Laura Kiniry | Good Nature Travel Blog

The Baobab Tree: An African Icon and Longtime Legend

With its bulbous shape and a canopy that resembles an upside-down root system, the baobab tree is an iconic symbol of the African continent. Its origins are...

Laura Kiniry

Tracking Jaguars with the Onçafari Project: Conservation Travel in Brazil’s Pantanal

It was in the early morning when we first spotted Aracy, positioned near a small waterhole in Brazil’s southern Pantanal region. We followed her through the...

Laura Kiniry

5 Indigenous Climate Activists You Should Know

Indigenous activists have always been front and center in protecting the Earth and its resources, and we can all learn from their deep spiritual, cultural and...

Laura Kiniry

Meet Iceland’s Magical Creatures

While traveling along Iceland’s South Coast, our group came upon a rocky outcrop on the side of the road. “Over there is where the elves live,” said our guide...

Laura Kiniry

This Nonprofit is Working to Protect Howler Monkeys from Costa Rica’s Power Lines

The first time Chris Martin heard a howler monkey's cries, he thought it was a jet plane taking off. Martin was an epidemiology student visiting Costa Rica’s...

Laura Kiniry

New Study Shows the Positive Impacts Conservation has on Biodiversity

It was the early evening when we spotted our first jaguar, a male named Timbó, who was lounging in the tall grass of Brazil’s Pantanal, waiting for night to...

Laura Kiniry

Sailing South: Five Famous Antarctic Expeditions

The first time I saw Antarctica, I cried. It’d been a couple of days aboard ship cruising the notoriously rough waters of the Drake Passage, but when I raised...

Laura Kiniry

Meet Schoolteacher Stacey Leffler, a Recipient of Nat Hab’s Monarch Butterfly Scholarship Grant

With its native wildflowers, paved bicycle trail, and two small lakes, Ohio’s Sylvan Prairie Park may not look like much to outsiders. But for seventh-grade...

Laura Kiniry

How to Get a Picture of a Wild Himalayan Snow Leopard

In the autumn of 1973, wilderness writer and naturalist Peter Matthiessen joined preeminent field biologist George Schaller high in Nepal's Himalayan...

Laura Kiniry

5 Safari Destinations Outside of Africa

The first time I saw a blue-footed booby in the wild, I was memorized. It was on North Seymour Island in the Galapagos archipelago, and the aptly named avian...

Laura Kiniry

Meet the All-Women Volunteer Firefighters Making a Big Difference in Borneo

For years, wildfires have plagued the landscape of Indonesian Borneo’s Ketapang Regency, threatening its communities and the region’s flora and fauna, which...

Laura Kiniry

The Galapagos Tortoises Reviving an Island’s Ecosystem

When English naturalist Charles Darwin first arrived in the Galapagos Islands in 1835, he noted the differences in giant tortoises from island to island....

Laura Kiniry

Renowned Whale Research Scientist Ari Friedlaender Joins Nat Hab Travelers in Antarctica

Seeing a whale in Antarctic waters is nothing short of extraordinary. Thousands of humpbacks, fins, orcas and minkes spend the continent’s summer months...

Laura Kiniry

A Tale of Two Condors

On a late May day in 2020, a rare sighting occurred. For the first time in nearly 50 years, California condors had landed within Sequoia National Park, along...

Laura Kiniry

Essential Packing Tips for Your African Safari

We spotted him during an early morning game drive through South Africa’s Madikwe Reserve: a male lion resting within the grasslands, his thick mane touching...

Laura Kiniry

How Tomorrow’s Air is Investing in Our Future

Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one of Earth’s oldest and most biologically diverse forests. It’s also home to half of the world’s population of...

Laura Kiniry

How to Choose the Right African Safari for You

At least a dozen elephants stood on a hillside amid Aberdare National Park’s dense greenery, a few bathing themselves in water from a nearby fall while the...

Laura Kiniry

Understanding Invasive Species: A Conservation Imperative

On the day before our 200-passenger ship was set to arrive in Antarctica’s Marguerite Bay, the onboard Discovery Team performed a mandatory clothing check of...