Customer Comment: Leopard Sighting in Zambia

"This was my second holiday organised by you (the first was to the South Luanga Valley) - and I have nothing but praise (with two exceptions!) for the entire experience. My consultant was Sarah Williams and I could not ask for better. We saw leopard! Not a suggestion of one hidden in the bush, but an uninterrupted view of a female sprawled on a branch of a dead tree with her cub. I have travelled many times to southern Africa over the last 20 years and probably seen almost every animal that exists, but NEVER such a wonderful sighting. The locals told me I really should visit north Zambia, so maybe when the piggy bank rattles again, I will be off." Carole S.

For Wildlife and Safari Holidays in Zambia - Click here

Staff Report: Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. November 2010.

An exploratory safari led by Chris Breen, founder of Wildlife Worldwide.

Gorongosa National Park is one of Africa’s hidden gems – but of course you have heard that before about other places too. Let me explain…

Earlier this year, I was exploring the possibility of putting Mozambique into our 2010 brochure, but I was only prepared to put in a really special wildlife destination, one with a real story behind it. Mozambique has been included in plenty of companies brochures in the past few years, but mainly as a beach destination – something which at Wildlife Worldwide we don’t do in isolation. I was looking for something a little different. Gorongosa is that place.

The park has had protected status since 1921 but sadly civil war broke out after Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1975. During the war Gorongosa was a battleground between the forces of the ruling Frelimo party and the apartheid-backed Renamo rebels. When the war finally came to an end and the peace treaty was signed in 1992 the wildlife of Gorongosa had been, not surprisingly, decimated. Meat and ivory had been hunted to fund the war and to feed soldiers, so basically when the park was once again opened in 1995 there was very little wildlife there and plenty of landmines (which were later cleared).

And now? Well the park is a beautiful place – vast open floodplains, a beautiful lake, expansive woodlands of lime green fever trees, and tall stands of lofty Borassus palms. All this is overseen by the towering Mount Gorongosa which dominates the horizon. But still, not a great deal of wildlife here – yet. And this is the story…

An American IT multi-millionaire turned philanthropist, Greg Carr, visited the park a few years back and seems to have fallen in love with the place. Over the course of the past few years (since 2004) he has given the park a staggering U$15 million in assistance in an effort to re-habilitate the park to its former glory. This is not just money being thrown at the park in an unstructured and disorganized way, it is clearly a well thought through and brilliant combination of social, ecological and environmental projects that are being run in conjunction with, and with full support of, the government and parks authorities.

Together with a small group of wildlife enthusiasts (there were five of us in all) I spent a week immersed in the glories of the park and all it could offer. True, the wildlife is not thick on the ground, but with a little patience and effort the wildlife here is extremely rewarding. I have been going to Africa for the best part of 30 years but I hadn’t seen bushpig until an early morning walk when we came across a family foraging and wallowing by the side of a watery pool. It is not often that you get to add a new mammal to the list.

On an afternoon drive we sat by a cabbage-green lagoon watching saddle-billed storks fishing, and a waterbuck deciding whether or not to come to drink. He pondered the situation for 20 minutes or more (they are at their most vulnerable when they have their heads down to drink) and finally decided that it was safe to do so. All the while, the saddle-bills were clocking up their fish count. We watched the male saddle-bill catch four catfish. Each time he caught one he flicked his head quickly until it was dead, then broke its dorsal fin and manoeuvred it so that it would slide down his neck head-first.

On another drive we heard a terrifyingly loud screaming noise above us and looked up to see half a dozen vultures (white-backed and white-headed) coming in fast and low to attend to something on the road ahead. A big baboon had taken and killed a baby warthog. The vultures had snatched the kill, and together with a pair of marabou storks and an immature bateleur, were tearing it apart and flying off with the remains.

