About Johnny

Name: John van Vliet

Ecologist, Expedition Leader, Expedition Guide

Age: 37

Nationality: Dutch

Expertise: Photography, Fauna Inventory & Monitoring, Zodiac master, Coastal Birds, Polar Bears, Musk Oxen, and Whales

Activities: Photography, Bear Guard, Kayaking, Zodiac driver, Snorkeling, Skiing

John van Vliet is an ecologist and works as an expedition guide. After working for more than 15 years as a self-employed person in tree technical research and fauna inspections. He founded Wild-Encounters in the spring of 2022 together with Debbie. For Wild-Encounters, John is committed to preserving nature and the animals that call this nature their home.

Through Wildlife-Conservation photography, John offers tools to visualize fauna. With this he started to follow his heart and took his Wildlife Conservation photography on board of expedition ships. Now he travels to the far corners of the world. On deck and in the zodiac he talks about the animals, landscapes and the impact we as humans have.
Because of his knowledge of technology, he likes to take on the responsibility as Zodiac Master. Supervising the maintenance and local requirements that the zodiac must meet.

Once home, he is committed to providing insight into the local fauna. Using his photography during inventories and monitoring for various ecological agencies and governments, he sets out to “picture fauna”.

Outside of his work you can find John at his 4×4 camper. He has completely restored a Land Rover 127 and built it up as an overland camper. This to make his Overland expeditions as comfortable as possible. And those who really know him know that he likes to take his camper to work. He then uses the Land Rover as a photo-hide to observe the animals that you would otherwise not see.

You can reach John via “Contact” or via the socials mentioned below.