Staff Report - Recce the Festival of Wildlife 2010, Pantanal, Brazil

Brazilian Mission - by Alison Bembridge

The mission : “To recce the Festival of Wildlife 2010, Pantanal, Brazil” (translated to: see, do, learn, take note, explain, organise and experience as much as possible in as short a time frame as will allow)”. This is a mission I had to accept.

Four flights and 30 hours later I arrived in Cuiaba, Mato Grosso, Brazil (obviously not the simple, more direct route that I will take with the clients in 2010!). A short rest and I met my host Andre. He bundled me into his little blue jeep and off we went on the adventure into the wild Pantanal.

Day 1
My initial impression was of the intense and immense heat. Hot, hot, hot, humid and hot! Having come from snowy North Yorkshire it was a shock…luckily the little blue jeep had AC!
Andre and I chat and discuss the ethos and programme of the Festival of Wildlife as we zip through the countryside. We stop a couple of times and exit the little blue jeep to ensure that we remember how hot it is in the real world – but the focus is getting onto the Transpantaneira (the dead-end road into the Pantanal) and Andre’s lodge – Araras Eco Lodge.

Andre is a tall, thin, strong, blue eyed, fair shoulder length haired individual – if you looked around quickly you would swear it was Crocodile Dundee! He even wears a similar hat – and I knew that whatever happened over the next three days it was going to be fun, wild and I was going to experience everything.


December is the beginning of the rainy season – so the landscape is seriously green and the grasses, bushes and trees are sprouting to get the most of the water during this period. The landscape is flat, and horizon can be seen during the breaks in the forest, but the Transpantaneira road is long, red and very straight. Very quickly Andre is pointing out bird after bird after bird. We have to stop every two minutes so that I put the binoculars to my eyes and get the camera out. A Bare-faced Ibis, then a Little-blue Heron, a White-necked Heron, a Jaciru Stock (the emblem of the Pantanal), a Muskovy duck, a Snail Kite, a Southern Lapwing, an Amazon Kingfisher, over flys a Toucan – phew – I’m not sure were to look or how I’m going to be able to take everything in!

We arrive at the lovely Araras Eco Lodge and a cool fresh fruit juice is waiting for me – delicious. I’m refreshed and ready to explore! But first lunch. It’s a hearty affair, taken under the shady area next to the pool (which I later discover contains such beautiful warm water that it’s like a hot tub without the bubbles). The food is good, honest and simple – almost all of it coming from the organic farm associated to the lodge.

In the afternoon I don my hat, suncream, anti-bug juice, grab the bins and the camera and we are off to explore. Andre gives me a grand tour of the lodge and surrounding grounds. We walk a little and I have to quickly get over my fear of Caiman. They do have big teeth and look every bit as irksome as one would expect – but they do (pleasing) slip gracefully into the water as soon as they realise I have my Canon lens ready to shoot at them!

We also cross some of the areas of the lodges numerous hectares in the little blue jeep – which is a jolly good job as I experience a tropical rain shower – ‘shower’ in terms of a heavy, warm power shower, with great big drops making one exceedingly wet exceedingly fast! I’m honoured by Andre’s gentlemanly ways as he insists on opening the gates along the track (being a girl does have good advantages!). One of the gates leads us into the farm, the rain stops for a brief moment and we jump out to look around. It’s then that I realise that the loud, squawking, shouting noise coming from the trees above is none other than about fourteen Hyacinth macaws being rather miffed that we are staring at them. They are every bit as beautiful, blue and large as they are made out to be. Flying in pairs, they soon settle down at the top of a tall tree, with the sun behind them, making my already poor photography skills no match.
However over the following few days, and several more Hyacinth macaw pairs later, I get a photo that is about acceptable!

Dinner and a night drive later I can scribble another 20 birds on my growing list, as well as a Crab-eating Fox, a Crab-eating Racoon, a Great Black Hawk eating a crab, a few dozen caiman and a few hundred mosquitoes.

I download onto my laptop my 250 photos and fall into a deep sleep with the cacophony in my ears of frogs and insects enjoying the night outside my room.

