= Journeys Featuring AKP Projects
Antarctica | Expert Lecturer/Guides
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Meet our professionals, eager to transform your understanding of Antarctica, its wildlife and its history. All of our guides meet A&K’s rigorous standards of excellence and service. While your final expedition team and staff may vary by departure, you will travel with the highest-calibre experts in the region. |
Larry Hobbs — Expedition leader
A marine mammal biologist and lecturer for more than 35 years, Larry has served as director of the Marine Mammal Tagging Office for the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Department of Commerce and as principal research scientist at the National Marine Mammal Laboratory. In addition to over 20 seasons of leading expeditions in Antarctica, Larry has also led trips in Norway, Greenland and Iceland; the Amazon and Orinoco rivers; and in the South Pacific and Indian oceans
Jannie Cloete – Cruise Director
A native of South Africa, Jannie has travelled to all seven continents. He has worked as a cruise director and expedition leader on board ships large and small for over 28 years, from a mega-liner with 2.500 passengers to a Russian ice breaker bound for the North Pole. This is Jannie’s ninth season welcoming A&K guests to Antarctica.
Bob Burton – Lecturer on Antarctic History
As a zoologist and meteorologist for the British Antarctic Survey, Burton amassed plenty of polar experience, overwintering twice at Signy Island. He has also served as director of the Whaling Museum on South Georgia Island. An astute Antarctic historian with over 30 books to his name, Burton received the Polar Medal for his research, and a South Georgia cove has been named in his honour.
Dr. Jim McClintock – Lecturer on climate ecology
Becoming a marine biologist was the fulfilment of a childhood ambition for Dr. McClintock. Today he is an award-winning scientist, author and endowed professor of polar and marine biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He was also the designated environmental ecology leader for the 2009 Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropic Journey, Fighting Climate Change, in Antarctica and will lead the journey again in December 2012. His field research has led to breakthroughs in areas ranging from climate and environment to cancer research.
Russ Manning – Naturalist and Zodiac driver
Manning is a veteran of the British Royal Marines. As winter base commander at Signy Island in the South Orkneys, he was awarded the Polar Medal. Manning looks forward to sharing his in-depth knowledge of the White Continent with guests on board MV ‘Le Boreal’.
Rich Pagen - Naturalist and Zodiac driver
Resident ornithologist, Pagen began his career in conservation biology as an environmental educator. As a biologist for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), he has led tagging studies of sea turtles and sharks. For the past five years, he has conducted shipboard surveys for seabirds, including documenting species distributions, and associations with marine mammals.
Richard Harker – Photo enrichment coach
A professional photographer for 20 years, Harker specialises in underwater, wildlife and landscape photography. The last few years have brought him to Antarctica, where he has virtually circumnavigated the continent, dividing his time between the Antarctic Peninsula and the Ross Sea. He joins MV ‘Le Boreal’ as a photo-enrichment coach on select departures to give travellers tips for capturing photographic memories of their journey.
Dr. Marco Favero – Assistant expedition leader and Dr. Patricia Silva – Lecturer on ornithology.
Drs. Favero and Silva are affiliated with the University of Mar del Plata in Argentina. Their research has included Antarctic subjects in ornithology and marine biology, as well as the ecology, conservation and study of the relationships between the demography of seabirds and climate change.
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MV 'Le Boreal'
Spacious and passenger-friendly, she strikes just the right balance between on-board amenities and full-fledged wilderness excitement. On other cruises to different destinations, she carries more than 264 passengers. But in Antarctica, A&K limits the complement to just 199 guests. That’s an important difference: fewer passengers means more shore excursions each day, as well as outside cabins for every guest.
Click here to read more about Le Boreal
Click here to view the deck plan
