Community-focussed tour operator Indigenous Kokoda Adventures (IKA) had just opened their doors to tourists on Papua New Guinea’s famous Kokoda Track, when COVID-19 put the travel industry on hold. But rather than stop at this obstacle, the company quickly pivoted to work with local coffee farmers, with proceeds helping local children to attend post primary…
Allow me to paint a picture of the happiest night of my life. I was covered in sand, drenched in sweat, and burned from sand fly bites. Not to mention exhausted. It was 2 AM, and I was starting to feel grateful that my shift at the sea turtle hatchery was almost over. I was…
I haven’t been traveling long, only the last few years, but even so, I have seen more beauty in those years than I have ever seen in my entire life. I grew up in Los Angeles, California USA. When I saw “Los Angeles,” most people picture palm tree lined streets running alongside the pristine beach,…
Deep in the Colca Canyon of Peru- named the sixth largest canyon in the world, surrounded by nothing but breath-taking, luscious nature, saturated with vibrant colours, and the sounds of flourishing ecosystems- I, ever dramatic, lay in agony certain I was dying. These intestinal pains had been going on for over a month now, so…
I’ll never forget the first time we approached Koh Prathong & Koh Ra. It had a been a long journey, setting off around sunrise from the coastal village on the Andaman sea which I called home. After a car journey to a small port, we piled our rucksacks and work equipment onto a longtail boat…
“You’ve been reported as a terrorist!” Shrieked my Chinese research assistant. I’m a primate scientist, not a terrorist (more about that later!). I study the world’s rarest, smallest and often forgotten apes, the gibbons. I study three species in China, all with population sizes below 150 individuals! I am incredibly lucky to get the opportunity…