About Us

James’ first travel memory is a donkey ride on Skegness Beach. Over thirty years later James has travelled extensively throughout Central Asia. the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. James has guided hundreds of people in hard-to-reach destinations. He is one of the founders of the Marathon of Afghanistan, the Somaliland Marathon and the Iraq Ski Rally. He sits on the board of the organisation Free to Run and has been awarded a personal commendation from the Afghan government and a medal from the Afghan Olympic Committee for his efforts in promoting tourism and sport in Afghanistan. He is also a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, has been Associate Producer on films (including Champions of the Golden Valley, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival) and has worked as a wedding planner.

Kate has been working in adventure travel for over a decade, and during that time has travelled across five continents to some of the world’s most adventurous places. With years of sales experience, Kate is an expert when it comes to putting together your perfect itinerary and will be your first point of contact when booking your trip.

Kate can chat you through anything from private trip ideas, flights, visas or any of our group itineraries.

Madelene was born in Sweden where she spent her life in the great outdoors, hiking and skiing. Before moving to London she travelled extensively in East Africa, scuba diving and working at a marine conservation base, to which she has returned to visit on many occasions. She pursued a career in travel and has many years of experience in both sales and operations. Madelene works closely with our local operators to ensure that we can provide the most up-to-date information and that all aspects of our trips are carried out in the best possible way.

David is originally from the Isle of Man and is a former BBC journalist, who worked as a reporter in England for 9 years, across both radio and TV. He now manages the Marketing and PR for Untamed Borders. David’s recent travels have included volunteering for an aid organisation in Ukraine, during the war with Russia, multiple extensive trips around Central Asia, Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.

Alongside David’s passion for travel, he’s also a keen endurance athlete and has competed in many ultramarathons, ironman competitions and long distance cycle events. He’s a nature enthusiast and spends much of his time outdoors – hiking, surfing, mountain biking etc. David is one of the co-founders of a street art organisation in England, called Bankside Gallery Hull, which helps regenerate areas using street art as their tool – they’ve overseen the painting of thousands of pieces of art in England and organise big street art events.

Rajjan grew up in Hertfordshire, to Indian parents, and has had a passion for travel since a young age. After studying history at university and going on to complete a masters in journalism and documentary film making, Rajjan hosted a travel, adventure, crime and corruption podcast called – RSP Podcast. One of his specialist subjects is Stalinist and Soviet history and he’s traveled extensively – including backpacking around the Middle East in his early 20s, passing through Israel and Palestine, and spending time with the Bedouin tribes in Jordan. Most recently he went on a 3-month long overland trip around Africa, taking in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia and Botswana.

Ana was born in Maribor, Slovenia, and learned to ski at the age of three she has lived and worked mostly as a ski coach and guide in alternative countries to the popular destinations. For Untamed Borders Ana leads our skiing trips to Afghanistan and to Iraq, along with our cultural trips to Yemen (among other places). Since her first trip to West Africa a decade ago (when she accidentally illegally crossed the border from Burkina Faso to Ghana), she has certainly learned a thing or two about foreign lands. Later, she fell in love with the Middle East and swapped hiking up snowy peaks to going down rocky wadis.

Ana has recently spent most of her time in Ramallah in Palestine, working on sports programs for women in refugee camps.

Ade is an experienced expedition leader, mountain guide, trekking guide and a keen photographer. Originally from Wales, he’s now based in Sydney, Australia. Ade spends his life leading trekking and climbing expeditions in the most remote and far-flung regions on the globe. Ade has led our treks in Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor and Tajikistan’s Pamir Mountain Lakes region, among other cultural adventures and he is also leading our pioneering new trekking trip to Yemen in 2025.

Ade has climbed, trekked and travelled on all seven continents. His passion is to develop new trekking routes in countries like Nepal and Mongolia. When not working Ade enjoys everything Australia has to offer, including canyoning, sea kayaking and the Sydney lifestyle. Ade is responsible for leading our trips to the Wakhan, which he has been to countless times over a number of years.

Carly was born in Wales and grew up in the RAF, always moving around and gaining new experiences. Carly found work as a tour leader in Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Egypt and lived in Aleppo for a few years, learning Arabic and immersing herself in the Syrian way of life. Guiding through Europe in the Summer’s after the war broke out, saving money and travelling on a shoestring. Walking across Goa, cycling around Morocco, hiking the Annapurna in Winter, apparently the first person to take a donkey into the Baharia desert in Egypt, driving across Canada and the States living in a tiny fiesta and living in a camper in the UK. She has a passion for the Middle East and Central Asia, hiking and camping in Mountains and deserts, in her bivvy bag and now guides tours back to Syria and Iraq.

Taria started working for Untamed Borders in 2017. Whilst a latecomer to travel (she was a bass player in a rock band for 13 years prior), she is passionate about capturing her travels in her sketchbook. Since the lockdown in 2020 she started a blog and Youtube channel about travel sketching, encouraging and teaching others to sketch their adventures in ink & watercolour. She is now a published author of a book on the subject and has been invited to teach all over the world. Taria assists with the design and technology side of Untamed Borders.