Thijs Heslenfeld - travel photographer & wilderness guide

A sailing trip to Antarctica is a lifechanging experience, even more so on board Dutch barque Europa (check those guys out here!). Here I got the inspiration for my first photobook ‘Cold’.
 
This shot is still one of my best selling images ever. Many people think it's some sort of Photoshop trick. I decided to take that as a compliment.

The Amsterdam-Dakar Challenge is quite an adventure. The challenge is driving an old car from max 500 Euros all the way from Amsterdam tot Dakar, Senegal. Fully unsupported, as they call it- meaning there is no back up other than the other participants..

I participated in 2013 with a 15 year old Volvo 850 stationwagen. This shot I took in the desert in Mauritania, where we got stuck in a rather dangerous place. Local Al Qaeda gangs behead the odd tourist here every now and then.. Lucky enough we had some army guys with us, making sure we were safe.

In 2018 I'll spend another 2 months in the remotest parts of Namibia during March-May. Driving around in a well equipped 4WD, waking up in places where nature is as pure as it gets, and where not many people dare to venture.

Namibia is different from my other projects, because this time I am not alone. Every week another guest joins me - to share this adventure.  Click here for all the details.

Want to know more? Twelve earlier guests talk about their experience in my photo book Empty.

Three elephants crossing the Zambezi River from Zambia into Zimbabwe. I took the photo about ten kilometres upstream of Victoria Falls.

I keep my fingers crossed for the elephants, because moving to Zimbabwe right now is not a good idea for big game. The countries' terrible economy leads to more and more poaching every day. 

For nature lovers, the little sultanate of Brunei is a rather pleasant surprise on the island of Borneo. Both the Indonesian and Malaysian parts of Borneo have suffered greatly from commercial logging. But Brunei is filthy rich because of the oil found here (they even call it the 'Shellfare state'), so there was never any need to start logging. Although pretty small, Temburong National Park is a great place to see a sunrise from the canopy, with plenty of wildlife around.

Many people in Europe think cowboys are a thing of the past. But in countries like the US, Canada and Australia there’s still plenty of them. And in South America, the gaucho lifestyle hasn’t changed much over the past century.

This shot of two gauchos I took in Argentina just before crossing the border into Chili, high up in the Andes, during the Volvo Panamericana.  

Definitely one of my best sailing trips ever: sailing the wooden Buginese schooner Katharina all the way from Papua to Flores.

This is one of the most remote corners of Indonesia, with bounty islands scattered everywhere. Some of the best snorkeling I’ve seen in years too!

When I went to Bali, Indonesia for the first time in 2011 on assignment, frankly I wasn't expecting too much. I had heard too many stories about how great this place was - in my experience that could only mean that by now it had been completely spoilt. I was wrong! I loved Bali from the start till the end. What an incredibly beautiful place, lovely people, spectacular food. Check out this view that I enjoyed over breakfast: unforgettable. Wanna know where it is? I'm not sharing it here, but if you drop me a note, I'm happy to tell you where to go!

A sailing trip to Antarctica is a lifechanging experience, even more so on board Dutch barque Europa (check those guys out here!). Here I got the inspiration for my first photobook ‘Cold’.
 
I took this shot in Paradise Bay, on a bright and sunny day. It has been published as a 2 page spread in more than 10 magazines worldwide.

Another great adventure: the Volvo Panamericana. Driving 100 classical Volvo’s all the way through South America, 17.000 km’s from Ushuaia, Argentina to Cartagena, Colombia.

I joined the trip to shoot for a book to be published on this epic journey. I took this shot just after we crossed the 4000 meter high border between Peru and Bolivia, high up in the Andes. This beautiful Volvo P1800 had given up here, but was to be recovered in time, and made it to Colombia in the end.

After driving the endless Great Central Road for 1.200 km’s finally the beautiful Olga’s - near Uluru - came in sight. I decided to camp one more night in the wild in this deserted place, where you can only travel with special permits.

Camping all alone in places like this can make me feel like I’m the only human being in the whole wide world. And that can be either scary
or great, or both. In my book 'Hot' I shared a 10.000 kilometer trip like this, all the way through Australia's red centre on my own.

Sailing to to the Antarctic Peninsula from South America, there is always the Drake Passage to cross. That means 4 days of tough sailing, the wind and the water getting colder and colder.

And with a bit of luck, you'll be treated with a real storm like this one. These waves are HUGE, check out the albatross sailing in the wind not far from the centre of this picture. His wingspan of 2 metres puts everything perfectly in perspective...

Blessi Koese (11)  enjoying himself in a rapid in the Gran Rio River, near Awarradam. This photo made it to the cover of my book 'Au!'.

A lonely grave close to the deserted Mt. Dutton Railway Siding, along the Oodnadatta Track.

The wreck of the 'Bayard' in South Georgia's Ocean Harbour. Visiting South Georgia on board the barque Europa was spectacular. Not only because of the incredible wildlife here, but also because I have always remembered the name of this island ever since the Falkland war started here back in 1982. The first Argentinian soldier that was killed during this war, died on South Georgia. His grave is now in a small graveyard in Grytviken, almost next to the grave of famous British polar explorer Ernest Shackleton.

Speaking of which: South Georgia is where Shackleton's famous journey on the James Caird ended in 1916. A spectacular story well known to each and everyone in the UK. Check it out here.

Ruined tyres are the most common sign of human life in the outback.

I took this shot somewhere along Walkers Crossing, a very remote shortcut between the Birdsville Track and the Strzeslecki Track in Sturt Stony Desert, South Australia, while shooting for my book ‘Hot’.

Mauritius is one of those paradise islands often named together with The Maldives and Seychelles. I think Mauritius is the most attractive of those three, because the island has kept his own identity, despite tourism. There are still plenty of local markets and the beach is accessible for everybody (by law!) - making this place more than just a few incredible beaches.

The Volvo Panamaricana brought a 100 classical Dutch Volvo’s from Buenos Aires all the way South to Ushuaia, then up North to Colombia. A hefty 17.000 kilometres.

This shot was taken somewhere along the endless border between Chile and Argentina - I can’t even remember which side it was. 

Quite an adventure this trip. And in 2014 they’ll be doing the Panama-Alaska section! 

A sailing trip to Antarctica is a lifechanging experience, even more so on board Dutch barque Europa (check those guys out!). Here I got the inspiration for my first photobook ‘Cold’.
 
When in Antarctica little Zodiacs are your way of transport. And landing is not always easy here. I can still re,member the plesant sound that thousands of icecubes made here.

This guy was an interesting story. On most Antarctic trips (even the ones on a sailing vessel) the passengers are pretty well-to-do. But this man, Pascal from Belgium, was not. He worked in roadbuilding. But because he became 'worker of the year' he got 5.000 Euros from his boss, provided that he'd spend it on a holiday. Pascal booked the expensive Antarctica trip and with the money left he bought himself a camera and this impressive parka. 

I'm not sure if I ever saw somebody enjoying himself so much. Pascal had the time of his life and he was great company. It's been a while, but I never forgot the story that brought him to Antarctica.

The entrance to Nilpinna cattle station on the Oodnadatta Track.

Another shot I took during the Volvo Panamericana. 

After deserted Patagonia came another emptry place of our planet: the Chilean coast. For days and days we would drive here along the western border of the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on earth. 

Not much business around here, apart from some mining and this other little economy that is everywhere: tyres and gas.