Author:theboringman

From Brown Bears to Puffins: A Nordic Wildlife Quest

This summer, I embarked on a private wildlife photography trip through Finland and into Vardø, Norway, with familiar faces—YY, Art and Christa, my companions from my very first safari. YY had arranged for Jari Peltomäki, a renowned Finnish birder and photographer, to guide us. Our mission: to photograph brown bears and wolverines, the latter of which I had assumed was a fictional creature from movies.

Face to Face with Giants: My Journey to Virunga, Rwanda

In February 2017, YY and I ventured into the heart of Rwanda, drawn by Nelis’s passionate persuasion during our migration trip. After all Nelis is known as the Gorilla Man. No one has done more gorilla hikes than he has. Indeed on my second trip there in 2023, weeks celebrates his 100th hikes. For YY, it wasn’t the first encounter with gorillas—but for me, it was a long-awaited dream.

Masai Mara 2016: Dust, Drama, and Diva Wildebeests

Masai Mara—where the earth rumbles, the skies stretch endlessly and wildebeests stage the most dramatic migration known to wildlife. It was August 2016 and YY got a young Nelis Wolmarans to guide us. My first of many trips with my favourite safari guide.

En route to the wild plains of the Masai Mara, I spent two unforgettable nights at Giraffe Manor—an experience as surreal as it was heartwarming. Nestled in the leafy outskirts of Nairobi, this ivy-clad sanctuary offered a rare kind of intimacy: with giraffes who gently poked their heads through the windows, eager for a treat and utterly unbothered by human company.

In 2015, I embarked on an unforgettable photography expedition to Alaska with YY Chin, Art Ryan, and Christa—an adventure organized by Natural Habitat that tested both endurance and spirit. Reaching the meeting point on Kodiak Island took over 25 hours of flight time (not counting transits), a baffling zigzag route via mainland USA before circling back north. After we arrived at Kodiak and a one night stay over at a local hotel, we took a seaplane who flew us to our boat docking off Katmai, which was fun and thrilling. It felt like chasing the wild before even reaching it.

My photography is all due to one Mr Chin Yuen Yin, better known as YY. He is an old friend whom I have travelled with earlier. He has been pestering me to follow him to the safari in Africa for years with the promise that if I visit Africa once, I will surely return again.