Day 2
What feels like 2 minutes later is in fact 6am and Andre is rapping on my door excitedly telling me that I just have to get up and see the stunning sunrise. (We had arranged a 6.30am start, but it seems Andre is an early, early riser!).

Today we are to bounce in the little blue jeep 140 km south along the Transpantaneira to Porte Jofre for me to look at the hotel there and spend some hours looking for Jaguar. My eyes are peeled to the trees, grasslands and shores. My binoculars are up and down and the camera is on overdrive. The river is a muddy red colour and the shores are a combination of grasslands, forest and small sandy beaches. It’s all so beautiful and the wildlife is all around. I feel that this is their home, and I am just a passing guest.

We stop for lunch on the river bank – and who do we see in the tree above us?…..an adorable porcupine. Our guide in this area is a local man called Eduardo from the nearby Jaguar Ecological Lodge. He travels on the river on the look out for Jaguar about five times a week and has not seen a porcupine in over three years.

We also see a very brave little Agouti crossing the river Cuiaba. A manoeuvre of great risk for such a small mammal, with the strong current and the jaw snapping caiman!

The six river otters playing happily infront of me have been a highlight of the day, along with the amusing flying fish which flew directly into the boat and the Green Kingfisher scooping a fish just ten feet away.

At 5pm we have to head back, which is unfortunate as the Jaguar has not come to say hello to me yet. However, during September, it is much drier and the probability of seeing this elusive and magnificent cat increases ten fold when the lush green grass (that I have so praised) is not in the line of sight!
The journey back along the Transpantaneira brings me to my bed by midnight.

Day 3
After the intense day yesterday I opt to catch up on notes, planning and discussion meetings with Andre this morning and then a short horse ride in the afternoon.
My peaceful horseride turned into more than I bargained for though – and I won’t go into detail but it involved the horse, me, bees and a whole heap of adrenaline!

Day 4

Calm restored this morning, Andre and his lovely wife Akhila take me on a beautiful sunrise walk. The dawn chorus is in full swing when we glimpse the Tapir padding softly into the undergrowth. We also see a snake speedily crossing the path through the forest.

We have breakfast at the lodge annex 3 km from the main lodge and then the little blue jeep shows it’s 4x4 capabilities (heaps of muddy water splashing and sideways motion over the water logged track – great fun!) as we go to investigate where the canoes are launched from. On arrival at the river we are gifted with a heron having freshly caught its lunch…magical.

We then have to return to the lodge, have a final planning meeting before I am taken to Cuiaba for my flight back to Rio.

I’ve certainly had an adventure during my three days in the Pantanal. The Festival of Wildlife 2010 is going to be unique, spending six days exploring a tiny (but wildlife packed) part of the planet’s largest wetlands. I’m so excited about it!
September will be drier, less humid and the wildlife more concentrated than my experience – which stuns me…because how much better can it get?

For further information and how to book on the Festival of Wildlife 2010 please click here,

or contact Alison (alison.bembridge@wildlifeworldwide.com) or Mel (mel.kinder@wildlifeworldwide.com)

Customer Comment: Luangwa, Zambia - Dave & Jeanette

We would like to thank you and Isabel and everyone involved at Wildlife Worldwide for our 20 day adventure to the Luangwa Valley. Everything went smoothly from start to finish and we have thoroughly enjoyed every single minute. As this was our fourth trip to the valley we were able to slip effortless into safari mode the second we landed at Mfuwe airport.



Norman Carr Safaris looked after us both wonderfully and it was a real pleasure to be in their company. Everyone we met remarked “Oh you are the guys staying a week in each camp”, and that was an excellent choice because we got to know the camp staff both in front and those behind the scenes, and it certainly added to our enjoyment of the whole experience. We especially enjoyed the company of the guides, Innocence Shaddy and Aubrey, the scouts and Teresa, Monica, Lucinda and Pam .



