Additional talks

In addition to the topics already covered in this section I have some additional options for presentations, and I can also do shorter presentations and stories for those daily 'recaps' onboard ship.

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Digital cameras have made photography accessible to all. Learn how to take better pictures as a traveller and wildlife enthusiast, to look after your camera, some of the tricks to use - and the pitfalls to avoid! Includes lots of my favourite pictures (including one highly recommended in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competiton) - and some of my mistakes!

TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY!

I've been learning the techniques to free dive and can hold my breath for almost 5 minutes and dive to 28m. Did you know that the human record for holding your breath is over 10 minutes? Impressive, but rather short of 2 hours for the Elephant Seal and the Sperm Whale! So come and learn about the key to breath-holding in humans and in other animals.

OTHER TOPICS

Some can be done as lectures, some as ‘recaps’. I can also use specific themes out of a wide range of lectures for recaps.

  • British wildlife - from appreciating our reptiles & amphibians (read how to create a pond and make a reptile hibernacula) to British birds.
  • The Great British Coastline - a look at our spectacualr coastal scenery with the wealth of wildife, from seabird colonies to witnering wildfowl and shorebirds, and how the UK has the most geological diverse coastline in the World.
  • Saving Our Seas - based on my own experiences and involvement with the Marine Conservation Society.
  • Life on the Ocean Wave - Adaptations to life at the sea surface.
  • Life on the Seashore - the fascinating world of the interidal zone.
  • Exploring the Underwater Realm - learn about the diversity of underwater life based on my experience as a naturalist and a diver.
  • Turtles - Learn about these ancient mariners and what is been done to protect them.
  • Jellyfish - The ultimate predator?
  • What a Load of Rubbish! - Marine litter, the issues and how to solve them, and what is being done.
  • The Top Ten Killers - Should the shark even be in the top ten?
  • Canaries - The Fabled Islands
  • Cape Verdes - The Atlantic Crossroads
  • Lemurs of the Lost World - a look at the wildlife of Madagascar.
  • The Jewel at the Heart of Africa - A look at the wildlife of Uganda, from the animals of the African grasslands to some of the ultimate wildlife experiences of all, a close encounter with our nearest 'cousins' - chimps and gorillas.
  • Encounter with a Botfly! Learn of a close encounter with a botfly in the Peruvian Amazon - and the outcome!
  • Patagonian Safari - explore the amazing landscape of patagonia.
  • Quest for the 'Rainbow Bird’- based on the 1982 St. Vincent Parrot expedition to the Caribbean to find the St. Vincent parrot amongst the exotic rainforest and cuture of St. Vincent.
  • The Marco Polo Voyage - an exciting sailing expedition in a traditional saiing junk from Hong Kong to Shanghai and back. Dodging typhoons (and been fired at by Taiwanese troops on small islands just of the Chinese mainland), this took place in 1990, a unique time just as the old China was opening up.
  • Ecotourism - The way ahread or hype? Based on my experiences of ecotourism around the world from the Amazon to Antarctica, Patagonia to the Caribbean, and from Nepal to The Gambia. Also from my experience of ecotourism workshops, being a member of Tourism Concern and speaking about ’What is Ecotourism’ at the Darwin Centre live lecture series at the Natural History Museum.
  • Trolls and Elves - They really exist on oceanic islands - so what are they!
  • The Lemur and the Boa - How can the boa, typical of South America, exist in isolation with the Lemur on Madagascar!?
  • Trolls and Elves - They really do exist!
  • Camouflage - How animals can disguise themselves, with some great examples of some of the amazing adaptations from around the World.
  • Pole to pole - Comparing the polar regions, literally poles apart.
  • Travel talks - Presentations on some of the great locations I've been to.