“We just had the most amazing experience. It was one of the most relaxing vacations I’ve been on.” – Ann Snyder

Safari Life Blog

Coastal Patagonia A Wildlife Extravaganza

Coastal Patagonia A Wildlife Extravaganza

Along the rugged coastline of Patagonia, a world of enchanting biodiversity awaits the intrepid traveler. From the charming town of Puerto Deseado to the pristine shores of Peninsula Valdes, coastal Patagonia beckons with a symphony of wildlife experiences. Not many...

Tanzania Spotlight: Zanzibar

Tanzania Spotlight: Zanzibar

To me, the word itself always brought a sense of a mysteriously exotic place – an isolated island world, rich in the traditions of an ancient and unfamiliar culture and high on my bucket list. When I finally arrived, I found my high expectations were exceeded.It only...

Witnessing the Great Migration in the Southern Serengeti

Witnessing the Great Migration in the Southern Serengeti

Embarking on an exploration safari to Eastern and Southern Serengeti and Ndutu in February is a journey into the heart of one of nature's most awe-inspiring spectacles—the Great Migration. As millions of wildebeest, zebras, and gazelles traverse the vast landscapes,...

Embarking on a Year of Exploratory Safaris

Embarking on a Year of Exploratory Safaris

Unveiling the Beauty of Patagonia and the Enchanting Wonders of Madagascar 2024 promises to be a year filled with untamed landscapes, captivating wildlife, and the thrill of discovery in new destinations as we continue to design unique conservation-based safaris....

2023, A Year of Wonders

2023, A Year of Wonders

My year of adventures have redefined my understanding of wilderness and unveiled the raw beauty of some of the world's most captivating landscapes. From the heart of Africa to the rugged terrains of Alaska and the untamed expanses of Argentina, my travels took me on...

The Rainforests of Southeast Asia

The Rainforests of Southeast Asia

Exploring the Wonders of Southeast Asian Rainforests: A Safari Adventure Imagine stepping into a world where lush green canopies stretch as far as the eye can see, where the air is thick with the symphony of chirping birds and buzzing insects, and where every corner...

Komodo Islands Exploration

Komodo Islands Exploration

Imagine the gentle sway of a traditional sailboat, the crisp sea breeze kissing your skin, and the anticipation of exploring a land filled with dragons and untouched natural beauty. Welcome to the adventure of a lifetime: a safari aboard a traditional sailboat around...

Olson’s Bring It to Safari Professionals

Olson’s Bring It to Safari Professionals

As Safari Professionals’ founder and CEO, I am particularly pleased to announce that two of our colleagues and friends, Steve and Laura Olson, have joined our growing conservation travel team. Steve and Laura each bring invaluable expertise to significantly enhance...

Wild, Wild Alaska – Untamed Beauty

Wild, Wild Alaska – Untamed Beauty

Everyone is surprised when I tell them that Alaska is wilder than Africa, but there are few places on earth where you can travel to more remote locations and lose yourself in the wild. During my recent exploration to Alaska, I had the privilege of re-discovering this...

10 Stunning Places Where the Desert Meets the Ocean

10 Stunning Places Where the Desert Meets the Ocean

When deserts meet the ocean, the results are often spectacular. The dry, sandy air along an endless stretch of sand collides with the salty moisture of the sea. Two opposites meeting in the middle to become one — what a fascinating phenomenon of the natural world. In...

Should Leopards Be Paid for Their Spots?

Should Leopards Be Paid for Their Spots?

Leopard spots are meant to provide camouflage, but they ironically endanger the species. Leopard pelts or prints entered Western fashion in 18th-century France. They were seen as symbols of wealth and luxury, but also of chastity. Centuries later, when Jacqueline...

6 Ways to Support Rewilding Projects Around the World

6 Ways to Support Rewilding Projects Around the World

As the world population continues its growth, the space for nature and indigenous species is rapidly shrinking. This is an issue for both plants and animals. Fortunately, there are many people around the world that recognize the issue and the dire consequences for...

