelling, trying new foods, meeting new people and generally having a laugh whatever I’m up too!
Travel Experience: UK, Ireland, Europe, Morocco and the Middle East, Eastern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Asia, South America, USA.
Favourite Place: Egypt (and Argentina!)
Best Travel Moment: Wandering around at night in Egypt’s White Desert. The sky was an iridescent blue, the stars were sparkling and the Salvador Dali-like white rock formations mesmerised me, it was like walking on the moon! This was great till I realised I was lost and had no idea where my Berber camp was!
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Leanne Mensink
Sales Executive – Queensland / Northern Territory
Read Leanne’s profile
Where You Come From: Brisbane.
Where You Live Now: Brisbane.
Interests: Ice skating, travelling, AFL, soccer, netball.
Travel Experience: Asia – China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia. Europe – Italy, Greece, Czech Rep, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary. South America – Peru, Mexico. Pacific Islands – New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Cook Islands. New Zealand – North & South Islands. Canada – BC, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec. USA – West Coast, East Coast, Alaska.
Favourite Place: Canada.
Best Travel Moment: Tour escort for group tours to Canada.
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Hayley Mitchell
Sales Executive - New South Wales
Read Hayley profile
Where You Come From: Newcastle, Australia.
Where You Live Now: Sydney.
Interests: Travel and salsa dancing.
Travel Experience: Australia, New Zealand, UK, Europe, Central & South Africa, South America and of course Central America.
Favourite Place: Santorini - Greek Islands... is one of many favourite places!
Best Travel Moment: This could be an endless story... In short, I love meeting local people, discovering their culture and way of life!
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Tucan Travel Cuzco Office
Our office in Cuzco is run by local experts who know our destinations through and through, and they're close to hand if you need support while you're travelling in South America.
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Zac Lanham
Crew Coordinator
Read Zac’s profile
Where You Come From: Australia.
Where You Live Now: Cuzco, Peru.
Interests: Travelling, home brewing, I also like meat.
Travel Experience: Almost most 4 years in South America, plus few weeks around India, can’t wait to go back.
Favourite Place: Any steak restaurant in Buenos Aires.
Best Travel Moment: Watching the ice calving at the Moreno Glacier.
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Keiko Fernandez
Reservations Manager
Read Keiko’s profile
Where You Come From: Lima, Peru.
Where You Live Now: Cuzco, Peru.
Interests: Music, reading and my new Wii Fit Plus.
Travel Experience: A scholarship to the States, most of Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.
Favourite Place: My home.
Best Travel Moment: To travel with Foker (my dog) outside of Cuzco with good friends.
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Cristina Fernández
Lima Representative
Read Cristina’s profile
Where You Come From: Lima, Peru.
Where You Live Now: Callao, Peru.
Interests: Travel, history, anthropology, cultural entertainment.
Travel Experience: Lima's provinces... Canta, Lunahuana, Huacho, Sta Rosa de Quives, Pisco, Ayacucho, Piura, Lambayeque and Chiclayo.
Favourite Place: Ayacucho.
Best Travel Moment: Walking on Pampa de la Quinua, beautiful scenery. You find yourself connected with the mysterious environment (Ayacucho) where our last battle took place in order to become a free country.
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Erika Bernal Torres
Reservations Assistant
Read Erika’s profile
Where You Come From: Calca, Cuzco, Peru.
Where You Live Now: Cuzco, Peru.
Interests: I love to dance, to travel, watch movies, and read books.
Travel Experience: USA, Peru, Bolivia.
Favourite Place: My home town, Calca it’s a very nice place with a beautiful landscapes. I also like the jungle in Peru.
Best Travel Moment: Different trips around Cuzco with my university friends, unforgettable experiences.
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Elizabeth Cuñas Pacheco (Lichi)
Reservations Assistant
Read Lichi’s profile
Where You Come From: Cuzco, Peru.
Where You Live Now: Cuzco, Peru.
Interests: I like to read science fiction books, play the piano and go for strolls on Sundays with my family.
Travel Experience: Chile, and La Paz in Bolivia.
