Sometime in late 2017, I was approached with a surprise invitation to enter into the world of safari – something truly and doubtlessly lost in the land of unreachable dreams. Being no stranger to exploring the unknown, I answered firmly in the affirmative. While I do not consider myself a veteran, nor have I come close to seeing it all, I have garnered some level of experience and knowledge over the years. This year, the number of groups I've led on safari has rolled into double figures, and I couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity.
Boldness plays a significant part in the planning of these trips, but not so much as trust in local expertise. See, when you can understand that others know more than you do, it takes a significant burden off of your shoulders. When we were planning this last group of safaris, a bold decision was made: we'd be leading three different trips, back-to-back, in three different countries: Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya.
East Africa is the home of safari; the word itself is Swahili for "journey", a fitting epithet for a wider application to life itself as well. So often during one of these journeys – safaris – something speaks to the open observer on a soul level. Whether the vistas, the flora, the fauna, or the people, we all have our individual love languages.
My experience doing multi-country trips has previously been limited to island-hopping in the Caribbean, I expected a similar – albeit scaled-up – version in Africa. Sure enough, it unfurled easily and we moved through airports with silken ease. Caribbean people moving through Africa always elicit smiles and all-round great vibes, we do not carry any airs of superiority but share many common threads in our interwoven tapestries.
Between then and the time of writing this article, I've resumed writing for 10,000 Birds, had a couple in-person events to attend (I'll be elaborating upon these in my next newsletter), and of course, chipping away at the mountain of images made on these trips. Now that I've finally completed processing of these 2026 safari images, I felt a compulsion to share a few select frames. The idea for 3 in 3 was birthed somewhere along the journey: my 3 favourite images from each country.
Choosing the images was by no means straightforward. These may not be the best of the best, they are what I love the most. Some scenes spoke to me in a way that may not speak to you in the same way. Refer to my earlier comment on individual love languages. But this is my personal issue also with photography competitions, art is a subjective thing after all. Throughout this trip, I saw much more than I photographed, in fact several times I opted to not even raise my camera but simply soak the entire scene in. The images have been burned in my memory, from a Pennant-winged Nightjar carving an arc in our headlights under a royal blue sky at Lake Mburo in Uganda to being brought to tears in the Masai Mara – there is no desire to return to the state I was in when I started, only to continue onward after being fundamentally shifted by the myriad currents along the way.
Anyway, please enjoy, they are presented here in chronological order.
Uganda
The Pearl of Africa was a fitting commencement to this odyssey, please see this post if you're interested in singing praises to this beautiful land.
The feeling of hidden pathways through an otherwise impermeable wetland somewhere within the blurry barriers between land and the mighty Lake Victoria. An African Jacana makes for an ideal protagonist here, striding over the floating vegetation.
It's not easy to isolate a fast-moving bird in the dim understory of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Granted that there was a patch of these flowers where several species of sunbirds were feeding, it still took patience and burning shoulder muscles to come away with something usable. Species is a Green-headed Sunbird.
Our closest relatives are fearsome not for their teeth, but for their supreme intelligence and awareness. Spending time with wild Chimpanzees taught me that despite having the tools for complete dominance, they also understand measure, responsibility, and their place in the greater picture.
Tanzania
A new country for us with many similar habitats, yet still decidedly different on many counts. We flew directly from Uganda to Tanzania, skirting the peaks of Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Meru on the way – both peaks were obfuscated for terrestrial observers, but we were above the clouds with them and enjoyed an unreal viewing experience of their icy crowns.
Even though I mostly photograph birds, I thoroughly enjoy working with non-human primates. They are relatable, full of character, and are always doing something interesting. This Blue Monkey was nibbling some forest fruit in the understory.
Tanzania is a sprawling expanse of land; the trees and animals are positively massive. A watering hole presented a collection of thirsty animals, a scene that I could've basked in all day (if we weren't on a bridge).
In the weeks preceding our arrival, several fires coursed through the Serengeti. Regular morning mist mixed with lingering smoke from fires distant in space and time created a surreal atmosphere surrounding this Secretarybird as it strutted through the landscape at dawn.
Kenya
Familiar territory with some personal friends was the theme for the final leg of the journey. That being said, it never gets old and I can't wait to return next year.
The sun had already set and we were on our way back to our camp, the sky was pink and the dirt of Tsavo was its distinctive brick-red. I was riding shotgun and squinted to discern a shape in the road. Despite being in full view, all I could've realistically recognised was a spotted rump and an excessively long tail. I grabbed our driver's shoulder and shook him "Leopard, leopard, leopard!" – she gracefully slipped off the road and sat much closer than I expected. When we pulled alongside I was looking for her in the distance but she was almost next to our vehicle. We stayed with this phenomenally beautiful cat for several minutes, it remains one of the highlights of my entire life.
A curious-looking antelope with its forward-facing horns, the Bohor Reedbuck has eluded me since I first saw it in February 2019. That image was certainly a "species shot" in unsightly light, set in a dusty, brown landscape in the height of Kenya's dry season. After the long rains, however, plants and flowers dominate. This image underscores the reason why we always visit mid-year.
After eluding me on every previous visit, I finally got a view of a Rüppell's Vulture – first while on a bathroom break on the rim of Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater, and then here, in the vastness of the Masai Mara. There was a kill somewhere off the road where multiple species of vultures had been working, by the time we crossed paths with them, heads were bloody and crops were full; their focus now shifted to self-cleaning.
Special Mentions
I eventually came away with over 300 images from this trip, and as I mentioned earlier, it was a monumental task to whittle this down to three images per country. I exercised some creative freedom and decided to include a single extra image per country, also presented in the order in which they were visited: Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya.
Pittas are a family of birds distributed across Old World tropical forests, and they carry an unreasonable magnetism. When preparing for a trip to the Solomon Islands in 2024, a friend lent me a copy of The Jewel Hunter, which detailed one man's (mad) quest to see every species of pitta on Earth within a single calendar year. Last year, I understood why, getting a view of a Green-breasted Pitta for the very first time. That shade of luminescent blue on its rump is unlike anything I've ever seen before or after. A photo eluded me on that visit, but this time I was lucky enough – the bird was only visible for a sliver of time after sunrise but disappeared before the sunlight actually touched the forest. Not the best image but a magical experience to witness a true ghost of the jungle!
While crossing a small stream in the Serengeti, I undertook my usual responsibility of checking up and down the banks – the unmistakable tawny coats of lion cubs was immediately recognisable. There were four cubs in total, their mothers weren't far off.
To find a cat in the wilderness is a privilege; sometimes it involves things one can't fully understand. As we were driving through Kenya's Masai Mara in the rising heat of mid-morning, I felt as though something told me to stand – and so I did, scanning the undulating hills as we continued along. No more than a few minutes passed before I asked our driver/guide to stop – the distinctive arched back of a Cheetah was barely visible among the grasses. Had I ignored that instinct to stand, we would've missed this entirely.
I hope you have enjoyed these highlights, there is much more to come, and many more adventures to be had.
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This content is inspiring, the honet and trasnparent style of writing along with great and very particular style of images is worth reading... keep it up with this great crativity "The mystical is the ordinary seeing clearly"
This content is inspiring, the honet and trasnparent style of writing along with great and very particular style of images is worth reading... keep it up with this great crativity "The mystical is the ordinary seeing clearly"