DAN HOPKINS
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From my first camping safari to Africa in 1983 to my most recent trip in June 2008 I have developed a fascination and love of traveling Africa. I first traveled to Africa in 1983 with Charles Darwin’s great-grandson, Quentin Keynes. Since then I’ve taken three extensive camping trips through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. In the summer of 2001 two friends joined John and I on a seven week trip where we
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| drove a Land Rover from Kenya to Johannesburg. I have a Masters degree in zoology from Colorado State University and second Masters degree in biochemistry from Dartmouth. I currently work as a research biologist for Merck, Inc. in Lebanon NH. Previously I've worked as a biologist on fishing vessels in the Bering Sea, Alaska; taught biology labs at Colorado State and Dartmouth, and working at a research lab at the Univ. of Colorado Health Sciences Center. While in Colorado I led natural history trips for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. I am the past president of our local NH Audubon Society Chapter having led many bird watching trips for them. In June 2008 I organized and led nine clients on a two week camping trip through South Africa. In addition to bird-watching, photography, and game drives we swam in the Indian Ocean and hiked in the Drakensberg Mountains. I am an experienced world traveler having visited Central and South America, Europe, Egypt, and of course, Africa. |
JOHN SOVELL
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After having traveled in Africa with Dan in 2001 I developed a fondness for the continent and a love for traveling to exotic far-off places not visited by the average tourist. My travels in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa have included many adventures. I will never forget seeing wild dogs for the first time right outside my Land Rover's window or experiencing a massive swarm of lake flies descending upon my campsite on the shores of Lake Malawi, filling my nose and mouth, making it nearly impossible to breathe. |
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For the past 15 years I have been a conservation biologist conducting research in the grasslands of the western U. S. My travels in Africa have been fascinating because the African landscape, particularly the grasslands of the Serengeti, Maasai Mara, and Makgadikgadi, mirror the areas where I work in the U. S. The grasslands of African and the western U. S. are eerily similar and upon stepping from my tent into the Makgadikgadi morning, wiping the sleep from my eyes I would pause and think, " Am I in the Colorado steppe readying for another days fieldwork, no, no I'm in Africa!" Some grasses adapted to the high salt content of the Magkadigkadi's soils are even from the same genera as grasses occurring on alkaline soils of the Colorado steppe. The similarity between the plants and animals of these grasslands is striking, yet they exist on separate continents attesting to the convergent forces (an arid climate, marginal soils, grazing, and fire) that have shaped their evolutionary history. On the steppe of Colorado it was bison, pronghorn, and elk that historically grazed the grassland while wolf, coyote, and fox roamed the landscape feeding upon the abundant prey. In the Serengeti, impala, wildebeest, and zebra among others are the grazers while wild dog, hyena, and jackal along with the lion, leopard, and cheetah not found in North America are the predators. The abundant wildlife and inspiring beauty of the African plain is truly magnificent to behold and I invite you along with Dan and I for the experience of a lifetime.
In addition to Africa, I have enjoyed many other adventures in places such as the Mideast, and South and Central America. I love biology, animals, and the outdoors, and my Masters research was conducted in Canada's Yukon Territory. The Yukon is one of the wildest and most unpopulated areas in North America, if not the world and my experience living there was life changing. The magnificence of the northern lights and the isolation of the region changed me forever. I now reside in northern Colorado where I work part time at Colorado State University overseeing research on rare Colorado animals. My work is rewarding and it keeps me closely connected to the natural world and its inherent beauty.
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