In August 2025, I travelled to Central America for the first time with a small group to explore Costa Rica with its lush tropical rainforests, picturesque beaches and incredible variety of wildlife. The three-week tour of the country started in the capital, San José. From there, our group travelled north to the Arenal Volcano, Tenorio Volcano National Park and Rincón de la Vieja National Park, before turning south towards Manuel Antonio and Corcovado National Park.

Corcovado is one of the most biodiverse places in the world where you can see a wide variety of animals - If you're a wildlife enthusiast, this is the place to go. The next stop was San Gerardo de Dota, a small town in Costa Rica's Talamanca Mountains, surrounded by lush cloud forest and a paradise for birdwatchers. People from all over the world come here to catch a glimpse of one of the rare Resplendent Quetzals. Afterwards, we visited the southern Caribbean coast to hike in Cahuita National Park.

Thanks to our wonderful local tour guide Patrick Odermatt, who emigrated to Costa Rica 20 years ago, our group learned a lot about Costa Rican culture and history. Above all, he shared his extensive knowledge of the country's flora and fauna with us. Without him, we would not have been able to track down, observe and, of course, photograph so many animals.

Matador Bug (Anisoscelis alipes), a 'leaf-footed' bug in the family Coreidae with typical expanded hind legs

past adventures

Madagascar is an island country in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Africa. It is a melting pot of different cultures and traditions. Its capital and largest city is Antananarivo, also known as 'Tana'. In May 2025, I spent two weeks in the country as part of a small travel group. Travelling in Madagascar, especially by car, can be challenging as most of the roads are in very poor condition. Certain routes can only be travelled in off-road vehicles. Alternatively, you can enter a boat or book one of the few available domestic flights.

Madagascar's unique wildlife was one of the main reasons for me to travel to this country. I was able to observe numerous animals, but would have liked to have had a little more time to do so. However, due to the tight schedule of the organised tour, this was sometimes not possible. I was also slowed down a bit by an infection in the second week. That beeing said, I had a good time and have fond memories of the many warm encounters with the Madagascans during the tour.

In September 2024, I went on a two-week safari tour through Uganda. One of the highlights of this trip was the opportunity to see mountain gorillas in the wild. These gentle giants can be found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. I also visited Kibale National Park, Murchison Falls National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park and observed a variety of other animals.

In July 2024, I went on a three-week safari tour through Zambia. I had the opportunity to visit a number of National Parks, including North and South Luangwa National Park.

Antarctic: See the highlights of an expedition cruise in November and December 2023 on board the Plancius to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica. Despite the restrictions in place due to the bird flu outbreak, we were able to observe many animals.

Six years after my first trip to Greenland, I traveled to East Greenland again for two weeks in July 2023 to catch up on some excursions and hikes that I couldn't do in 2017. Once again, I had a great time in the Arctic wilderness, even though not all excursions could be done as planned due to the sometimes bad weather and scheduling problems.
From mid-September to mid-October 2022, I was again travelling with a small tour group in Chad. Having already travelled to the Ennedi in 2018, this time I wanted to explore the Tibesti, the highest desert mountain range in the Sahara. It is located in the far northwest of Chad. Getting there is a challenge in itself and meant long drives by off-road vehicle (4500 kilometres in total). Starting point was the capital N'Djamena.

At the end of the Tibesti tour I also had the opportunity to visit the Gerewol festival of the Wodaabe nomads south of N'Djamena in the Sahel. An extraordinary experience and a real highlight of this Chad trip. Make sure to check out my photographs.

In July 2022, I travelled to Western Mongolia to go hiking in the Altai mountains. I visited Altai Tavan Bogd National Park together with Mongolians of Kazakh origin and the Tuva tribe, as well as camels and horses.

In November 2021, I took part in a desert hike in the Rub al Khali (or the ‘Empty Quarter’) in Oman. With my photographs I have tried to capture the magic and beauty of the desert.

In August 2021, I returned to Russia to explore the northern part of the Kamchatka peninsula on foot. Even though the weather could have been better, I did not regret traveling to the Far East again.

In autumn 2019, I spent two weeks in Northern Sudan and explored many archaeological sites along the River Nile, including the pyramids of Meroë.

In late summer 2019, I travelled to the Far East of Russia for the first time and explored the southern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula on foot. One of the highlights was a six-day trekking tour in an area near the famous Kuril Lake, accompanied by a former bear hunter. I also spent two days at the Kurile Lake observing brown bears.

In November 2018, I took part in a two-week desert expedition in Chad to visit the Ennedi massif (plateau) in Chad's remote north-eastern corner. It contains one of the world's largest concentrations of prehistoric art, yet is barely known to the rest of the world.

To reach this region, you have to drive 1,000 kilometres in four days from the capital N'Djamena through the Sahara Desert. During our journey northwards, our small group of travellers repeatedly encountered nomads who brought their animals to the few available wells to provide them with life-giving water.

In August 2018, I spent two exciting weeks in Botswana and explored the vast, wildlife-rich Okavango Delta, the green 'heart' of the Kalahari Desert. Find out why the country is one of the great safari destinations in Africa.

In 2017, I returned to Nepal for one of the most scenic treks in Nepal, the Manaslu Circuit. The trek offers breathtaking views of the Himalayas and is also culturally very diverse. Despite its increase in popularity, the Manaslu Trek remains remote and off the beaten track compared to the more popular tea house treks in Nepal.