Expedition Leader Liam Rainier

Liam Rainier grew up in bustling Pretoria, South Africa, where his family found every opportunity to get away from the city and explore nature. Consequently, Liam’s love for the wilderness was instilled in him at an early age—his father’s own adoration of nature fueled a steady exposure to new landscapes and exciting wildlife.

After earning his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Pretoria, Liam followed his life-long passion for exploring the natural world. He has spent the last decade as a naturalist guide in the bushveld—the sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa—a landscape Liam knows intimately. He loves nothing more than to share his knowledge and passion for animals and their behavior. His excitement and pure joy of experiencing wildlife sightings, big or small, is contagious. Liam has a deep love for walking in any natural environment, whether he’s expertly tracking a leopard in the bushveld, silently trailing a breeding herd of elephants, or intently listening to bird calls in a forest canopy—nothing enraptures the senses more.

“When you’re alone and in nature, you are forced to use all your senses, not because you have the choice—it just happens. It’s more than what you can see with your eyes—you have to hear it and smell it… and feel it.”