I am a travel writer, naturalist, tour leader and guide. I am based in the UK but spend much of my time travelling the world in search of wildlife and photographing our planet's incredible natural wonders, carrying out research and sharing my knowledge and interest through leading tours. I also regularly give lectures and talks – on topics ranging from natural history to linguistics (my academic background) – often on small expedition cruise ships in far-flung corners of the world.
I have written or edited a number of travel and wildlife books, including tourist guidebooks to Madagascar and South America, a guide to Malagasy wildlife, and a travel-themed quiz book.
You will find details below of my upcoming tours, as well as information about my publications, and you can contact me from the form at the bottom of the page.
I have a particular long-standing interest in the little-known and enigmatic Indian Ocean island of Madagascar, which I have been visiting regularly since 2004. I have a collection of more than 7,000 books and documents about Madagascar, known as the Madagascar Library, and have been Secretary of the Anglo-Malagasy Society since 2012.
Tours & guiding
Below are listed tours led or accompanied by me, both past and future. If you are interested in booking to go on one of my upcoming tours, click the 'Full details & booking' link to open the website of the relevant tour operator. Note that prices may vary widely from tour to tour, owing to significant differences in accommodation level, itinerary, trip duration, transport arrangements, whether international flights are included, and so on. Use the control panel below to filter the list of tours by type or destination.
A semi-circumnavigation of Madagascar from Toliara to Antongil Bay and the Masoala Peninsula, before concluding in the Mascarene Islands. This is a German charter with lectures and guiding substantially in the German language.
Route: Antananarivo, Madagascar – Toliara – Morondava – Mahajanga – Nosy Tanihely National Park – Antsiranana – Amber Mountain National Park – Antsiranana – Nosy Mangabe Special Reserve – Masoala National Park – Le Port, Reunion – Port Louis, Mauritius.
My role: Expedition team • Tour operator: Lernidee Erlebnisreisen in partnership with Noble Caledonia • Maximum guests: 100 • Full details & booking
A wildlife-focused itinerary exploring rainforest, dry forest, limestone karst landscapes, and coral reefs. This overland small-group tour includes three internal flights and some sections by boat.
Route: Antananarivo, Madagascar – Andasibe-Mantadia National Park – Maromizaha Reserve – Palmarium Reserve – Antananarivo – Morondava – Kirindy Forest – Baobab Avenue – Morondava – Antananarivo – Antsiranana – Amber Mountain National Park – Andrafiamena-Andavakoera Protected Area – Ankarana Special Reserve – Baobab Beach – Nosy Be – Lokobe National Park – Nosy Tanihely National Park – Antananarivo.
My role: Tour leader • Tour operator: Rainbow Tours (UK) in partnership with local operator Za Tours • Maximum guests: 8 • Full details & booking
An expedition cruise sailing from the Central American isthmus, through the northern islands of the Caribbean, and ending in Antigua.
Route: San José, Costa Rica – Puerto Limon – Cahuita National Park – San Andrés, San Andrés – Isla de Providencia, Isla de Providencia – Port Antonio, Jamaica – Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic – Santiago de los Caballeros – Samana Peninsula – Los Haitises National Park – British Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands – Oranjestad, Sint Eustatius – Îles des Saintes, Guadeloupe – Little Bay, Montserrat – English Harbour, Antigua and Barbuda.
My role: Expedition team • Tour operator: Noble Caledonia • Maximum guests: 100 • Full details & booking
An expedition cruise commencing in Guatemala and sailing down the Pacific coast of Central America before transiting the Panama Canal and then across the Caribbean side of Panama to finish on Costa Rica's east coast.
Route: Guatemala City, Guatemala – Antigua – Puerto Quetzal – Acajutla, El Salvador – Joya de Ceren – Tazumal – Nahuizalco – Concepción de Ataco – La Union – Perquin – El Mozote – Jiquilisco Bay Biosphere Reserve – Playas del Coco, Costa Rica – Palo Verde National Park – Playas del Coco – Curú Wildlife Refuge – Isla Tortuga – Puerto Jimenez – Golfito – Chiriquí Gulf Marine National Park, Panama – Playa Muerto – Darien National Park – Pearl Islands – Panama Canal – Colón – Bocas del Toro – Puerto Limon, Costa Rica – Cahuita National Park – Puerto Limon – San José.