Bucket List: These Trips Are the Adventure of a Lifetime

Bucket List: These Trips Are the Adventure of a Lifetime

There are a number of once-in-a-lifetime trips that can serve as bucket-list destinations for travelers. One is visiting the base camp at Mount Everest. Many who do so have no intention of climbing the mountain. Similarly, you don't need to be an expert snorkeler to...

Why polar bears are walking around with colored dots on their fur

Why polar bears are walking around with colored dots on their fur

There are bears being spotted in some zoos with dye on their fur and most casual observers didn’t know why for the longest time. What we found out is that they are being dyed because researchers want to know more about their life cycle. There were many bears around...

Saving One of Tsavo’s Big Boys

Saving One of Tsavo’s Big Boys

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is well known for its elephant orphanage, which sits at the edge of Nairobi National Park. We include the adoption of one of the orphaned elephants in our Kenyan safaris and, when possible… Click here to read more

A Tall Tale – or is it a Tall Tail?

A Tall Tale – or is it a Tall Tail?

When you create a business it’s important to choose a name that tells your prospective customers what you do. And in today’s world, that name has to be available as an Internet domain.

Abigael’s Journey Continues…

Abigael’s Journey Continues…

Earlier this year, we introduced you to Abigael Wanjiku, as she began her secondary school studies in January. The recipient of our Impact On Africa four-year scholarship, Abigael was incredibly excited to launch into her studies at Alliance Girls High School. Of course,… Click here to read more

Optimism in the Safari Business???

Optimism in the Safari Business???

I suspect it will not come as a surprise to learn that the COVID-19 pandemic has hit our travel industry harder than any other business sector. In our country alone, over eight million jobs have been lost, which is more than half of the… Click here to read more

Kenya Update: Elephant Twins in Amboseli!

Kenya Update: Elephant Twins in Amboseli!

Nestled in the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Kenya’s Amboseli National Park lies on Kenya’s border with Tanzania. It’s one of our favorite places to visit when we are in Kenya.

Current COVID19 Update

Current COVID19 Update

Updated 8.14.20 Continuous progress is seen as international travel begins to open up. Last week, the US State Department lowered the travel advisory level for several of the countries in which we travel. Previously, there was a blanket level 4 – “Do Not Travel” –...

Abigael’s Journey Begins

Abigael’s Journey Begins

The NYASHEP Education Trust in Kenya is one of the successful organizations we support in Kenya. Secondary education (the equivalent of grades 9-12 in the USA) is not provided by the government and usually requires attending a boarding school. The expense puts the ability… Click here to read more

The Nyashep Education Trust

The Nyashep Education Trust

Education is the single most important element that leads to a successful, meaningful and satisfying future. The Nyashep Education Trust is a Kenyan community-based initiative that assists underprivileged but promising children to complete secondary school education in Kenya. Secondary education in Kenya… Click here to read more

Reading the Spots on a Giraffe

Reading the Spots on a Giraffe

The color of a male giraffe’s spots may reveal insights on its behavior, new research suggests. As scientists led by Madelaine Castles of Australia’s University of Queensland report in the journal Animal Behaviour, dark-furred giraffes tend to be both more dominant… Click here to read more

In Defense of the Pride!

In Defense of the Pride!

It’s seldom that people get to witness this process. We came across a defense of his territory by a lion several years ago in the Maasai Mara. We were watching a small pride – a male, two females and two young cubs – when, our guide, David Kariithi spotted a male lion approaching in the distance. David positioned… Click here to read more

The Serengeti Shall Not Die!

The Serengeti Shall Not Die!

