The Holbrook Explorer
Where we travel
Photo of the Month: November 2018
The picturesque fishing village of Hermanus, South Africa, is one of the few places in the world where you can stand on land and get really good looks at southern right whales, humpbacks and Bryde’s whales. In fact, it’s one of the twelve best whale-watching spots in the world. The leviathans...
Photo of the Month: October 2018
The iconic Hotel Nacional de Cuba sits high above the Malecón, Havana’s inimitable seaside boulevard and promenade. A steady procession of classic American cars shuttles guests to and from the hotel, day and night. I made this 30-second night time exposure of the front entrance using a tripod-...
Chile: A Paradise for the Adventurous Soul
Find out why Chile is one of the latest top travel destinations Stretching 2,653 miles in length and only 150 miles across at its widest point, Chile’s unique geography is what gives rise to its extraordinary appeal as a travel destination. Named Lonely Planet’s #1 destination for travel in 2018,...
Photo of the Month: September 2018
Sunrise at the Jaguar Flotel on the Three Brothers River in the Pantanal Jaguar out hunting in the Southern Pantanal on a day trip up the river from The Jaguar Flotel Aaron Winters Brazil | Gustafson Photo Safari: Quest for the Jaguar
Photo of the Month: August 2018
On the second day of our Holbrook Costa Rica birding trip, we made a stop at a small roadside restaurant at Cinchona Mirador to watch the bird feeders. At first, the Northern Emerald-Toucanet was retiring until the bananas were replenished. Unable to resist temptation, he finally came in for...
Tanzania: Pride of Africa
From the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, to the grassy lion-filled plains of the Serengeti, to the Maasai people of the North region, Tanzania is home to not just a few, but countless natural and cultural phenomena. We sat down with Holbrook’s in-country operations director Lucas Mhina to get some...
Namibia: A Land of Superlatives
Namibia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. As a republic, it's relatively young—it gained independence from South Africa in 1990—yet it's home to the world's oldest desert, as well as some of its highest sand dunes and clearest night skies. It holds the largest population...
Photo of the Month: July 2018
This lioness appeared among the yellow wildflowers, which I later learned were bidens and aspilia, at the bottom of the Ngorongoro Crater. It was a bright sunny morning, and the vast sea of yellow flowers against the blue walls of the crater was just beautiful. She was stalking two adult Cape...
Photo of the Month: June 2018
During a work trip for caye inspections in Belize, I was struck by the sheer number of conch shells that littered the white-sand beaches. I saw conch shells doubling as property dividers, as pathways, and even as a sort of natural sandbag to help with beach erosion. I heard tales of the beautiful...
Photo of the Month: May 2018
While exploring along the above ground pathway at Aninga Lodge, set in the wilds of Tortuguero, Costa Rica, the rustle of leaves and movement in overhead branches caught my attention. Could it be one of the many species of beautiful birds, one of the several species of monkeys, a shuffling sloth?...
Reforesting hope: Costa Rica, conservation, and ecotourism
When it comes to conservation, Costa Rica is small but mighty. Its success story stands as a testament to the idea that it’s never too late to reverse negative environmental impact: by the 1980s, Costa Rica had the highest deforestation rate in Latin America – a particularly dispiriting fact when...
Photo of the Month: April 2018
Having led groups to Kenya before, I was excited to have the chance to return to East Africa and visit northern Tanzania, including the Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. Much to my surprise, it was Tarangire National Park that stole my heart, with its healthy elephant herds, giraffe...