Amaze, Amaze, Amaze: Gorillas, the Omo Valley and the Big Cats of Mashatu

Aug 20

I've just come home from another trip of a lifetime — this one to Africa, a place that has sat near the top of my bucket list for years. I travelled with my wife and life partner, Lori Kiel, and with a good friend, Kayla Gordon, who planned the whole thing. The scope of what Kayla put together was remarkable: three countries, three completely different experiences, and about as much adventure as you can fit into one itinerary.

Getting ready for the gorillas with our guide Ayub

Rwanda: The Lucky Troop

We started in Rwanda, and simply arriving there was exhilarating. The day before our gorilla trek we went out to photograph golden monkeys — a perfect warm-up. It let us start acclimatizing to the altitude and, just as importantly, gave me a chance to shake the rust off my hands and settle into shooting in that light.

Then came the mountain gorillas. Two and a half hours up the mountain, and a similar hike back down, to spend time with the Lucky Troop. I don't think there's a way to describe what it feels like to sit in the vegetation while a family of gorillas carries on with its day a few metres away. You stop being a photographer for a moment and just watch. Then you remember why you carried the camera up the mountain.

Ethiopia: The Tribes of the South Omo Valley

From Rwanda we flew to Ethiopia for a cultural tour of the South Omo Valley. We stayed at a Mursi encampment, visited the Hamer, moved on to stay with the Karo, and finally camped near the Dasenech.

I'll be honest: I arrived awkward. I had genuinely mixed feelings about cultural tourism and about what it means to point a camera at someone whose life looks nothing like mine. What changed that — completely — was the people themselves. The warmth, the openness, the plain kindness we were shown turned the whole experience around for me. The images from those days are remarkable, but the people were more so, and I hope that comes through in the frames.

We also spent time on the Omo River, which is comfortably crocodile-infested. Cruising along it, wildlife kept appearing on the banks and in the shallows — some of the best sightings of that leg came without our ever leaving the boat.

Botswana: Mashatu Game Reserve

Our final stop was the Mashatu Game Reserve in Botswana, and it delivered exactly what I'd hoped for: African wildlife in the open, in numbers. Impala, elephants, giraffes, zebras, lions, cheetahs, and no shortage of birds — plus, at last, leopards. Leopards eluded me completely in India, so finally getting them in the frame felt like settling an old score. (I'll be posting a separate blog with images from that India trip soon.)

Scar, the male lion with many battle scars

Mashatu also gave us something better than a sighting. Lori's birthday fell while we were there, and the staff baked her a cake and sang Happy Birthday to her — in English and, I believe, in Setswana. It's the kind of thing you don't plan for and don't forget.