We met several other guests who were very impressed with our itinerary and so we did pass on World Wildlife details to them. Must just mention some of the highlights and that was the evening with Aubrey as we took part and witnessed the Kakuli pride hunting and making a kill of a Puku and watching the male and five cubs devour it with the unforgettable sounds, the camp out with David Wilson although we did not sleep a wink even though Jeanette insists I was snoring. It was certainly the best steak we have ever eaten and the beer was ice cold, and dinner one evening in the company of Pam and Jeff , two chaps from South America and other guests. We have never laughed so much.


Dave & Jeanette, November 2008

Camping out on Luwi River

Nsolo to Kakuli

Tea Break on safari at Luwi

Click here for Safari Holidays in Zambia

Customer Comment: Ms Gamble - India - Nov 08

"Many thanks to everyone involved in organising my latest holiday (India, 5th November), especially Chris Osborn with whom I dealt directly. The Reserves were quite stunning: wonderful scenery, plant and animal life in great quantity and variety, so I wouldn't have been disappointed if I hadn't seen a tiger, though, in fact, I was lucky. Some views were contrived, i.e. with the help of elephants, but one was absolutely natural - a thrilling experience! I chiefly enjoyed Kanha and Bandhavgarh, with Shergarh Tented Camp and Treehouse Hideaway respectively; both these had a friendly 'family' atmosphere, with excellent naturalists. The Treehouse, which I was chiefly looking forward to, came up to all expectations: wonderful! I intend, if at all possible, to revisit both of these in the not too distant future (adding, perhaps, a visit to Panna Reserve)."

Ms Gamble. November 2008.



Click here for Wildlife Holidays and Tiger Watching in India

Customer Comment: Mr Southwell, Tanzania

Just to let you know that we had a great holiday in Tanzania and were extremely well looked after by the safari company and our driver called, 'Victor'.

Victor was very helpful and polite and had a master's eye of seeing animals, and was quite prepared to get up for our 6am safaris on most days.

The accommodation was excellent and the food was good and we had two upgrades on accommodation; one in the Serengeti and one for our first two nights.

We were lucky and we saw all the animals we wanted to see including 10 cheetahs.

I would like to congratulate you on such a good holiday and I will certainly recommend you if anybody is asking about a good safari company.

Once again, very many thanks and I hope we will be able to use your organisation again in the future.

Mr Southwell, October 2008

Click here for Tanzania Safari Holidays

Wildlife Worldwide UK Event - Charles Darwin Bicentennial Celebrations – Galapagos Evening

Wednesday 26th November

Wildlife Worldwide, Long Barn South, Sutton Manor Farm, Bishop’s Sutton, Hampshire SO24 0AA

Following the success of last years events and to further our support for organisations helping to protect endangered species, we are holding a number of evenings of informational talks and workshops by wildlife experts at our barn offices in Hampshire.

The first of these evenings will be a celebration of Charles Darwin’s bicentennial year in 2009 and the 150th anniversary of his work ‘On the Origin of Species’. We will be joined by one of our top Galapagos naturalists and guides, Pierre Thomas. Pierre will offer first hand knowledge of these unique islands and talk about next years historic celebrations.

This event will take place on the evening of Wednesday 26th November (exact time to be confirmed).
Drinks and nibbles will be provided in a relaxed atmosphere where you will be able to chat with the Wildlife Worldwide team about potential interest in, not only the Galapagos Islands, but any destinations which may take your fancy.

All barn evenings will be free, with a suggested voluntary contribution which will be donated to different organisations for their work in endangered species conservation. On this occasion all monies will go to The Galapagos Conservation Trust (http://www.gct.org/).

If you are interested in this or any future events then please contact Mel Kinder mel.kinder@wildlifeworldwide.com or on 01962 737642.

Future events will also be advertised on the website and through the monthly eNews.

Wildlife Worldwide UK Event: Antarctica as an Experience: The Last Great Wilderness on the Planet

Wednesday 5th November 7:30 pm

Gilbert White’s House and the Oates Museum, Field Centre – Selborne, Hampshire, GU34 3JH(£10.50 entry to Gilbert White’sHouse)

Join Antarctic tour guide and photographer Roger Slade for this beautifully illustrated ‘tour’ of the Antarctic Peninsular, the South Shetland Islands and the sub Antarctic islands of South Georgia and the Falklands.