Favourite Place: Cuzco (beautiful place).
Best Travel Moment: The best travel moment for me has to be in Warmihuañusca to 4,200 meters above sea level (the highest place of the Inca Trail).
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Manolo Gamero
Lima Representative
Read Manolo’s profile
Where You Come From: I was originally born in Lima, but I was living in Arequipa for 22 years (awesome city, by the way).
Where You Live Now:I live in Lima now, in San Borja district.
Interests: My main interests are music (I can't live without it!), reading, watch nice tv shows (as C.S.I., N.C.I.S., Two and a half man, etc.) and PARTY (I'm your man in Lima)!
Travel Experience: I know ALL the south region of Peru (Ica, Arequipa, Moquegua, Tacna, Cusco, Puno and Puerto Maldonado (my favourite place in the world!) and Chile (from Arica to Puerto Mont) and Bolivia (only La Paz).
Favourite Place: Ecoamazonía Jungle Lodge, Puerto Maldonado.
Best Travel Moment: When I reached with all my classmates to Machu Picchu, graduation trip 1989. (Wow! I'm old...)
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Sayda Rosa Rojas Corrales
Reservations Assistant
Read Sayda’s profile
Where You Come From: Cuzco, Peru.
Where You Live Now: Cuzco, Peru.
Interests: Watching movies.
Travel Experience: Peru, Bolivia and Chile.
Favourite Place: Sta Cruz - Bolivia.
Best Travel Moment: Watching the sunrise in Paucartambo.
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Eduardo Quispe Mamani
General Assistant
Read Eduardo’s profile
Where You Come From: Arequipa, Peru.
Where You Live Now: Cuzco, Peru.
Interests: Estoy estudiando turismo, también tengo muchas intereses, mi gusta ir a bailar, jugar basket y fútbol, y cantar a veces y leer un poco. (I am studying tourism and I also have many interests. I like going to dance, playing basketball and soccer, singing sometimes and reading a little).
Travel Experience: Lima, Cusco, Arequipa, Bolivia and much more.
Favourite Place: Es estar en el campo observando el paisaje y el rio, y tambien estar en mi cuarto. (To be in the countryside looking out at the scenery and the river and also to be in my room).
Best Travel Moment: Mis mejores momentos de viaje fue cuando viaje con mi mama a visitar a mis abuelos y festejar porque por tiempo que no los veía y porque los quiero mucho. (My best travel moment was when I went with my mother to visit my grandparents and party with them because I hadn't seen them in a long time and I love them so much.
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Foker
The Dog
Read Foker’s profile
Where You Come From: Cuzco, Peru.
Where You Live Now: Tucan Travel Cuzco office most of the time. I have a great spot on the couch looking at the Inca Sun Temple.
Interests: Public relations and the cute boxer that lives next door.
Travel Experience: Cuzco, Puno and all the restaurants that will let me in.
Favourite Place: Fallen Angel, a great restaurant in Cuzco - they have goldfish in the tables!
Best Travel Moment: Going to Puno and peeing at Lakay at 4300 metres above sea level.
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Tucan Travel Europe Crew
Tucan Travel's crew in Eastern Europe will do their best to give you the adventure of a lifetime.
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Justin Williams
Tour Leader
Read Justin’s profile
Where You Come From: Auckland, New Zealand.
Where You Live Now: Dahab, South Sinai, Egypt.
Interests: Scuba diving, golf, movies and definitely travelling and exploring new places, meeting new people.
Travel Experience: Where to start....travelling for 20 years on and off, lived on 4 continents, travelled through 76 countries and 12 round the world trips and have been tour leading for 5 years.
Favourite Place: Nepal!! Fantastic sites, people, food and the best trekking in the world. I had the privilege to see the sun rise over Mt Everest, magnificent.
Best Travel Moment: Hard to narrow down to just one thing but one that sticks in my mind is watching a lion kill a wilderbeest, drag it back to the family and watch the cubs eat till their bellies dragged across the floor with blood smeared faces.
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Tucan Travel Asia & Russia Crew
Tucan Travel's crew in Asia and Russia are a dedicated group with lots of adventure travel and tour guiding experience!
