Whitney observing mountain gorillas. © Melanie Kent

WWF’s Whitney Kent recently traveled to Africa with her family to see mountain gorillas in the wild. We caught up with her to talk about the experience.

How long did you have to hike before spotting the mountain gorillas? Was it a difficult climb?
We did two gorilla treks in two separate days. The first trek was only about 45 minutes, and it was a pretty easy hike. Most of it was through hilly farmland. It wasn’t until we got closer to the gorillas that we started trekking through the forest. Some parts of the forest were cleared out into a path while other parts were dense and our trackers had to machete through.

The second trek was a bit longer and higher into the mountains, but we didn’t have to venture too far into the forest to see a huge group of mountain gorillas.

How many people were in your group?
They kept the groups small to a maximum of eight people with a guide and maybe three trackers.

How did the trackers know where to look for the mountain gorillas?
The trackers would have an idea where the different groups of gorillas were because early in the morning other trackers would go into the forest to locate the different groups. Then they would radio to the group that was headed to that area. The gorillas only move ½ km a day so the trackers know they haven’t moved far from their previous spot.

What was it like when you first came upon the gorillas?
It was one of the best experiences of my life. I felt like it was a dream and that the gorillas weren’t real. We were so close to them at some points that I could have easily touched one (I was definitely tempted to but obviously I would have gotten in big trouble). It was incredible how human-like their movements and mannerisms were.

A baby is suddenly revealed, surprising onlookers. © Justin Kent

How long did you watch them for?
We were allowed to watch them for one hour, but I could have stayed all day!
The park only allows one group to visit each gorilla group once a day.

What kind of behavior did you observe?
The first day it rained and the gorillas are pretty inactive when it rains. They do a lot of sitting under trees to shield themselves from the rain. We saw a mother gorilla sitting covered by a bunch of tree branches with her arms folded. She just looked at us but didn’t seem to care we were there. At one point she shifted her arms a little and we realized that she was actually hiding her tiny baby under her arms to protect him from the rain. We didn’t even know a baby was under there until she moved!

The second day the rain held. We were walking through the forest and then suddenly came upon a clearing where about 15 gorillas of all ages. Most of the gorillas were eating and some would put their mouths to the ground and pull up roots. That was pretty funny. There were also a few mothers with babies hanging off of them. The kids were eating and running around playing and the one male silverback just sat with his arms folded, watching everyone. As we were winding down on our hour with the gorillas, the silverback got up and started walking toward us. That was when we got to see how truly huge this animal was. He sat right in front of us, almost like he was posing, and stared at us. Of course half of us were frozen and the other half were clicking away with cameras. He then got up after a minute or so, and walked off. Slowly the rest of the group followed him single file. We followed the group into the forest and then moved to the side as the rest of the group walked right by us. They hardly paid any attention to us. I was kneeling so I got to see eye to eye with them as they walked by.

Did anything surprise you about the encounter?
The first day as we were watching a few of the gorillas hide from the rain, we heard this raucous in the branches above us. All of sudden a huge silverback came flying down on one of the vines right in front of us, like something out of Tarzan or King Kong, knocking me off balance into one of the trackers! If I hadn’t fallen backwards, he would have definitely hit me! Then he stood right in front of us and beat his chest as if to say, “I’m the boss here.” Then he ran off leaving all of us stunned.

A male gorilla yawns. © Bill Kent

Did they appear to notice that you were there?
They really didn’t seem to care or notice we were there. They would look at us for a bit then continue on their daily business.

Did you ever feel in danger?
Surprisingly I don’t think any of us felt in danger (except maybe when the silverback came swinging down on the vine). I think part of that stemmed from the calm demeanor of our trackers and guides. Nothing seemed to faze them so that set the tone for the rest of us.

Many say that seeing mountain gorillas in the wild is a life-changing experience. Would you agree?
Yes! I would totally recommend it to anyone. It’s definitely a lot of travel but completely worth it!

Any tips for those going on a mountain gorilla trek?
Rain gear! Even if the weather looks fine before you embark on your hike, it rains a lot more the higher you get. My rain pants saved me the second day. Even though it didn’t rain, everything is very wet. The pants also allowed me to sit and kneel on the ground to get even closer to them.

Join WWF’s Great African Primate Expedition, June 22 – July 1, 2012.

