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About

Professional tour leaders & local experts

In guaranteeing you will enjoy every part of your holiday we have ensured all of our tour leaders and expert, local guides are the very best in the business.

Your Team

People make the difference and each member of your team is dedicated to enriching people’s lives by transforming the way they experience remote Australia. In guaranteeing you will enjoy every part of your holiday, we have ensured all team members are the very best in the business. Each tour leader has been carefully selected and trained by the Dyer family, they know the destinations and their friendly yet professional approach means that you will be looked after with personal attention and care on your holiday is at heart of all that we do.

John Dyer

Outback Adventurer

John lives and breathes the outback. His first outback safari was when he was 4 with his father the late Rod Dyer, founder of Air Adventure. From that moment, he has developed a love of aviation and travel, so it was a natural step for him to continue his father's legacy and take the reins at Air Adventure. With genuine vision and passion he aims to transform the way people travel and experience outback Australia - ultimately helping them to travel better and connect more deeply with this country.

Alyson Dyer

Communicator Extraordinaire

Alyson's favourite outback location to visit is the Flinders Ranges for its remarkable colours, wildlife and history. It also holds a special place in her heart as it is also where she and John got married. Having travelled the world extensively it has been a dream come true for her to be able to combine outback travel with her professional marketing skills. Alyson is an idea’s person and sets the direction for all our communication.

Amber Pope

Logistics Queen

Amber has an eagle eye for detail and makes sure every little thing is taken care of - she's our logistics queen! With stealth precision in planning nothing slips under the radar. From arranging detailed flight schedules, bookings, scheduling, accommodation and so much more. It's not surprising Amber has such a keen eye for organising travel given she's been to over 70 countries from the extremes of Everest Base Camp to the Arctic Circle and down to Antarctica. When she does have spare time you can find her riding horses or walking her pooch Dipper. Amber's favourite place to travel in Australia is Tassie with its scenery and great food.

Sam Gill

Money Maestro

Sam keeps the wheels of finance perfectly tuned and is your go to for all questions relating to accounts. She handles the dollars and cents with finesse and fine detail given her vast finance background from the UK, Hong Kong and Australia. Not surprisingly she also loves to travel, particularly to areas with warm, tropical waters so she can put her Scuba Dive Instructor skills to good use. She also loves spending time with her friends, family and their pets and exploring all the diverse areas Australia has to offer.

Marilyn Higgins

Marketing Spark

Marilyn's passion for meeting new people and exploring new places provides endless inspiration when it comes to creative ways to tell a story and communicate with our community. Marilyn has worked across advertising, marketing and media for well over 25 years both here at home in Australia and abroad. Marilyn loves visiting the high country, bushwalking in the Grampians in Western Victoria and remote South Australia for its rugged landscapes, spectacular cliff top scenery and beautiful beaches.

Natalie Ford

Scheduling Star

Natalie joined our operations team with a skill for organisation. Having worked for many years as an E.A., organising people and logistics is “her thing.” Outside the office she loves spending time at the beach and she has a secret skill of being a wicked poker player. Her favourite place to holiday in Australia is Broome and the Daintree where she can wander amongst the beautiful scenery and explore the ancient rainforest.

Your Pilots

Nick de Lavaulx

Adventure Pilot

Nick has loved engines and machinery since he was a child, spending much of his youth on bikes and motorcycles. Naturally aircraft and flying were always of great interest, so he started flying hang gliders when he was just 17 and then went on to fly aeroplanes in his early 20's. He has gained a wide variety of flying experience since then, including spending 2 years living in Indonesia and flying twin otters in the mountains of West Papua. The places and environments he has flown have continued to feed and develop his enthusiasm for adventure. Aside from flying, he enjoys many outdoor activities, meditation and relaxing. Nick's favourite places to fly include the Australian north western coast and gulf of Carpentaria regions.

Jonathan Merridew

Chief Pilot

Jonathan is Armada Aviation's Chief Pilot and has a lifetime of aviation experience. His formative years were often spent flying with his parents around Australia in small single-engine aircraft so it was natural enough for him to do his Private Licence while at Uni. While working in finance he did his Commercial Licence and switched to "full-time" flying in 2004 in his family aviation business. He now has over 10,000hrs of charter flying across Australia, NZ, PNG and East Timor.

Greg Martin

Adventure Pilot

Greg is a highly experienced aviation professional with 25 years of experience across a range of industries - including flying all over Australia for the RFDS, bushfire surveillance and marine aerial spotting as well as general charter which have all provided him a deep understanding of the unique challenges and requirements of operating in these environments. Throughout his career, Greg has demonstrated a deep commitment to professionalism and safety, always putting the needs of his passengers and colleagues first. Greg is now combining his passion for aviation and the outback. His favourite place to travel in outback Australia is to see the sun setting over Kata Tjuta (The Olgas).

Your Tour Leaders

Diana Kozicki

TOUR LEADER

Diana is our longest serving Tour Leader, having lead Australian and African Air Adventure tours for over 20 years. She is an incredibly energetic and fun person. Her enthusiasm is highly contagious and her love of travel, wine, food and art makes her a delightful person to tour with. Diana has a rich history in travel and guiding and has even worked with the Rolling Stones in France and she also operated a luxury charter yacht in the Mediterranean. Diana's favourite place to visit is Point Stuart with its incredible wildlife which is out of this world.

