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Meet the team

Richard Smith - Aardvark Safaris
Operations Director
One of the founders of Aardvark Safaris, Richard comes from a background working in both Africa and travel. Shunning the exciting world of quantity surveying (with apologies to all exciting quantity surveyors out there)
Alice Gully on a self drive safari in Africa
Sales Director
Alice Gully, one of the owners of Aardvark Safaris, has been involved in African travel since 1995. Her interest in all things African started with a zoology degree at Newcastle where her entomology tutor inspired with stories of exotic creatures that could only be found in Africa.
Richard Preston
Chief Operating Officer
After qualifying as a Chartered Certified Accountant, Richard moved into industry and held a number of finance positions over a nine year stretch with Coca-Cola in London.
Katy Duncan
Head of Marketing
Travel enthusiast, hilarious dancer and expert multi-tasker. Katy comes with a wealth of marketing knowledge and expertise having worked in travel for almost 20 years'. 
Jo on horseback
Travel Expert
Jo joined Aardvark’s Scottish office in September 2006, fresh from two ski seasons, and as a farmer’s daughter felt instantly at home with the chickens, ducks, sheep, dogs and horses that frequent Aardvark Scotland! Animals and skiing aside, Jo’s passions include cooking, travelling, hiking and horse riding.
Francis Naumann
Travel Expert
Francis grew up outdoors, spending far more time on his parents’ farm than he ever did at school. As well as being engrossed in the books of Wilbur Smith from an early age, a growing obsession with Africa was given a boost on a family holiday in Kenya when he was just 10.
Lucinda Rome
Travel Expert
Lucinda joined the Aardvark team in 2010, fresh from a several years working at a remote bush camp in Zambia’s South Luangwa Valley – a position she found after her passion for Africa was sparked by a charity climb up Kilimanjaro and a Kenyan safari - organised, coincidentally, by Aardvark.
Becky Thomson
Travel Expert
Becky studied Geography at Edinburgh University, and in a previous role working for a luxury tailor made company, Becky was lucky enough to plan many magnificent adventures in Scotland and gain first-hand experience of designing holidays-of-a-lifetime for clients.
Tansy Shingleton
Travel Expert
Having studied travel and tourism at college and International Tourism Management at university Tansy has always had an interest in the industry. Tansy’s African travel so far has been a month spent in Southern Africa including a safari in Kruger National Park, cultural experiences in Eswatini, and some time on the beach in Mozambique.
Robyn Wauchope
Travel Expert
Robyn's love for the outdoors and wildlife started when growing up on a farm in the Scottish Borders taking any opportunity to take an animal in as a pet. She soon got the travel bug and loved being able to explore and see how cultures and nature vary around the world. Her favorite experiences so far have been playing with an elephant calf in Thailand, kayaking with orcas in Canada and exploring Cape Town and the surrounding areas. Her love for African travel started after a trip to South Africa and have dreamt about safari and the incredible wildlife since.
Mook Phongchaiyong - Aardvark Safaris
Travel Concierge
Moving to the UK from Bangkok, Thailand, after having worked in sales and office administration—including human resources and payroll—for a satellite communications business for 14 years, Mook looked for an opportunity where she would be able to apply her experiences and skills as well as enjoy doing something close to where her passions lie, i.e. travel (apart from food, of course).
Patricia Knight
Travel Concierge
Born in Brazil to an English father and Brazilian mother, Patricia grew up in a very multicultural household with a huge number of Brazilian aunties and cousins never too far away, always being loud and chatty.
Margot Dempsey
Travel Concierge
Margot was born and raised in Australia, where she spent her childhood enjoying outdoor activities like bodysurfing and bushwalking. At 21, she set out on an around-the-world trip, having saved up enough money to fund her travels.
Carolyn Dale
Finance Assistant
Carolyn joined the Aardvark Safaris Hampshire team in May 2018, where she works as a finance assistant alongside Richard Preston. Her previous finance experience comes from 21 years working for the family manufacturing business, so this has been quite a change.