Roger is recently touring the country with a display of his superb photographs of this region. Wildlife Worldwide are proud to sponsor Roger for these events and will be present at the evening to answer any trip queries.

Drinks and nibbles will be provided.

Click here for further details of this UK Event

Customer Comments - Borneo's Rainforest Odyssey - August 2008

"Wildlife Worldwide was recommended to us by friends as we were looking for a company that offered a wide range of wildlife focused holidays. We decided early on New Year's Eve that we wanted to visit Borneo but we had quite a few questions about the trip so we sent Wildlife Worldwide an email. We were very impressed that by 10am on January 2nd (when most of us still have a hangover!), that not only had we received a reply, but all our questions had been fully answered. That was a very good start and from then on we found our consultant Estelle was very efficient, knowledgeable and friendly. The pre-departure information was also very helpful. It gave us a good introduction to the culture of Borneo, the type of wildlife we might see and suggestions for useful items to pack. We were particularly grateful for the suggestion of jungle boots and leech socks!

We chose the "Rainforest Odyssey" as the itinerary seemed to be well paced and it offered a wide and varied series of locations for us to visit with differing types of wildlife. We particularly liked the fact that local guides were used in each area we visited and each of our guides was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We had most looked forward to seeing the orang-utans at Sepilok and the turtles on Selingan Island and these were indeed wonderful wildlife experiences. But the real star of the holiday was the rainforest itself. It is just teeming with life. It's hard to explain this incredible sight and all the sounds and smells that go with it. We loved our jungle treks as it made us feel like intrepid explorers, and one of our guides had been taught by his father how to survive in the jungle when he was just a small boy. The holiday was a truly great adventure for us.'

Mount Kinabalu (Lisa):

Borneo Rainforest Lodge in the Danum Valley (Lisa):

Lunch time for the Orang-Utans at Sepilok (Lisa):

Sleeping Proboscis Monkey at Kinabatangan River (Lisa):

Early morning in the Borneo's Danum Valley (Lisa):

Lisa D'Agostino and Jon Ryder-Oliver - went to Borneo on Rainforest Odyssey in August 08.

Click here for Borneo Wildlife Holiday: Rainforest Odyssey

Customer Comment: Wildlife artist - Robert Fuller

Wildlife artist Robert Fuller is a regular traveller with Wildlife Worldwide, having previously visited India, South Georgia and The Falkland Islands and earlier this year Finland for some bear watching...

Robert with Albatrosses:

Robert with his painting of King Penguins:

Robert in the Bear Hide in Finland:

Robert and Victoria in Patagonia:

'We like to travel with Wildlife Worldwide as they focus on the wildlife and it is not treated as an afterthought like other companies. The layout of the brochure is great for getting tailor-made ideas and we also like the ability to either opt for one of the suggesed itineraries or to be able to create our own, depending on specific requirements. The consultants have great knowledge of the locations and it is a very easy process to book.

We feel that the price reflects what you get - a feeling of independence, with the options of staying in some really unusual places, with wildlife on your doorstep. There are no unnecessary frills attached'.

Have a look at Robert's own eNews where he outlines his sightlings during the trip to Finland (This is a pdf which is 2.6Mb, so may take a moment to download, depending on your internet connection) or -

Click here for Robert's website.

Customer Review: Colin Kilpatrick in Brazil - October 2008

We had a great time. The only things that we didn't see was Jaguar (typical!) and Maned Wolf, although other people at San Francisco had seen both. We saw plenty of river dolphins at the Mamiraua along with uakari monkeys, sloths, black caimain, piraracu etc, which was excellent and it's a great place to visit. It was definitely better to do the Amazon first and then Pantanal as wildlife is just easier to see in the Pantanal, but the Amazon has other things to offer. We also really enjoyed Poco das Antas and Rio. The Panatanal was great, we probably saw most of the larger mammals at San Francisco Farm where we saw Ocelot, Tapir, Anteater etc. The north was better for birds and Caiman though. Overall we saw 8 species of monkey, sloth, 2 species of Dolphin, 4 species of macaw, 2 species of Anteater, Giant Otter, Capybara, White lipped Pecary, Tapir, 4 species of Deer, crab eating fox and racoon and Ocelot - so not bad overall!

