Jackson's African Safaris

25/12/2023

06/12/2023

This past summer I participated in the 25th Anniversary celebration trip with the non-profit organization; Artists for Conservation Foundation, on board the Celebrity Eclipse, where we took the tour from Vancouver up to 3 ports in Alaska; Sitka, Juneau & Ketchikan.

Glaciers, Sea-Otters, Whales, Orcas, and learning how these Coastal Lowland Brown Bears are ‘not’ Grizzly’s, a new learning curve for me, were all a part of our journey. (Look at the size of those paws!).
Seeing the American Coast Guard Training, Fishing vessels out for the daily catch, non-profits rehabilitating wildlife and birdlife, all added to our insight into the lives of people in these ports.

Here are some photo’s to remind us to celebrate nature, while doing everything we can in our daily lives, to take care of it, it is our responsibility, and each of us need to do our part, and more...

During the cruise we presented to the 150 people taking part in this celebration, the grand tour to South Africa, in August 2025, in benefit to the Artists for Conservation Foundation that our company will be organizing and hosting. The grand tour and safari have 40 rooms on hold, we have filled about 60% of the rooms now, and expect to fill most of them by July next year, when we will have to release any last rooms.

We have already well past the minimum participation of 35 people, and with over 7 couples already choosing to participate in the extension to the Northern Kruger, we are excited at the prospect of already making a donation of over US$20,000.00 to AFC, which benefits their educational and environmental projects. If we reach 70 people, our goal of over US$30,000.00 will be reached.

The sharing of profits, on such a trip, as we now do on all trips, is our first step as a company, to start addressing the question, of how do we leave places in better shape than we have found them?

Here are the tour details on the Artists for Conservation Foundation website, should you know anyone interested in joining us? As I know many of the participants, I can tell you already, they are a nice group 😊

This trip is suitable for people of all ages and physical ability. We have a plans for a private vehicle for those needing a little more TLC, and flexibility if ones pace is a little slower…

All safari days will be in private 4 x 4 vehicles with 6 – 7 people per vehicle.
https://www.artistsforconservation.org/programs/art-science-expeditions/14-day-south-africa-grand-tour-wildlife-safari

Questions, do reach out!
Happy Wednesday! :)

In Trust, & thanks, Timothy Jackson

22/11/2023

Do you want to get a 'taste' of South Africa in 145 seconds, with a touch of humor?

Well I will let 'Trevor Noah for South Africa' do the talking 😊🦁🐘🦏🐋🐆🐬
Trevor Noah

In August 2025 we have now filled 60% of the 40 rooms we have on hold for our epic South Africa Adventure in benefit of the

Artists for Conservation Foundation.
Interested in joining us?

The trip is already a go with minimum numbers reached, and the extension to Northern Kruger is also a go... Drop me note if you would like to learn more! 😊

Here is the YouTube link: https://zurl.co/i6MC

Best to the rest of your week! 🙌🌞

*Ad brought to you by TBCSA in association with TOMSA.
🇿🇦

28/07/2023

Juneau Glacier, Alaska 😊

It’s big, it was a little cloudy, but spectacular! 🧊

Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Foundation 🦋 yesterday there were artists working on deck 👍🙌😊❤️
Foundation 😊🙌
😊

27/07/2023

Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Foundation on board the Celebrity Eclipse, stopping in three ports in Alaska, stop one Sitka, Alaska; learnt that coastal lowland brown bears 🐻 are not Grizzly bears (why did I not know that? 🙈) and not the same as the Brown bears of the interior, they are large like Grizzlies, these groups of 20 plus Sea Otters 🦦 are delightful, humpback whales seen a lot, we visited the Alaska Raptors centre, rescuing lots of eagles 🦅 from power line electrocution and more…. Lots of history to learn about in regards to the Russian history here, before they sold this land to the US of A…. short and sweet visit 😊🦅🙌…. Warming up to this big boat 😅
🐻😊🙌

20/07/2023

We invite you to plan ahead and join the Artists for Conservation Foundation on a 4/5-star, all-inclusive African wildlife safari adventure with a splash of wine and art in August, 2025! 🐘🦁🦏🐋🐆😊

