The Worldwide Quest Blog

“Arctic Return” is a recently completed (Spring, 2019) Arctic overland journey led by Canadian David Reid to retrace the steps of Scottish physician and explorer John Rae. A key Arctic Return project team member was an Inuit historian Louie Kamookak from Gjoa Haven whose work documenting Inuit oral history which led to the discovery of Franklin’s ship the Erebus and many other hi...

I first experienced the north in 1980 as a geology student exploring for lead and zinc in the Yukon. Each day I would be dropped off by helicopter in a remote location and would hike as many as 10 km, prospecting and sampling while navigating by map and compass, avoiding bears, and hoping to be picked up again at the end of the day. The experience left me wanting to see more of the North. However,...

In April of 2016 I headed to Spain for two weeks to lead Quest Nature Tours' Spain in Spring trip. The trip was timed perfectly - the last two weeks of April - meaning that we explored Spain during the height of spring. Bird migration was in full swing, and the plains were alive with a carpet of wildflowers and displaying bustards. We watched the raptor migration across the legendary Straits of Gi...

These four birds are the essence of the High Arctic for me. Taking a cruise is a great way to explore remote locations and watch them on the tundra, at sea, and on precipitous cliffs. Rock Ptarmigan  The Rock Ptarmigan is the Territorial Bird of Nunavut. It is the only bird that spends its whole life on the tundra. A land bird and member of the grouse family, sometimes called snow chicke...

I am delighted to be part of this expedition. I have been working in the High Arctic for over 30 years, and I have had the privilege of having already seen most of the sites we will visit on this voyage. But the Arctic is always changing, and the thrill of heading north once again still excites me, just as it did on my first expedition in 1983.My main background is in ecology and environmental s...

It was with considerable excitement that I set off to the Ladakh region of northernmost India in late March. None of my previous India journeys had taken me north of the Himalayas into the trans-Himalayan region that was said to be rugged, arid and vast. It was uncharted territory for me and an important mission, for I was here to scout for the most reclusive of big cats: the Snow Leopard. This &#...