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Bob Withers
Tour Leader
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Where You Come From: Tasmania, Australia.
Where You Live Now: Yangshuo, China.
Interests: Technology, reading, Asian cultures (particularly Chinese), hiking, sport.
Travel Experience: Backpacked around the world, then for last 8-9 years worked as a tour leader in Egypt, India, Sri Lanka, China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Favourite Place: Many, many places but Sri Lanka stands out. Also, Miyajima and Takayama in Japan; Jailsamer in India, Czesky Kromolov in Czech Republic; Lystvianka (Lake Baikal) in Russia; Jokhang Temple, Lhasa Nunnery, Yamdrok Lake in Tibet, Kashgar Sunday Market, The Great Wall walk from Jinshanling to Simatai and the mountains of SE and SW China.
Best Travel Moment: Again, quite a few but experiencing the last couple of nights of the 2001 Esala Perahera festival in Kandy still stands out. There were whip crackers, fireball acrobats, drummers and dancers, elephants, flag bearers, special devotees and temple functionaries. One the back of a specially trained elephant is a replica gold casket that is supposed to contain one of Buddha's teeth. The procession spans 10 nights and every night it gets longer, so that by the last night, it is an extraordinarily long colourful ribbon of homage.
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Chris Field
Tour Leader
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Where You Come From: East Sussex, England.
Where You Live Now: South East Asia.
Interests: Travelling, gym, all sports, wildlife photography, trance music.
Travel Experience: Europe (France, Greece, Spain, Belgium, Italy) Australia, New Zealand, Malidves, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Namibia, South East Asia (All over Indonesia, Peninsular Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Singapore) Tunisia, Egypt, USA.
Favourite Place: Siem Reap, Cambodia; Vang Vieng, Laos; Australia.
Best Travel Moment: Boat trip around West Nusa Tenggara, Komodo National Park and Flores in Indonesia.
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Imbi Sorensen
Tour Leader
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Where You Come From: A tiny little country town on the NSW border called Barooga - Australia!
Where You Live Now:My home is now on the road, out of my backpack in South East Asia!!
Interests: Travelling is my biggest interest, but I also love meeting new people, drinking red wine, music-dancing, getting involved with charity organisations, photography (although I’m really not so good!), wildlife (especially African animals), relaxing by the beach and I’m also quite partial to a good party!
Travel Experience: When I first started travelling, I spent 6 months backpacking through Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, France, Belgium, Germany and Ireland. I lived in England for 6 months and have also travelled through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, the east coast of Australia, Bali and of course South East Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Peninsula and Borneo Malaysia, Singapore). The list keeps growing... Still so much to see!!
Favourite Place: I have been to some amazing places, so it's hard to choose just one! Far North Queensland is my favourite place back home. In South East Asia, Cambodia is my favourite place to be. Paris was amazing, but I really fell in love with Namibia and Botswana... There's something quite magical about Africa.
Best Travel Moment: Walking and playing with two 10 month old lion cubs in Zimbabwe as part of a conservation programme to boost lion numbers in the wild. It was one of the best experiences of my life.
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Jona Senk
Tour Leader
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Where You Come From: Slovenia, EU.
Where You Live Now: South East Asia.
Interests: Traveling, all kinds of sports especially diving and skiing, socialising and meeting people, reading books (lately I manage 3-5 pages a day).
Travel Experience: Travelled and worked all over Europe and Russia (North-South, East-West), Middle East (Egypt, Jordan, Israel), Turkey and now SE Asia. Own travels included USA, Canada, Mexico, Belize.
Favourite Place: Would have to be Naples and Sicily, close comes Laos and Canada.
Best Travel Moment: Trip to Canada, being in a friends lodge in VC, sitting in a hot-tub, sipping beer and watching the seals swimming by.
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John Petter Klovstad
Tour Leader
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Where You Come From: Tromso, Norway.
Where You Live Now: South East Asia.
Interests: Travelling, meeting new people and enjoying good food.
Travel Experience: Years of independent travelling and tour leading since 2001 in Middle East, Africa, SE Asia, Latin America and China.