WWF's Dennis Jorgensen researches such grassland species as bison, prairie dogs and mountain lions. © Michael Forsberg / www.michaelforsberg.com

Dennis Jorgensen is a WWF Program Officer in Montana, working to save the species of the Northern Great Plains  and the habitat where they live, and we’re thrilled he’s able to join part of our new Exploring Montana’s Prairies tour.

Q: What originally attracted you to the Northern Great Plains?
A: My first experience in the Northern Great Plains was as a biologist conducting wildlife surveys. Despite growing up in Calgary, only 50 miles outside of the Northern Great Plains, it was a new world for me. I could observe animals that I had never seen before: pronghorn antelope, burrowing owls, long-billed curlews, sage-grouse, prairie rattlesnakes, Great Plains toads. It’s a safari in our own backyard.

Q: What might surprise first-time visitors to the Northern Great Plains?
A: The variety of species that occupy the Northern Great Plains – those that they may have not seen before, like pronghorn and sage-grouse, and others that they might not realize occur in grassland landscapes, such as big horn sheep and elk.

A male sage grouse displays his feathers and dances for the female as part of the mating ritual. © Daniel J. Cox/NaturalExposures.com / WWF-US

Q: Is the nickname “Big Sky Country” still apt to Montana?
A: The vastness of the grasslands stretching to the distant horizon and the enormous blue prairie sky are awe inspiring. They continue to nourish my passion to conserve this land.

Q: There’s such an incredible variety of birdlife in this area. Would you consider yourself a “birder”?
A: Although I am not a birder by training I couldn’t help but become a birding enthusiast living and working in northcentral Montana, the heart of the breeding range of grassland endemic birds.

Q: Which species are your favorites?
I am partial to long-billed curlews, mountain plovers and sage-grouse. One of the most elusive species that tends to be heard but not seen is the Sprague’s pipit. I will give visitors the opportunity to hear them and hopefully we’ll also catch a glimpse.

Q: A lot of folks consider this region easy to tour on their own. What do you think is the benefit of traveling with a guide?
A: Exploring independently can be a very rewarding experience, but there is a broad variety of habitat in the Northern Great Plains, which a guide can ensure that you visit. And you’ll not only have the opportunity to see different species but you’ll also benefit from all that the guide and WWF have learned in our research and activities to conserve prairie species.

Q: And what do you think is key to successfully conserving them?
A: For WWF, the key to successful conservation in the Northern Great Plains is preventing sod busting of native prairie, ensuring that large tracts of grassland are conserved at a scale that permits conservation and restoration of sustainable populations of all native Great Plains species.

Join WWF’s Exploring Montana’s Prairies, June 16 – 24, 2012.

Whale sharks are slow swimmers, moving at speeds of no little more than 3 miles per hour.

Professional marine photojournalist Mauricio Handler has been capturing wildlife images for decades. It wasn’t until 2007, however, while leading a scuba diving outing in the Galapagos, that Handler, saw his first whale shark.

Several years later he began photographing the world’s largest fish off the coast of Cancun, Mexico, where he sometimes finds schools by the hundreds. Handler’s stunning whale shark images have recently been featured by such outlets as National Geographic and Discover News.

We caught up with him from his current base in Freeport, Maine, to learn what draws him to this magnificent species. While he may spend many more hours in the water with whale sharks than a typical traveler, the emotion he feels when coming upon the species is no different.

WWF Travel: How many times have you swum with whale sharks?
Mauricio Handler: I spend two weeks a year in the water with these giants. I can safely say that every day has been different. Every encounter brings new photo opportunities. You learn to observe after the initial adrenaline rush subsides.

The whale shark is a filter feeder and can neither bite nor chew.

WWF: What are the challenges of photographing whale sharks and how do you manage to capture such incredible images?
MH: These are big animals, and although they are moving relatively slow on the surface, it is crucial to place oneself in the right place at the right time. The only way to do this is to be in the water as much as possible and not come out! This increases your opportunities drastically. It also allows you to observe the fish and learn its motion and emotions, so to speak. These factors are crucial in creating images that go beyond the mere ID photo. You must be there and be ready at all times. There are no second chances in nature.

WWF: Are whale sharks really as docile as people say?
MH: Whale sharks are indeed docile. They are like very large Labradors! They are in no way dangerous to us as other sharks may potentially be, but they are large powerful fish with large fins. It is important to remember not to get in their way while they feed, because they do not stop their forward motion. It is like a slow moving freight train.

