The Bushmasters team consists of Ian and Sarah from the UK and guides from Amerindian communities in the jungle.
Ian Craddock was a British Army officer, who served in the Infantry and Special Forces for 10 years. He has worked in Guyana since 2002, organising jungle expeditions for a British conservation charity. Previously he worked in a similar role in Belize, Central America, for two years. He has completed a variety of specialist courses from Combat Survival Instructor to Military Mountaineering and Climbing instructor courses. He has taken part in exercises and operations in a host of countries around the world from the Gulf to the Falkland Islands, from North America to the Indian Himalayas, where he led a joint Anglo-Indian team on the first successful ascent of Mt Tingchen Khan. He also spent a couple of years trying to do the city life in London, but got dragged back to the outdoors quite easily! He spends about 50% of his time in the jungle each year. The rest is spent planning how to get back in.
Sarah Jones has also lived in Guyana since 2003. Initially she went to South America with the intention of being there for only two months taking part in a jungle expedition, but was completely captured by the place and the people, and never returned home. She spent the following two years working for an expedition company, providing back-up support, planning extended expedition programmes, and working on the PR for the company in Guyana. Sarah will probably be your first point of contact with Bushmasters.
The guides and rangers come from the biologically diverse and unique, North Rupununi, the majority being from the Makushi people. Individuals may change because as well as Bushmaster's trips they also have farms, families, and houses to look after. All of them are amazing in the jungle. They have an uncanny ability to know exactly where they are, how to get somewhere and back again even if we are on completely unexplored ground (which is quite often with Bushmasters.) Finding food from the forest, medicines, water, catching fish, all this is second nature to them... just like going to the pub for us!
Lionel James is a village council member from Surama. Lionel is one of the more experienced guides in the jungle, actually starting many years ago, crossing Guyana into Brazil and Venezuela and a host of other huge trips. Get a map and see how far that is on foot through jungle! He is a great character and has lots of stories, which he will tell you!
Harold Captain is an absolute star. There is nothing Harold does not know. He is the senior jungle man in his area and commands the respect of everyone. All ask for Harold's advice, if the have any sense. He's known as 'the jaguar' within the village because of the time he spends in the jungle (over half a century now). Don’t think a few years will make him any slower than you though. He's tougher, stronger, fitter and better than anyone at pretty much everything from living in the jungle to drinking ale! As he says he is always first to go anywhere new on our trips.
Charlo Melville is a legend within the Rupununi. His family came here from Europe generations ago and built the largest cattle ranch on earth, Dadanawa. Charlo now owns a number of smaller ranches, as do other members of the family. Charlo keeps the spirit of the Rupununi ranch alive today at Konaiki-kizai, his 60 square mile ranch in the south savannahs of Guyana and in some of the most beautiful terrain you’ll ever see. It is a traditional ranch, mud brick buildings, no electricity and water from a well. Charlo is also an amazing artist, handcrafting products from leather which are amazing. He does the whole thing, from culling the cow to curing the leather to engraving the artwork into the finished article. Charlo's hand made saddles are particularly amazing and on the Rawhide Vaquero trip you’ll be using them daily and Charlo will even show you how to make them.
