Meet our team
We started ACTIVE SOUTH AMERICA with one thing in mind - to run the best active, outdoor adventure trips in South America, and we're now running trips in Peru, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Patagonia and Costa Rica. Our itineraries are the result of years guiding active adventure trips all over South America and around the world. We decided to combine our expertise in running active adventures in New Zealand & Australia with our experience and knowledge of South America to create ACTIVE SOUTH AMERICA.
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Phil BoormanI first travelled to South America in search of adventure when I was seventeen. I spent several years teaching and guiding overland expeditions through every country in South and Central America, focusing on Peru and Ecuador. In between my trips to South America, I worked as a guide for ACTIVE NEW ZEALAND. I was soon asking myself, "Why can't I show people the best South America and the Galapagos has to offer in an active adventurous way?" When you call us, you’ll most likely reach Phil on the other end of the line! |
Andrew FairfaxI started ACTIVE NEW ZEALAND in 1996. I originally trained to be an attorney at Otago University Law School in Dunedin, graduating with a BA in Political Studies and an Honours degree in Law. I discovered after a few months at a major New Zealand commercial law firm that I'm not really interested in life behind a desk, and promptly quit. I then decided to follow my life-long passion for the outdoors, and began working as an adventure guide. We've been running awesome active vacations in South America, New Zealand and Australia, and our many happy clients would agree that it's our mission to run the most active, adventurous trips no matter where we go in the world |
Team ACTIVE: Real people, real South American trips!
Since Andrew ran his first official ACTIVE trip in 1996, a
lot of people have found their way to us – both clients and
staff. We’ve become very successful, due in no small measure
to the dedicated and professional guides who come to us,
the interesting clients that our trips seem to attract, and
the passion with which we tackle everything we do. We’ve
avoided the temptation to grow indiscriminately, preferring
to focus on areas we know intimately, and run a first class
guiding operation. Our trip leaders are drawn from the ranks
of outdoor instructors, adventure travel guides, ski patrollers,
Outward Bound instructors, and all sorts of other occupations.
We consider them to be the best of the best. They are highly
educated, well trained, and speak Spanish fluently. We also
work with local guides, where appropriate, and although the
standards can vary dramatically in South America, you can rest
assured that we only work with good people!
Our seasoned operations team are all ACTIVE veterans,
working year round in our main office in Queenstown - with
logistics offices in both San Jose and Cuzco. This constant
support ensures that your trip leader has everything he or she
needs to make your trip flow as smoothly as humanly possible,
given the vagaries of South American travel. Which is a polite
way of saying that sometimes the locals run things on “island
time”. No worries – we know how to handle everything!
SHARON
Sharon looks after your pre-trip details, ensuring you arrive primed for a fabulous, well organised trip! She’s a keen scuba diver, hiker, pilot, and expert on South American travel. She’s travelled to everywhere we run our trips, so she’s the ideal person to help organise the logistics of your ACTIVE adventure!
KATY
Katy has been with ACTIVE SOUTH AMERICA from the beginning. She works behind the scenes helping to make our trips in South America an awesome experience. Katy spends her time travelling between Patagonia and Costa Rica, making sure our trips are running smoothly.
VANESSA
Vanessa runs our Peru office and takes care of the logistics that make your Jaguar or Capybara trip a success. Born and bred in Lima, she now lives in Cuzco and is married to Yohn, one of our longest-standing guides.
WILHEN
Wilhen is our bike dude in Peru ... if you're on an Jaguar, he'll be right there with you, making sure you have a smooth ride!
THE GALAPAGOS TEAM: NICK, CARLA and TIM
Click here to read more about our trip leaders, and what previous clients have said about them!
Interested in working for us?
If you love the outdoors, speak Spanish, and are happy to live and work in South America for a year or more, click here!
ACTIVE trips in other destinations
A lot of our clients have said they want to take another ACTIVE trip, but want to go somewhere new. Our first operation was set up in New Zealand, and it wasn't too long before ACTIVE NEW ZEALAND was seen as the best adventure travel tour operator in New Zealand. In 2001, we started up a sister company, ACTIVE AUSTRALIA, and began running active, multi-activity tours in Australia too. After a very successful first season with 3 different tours, we have since added several more trips and began running year round in the other land downunder.