WWF: Do you have any tips for people who are planning their first trip to swim with whale sharks?
MH: Get comfortable using fins, a mask and a snorkel. If you are comfortable then you will have great experiences in the water. You do not want to be dealing with gear issues (such as a foggy mask or loose fins) while you have this wonderful animal in front of you!

Observe them as close as you can, watch the tail and never touch or grab them as this will be the end of your encounter and they will avoid you next time around. You must respect their space at all times.

A whale shark’s mouth is at the very front of its head – as opposed to the underside of the head like most sharks.

WWF: What is the biggest whale shark you have ever encountered?
MH: In the Galapagos Islands of Darwin Island I encountered a mature 40-foot plus male. That is one big fish! In Mexico they max out at about 30 feet—still very large.

WWF: Why do continue to go back each season to capture images of whale sharks?
MH: Photographing large gatherings of whale sharks is one of the highlights of my professional career. I keep finding new angles and moments that I want to capture in a photo. It takes weeks, months and sometimes years to be fully satisfied that you have got it all. Then one day, the animals allow a glimpse into something new, fresh and revealing, something you had never seen before, and the obsession begins all over again!

See more of Handler’s photography on his website and Facebook page.

Join WWF on a tour to swim with whale sharks to Mexico or the Philippines.

Wendy in the Abacos, Bahamas, with her son Ari. © Wendy Goyert

When Wendy Goyert, a Program Officer for the Major Buyer Initiative in WWF’s Fisheries Program, isn’t working to promote sustainable management practices at fisheries around the world, chances are she’s traveling. In the fourth installment of our summer series Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going, we caught up with Wendy to chat about her travels.

How did you catch the travel bug?
I was lucky enough to grow up living in Latin America with my family from age 4 to age 12. We lived in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico for 8 years, and while we were there we traveled to some amazing places including Tierra del Fuego, Machu Picchu, the Galapagos Islands, Iguacu Falls, the Amazon rain forest, Aztec and Maya pyramids all over Mexico, and many other spectacular destinations. After that experience, I wanted to continue traveling throughout the rest of my life to see as much of the world as I could.

What’s been your top natural spot to visit?
Midway Atoll national wildlife refuge, in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is incredible during the Albatross nesting season, which is when I was there in 2009. There are over 1 million albatross nesting on the ground, along with petrels and shearwaters. They are so tame that you can just walk amongst them and they don’t move at all—they are so curious since they’ve evolved to nest in locations without predators. Dozens of green sea turtles sunbathe on the beach, as well as several endangered Hawaiian Monk seals. Pods of spinner dolphins swim around the island, and the snorkeling in the reefs within the atoll is incredible. It’s truly an amazing place.

What’s the most remote place you’ve visited?
Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. It’s in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, about as far from the mainland that you can get.

What are your top three dream nature destinations?
Sailing around the islands of the South Pacific; backpacking in Patagonia, Chile; and going back to the Galapagos (since I was so young when I went the first time, I’d love to go again when I can truly appreciate it).

Thinking back over your trips, tell us about one of your best observations of an animal?
While kayaking in the Broken Islands, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, as we set up our tent on the beach of one of the islands, we looked down the beach and saw a wolf watching a deer. The deer was on the island as well, and saw the wolf eyeing it so it turned and ran. The wolf ran and chased it, and the deer jumped off into the water and swam to another island close by. At that point, the wolf gave up and trotted off, but we wondered whether it would just try again a bit later. That was an amazing site to see in the wild.

What’s one item you never leave home without?
Running/hiking shoes; you never know when you’ll find a good place to go for a run or hike.

What’s your best or most frequently used eco-friendly travel tip?
I love to go on trips that involve getting some exercise and moving around to explore different areas by using my own power or non-polluting power sources (like wind). That has led my husband and me to go kayaking, biking, hiking, backpacking and sailing in several places around the world. Using these types of modes of transportation allows one to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and to visit some amazingly beautiful, remote and peaceful places.

"These meerkats were so used to humans that they had no problem approaching us. Our guide had each of us sit very still, and eventually a bunch of the meerkats came over and hopped and climbed all over us.” © Whitney Kent

The second in our summer series introducing you to WWF employees as passionate about seeing the world’s wild places as they are about protecting them.

Whitney Kent, Marketing Coordinator for WWF’s Corporate Partner Marketing Team, talks about her love of travel, books and meerkats.