Favourite Place: The traffic, people, the seafood in Saigon, Vietnam. So many beautiful places around the world.
Best Travel Moment: During the last 12 years there have been so many Best Travel Moments so it is difficult to say. Biking through Cambodia is for sure one of them, driving through the tribal area in Pakistan, my birthday in the desert of Sudan, “running with” elephants in Thailand, seeing tigers in India, the mountain gorillas in Rwanda, listening to lions roaring when you are alone in a tent in Zimbabwe, hiking through the jungle in Guatemala and discover old Mayan ruins, carnival in Brazil, travelling in Papua New Guinea and Ethiopia and many, many more. Some times when sitting on a bus, plane, train, boat, back on a truck or a bike watching people and the world, thinking this is my life Oi troi oi!! I do enjoy this.
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Papiha a.k.a. Papi / Paps
Tour Leader
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Where You Come From: Goa, India.
Where You Live Now: Out of my backpack.
Interests: Trekking, motorcycling in the mountains, playing flutes, bumming around on the beach, reading when I get some time! Cooking, living out everything I've been born for.
Travel Experience: Been backpacking since '93, traveled all of India, biking through Ladakh, Kashmir, Himachal, Rajasthan, right up to the Andaman Islands, Bhutan, Nepal some parts of SE Asia, (Thailand, Laos, HK).
Favourite Place: Little Gagator Beach, Vagator, Goa, Zingzingbar (on the way to Rohtang Pass, highest motorable road in the world) also Spiti valley and the Valley of the Flowers.
Best Travel Moment: I doubt I’ll cease to travel as the cure for my travel bug lies in its satiation. But I doubt it'll ever happen. Man is driven by his hunger (also by his motorbike!)
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Russell McDonald
Tour Leader
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Where You Come From: Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
Where You Live Now: SE Asia is as specific as it gets.
Interests: Music, sport, lunches that become dinners, film and of course travelling.
Travel Experience: SE Asia, Europe as well as bits of Africa and North/Central/South America.
Favourite Place: Tough one. Italy's Amalfi coast, Patagonia or maybe Eastern Europe.
Best Travel Moment: Rented a house with some mates on the carribbean island Roatan for a few months. That was pretty special.
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Tony Perdomo
Tour Leader
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Where You Come From: Born in El Salvador, lived in Toronto, Canada until 2004.
Where You Live Now: South East Asia.
Interests: Travelling, hiking, music, soccer, dance, cooking, camping, reading, etc... anything to do with cultures and learning about them.
Travel Experience: Travelled thoughout most of Europe in 2003; led tours down in South America in 2004 and have been leading/living in Central America, including Mexico and Cuba since 2005. I went to Morocco in 2006 and want to see the world before I am too old!!!
Favourite Place: Cuba.
Best Travel Moment: The first time I did the Inca Trail and saw Machu Picchu face to face on the cloudy then sunny morning.
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Middle East & North Africa Road Crew
Tucan Travel's crew in the Middle East and North Africa comprise of certified Egyptologists and tour leaders with a passion for the region.
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Fady Sabry
Managing Director, Egypt Local Operator
Read Fady’s profile
Where You Come From: Egypt.
Where You Live Now: Cairo, Egypt.
Interests: Body building, swimming, shooting, doing any crazy adventure.
Travel Experience: I started in 1994 when I worked at a simple hotel in Cairo as the receptionist and selling Egypt tours. I had a group of friends who, like me, love the tourism field and their country. In 1996 we went into business with three well-known English travel agencies and became the ground handling for theses agencies in Egypt. My role at that time was selling, tour operator, and tour leader till late 2000 when my friends decided to leave the hotel and every one have to run his business on his own. I took the hotel management till 2001 when Sunny Egypt began.
Favourite Place: Hard question, anywhere near my little Princess (daughter).
Best Travel Moment: When I do a crazy thing in crazy or dangerous places.
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Abdellah Baba
Tour Leader
Read Abdellah’s profile
Where You Come From: Morocco.
