uganda

Africa is a magical place where nature roams free alongside history and modernity. Among all of this rich culture flows life-giving rivers and waterfalls. Flowing through different environments, these unique rivers have provided man’s oldest ancestors with life and still provide for today’s current residents. Travel with us to Africa where we will flow down the Nile, across Victoria Falls, and over the Orange, Limpopo, Niger, and Congo Rivers to discover what this great continent has to offer.

Megan helps conduct fish surveys as part of marine conservation efforts in Madagascar.

On a sunny day nearly 10 years ago, Barbara Lawson of San Francisco wandered through a residential neighborhood in Kampala, Uganda, with a local colleague. As they walked, she noticed that most of the people she saw were either elderly or children. When she remarked about it to her companion, she was told that “basically a generation had been wiped out by AIDS” and that now the area was “a neighborhood of grandparents and their grandchildren. The thirty- and forty-year-olds are gone.”

A hot air balloon glides quietly over the Serengeti, providing a rare view of the wildlife below. Photo by WajahatmrThe word safari probably makes you think of people wearing khaki, bumping along in a jeep, and peering through tall savannah grass at a majestic lion. But did you know that there are other exciting ways to enjoy an African safari? Here are four ways to get a different view of Africa’s wild landscape. Balloon Safaris It’s 6 am. Dawn is just beginning to break over the Serengeti, changing the dark shapes below into trees. The only sounds that break the silence are birdcalls and the occasional ssshhh of the hot air balloon’s whisper burner. As the balloon approaches a river, the water stirs, disturbed by what look like large moving rocks. “Hippos,” the guide says quietly, lowering the balloon a bit for a better look. Balloon safaris take place at dawn, when animals are most active, and they offer a unique, panoramic perspective of the African terrain. Rides last about an hour, and they are offered year-round.