Meet the team

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Dylan

In between DJ'ing and promoting gigs and club nights in my 20's I also travelled extensively; firstly all across Europe before venturing further East. In 2007 I travelled overland through Europe to North Korea via the Trans-Mongolian railway. It was a life changing trip and was the spark that gave me the idea to set up Lupine. The contacts I built up during my many travels enabled me to establish the company in 2008, with the aim of opening up travel to difficult to reach destinations. From a starting point of 3 tours, we've now grown to offering over 30 countries and with offices on 3 continents. I've loved every minute of the journey so far, from visiting over 150 countries to meeting the huge variety of people from all over the world who make up our client base. I'm looking forward to the future and all the new destinations we have planned!

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Megan

I always wanted to live in a world filled with innovative travel, open minded people and other worldly experiences and I'm lucky to have found that in my role at Lupine Travel. Before joining Lupine in May 2016 I had a career in office management and customer relations and gave it up to work in a job where my soul could thrive. I've always been passionate about travel and embracing new cultures as I feel that it helps to broaden the mind. I love meeting our diverse set of customers, learning about what makes them tick and seeing them make life long friendships on each tour. When I'm not busy organising tours and leading tour groups around obscure parts of the world, you can find me playing with my sausage dog, binge watching a new sci-fi series or questioning “why can't I?” for the millionth time.

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Rebekah

I’ve been working at Lupine since December 2018 and this has certainly been the most interesting job I’ve ever had. It has given me a much deeper insight into other countries and their culture. I am the office manager, overseeing the day to day workings within our busy little office, so you may see my name pop up from time to time in your inbox.

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Cara

I started working for Lupine July 2019. With a love of visiting new countries, experiencing different cultures and meeting new people (plus a degree in Mathematics), working as a finance officer for Lupine Travel was the perfect job for me. You are most likely to hear from me regarding paying for your tour, so if you have any questions about that, just give me a shout!

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Robert

Originally from Mexico City, I am now based in Scotland, after finishing a Masters in Outdoor Education Edinburgh. As a Mountain Leader I’m drawn to the Scottish Highlands, whenever I am not leading groups across the globe with Lupine Travel. I have organised trekking and mountaineering expeditions in England, Scotland, Norway, and Iceland. As well as leading group travel and education programs in Mexico, Belize and Peru, including trekking expeditions in the Andes and high altitude ascents in Mexican volcanoes. Now, I’m extremely excited to continue to facilitate intercultural adventures by helping people explore countries all over the world as trip manager and accompanying our groups as trip leader!

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Tomas

Born into a British-Argentine family in Staffordshire, my most memorable adventures include road-tripping across South America, couch-surfing in Iraq, Syria and wartime Ukraine, and exploring electronic music scenes across the globe. At Lupine, I am responsible for numerous destinations and enjoy crafting new itineraries in unchartered territories. My professional work has taken me to Equatorial Guinea, Venezuela and Chad in pursuit of new opportunities for Lupine and I am looking forward to my future tours and research trips. I believe in the transformational impact of sustainable tourism to promote economic opportunities and foster inter-cultural dialogue, whilst re-shaping narratives surrounding some of the most unique yet missrepresented regions in the world. Beyond my work at Lupine, I am currently pursuing a master's degree at the University of Cambridge and can regularly be found in the Holte End of my beloved Aston Villa Football Club.

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Nick

The moment my parents gave me the freedom to travel independently, I took my bike and left for five days with a small tent and some cooking gear. Even though I was only eleven years old, this first trip caused an in irrepressible urge to explore and travel for the years to come. A few years later I travelled, by hitchhiking and camping, from the cold snow-covered mountains of Kyrgyzstan and Iraq, the deep rainforest of French-Guiana, to the scorching deserts of Mali and Iran- always in search of adventure, and new experiences. And during my study International Tourism Management & Consultancy I specialized in the development of tours in conflict destinations and started leading tours. My first tour with Lupine Travel was in 2021 and since then I have become a fulltime tour leader.