Where You Live Now: I now live partly in Marrakech and partly in surrey in the U.K.
Interests: My interests are skiing, mountain biking, walking, cinema, riding my motorbike and wine tasting. I have also just taken up tennis.
Travel Experience: Apart from knowing the Atlas mountains like my home town I have walked extensively in the Alps in France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy, including the Dolomites and Appenines in Italy and the GR20 in Corsica.
Favourite Place: My favourite place is Piz Gloria looking at Eiger, Jungfrau.
Best Travel Moment: Walking in the mountains of Morocco with the peace and quiet, fresh air, great company and amazing scenery.
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Cath Stach
Tour Leader
Read Cath's profile
Where You Come From: Melbourne, Australia.
Where You Live Now: the Middle East.
Interests: Dim Sum (or Yum Cha), food, having drinks with friends, travelling.
Travel Experience: I have worked in wholesale and retail travel for the last 4 years. I have lived and travelled in the US, been to Hawaii, Tahiti, all over Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Dubai, Egypt, Jordan, Europe, Mexico and Africa.
Favourite Place: People – Thailand, Beaches – Tahiti, Culture – Egypt.
Best Travel Moment: Diving in the Red Sea, most amazing thing I’ve seen - beautiful!
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Ramy Mansour
Tour Leader / Egyptologist
Read Ramy’s profile
Where You Come From: Cairo, Egypt
Where You Live Now: Cairo, Egypt
Interests: Swimming, reading books, travelling.
Travel Experience: I’ve been working since 1996 in tourism service and have travelled all over Egypt.
Favourite Place: Dahab, Red Sea.
Best Travel Moment: Felucca night.
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Mostafa Abd El Aziz El Faham
Tour Leader / Egyptologist
Read Mostafa’s profile
Where You Come From: Cairo, Egypt.
Where You Live Now: Giza, Egypt.
Interests: Music, reading, travel.
Travel Experience: All over Egypt working in tourism since 1999 as an archaeologist / Egyptologist.
Favourite Place: Oasis, Dahab, Cairo.
Best Travel Moment: My favourite moments on tour are dancing parties and camping in the desert.
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Samer Salib (Sem Sem)
Tour Leader / Egyptologist
Read Sem Sem’s profile
Where You Come From: Cairo, Egypt.
Where You Live Now: Cairo, Egypt.
Interests: Music, travelling, playing football.
Travel Experience: Holland, Jordan, Belgium.
Favourite Place: Valley of the Kings.
Best Travel Moment: When I feel that the group will remember the experience forever.
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Wael Mohammed Abdel Hafiez
Tour Leader / Egyptologist
Read Wael’s profile
Where You Come From: Egypt.
Where You Live Now: Egypt.
Interests: Swimming, shooting, horse riding.
Travel Experience: All over Egypt.
Favourite Place: Aswan, Hurghada, Alexandria.
Best Travel Moment: Any time we are near the beaches.
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Wassim Karara
Tour Leader / Egyptologist
Read Wassim’s profile
Where You Come From: Egypt.
Where You Live Now: Cairo, Egypt.
Interests: Reading, listening to music and playing football.
Travel Experience: 4 years experience as tour guide and Egyptologist all around Egypt.
Favourite Place: Dahab.
Best Travel Moment: Travelling between Egypt’s beautiful beaches and mountains.
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East & Southern Africa Road Crew
Experienced drivers and knowledgeable tour leaders make up this dedicated team, travelling between Cape Town and Nairobi on our 'big yellow trucks'.
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Brendon Arthur
Driver
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Where You Come From: Home Hill, Sunny North Queensland Australia.
Where You Live Now: On the road no fixed abode.
Interests: All sport! Love it all, especially synchronised swimming.
Travel Experience: All continents except Antarctica, working on that one, did my first safari in 1994 have been working on the road Africa, Middle East and South America since 1997.
Favourite Place: My beach house in North Queensland, plus the hole planet the world is a very beautiful place its a shame human beings mess it up so much.
Best Travel Moment: Hard to pick just one. I would have to say it was fairly special when my mum and dad came on tour in the Middle east and Africa, also meeting my girlfriend Carolyn was a special moment as well.
