In an Elephant’s Eye

I had been in Sri Lanka for a week, and now a couple of friends and I are passing through the interior of the island-nation the size of West Virginia. The road’s edge is lined with a four-pronged spacey wire fence standing roughly ten feet high, this marks the Minneriya National Park. Then we spot it – a monstrosity of a mammal standing on the other side of the electric fence.

“Tissa [the driver], please... [Read more]

Visiting the Simien Mountains with the King of Africa

His eyes are in the shade of massive brows. A ridged muzzle, small angular nostrils, and a round jaw with the top lip curling back suddenly to expose sharp fangs set in wide pink gums. If I didn’t know better I’d be convinced his get-up is skillfully sewn of lion skins, so splendid is his costume, from mane to tuft. A cocked fur hat, and on his chest — a bleeding heart, set right in the middle, like a... [Read more]

Birds, Poachers, and Twitchers in Ethiopia

Sometimes, it seems like Ethiopia is all lakes, birds, and monasteries. Dirty swimming water and organized religion I can do without, but after seeing a silvery-cheeked hornbill I doubt that I could keep living my life and not become a serious twitcher - a bird-watcher who tries to spot as many rare varieties as possible.

My new found obsession with birds reached its peak when I spotted a man selling lovebirds in... [Read more]

“Messiah” Mara in Kenya

It hailed on the way from Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara. Tiny, but vicious hailstones bombarded the pavement, bounced of it, and lived, if only for a few seconds, to make their mark. Can one really forget hail on the African Equator?!

Later, the sky cleared in a most heavenly way, with sun rays piercing fluffy but angry-looking clouds. It looked like maybe the messiah read the address wrong, and will be beamed down... [Read more]

Camera Talk: Madagascar

Madagascar is a photographer’s paradise. Its creatures and colors are so otherworldly, even an experienced photographer might have a difficult time capturing it all with a click of their extra powerful and super sensitive apparatus. As an armature photographer, it pained me to visit such a magical place and be held back time after time by the impotence of my pathetic photographic equipment and my own lack of experience... [Read more]

Travel Africa, Amboseli Twisters

I thought it was a beginning of a tornado, but then another one appeared, and another. Pillars of copper sand twisted and grew with every spin, rising high into the sky. Some were as big in diameter as a decent sized hut, and as one of the twisters approached a village I almost jumped out of the car screaming for the villagers to take cover. But the villagers saw it coming, and as they seemed to be unbothered, I too calmed... [Read more]

Sea Turtle Sanctuary in Dalyan, Turkey

A rare colony of endangered Loggerhead Sea Turtles nearly fell victim to construction. Fortunately, wild life preservation and ecological awareness prevailed over entrepreneurial greed and thankfully, today you can watch the turtles in Dalyan, Turkey.

Dalyan is located on Turkey’s southwest coast in the province of Mugla and borders the Dalyan Cayi River. The Mediterranean lies downriver to the south and that’s... [Read more]

A Few Photos of Aitutaki

I was told that if I were going to be visiting the Cook Islands, missing Aitutaki would be a crime. I was told “It was the most beautiful island on Earth!” These are big words. I have heard them before. However, I took forty photos just on the approach of the airplane. I was not alone. Shutters clicked all around. Here are a few photos that I just grabbed as I went to give a taste of one of the most photogenic... [Read more]

Ah, Madagascar

Ah, Madagascar. When I mention places I visit, I am often met with question marks or that sucking sound accompanied by a tense wrinkled spot between the eyebrows. But Madagascar always gets an “Ah.” An “Ah” and a dazed dreamy smile only the purest of fantasies get.

People think Madagascar is magic, and in many ways it is. In the right spot, it’s a colorful heaven –- dancing lemurs... [Read more]

Dream Dream Dream

I dream of bringing my future children to Madagascar. Who knows, maybe they’ll go against the grain and actually think their parents are cool if the family trip will make them feel like they are on some hallucinogenic drug. Hell, maybe that’ll even keep them away from real drugs!

Madagascar... [Read more]

Ostrich Run

“If you are ever chased by an ostrich,” said the farmer, “never run. Instead just lie on the ground and just cover your head. This way, it might jump all over you, even break a few ribs, but it will not kill you. But if you are standing, a kick from an ostrich could easily kill. Can you see its feet?” I looked down at its prehistoric-looking toes: one small – for balance, and one enormous - tipped... [Read more]

Sea Life Park, Hawaii

This is the scene: It is a beautiful sunny day. My daughter looks up at me and smiles a big, toothy grin. We are petting a baby sea turtle held by an intern-biologist at Sea Life Park on Oahu. We can hear the crashing waves of the ocean and children whispering questions about turtles to the biologist.

