Kenyan safari lets travelers become lion researchers

by Kraig Becker on

An African safari is a seminal travel experience. Early morning game drives, amazing wildlife, beautiful sunsets over the savannah, they’re all part of the experience. But tour operator Gamewatchers Safaris is offering something even more unique with a new option for travelers to take part in actual lion research while on their vacation in Kenya.

The nine-day adventure begins with a trip to Joy’s Camp, where famous naturalist and author Joy Adamson did research of her own with her equally famous lioness pal Elsa. Adamson’s story became a world wide phenomenon thanks to the book and film Born Free, and visitors will have the opportunity to wander the same territory, while helping modern day researchers track radio collared lions and observe their behavior. They’ll actually have the opportunity to interact with scientists and conservationists as they go about their work, while getting an upclose look at these beautiful predators. And after seven days in Joy’s Camp, it’s off too the Maasai Mara, on the northern Serengeti, where travelers will spend another three days at Porini Camp, observing more lions, as well as plenty of other wildlife, such as zebras, elephants, and wildebeest.

Over the past twenty years, the lion population in Africa has declined by an estimated 30-50%, and scientists have struggled to understand exactly why. While on this safari, travelers will have an opportunity to contribute to the research being done to solve this mystery, and perhaps even begin to turn the trend around. Besides helping to conduct research however, 5% of the cost of the trip will also be donated to the research program being conducted by EwasoLions.org. Ecotourism at it’s best, with travelers giving something back to ensure that future generations can enjoy the same experiences.

Endangered spaces: Ngorongoro Crater

by Kraig Becker on

Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania is an amazing place. The UNESCO World Heritage Site was formed when the caldera of a large volcano collapsed, creating a self contained ecosystem in the process, with dozens of species of animals living within the 2000 foot walls.

Tourists have flocked to the region for years due to the spectacular game viewing options, which include large numbers of zebras, elephants and gazelles, not to mention lions, and the very rare black rhino. The crater is a mere 102-square miles in size, and yet there are few areas on the planet that offer the variety of wildlife within such a relatively small area. But that small, self-contained space is now endangered thanks to the number of visitors that make the journey each year.

National Geographic Adventure is reporting that the increased traffic to the Crater is putting an undeniable strain on the environment there. The article says that back in the 1970’s, there were generally no more than three or four vehicles inside the Crater at any given time. But now, during peak season, there can be as many 300 trucks patrolling the roads, and this overcrowding is putting a strain on the system. The story also notes that an estimated 64,000 people live within the Ngornogro Conservation Area, a number that is twice as high as the region was expected to support. All of this traffic has caused UNESCO to caution conservation officials in Tanzania that they may be forced to add the Crater to their “danger list”, which has raised some calls for quotas on the number of visitors allowed in each day.

I had the opportunity to visit Ngorngoro a couple of years back, and it was easily as spectacular as I had heard. The views from the crater rim are amazing, and there is wildlife at every turn. But I went in April, which is traditionally seen as the low season, and even then it was crowded and busy by mid-morning. I remember thinking to myself that if this was the low season, I wouldn’t want to experience it in the busier times.

Cruising the Northwest Passage

by Kraig Becker on

Global climate change has had an undeniable effect on the planet, with weather patterns changing dramatically, polar ice caps melting, and sea levels rising, altering coastlines and reshaping boundaries. For evidence of these changes you only need to look north, where global warming has caused arctic pack ice to break-up and melt, opening the legendary Northwest Passage for navigation for the first time.

For centuries explorers and merchants sought out a sailing route north of Canada that would link the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Such a route would have made travel to the far east much easier and faster, but all attempts to uncover such a path, which was dubbed the Northwest Passage, were met with thousands of miles of impenetrable ice. Famous adventures, such as John Cabot and Captain James Cook, risked their lives, and their ships, to find the Northwest Passage, but no one was able to complete the navigation until Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen made the voyage back in 1908 aboard a specially designed ice vessel. Amundsen’s journey took three years however, and was not commercially viable for merchant ships.

Fast forward to last year, when the route was declared navigable by the Candian Coast Guard, and the first commercial ship made its way through the Passage. By late summer, the waterway was said to be nearly completely free from ice, and safe for ships to pass through, and it remained that way until the arrival of winter, when the route froze shut once again.The cruise industry has never been one to miss a business opportunity, and there have been a number of tour operators that have begun offering Northwest Passage cruises for 2009. Most begin in Nome or Anchorage, Alaska, but others can be found departing such places as Ottawa, Canada or even Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. The cruises vary in length from two to three weeks, which is a far cry from Amundsen’s three year voyage, and they remain on the expensive side now, with most staring around $10,000 and up.

A Northwest Passage cruise is a true adventure into mostly unknown waters, and a travel experience that few have had the opportunity to witness. But with increased traffic along the route, and plenty of ice to contend with, we can only hope that the ships don’t suffer an accident such as the ones that have occurred in Antarctica, where several ships have run aground, and another has sunk after striking an iceberg. However, those that do take a cruise through the Passage are booking a trip into history, as they pass through a realm that has been, until now, off limits to all but the hardiest polar explorers.

Road trip through Namibia

by Kraig Becker on

The travel section of the Times Online has a great article today about a 3000-mile road trip across Namibia, the south African country that falls along that continents Atlantic coast. The 15-day journey sent author Holden Frith across stark, yet strikingly beautiful, landscapes in a country that has wide open spaces and remote regions that few visit.

The article offers a long, and very detailed look, at Firth’s journey. He breaks down his travels on a day-to-day basis, and gives an excellent description of not only where he’s been, but the people he encountered and the amazing things that he, and his traveling companion, saw along the way. For instance, in the first few days in the country, they visited a region known as the Giant’s Playground, where strange rock formations stretch for miles, and appear to have been stacked up by some unknown force. From there, the journey continues through such places as Fish River Canyon, one of the wildest and deepest gorges in the world, and past the Sperrgebiet, or Forbidden Zone, which is off limits to tourists because of the number of diamonds that can still be found there.

Each passing day of the road trip seems to reveal some new, and intriguing, location that gives us a glimpse of Namibia’s appeal to adventure travelers. Whether it’s exploring the remote and arid Namib Desert or driving the Skeleton Coast, so named for the ancient shipwrecks that litter its beaches, the country offers hidden wonders at every turn. And while the majority of travelers to Africa head to Kenya or South Africa to go on a classic safari adventure, Namibia has plenty of unique experiences of its own, and since it remains squarely off the radar for most travelers, there aren’t the crowds that are common elsewhere.

British woman completes solo row across Indian Ocean

by Kraig Becker on

Way back in March we wrote about Sarah Outen, the 24-year old British woman who set out from Fremantle, Australia in an attempt to row solo across the Indian Ocean. Shortly after that start, she ran into equipment trouble and had to be towed back to shore, but within days, she was back out on the water, and now, more than four months later, she has finished her quest, reaching Mauritius, off the coast of Africa, late yesterday.

Over the course of the past few months at sea, Sarah has endured all kinds of hardships, including nasty storms, winds that actually pushed her backwards, 30 foot waves, and days of solitude at the oars. In fact, after setting out from Australia, she literally went weeks before seeing another ship.

Sarah had hoped to set a new speed record in her solo crossing by reaching Mauritius in less than 107 days, but the inclement weather worked against her, preventing that achievement. She did become the youngest person to row solo across the Indian Ocean however, and the first woman to do so as well.

Sarah’s Blog has a link to photos of her arrival and promises more updates soon. But for now, she’s enjoying a much deserved rest and some time back on dry land.