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Carolyn Arthur
Tour Leader
Read Carolyn’s profile
Where You Come From: Australia.
Where You Live Now: Africa.
Interests: Travel, photography, diving.
Travel Experience: Thailand 2003, Europe 2004 + 2005 + 2006, Middle East 2007, Africa 2008-2009.
Favourite Place: The people, places, history and culture of the Middle East - Syria especially.
Best Travel Moment: Playing with the local kids on an unplanned village walk in Senga Bay one Christmas.
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Claire Dryden Gribben
Tour Leader
Read Claire’s profile
Where You Come From: Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Where You Live Now: On a big yellow truck in Africa....of course.
Interests: Scuba diving, sky diving, sand boarding, good seafood, Spiced Gold & Ginger!
Travel Experience: I've been a tour leader in the Middle East, North Africa, South East Asia and South & East Africa. Other than that I've travelled to quite a few other places including India, some of Europe, West Africa. South America and Antarctica are calling...
Favourite Place: I have lots! Favourite city is Jerusalem. Favourite country possibly Namibia. Favourite desert is the White Desert in Egypt. Favourite "chill" place is Dahab on the Red Sea. Favourite place overall in the whole wide world - has to be Africa!
Best Travel Moment: There's been so many! It really does depend on the group. Celebrating my birthday on an overnight train through Egypt with a great group was memorable! "Extreme" wheelbarrow racing on top of Mount Toubkal. Tracking the rare Mountain Gorillas is one of my all time favourite things and seeing the groups' reaction when they come back is fab!
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David Manning
Driver
Read Dave’s profile
Where You Come From: Umgungundlovu (The Place of the Elephant), Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.
Where You Live Now: In a truck called Sail, travelling through Africa.
Interests: Overland driver/guide southern and Eastern Africa, West Africa & Morocco, London to Kathmandu, Europe tour and Independent trips to France, Germany , Holland, Belgium Italy, worked in England, Scotland, Worked in Kenya and Uganda and South America.
Travel Experience: Hiking mountains, coasts, snorkelling, fishing, skiing, paragliding, guitar. Exploring new places, trying new foods and drinks, red wine.
Favourite Place: Morocco.
Best Travel Moment: Driving through the gnu migration in the Serengeti and seeing wild chimps in Uganda.
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Joash Muli
Driver
Read Joash’s profile
Where You Come From: Nairobi, Kenya.
Where You Live Now: Mainly on the road in between Cape Town and Kenya but when on leave I still have a place in Rongai, Nairobi.
Interests: Playing the guitar, volleyball and watching premiership football when I get the chance.
Travel Experience: After working in Germany I travelled through Switzerland, Belgium and Holland before returning back to Kenya. Throughout my 8 years working as an overland driver I have toured Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and of course my home Kenya.
Favourite Place: Everywhere, but if I had to choose two it would be the town of Rhuengeri in Rwanda which we use as a base to trek to see the mountain gorillas and Kande Beach in Malawi.
Best Travel Moment: Game driving in the Masai Mara in Kenya and getting an extremely rare sighting of a pack of African wild dogs. And whilst working for a humanitarian organisation in Southern Sudan we had to relocate several quad bikes across the Nile, only problem was it was across a swing bridge which made it interesting to say the least.
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Logan Griffiths
Driver
Read Logan’s profile
Where You Come From: New Zealand.
Where You Live Now: Africa and every now and then in Australia.
Interests: Sailing, diving, motox, fishing, swimming, snowboarding, kayaking and yeah, travel too.
Travel Experience: I’ve done a couple or three world trips solo to Europe, Asia, North America as well as one with a girlfriend, although the past five years have been spent sailing and living on boats in Australasia, Oceania and the Caribbean. The last year has been spent sailing and travelling around the Americas and now overlanding with Tucan Travel for some Latin culture and African safaris.
Favourite Place: Airlie Beach.
Best Travel Moment: Chasing donkeys in the British Virgin Islands.
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Latin America Crew
Tucan Travel's crew in South and Central America is full of experienced and passionate adventure travellers who love the Southern Continent and are dedicated to sharing that passion with you.