We were staying in a beautiful, but simple, tented camp on the Muscicadzi River. The camp accommodates a maximum of eight guests in spacious tents each with its own shower and toilet, and a view of either the river (which at this time in October/November is pretty dry) or the grasslands. There is a central dining area and campfire and a small library of wildlife books. The food here is absolutely excellent, all freshly prepared (and beautifully presented), and for once on safari it wasn’t in gigantic proportions. Not too much, and certainly not too little. The atmosphere in camp is relaxed, informal and very welcoming. Our hosts, Jos, Rob and Cassius, and our guide Andy were all excellent.

One afternoon we set out on a short drive, stopping to look at one of Africa’s most pristine and delicate raptors a pallid harrier, before abandoning our vehicle to walk for a couple of hours as the sun was dropping in the sky and the temperature was cooling. Our destination was to be our night stop, a beautifully set fly camp, on a small rise enclosed by 1000-year old baobabs overlooking a grassy plain and forest beyond. Sundowner drinks by the fire turned into moon-upper drinks as the gigantic full moon dominated the sky and provided our lighting for another lovely dinner.

There were two real highlights for me on this trip though – one aural and one visual. We had had a sighting on our first day of three lions, two males and a female near to camp, and we had heard them calling every now and then. But one night the calling was deafening, and regular. You know they are close when you can hear the gurgling sound in the back of a lions throat at the end of a deep and guttural roar. As they came closer we decided that it was sensible to retire to our beds, and the roaring continued throughout the night. Most of us lay awake listening to this most spine-chilling call of the African bush.In the morning we saw their tracks, first on the fire break around the outside of camp, then on the path past one of the tents, then the place that they had rested for some of the night - between the kitchen and the dining tent.

The visual highlight, apart from the rainforest on Mount Gorongosa (home to green-headed oriole, Livingstone’s turaco and blue swallow), the fever tree forests, the savannah plains, lake and general wildlife will always be the birds for me, and most particularly the raptors. Pallid harrier, bateleur, black-breasted, and brown snake eagle, Wahlberg’s, tawny, and martial eagle, Dickinson’s kestrel and peregrine falcon were amongst the best. But October is the time of plenty on the bird front since many are arriving from cooler northern climes. Carmine, and European bee-eaters, red-chested cuckoos, African hoopoes all add to the brilliance of colour that this beautiful park can offer, and that is to say nothing of the mammals. Countless warthogs (most with fast and furious young), impala, waterbuck, nyala, reedbuck, kudu, sable, oribi, elephant, buffalo and of course the night mammals make this a very attractive place to visit. And, over the next couple of years as the wildlife naturally recovers, and as more and more mammals are re-introduced it will flourish and will, I suspect, go a considerable way to returning to its former glory.

If you would like us to organise a safari to this unusual and special park, or would like to read more about it, then please click here.

Further images from this trip:

Customer Comment: Jenny D in Sri Lanka

"We had the most wonderful holiday in Sri Lanka. In fact it was one of the best we have ever had.

We had both a very good driver, Sunil and a first rate guide in Dhami. They both went out of their way to take care of us and to make the whole trip run smoothly. Dhami could identify birds from a thousand paces and knew all the best places to find them. He even found us a civet cat, which are nocturnal and very elusive. As he knows all the best guides in the National Parks , we saw 4 leopards in Yala , which was amazing, we had really good views of them as well. We saw one at Yala Beach Hotel too.

Baurs are an excellent local agent. They have a policy not to take you to shops or to any of the places where other agents go in expectation of receiving commission, which we really appreciated. We were only taken to the shops we asked to go to.They spend all their advertising budget on supporting the local community since the tsunami struck, which impressed us.

The holiday was everything we hoped it would be and more. It's success was due in no small part to Sunil and Dhami both of whom we liked enormously and to Dhami's expert knowledge of the birds and wildlife.

If Willdlifeworldwide is considering supporting some projects in Sri Lanka, then providing a ranger or two in Bundala and particularly Minneriya, to keep the local cattle and domestic buffalo from grazing there, would be very worthwhile. The elephants in Minneriya are in poor condition as there is too much competition for the available grazing. Maybe the answer is to somehow provide grazing for domestic animals outside the National Parks which would also be of benefit to the local community."