SUPPORTING COMMUNITY, CONSERVATION & ART 😊
August 17 – 30, 2025

US$6,495.00 per person sharing 🙌

Featuring:
4/5-star, 14-days & 13-nights, All-inclusive
Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope & Penguins
Stellenbosch Winelands & De Hoop Nature Reserve Wildlife Safari
Durban “Golden Mile”, Sharks & Indian Coast
Drakensburg Mountains (UNESCO Site)
Greater Kruger “Big Five” Safari
Flexible program for all ages/mobility
Carbon neutral & Open to Everyone
Art & Conservation Benefit (5% to Artists for Conservation Foundation)
😊
Visit our website page here to download the Grand Tour Overview PDF, OR click on the links for the detailed South Africa Grand Tour itinerary, and the optional extensions to Pafuri Tented Camp in Northern Kruger & the option to visit Victoria Falls before or after the grand adventure! 😊

Plan ahead for this affordable first class experience, email us and place your name on our list today! 🦁🙌😊



https://zurl.co/Lsaa

22/04/2023

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

I arrived back in Vancouver a couple of days ago, to a cool welcome 5C 🙂 I last felt this temperature while in Patagonia a few weeks ago, at the Southern end of the American continent. In July this year, when summer is in full bloom, I will be heading up North. Want to join me?

I will be meeting with Jeff Whiting this afternoon, founder of the Artists for Conservation Foundation. I will confirm my donation to their foundation from the 2022 Kenya safari of US$2,000.00 and US$3,000.00 for Soysambu Conservancy, in Kenya.

I will be talking about future trips, and discussing a potential presentation, upon the Celebrity Eclipse Cruise Ship this July, as I, joined by my business partner from South Africa; David Lynn, will join the AFC celebration of AFC's 25th anniversary; where we will witness calving glaciers, First Nations cultural sites, humpback whales, grizzly bears, orcas, sea otters, eagles, and more, in one of the most naturally stunning places on Earth. I never thought I would take a trip on a cruise ship, but here we are! This is a unique situation... So you wish to join?

As advertised by AFC; Join us, July 23-30, 2023 for a 7-day Alaska cruise to the Hubbard Glacier, aboard the luxurious Celebrity Eclipse. Enjoy shore excursions, private receptions, art demos, presentations, films, group dining, and more....
Over 140 booked so far!

· Day 1 | Departing Vancouver, BC, Canada

· Day 2 | Inside Passage, BC, Canada (at sea)

· Day 3 | Sitka, Alaska, USA **

· Day 4 | Hubbard Glacier, Alaska, USA (at sea)

· Day 5 | Juneau, Alaska, USA **

· Day 6 | Ketchikan, Alaska, USA **

· Day 7 | Inside Passage, BC, Canada (at sea)

· Day 8 | Returning to Vancouver, BC, Canada

See full details here!
https://www.artistsforconservation.org/programs/art-science-expeditions/nature-art-cruise

Enjoy your Earth Day! 😊🌲🙏👍👋🏿🌳

21/03/2023

My last two days in Ibera National Park were very memorable. I’m able to share more photo’s and video’s on Instagram and Facebook, so if curious to learn more make sure you follow me there.

We had a great night walk; Armadillo’s, Vizcacha’s,
Naturally Capybara’s everywhere, my first close look at the Broad Snouted Caiman, but am still a little confused over the ID of broad-snouted and Yacaré Caiman…. Think I got this right? After rain tarantulas came out everywhere 😆😅….

We passed the park office to be waived down, and shown an Anaconda, curled up in the grass, they don’t see many, it was moving around earlier and they got some great footage of it.

This plant called Mimosa, with the pink flower you can read about below, it’s also called the sensitive plant, the sleepy plant, touch me not, and shame plant, fun to touch…. And it’s response. See the wiki link below 👇 😊…. I will share more in time and hope to host and lead a trip here in the near future 😊👍❤️
🇦🇷 😊

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimosa_pudica

15/03/2023

Adventures continue for me here in Ibera National Park. 😊

I’m enjoying learning about all the unique feature’s needed for the formation of this eco-system to come about; examples include effectively a giant clay pan, to hold the water 💦 of the bog/wetland, only natural local rainfall to fill the wetland, in higher water periods, it’s amazing how the peat rises and floats, moves, creates islands, sections break off, would love to see it from the air… all fascinating…. ❤️😊👍

I’ve seen all 3 native deer 🦌 species now 😊… Marsh, Pampas and Brocket deer…

The Capybera; the largest rodent in the world are a constant part of the landscape here, they have adapted webbed feet for swimming, and most interesting to spend time with. 😊

Taking lots of great bird photo’s to share later. ❤️

More to come… 🙏👍😊💜

🇦🇷 😊

09/03/2023

I made the decision to venture back to Iguazu Falls at night to take part in the full moon visit - totally enjoyable as it’s just a few people who go, and we were gifted with fairly clear skies 🌝 🙂 🌕 …. Naturally this requires you to take the train, the 1km walk on the over water trail system, to then enjoy the devils throat by moonlight 😊👍….
🇦🇷🙂

08/03/2023

Two days ago I arrived at the small border town of Puerto Iguazú, the gateway to visit the impressive Iguazú Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage site, making it a must-see destination for any traveler visiting Argentina. That’s me 😊🙈👍❤️

Iguazú National Park, on the Argentine side, the falls are surrounded by a humid subtropical forest where the exuberant vegetation is home to many different species of wildlife.

