Rui Machin – Operations Assistant

Rui joined the Naturetrek team in spring 2025 and helps to support Tom and Simon in the operation of our tours across Europe, south-east Asia and Brazil. He has travel experience in Central America, South Africa and many countries across Europe.

Rui was born and raised in Cornwall, where he says his 'love of wild things and places began'! His passion for conservation inspired him throughout school, leading him to move to London to study Zoology, graduating in July 2024. At university, he often tailored his studies to specialise in big cats, eventually completing his dissertation on the effects of trophy hunting on wild lions.

During his university studies, Rui loved working in the field and getting to experience wild, challenging environments. His best memories are from volunteering in South Africa’s Bushveld, where he completed a project on the diets of Spotted Hyenas and Leopards – by collecting as much scat as he could!

For his summer break, he joined a research project helping to collect camera trap data on Jaguar and Puma in the Maya rainforest, relishing the opportunity to live in such a remote location with little electricity and connection to the outside world.

Most recently, Rui worked with Naturetrek’s Italian partners, Salviamo L’Orso, living for 3 months in Italy's Apennine mountains. Here, he assisted with setting up predator deterrents and writing funding grants to protect farmers' livestock from Brown Bears and Grey Wolves. This experience helped grow his passion for understanding and improving the relationship between people and large carnivores.

Outside of the natural world, Rui loves watching and playing football, cooking Tapas and being active outdoors.