Jenny D. October 2009.

Wildlife Holidays in Sri Lanka - Click here

Customer Comment: Margaret P. Namibia

"As you will remember, [we] always spurned your questionnaire and sent you instead a detailed report on our trips. This time I am doing neither of those things. To do so would be the equivalent of evaluating a friend's hospitality when you had stayed with them for a weekend. All I can say is that I received royal treatment wherever I went within the Wilderness network and am indebted to Louis for all he did..... Special thanks also to Victoria at Serra Cafema ..... I regard both of them as true friends and hope that is reciprocated!"

Margaret P. October 2009

Wildlife Holidays in Nambia - Click here

Customer Comment: Viv & Roger C. Bears in Canada

"Having enjoyed a Classic Polar Bears holiday last November we couldn't resist dipping into your brochure again, resulting in us returning to Canada, this time to Bears of Knight Inlet, from which we have recently returned. Neither of these could really be called holidays, but rather never to be forgotten experiences. Additionally we would like to thank you for the efficient and friendly manner in which both of these trips were arranged for us.

We thought that Churchill couldn't be bettered, but we were blown away by the Knight Inlet trip, which surpassed all our expectations, not just with the animal viewing, but by the friendly and dedicated staff at the lodge.

The animal viewing itself was spectacular, with some 60 grizzly bears, although some of these were the same bears viewed on different days, black bears, orkas, hump back whales, sealions, and a truly exceptional sight of a pod of 300-400 Pacific white sided dolphins. Below are a few photos of some of the sightings, and thank you once again for all your help."

Viv & Roger C. October 2009

Bear Watching Wildlife Holidays in Canada - Click here or

Bear Watching Holidays Worldwide - Click here or

Whale Watching Holidays Worldwide - Click here

Festival News - Alison interviewed for 'The Insider'

From 'Jungle Drums' Brazilian Travel Specialists:

"Hampshire-based Wildlife Worlwide is an independently-owned tour operator specialised in wildlife-themed trips to far-flung destinations such as Borneo, Malawi and the Arctic. Next year travellers will be taken to a one-off special tour to the Pantanal guided by a group of celebrity wildlife experts for their Festival of Wildlife. We spoke to Alison Bembridge, fresh from her experience in the lush wetlands to tell us more about the abundant fauna and flora. "

Read the full article from The Insider - click here

Customer Comment: David L in Selous and Ruaha in Tanzania

"I thought that I would contact you to briefly say what a wonderful holiday we had in the Selous and Ruaha in Tanzania.

Everything went according to schedule – flights, transfers – and both camps were of an exceptional standard.

Of course the wildlife experience was superb, we even saw wild dog in the Selous, which is only the second time in ten separate visits to Africa that we come across them."

David L. September 2009

Safari Holidays in Tanzania - Click here

Here are a selection of pictures that David took on this trip:

Eclipse News from 2009

Just a quick message now we are back in Hangzhou after a very challenging eclipse! Lots of rain, clouds and thunderstorms in this part of China but the rain stopped and the cloud thinned enough for us to enjoy a spectacular total eclipse that lasted for nearly 6 minutes. The corona was quite limited in extent by the clouds as you can see from the attached pic. I had chosen a site at a small farm near Daixi at the foot of the Mogan Shan Mountains and the other pic shows the family and the team from the UK.

Everyone had a great time and particularly enjoyed the farm and meeting the people and animals. As far as I can tell very few other people managed to see the eclipse but I had worked hard accumulating weather observations for several years and selected a good area - maybe I still have some of the old magic!!

John Parkinson, July 2009

Customer Comment: Rachel Fryer in Botswana

"I just wanted to say thank you very much for all your work in organising our trip to Zambia and Botswana as we had a wonderful time! We’ve received your standard feedback form which I will complete but thought I’d pass on a few more comments in case they are useful for you in future.

