Nadia Eckhardt

Born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, Nadia followed the sun to California for a few years, before settling in Seattle 20 years ago. She still often refers to South Africa as “home.” Nadia spent much of her youth enjoying the great outdoors with her family: hiking, snorkeling and exploring the southern tip of Africa. Growing up in South Africa during some troubling times sparked her interest in people and allowed her to learn more about the many varied southern Africa cultures. Nadia earned a business diploma in 1979 and an ASTA Travel & Cruise certificate from Sacramento State University in 1988.

Her passion for people and travel really went into full swing when she embarked on her first expedition vessel, the MS Society Explorer, in Bali, Indonesia in 1989. Nadia has been involved in setting up and leading land tours and ship trips worldwide ever since. She has traveled the globe extensively and is well versed in many adventure destinations, including a number of countries throughout Africa, the Indian Ocean islands, as well as Antarctica, South America, Mongolia, the Russian Far East, Papua New Guinea and beyond. Over the last five years or more, she has been very involved in setting up many of the shore excursions in West Africa as well as South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania for some of the top U.S. adventure travel operators. Nadia enjoys sharing her knowledge and varied African experiences with fellow travelers. Her love of people is apparent in her warm and ever-present smile.