Welcome to the Zegrahm Expeditions resources page! Here you will find inspiration for your next adventure and information from your last adventure, produced by our field leaders, Seattle office staff, and contributing writers. From blog posts and field reports (daily recaps of a past expeditions with images) to photo galleries and videos, explore your world from our perspective.
Excerpt from the Welcome Home Letter written by Expedition Leader Lex Hes from our first-ever October 2010 Zambia expedition.
For me there were a few “lifers” on this trip: no less than three mammal species (oribi, Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, and sun squirrel) and four bird species (pennant-winged nightjar, Bohm’s bee-eater, sooty chat, and red-throated twinspot).
The fact that I saw two of these mammal lifers at Busanga highlights the importance of this area for...
Excerpt from the Welcome Home Letter written by Expedition Leader Lex Hes from our second 2010 Zambia departure.
From Kalamu, on to the mighty Zambezi River, the fourth largest in Africa. It was great to get onto the boats and skim across the water with the cool wind blowing in our faces after the heat and dust of Kalamu and then to be welcomed at camp by those two huge bull elephants standing there with the shady camp in the background.
Our first afternoon also...
On a shoe-string budget in the summer of 1990, we formed Eco-Expeditions and were the only two employees. During those early days we worked non-stop; we designed the itineraries and brochures, we marketed the trips, we led the expeditions, and, when each trip concluded, we wrote the “welcome home” letters. In the fall when Werner and Susan Zehnder suggested that we join forces with Jack Grove and Mike Messick to form a travel company, Zegrahm Expeditions, we reminded them that we already had...
The brochure text for our day simply stated ‘Expedition Stop in Fiji.’ A seemingly ambiguous description that made no promises beyond a day spent within the country’s isles. Little did I know that this term is the key, it is what turns a cruise into an expedition and travelers into explorers.
Beachcombing along a white sandy beach lined with coconut palms or snorkeling offshore sounds perfectly in line with what one might expect from a day in Fiji but expedition leader, Jeff Gneiser...
On our current Quest for Paradise expedition, we were we able to visit not only Pitcairn Island, but through the skills of our drivers and crew, we were able to land on all four of the islands of the Pitcairn group! The beauty and diversity of these remote islands was emphasized by the contrast of Oeno and Ducie, both coral atolls, with the uplifted coral platform of Henderson Island. In 1997 a special team visited Oeno and Ducie and eradicated the troublesome introduced...
Tahiti is best known for its amazing beaches, but the vast and luscious interior of the island is a birder’s paradise. Today, we were treated to a rare view of deep vegetation draped over spectacular pinnacles and steep ridges in the volcanic heart of Tahiti. Yes, the roads were bumpy and filled with potholes, but that's all part of the adventure! After a few minutes of culture shock (and fighting our way through a city and traffic), we headed off into the interior of this gorgeous island....
After climbing down along a trail through dense and luxuriant tropical vegetation, we arrived at a small cove, bordered on three sides by jagged uplifted limestone. The pool beneath us was glowing a glorious blue color, inviting us in to have a closer look. After donning our snorkel gear, we glided through the water, crossing paths with butterflyfish, Moorish idols, and other brightly colored reef fish.
While we were watching a group of brick-red soldierfish hovering in the dark...
There are not many places one can travel to these days where one’s heart weeps and sings at the same time. The story of Bikini Atoll is like none other. Our historian, Susan Langley, and anthropologist, Shirley Campbell, brought to life the ineffable devastation caused by all the nuclear testing carried out here by the Americans after WWII. The story of struggle suffered by the displaced islanders is still raw in their hearts.
And yet, under the waves, the fishes and the corals are...
Wow! What a day! A fantastic fiery sunrise kicked off a day which involved us going ashore on tiny Tyuleniy in the Sea of Okhotsk. Approaching from the south, the island became noticeable first because it was literally carpeted wall-to-wall with mammals and birds, second because of the incredible sound, and third because of the smell of all of those creatures. We pushed our way ashore through ranks of Northern Fur Seals and spent over three hours with our senses on overload. In every...
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is the capital of Kamchatka Province in Russia’s Far East. The city of 200,000 residents is the center of Kamchatka’s lucrative salmon fishery and houses Russia’s largest submarine base. Petropavlovsk (the city of St. Peter and St. Paul) was founded in 1740 by Vitus Bering, a Danish explorer in the service of the Russian Navy. Bering named the settlement after the two ships, the St. Peter and the St. Paul, which he used in his discovery of Alaska and the Bering...
