The Holbrook Explorer

Above: On the way to see baobab trees at sunset on the red dirt roads in the bush of Madagascar, we stopped as the young goat herders crossed directly in front of us, looking like majestic figures in the sunlit, dusty glow. It felt like the scene of a movie, and this photo captured the feeling of that moment perfectly.

Above: Our trip to Rwanda had many special and unique experiences, but a big highlight of the trip was the day we hiked into the Virunga Mountains to see a troop of golden monkeys.

Our first full day in the Galápagos led us to Santiago Island and its barren, Mars-like scenery.

Shining Sunbeam, a large high-elevation hummingbird that shows its rainbow display on its back. I photographed this individual at Yanacocha Reserve, Ecuador during the Hawks Aloft, Inc.

About the overall size of Washington state, the Pantanal (the world’s largest tropical wetland) is mostly located in Brazil’s Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul states.

The Salta and Jujuy provinces of Argentina are located in the northwest corner and border Chile, Bolivia, and Paraguay.

Although Galápagos wildlife appear unaffected by human presence, it is always important to maintain a proper distance.

Above: The Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria) is a massive stork with a prehistoric appearance. It has a huge black bill and a featherless black neck with a large red patch at the base.

Above: This Sanford's brown lemur was spotted on Amber Mountain, located in the northern part of Madagascar. During our vacation, this species was our most commonly seen lemur.

Our adventure to South America included three countries, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, and nine flights covering some 20,000 miles. After a brief stay in Lima, we visited the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia.

Each year, we ask our travelers to submit their favorite photos from their journeys with us for a chance to be featured in our annual calendar.

I didn’t know what to expect a cock-of-the-rock lek to look like.

Above: We were in the second week of a Holbrook photography trip to Costa Rica with Emily Carter when we arrived in the Talamanca Mountains along the spine of the country.

The range of the proboscis monkey has been severely restricted in Borneo, as a result of the widespread deforestation of their natural jungle habitat, for the plantation of oil palms.

It all started with an email about an optional trip extension to my Brazil jaguar trip. The extension…maned wolves. “What’s a maned wolf?”, I asked myself.

I heard them before I saw them. The distant roar in the background hinted at their impending splendor.

Tanzania abounds with nonstop natural wonders such as powerful lions, lightning-fast cheetahs, and endless lines of migrating wildebeest.

Guest Post by Debbie Jordan “There he is, there he is!” This was our excited guide’s voice seeing the jaguar in the open.

Above: A Galápagos sea lion swims close to the camera in the shallows at Concha de Perla on Isabela Island.

After several trips to Africa, I had still never seen a leopard. Being the hardest of the big cats to find, it was not very surprising but was still a goal for this trip to Kenya.

Above: A fantastic hike up and behind the waterfalls at Seljalandsfoss, Iceland.

This female motmot was waiting to access her nest, which was in the earthen wall of the trail at Místico Arenal Hanging Bridges Park, as visitors passed by.

While on our first game drive in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya searching for elephants, we spotted a troop of giraffes.

Nothing in nature is guaranteed. I was prepared to be disappointed.

Pelin Karaca, our Vice President of Product Development, is a longtime member of the Holbrook Travel staff who has visited numerous remarkable destinations across the world but only recently ventured

C. Michael Curry, who will be leading the Cuba program (Jan. 17-23, 2025), co-wrote and co-executive produced this film together with Raúl Villarreal. The film was produced by Santa Fe College.

Above: I like to add two or three new-to-me places on each of my Holbrook tours.

Each year, we ask our travelers to submit their favorite photos from their journeys with us for a chance to be featured in our annual calendar.

“It’s often called the River of Raptors because the sky is completely black with birds.

To celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, we joined Holbrook and the Tropical Audubon Society on their August 2022 Costa Rica Birding Trip. It was full of wonder and beauty.

"All I remember was being breathless. It was so magical,” recalls Pelin Karaca, Holbrook’s Vice President of Product Development, about her first encounter with the mountain gorillas.

Cordova, Alaska was full of adventure for three generations exploring Alaska for the first time.

I traveled to Madagascar in May of 2022 with Holbrook, and our group was led by the great photographer and filmmaker Todd Gustafson.

Rare, unique and extraordinary are words that you will use repeatedly during a visit to the Galápagos Islands.

The beach photo is from Water Cay. We took a 40-minute boat ride from Utila to this small cay and spent the day snorkeling, fishing and hanging out.

Night hikes on the grounds of the Selva Verde Lodge reveal a variety of interesting insects seen and photographed with bright headlamps.

Our small group left the hotel in the dark and arrived at Sossusvlei in the pre-dawn light; the landscape washed in muted shades of gray.

Plants are at the center of most of the Earth's ecosystems, so wherever there are plants, there is biodiverse life and inexhaustible beauty.

The imposing Galápagos Hawk (above) is always ready to attack its prey without any fear; he only focuses on his goal.

In early 2023, two seasoned members of our staff traveled to Ecuador as part of an exciting familiarization (“FAM”) trip organized and hosted by Holbrook for selected trip leaders to get acquainted wi

The photo above is a female baboon holding her infant. We were at a clearing in Lake Nakuru having lunch when we spotted her sitting at the edge of a wooded area holding her baby.

Our trip to Iceland was phenomenal, especially since it was our first international trip since the pandemic. We fell in love with the island nation—its beauty, its people, its food.

On safari at the Maasai Mara Preserve, we came upon a male and female lion. The lions were displaying their breeding behavior with little awareness of our presence. What a show!!!

In 10 years of travel through the deserts of Namibia, I have never been fortunate enough to see a Namaqua chameleon. They are a dramatic resident of Namibia’s desert regions.

Each year, we ask our travelers to submit their favorite photos from their journeys with us for a chance to be featured in our annual calendar.

As a Peruvian Group Leader for Holbrook, I have always admired the curiosity, courage and passion of Road Scholar participants.

After postponing all of our travels for a year due to COVID-19, we decided it was time to re-start our traveling agenda this year.

Our Galápagos trip in July 2021 was truly extraordinary!

Guest Post by Jennifer Leigh Warner After postponing our Namibia Photo Tour for two years due to the global pandemic 2022 was finally the year to make it happen and it couldn’t have been more perfe

To be able to travel again was so exciting; even the airport didn’t bother me!