How did you catch the travel bug?
My parents have always loved to travel, and I have been lucky enough to be included on most of these trips. They enjoy photography, so they are always wanting to travel to new and unique places. My mom always puts together great trips with something for everyone, so none of us ever gets bored.

What’s been your top natural spot to visit?
Africa. I felt like I was watching National Geographic, but in person! Nothing beats looking out of your tent and seeing elephants and giraffes grazing right outside, or seeing a mother lion and her cubs playing only a few meters away.

What’s the most remote place you’ve visited?
Our camp in the Kalahari Desert. The camp was a small 1940’s style camp that was just big enough for my family and our family friends. There were no other people in sight but us and the camp staff.

What are your top three dream nature destinations?
Tahiti, Bali, Thailand. I have a thing for clear blue water. I also think Bangkok looks like such a cool and eclectic city.

"Here I am at Victoria Falls on the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe. I don't know what was scarier, standing on the edge of the bridge looking down or the actual jump. Regardless it was the biggest rush I've ever had in my life." © Whitney Kent

Thinking back over your trips, tell us about one of your best observations of an animal?
Where do I begin! We were so lucky to see all sorts of animals close up. We saw a month old baby elephant and his parents come right next to our Land Rover. We also saw three lionesses and their nine cubs playing in front of us. We watched two cheetahs stalk and kill an impala which was sad yet incredible at the same time. The closest I got to an animal was definitely when we visited the meerkats in the Kalahari Desert. They were used to humans visiting them and were so comfortable around us that they would jump on us and stand.

What’s one item you never leave home without?
A good book (preferably paperback since it’s lighter). You never know when you will be waiting around in an airport or have a few spare hours to do nothing.

What’s your best or most frequently used eco-friendly travel tip
Depending on where I’m going, I try to pack light and clothes that I can re-wear or mix with other pieces. When I was in Africa, I only packed a duffle since we were traveling around so much. I re-wore most of my clothes since we were getting dirty every day and it was pointless to wash clothes that we would be dirtying the next day. If I’m traveling to a tropical area, I definitely pack minimally since I practically live in my bathing suit the whole time.

If current warming trends continue unabated, scientists believe that polar bears will be vulnerable to extinction within the next century. © Staffan Widstrand / WWF

WWF Media Manager Rhys Gerholdt journeyed to Churchill, Canada in March to assist ABC News with a polar bear news story. We caught up with him to get his thoughts on the experience.

Your work centers around climate change. How did visiting Churchill and observing polar bears impact your views on the issue?
My trip to Churchill made climate change much more “real” to me. Climate change threatens wildlife everywhere in the world, but animals and people that survive in cold climates like the Arctic are feeling the consequences most acutely. It made me think about how the consequences of climate change will heighten and harm more and more wildlife as time goes on. If we don’t start curbing climate change soon, some other animal will become the face of climate change like the polar bear is now.

What surprised you most about seeing polar bears in the wild?
I was surprised at how huge the polar bears were. When they lie down they can get very low to the ground and sort of flatten out. But once they stood up they seemed to grow twice their size.

What was the biggest challenge about traveling to Churchill?
The layovers! Churchill is very remote and the only commercial flights from a major city is from Winnipeg. I suppose I could have taken the train, but the two hour flight from Winnipeg to Churchill seemed a bit more manageable than the 40+ hours train ride – the only other mode of transportation to the town (there are no roads that go there). The train ride takes that long because the train has to go very slow due to the warping of the tracks from melting permafrost. During my trip I took the train just 30 miles south of Churchill to the wilderness and it took two and a half hours.

It’s hard to imagine what a little city like Churchill is like. There aren’t many places around the globe like it. How would you describe it?
It’s very small, I’d say only about 12-15 city blocks. What I found most interesting about Churchill is how it has repurposed building materials from the military complexes that were there in the 1940s and 50s. Hauling materials there by train or ship is expensive and takes a long time, so they’ve learned to be very resourceful with what they already have. One of the local inns used the wood from an old bowling alley for its flooring; if you go there you’ll see the painted stripes on the wood.

Why is it important for people to see polar bears in the wild?
Seeing polar bears in the wild is a truly special experience. It’s hard to appreciate how majestic and stunning polar bears are without seeing them in their natural habitat, living off the land like they have for thousands of years. And that is what we desperately need – people that understand how precious these animals are and why it is critical that we address climate change and other threats they face.

