Capturing the Moment

The waters were high after some recent flooding in Halawa Valley on Molokai, but our guests were still up for some fun river crossings as we hiked up through the valley.      What a week! We kayaked along lava rock coastlines, snorkeled over pristine reefs, found some early season humpback whales, and hiked on three different Hawaiian Islands. We spent seven days exploring the islands of Molokai, Lana'i, Maui, and the Big Island from our mobile adventure platform of the Safari Explorer. The Explorer is a 150ft expedition vessel that houses about 30 guests. My job is expedition leader, which means I get to create the itinerary and be the guide for the guests out in the field.      Take a look at the photos and captions, and see if you can tell if I have a fun time doing my job.

Everywhere we looked, including all around our camp, we could see migrating herds of zebra and wildebeest. All part of the Great Migration.   As our seven country safari has drawn to a close, I wanted to make a few posts that recap some of our favorite things. This will be some of our best animals encounters and photos. We traveled Kenya to Tanzania to Rwanda to South Africa to Botswana to Zimbabwe to Zambia. We recorded new species of animals until our final day at Vitoria Falls in Zambia. We had encounters with lions, so close to the vehicle, that we had to pull our cameras back inside. We had lions mating, crocodiles eating zebras, wildebeest swimming across the Mara river, and tiny baby lions as we flew overhead in a hot air balloon. We stayed in 1920's colonial historic camps, and luxurious mobile tents with bucket showers. We became part of the gorillas in the mist, while braving the deep mud. We survived tsetse flies in Lake Manyara, and an African spider bite. We got in the...

No safety nets, no coned-off areas, just the sheer power of the falls a few feet away. Devil's Pool, Zambia.   Alright, talk about your wild adventures. Today was the last full day on our Grand Africa Safari extravaganza, so we wanted to go out with a bang. A friend of Greg and Sue's had put the idea of experiencing the Devil's Pool into their heads, and I was more than happy to make that happen. The Devil's Pool is a naturally occurring infinity pool formation, right at the edge of the might Victoria Falls. When the water isn't too high, it can be possible to hike, wade, and swim out to this pool of calmer water, and even peek over the side of the falls, down into the gorge below. It sure doesn't sound safe enough to be a thing in the States, but we were willing to try it out and see just how crazy this Devil's Pool really is.

  There is always a rainbow, but where the rainbow will be depends on the time of day and your viewing angle. The romance of Africa's past could be felt all around us, as our porter in a fine white uniform, greeted us and escorted us inside of the Victoria Falls Hotel. The hotel is pure old world grandeur. Various members of royalty have visited over the years, and the class of personal service here maintains even today. The hotel is a living piece of history, built in the early 1900's as a home for travelers on the Cape to Cairo Railway line. The path that leads through Victoria Falls National Park starts just a short distance from the hotel. After paying the $50 entry fee, we followed our ears to the low rumble, that grew louder with each step. Our surroundings started to get lusher and greener, with mist falling from the sky like some 24/7 rain. We sped past a large group of slower Road Scholars, and under the statue of David Livinstone, I presume, and down 38 steps to our f...

What looks like a mighty roar, is actually just a relaxing yawn, from this sleepy young male lion. But look at those teeth!   The Okavango Delta has always seemed like a far off, almost mythical place. I grew up seeing books and photos of it. Lions among palm trees, elephants wading through deep water. There were stories of having to sit up on top of the seat of the safari vehicle because you drove through water so deep it came over the floorboards. Having to take small bush planes to access the interior of the floodwaters. It has always seemed a place where the feeling of wild Africa permeates every moment. This is what I wanted to share with Greg and Sue on our epic 'Best of Africa' trip around the continent. We have experienced the Great Migration in the Serengeti, trekking with gorillas in the Virunga Mountains, and tracking leopards in Sabi Sand, but I wanted to finish with the feeling and experience that only the Okavango Delta can provide.

