Adventure Associates under new management (again)

Leading adventure travel company, Adventure Associates, has been sold to explorer, mountaineer and adventure tourism industry pioneer, Greg Mortimer, in partnership with experienced explorers and adventure travel operators, Sue Werner and Henrik Lovendahl.

Greg Mortimer founded Aurora Expeditions in the early 1990s with his wife Margaret after working together on the Australian Bicentennial Antarctic Expedition, which he organised and led in 1988. He is the recipient of a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), three Australian Geographic Society medals and was the first Australian to climb Mt Everest and K2.

Both Lovendahl and Werner have a long history of adventure travel having worked with Mortimer at Aurora Expeditions and as expedition leaders in the Arctic and Antarctic for almost two decades. Collectively these three explorers have visited the polar regions more than 200 times, combining their wealth of knowledge with their passion for showing others the world’s most fascinating places.

One of Australia’s longest-running adventure travel companies, this year Adventure Associates celebrates 40 years of taking those with a spirit of adventure to the far corners of the world.

Dennis Collaton,
founder of
Adventure Associates

Industry veteran Dennis Collaton founded Adventure Associates in 1973 with the goal of making the company the pre-eminent tour operator to South America; which in those days was an emerging destination for travellers. In more recent years the company has created and expanded its portfolio to include more than 50 destinations: from the polar reaches to the depths of the Amazon jungle; under the keen eye of renowned adventurer Mike McDowell, founder of Space Adventures, Quark Expeditions and Deep Ocean Expeditions.

"I am delighted that Adventure Associates is in the experienced hands of Greg Mortimer,” said Collaton. “He, Sue and Henrik have shown a passion for exotic travel, and I’m sure they will keep Adventure Associates at the forefront of the adventure travel industry."

“Dennis’ original vision and Mike’s cutting-edge creativity in pushing the boundaries of adventure travel will continue to provide a great model for us," said Mortimer. "We will continue their good work by managing the business with the values that have made the company such a long-standing success: passion, integrity, and going ‘beyond the ordinary’.

“We are currently reviewing our tours to get back to the company roots of offering small group expeditions to extraordinary places on all seven continents; as well as continuing the company’s original focus on South America and Antarctica through our partnership with specialist agency Movidas,” said Mortimer.

Robyn Smith of Movidas, a boutique agency that specialises in travel to Latin, Central and South America, and a long-term former employee of Adventure Associates, will take on the role of Travel Manager for Adventure Associates.

Other specialist tours in the Adventure Associates portfolio include two voyages at the end of this year celebrating the centenary of the main science programs undertaken by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition led by Sir Douglas Mawson; camping with Emperor Penguins in Antarctica; diving the RMS Titanic; and in-depth journeys in the Russian Far East, Africa and Asia.

For further information on Adventure Associates tours and destinations contact +61 2 8916 3000 or visit www.adventureassociates.com