HallowBreen

 Nyx Breen invited us to come for a pre-party party on his new build on Immersive 4 one of a group of VAR regions on Pangea Grid. Owned by Marlon Wayne and his partner Tutz Zabelin, Pangea is home to some of Opensim's premiere artists including Lampithaler Artist, Tina Bey, Cherry Manga,  recent arrival Mike Fleetwood plus many more.

This new build called Morpheus Oneiroi is another surreal trip through shape color and movement with a bit of a Halloween twist to it. As usual, Nyx urges everyone to have graphics set way high but obviously, you need to do what's right for your own screen and eyeballs, as the full effect of this art can be too much for very tired eyes, or the photosensitive. 

Arriving on Pangea. Even without the shared environment, it's still a unique place.

Nyx Breen: hello all welcome,  is every one in shared setting?

Lysondra June: Looks great, Nyx !!

Thirza Ember: fast rez too

Spax Orion: IS THIS what Dismayland would look like with PBR?

Nyx Breen: no PBR is used here, just EEP and effects

Spax Orion: /me picks jaw up off of floor

Safari Goes to the Lounge

First up this week with its crazy out-of-kilter start time (come the revolution, we will all go with Solar time and forget the stupid twice-annual clock change) the Safari tourists headed out to Craft Grid to a set of sims owned by Art Blue and Juliette Surrealdreaming. If you're an old old friend of the Safari, you will remember many trips to visit Art, back in the days when Safari departed weekly from Francogrid. Good times. Art really blew our minds with some spectacular pieces, on Metro and elsewhere, occasionally showing us stuff imported from SL - once, he even convinced Bryn Oh to join us. In recent years, he has made his home on Craft. This week, we began our trip on sim Oracle Lounge, full HG address as always at the end of the post.

The Nine Goddesses build on Craft

This build  consists of ten waypoints along a meandering path through landscape (and at one point under water) to the final spot where gifts and explanatory brochures await. The build and peripheral materials are a joint effort by both our hosts, although Art is always quick to remind everyone that Juliette (in RL Kisma Reidling) is the artist, not he. 

Arriving a the 9 Goddesses

Juliette Surrealdreaming: Welcome to the 9 Goddess Adventure HG Safari tour! Thank you for coming today. I will help you navigate today's 50 minute tour of my 3 regions. We will spend 10 minutes on each. I will send out a notice and tp anyone not at the next start point.

Jojo at the Cove

 Jojo Apple, also known to many as Harmony Beningborough, has a cute new grid called Harmony's Haven and this week the Safari crew came for a visit. She has been a resident of various grids across Opensim. Recently, she decided to pick up sticks from OSgrid and move into a grid of her own, bringing with her Mermaid's Cove, a region with a waterside theme. The new grid opened at the end of September, so it's a fresh new place for the group to visit, and no doubt we will be back to see even more of Jojo's sims.

Lavia LLavine: Excited much Jojo?

Jojo Apple: um. No. TERRIFIED! giggles

Lavia LLavine: I dunno why you know most of the folks. Just relax and be you

Jojo Apple: There is a LOT here :) Color, movement...I hope everything looks great to everyone!

Thirza Ember: ok here comes the group

Lavia LLavine: Incoming!!

The Tree of Forest

Our first stop this week was on Neverworld, at the Forest of Azure the home of singer, storyteller, builder, erotic photographer, and Safari regular Forest Azure. Forest was the principal guest in a really interesting episode of Inworld Review back in 2024 too, and hopefully she will soon be a guest again. As you know, each Safari is made up of two destinations, often with very different themes, and this week our second destination was in a mermaid's lagoon, that's why some of us look a little ...fishy. 

The landing point of the region is on a sky platform, where you can find both the Maze build - it looks like a one story stone castle, and also the Azure Gallery where you can see some of Forest's photos.

We quickly teleported down to ground level to meet up with Forest, under the branches of a gigantic tree growing directly out of the Opensim Ocean.

Forest Azure: Welcome safaristas!  Today we will visit this tree and the maze gallery that you saw before, but with a different content. We will start our safari with this tree: Lothlorien. There are several spots in this tree-world to explore. While you are exploring, I will tp groups of 3 to the maze. I will start teleporting for the maze in about 15 minutes. The maze is now about a story you all know: Cinderella. But mind you: this is Cinderella Azu style!

