Blog

I met a boy on a railroad track. We were on the famous Rovos Rail from Pretoria to Victoria Falls—think British high society, complete with afternoon tea. One night we stopped in the middle of nowhere, just outside a small village in Zimbabwe. I was up early, one of...

Vicky and I planned our Africa trip to coincide with the Great Migration.  There are few spectacles on Earth that can match the scale and drama of the Great Migration. Every year millions of wildebeest, joined by vast herds of zebra and giraffe, trace a circular path...

The Maasai stand out - even in an Africa full of tribes. Tall, wrapped in bright shukas, carrying spears or cell phones—or sometimes both. They are known as warriors, but even more as herders. Maasai are deeply tied to cows.  Cows are sacred to Maasai – giving them...

In Pretoria our tour guide told us he was a member of the Lemba tribe who trace their roots back to the Jewish priestly line of Aaron, the brother of Moses. For centuries their story has been dismissed as folklore. But genetics has given their claims unexpected...

Our trip began in Cape Town, South Africa where we first heard of the San people—sometimes called “Bushmen”. The San are among the most ancient continuous cultures on earth - inhabiting the desert regions of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.  Genetic studies have...

At the southern tip of Africa lies a wonder of the natural world: the Cape Floral Kingdom. It is by far the smallest of the world’s seven floral kingdoms (see map), yet it harbors more than 9,000 plant species—two-thirds of them found nowhere else. The Proteas,...

Vicky and I were privileged to visit the last two northern white rhinos on Earth at Ol Pejeta Conservatory north of Nairobi.  They are both female – Najin and her daughter Fatu – and both are infertile. The Northern White rhino once roamed central Africa in large...

Nothing turns a calm game drive into chaos quite like the word: “Lion!” Radios crackle. Jeeps converge from all directions in a frenzy. In minutes, a solitary lion becomes a spectacle worthy of Hollywood. I am right in the middle of it — leaning out of the Jeep...

Africa greeted us with wildness in stereo sound. Our first night in a tent at Maasai Mari, just beyond the canvas, a pod of hippos bellowed all night, their grunts vibrating through the ground. The next night a cape buffalo brushed against the tent wall. Here was one...