(And right now about 20,000 humans visiting each day….. so some real wild life out there 😅😆🙈🙏☺️….. and a few naughty Coatis…..!!! Trained to be naughty by us 🙃)

Lower and upper walkways weave in and around the falls, permitting up-close and personal experiences with this magnificent spectacle of nature, even with the large crowds, you seem to find your quiet moments. The Argentine side of the falls is filled with a myriad of paths, and walkways which allow you to have an experience from many different perspectives.

We spent lots of time at the “Devil's Throat”; the largest of the falls, we got there by taking the ecological train and then walking about a km along the metal foot bridges - great experience 😊

In the afternoon I took the boat trip for an exciting refreshing and yes very wet but exciting excursion to experience the true power of Iguazú Falls! 😅
🇦🇷

07/03/2023

We adventured to Isla Ma****lo & Estancia Harberton Ranch, with a visit to the Penguin Rookery.

We went by bus from Ushuaia, first by Route 3, and then a detour to Route J with the final destination Estancia Harberton Ranch, passing through Fuegian forest all the way.

Once at Estancia Harberton, we visited the Acatushún Museum of Birds and Marine Mammals and embarked on the short navigation through the Beagle Channel to Isla Ma****lo - where the penguin colony is located.

Here we had the opportunity to disembark on the island and walk along the marked trails and enjoy these peculiar and curious animals up close.

The tour includes a walk with Magellanic penguins and Gentoos on Ma****lo Island, for an hour with a specialized guide who will inform you all about the life of these fantastic animals.

The treat was the lonely King Penguin 🐧 whom had lost his way and joined these other penguins 😊🐧🙋‍♂️❤️👍

06/03/2023

Emerald Lagoon 😊… days in Ushuaia 🙋‍♂️

Tierra Mayor Valley, the starting point of a medium-difficulty hike to visit "Laguna Esmeralda" (Emerald Lagoon). With a little bit of mud along the way, and some fun company of British Tourists, and an interesting time connecting to a local tourist from Buenos Aires, who is a police officer in rural area outside Buenos Aires. I’ve been really impressed by the police presence in BA, and was interesting to talk with her. We’ll meet when I get back too BA, so look forward to learning more, about dynamics here.

This walk took us through a Lenga forest and then through a sphagnum peat bog, which can be very wet….. was wet 😆😊😅…

The lagoon is at the foot of the Ojo de Albino glacier, between Cerro Bonete and Cordón Toribio. The emerald green waters blend with the copper red peat bogs, and also with the ocher, green and brown of the mountains that enclose it, while the white of the glacier creates a visual feast of a chromatic amplitude difficult to find in many other areas around the world….. well, the sun tried its best…. 😊

I found a tiny wild raspberry to try and was amazed by the bogs, the introduction of beavers 🦫 here certainly creates some conversation, and let’s say with what seems like trails in all directions I was happy to be in a group, so I did not end up in the big to be found years later 😊😅🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️😊…

We ended the day enjoying an ideal dinner: lentil stew with a nice Patagonian red wine in a charming cabin overlooking the Tierra Mayor valley while we waited for the magical sunset….. behind the clouds …… with a lot of British humour 😀😆🙌🙏🦫….. ❤️😊
❤️😊

03/03/2023

Today was a 12 hour bus transfer from Puerto Arenas, in Chile 🇨🇱 to Ushuaia, in Argentina 🇦🇷.

A good evening to catch up on a post. 😊🐳

Cape Froward, the southernmost point of the Continental world, can be seen in my pictures. Yes this is the very Southern tip of the Americas continent. Now I sit even further South back in Argentina, but on what is one of many Islands.

So 3 days ago with a 3am wake up call, I headed off for a day in the Straits of Magellan; Glaciers, Humpback Whales, Sei Whales, Southern Dolphins, Toninas Overas, Magellanic Penguins are all part of the natural wonders of this southern area of the Strait of Magellan and Tierra del Fuego.

