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Rod Cassidy

Rod Cassidy is an experienced bird watcher and wildlife tour leader. He has been leading tours for over 20 years and has been to many places from the Antarctic to the tropical forests of the Congo. His specific interests are in Africa - birds, small mammals (especially bats) and large primates (chimpanzees and gorillas). But forests anywhere in the world fascinate him. His love for wildlife started at a very young age. At school he was already an avid birdwatcher and with this interest and focus on birds he started his career at the Fitzpatrick Institute for Ornithology, University of Cape Town. He worked on various research projects, which took him to the Antarctic, Subantarctic islands (Marion Island) and the Cape Province. Later he joined the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria where he worked with researchers in birds and small mammals, particularly bats. At that time (1982) he also started teaching bird identification courses and leading bird trips.

Troy Inman

After qualifying as a chartered accountant and working in finance for several years in South Africa and London, Troy abandoned the office in pursuit of adventure and now works as a professional photographer, covering wildlife and indigenous cultures in hidden parts of the world.

Published in books, posters, brochures, magazines and having exhibited at home in South Africa as well as abroad his expeditions have taken him to many parts of the world from the Amazon to the Andes, Central African rain forests to the Himalayas. Troy recently spent a year in Gabon as photographer for conservation organizations to help raise the profile of the country's very first eco-tourism projects. There he developed an extensive knowledge of Central Africa's wildlife, its people and their traditional customs as well as the external pressures on this vulnerable area.

Katharina Hecker

Katharina was born in Tanzania where her father worked as a game warden. She spent her childhood accompanying her father in his travels around the wild parts of Tanzania. After completing her schooling in Germany she returned to South Africa to settle.

An accomplished artist, Katharina is passionate about African travel and wildlife. Her special interests lie in the biology of the African rainforests, which she has visited a number of times for extended periods, finding great fascination specifically in the study of the great apes.

Her travels have taken her into Kause Bega In the DRC, Bwindi in Uganda, and to different areas in the republic of Congo. Katharina lives in Pretoria with her family where she works as a professional wildlife artist.