The following Antarctica21 staff will be looking after us during our ninth Inspiring Explorers Expedition™, guiding us and sharing their expertise around polar history, science, wildlife and more.
Hadleigh Measham, Expedition Leader
Hadleigh has been living and working in the polar regions since 2008, spending most of his time on ice-strengthened vessels and icebreakers. Since graduating from university with a degree focused on genetics he has spent up to eight months of each year in the field. He works in West Antarctica and also around most of the Arctic regions. In 2017 Hadleigh visited the North Pole four times. Hadleigh is from the U.K. though rarely spends much time at home. When not in the field he is often involved in operational consulting or enjoying some of his hobby sports including skiing, alpine mountaineering and mountain biking. He is also a keen diver and when recently living and working in a remote camp on Somerset Island, Arctic Canada he organized and conducted a series of dives with beluga whales. Hadleigh lectures on a range of topics including the fauna encountered in both hemispheres but devotes most of his time to polar history.
Kirsty Dick, Cruise Manager
Kirsty lives in Edinburgh, Scotland where she studied an undergraduate degree in History and most recently, an MSc in Marine Systems and Policy. Her passion for history and adventure led her to join the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust for the 2018-19 season at Port Lockroy, living on the Antarctic island for four months with three other people during the austral summer. She is currently conducting a research project with the University of Edinburgh, exploring how tourism and fishing vessels can be most effectively used to contribute toward ocean observations and data collection in the Southern Ocean. Kirsty has worked with Antarctica21 since 2019 and also guides in the Arctic during the northern summer, enjoying the wonders of life at the ends of the earth.
Marcelo Flores, Educational Coordinator & Lecturer
Marcelo was born and raised in central Chile. His fascination with the ocean led him to study Marine Biology, specializing in seabirds, marine mammals, oceanography, and invasive species. He possesses a Doctorate in Conservation Medicine and vast academic and field experience leading and carrying out conservation and research projects throughout Chile, Patagonia, and the remote Easter Island. His first experience in Antarctica dates to 2005, when he conducted studies in penguin colonies for the Chilean Antarctic Institute. Since 2017, he has participated in more than 40 trips to Antarctica and is eager to share his knowledge of Antarctic Wildlife. In the present day, he is pausing academic life and preparing to return to the high Arctic in the boreal summer. Marcelo is also an enthusiast and celebrated wildlife photographer. He has been awarded in several photography contests and contributed images to various books on environmental education.
Sandra Walser, Senior Guide
Sandra Walser was born, raised and educated in Switzerland. After receiving her Master’s degree in history and film studies from the University of Zurich, she fulfilled her childhood dream by traveling to Iceland and Greenland. During this trip, she caught the notorious “polar fever” and just hasn’t been able to shake it off. In the past few years, Sandra has taken part in over 70 expeditions cruises in Antarctica and the Arctic as a lecturer in polar history, naturalist guide, photographer, and Zodiac driver. She joined Antarctica21’s expedition team in 2011. Sandra is a member of the Polar Tourism Guides Association and certified as a Senior Polar Guide. She delights in sharing her passion and helping guests discover the magic and fragility of the Antarctic, as well as experience the trip of a lifetime. When not on a ship, Sandra works as a freelance historian. She has recently published a widely acclaimed book in German dealing with pioneering tourists to visit the polar regions.
Rodrigo Moraga, Photographer Guide
Rodrigo is a Marine biologist, guide and professional photographer who has been passionate about everything related to nature since childhood. His work on scientific expeditions with marine mammals introduced him to photography and today he has become a well-known and much-respected wildlife photographer. Many of his images have been published in various magazines and books that specialize in nature photos and education. Today he works as creative director, expeditions guide, teacher, and media coordinator for Antarctica21 and has been visiting Antarctica for more than 12 years.