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Carla Neira
Tour Leader
Read Carla’s profile
Where You Come From: : I was born in lovely hot Ica but I have been living in Lima since I was one month old.
Where You Live Now: Crazy Lima city.
Interests: I am very easygoing and love to travel. I feel passion for Latin America and I love dancing, cinema, reading - no dramas, adventure sports and I paint and cook as well. Travel Experience: Well, I know I am young but I have already travelled all around the United States, Morocco, Italy, Barcelona, Istanbul, Greece, Egypt, Turkey, Malta, Odessa, Greek Islands, Ecuador and Bolivia.
Favourite Place: : Ummm...difficult question, but I think I fell in love with Cuzco after the Inca Trail. That place is amazing. When you are hiking the Inca Trail you can see the most beautiful landscapes - it's just magic. Believe it or not, every time I travel to Cuzco it feels like the first time. Maybe it's because Cuzco is so beautiful and full of good energy.
Best Travel Moment: I remember the second day of the Inca Trail - completely tired after walking for hours. Finally I was close to Dead Woman's Pass and when I got to the top I felt to proud of myself. I was going to take a picture and it started to rain, and I was about to put my poncho on and then the rain stopped - right then and there appeared a beautiful rainbow! It was unforgettable for me!
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Carmen Juarez
Tour Leader
Read Carmen’s profile
Where You Come From: Arequipa, Peru.
Where You Live Now: South America.
Interests: Books, languages, travelling, dance, music, meeting new people, etc.
Travel Experience: Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Holland and most of the countries in South America.
Favourite Place: Rio, Brazil.
Best Travel Moment: There are so many ... I love all of them!
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Fran Pfluger
Tour Leader
Read Fran’s profile
Where You Come From: USA.
Where You Live Now: Latin America.
Interests: Enjoying the hell outta life.
Travel Experience: 7 months in South America, 10 months in Central America, 4 months in Europe, South East Asia, North America.
Favourite Place: Beaver Stadium
Best Travel Moment: The day I started travelling.
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James Cilliers
Driver
Read James’s profile
Where You Come From:
Where You Live Now: South Africa.
Interests: In a big yellow truck.
Travel Experience: UK, Africa and now South America.
Favourite Place: Zanzibar.
Best Travel Moment: Every minute.
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Joslyn Erickson
Tour Leader
Read Joslyn’s profile
Where You Come From: Portland, Oregon USA.
Where You Live Now: Central America! But my things are stored in Portland.
Interests: Travel, theatre, learning languages, photography, finishing crossword puzzles, drinking coffee, taste-testing local foods, playing in nature, laughing from my belly.
Travel Experience: Various visits to Europe, including England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Belgium, Holland, Greece and Italy, study abroad in Havana, Cuba for four months, and another four months in Sevilla, Spain. Lived in Cuzco, Peru for two years.
Favourite Place: Havana, Cuba - the beaches, the food, the rum, the music, the dancing - everything! And Merida, Mexico, for their colonial flair mixed with indigenous roots.
Best Travel Moment: Seeing 150 baby turtles head to the sea at 5am in Tortuguero, Costa Rica, or ziplining through the clouds in Monteverde!
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Joss Hemming
Tour Leader
Read Joss’s profile
Where You Come From: Sheffield, England.
Where You Live Now: On the road.
Interests: Music, running, outdoor madness.
Travel Experience: Lived worked and travelled in South America, Denmark, Spain.
Favourite Place: Barcelona.
Best Travel Moment: Celebrating 4 birthdays in 8 days on tour, one of which was mine!
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Julie Warner
Tour Leader
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Where You Come From: UK.
Where You Live Now:South America.
Interests: Anything to do with travel and new experiences, winter sports, outdoor activities and learning the Spanish language, oh yeah, plus trucks and overlanding!
Travel Experience: Still working on it, but years in South America and also have lived and worked in Spain and Switzerland to name a few.
Favourite Place: Bariloche in Argentina, for the winter sports and summer trekking.