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Brooklyn

I have worked with Lupine since the very beginning after meeting Dylan whilst I was travelling through China back in 2007. I have visited North Korea 100 times plus over the past decade and now manage the Lupine office in Dandong, whilst also leading tours into North Korea.

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Sardar

I have worked with Lupine since 2013 and I'm based in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. During the 1990's my family and I fled to Iran to escape Saddam's chemical attacks, along with 1.5 million other Kurds. After the second Iraq war, I became a fixer, taking journalists all over the Kurdish region. I now work as logistical fixer for Lupine and guide all of our Iraqi Kurdistan tours.

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Sarnor

I was born in Zorzor in the Republic of Liberia, West Africa. After the outbreak of civil war in Liberia my family and I made the long, hard journey by foot into Guinea where we stayed for many years as refugees. I later began work with humanitarian organizations such as Norwegian Refugee Council, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Save the Children UK where my fluency in English, French and several local Languages, was strategic in providing protection to Ivorian and Guinea refugees. Since I left the humanitarian field, I have been actively engaged in both local and international businesses. In recent years my passion for travel and exploration led me to start organizing tours in and around the West Africa region and starting work with Lupine Travel in 2016.

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Murshidah

Having travelled a lot on my own and looking for something different, I stumbled upon Lupine by chance when I joined a tour to Iran in 2015 - it was on that trip I realised I had to be a part of the Lupine Travel family! Whilst managing data protection for a major retailer in my day job, for me tour leading is the ultimate fun side job! Since joining Lupine a few years ago, I have had the opportunity to lead tours to some very unique destinations, meeting interesting people and making many friends along the way. I have always loved visiting new places and having travelled to over 90 countries, I’m astonished at how much of the world there is still to discover and the bucket list is ever growing. Also, I love trying local dishes– which helps with research purposes of course…

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Sean

The travel bug bit me early: my parents will confirm that I’ve been poring over maps since before I could read them, and joyfully quizzing anyone within earshot about the facts found therein. (“What’s the capital of Djibouti?? – It’s Djibouti!!!”) So it’s been one of the main drivers and great joys of my life to actually get to see and learn about some of those far-off places in person. To that end, I’ve studied in Ghana, taught in Somaliland, and spent many happy years on the road researching and writing guidebooks, from Banjul to Beira and beyond. I’ve been leading tours with Lupine since 2019, and you can otherwise usually find me clacking away at a desk in Copenhagen.

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Dan

I've been lucky enough to always have travel as part of my life but it wasn't really until after university when I really started going off the beaten track, driving independently with a friend from London to Banjul in a Peugeot 306. The following years had me climbing some of the highest mountains in Europe and North Africa, and culminating in another drive but this time from London to Ulaanbaator with my brother. I found Lupine back in 2014 when I travelled with them to North Korea and since then, I've joined on several other tours and began tour leading for them in July 2019. I've had the opportunity to meet some fascinating people and experience the most unique places you can imagine. I've recently started to combine my passion for travelling with urban exploration and get to see some pretty cool sights.

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Bob

Originally from the Netherlands, my passion for traveling emerged while I was intensively studying several subjects such as French language, literature and education. At the age of 18 I became interested in former Soviet countries and Russian literature. There was only one thing left to do: going to Moscow and from there on exploring the far east. This trip changed my life. From that moment on my 'wanderlust' never stopped. Amongst others, I have been to several countries in Central Asia and the Middle East. The rich and diverse culture of these places never cease to amaze me and mean alot to me. I love discovering historical places, being amazed by dazzling landscapes and meeting new people. Being a polyglot, what moves me is to hear people's life stories in their native languages.

This year I started as a full-time tour leader. Besides my job at Lupine Travel I am quite a busy bee in the educational field throughout Europe.

