From Germany, the low-level flight path takes in Italy and the Mediterranean Sea via Crete, before crossing Africa via Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia before ending in South Africa towards the end of October.

Travelling together with friend Stefan Breuer, their objective is to capture the beauty of Africa from a bird's-eye view, and to share their eight-week adventure with readers around the world.

You might remember that I linked to Poliza's work before, after realising I'd missed out on the Starship Millennium Voyage - a 1000 day educational circumnavigation around our planet which ended in 2001.

This time he's only a week into the expedition - and you can follow their progress via his Heli-Afrika 2006 Flickr set, and read about their first few days at travel.iafrica.com. I'm hope they're going to update that page regularly because I haven't found a written journal for the trip yet, although his photography does speak for itself most of the time.

UPDATE: Check out Michael's 'Namibia Slideshow' presentation off the downloads page on his website. It's a 16mb file, but trust me, you've never seen anything like it.

UPDATE [10/10]: Heli-Africa website is live, I've just discovered - complete with daily diary, route map and a full high-resolution photo gallery! Sweet.

Nature is overwhelming. From the largest mammal to the tiniest microbe, it is a system so magnificent that one can respond only with utter wonderment.

I sat for over an hour solid today clicking through Michael Poliza's nature photography, adding to my favourites as I went along. I especially enjoyed the Namibia after the rain (aerials taken last month) and Botswana sets, and the B&W Himba portraits. Words can't even begin to give them justice, just check them out.

And how did I miss Starship Millennium Voyage - a 1000 day educational circumnavigation around our planet ending in 2001, which was avidly followed by millions online. Poliza, a native German currently living in Cape Town, was the project director. Check out his website for more.

The final journal entry dated June 21st, ends with the following:

Think of the Earth as an immensely beautiful and complex living organism. An infinite set of carefully equilibrated variables maintain life. Through arrogance and ignorance, Homo sapiens are dismantling the system to make room for individual ambition, unaware that the actions of one are mirrored by many. The destruction is violent and extensive, the situation is critical. Already damage has been caused that can never be repaired.

Hope lies in global comprehension of a collective responsibility. Positive action, urgently summoned, is required to minimise human impact and maximise conservation efforts.

Find a recognised organisation (such as the WWF, Nature Conservancy or the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust) involved in lobbying for the protection of the environment and restoring ecology at a grass-roots level. Support it.

Happy Earth Day 2006.