Sea Life Park is like a child-sized version of Sea World in San Diego- in a good way. The attractions are intimate;... [Read more]

Wild Dog Chase

I’ve met my match, and it’s the wild dog. My check of rare African animals is almost complete, but the elusive wild dog, numbering only in the few thousand for all of Africa, has evaded me so far. I knew Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Nature Reserve had them, and for two days straight I roamed its dirt roads in search of the elusive animal. I was not the only one. Apparently some of the dogs have radio collars, and besides... [Read more]

Lion Overdose

As I entered the gates of Kruger National Park, it took less than a minute to spot a lion. Lions in Kruger are traffic-jam animals – the herd of cars around them being a dead giveaway. I wonder what lions think when their sleep under a thorny tree is disturbed by engine roars and an occasional angry outburst from a tourist whose view becomes abstracted by yet another inching car. I didn’t even bother slowing down.... [Read more]

A Monkey’s Lunch in Japan

They hunker down. Watching. Waiting.

On a rock ledge, a baby sprawls on his belly playing with a silvery round stone. Bright golden eyes follow the stone as it passes from one paw to the other. A furry little arm stretches wide and suddenly the stone tumbles over the edge of the table. His tiny pink face flashes dismay, and I’m tempted to retrieve his toy. Then I remember the warning: do not interfere with the... [Read more]

A Lion’s Kill

Every African National Park is full of surprises. On one inconspicuous morning in South Luangwa I got out of my car to photograph some rare to the area lovebirds only to find out a pride of lions was killing a buffalo only a few hundred meters away.

The pride was young and strong. It tore into the still-alive buffalo eating it out through every hole they could get their fangs into, until the victim finally expired... [Read more]

Hungry for a Hippo in Zambia

It’s been a month since I began chasing hippos. I visited many places that had them, but seeing them in all their oval glory proved difficult. Only now, in Zambia’s South Luangwa, I’ve managed to get a perfect look at them.

You’ve got to love an animal that’s purple. You simply must. And the way they waddle out of the river late at dusk to graze, almost bouncing as they run away from... [Read more]

Lower Zambezi, Higher Cost

Africa’s national parks differ a lot from country to country and they are run in very different ways, so I never know what to expect next. In South Africa and Namibia, the parks are over-organized operations with gates, curfews and strict rules, though I found them somewhat bendable despite constant ranger patrols. In bureaucratic Botswana, the seemingly dead plains of the Kalahari Desert are empty from any regime,... [Read more]

The Mighty Falls in Zambia

Man triumphs over nature. Tames lions, kills mammoths, conquers raging rivers that roar and foam at the mouth with white water as if outraged that man has dared to venture in. In Zambia’s Livingstone, home to the mighty Victoria Falls, man has enslaved nature. It happens in so many places I visit; it’s strange how I’ve only realized it now.

Aside from being used as an energy source, the Falls are... [Read more]

Costa Rica’s Four-Star Locals

There are certain things I get when I take advantage of local travel outriggers vs. large corporate hotel chains. On my solo trip to Costa Rica I wanted a taste of both. I visited Playa Hermosa first, and my local guide and surf coach Gaby took me places I’m sure I never would have gone had I stayed at a large hotel chain.

The first experience was going with Gaby on a river hike, where we ducked spider webs and... [Read more]

Leaving Namibia, or How to Find a Pangolin

I hate to leave Namibia - it has been so good to me. But my last days
here weren’t without memorable adventures. I wondered if the day would
come when Columbus would drown in the thick mud it often has to go
through. And that day nearly came.

Mamili National Park was going to be the last on my list in this
country. It was almost completely flooded and looked deserted. A few
successful... [Read more]

Border-less Wildlife

On the little stretch of Caprivi, where the colonial politics of the
past have arbitrarily divided the land into Namibia, Botswana, Zambia,
and Angola, wildlife knows no borders. The river here serves as the
divide, and its name changes every hundred miles or so. Birds here are
as colorful as I’ve ever seen. Carmine bee-eaters sunbathe on low
branches, and I photograph them in all their... [Read more]

The Iguana Lodge in Costa Rica (video podcast)

Today is Costa Rica and seeing all the zoo animals I could fit into my camera’s viewfinder. I also had a moment between horseback rides, beach combing and releasing turtles into the the sea with Lauren of the Iguana Lodge in the Osa Peninsula 15 minutes outside of Puerto Jimenez in Costa Rica. She points out some of the highlights of the locale, lodge and surrounding area — which I loved.

If in Costa... [Read more]

Budget Botswana

Given the cost of reaching Botswana’s tourist attractions, I’ve been
watching my budget closer than usual, though I still didn’t think it
would have come to dumpster-diving. Well, I was wrong – I did end up
at the city dump. Contemplating alternative access options to the next
and last of Botswana’s overpriced national parks, I and my teammates
were driving through... [Read more]

Back to the Kalahari Desert

I’m back to the Kalahari Desert, now in Botswana, trying to remind
myself that my feelings about authoritarian governments and regimes
are not to be confused with my feelings about Africa. Travel is harder
here. The National parks are expensive to access, and bush-camping is
dangerous – too many elephants walking around. I try not to get too
annoyed with the armed men who stop the car... [Read more]

Next Page »