The only bit of the trip that I might have changed was to stay another night at Xaeres, which was really nice and took ages to get to for just 1 night (I didn't realize that it was so far from Campo Grande!), also I think that I would probably skip Puma and have a couple more goes at seeing Jaguar on the Cuiaba river, possibly staying at Porto Joffre. I think if we went back we'd probably concentrate on trying to see Jaguar and possibly go to Caiman Lodge which sounded good. Apart from journey to Xaeres, which would have been fine if we stayed 2 nights, the pace of the trip was actually fine.

Click here to see more of Colin's fantastic wildlife pictures from Brazil

Staff Trip Report: 5 - Chris Breen in Canada - Grizzly Bears, September 2008

I was gearing myself up to tell you that we didn’t see any Grizzlies from Tweedsmuir Lodge – it would have been disappointing but true. We had done one river ‘float’ on the Atnarko River, past all the best spots for bears, in fact we had seen one distant Grizzly (or ‘Grizz’ as the locals call them), and one good view of a Black Bear, but that was first thing in the morning.


We went back to the lodge to grab our lunch and headed straight out again, put the boat back in the river and paddled upstream. We stopped and had a picnic. The float began again in earnest. It was a slow and rather wonderful (second) journey down the same stretch of river, the sound of rushing water and the views of the gigantic mountains around us proved to be a somewhat mesmerising experience and I have to admit that I dozed off. A bad thing frankly as Simon’s spotting skills leave a little to be desired. Anyway, I can’t imagine a nicer place to doze!


We had to portage the boat over a few rocks so with a certain regret I woke up and jolted myself into action dragging the boat and re-floating it a little further downstream. Bald Eagles, Mergansers, Mew Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls we ever present but no Grizzlies.

We approached the final turn of the river before we had to jump out and return to the lodge…. And there they were, a mother and two cubs. They came striding out of the grass down to the riverside, they bowled into the water and started to catch fish right in front of us. They worked the river, gradually maing their way downstream to where we needed to get out. We watched them for 30 minutes or more, in the water, heads under pulling out fresh salmon and then sitting neck-high with salmon-in-paw as if it was a corn on the cob, tearing at the flesh until it was time to get a fresh one.
So, wildlife rewards the patient, our high hopes and low expectations were repaid many times by this encounter. We returned to the lodge and had a beer to celebrate our winnings.
There was an hour or so of light left and we toyed with the idea of going out again on foot to Old Smokehole, just about two minutes walk from the lodge. It was a good plan since who knows quite when we will be back. Was it worth it? Well, the first bear we saw there was a beautifully groomed Black Bear, strolling along the bank on the far side of the river, then there was the Black Bear a little closer slightly upstream. Then of course there was the Grizzly that made its way towards us from a distance of about 100 metres, working its way along the river bank until it was perhaps only 10 metres and the absence of a guide made us feel that it was probably time to retreat. The show was over and we began to head back to the lodge for a shower and dinner… but of course it wasn’t, we had to take time to look at yet another Black Bear and a brand new cub. What a day.

Can I top that? Probably not, but I did have a great morning today. Got up at 0630 to head out and have a quick look for bears before breakfast – failed miserably. Went back to the lodge for breakfast, packed and then headed out again, we were hoping to see just one more bear before we headed off to Vancouver. We stopped at various good bear spots along the river and at our final spot we were again rewarded. This time with a mother Grizzly and and young cub.
Superb end to a truly amazing trip….. bears live in Canada and you really need to get out here to see them!