Tennessee Blackmore, Historian
From the UK, Tennessee was born with an unexplainable pull to the South Atlantic. He began his life in expeditions aged 18 in the sweltering rainforests of Borneo and remote outposts in the Himalayas before finally heeding a lifelong call South in the footsteps of great polar pioneers. A South Atlantic historian, Tennessee is an elected Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Royal Anthropological Institute. He has worked on and consulted on a number of historical projects relating to the history of the Falklands and South Georgia, specializing in the Falklands War, 1982. Tennessee has a fervent fascination with the history of polar exploration and is presently writing the first dedicated biography of Sir James Clark Ross. Having worked in Polar Tourism since 2018, his greatest passion in life is to connect people with the stranger-than-fiction and often forgotten human history of the ends of the earth.
Ruslan Eliseev, Guide & Logistics
Born in Ufa, Russia, Ruslan, who speaks English and Russian, has spent most of his time at sea, sailing, learning navigation skills and building his nautical experiences. He became an engineer, an officer on a ship, and even worked as a captain of a ship in Antarctica! Ruslan has wintered in the Russian Antarctic station Bellingshausen 4 times and has participated in several interesting research expeditions on R/V Akademik Fedorov, as well as in Russian-U.S. research expeditions around the Kamchatka Peninsula. The last 4 years have seen Ruslan working as an expedition guide in Antarctica. He once spent 4 months close to wild nature and provided technical support for scientists. He has also focused on wildlife photography, negotiating on a daily basis with large numbers of bears who weren’t willing to share their territory … and food! In fact, Ruslan’s main interest is photography: he has been a finalist in international wildlife photo competitions, and his photographs have been published in magazines in Germany, England, Chile, Brazil, New Zealand and Russia. When he is not at sea, Ruslan loves traveling, climbing, caving and spending time on his boat.
Sergey Sakharov, Guide
Sergei grew up in a small village in the north of Russia beyond the Arctic Circle but fell in love with Antarctica after arriving for the first time in 2010. He first worked on the seventh continent accompanying and supporting tourist groups and their expeditions into the interior of the continent. He was also responsible for environmental and logistical operations in the deep field. Sergei took part in a month-long 4×4 expedition reaching the 83˚ South Field Depot to support an IL-76 fuel drop, driving a distance of over 3000km over the ice of Antarctica’s interior. He works with Antarctica21 since 2016.
German Gonzalez, Guide
German lives in Bariloche, a city located in the northern area of Patagonia. As a child, he sailed as a skipper and crew-member in sailboats, taking part in several ocean-racing regattas. Since 2010, he has guided multi-day kayaking expeditions in Southern Greenland and Patagonia. Surrounded by mountains and lakes, he also works as a kayaking and mountain-biking guide spending his summers across the Andes between Argentina and Chile. He practices Telemark skiing and guides ski expeditions to the active volcanoes of the Chilean side of the Andes mountain range. German also organizes and teaches sea-kayaking courses in the lakes and seas of the region. He is trained in Wilderness First Aid, mountain safety and certified by ACA (American Canoe Association) and has been working with Antarctica21 since 2016.
Willie Parra, Mountain Guide
Willie is from Chile and has had a 25-year career, guiding from the Atacama Desert to the southernmost tip of South America in Navarino Island, Chile. He started diving in 1993 becoming a Divemaster, and later worked as an NACD Cave Diver in Mexico. He also worked as underwater and surface cameraman. When studying Ecotourism, he started mountaineering, taking that to a professional level. He has been guiding in South America for many years, including “Aconcagua” (at 6.962 m the highest mountain in the Americas). In 2014 he was a guide and base camp manager for an Everest Expedition. His first steps in Antarctica were in 2006, leading team building expeditions. He has been part of the Antarctica21 team since 2015 – as a Mountain Guide. He believes strongly that Antarctica is one of the last pristine corners of the planet, where the human being is still considered as equal and not feared by its wonderful creatures, thus offering a unique opportunity to experience them up close”.