In one of the most remote and pristine places on the planet, we took a bus to our embarkation 50 kilometers south of Puerto Arenas.

We navigated for 10 hours: An unmissable journey where we enjoyed a unique landscape surrounded by mountains, glaciers and lengas and coihues forests.

The marine life present in the area surprised us due to its proximity and abundance: sea lions, petrels, cormorants, and whales.

The detail of the ecology here is fascinating… you must look closer…. 😊🙏👍

🌺🇨🇱😊

23/02/2023

Yesterday was a Full-Day Safari to Azul to Perito Moreno Glacier in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. Its a popular place 😊😅….

It brought memories of my age 13 visit to Canada before we emigrated and as a family we took one of the glacier tours.

There is no doubt it’s impressive! And plenty of sounds fill the air, as parts break off.

Walking through the forest near the glacier I came across wild Fuchsias, that’s not the flower 🌺 I have shown here in my photo’s.

This is mass tourism and they have done a great job in all the infrastructure here.

Would have been nice to have more sun 🌞 - keeping your visit days open would be good for this natural attraction 👍

Full days 😅…. I had a lovely trout at a restaurant called Moreno, here in El Calafate 😋😘👍
😊

21/02/2023

Yesterday I made my way to Cerro Torre and Laguna Torre, one of the most famous hiking trails in the area. 😊

From my hotel it was about 20 kilometers, this is a moderate hike and the first one without much elevation gain.

This is a multi-colored landscape where you pass through snow-capped mountains and most of the path goes through the native forest of lengas and ñires.

I had a fascinating day; from close encounters with woodpeckers that seemed as if they had no fear of people, like the eagle in my photo a couple of days ago, that was walking around within a few feet of me, to meeting a group of local guides doing some training, deciding if the s**t was Puma or Fox 🦊, I suggested puma as no hair could be seen, (I did not know Puma were in the area so that was interesting), to reading I was going to see little icebergs today, which I did, and experiencing likely the strongest winds of my life above the lagoon, where I was literally trying to keep my feet on the ground…. 😅🙏….

And lastly ended up walking with an 84 year old gentleman, born in Austria, his parents moved them to Argentina as children, in the 40’s, can naturally speak German, Spanish, English… having married and raised his family in Argentina, his kids now in their 40/50’s it was fascinating to hear all his perspectives on so many Argentinian topics.

Posting from Zoho I can only share 4 photo’s so these posts seen on fb or instragram will have more photos, as I’m able to add more 👍
😊❤️🙋‍♂️

20/02/2023

Vespignani Glacier Reserve

Yesterday took me 22 miles to Lago Del Desierto, by a beautiful panoramic unpaved route between forests and bordering the Río de las Vueltas to the Punta Sur pier, from where we sailed for about 30 minutes.

There are well marked trails, and I picked the blue, 700m very vertical trail going up to the highest viewpoint overlooking the lower section of the Vespignani glacier. Great panoramic views over the lake. The viewpoint is called; La Mirada del Doctor, where you can appreciate the beauty and immensity through the lateral moraine of the Glacier.

I then made my way back down to take the boat back, and walk a short distance to hike the trail into Huemul glacier. Lot’s of vertical today 😊😅🙋‍♂️🥾🙌

I confess to an Argentine steak 🥩 today 😋
😊❤️

19/02/2023

Time for some Argentine adventure 😊

Yesterday, after my full month in Buenos Aires, I took a flight from the AEP Jorge Newbery domestic airport to the town of El Calafate, located in the Patagonian steppe, an extreme and deserted place with an amazing landscape.

It is on the border of Lago Argentino (Argentina’s biggest lake) and it is considered the capital of the glaciers. It is the gateway to visit the world-renowned Perito Moreno Glacier, one of the only glaciers in the world that is still advancing.

0n arrival we transferred from El Calafate Airport to our hotel in El Chalten. This 3-hour drive showcased the desert of Southern Patagonia on the famous Route 40; we got great sightings of Guanaco’s, then spotted the flightless bird called a Rhea, looks like a mini-ostrich, and some very tame Patagonia Fox 🦊 been fed by naughty tourists!

We passed through La Leona River, which connects Lake Argentino and Lake Viedma. By the river, we stopped at La Leona Road House where once Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid after robbing a bank where hidden for almost a month.

Once we arrived in El Chalten, we settled in and found some great locally made Pizza 🍕 it was very good 😋⭐️👍…