Click here for Grizzly Bear Watching Holidays in Canada or
Bear Watching holidays worldwide - click here

Staff Trip Report: 4 - Chris Breen in Canada - Whale Watching, September 2008

Jannie and her partner Herman set up CetaceaLab seven years ago on Gill Island after seeking approval from the local Git Ga’at people. No one had ever studied the whales in this area until they came along, and now they go out daily in all weather to observe and record the comings and goings of the whales in the channels off the Great Bear Rainforest. They have set up a series of hydrophones in certain key locations and record all the calls, and are able to identify all the whales that pass through. There are two key species that come here, Orcas and Humpbacks.
The Orcas have generally left the channels by September but there are plenty of Humpbacks here. They travel up the Pacific coast from Hawaii where they spend the winter and have their young, and this is one of their key summer feeding grounds.

Yesterday Simon and I went out early with Jannie to join her on one of her daily whales surveys. It was freezing cold so we donned our Mustang floatation suits, and with thick gloves and woolly hats headed out in the channel. We went for 20 minutes or so and then stopped, shut down the engines and just listened for the blow of a Humpback and looked for the plume of its breath. The mist was clearing and the sun was beginning to creep above the mountains and it wasn’t long before we heard the loud exhalation of a Humpback. It is a haunting sound that when the air is still carries for miles. This Humpback was sleeping, just resting on the surface and breathing in a nice, slow, gentle rhythm, quite undisturbed by us. As we sat and watched we became aware of a second Humpback nearby, a little more active than the first, swimming a little faster, he was feeding and every now and again exhaled sharply and then gently dived, and as he did so flicked his tail into the air displaying the beautiful, iconic tail flukes.

We continued on through the spectacular channels but stopping every 15 or 20 minutes, cutting the engines to watch and listen… and of course keep and eye on Neekas, Jannie's dog who has a startling ability to see whales before anyone else! Over the course of our day we saw a total of 13 Humpbacks and got close enough to photograph and identify each one. Of the 13 there were two that Jannie said were new to the area and which neither she nor Herman had recorded as having seen here before.

Back then to the lodge to pack our bags, say our goodbyes and board the float plane to Bella Bella. From here we boarded another light aircraft and flew for 30 minutes or so eastwards to the Bella Coola Valley and then headed up to Tweedsmuir Lodge. Today, we are going to see if we can see some Grizzlies!

Click here for an article by Chris' travel companion Simon Barnes in The Times

Click here for Whale Watching Holidays in Canada

Staff Trip Report: 3 - Chris Breen in Canada - Bear Watching, September 2008

Yesterday really was one of the most amazing days of wildlife viewing I have ever had, and having taken a real interest in wildlife 20 or so years ago, this is quite a claim.

We headed out from King Pacific yesterday morning at around 9am on what was a misty and quite cold morning. We were aiming for one of the bear-viewing platforms at Riordan on
Gribbell Island, and were off with high hopes and low expectations as Simon so aptly put it. But, I had a good feeling about the day (this can be a dangerous thing to have!).

We whizzed past a Humpback Whale, but of a shame not to stop, but we were on a mission, there were bears to see. At Riordan we disembarked the boat and walked the short distance to the platforms. As a group of 15 or so we were split between the two platforms. Having been a couple of times in the past, my personal preference is for the furthest platform. Although they are only about 75 metres apart, the furthest of the two platforms has a slightly clearer view, and in my experience the bears have tended to appear from upstream, and the furthest hide is best placed for this.

We waited for 30 minutes or so and, not surprisingly, there was nothing immediately obvious - no bears. Archie (our Git Ga'at guide) suggested that we walk off the platform and go to see if we could see Beavers on the nearby 'pond'. I have never seen Beavers (but have made various previous attempts to do so), so I wasn't really expecting to be successful. Of course as we walked up to the pond there was one huge Beaver sat by the water just watching us. This was a good start, but it got better as we were treated to quite a display over the course of the next 30 minutes or so, not just from this Beaver, but from two others as well.

Back to the platform and 10 minutes later there was a Pine Marten.

Marven (the principal Git Ga'at guide) was chatting to us on the stand about bears, Black Bears and Spirit Bears, and without changing the pace of conversation said - "there's a Black Bear". All binoculars and cameras were focussed on the Black Bear, a particularly large one, that was working his way down stream towards us, fishing along the way. Good so far, but no Spirit Bears - but that was no problem as Marven said that in previous days the Spirit Bear hasn't appeared until much later in the day (that is, on the days that the Spirit Bear has appeared).

