Monday, April 20, 2015

Quest for the Outdoors (YH#9)




                                                                               Attribution: Yusuf Hashim
Images: All images courtesy of Yusuf Hashim

This is the Modern Day Explorer #9
The Modern Day Explorer #8 (here)

Q for Quest for the Outdoors

Been there, done it! That is the usual confirmation one hears. But for Yusuf Hashim it is 'Been there, done it, Twice over!' That seems to be the underlying battle cry in the recent past. What prompts Yusuf to do a re-visit on those places around the globe. Perhaps he wants to share the experiences and the wonders of Mother Earth with as many as possible. In his own words,

Yusuf Hashim says:
Since 2008, I have done more than 50 photo safaris and workshops for groups of photographers from around the world. I've taken photographers to Bhutan, Kashmir, the Old Silk Road in Xinjiang Uyghur, Bangladesh, the Taklimakan Desert, Cuba, Tibet, Nepal, the Himalayas, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Korea, India, Ethiopia,  Africa, Kashmir, etc.

Yusuf is just back from Iceland. For ordinary folks one would be happy and satisfied with just an annual vacation. But not Yusuf. He has already cut out a program for the rest of the year. His plate is full!

Yusuf Hashim says:
When I come back I'll have time for a short rest, and then it's off to Morocco in mid May followed by North Korea end May to early June. In August we'll go to the Masai Mara in Kenya to shoot the wildebeest migration, with an optional side trip to Zanzibar..

In September I've already hired a 33m long and 65 tons schooner to sail into Scoresby Sound of Greenland to shoot Polar Bears, Breeching whales, sea lions, musk oxen, seals, Penguins, Orcas, etc.

As its a giant fjord, the waters will be as calm as glass....We'll sleep on board the schooner and during daylight we'll use fast Zodiac boats to go ashore and visit isolated settlements which cannot be reached by land. A highlight will be for you to earn bragging rights by swimming in the Artic Sea at 71°N where the temperatures can be as surprising as 13°C in summer. In the evening we will have dinner on board and then perhaps a cosy bonfire on the beach with story telling or singing.

And since you have to go to Iceland to reach Greenland, I'll also offer a short 7 days appetizer in Iceland from 1-7 Sep before the Greenland Expedition from 9-16 Sept.

And when we return from Greenland, the plan is to go to Patagonia before the year ends, with possibly a drive from Katmandu over the Himalaya to Lhasa to visit EBC on the North Face of Everest. We also want to do Bhutan, but we'll see how it goes.
(more of Yusuf Hashim here)

Hank just wonders where from the energy to take on the onslaught. As mentioned Yusuf is at the ripe young age of 70. Has Yusuf found the elixir of youth from his travels?

The Haiku
Quest for the outdoors
Roughing it out with nature
And all done in style

For Blogging from A to Z April Challenge - Q

8 comments:

  1. Wow, he has been everywhere and keeps on going everywhere. If he found that elixir he should share lol

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  2. Great thoughtful post again, life is grand. Age, we're as old as we feel right!

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  3. The older I get the more I feel the need to travel. I can relate to Yusuf.

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  4. I take it he likes travelling.? Wonderful ptoto's Hank and thanks for sharing.

    Yvonne.

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  5. He's one of the rare visitors to North Korea! "A rolling stone gathers no moss." This guy knows how to travel.
    Maui Jungalow

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