Visit Churchill with WWF:

• Tundra Lodge Adventure, October 15-21, 2011
• The Polar Bears of Churchill, October 26-31, 2011
• The Changing Realm of the Polar Bear, November 6-12, 2011

Molly during her visit to Honduras. © Molly Edmonds

The festivities commemorating WWF’s 50th anniversary this year celebrate not just where we’ve been as an organization, but also where we’re going. That theme has inspired our newest blog series – but we’re taking it more literally!

Over the course of the summer, we’ll introduce you to WWF employees as passionate about seeing the world’s wild places as they are about protecting them. They’ll tell us where they’ve been and where they’d like to go.

First up, Molly Edmonds, climate communications intern.
 
How did you catch the travel bug?
 I’ve been traveling since I was little, but only outside the country as an adult. Since I took up an interest in bird watching, I have been traveling all over the U.S. and Latin America to do it.

What’s been your top natural spot to visit?
Pico Bonito National Park in Honduras. It’s incredible: tropical and montane cloud forests, abundant birdlife and monkeys! There’s a lodge that sits at the edge of the park boundary with views of the high peaks and a network of forest trails.  In this “sky island” there is intermingling of northern and southern Central American species, and the diversity is staggering.

What’s the most remote place you’ve visited? 
Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica. We stayed in an eco-lodge, only accessible by boat. You travel down a river and then follow the Pacific coast until you arrive at the lodge.

What are your top three dream nature destinations?
Hawaii’s Volcanoes National Park, Machu Picchu in Peru; and Tanzania, especially the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Thinking back over your trips, tell us about one of your best observations of an animal?
At Machias Seal Island, off the coast of Maine. We got to sit in a blind and watch puffins and razorbills up close. They landed on the roof and scampered around the rocks in front of the blind – only a few feet away. With binoculars they seemed larger than life and we got intimate looks at them.

What’s one item you never leave home without?
Binoculars! Never know what you might see.

What’s your favorite travel tip?
Keep a plastic bag with you in your pack. It can be used for all sorts of things, especially helping you pack out your trash.

Viewing elephants in the wild is a safari highlight for many travelers. © Dana Allen

This guest blog comes to us from James Hendry of Wilderness Safaris, one of our tour operators in Africa.

When I visit wild places, I am often torn between heading out on a drive or going for a walk. This pleasant quandary set me to thinking about what makes the two experiences so different.

Driving
I suppose for the inherently terrified this is the best option. Even if it is a false sense of security, sitting in a hulking great steel Land Cruiser does make one feel somewhat less threatened when viewing a herd of elephants or a pride of lions. In some areas, you can virtually park right near the cats to view them. Indeed, there are places where big cats will seek out vehicles for shade or the vantage that the bonnet provides.

If you’re a photographer and you want close-ups from a steady angle then there is no question that the back of a vehicle is where you want to be. You can obviously also cover more ground and see more from the back of a safari vehicle; important if you are on a once-in-a-lifetime African holiday.

There is, however, a sense of detachment that accompanies driving in the bush.

On Foot
Being on foot is different. No longer can you be merely an observer of nature. You are an active participant. For some this is a wonderful feeling and for others, it’s simply scary.

I remember my first experience of seeing big mammals on foot. I was on a ranger training course, utterly clueless and completely out of my depth. There were six of us in a group and, under the guidance of our trainer, we snuck up the back of a dam wall to view a small herd of buffalo drinking. There we sat in the shadows watching the eight large bovines about 20 meters off. They had no idea we were there.

Then, from the grass about the same distance off to the right, a huge male leopard stood up. I was awestruck. The leopard, who must have been a particularly gormless cat, eventually noticed us sitting in the shade and scarpered off.

I was blissfully unafraid.

This changed when I was sent out to walk a reserve unarmed and alone. Then I did feel threatened – actually the feeling was probably closer to sheer terror. Slowly, however, I came to appreciate the solace and pleasure of walking in the wilderness alone. It is quite unlike any other experience. My terror was so slowly replaced with caution and profound appreciation. Something primal, deep in the recesses of my genetic memory, began to speak to me.

Of course, walking in the African wilderness is not as unsafe as it might seem initially. Animals out here are generally terrified of us. Buried in their genetic memory is the knowledge that we have been hunting them since our ancestors first stood up and started throwing stones. Aggression from animals is almost always born of fear. Unless they feel threatened, even lions and elephants will keep their distance from a person on foot.

So which do I prefer?

