Expedition Staff - Leaders

Mike Cusack - Expedition Leader

It is a great honour and privilege to have Mike Cusack join us on our Kimberley Coast expeditions. In 1987, Australian Geographic chose Mike and his wife Susan from 500 other couples to spend a year living in isolation in the wild and remote Kunmunya area of the west Kimberley. During their 'year in the wilderness' they overcame many hardships and challenges, including drought, extreme heat, and dehydration. However, the strength of their relationship combined with unbridled enthusiasm, tenacity, optimism and a spirit of adventure, overcame all odds and they rejoiced in their unique experience.

Mike now works as a Ranger with Parks Victoria in the Grasslands Unit, Basalt Plains District. He is also actively involved with Parks Victoria's Environmental Management Group Geographic Information Systems (GIS) - seeking to base park management on sound ecological information - and fire ecology.

"Our year at Kunmunya is with me every day and I'm passionate about its continued existence as a wilderness," he said recently. This will be Mike's eight season working on board Coral Princess on our Kimberley Coast cruise.

Kieran Lawton - Expedition Leader

Kieran has had a varied association with Antarctica over the last decade. A qualified biologist, he has conducted research into the foraging ecology of a number of Antarctic and Subantarctic species. He has spent several seasons on Macquarie Island investigating the ecology of elephant seals and fur seals. Between May and December of 1994 he camped in a small hut beside the Emperor rookery at Auster in East Antarctica, and had the breathtaking experience of spending the entire winter amongst these well-adapted and inspiring birds. Swapping hemispheres, Kieran then worked in the tundra/boreal forest ecosystems of Northern Siberia for a few years.

More recently Kieran has been conducting research on albatrosses, undertaking census and foraging ecology work on the Chilean Islands of Diego Ramirez and Ildefonso, remote islands that lie in Drakes passage south of Cape Horn, and on Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean.

An experienced climber and skier, Kieran organised and led a yacht-based mountaineering expedition to an unclimbed peak on the Danco Coast of the Antarctic Peninsula in 1998. He subsequently worked for the Australian Antarctic Program in field safety roles, and joined Aurora expeditions in 1999.

Henrik Lovendahl - Expedition Leader / Dive Master

Henrik first worked with Aurora Expeditions as a dive guide in 1998, when we introduced optional scuba diving program to our Antarctic voyages. This was the first ever dive trip to Antarctica for recreational divers. Henrik soon moved on to become an expedition leader and dive guide in both the Arctic and Antarctic.

Henrik's adventurous spirit and love of travel caused him to leave his native Denmark almost 20 years ago. He has travelled extensively to far and remote corners of the world; scaled Andean peaks, trekked in the Himalayas and dived in many exotic locations, but his greatest passion is the polar regions and ice-diving.

Henrik started his diving career in 1988 on the Great Barrier Reef. He is a qualified PADI Master Instructor and has worked in the diving industry for many years as an instructor and as an educational consultant for PADI Asia Pacific.

Henrik was so taken with Australia's wonderful lifestyle and opportunities for adventure, he decided to stay and now resides in the Blue Mountains with his partner Sue. Henrik has managed to combine his passion for nature, travel and diving. He intersperses his working life with protracted periods of outdoor recreational activities, including hiking, rock climbing and mountaineering. An accomplished climber and diver, he is at home in the world's wild places.

Don McFadzien - Expedition Leader / Mountain Guide

Don is a school teacher and outdoor professional, an experienced mountain and ski guide, and outdoor pursuits instructor. He has worked as an instructor at New Zealand's Outward Bound School, and spent many years guiding skiing and climbing in the Mount Cook region in New Zealand's Southern Alps. He has climbed many of the 10,000 foot peaks in this area.

He has enjoyed several trips to Nepal and Sikkim. In his 'spare time' he has taught skiing in Austria, climbed and skied in Canada and the USA, and windsurfed in Maui (but not on Jaws!). In 02-03 Don spent the summer trekking in Torres del Paine and the mountain regions of Patagonia.