Into the Vortex

 Our second destination this week was the Electric Vortex region of Tenth Dimension grid, home to newlyweds Star Ravenhurst and Drew Blood. 

Star's been a regular Safari tourist for the past few years. However some months ago, her gaming laptop died and she found it impossible to do a lot of group grid-jumping with the 'potato' computer she had to resort to. This was sad for us, but it led to a big increase in her creativity in other ways. Always a fan of AI, Star began to explore ways of using it to make music, and has created a whole lot of tracks. New husband Drew Blood is a DJ so it's a match made in heaven as he curates song lists that often feature Star's work. This week in combination with the ongoing OSFest, Star and Drew invited us to an entertainment region, and like Drew's playlists it's an eclectic as well as electric place to visit. 

Drew Blood: Greetings. Welcome to the Electric Vortex

Aphra Hendrix: hey Drew, nice to meet you in person

Petlove Petshop: Sorry Angelica!

Angelic Kisses: no prob...didn't hurt at all :)

Lavia Lavine: My cloak vanished.  The parachute from our first destination did it.

Shelenn Ayres: Greetings carbon units!

Spax Orion: This unit is mads of plasma not carbon

Thirza Ember: some missing textures but on the whole, pretty darn impressive for the Safari

Spax Orion: I see everything just fine

Lavia Lavine: Same here I see it all beautifully

Koshari Mahana: I hope I am wearing clothes lol

Cherry Manga: candiiiies for the eyes!

Star Ravenhurst: Welcome everyone. This is a club region and we will be having an event with music this Sunday, Oct 18th and Drew will be spinning the music and I will do my best to host you all.

Drew Blood: I kinda made the track go into the next, like the album

Chute Case

 Pack your bags it's time for another Safari trip this time a sort of return journey to the big Airport build by Jason Flux and master scripter Karsten Runningbear. Jason's beautiful and meticulous mesh sets off a series of industrial landscapes with trains, planes, and commercial vehicles. This is a man's world, the ultimate train set with all the advantages of automation and no bits left lying on the floor to step on in the night. I love it.

Karsten Runningbear and Jason Flux

Jason and his wife Finja Flux are of course famous for their sci-fi build Fluxantis, a jewel of original hand-blendered meshwork. Karsten - well, for my money he's king of the transport scripts. The whole sim zings with life, movement, industry, and the charm of interlocking movement.

There were loads of us this week, but arriving on Pangea the lag was minimal. 

We have visited the Air Race before, but on a different region, with much less infrastructure. This time we were on a region called Pangea A023, so if you go exploring or following in our footsteps, make sure you're in the right place! The HG Address is of course at the end of the post.

Cherry (in the white shirt) asks for scripting tips

Jason Flux -> en: Hello everyone

Karsten Runningbear -> en: Welcome to our Sim! Jason and I are building it and we have some news for you. Some of you may already be familiar with The Sim; we've added a few new things.  First we'll take a look at the railway. Then we'll go skydiving. Please click on the "Viewing Platform" sign.

Dings Digital: I like the busy port and industrial area

Cat's Labyrinth

Our second stop this week was on Alternate Metaverse grid where we were guests of Cataplexia Numbers who invited us to come see a maze build called Labyrinth, inspired by the 1986 movie of the same name. 

Stories-high hedges flank long passageways full of strange and improbable plants that are eerily beautiful and just a little unsettling. The final goal is to reach the palace in the sky, where Cliff Hanger, the grid's top man, was spinning some tunes.

If you're curious about how the format of a Safari visit works, then please take a minute or two to carefully look at this page on our blog where it explains the concept, the limitations and the tactics that make for a successful journey - if it looks like something you'd like to do, get in touch with Thirza on OSGrid or HG Safari grid.

Cat and half a dozen AMV residents were on hand to meet us on the big sign at the beginning of the adventure. 

Cataplexia Numbers: Hello everyone. Nice to have you join us. The labyrinth began in 2023. I made my own textures and many creations in it. I just began sculpting 3d meshes. Expect big changes in AMV. Magic will be a roleplay for Witches, wizards, goblins, Magicians, etc... Fun fantasy stuff!