In 1959, Dr. Bernard Grzimek declared that the “Serengeti Shall Not Die,” through his groundbreaking film and book of the same name. His Academy Award winning documentary introduced the Serengeti migration to a worldwide audience. Dr. Grzimek’s pioneering work led the way for today’s conservation scientists… Click here to read more

Innocent Killers

Innocent Killers

Large cats, like leopards, cheetahs and lions, are among the world’s most popular animals, but people seem to hate the fact that they kill. In fact, preying on herbivores such as Thomson’s gazelles, wildebeest, Cape buffalo, zebra and warthogs, is how they make their living. Everyone has… Click here to read more

Loldia Primary School

Loldia Primary School

Loldia Ranch is a private farmstead on Lake Naivasha that we often visit while we explore the great Rift Valley Lakes in central Kenya. Several years ago, our host at Loldia, Peter Njoroge, invited us to visit the nearby Loldia Primary School. The school has more than 1,000 students, ranging in age from… Click here to read more

Incredible Kopjes: Islands of Biodiversity

Incredible Kopjes: Islands of Biodiversity

During my many trips to East Africa, one of the things I enjoy most is spending time around the amazing geological features know as kopjes, an Afrikaans term referring to relatively small, isolated rock hills that rise abruptly from the surrounding, flat savannah or plain. There… Click here to read more

Cheetahs at Play

Cheetahs at Play

During my last trip to the Serengeti in January, 2014, our group was fortunate enough to happen upon a female cheetah with a young cub in a remote area of the park. We had special permits to drive into this isolated region, where few other vehicles go. We had only seen that entire day… Click here to read more

Imprisoned for “Love”

Imprisoned for “Love”

Many have heard about the famous “Birdman of Alcatraz”, the prisoner who kept birds in his cell and became an expert on all things avian. But have you heard about the bird that “imprisons” its mate? Hornbills are one of my favorite birds and much of their appeal has to do with their incredible… Click here to read more

The Bisate School Project

The Bisate School Project

It all began with a few soccer balls! In the fall of 2008, Swinton Griffith, a junior at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Georgia, flew to Nairobi with a black duffle bag loaded with soccer balls. As part of a safari designed by Tom LaRock and Safari Professionals, Swinton shared those soccer balls as he toured… Click here to read more

The rarest of the rare – Pangolin!!

The rarest of the rare – Pangolin!!

While Michael is exploring northern Tanzania with a small group of our travelers, I came across an account of one of the rarest wildlife encounters that can occur while on safari in Africa. Londolozi is one of the private reserves west of Kruger National Park. It is one of my favorite destinations… Click here to read more

What about electricity on safari?

What about electricity on safari?

As I prepared for my first safari 25 years ago, I learned I needed adapters in order to charge my camera batteries. I was told that the electrical current in East Africa was based on the European standard of 220 volts and a converter would be needed to lower the current… Click here to read more

Making anti-poaching efforts more effective!

Making anti-poaching efforts more effective!

Wildlife conservation scientists have developed a method of using spatial planning software to increase the effectiveness of security patrols in the greater Virungas landscape – the home of the mountain gorillas. Their initial analysis showed that only 22% of the area was… Click here to read more

A railroad through the Pleistocene

A railroad through the Pleistocene

When Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Kenya in 1909, he boarded the Uganda Railway at Mombasa. His descriptions of the wildlife he saw from the train are still among the most colorful accounts of East African wildlife ever written and can be found in his book African Game Trails… Click here to read more

Delia Craig’s legacy –The Lewa Conservancy

Delia Craig’s legacy –The Lewa Conservancy

One of Africa’s most forward-thinking conservationists – Delia Craig– has just passed. Along with her husband, David, and her sons, Ian and Will, Delia converted their family ranch – then known as Lewa Downs – into today’s Lewa Conservancy. It started with the...

Monkeying Around

Monkeying Around

I’m not really sure how many species of non-human primates I’ve seen on my world travels, but I still find our closest relatives among the most fascinating of the many wild animals I’ve had an opportunity to observe. On my 2014 trip to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro… Click here to read more

Tree-climbing crocodiles!

Tree-climbing crocodiles!

Now this is something I haven’t seen in Africa – yet! There had been a few scattered reports of crocodiles in trees in the scientific literature. So University of Tennessee researcher Vladimir Dinets led a team to discover if these were isolated incidences or regular behavior… Click here to read more

Botswana starts ban on most hunting

The government of the Republic of Botswana initiated a hunting ban of game wildlife in all controlled hunting areas or hunting management units throughout the country at the beginning of the year. The ban is temporary, while studies are conducted into the many… Click here to read more

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