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South Africa Silver Linings in times of Covid19

December 2, 2020 2 Comments »

COVID19 silver linings

In an effort to bring you some new voices on Ottsworld, here is a guest post from Shelley and Lars. I ‘met’ Shelley when she sent me a message on social media and mentioned that they were stuck in South Africa during the pandemic and ended up having a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I asked her to […]

What Travel Can Teach You About Rhino Conservation

August 27, 2019 4 Comments »

rhino conservation south africa

I picked up the thin, nearly translucent shaving from the ground. It looked like a shaving of a fingernail. I examined it closely. I slowly did a rough calculation in my head. This little, tiny rhino horn shaving, no bigger than a dime, is probably worth $150. It’s hard to wrap your head around it […]

A Walking Safari Isn’t About the Animals

August 2, 2019 1 Comment »

walking safari south africa

The safari jeep pulled away and we were all just standing there. On the ground. With no transportation. My heart raced. I quickly realized I had a whole different perspective doing a walking safari. I suddenly felt what it was like to be an animal living in this tall grass – wondering what predator was […]

How to get the most out of your South Africa Safari

July 31, 2019 1 Comment »

Zebras South Africa Safari

“This is Zululand, not Disneyland. You can’t book animals to show up,” our safari guide Christian reminded us. Granted, he had sort of taunted us because on the first game drive we went on he asked what we hoped to see; we said giraffes and he delivered about 40 giraffes to our view in front […]

Understanding Ramadan in Morocco

May 16, 2019 9 Comments »

The sun dips down in the sky disappearing into the Atlantic Ocean. I seldom have watched a sunset so intently; waiting, waiting, waiting for that last little sliver to disappear. So much rested on that last sliver. My gaze moved from the sliver of sun to the restaurant around me.  Families and couples sat at […]

Things They Don’t Tell You About Kilimanjaro

January 30, 2017 19 Comments »

Kilimanjaro hike

“No need to cry – the mountain isn’t going anywhere – you can try again.” That statement made by my Kilimanjaro guide, Douglas, has stuck with me for 17 years. In a way, it’s actually haunted me. I started my career break and eventual life of nomadic travel writer 17 years ago when I flew […]

Sometimes I Fail – Kilimanjaro

October 8, 2012 22 Comments »

Me in front of Kilimanjaro covered in clouds

I’ve been talking and writing a lot about career breaks lately, which has coincidently got me thinking about my original career break I took in 2006. When I left my job and flew to Africa to climb Kilimanjaro I had high hopes of summiting and starting off my year of travels on a successful note. […]

Photo of the Week – Mosques of the Middle East

March 25, 2011 12 Comments »

Mohammad al-Amin Mosque Beirut

Just like churches dominate the European landscape, Mosques take the honor in the Middle East.  During my travels in the Middle East this winter I had the chance to visit a few and photograph some of them.  I was rarely let inside the mosques to do photography, but when I was it was a special […]