As a mountain guide he enjoys wilderness environments. The wilds of the southern ocean, the subtleties of colour in this harsh region, and the beauty of the ice continue to attract him. The school teacher in him enjoys the learning and awareness that grows rapidly through every voyage to the Falklands, South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula. One of the features he really enjoys is the variety of attractions in the Antarctic. It is the shared domain of the photographer and climber, the birder and geologist, the diver and the naturalist.

Don and his partner Gill live in the delightful city of Nelson at the north of the South Island in New Zealand.

Eirik Gjessing Karlsen - Expedition Leader

Hailing from Norway, Eirik has always been fascinated by nature and from an early age he has spent as much time as possible in the great outdoors. This interest resulted in studies in biology, geography and outdoor living. He is also a teacher and this background reflects his main interests: nature and humans.

Eirik has spent many years exploring the lands beyond the Arctic Circle. Working on expedition boats, he thrives on introducing visitors to the incredible variety of Arctic landscapes and the unique experiences to be had in these remote areas. From smelling the breath of the world largest toothed whale, the narwhal, to taking in the stunning purple light on the snowy mountains at 79 North, Eirik’s wealth of knowledge and vast range of experiences make him a valued member of our Arctic expedition team.

Howard Whelan - Expedition Leader

As an expedition leader, Howard has taken parties to Russia’s Kuril Islands and Kamchatka Peninsula, the Amazon River, Galapagos Islands, Falkland Islands, South Georgia, the Antarctic Peninsula, New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic Islands, Macquarie Island, Heard Island, the Ross Sea and East Antarctica.

Founding editor then publisher of Australian Geographic and Trustee of the Australian Geographic Society, Howard has led scientific expeditions to many remote parts of Australia, often resulting in significant geographical articles for the journal’s nearly one million readers. He has lectured on Antarctic photography and tourism at Sydney University, gives motivational talks and adventure writing/photography workshops.

In 2001 Howard left Australian Geographic to establish Whelan Productions, a media consultancy specialising in the environment, natural history, culture and adventure for an international clientele. He spent three months in remote Russia on assignment America’s Outside magazine, photographed Quinkan rock art on Cape York, developed a series of scientific expeditions to the deep oceans surrounding Australia and is currently focussing on the plight of coral reefs worldwide.

In 2002 he was chosen by George Miller to lead the photographic expeditions to Antarctica that resulted in the Academy Award-winning film Happy Feet. In 2007 he mounted a successful photographic exhibition (Endangered Ice) featuring his work from more than a decade of guiding in Antarctica, including photographs that inspired the film. Recently he has been involved in script development for the sequel.

Howard’s many years of outdoor and climbing experience include a 4000 km, five-month bushwalk from Canada to Mexico, a crossing of the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea and work as camera operator on the first Australian ascent of Mt Everest. He has climbed in the United States, Australia, Antarctica, Russia, Tibet, Thailand and Africa. He has a strong background in downhill ski racing, avalanche control, extreme skiing and remote cross-country skiing including the Haute Route in Europe and the first winter attempt to traverse the central mountain range of Hokkaido in Japan. He holds a current private pilot’s license.

Dr. Gary Miller - Expedition Leader

Gary Miller is a research assistant professor of biology at the University of New Mexico, and a visiting research fellow at UWA in Perth. He has 25 years of polar experience. Early in his career he focused on the Arctic where he studied polar bears for his Masters degree in Zoology, and also worked with projects on Bowhead Whales and Gray Whales in Alaska and Mexico. His strong interest in the polar regions, however, brought him to the Antarctic in 1986. Since then he has spent nine summers conducting research in the Antarctic, studying the behaviour and ecology of Adelie Penguins and South Polar Skuas. Most recently he spent three summers in Antarctica studying the presence of diseases in penguins and skuas at Australia's Davis research station.

His greatest love is working in the field with the animals that he studies, and he has spent thousands of hours over the years observing and studying these animals - often in harsh conditions. He has taught many university courses on whales, seals and birds in such diverse places as Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico, the Puget Sound and the Bay of Massachusetts. He is at home in the desert, at sea, or in either polar region. Over the past decade he has branched out to include wildlife photography and leading natural history tours among his talents. Now living in Perth, he hopes to expend has experience around western Australia between other projects.