The Travel Journals of Natalie Harrison and Heiko Carstens

Our Wedding(!!) and Africa's extraordinary annual migration (February 2009)
- a safari wedding, Tanzania, East Africa

Yes, ours! Heiko and Me! Want to know more? - Read this blog post! :-)

Ultimate Africa - To Walk with Lions (July/August 2008)
- a photographic safari in Botswana and Zimbabwe, Southern Africa

This year we decided to go on an organised group safari aimed at photographers; we chose the 'Ultimate Africa' photo safari with Chris Weston (it was the opportunity to 'walk with lions' that totally reeled us in!) Now, where to start?! Honestly, this trip was incredible! We saw the majestic Victoria Falls on foot and by helicopter, had several opportunities to photograph from a small private boat in the slow-moving water of the Chobe River, roamed the Hwange National Park in search of it's wildlife, went horse-riding amongst antelope, zebra and wildebeest, and then there was the unbelieavable experience of walking with lions, unforgettable!

Many thanks go to Chris Weston and his fantastic team of people that made the trip happen. I'm also so grateful for the opportunities to visit and support conservation organisations right there on the ground and to see first hand the amazing work they are doing; it is something both Heiko and I are very passionate about. Also thank you to all the other photographers on the trip - what a great group of people. I will certainly not forget all the laughter we had, and I'm sure you won't either (if you want the truth, I'm giggling away at the memories as I type this!)

I know several of you have been waiting... patiently ;) and I'm sorry it has taken so long to publish my journal, but it's all typed up now, thanks to Heiko. And, so that you don't loose patience with me I'm publishing it without the photos... please forgive me, I just haven't had a chance to look at them yet, nevermind choose a few! You'll have to come back and check in the New Year...

Read the full travel journal...

Kaleidoscope of Tanzania, East Africa (October/November 2006)
- a safari holiday through the Serengeti, Ngorongoro highlands, Tarangire and Ruaha

Heiko and I are back from our African adventure and, as usual, we have lots to share with you!!

I'd like to take this opportunity to express our many thanks to Bill at Safari Consultants Ltd (a UK company) who made all our travel arrangements, and Protty, our driver and guide for the first week of our trip for providing us with a mountain of knowledge and much laughter. Thanks also to Ethan and the Olakira Crew, "de Bikkels", Myra and Wil for the messages you wrote in my journal. I'll be in touch...

So go grab a cup of coffee and some cookies and enjoy the read; you'll learn about the places we visited and the wildlife we saw, along with some of our adventures along the way. If you prefer to have a copy of my journal (without photos) that you can print, please contact me and I will be happy to send you a version in PDF format.

Read the full travel journal...

Incredible India (November 2005)
- an Asian adventure in search of the magnificent Bengal Tiger...

My ultimate dream of dreams has always been to see tigers in the wild and in November 2005 we did exactly that! We made a 14-day trip travelling to Ranthambhore National Park, Bandhavgarh National Park and Kanha National Park stopping also in Khajuraho and Agra for sight-seeing. Many thanks to Indian Moments for the excellent travel itinerary they put together for us. It was an amazing experience! We had excellent sightings of the tigers in two of the three National Parks we visited, both by jeep and by elephant back. It was truly a dream come true.

Read the full travel journal...

Safari Field Guide Training in South Africa (June-August 2003)
- six weeks at Antares Field Guide Training Centre on the Grietjie Nature Reserve near Phalaborwa

There were eight students on the course (including me) and I knew none of the others beforehand. It was a bit nervewracking venturing so far away from home on my own for so long but it was more than worth it and I would definitely do it all over again, without a doubt! I had an incredible amount to learn in such a short space of time with exams every Friday and a first aid course too - but I really loved every minute of it.

Read some extracts from my travel journal and letters home...