Kellie's Hero

Opensim, like life, can sometimes throw a curved ball and this week our planned first destination had to be postponed at short notice. But it worked out great, because Spax Orion said we could come and preview the big changes he's been making at his funfair, Dismayland. 

Spax will be our guest on Inworld Review this Sunday - a Live show about OpenSim on YouTube, so if you watch at 11am SLT, you can also comment and ask questions! Just recently, he's worked hard to give a typically bright and busy tribute to one of Opensim's most memorable creators, the great Linda Kellie. The HG Address is at the end of the post, as always.

Dismayland is diabolically clever

Spax Orion: Dismayland is starting to look like one of the "Sierra: Roberta Williams" Point and Click Adventure games (we had tons of games like those around the turn of the millennium) - Return visitors will notice the world with more interactivity. Plenty of little distractions to wade through before passing the gate...

Tosha Tyran: giggles

It's true. When you arrive on Dismayland you find yourself in a sky box organized like the entrance to a theme park with security personnel - the terrible Wanda and poor, mistreated George are legendary. There are lots of signs and NPCs talking, and for some of us, it feels overwhelming and the first reaction is to get out of the crowd and hurry down to the rides, but if you take your time here, you'll discover that there is more going on in this one skybox than there is on many a 4x4 region!

Con-Versation

 Our second stop on Safari this week was to meet up with Frans Charming and Lyr Lobo of Avacon grid. Frans is the grid's tech guy, and Lyr is a consultant and Koshari Mahana: Hi Lyr, thank you for having us.

Thirza Ember: I think that we are all here

Spax Orion: Nice to see another operator running YETI mono

Lyr Lobo: Welcome, everyone. This is AvaCon grid. AvaCon is a nonprofit organization devoted to encouraging community in virtual worlds. Frans here is our amazing mastermind behind the Web and scripted content on the grid.  Itis a joy to share with the HG Safari 

Frans Charming: We use this grid, sometimes for new users, in education or professional settings, so having some plain default avatars, is useful for that.

Spax Orion: I love building with prims

Francisco Koolhoven: Hi Lyr!

Lyr Lobo: I do too *grins*

Thirza Ember: how old is this grid?  and how many residents?

Frans Charming: Close to those 14 years, i would say. We dont really have residents. The grid is mostly used as an introduction area, for non profits. Or used as a teaching platform.

Lyr Lobo and, with his steaming brew, Frans Charming

Lyr Lobo:  Today is the kickoff of our OpenSimulator Community conference call for proposals. AvaCon sponsors and hosts the OSCC. This is our 14th year. You can submit a proposal for a talk here. Then we will go on to Primland, the documentation for that is here  

Into the Hidden Vale

 Govega Sachertorte invited Safari to come over to Neverworld to sample a recently completed build called Hidden Vale, by Nexus Storm. On arrival, we were welcomed by Gov, Joshua and Alba who guided us around this lush landscape during the first hour of this week's trip. The HG Address is at the end of the post, as always.

Govega Sachertorte: Hi everyone, welcome to Hidden Vale

Thirza Ember: Joshua is armed, so no jokes about his outfit

Sven Ingersoll: we all have arms... legs too - no big deal

Spax Orion: am I here?

Alba Puca: Hello all

Cherry Manga: hello

Arriving on Neverworld

Sven Ingersoll: if you're not here...where would you be?

Herding Cats on 2nd Sanctuary

Arriving on Second Sanctuary grid is a bit like arriving at a beautiful Carribbean resort. A pirate ship, gorgeous beaches, and a relaxed atmosphere are the hallmarks of this small but beautifully landscaped grid. On hand to greet us when we arrived on the region called Vanaheim were Pete Taylor and Naomi Volturi, you may remember them from a recent blog post called... what else,  Second Sanctuary.  Pete and Naomi had invited us to go cat hunting - for some very sophisticate cats! as a way to explore this island where anyone looking for a beachy pied-a-terre in the metaverse. HG Address as always at the end of the post.

Naomi Volturi: Hello all, nice to have you here

Pete Taylor: It might be a good idea to reduce the draw distance. Otherwise, you’ll have a lot to load.

