Nicholas Bratton
Nicholas is a lifelong adventurer and traveler with a knack for finding unexpected ways into unusual situations — like guest DJ-ing on Zambian national radio.
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Time Travel
Return to the Tugela
After nearly two decades away, Nicholas Bratton revisits South Africa and the turbulent waters of the Tugela River to see how a community…
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About the Journalist
Nicholas Bratton is a lifelong adventurer and traveler. His Outdoors pursuits have included working for five years as a whitewater rafting guide, including on the Tugela River in South Africa. He co-founded Adventure Professionals, Inc., which led rafting trips as well as kayaking, rock climbing, and wilderness ethics training across Washington State. Bratton has also worked as a mountaineering instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School, as a guide for Alpine Ascents International, and is a Leave No Trace Master Educator.
Bratton’s travels have taken him to 30 countries on three continents. He has a knack for finding unexpected ways into unusual situations, such as appearing on Zambian national radio as a guest DJ, dancing on stage with Sir Mix-a-Lot, sleeping through a hippo stampede that flattened his tent, and landing on a Danish navy frigate in the North Atlantic in a helicopter. Bratton’s work has appeared in the Boston Globe, Daily Telegraph, University of Michigan Press, Overland Journal, Alloy + Grit, Land Rover Monthly, and Rovers Magazine. He is currently writing several books which he hopes to finish eventually.