Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Love Elephants

If you love elephants, then sit back, relax and watch this short video compilation of pictures and videos from our trips to South Africa and Kenya.



It is surreal watching elephants lumber through the camp. On our last trip they were in the camp every day. When they come through they have the right of way. We give them a wide birth and let them wander through. 

Safaris are amazing enough, but when the wildlife wanders through camp, it's pretty special.

Join us on our next Kenyan safari
http://www.wildlifesafaris.ca/safari-destinations/masai-mara-kenya/

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Adorable Polar Bear Cub.

In 2014 on our polar bear trip we only photographed one polar bear mom and cub. This little bear didn't have any siblings to play with and mom didn't come out of the den very often. I think she was bored. Every time we set up to photograph her she would come out of the den and look at us. It was as if she was posing as she pranced around the den.

We photographed her on and off for two days. She would come out of her den and wander around the den a little bit, then she'd go back in. Hours later she would come out again and play with a snowball or wander around the perimeter of the den again. On the second day we couldn't photograph her much because it was too warm. When the warm air hits the cold ground it creates a heat shimmer, making the images soft. On those days I video instead as heat shimmers don't interfere with video as much as still images.

Pictures from this season can be found on my website
Check out our current safari options at HW Photo & Safaris


Monday, April 15, 2019

Hot Air Balloon Safari Over the Masai Mara.

If you have never gone up in a hot air balloon and you have always wanted to go, go to the Masai Mara on a hot air balloon flight over the Mara river. If you like nature and wildlife, I can't imagine a better hot air balloon flight in the world!

March, 2019:


November, 2018:


Sometimes only a few of my guests go up in the hot air balloon, sometimes most of them do. Regardless of who goes, they all have one thing in common. The hot air balloon trip over the Mara river is one of the highlights of their trip.

Visit my website for more information on upcoming Kenya safaris.


Friday, April 5, 2019

Ultimate Kenyan Safari- Masai Mara & Giraffe Manor, 2019

This past February I hosted another group in the Masai Mara. This time it was a small group. There were only seven of us. No one in the group had been to Africa before. It is always fun seeing people experience the Masai Mara for the first time. We had fantastic group chemistry which made the trip that much more fun!

On our fist day in the Mara we had a great sighting of a cheetah mom and her two month-old cub. The cub was using mom's head as a springboard. It was super cute! A few minutes later we saw a mating pair of serval cats. And that was just the first morning in the Mara.



We had a lot of highlights. One of which was seeing elephants in camp. I could go on, but the pictures and videos in the slideshow will do a better job of showing what the trip was like.

I take groups to the Masai Mara every February and November. If you have never been to Kenya before and would like to go some day I hope you will consider joining us.

Check out the details of our next trip.

Or see our website for pictures of our African adventures.

After the safari is over we are back in Nairobi for a stay at Giraffe Manor and a private tour of the elephant orphanage. 


Join us in Africa for a bucket list safari trip of a lifetime!
Some nice comments from my November, 2018 trip:

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

What constitutes a "Bucket List Safari?"

One of my favourite things in life is a great sighting on a safari. Better than that is a quiet, private sighting on safari. I think that is what is so appealing about a hot air balloon safari. When you are sixty feet in the air, it is completely peaceful. All you hear is the hot air balloon burners kicking in occasionally when the captain needs the balloon to have a little more elevation.

On our November, 2018 HW Photo & Safaris tour, eleven of us enjoyed a hot air balloon safari over the Mara river. 


Seeing the animals below, while floating gently above is an amazing experience. Some people are pretty nervous before they go up, but once in the air, it is a completely comfortable, fabulous experience! In my experience, even the most nervous first timers, were completely relaxed once in the air.


The last time I was up in a ballon was in 2012. I really need to go up in the balloon more often. As much as I love leading tours, ensuring everyone is enjoying a trip of a lifetime is stressful. I am always worried about everyone and hoping they are having a great time. I don't mind the stress though. If I am ever not stressed about people enjoying themselves, to me that is when I should quit because I am no longer serving my guests to the best of my ability. 

For the hour-long trip floating above the Masai Mara seeing pristine nature below it is a completely blissful experience and I notice my stress melts away. We float over the Mara Triangle part of the Mara where there are very little vehicles. Other than a few roads down below we don't see any sign of human activity. That is nature just the way I like it.

Join us in the Masai Mara in February or November for a truly bucket list safari experience. 

So what makes this safari a bucket list safari? Is the hot air balloon the definition of a bucket list safari? Nope, the hot air balloon flight is optional. Is it the visit to Giraffe Manor?




 Or the private tour of the elephant orphanage? Donating much needed supplies to a local school and visiting the children? Or is it going with a professional wildlife photographer who knows which camps to choose based on the camp experience 

and the animals in that part of the park? Enjoying a maximum of 3-4 people per vehicle instead of the six people you will often see in vehicles? No. What makes it a bucket list safari is all of the above. It is the combination of all of these and many more attributes of this trip. You can contact Greg at greg@hwphoto.ca to enquire about this trip. Sign up for one of our bucket list trips to Kenya and the Masai Mara and find out for yourself first hand why this is a bucket list trip.