Interview with Chadden Hunter

INTERVIEW

Fully focused Biologist and filmmaker Chadden;

(inset) filming emperor penguins for Frozen Planet

In conversation with...

CHADDEN HUNTER

Wildlife biologist and filmmaker Chadden Hunter has worked on documentaries such as Planet Earth II and Frozen Planet – he talks to us about his passion for wildlife and travel

Where did your interest in travel begin? I was born into a rather nomadic family in a remote corner of the Australian desert. My father was an exploration geologist, so I lived in places as diverse as Iran and Arizona.

How did you get into filmmaking? Growing up, all I wanted to do was share my love of nature with others, so I pursued a career in academia. While completing my PhD on gelada baboons in Ethiopia, I realized my research was doing little to change public perception. Farmers considered them pests and petitioned the government to cull them, so I snuck onto an Ethiopian chat show. The response was great and prevented the cull. The next

year, Sir David Attenborough and his crew filmed my monkeys for the Life of Mammals. My drift into wildlife filmmaking began.

What has been the most memorable moment of your career? One of the most magical adventures was scuba diving underAntarctic sea ice for Frozen Planet. We drilled a manhole through six feet of ice and descended into a world that felt like another planet. With visibility 650 feet in gin-clear water, I felt like we were floating in space. I started seeing what I thought were particles in the water. As they got bigger I saw they were emperor

TRAVEL HIGHLIGHT

“Southeast Asia has fascinating cultures sideby-side with colorful wildlife and delicious food.”

penguins ascending from the depths. They had never seen humans before and came closer to check me out.

Can you tell us about your upcoming projects? I’m working on the next

Attenborough series for the

BBC Natural HistoryUnit. I just got back from the Amazon and Alaska. We’ve been filming in some amazing locations and it will be ready to show in late 2019.

Where else would you like to visit? I’m fascinated by Tibet and the vibrancy of its Buddhism, set against a Himalaya backdrop.

What’s something that you can never travel without? I’m a bit of a coffee addict, so I never travel without a thermos. I can’t count how many places I’ve been, from the top of a mountain to Angkor Wat, when I’ve pulled out a steaming hot drink and made the travelers around me jealous.

Do you have any advice on how to travel responsibly? If you see travel companies doing good things – like reducing plastic or supporting a local women’s cooperative – get on social media and support them. Corporations are the big players, so encourage those making ethical business decisions by writing them a letter or tagging them on Twitter.

48 | AUDLEY TRAVELER