Gabon - Africa's Last Eden

Matt was first introduced into natural history by his father, who regularly took him to observe the badgers only a few miles from home in Seaford, East Sussex. At the age of seven, Matt then took a keen interest in birds, where regular weekend trips to famous RSPB reserves in the south-east were a common theme, and gave rise to a life-long interest in natural history.

Before the age of 30, Matt was proud to have landed on all seven continents, the last of these being Australasia, where a month-long trip to Papua New Guinea in 2019 just so happened to be one of Matt’s ornithological highlights to date – perhaps even surpassing laying eyes on seven species of penguin on an Antarctic adventure back in 2016.

Although birds are the main cause of Matt’s travelling, it is often the case that mammals and other wildlife steal the show. Superb, and at times, personal encounters with Africa’s big five are high on his list, and being bitten on the boot by a Fer-de-lance snake in the Guyanan rainforest was perhaps one of his most adrenaline-fuelled occasions. Travelling has taken Matt to some very remote regions in search of the globally threatened species. This has included searching for Hooded Grebes on a remote Patagonian plateau and venturing to the seldom-visited Huon Peninsula in Papua New Guinea for the Emperor Bird-of-paradise!

Having only joined Naturetrek in 2020, Matt has already led tours to Jamaica, Somerset, Dorset, The Highlands, South France and Shetland, as well as a number of Day Trips in his home county of Sussex, where his passion for all aspects of natural history shone through! Matt also completed a successful ‘recce’ trip to southern Nepal. Past tour leading has included private trips to several regions within Papua New Guinea, which isn't the easiest location in which to operate a holiday!

Rob puts his interest in wildlife and nature conservation down to being brought up in a 'new town' where fields, ponds and hedgerows were constantly being turned into houses and roads. After graduating in Ecology and Nature Conservation he worked for the Shropshire Wildlife Trust and RSPB, and spent two years wardening Aride Island Nature Reserve in the Seychelles. He has also travelled extensively in east and southern Africa and undertaken voluntary conservation work and research in Tanzania, Namibia and Zimbabwe. He now runs a wildlife consultancy in Shropshire but disappears off on long holidays and advisory projects abroad whenever he can.