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Aron

The summer after finishing high school, I went on my first month-long trip together with Nick. I was 17 years and he showed me the ropes of traveling, getting me hooked on the freedom-feeling, the adventures and delving into new cultures. It gave me an ecstatic feeling and desire to travel more, which I did in the years after, leading me from Peru to Kathmandu and many places in between and beyond.

I studied Writing for Performance and now work mostly as a freelance writer. Travel and the desire to travel are frequently reoccurring themes in many of my texts and plays. Traveling inspires me, it gives me energy and has become an essential part in my existence.

I am looking forward to all upcoming Lupine trips where I will work as a tour guide. I feel very lucky that I get to combine this new and exciting challenge with my love for traveling and writing.

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Sascha

I have always had itchy feet and a curiosity for unusual and, somewhat unconventional, travel. I am a new, yet very proud member of the Lupine family. I met Dylan at the birth of Lupine 10 years ago when he assisted me with my solo Trans Mongolian trip to which I then continued into Tibet and Nepal. Since then I have done number of trips solo and with Lupine and now lucky to lead tours to some of the most remarkable places on earth. Like Dylan I have a music background and still freelance in live music and tours. I am also a qualified Psychiatric Nurse which I practice in my beloved Brighton where I live.

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Yves

Originally from the city of Ghent in Belgium, I presently live in Geneva where I settled after spending seven years pursuing Oriental Studies in Tokyo. I am a former member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Office in Geneva, where I held the position of Cultural Program Coordinator.

After 21 years of working for Uncle Sam, the pandemic caused me to rethink my trajectory and I decided it was time for a drastic change. I now dedicate my time to my two biggest passions: world travel and brushing up on the many exotic languages I've come to study over the years.

It all began at the very young age of 15 when I traveled to Pakistan as a solo traveler and spent an entire summer exploring the city of Karachi with a gang of local youngsters. This unique experience left me with the incurable travel bug and an insatiable appetite to study languages, of which Urdu would become the first.

I am proud to be on Lupine's team of Tour Leaders and look forward to sharing unforgettable travel experiences with you on one of our exciting tours.

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Simon

Having always had a strong interest in learning about different cultures around the world, I am fortunate to have travelled widely and to have taken part in several expeditions, ranging from Africa to the Himalayas. I have previously led a group for several months in the unexplored jungle of a very remote region of Borneo, which resulted in the finding of a new waterfall system and accompanying scientists discovering new species of flora and fauna. My photography has been featured on the BBC and in the world’s oldest photography magazine, the British Journal of Photography. I have also been commended in the Travel Photographer of the Year. When not travelling, I can be found at home in the Lake District, where I teach Zen meditation.

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Chris

My quest for travel and adventure did not begin until I was 19 years old when I experienced my first flight – a flight that I ended up jumping out of. I have been in and out of airplanes ever since, but now I choose to land with the aircraft instead. Originally from Canada, I am now based in the UK. When I am not planning my next journey, I am writing about past adventures on my travel blog. There is nothing better than the rush I continue to feel when stepping off an airplane knowing I am about to discover a new place, meet new people and experience new cultures. I’m excited that my path crossed with Lupine’s a few years ago and to be part of this inspiring team.

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James

After travelling a lot in my early 20's I first met Dylan after taking a trip into North Korea with Lupine Travel in 2012. We hit it off and made several research trips together to Iraqi Kurdistan, Ethiopia and Somaliland; which later became popular Lupine Travel tours. I later decided to take a career break from Software Engineering to ride my bicycle from London to Shanghai in China, along the Silk Road through Iran and Central Asia. Upon my return from this trip I was longing to try and make a career out of putting together adventures for other people and ended up joining Lupine Travel at the end of 2015. After initially looking after Lupine Travel's tours to North Korea, I launched various new destinations in East Africa as well as the North and South Caucasus, plus an ambitious voyage to the Pitcairn Islands in the South Pacific.