For the last ten years I have worked as a Tour Leader for Quest Nature Tours, a Toronto based ecotourism company. My first trip with Quest was a tour of western Cuba in February, 2015, and I was hooked. Since then, I have led tours throughout Cuba (x4), Borneo (x3), Colombia (x3), Galapagos (x2), Sulawesi and Halmahera, Jamaica, the Malay Peninsula, and Spain.
Below I have listed my upcoming tours that I have scheduled with Quest Nature Tours. Click on the photos to learn more about each departure!
Below I have listed my upcoming tours that I have scheduled with Quest Nature Tours. Click on the photos to learn more about each departure!
Egyptian Plover
Photo © Steve Garvie
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The Gambia
November 4 - 15, 2025 Tucked away on Africa’s west coast, the unassuming and tiny nation of The Gambia is one of the continent’s best-kept secrets. Flanking both banks of its mighty namesake river, it is located in a transition zone between the dry north and the humid south and hosts a surprising and remarkably diverse array of birds. It is ironically the rarity of large and dangerous mammals that make this a fantastic location for an immersion in Africa’s tropical bird life, for it is possible to walk in safety along trails through various ecosystems: farm fields and rice paddies; nut groves and woodlands; and along sandy shorelines and marshes. One can also course along the ubiquitous mangroves that line the omnipresent River Gambia itself. The rewards are numerous in the fine assortment of birds, including various stunning kingfishers, herons, rollers, glossy starlings, sunbirds, and more — “eye candy” that speaks to the variety and beauty of African birdlife! We are visiting following the rainy season when the countryside is lush and resident-bird breeding activities are at their peak. Starting in the Lower Country nearer the coast, we progressively move upriver into the Middle Country and Upper Country. As we travel the length of The Gambia, we get to observe transitions in the ecosystems and watch for other wildlife from tiny mudskippers to various primates and huge Hippopotamuses. Among many highlights are opportunities to see and photograph elegant Egyptian Plovers — nicknamed the “Crocodile Bird” for their supposed habit of cleaning out food morsels from crocodiles’ gums — in addition to a breeding colony of stunning Red-throated Bee-eaters. |
Red-tailed Comet
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Northwest Argentina: Land Of Stark Contrasts
January 21 - February 1, 2026 Northwestern Argentina is a land of superlatives and stark contrasts. To visit this spectacular region is to experience nature on a truly grand scale. Mountain rivers brimming with whitewater course down rugged gorges through moss-festooned Yungas cloud forests where endemic birds, reptiles, and amphibians abound. On the leeward side of the various Andean mountain ranges we traverse, dry air gives way to high-altitude deserts dotted with towering cacti and other hardy succulents. Guanacos graze atop windswept ridges, while Andean Condors patrol overhead in the nearly cloudless skies. The imposing salt flats of Salinas Grandes are a sea of white that seems to go on forever, challenging our sense of scale. The vineyards in the famed Calchaquí Valley in the province of Salta extend for kilometres and bear the fruits that are used to make local wines. We begin by visiting the humid forests on the eastern slope of the Andes, with a focus on the biodiverse Quebrada Los Sosa (gorge) and the various endemic birds that live here. Crossing to the leeward side of the Sierras de Córdoba mountains brings us into a dry environment of expansive desert en route to the Calchaquí Valley, the wine capital of Northwest Argentina and one of the world’s highest wine regions. A highlight here is the multicoloured Quebrada de Las Conchas, where we have arranged a special meeting with a local geologist. More regionally endemic birds await in Los Cardones National Park, an arid landscape that contrasts sharply with the humid Yungas forest at Calilegua National Park on the rain-facing side of the mountains. Farther north at Purmamarca, we ascend to over 4,000 metres above sea level before visiting the sweeping Salinas Grandes salt flats on our descent. Amid our explorations of such markedly different natural landscapes, we have planned several visits to Indigenous ruins, mountain villages, and cities with rich colonial architecture, giving us a sense of how people have endured and continue to endure in Argentina’s northwestern reaches. You can extend your Argentinian adventure with a post-trip visit to Iguazú Falls and the surrounding Atlantic forest ecosystem. |
White-tailed Starfrontlet
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Colombia's Santa Marta and Caribbean
March 13 - 23, 2026 The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (or simply ‘Santa Marta Mountains’) are the highest coastal mountains in the world. Isolated from the Andes, these highlands in Northern Colombia also have an unusually high number of endemic birds — nearly 30 full species and numerous more subspecies that may eventually be granted full species status. Then there are the frogs, toads, salamanders, and lizards! In short, you can expect to see a bevy of species found nowhere else in addition to a generally astonishing level of biodiversity while we explore various altitudinal zones as well as coastal wetlands and the arid scrub of the Guajira Peninsula. We bookend the tour with visits to mangrove forests, beaches, and coastal flats between Barranquilla and Santa Marta. These wetlands are home to wading birds, gulls, terns, and a few regional specialties. In stark contrast, the arid scrub of Guajira recalls a desert with its abundant cacti. The area’s Los Flamencos Sanctuary is another waterbird hotspot, best known for its large population of namesake flamingos. The heart of the tour is spent at three primary altitudinal zones in the Santa Martas: the foothills, the mid-altitudes, and the highlands. These increasingly wet forests are where the vast majority of the aforementioned endemics live. We can expect to see many of them alongside colourful hummingbirds, trogons, warblers, and toucans. Several range-restricted monkeys are possible here, too. |