Alex Salamander: Hallo und guten Abend :-)

Koshari Mahana: I see everyone naked lol

Thirza Ember: our clothes travel second class,  it's economy rates

Angelic Kisses: hahaha

Jojo Apple: lol

Koshari Mahana: Hi Naomi, Hi Pete

Bink Draconia: hello

Naomi Volturi: hello Bink long time no see 

Pete Taylor: welcome all

Pete Taylor and Naomi Volturi, owners of Second Sanctuary

Forest Azure: ah James, sitting again? you have been sitting on a horse all the time!

James Atlloud: I know, but I have a walk AO that just won't stop, so I think this is better.

Pete Taylor: thirza, are all guests here?

Thirza Ember: Yes, I think we are all here... maybe not all our textures, but in spirit we are all here... we may smell of horse, sorry about that

Burn Story

Dee Zee, Doc Indy, and the great Herbie Haven were kind enough to meet up with us this week on our first stop when we went to visit Burning Man in Groovyverse. The trip included a mix of very RL places, and a few little virtual flourishes, but so neatly inserted into the reality of the build that they feel perfectly integrated. 

Herbie Haven

The group was pretty big this week, about 28 people at our first venue Black Rock Desert, and though almost all of us experienced a leetle touch of lag and disorientation... again, that was completely in harmony with the feelings that Burning Man can cause to real world burners... so it was very much a voyage of exploration, and inspiration.

Vastness is a key ingredient here. Take a look at the map and you'll realize just how large the canvas on which this masterpiece is drawn. Based on the topography and ecology of California and Nevada, the preferred term is Left Coast, and there are plenty of maps and teleports to help a visitor find their way around.

Dee Zee by the Left Coast map

Jade Serenity: Burning Man? I watched the livestream of the RL one... there were a few sand storms

Spax Orion: both destinations are a complete surprise to me... I could look them up but...

Forest Azure: oh, burning man time?

Thirza Ember: i think it's a little different from the last time Forest, there are more horses

Forest Azure: no train or bus? :)

Spax Orion: Who is getting burned?

Lovely Mexico Lindo

Our second stop this week was on OSGrid, to visit a Spanish speaking community that is as vibrant as it is various.

 Lina Kahlo [es→en]: Everyone is welcome to Mexico Lindo, your visit coincided with a very important date in the history of Mexico, we celebrated 216 years of independence

Lina and Niko

Niko Stone [es→en]: With a lot of effort and dedication she achieved this cultural meeting for everyone. We are just in the main square. The plaza you are visiting here in Mexico Lindo Virtual represents this historical place and allows us to experience, in a virtual environment, one of the most important national traditions of Mexico. The plaza you are visiting here in Mexico Lindo Virtual represents this historical place and allows us to experience, in a virtual environment, one of the most important national traditions of Mexico. 

Ayla Alvarez: ♥.;:+THUNDEROUS  APPLAUSE+:;.♥

Ayla Alvarez: so that would be independence from the Spanish

Niko Stone [es→en]: If you want, you can join us where independence was proclaimed. In the early morning of September 16, 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla called on the people of Mexico to rise up against Spanish rule. The call began with the ringing of the bell of the church of Dolores, Guanajuato, gathering people in the town square. Hidalgo then gave a passionate speech in favor of freedom, encouraging the people to fight for independence.

The Review and You

Another Wednesday, another Safari. Each time, the group is different. Sometimes there are loads of us, sometimes there are people trying the tour for the first time, sometimes it's a more intimate group of regulars - and what you might define as the 'regulars' has also morphed and evolved over the years, with familiar faces disappearing and new ones taking their place, a bit like the constant ebb and flow of opensim itself. It's not an exclusive group, anyone's welcome, for as often as you choose to join us.
Our plans changed at the very very last minute this week, because, you know, stuff happens, which is why it's so handy to meet ahead of time at the Clubhouse so you don't miss anything or get lost. Here's what we got up to...

Ayla Alvarez: hi gang

Thirza Ember: hello lovelies

Taarna Welles: Heya

Alex Salamander: Hello Thirza :-)

Thirza Ember: it looks like the first destination may have some big last minute problems

Taarna Welles: O dear,  Can we switch to the second?

Ayla Alvarez: the second hour is having problems too?