A male leopard seems to say ,"No, this is mine." as it takes a moment to break from his impala kill to stare right into the lens.   There is something so special about Sandibe Okavango Delta Safari Lodge. It is built to immerse you into the deep wilds of one of Africa's most stunning safari locations. The screens keep the bugs out, but allow all the nighttime sounds of the bush to filter in. In fact, last night I woke up around 2am to the sound of something big splashing in my private plunge pool on my outside deck. After listening for a bit, I couldn't fight the urge to try and see what it was, so I flipped on the outside lights. It was a huge elephant! Luckily, it was not in my pool, it wouldn't have fit anyway, but it was just below the deck, splashing around in the floodwaters and reeds. I watched it for a while before slipping back into bed and drifting back off to sleep. This is the kind of experience that I want to give to guests that I bring here. This is ...

I don't get this experience every day. I feel like my drone is only slightly smaller than this helicopter. It was an amazing view. As we flew I could see the arid, desert environment around Maun, give way to the lush green seasonal swamps and rivers of the Okavango Delta.   Today our safari across Africa, has culminated into a trip to one of Africa's great wilderness locations. We started the day in the buzzing metropolis of Johannesburg, but left the city life behind after a short one-hour flight to Maun, Botswana. This is the typical jumping off point to get into the famed Okavango Delta. However, we were not going to do the normal bush plane ride. Today I had something special set up. We were led out to two small helicopters, loaded up with our bags, and set out on a scenic flight into the wild.

  On each game drive here in the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, the wildlife seemed to show up almost on cue. Famous for its leopard sightings, it did not disappoint. We ended up seeing seven different leopards, including a tiny three month old cub. We came across lions lazing in giant boulders in the middle of the river, white rhinos grazing peacefully with their young, and gorgeous birds at every turn...even above our dining table! Greg found a leopard tortoise cruising past our rooms at Kirkman's Camp, which we all thought was just the best. And then an actually leopard decided to cruise through our camp as well, making us stop in our tracks on our way back from dinner. It was a good reminder that we are in the middle of the wild.

Life moment. The tiniest of baby leopard cubs makes an appearance. We found the mom, crossing the Sand river, calling to her cub. We followed, and sure enough, this tiny leopard cub came out of its hiding place to see mom.   We woke up in Kirkman's Camp, a historic luxury safari lodge in the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve in South Africa. Originally built in the 1920's, it is located high on a bluff, overlooking the Sand River. I ventured out to my veranda, listened to the birds, peered down at the river, and felt the excitement grow as I got dressed for the morning game drive. Who knows what we might see down there. After meeting our guide, Willy, for a morning cappuccino, Greg, Sue, and I loaded up our safari vehicle. There was a special seat on the front of the hood for our tracker, Richard. Like our other safari vehicles, this was the class green, extended Land Cruiser. However, this one not only had no doors, but it also had no roof. We really felt like we were in the elem...

  Sabi Sands Game Reserve in South Africa is renowned for having one of the best safari experiences in the world. It is situated in the southwest corner of Kruger National Park, and share a 50 kilometer unfenced border. The reserve it especially famous for leopard sightings, due to the leopards being habituated to safari vehicles, making more intimate sightings possible. I was hoping that our time here would provide some good leopard sightings, but we also needed to find a predator that we hadn't seen yet, the wild dog.

  A mamma and baby gorilla stay close in a little cradle of bamboo, as we watch in wonder from just a few feet away. We traveled to the small, landlocked country of Rwanda for one main reason, to go deep into the Virunga Mountains and trek to the mountain gorillas. This is the same place, and the same gorilla families that Dian Fossey brought to the attention of the world with her field work and book, "Gorillas in the Mist." Now, it was our time to enter the misty mountains of Rwanda, and have that same shared experience, or becoming part of the gorilla family for a short time. Whenever I am here, I like to stay at a small, hidden, boutique lodge, called the Bishop's House. You would never know what incredible rooms, service, and food, await you inside from the almost hidden entrance to the historic place. The morning of our gorilla trek, the staff here outfitted us with gaiters to keep the mud off our pants, rain jackets for the rainforest showers, and a waterproof backp...