"There's a white bear", says Marven, "do you know, he has just been sleeping there and we didn't seen him, I think he must have just got up, I don't know how long he has been there". Just on the other side of the platform, in fact between the two platforms, a large Spirit Bear had clearly been asleep by the side of the river, just out of view. The attention and cameras immediately moved away from the Black Bear and over to the Spirit Bear. This most beautiful ginger-white bear was at this point no more than 30 metres away from us to our left, and a Black Bear no more than 30 metres away from us to our right. Once the excitement had settled (which took while!) - it was difficult to know where to turn!

Neither of the bears was at all concerned with our presence, and both spent the next three and a half hours fishing in front of us. The Spirit Bear (now known as Elvis as he has a twitch in his right lip) walked the river, searching for salmon and hauling them out, the Black Bear on the other hand found himself a shady spot on the river and, standing still, positioned his head to see into the river and then waited, patiently for the right salmon to appear and come close enough, before he just lifted it out and ate it. He pulled out quite a few over the course of the afternoon, and after eating each one, he returned to his favourite spot and just waited until the next really tasty salmon came along.

I was able to climb off the platform at one point and just sit under it (with our guide), the Spirit Bear walked within two metres of me, caught a fish, and then sat on log and ate it - perhaps three metres away from me. Isn't this what wildlife viewing is all about?

It really couldn't get any better than this… A female Black Bear appeared, with a most ridiculous method of hunting… sort of trying to bounce on the fish. It didn't really work, so she had to resort to eating the scraps that the other bears had left behind. The larger Black Bear took umbrage to the Spirit Bear being so close and chased him up river, and we simply got to a point in the day when we had to leave.


The sun came out and we headed off back to Barnhard Harbour and King Pacific- the days wildlife viewing concluded with Humpback Whales at various stages of the journey back - five in all.

It is virtually impossible to express in words what an amazing day this was - hopefully the photos will help to put this into perspective.

Click here for Bear Watching Wildlife Holidays in Canada or for

Whale-watching holidays worldwide - click here

Staff Trip Report: 2 - Chris Breen in Canada, September 2008

A morning walk along the waterfront and a breakfast visit to the rather amazing Pacific Yellowfin. This wonderful old wooden boat has been beautifully restored by its passionate owner to its former glory and is now offered for charter to people who would like to enjoy the BC coast from the comfort of a wonderful old boat. It accommodates four couples in fabulous rooms and works its way up the coast looking for bears, whales and dolphins. The food is well worth writing home about too.

So, as I type this, I am sat aboard a twin-engined Saab 340, heading north from Vancouver. We are flying over the snow-covered, sun-drenched Rocky Mountains, and I can see great rivers of glaciers below me. Between us and King Pacific Lodge, is a landing in Prince Rupert and a short float-plane flight.
The normal route to King Pacific from Vancouver is not actually via Prince Rupert, but via Bella Bella, but there were low clouds and rain in Bella Bella which prevented the float planes from taking off, hence having to fly quite a bit further north to then return south again to Barnard Harbour and King Pacific. It was well worth it though as we were flying at around 120 metres above ground and we managed to see not one, but two Humpback Whales from the air on our short flight – with any luck this is a good omen for the days to come!

We arrived into the lodge at around 18.30, the water was still and the lodge looked beautiful nestled into the trees at the end of the inlet. We were greeted with a glass of champagne as we stepped off the float plane and I was instantly made to feel at home by the many people who looked after us at Festival of Wildlife last year. Robert, Marlene, Nicki, Michelle, Tarron and a host of others all return to work and guide here year in year out.

Dinner was an event in itself as the chef (Max) is considered to be one of the top chefs in British Columbia. Oysters for starters and tuna for main course accompanied by some of BC’s very best wines.

Tomorrow we are heading off for a full day of bear-watching… so let’s hope there are some bears around to see!