Thirza Ember: no, the second will be fine, but I'd like to do something different with this first hour

Jupiter Rowland: Hi everyone!

Ayla Alvarez: here comes the bunny again...

Livin' the Dream

 If you read the previous article about the 5th anniversary of Belze and Chubby, there's another notable anniversary this weekend in the German speaking community of opensim. Over on Vela Dreams grid,  Cleopata and Myrena Rajal are marking their 4 years together. 

Myrena and Cleopata

Vela Dreams grid is on a home server with 128 RAM and it hosts 42 Vars, the equivalent of 142 standard sized regions. Each Tuesday they have a regular dance meetup on a sim appropriately called Vela Disco that houses a number of prim-built venues with bright colors and vivid textures. Not to mention the fish!

Arabian Delights

Our first stop this week was to Wolf Territories Grid, to see the artist and poet Arabian Sands, This vast sim has so much on it, that we could only touch on a few points of interest and wow how interesting it was. The sim is called Dune Art, and it's a very sandy sumptuous region under a spectacular sky. There were quite a lot of us on the sim, including some first time Safarians, always great to have new company on our tours!

Yara Eilde: Hello Arabien

Max Well: hello hello all

Dings Digital: Hallo Yara :)

Tosha Tyran: Hello folks :)

Ayla Alvarez: hi everyone, got your pith helmet?

Star Ravenhurst: Hi everyone

Arabian Sands: Hey Forest :)

Tosha Tyran: James, sexy underwear :D

Forest Azure: oh wow, I'm me already! that is fast!

James Atlloud: ty Tosha - who knows, where's my clothes!! ha ha

Ayla Alvarez: not panties, I hope...

James Atlloud: boxers, always boxers.  they be painted on just for such occasions.

Lavia Lavine: Hey Everybody

Bob Solo: hi

Thirza Ember: how is the rezzing going? I see you all looking good ... at least, skins are slow today but at least we all have our hair!

Bob Solo: all colored in

Spax Orion: slowly seeping in... no lag on my end...Pretty place btw!

Lavia Lavine: It's slowly coming in for me

Ayla Alvarez: I'm gray and I can't get up

Tina Bey: Hola a Todos !!

Jade Serenity: Oooo pretty sky!

Tosha Tyran: Hola, Tinísima

 Arabian Sands: As-salamu alaykum, and welcome to everyone.  My name is Arabian Sands, and I am the creator and builder of Dune and Dune Art. It is my great honor that HG Safari has chosen to visit my world today as one of their stops. I would especially like to thank Thirza for making this visit possible.

Thirza Ember: don't say great honor until after. we make a lot of mess

Jade Serenity: giggle

Tosha Tyran: lol thirza! We litter

Ipso-Fari

Our second stop this week was on BloodMoon Pack grid, to meet up with the French painter and videographer Prodyck Theas. We were there to see Ipsofacto, a sim with deep connections to Prodck's RL artistry, and also his many eyars of activity in opensim. Prodyck often streams inworld events on his Twitch account, though today he was busy showing us around - so here's the words and pictures part; if you'd like to see more pictures, why not join our Facebook group where photographer extraordinaire Roff Kisses has posted a few.

Prodyck Theas: bonjour

Vlad Helsing: Please click on the ball on Prodyck's head and choose your language.

Cherry Manga: hello bonsoir

Forest Azure: more desert!

Dings Digital: bonsoir

Tina Bey: que bueno!! llego el traductor!

Prodyck Theas: Has everyone arrived? Welcome to all It's been a long time since I've made any visits. The last time was on Craft  A thank you to Vlad for hosting regions. The theme of this region is after global warming. Man had to make little artificial paradises

Tosha Tyran: Oh my god, that is why it seemed so familiar - like looking out of my window in RL

Cherry Manga: global warming made clouds bloom as flowers , how sweet

Prodyck Theas: Follow me. Here a nod to the spirit of the times

Safari gets into the Zone

Our first outing for the 2026 Fall season of Safari was on a new grid, called The Zones, which is the home of Kimm Starr and Cooper Swizzle. They have prepared an interactive build, or Experience, that is colorful, fun, and breathtaking, on the theme of 'Day of the Dead,' which is also the name of the sim. We were delighted to be invited to see it and while about halfway through our visit, there were some technical problems, it's clear that this is a lovely build you should see for yourselves! The HG Address is, of course, at the end of the post.

