Gorilla Highlands Ambassador Training (GHAT)

Andy Ault has been a safari guide for more than 30 years. In Zimbabwe he led walking safaris in all of its national parks and canoeing trips on the Zambezi, but then Uganda happened to him … He came to the country in 2004 as a tour leader, and soon found himself quite busy as a guide, operations manager, mentor and tour operator. Just wait for him to open the Pocket Treasure and decide it’s time to see the rest of the region too! When Andy chats with fellow guides deep in the remarkable wild or sits with a keen guest around a campfire, he is the happiest man in the world, sharing his beliefs in responsible guiding rooted in storytelling. Sadly for him, he also sometimes has to be in Kampala, Uganda.​​​​​​ [bio updated: 2026-05]

César Niyonkuru is one of the most experienced hiking guides on the Congo Nile Trail and the Gorilla Highlands Experts go-to guy for many years. A dynamic father of two, César resides in Gisenyi, Rwanda. Click for his background story. [bio updated: 2026-05]

David Bakeine is a native of our region who has been part of Gorilla Highlands Experts trainings since 2023. He holds a degree in tourism operations and has decades of practical work experience as a tour guide. Uganda’s pioneer rhino conservationist, he was instrumental in establishing Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and received education training from Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2005. An author, storyteller and social entrepreneur, David holds a sustainable ecotourism award from 2024. Helped by his young family, David runs one of the most remarkable regional homestays called Gahiza Island Retreat, on Lake Mutanda, Uganda. [bio updated: 2026-05]

Denise de Roux is a communications specialist deeply devoted to cultural heritage, the environment and engaging content that makes people connect with our planet. Fascinated by gorillas and wildlife since childhood, she reached out to Gorilla Highlands Experts in 2025, offering help as an online volunteer. Before working with European institutions, Denise toiled as a tour guide in Paris, where she also graduated from Sorbonne University in Heritage Management and Tourism Development. In her free time, she enjoys drawing and dreaming about her next adventure. Denise has Colombian roots but currently lives with her partner in Copenhagen, Denmark.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ [bio updated: 2026-05]

Dom Caristi is a Professor Emeritus of Media at Ball State University and a long-time Gorilla Highlands Experts supporter. Co-author of the 4th edition of Communication Law (2025), he was a Fulbright Professor to Greece and Slovenia (twice) and has been a visiting professor in Italy. A member of the Broadcast Education Association for more than 40 years, Dom served on the Board of Directors 1997–2002 and was awarded the Distinguished Education Service Award in 2023. He lives with his wife Kim in Muncie, Indiana.​ [bio updated: 2026-05]

Ian Cantwell, historian and international interdisciplinary researcher, was part of the team that started the Gorilla Highlands initiative in 2011. Our region is one of his focal areas, and the pre-colonial history of the Batwa “Pygmies” a major passion. He is the author of Kigezi Mountain Mosaic, an ebook about the history and culture of southwestern Uganda. When not on research trips in Africa or Europe, Ian can be found somewhere in Ireland.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ [bio updated: 2026-05]

Julia Lloyd has spent more than three decades following wildlife through East Africa — underwater, through forests, across savannahs and occasionally into places sensible people might have avoided. After a year of scuba diving and traipsing through forests to compile biodiversity inventories in Tanzania, she moved to Uganda, working in habitats including Karamoja and Kyambura before returning to forest life with the Jane Goodall Institute and Uganda Wildlife Authority, working on chimp habituation and developing monitoring and ecotourism in Kibale National Park. Falling back to her love of small, much-ignored wild things, she eventually founded the indigenous NGO In the Shadow of Chimpanzees and Sunbird Hill Nature Monitoring & Rewilding Site. She lives just there with her eclectic multicultural family, on the edge of Kibale, Uganda. [bio updated: 2026-06]

Lilian Kamusiime is a senior tour guide, developer of travel products, birding specialist, trainer of trainers and assessor of guides by Uganda’s Directorate of Industrial Training. A secondary school teacher from the Gorilla Highlands region, Lilian followed her passion for nature and culture into the tourism industry and founded Kigezi Biota Tours. Her life philosophy is that we all have something — little or big — to contribute to humanity’s wellbeing. Still a devoted single woman but a mother to many who simply loves to mentor young people, she resides in Rukungiri, Uganda. [bio updated: 2026-05]

Marcus Westberg is a multiple award-winning photographer and writer from Sweden whose work — covering conservation, wildlife and travel — appears regularly in several global publications. He has made several trips to our region specifically to volunteer for Gorilla Highlands Experts. When not globetrotting, Marcus lives with his wife and daughter close to Lisbon, Portugal. Click for our interview with Marcus. [bio updated: 2026-03]

ML Rwebandira is an adventure and cultural tourism expert, writer and multimedia producer who co-founded Gorilla Highlands Experts. Born as Miha Logar, he now combines his initials with “Rwebandira” to honour the Bakiga elder Karwemera, who gave him the name. ML’s most recent publication is the Pocket Treasure. A national of both Uganda and Slovenia, Rwebandira resides with his son Lan in Musanze, Rwanda. Click for his personality-infused quarterly newsletters. [bio updated: 2026-09]

Paul Callcutt is the managing director of Fitzroy Travel, sending upmarket clients with an adventure sweet tooth to our region. Having guided professionally in both Africa and South America, Paul still frequents them exploring new routes, but for personal hideaways nothing beats the Scottish lakes and mountains. He runs his company from Brighton, England. [bio updated: 2026-07]

Peter Habyarimana is a specialist in first aid, health and care management, and an expert in prevention and management of highly infectious diseases. He has trained and mentored all across the Gorilla Highlands region, including for international organisations, the military and police. He is an avid reader of novels and a passionate storyteller. Originally from Kabale and frequently on assignment in upcountry areas, Peter has his wife and two children sorted out in Kampala, Uganda. [bio updated: 2026-09]