Yvonne Falkenberg

TOUR LEADER

Before leading tours, Yvonne worked as Air Adventure's Tour Manager for 8 years, working with each destination to help create a seamless adventure for our guests. Today Yvonne is one of our Tour Leaders and our guests love her friendly and caring nature – aspects we are sure that come from her years working as a nurse and also her country upbringing. As well as leading tours, she also helps run their sheep station in Western Victoria and imports goods for her small, gift business placesigo. Her favourite place to visit is the Kimberley region for its colours and remoteness.

Elise Barassi

TOUR LEADER

Elise has over 25 years of customer service experience working for both commercial and private airlines. The outback locations we go to have many hidden gems that people might find difficult to access on their own. If I had to choose a favourite place in Australia it would be Montgomery Reef, WA. When the tide is out, it is a delight to witness the lagoons and coral teeming with crocs, fish and different species of turtles. Elise is also a qualified Counsellor who works in rapid response when not travelling.

Mandy Churchill

TOUR LEADER

Mandy has been working in the travel industry for nearly 40 years - initially as a travel agent and then taking to guiding where she loves helping to enrich the experiences of our intrepid travellers. She is passionate about making any journey the very best it can be, sharing the unique experiences and cultures of previous paths travelled and the anticipation of sharing new adventures. Her favourite holiday destination is The Kimberley. When she’s not out on tour she loves cruising around on her motorbike in the Victorian countryside.

Jan Tovey

TOUR LEADER

Jan joined Air Adventure with a wealth of knowledge and experience having worked in the travel industry for over 20 years - 13 of those as a tour leader, working across all regions of Australia. Her friendly and warm personality and love of the amazing diversity of Australia is clearly evident in her approach to tour leading. In her spare time, she loves walking on the beach close to home in Barwon Heads and reading. Her favourite place to travel is the Kimberley and Karijini National Park for the unbelievable landscapes, colours and history.

Jules Bones

TOUR LEADER

Jules joins our team with a love of traveling and the Australian outback. When traveling with her you know you're in safe hands given her wealth of knowledge for caring for people given her past roles for Ambulance Victoria and more recently the Royal Flying Doctor Service. When she's not out on tour she loves walking the beautiful beaches of her hometown, Port Fairy, and looking after her private aged care clients. Jules' favourite place to visit is the Western Australian coastline with its ever changing landscape!

Local Guides

Having built great relationships and friendships at each destination over 45 years’ is why we are able to offer you the best on ground tour operators at each location. Nothing beats local knowledge which is why we always use local, expert guides some of whom have often lived in these regions their whole life and have a wealth of stories and knowledge to share with you.

Reg Dodd

Arabunna Elder, Lake Eyre South

Reg has lived in the Lake Eyre region all of his life. His traditional boundary stretches from the very north of the Flinders Ranges, encompassing Lake Eyre and the country alongside the Oodnadatta Track. Reg's ancestors have lived in the region for thousands of years and now Reg, as an Arabunna Elder, has the responsibility to take care of the land and protect it for future generations. Reg was also voted the SA Senior of the Year in 2019.

Ross Fargher

The Prairie Hotel & Nilpena Station, Flinders Ranges

Ross's family has been in the Flinders Ranges region for 5 generations. His knowledge of the area from the salt lakes and deserts, right up to the rugged high-country is vast. When he's not out on his station, 'Nilpena' he's at the other family business, the Prairie Hotel in Parachilna one of Air Adventure's favourite places to stay. One of Ross's claims to fame is that he found the oldest vertebrate fossil in the world on his cattle station which dates back to around 560 million years.

Daniel and Sarah Cooper

Station Managers, Bullo River Station

Daniel and Sarah manage Bullo River Station - a working cattle station and homestead covering 500,000 acres of the Northern Territory. It’s pristine landscape, carved with gorges, decorated with waterfalls and defined by the Victoria and Bullo Rivers, make Bullo River Station one of the most breathtakingly beautiful cattle stations in Australia. Daniel and Sarah love showing our guests around the whole property and they'll share their favourite experience - Marlee's Bath, a beautiful protected waterhole where you can swim and have a BBQ.

Ian Johnson

King Island Wilderness Tours

King Island is a special place where you can step back in time, you don’t need to lock your doors, where you’ll encounter a genuine smile and receive a wave as you drive by. You can walk with nature, experience pristine sweeping beaches and rugged coastline. It’s a special part of the world which is why we thoroughly enjoying flying guests to this most remote island in the Bass Strait. Ian has been a resident of King Island for the past 30 years and is one of the longest standing tourism operators on the Island. In the past 20 years he has been instrumental in winning 14 tourist awards in customer service for King Island Holiday Village which is why we enjoy taking Air Adventure guests to stay at this unique place.

Get away on your own private adventure

The outback just got a lot closer for you. Let’s make your dream adventure a reality.

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