Robert Ferguson is an experienced travel professional and dedicated conservationist with over three decades of experience in sustainable tourism and wildlife preservation. As a trustee of Explorers Against Extinction and director of Real World Travel & Conservation and PureTravel, he has been instrumental in promoting responsible travel and supporting frontline conservation initiatives.
He is also a writer and author, first commissioned by his local newspaper to write a bi-weekly travel column when travelling through Asia in 1989. As part of this series they published his eye-witness account of the Tiananmen Square protests and crackdown in China.
He is the author of The Nepal Handbook published by Footprint Guides, an imprint of Bradt Guides. He has also published a historical novel, set in Burma in 1943 and Nepal in 1953, called Sacred Mountain which made the Top 1,000 Amazon downloads in 2013.
Robert is an experience public speaker and has spoken at many events and venues, including The Royal Geographical Society in London and at the prestigious Explorers Club in New York, USA. He has also spoken at numerous schools, societies, clubs, travel trade shows and exhibitions.
His journey began in the travel industry as a mountain guide in the Himalaya, then as Operations Manager for a leading UK trekking and adventure agency. Next he started and operated specialist travel companies in Northern Pakistan and Italy. His passion for wildlife and the natural world led him to co-found Real Africa in 2000, a safari specialist focusing on responsible wildlife travel using local guides and services. Recognizing the growing threats of illegal wildlife trade and climate change, he helped establish The Real Africa Trust in 2007, focusing on education and the relationship between ecotourism, wildlife, and local communities.
In 2017, he co-founded Explorers Against Extinction, a UK-based conservation charity aiming to save species, safeguard biodiversity, and empower local communities. The charity has supported projects in over 30 countries on all seven continents and has raised significant funds through initiatives like “Sketch For Survival,” an annual art exhibition and auction featuring works from artists and celebrities such as Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Dame Judi Dench, and Stephen Fry.
Through his leadership roles, he continues to advocate for sustainable tourism and conservation, making a lasting impact on global biodiversity preservation.
In the course of his travels and career he has had many adventures. He has trekked coast to coast across Borneo, climbed to 6,500 metres in the Himalaya and travelled the length of the old Silk Road. While travelling he once spent three days on the same bus journey (they did stop for overnight stays in government dormitories) and survived a crash landing in a light aircraft in Ethiopia. He has drunk tea with gun smugglers from Afghanistan, camped in the poppy fields of the Hindu Kush and chopped off the rotten finger of a Berber farmer in the Central Atlas mountains of Morocco.
His love of wildlife and wild places has taken him to some remote and beautiful locations. He’s trekked to see orangutans in Sumatra, mountain gorillas in Uganda and tracked tigers and elephants in Nepal and India. He’s also been charged by a Black Rhino, had to punch a Himalayan Brown bear to escape and once got chased out of a bar in South Africa by a (very) large warthog.
Robert is available for Guest speaking at functions, events and schools. Please contact him at robert@realworldconservation.org.uk for details of available topics and fee’s.
For the ultimate bespoke adventure, he is also available to escort your private trip to India and Nepal. Contact him at the above email for details.
