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Photos and Stories

Bernie and Denise Down Under

February 16 – 24, 2019 New Zealand

February 25 – March 4, 2019 Australia

Bernie and Denise started their exploration of New Zealand’s north island in Auckland, then boarded Le Laperouse to make a figure 8 around  the entire country.  They sailed down the east coast of the north island and the west coast of the south island, ending in Queenstown.  Along the way they visited a Maori village; an active volcano; the beautiful city of Napier during the Art Deco festival; the capitol city, Wellington; Milford Sound during a rain storm; disembarked at Dunedin and ended their exploration in Queenstown on the south island.

That was followed by a flight across “the ditch” and a whirlwind tour along the east coast of Australia.  Starting in Melbourne (the “r” is silent), up to Cairns (this “r” is also silent) and the Great Barrier Reef, and ending in Sydney.

Clicking on any of the links below will open a new tab showing thumbnails of photo highlights.  Clicking on any thumbnail will expand the photo and clicking on the “i” to the right of a picture tells a little about it.
View of Queenstown, NZ
Queenstown, across Lake Wakatipu from our hotel, the Hilton Queenstown
Highlights of New Zealand
Sydney Opera House at night
Sydney Opera House at night
Highlights of Australia
Masked Lapwing bird
Masked Lapwing
Bernie's birds of Australia and New Zealand

The Quest for Leopard

October 22 – 30, 2018

Our third photo safari to Africa was focused on finding leopard.  Cheetah would be a bonus.  We succeeded!  And beyond.   Photos were taken at Mashatu in Botswana, and at MalaMala in South Africa.  All of the images and video were photographed by Bernie or Denise (except for the images of us).

Click on a link to view the album
Mother cheetah and three cubsSome of our best Africa 2018 photos
Rhinoceros mother and babyAction video of baby and juvenile elephants, baboons, rhinoceros, lions and cheetah among others. Warning: Some animals are grazers, some are predators. This video contains both.
Red-eyed Dove, Swainson's Spurfowl and an impala overlooking them at water's edgeRelaxing video slideshow look at most of the types of mammals, birds and reptiles that we saw
Close-up of baby elephant nursing with its trunk curled up over its head.All of the individual photos from the video slideshow (82 types of bird, four reptiles, about 26 mammals)

Doug Mayoff (Abr) family

Harley, Dylan, Cynthia, Doug, Chelsea Mayoff Vaupshas, Ryan Vaupshas 

  • Son Harley, 22, graduated McGill law school in December 2018 and is entering bar school in January.  He has a position at top law firm Stikeman Elliot.
  • Son Dylan, 28, and living in New York and works for Saks 5th Ave in loyalty marketing.
  • Doug’s wife, Cynthia, is a happy mom and wife.
  • Doug just happily sold his 36 year business to a company who is taking on all his staff which delights Doug.
  • Daughter Chelsea, 31, and a graduate lawyer but working in sales and marketing in the fashion business which was always her passion.
  • Chelsea’s husband of 2 ½ years, Ryan Vaupshas, heads up the Canadian division of a large European consulting company.

Bernie and Denise Mayoff in the Galapagos

February 25 – March 6, 2018

Our adventure started in Guayquil, Ecuador and then 300 miles into the Pacific to cruise, hike, snorkel and marvel among seven of the islands in this volcanic archipelago.  We were lucky enough to see and even capture a fleeting image of a rare, albino finch.  We’re pleased to share this small portion of our photographic library with friends.  All of the images, including the motion clips and underwater images in the adventure video, were photographed by Bernie or Denise except for some of the images of us.  The separate snorkeling video was photographed by our guides using their GoPro cameras.

Click on a link to view the album
Penguin head, in profile, peeking up out of the oceanSome of the most interesting, rare or challenging images
Galapagos adventures - video
School of Razor SurgeonfishSnorkeling in the Galapagos - video
Bernie and Denise standing on a beachAll of the still images in the Bernie and Denise video

Bernie Mayoff Family – Thanksgiving 2017

Thanksgiving 2017 at Fogo de Chao. (L-R) Backrow: Delia Mayoff, Rob Mayoff, Richard Navarrete Jr., Denise Mayoff, Cheryl Navarrete, Jeff Mayoff. Front row: Bernie Mayoff, Cassandra Mayoff, Gwendolyn Navarrete, Mitchell Navarrete, Richard Navanrete
Thanksgiving 2017 at Fogo de Chao. (L-R) Backrow: Delia Mayoff, Rob Mayoff, Richard Navarrete Jr., Denise Mayoff, Cheryl Navarrete, Jeff Mayoff. Front row: Bernie Mayoff, Cassandra Mayoff, Gwendolyn Navarrete, Mitchell Navarrete, Richard Navanrete

Bernie and Denise Mayoff Family Thanksgivings: 1994 – 2017

The Leizer Majew Family, our Denmark branch

Back row from left to right: Oscar, died 1953; Lise, died 1928; Chaim (Kaj), died ( 1940s in Sweden during the war); Schloima (Shchlomo), died 1973 Bottom row from left to right: Leizer, died 1930; Peter died 1963; Scheine, died 1947, Max, died 1982
Back row from left to right: Oscar, died 1953; Lise, died 1928; Chaim (Kaj), died ( 1940s in Sweden during the war);
Schloima (Shchlomo), died 1973
Bottom row from left to right: Leizer, died 1930; Peter died 1963; Scheine, died 1947, Max, died 1982

Photo courtesy:  Ruth Krogh-Jensen (née Majew) daughter of Schlomo Majew and provided by Helle Majew on Dec 1, 2015.