Nicole and Kyle were both born in Zimbabwe and lived in Africa until the family relocated to the UK in 2014, in order to finish off their children’s education. They have three children: Savannah and Sabrina, who will both be graduating this year from university, as a nurse and a doctor respectively; and Franz, who has almost finished his Private Pilot’s License and aims to become a commercial pilot, like his father. All family members are qualified divers and have a love and appreciation of nature.

Nicole is happiest in the sea or bush, taking images of the natural world. She is an experienced diver and has been a PADI Instructor since 2001. The ocean ignited her passion for photography and her specialty is underwater photography and filming. She is also a talented graphic designer and writer, which proved useful for creating advertising material for their own tourism businesses, as well as for other clients. Nicole is a competent event organiser and has participated in a number of tourism shows in South Africa for the promotion of her dive operations, Dive Zimbabwe and Dive Bazaruto. Nicole is also qualified in financial services, which has proved useful for running businesses.

Kyle is a bush-boy at heart and loves being in Africa. He grew up on a farm and had his own farming operation in Zimbabwe when he married Nicole. After the farm invasions, he fell back on his commercial flying qualification and became an agricultural pilot. He has been involved in aerial fire-fighting, as well as other agricultural flying in African and Europe, for over twenty years. His network of acquaintances and friends spans all the continents and varies across all walks of life. He is naturally gregarious, but also enjoys the solitude of being in remote, rural areas or underwater. Kyle started diving when he met Nicole and is a qualified PADI Instructor. He has been a business partner with Nicole in all her enterprises. Kyle’s love of photography began when he was based in the Zambezi Valley as a charter pilot, back in his youth. His love of wildlife and being based in the bush, resulted in some incredible images of Africa’s big game. Kyle is Nicole’s dive buddy and assistant cameraman when out on shoots.

Franz studied Music and Sound Technology as well as Games Development, so has extremely useful skills for AquaTerra. He is in charge of IT problem solving and his knowledge of sound technology is put to use in film editing. Franz is a scuba diver and a reliable buddy to Nicole when Kyle is away on flying contracts. Franz is tall, strong and easy-going, with a love for nature and adventure, which makes him an ideal team member on expeditions. He worked as a logistician in Somaliland for the FAO locust control programme in 2021, proving to be a reliable and hardworking team member. Franz has a good eye for image compositions and is a useful assistant cameraman.