It was so nice to see many people on the trip, new faces and regular safarians alike. As you know anyone who wants to join us is welcome, so don't feel shy, come on over next week and be part of the event! Of course, no guarantees your bits and pieces will travel at the same speed when you grid jump...

Ayla Alvarez: I don't want to say hello until I look like a normal human avatar... ah... there I am...  phew!

Alex Salamander Hello everyone :-)

Star Ravenhurst: Hi Alex

Mike Fleetwood: hello everyone

Tutz Zabelin: hi to all new

Cooper Swizzle looking drop dead gorgeous

Cooper Swizzle: Welcome everyone.  We will begin at 5 after 12 so others can join us and rez in. In the meantime, if you turn your sound on there is music. Welcome Ayla, and Neo. Hello Alex.

Kimm Starr: We will start in a couple of minutes... please check your environment is set to midnight and your in-world sound is on

Max Well: hello everyone

Cherry Manga: Hi all!

James Atlloud: wow, so many stars in the sky!

Jade Serenity: yeah and clothing :P

Marlon Wayne: Huhu Yara

Cooper Swizzle: Hello Koshari

Star Ravenhurst: Hi Dorena

Cooper Swizzle: Please come stand behind the yellow line...

James Atlloud: define 'behind'

Safari at the Crescent

 Yay back on Safari!  Oh, and there are ten weeks of Safari this season, so join us soon if you can! Wednesdays at 12 at the Clubhouse. Our second stop this week was on Winxtropia (addresses at the end of the post, as always). 

Here's what we learned from the lovely Bloom Peters of Winxtropia grid who had lost of news about things she's been building recently. There's quite a bit of info on the same subject in this blog post 'Giddy About MIDI', but yesterday's visit geve everyone the opportunity to meet with her in person. We met on Crescent Melody region, under this dome, where the animated orchestra resides.

Bloom Peters: Welcome all. Please,  enable your mic for this experience

Petlove Petshop: Hi Bloom!

Farstar Enoch: hi all

Boujee GamerGirl: hello!

Dorena Bree: i like the sky, its really pretty

Ayla.Alvarez: I'm afraid to ask what the buffer rate is

Bloom Peters: so far 190... not bad. Smart buffer is critical for timing

Bloom Peters: you are free to chat before the show case of course. Today will showcase a brand new viewer created.. as soon as thirza says she is ready. If your mic wont activate do a relog

Farstar Enoch: You need mic enabled to hear the music

Petlove Petshop: ahh ok!

Jade Serenity: i have no mic but i have voice enabled

Bloom Peters: yes that's perfect, as long as u get the dot hehe, you only need to enable Voice checkbox

Neo Cortex: Unfortunately I don't have that voice client on Linux

Nara Nook: I don't have voice either

Thirza Ember: i have voice but it doesn't kick in immediately in a big group but i am sure it will soon!

Bloom Peters: For those who cant get voice not a problem links will be provided for youtube demonstration

Dorena.Bree: great

 Farstar Enoch: Bloom has it all covered

Bloom Peters: this everyone?

Thirza Ember: looking... yes i think so...

Safari Reentry

 After a long sultry summer, at least in this part of the world, with lots of distractions and complications when it comes to being inworld, the Safari mechanism is creaking back into gear in time for our first trip on September 2. It will begin at the usual time, 12 noon SLT, which is 3pm on the East Coast and 9pm in Paris. If you use Opensimworld,  Discord or FB or Mewe you can get regular reminders of events, and there's usually a reminder on the day in the HG Safari group on OSGrid..

Among the many things that have distracted me during the long break is a YouTube channel that you might enjoy - BobbyFingers . In a way, his channel is a bit like Opensim, although it's not virtual... with lots of passion going into very specific builds, lots of unexpected global connections, an open-ended, slow pace to the building process, and some amazing, thoughtful, and humorous creations.

Speaking of humor, the new season of HG Safari will bring us to twenty different destinations over the ten week arc, with visits to regions with poetry, art, and new inworld tech, as well as racing and riding, mazes and beaches; mermaids and goddesses, installations and vortexes. Or should that be vortices.