Well, for viewing animals, driving is the way to go. Animals are simply not as affected by vehicles as they are by our upright human posture. In many areas it is possible to watch animals behave as they would without our being there at all. Much of our knowledge of ethology comes from the ability to watch, photograph and film animals so easily from vehicles.

Being on foot in the wilderness, however, presents a totally different sense of the wild. Walking is an immersion and connection with our pre-history and it delivers an “aliveness” that is difficult to achieve in any other circumstances.

© Wilderness Safaris. Reprinted with permission.

© Martin Harvey / WWF-Canon

Botswana is said to offer an experience of Africa as it used to be, still possessing the wonders that drew adventurers to the continent decades ago.
We sat down with WWF Travel Director Debra Eliezer to talk about her experiences on a tented camp safari in the wild southern African nation.

What sets Botswana apart from other popular safari destinations in Africa?
The magic of Botswana for me was the lack of people and the plethora of animals. We would go out on drives and not spot another sign of human life all day long. There is something really special about spending hours tracking a lion, the suspense building the whole way, and then finally seeing it, and thinking, “we’re probably the only people to see this today.”

Speaking of lions, what wildlife sightings stick out in your mind?
The first time you see a lion is definitely an impressive experience. One day we went in search of three lions that the locals call “the Border Brothers” because they always walked across the border between Botswana and Zambia. We kept driving in our Jeep looking for them – we were thinking we were lost, but I knew the guide was never lost for one second. We saw elephants everywhere along the way and then suddenly, we saw the lions. They were literally right there, so close to the jeep! It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

I also remember the first ostrich I saw. I’ve seen them in zoos before, of course, but out in their natural habitat they are the goofiest-looking animals, like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.

Botswana is known for its hippos. Did you see many?
We had the coolest hippo encounter at one of the water camps. We were in a skiff, motoring along the river. A group of hippos was under the water. We didn’t see them at first – they’re so good at camouflaging themselves – but then you see their little eyes pop up above the surface. You forget that they can run underwater, but one of them saw us and charged us. Of course, we were in no harm, and neither was he, but he sure moved fast!

What makes tented camps special?
Our camps were always in very scenic locales and although relatively basic, they felt luxurious at the same time. The little things at the camps make all the difference – nice linens, tasty meals and friendly staff. At the end of the day when we returned to camp you felt like you were coming home. The staff were there to greet you and common space served as a living room as everyone gathered to share highlights of the day. Our camps were always homey and welcoming.

What was the most memorable part of the trip?
For me, the most memorable part of the trip was getting up early in the mornings and watching everything start to come alive as the sun came up. The other travelers weren’t awake yet, and the staff would make us oatmeal over a campfire and fresh coffee. Elephants walked far along the riverbed, and the birds were waking up and being active.  It added a different feeling to the trip – everything doesn’t have to be action-packed all the time.

Journey to Botswana with WWF on one of two tours in 2011:

• The Great Botswana & Namibia Safari, July 16 – 31, 2011
• Secluded Botswana, September 9 – 21, 2011

“Look in the details. I find the strangest or most magical creatures and evidence of nature’s wonder come from the smallest things around us – and very often right in front of us. Put down the binoculars and get on the ground, or get real close to a tree and just wait for it. Something will move. Nature will come to you.”
-Christopher O’Leary, Video Producer

“No matter where I go, big city or small town, I always visit the local supermarket. I love to see all the different products lining the shelves – ketchup in tubes like toothpaste in Belgium, which spices they import to Longyearbyen in Norway, bottles of vanilla with handwritten labels in the Seychelles. Supermarkets tell me so much about the people living in a place, and they’re idea for souvenir shopping.”
-Elissa Poma, Travel Marketing Manager

“Go to a sports game. Nothing immerses you more in a culture – whether it’s a sold-out ice hockey game in Canada, an All Blacks rugby match in New Zealand or even a Cubs game in Chicago. There’s so much enthusiasm and tradition involved with sports – I love being a part of that.”
-Marsea Nelson, Travel Coordinator

“Walk. Walking through a new city, town, forest, jungle, desert or wherever I may find myself allows all my senses to take in the environment. I feel that I can get a better sense of an adventure when I can see, smell, hear, touch and taste the area. It also allows me to experience the lifestyle and surroundings from a ‘real time’ perspective … living each minute as it was intended and absorbing it all internally. Plus, I understand that it’s good exercise too.”
-Britta Justesen, Regional Director, Southwest