You will hear us!!

GVC has purchased an induction loop to provide those of us who need hearing assistance. It will be in operation at Chapter meetings. You can use it in at least 2 ways: if you use hearing aids that are equipped with a t-coil, just turn on that feature for the presentation. We also have 5 personal receivers for individual use. Either way, you will have an enhanced experience.
Contact Bill Lindenfelser or Katy Kuczek for more info.

7:30 pm Program:

Touring the Land Down Under

by Reinhard Gsellmeier

In November 2025 Reinhard and his wife Kayanne spent 18 days with 14 other adventurers touring the eastern half of the continent of Australia. This was a guided trip with touring company Overseas Adventure Travel. The focus of the trip was to experience the diverse Australian landscape (everything from a tropical rainforest to an arid desert), see firsthand the diverse and unique wildlife that is Australia, and learn about the culture of Australia and the native Aboriginal people. The trip included some hiking, snorkeling and even some whitewater rafting.

The presentation will include photos of sites that were visited, including:

• botanical gardens in both Melbourne and Sydney;
• several beaches and their spectacular coastlines;
• sites of cultural significance to the Aboriginal people of Australia;
• the Koorie Heritage Trust, which is dedicated to the preservation of Aboriginal art & artifacts;
• Australia’s spectacular southern coast that lies along the Southern Ocean, including a visit to Australia’s Great Ocean Road National Park (famous for its dramatic sea cliffs, rugged beaches, and the Twelve Apostles limestone stacks);
• a temperate rain forest along Australia’s southern coast;
• the tropical Daintree Rain Forest along Australia’s northern coast, the oldest surviving rainforest in the world;
• a wildlife sanctuary on the Mornington Peninsula;
• the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Alice Springs;
• the spectacular rocky and desert scenery of the rugged Australian Outback, including hikes into Simpsons Gap and Standley Chasm in West MacDonnell National Park;
• the Alice Springs Telegraph Station;
• Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, with hikes around the spectacular geologic formations of Uluru (formerly Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta – both of which are sacred to the Aboriginal people;
• the Great Barrier Reef;
• the famous Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge; and
• Hyde Park Barracks, which housed convicts from Great Britian sent to Australia in the 1800s.

The presentation will also include photos of many species of wildlife that are unique to Australia, such as kangaroo, koalas, emus, wombats, dingo dogs, echidnas, kookaburras, wallabies, gecko lizards, crocodiles, cassowaries – and even a boa constrictor.

Reinhard’s presentation will also include a discussion on the colonization of Australia by the British in the 1800s, the resulting dramatic negative impact on the Indigeneous People of Australia, and the efforts being made to give Aboriginal People a greater say in the government of Australia.

7:30 pm Program:

Portraits of Adirondack 46Rs

by Kate Sage

Kate Sage’s portrait series explores what it means to be an Adirondack 46er beyond the accomplishment of reaching all 46 High Peaks. Through portraits and personal stories, Sage examines the different ways people find meaning in the mountains, from challenge and personal transformation to community, mentorship, stewardship, and giving back.

There is no single path through the Adirondacks. Some are chasing all 46 peaks, some are still working toward the goal, and others have found their place through mentorship, stewardship, or simply returning to the mountains again and again, always leaving it a better place than they found it. Together, their stories show that the 46er experience is about far more than a list of summits.

For some, the mountains become a place to rebuild. For others, they become a place to push their limits, find community, or discover a deeper connection to the landscape. Through photographs and stories, Sage looks beyond the summit to explore the people behind the challenge and the experiences that keep them coming back. At its heart, the project asks a simple but much bigger question: What do the mountains give us, and what do we give back?

7:30 pm Program:

The Pantanal

by Jerry Miller

In the middle of South America , in southwest Brazil lies a region known as the Pantanal. The Pantanal is the Worlds largest tropical wetland and seasonal floodplain. It covers an estimated area of between 54,000 to 81,000 square miles or about 43.5 million acres, roughly the size of the U.S. state of Washington. The majority of the Pantanal, about 80%, is in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sol. The remaining 20% extends into Bolivia and Paraguay. During the rainy season, November through March, the Pantanal receives an average rainfall of between 40 – 60 inches, turning the lowlands into a giant shallow inland sea, raising water levels several meters and making many roads impassable.

While not as well known as the Amazon to the north, the Pantanal is one of the most biologically rich environments on the planet with more than 4700 plant and animal species.The World Wildlife Fund for Nature estimates there are 650 species of birds, 159 species of mammals and 98 species of reptiles in the Pantanal. The Pantanal contains South America’s highest concentration of some iconic wildlife species, including jaguars, caiman and giant river otters.

Jaguars in the Pantanal are about twice the size of jaguars in other regions of South or Central America. Adult males in this area range between 220-280 lbs with the largest pushing 300 lbs. The Pantanal also has the highest concentration of jaguars in the world with some areas reaching up to 12 individuals per 38 square miles. About 90% of a jaguars diet in this area is made up of caiman. The caiman population in the Pantanal is estimated to be 10 million.

In August of this year, I spent ten days traveling in the Northern Pantanal photographing the unique and amazing wildlife that calls the Pantanal home. The majority time was spent in a long, narrow motorboat called a voadeira, exploring the Cuiaba and Piquiri Rivers and their various tributaries and channels, in search of jaguars and other wildlife.

In my presentation I will describe where and what constitutes the Pantanal and some of the challenges it faces. I’ll talk about my trip to get there, places I stayed and my travels in the Pantanal. My presentation will include many images of the wildlife I photographed and I’ll share some interesting facts about these unique creatures.