Finding Art and Beauty in Liberia

Liberia. Literally the land of liberty. Africa’s oldest republic. An independent nation since 1847, yet it remains one of the poorest places in the world in per-capita GDP, sandwiched between Tokelau and DR Congo. Don’t worry, I had never heard of Tokelau either. It’s a group of 1,200 Polynesians on a couple of small atolls in the South Pacific.

Mad about Madagascar

I admit that I came to Madagascar with a head full of preconceived notions, which mostly (thankfully) turned out to be false. My first thoughts of this forested island nation were of humidity, bugs and French–three things I dread.

10 Years, 28 Countries: 2012

2012 was a slightly quieter year for travel. I took one trip in June to Namibia and Botswana and later in the year I went to Santa Barbara, California to speak at the Elephant Manager’s Association Conference and meet with WWF donors at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Here’s what that looked like. 

10 Years, 28 Countries: 2011 Part 2

This is the second part of my 2011 travels, which documents a trip to Cameroon and Central African Republic. I will let the photos speak for themselves for the most part. Starting in Yaounde, Cameroon, we traveled by Land Cruiser east to the border area with Central African Republic and then crossed the river by boat into CAR. 

10 Years, 28 Countries: 2011. Part 1

2011 was also a big year for travel. I started in Kenya, attending my brother-in-law’s college graduation and visiting in-laws. I then continued flew to Yaounde, Cameroon via Kigali. From Yaounde, I drove with coworkers across eastern Cameroon to the forest of southeast Cameroon, and ultimately across the Sangha River by boat to visit Bayanga and the Dzanga Sangha Protected Area Complex, where I saw lowland gorillas in the wild for the first time. I will break this up into multiple parts because I have many photos from these trips. 

What you think you know about Botswana is probably wrong

My impression is that few people in the US know much about Botswana, and if they are familiar with it at all it is probably because of the #1 Ladies Detective books and TV show. Or Animal Planet shows about the Okavango Delta. Neither of which is a realistic representation of this funky little landlocked nation. The Ladies Detective thing is cutesy and quaint, but it is as realistic a representation of life in Gaborone as the TV show Northern Exposure was of life in Alaska. In other words, not very. 

10 YEARS, 28 COUNTRIES: 2010. PART 2

NOTE: Click on the pictures for a larger high resolution version. 

2010 was a busy year for travel. I documented travel to Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique in Part 1. I also made two trips to Namibia in 2010. The first, in February, was to participate in a rhino capture operation in Etosha National Park. Those photos are documented here. The second, in July, was a trip with my father to celebrate his 60th birthday, which will be documented in Part 3. 

10 YEARS, 28 COUNTRIES: 2010. Part 1

Time for the next installment of the photographic tour of ten years with my job. In 2010 I traveled a lot, visiting Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique in one trip and then going to Namibia twice, in February and July. I’m going to break this into two segments because I have a lot of pics from those trips. 

10 Years, 28 Countries: 2009

Note: You can click on the images to open a full-size high resolution version. 

Continuing this photographic reflection of 10 years of work related travel. In 2009 I only made one trip, to Cameroon. I attended a workshop in Yaounde and then took a trip to the southern border region with Equatorial Guinea, to a national park called Campo Ma’an along the Campo River, which forms the border. This was my first trip to Cameroon.

Fruit bats at dusk. Yaounde, Cameroon

10 YEARS, 28 COUNTRIES: 2008

In 2008 I only made one trip, to South Africa and Namibia. It was my first visit to Namibia. I visited a communal conservancy in northwest Namibia called ≠Khoadi-//Hôas, which means “elephant corner” in the Damara language. Then I went to Kwa Zulu Natal for a meeting marking the 10th anniversary of WWF’s African Rhino Program. Here are some pics highlighting those travels.

Roadside donkey. Namibia. 2008.