The Expedition Team
The team for Expedition Gap Year comprises of various staff from Venture Forth International and Wild Medix. Throughout the program the students will be introduced to a host of our other staff, partners and freelancers to enrich their training and exposure.
Walther Meyer
Walther Meyer, founding partner and managing director of Venture Forth and Wild Medix is the formal lead for Expedition Gap Year.
Walt joined Venture Forth in 1997. He trained in the USA as a technical alpine leader on snow, rock, and ice before returning to SA to run Venture Forth. With over 39 years of personal mountaineering and adventure experience, Walt has climbed and guided in Southern and Eastern Africa, South America, the USA and Canada, and is one of only a handful of people in the country holding all available national qualifications in mountain guiding. He is a qualified firearms instructor, registered medic, and a Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM, USA).
Walt is the most experienced trainer and assessor of adventure guides in South Africa. As a firm believer in the power of adventure, he is actively involved in the development of the adventure guiding and outdoor education industry.
He also spent many years on the road as an active volunteer for the government emergency services in the Western Cape and founded the first wilderness first aid training company in South Africa — Wild Medix. Walt regularly teaches wilderness and tactical medicine courses throughout Africa
Zane Stathakis
Zane Stathakis, professional guide, is the full-time co-ordinator for Expedition Gap Year.
Zane was the first Venture Forth student of the guide school program in 2019. He then freelanced across the country in various expeditions and guided trips. Having formally joined Venture Forth in 2022, he now runs the exploration of new routes for existing and developing adventures as well as facilitating various technical adventure courses.
The Team
Heide Meyer
Heide is our Environmental Director, Instructor and qualified Guide. She holds the following qualifications:
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Bachelor's degree in Nature Conservation
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Honours degree in Marine Science
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Registered Medic & Wilderness EMT
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Fellowship in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM)
Dries Steyn
Dries is a qualified guide, instructor and assessor. He is also a registered and experienced medic. Being in charge of logistics and training, he is always ensuring operations run smoothly.
Lené Pretorius
Lené's role is to assist with technical adventures such as rock climbing, overnight hikes and paddling. She also assists with first aid courses.
Igna Mocke
Igna's role is to assist with lectures, simulations and manage the first aid kits for Venture Forth, Wild Medix and Expedition Gap Year.
Ciaran Stathakis
Ciaran is the guy you chat to if you need to buy gear. He is the shop manager for our gear store in Somerset West and will connect you with unbeatable prices.
Dr Lynne Hoole
Dr Hoole is our expedition adviser on all things medical. Her wealth of experience from expeditions all over the globe brings a rich perspective when tackling wilderness medical scenarios.
Dr Ross Hofmeyr
Dr Hofmeyr is the consultant anaesthesiologist at Groote Schuur Hospital, as well as the Medical Director for Wild Medix - the original South African wilderness & extreme medicine company.
Gary Storm
Gary is a registered guide with a large skillset to teach everything from multi-pitch rock climbing to scaling frozen waterfalls and exploring those hard-to-reach places.