My role: Expedition team • Tour operator: Noble Caledonia • Maximum guests: 100 • Full details & booking
An expedition cruise sailing in a loop from Barbados through the Windward Islands and Leeward Islands of the eastern Caribbean.
Route: Bridgetown, Barbados – Bequia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Fort de France, Martinique – Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe – Oranjestad, Sint Eustatius – Falmouth, Antigua and Barbuda – Little Bay, Montserrat – Cabrits, Dominica – Soufrière, Saint Lucia – Carriacou, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Bridgetown, Barbados.
My role: Expedition team • Tour operator: Noble Caledonia • Maximum guests: 100 • Full details & booking
A wildlife-focused itinerary exploring rainforest, dry forest, limestone karst landscapes, and coral reefs. This overland small-group tour includes three internal flights and some sections by boat.
Route: Antananarivo, Madagascar – Andasibe-Mantadia National Park – Maromizaha Reserve – Palmarium Reserve – Antananarivo – Morondava – Kirindy Forest – Baobab Avenue – Morondava – Antananarivo – Antsiranana – Amber Mountain National Park – Andrafiamena-Andavakoera Protected Area – Ankarana Special Reserve – Baobab Beach – Nosy Be – Lokobe National Park – Nosy Tanihely National Park – Antananarivo.
My role: Tour leader • Tour operator: Rainbow Tours (UK) in partnership with local operator Za Tours • Maximum guests: 8 • Full details & booking
A wildlife-focused itinerary exploring rainforest, dry forest, limestone karst landscapes, and coral reefs. This overland small-group tour includes three internal flights and some sections by boat.
Route: Antananarivo, Madagascar – Andasibe-Mantadia National Park – Maromizaha Reserve – Palmarium Reserve – Antananarivo – Morondava – Kirindy Forest – Baobab Avenue – Morondava – Antananarivo – Antsiranana – Amber Mountain National Park – Andrafiamena-Andavakoera Protected Area – Ankarana Special Reserve – Baobab Beach – Nosy Be – Lokobe National Park – Nosy Tanihely National Park – Antananarivo.
My role: Tour leader • Tour operator: Rainbow Tours (UK) in partnership with local operator Za Tours • Maximum guests: 8 • Full details & booking
An expedition cruise commencing in Guatemala and sailing down the Pacific coast of Central America before transiting the Panama Canal and then across the Caribbean side of Panama to finish on Costa Rica's east coast. NB: early advertised itineraries for this trip also included Nicaragua, which unfortunately had to be removed for political reasons.
Route: Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala – Acajutla, El Salvador – Joya de Ceren – Tazumal – Concepción de Ataco – La Union – Perquin – El Mozote – Playas del Coco, Costa Rica – Palo Verde National Park – Playas del Coco – Curú Wildlife Refuge – Isla Tortuga – Puerto Jimenez – Golfito – Chiriquí Gulf Marine National Park, Panama – Playa Muerto – Darien National Park – Pearl Islands – Panama Canal – Colón – Bocas del Toro – Puerto Limon, Costa Rica – Cahuita National Park – Puerto Limon.
My role: Expedition team • Tour operator: Noble Caledonia • Maximum guests: 100
Travel writing
My travel-writing career began with a fascination for Madagascar, about which I have written three books: two different travel guidebooks co-authored with pioneering travel writer and long-time Madagascar authority Hilary Bradt, and one guide to the country's wildlife co-authored with award-winning wildlife photographer and zoologist Nick Garbutt.
Outside of the Indian Ocean region, I am editor of the legendary South American Handbook, a book first published more than half a century before I was born and released in a special Centenary Edition in 2025. I also co-authored the fifth edition of Bradt’s Barbados guidebook with my wife, Faeze Shad. In a slightly different vein, I wrote The Travel Quiz Book which contains 2,200 travel-themed puzzles, brain teasers and trivia questions for intrepid globetrotters and armchair travellers alike. In addition to authoring these books, I was editor of the revised edition of Madagascar: The Eighth Continent by Peter Tyson.
For more details or to purchase, click the front covers below.