Best Travel Moment: Hummm... no, too difficult to choose!!
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Owen Denton
Tour Leader
Read Owen’s profile
Where You Come From: Tetaumatawhakatangihangakoauaotamateaurehaeaturipukapihimaungahoronuku pokaiwhenuaakitanarahu, Hawkes Bay , New Zealand.
Where You Live Now: In a big yellow truck, somewhere in South America.
Interests: Travel and adventure, good food and drink, sun, surf, skiing and boarding.
Travel Experience: Three years of leading tours in Europe. Ski Rep in Andorra and Austria. I’ve also enjoyed wandering around the U.K., Turkey and Morocco as well as exploring my back yard, (the Pacific ocean) Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji... so much to see, so little time.
Favourite Place: Summers on the beach at home in N.Z. with my mates, just chilling out, swimming, playing games, having a BBQ and a few drinks and watching the sun go down.
Best Travel Moment: At ‘la Tomatina’ Valencia, Spain. Thousands of people packed Into Buñol’s main square. So many people clad in our ‘battle ready’ boardies chanting away, you could feel the tension in the air as we waited for one brave soul to start the festival to start. The first truck full of tomatoes rolled into the square, then absolute madness as a throng full of people swarmed the pile and the world’s biggest food fight was under way! Later on I enjoyed relaxing with newfound friends over a few ‘quiet ones’, recounting our glorious tales of bravery and woe.
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Paul Terán Valdez
Tour Leader
Read Paul’s profile
Where You Come From: Arequipa, Peru.
Where You Live Now: Arequipa.
Interests: Books, movies.
Travel Experience: Within Peru only, various places in the south.
Favourite Place: Cuzco.
Best Travel Moment: Visit to Machu Picchu.
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Rena Papatheofilou
Tour Leader
Read Rena’s profile
Where You Come From: London, UK.
Where You Live Now: Central America.
Interests: Reading Paulo Coelho books, salsa dancing, Cuban history.
Travel Experience: Europe, Central America, Peru, Cuba, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Taiwan.
Favourite Place: Trinidad, Cuba.
Best Travel Moment: Finding voluntary work in Granada, Nicaragua and spending 3 rewarding months there helping high school kids.
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Ross Bright
Tour Leader
Read Ross’s profile
Where You Come From: Alaska, USA
Where You Live Now: Wherever my backpack is, unless it gets stolen, in which case I’ll live wherever my last pair of underwear is.
Interests: Slaying fish, driving small motorised vehicles (land and water), board sports, kung fu movies.
Travel Experience: Almost every Spanish speaking country on the planet.
Favourite Place: Itacaré, Brazil.
Best Travel Moment: When an 8 foot long poisonous snake almost fell on my head while I was lying in a hammock.
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Steve Kmack
Tour Leader
Read Steve’s profile
Where You Come From: Arizona, USA.
Where You Live Now: Somewhere between an Internet café, a bus station and a hotel room…
Interests: Travel, backpacking, hiking, food and wine (cooking AND eating!), German cars, music and film.
Travel Experience: Hiking and backpacking in the States, backpacking all over Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina and Chile and throughout most of Europe for the last 5 years.
Favourite Place: Antigua, Guatemala.
Best Travel Moment: Waking up every morning in paradise.
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Susan Charleson
Tour Leader
Read Susan’s profile
Where You Come From: Wagga Wagga, Australia.
Where You Live Now: Out if my backpack in Latin America.
Interests: Quite obviously travel is high up on my list, but I also love diving, tennis, photography, cooking good food, and a social coffee (I’m sure this can be listed as a hobby… I miss Melbourne’s coffee).
Travel Experience: England, Ireland, Western Europe, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, USA, South East Asia, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand and lots of Australia.
Favourite Place: Mmmm, Petra in Jordan is simply magical, closely followed by Berlin with a significant part history that I actually remember, and Samoa, as it is quite untouched. I can’t decide.
Best Travel Moment: Riding donkeys to the Valley of the Kings, nothing funnier than a group of travellers bouncing ridiculously on the back of donkeys, and the locals laughing at our lack of riding skills!
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