The high water levels in the delta also seemed to be affecting Victoria Falls as they were very full when we arrived and as we managed to arrange a helicopter flight the views were beautiful and it made a great start to the trip. I know you had some concerns about Camp Moremi as the area is not as exclusive as the private concessions but we had a great time. As it was our first camp in Botswana and our previous experience is East Africa and India the area didn’t seem too busy with other visitors, there were some but not that many.

The camp itself was great, the management and staff couldn’t have been more welcoming or helpful and the accommodation was very good, it was all much better than we were expecting with a really good atmosphere. Most importantly we also had some stunning sightings of a lion pride, a pair of mating lions and an absolutely gorgeous male leopard so I’ve attached some photos (below).

Duma Tau as you know is a lovely camp and as we expected more luxurious than the others. As far as sightings went we really benefitted from the higher water levels as the Savuti Channel is flowing and this lead to a great sighting of a group of elephants crossing the channel, and lots of hippos. They also managed to find a group of wild dogs which we were so pleased to see as we’ve never seen them before, and some beautiful male lions, as well as all the usual antelopes, zebras, and giraffes.

We were also incredibly lucky at Duma Tau as we had one of the Wilderness Safari's most senior guides, Ant (Anthony), who trains the other guides. He was amazing and we not only had some great sightings but also learnt so much, you of course know how much that adds to the experience. The only slightly odd thing that we noticed is that the food and service at dinner was not as good as the other two camps but I think they are in the process of appointing new managers, we met the couple who might be taking it on and I’m sure that will be sorted very soon.

Pom Pom, was last but by no means least. Again the sightings were great with more mating lions, another leopard, elephants, though not as much wildlife as the other camps, possibly because they have less area available to them…

We saw so much across the three camps there was almost a risk of becoming blasé! The managers Sue and Brian were so friendly and again there was a really good relaxed atmosphere in the camp as well as some brilliant food, the best that we had. We did discover just how cold it can be during the winter in Botswana! Though the temperatures probably didn’t drop much below what your information suggested it took so much longer to warm up during the day that it seems much colder than it really is so it might be useful to other clients to highlight just how cold, the blankets and hot water bottles on the morning game drives were a life saver at Duma Tau. We also found out that Sefofane have a maximum luggage allowance on the internal light aircraft flights up to 20kg total luggage per person though of course it still has to be in soft cases.

This was definitely our best wildlife experience and we’ll want to return, though we’ll probably have to wait for a few years... Thank you again for all your help."

Rachel Fryer. July 2009.

Safari Holidays in Botswana - Click here

African Safari Holidays

Customer Comments: Jill & Stephen in Zambia

"Just to say we had the most wonderful time in Zambia and thanks for advice , organising etc etc Everything was perfect , The SLNP (South Luangwa National Park) really is beautiful , now appreciate why David Shepherd loves it so much.

All the guides were great , some been there years and worked for Norman Carr who died in 1997. A few remember Chris (Breen) and wish to be remembered , Levi , Lawrence to name but a few. The camps were great , fav was Mchenja , service excellent.

Saw some magical sights , one day to remember was at 9 am I spotted a lion with a snare round his neck , asked if I could go with the vet from the AWDC to watch , lasted until 7 pm !!! (You can see the images below).

I was told everything about the whole thing as only his 2nd lion , as now moving into Lions following 10 years of monitoring the wild dogs. So the male lion now with a radio collar , a fascinating time and saved a lion which if had not been sighted may have died with that awful snare.

Already planning next holiday !!!"

Jill & Stephen, Zambia, July 2009

Zambian Safari Holidays - Click here

Customer Review - Annmarie Meredith - Botswana

Just to let you know that our March 09 trip to the Okavango Delta, Botswana was a wonderful experience with memories that will stay with us forever - and if not, my 3,000 photographs will take care of that! The main highlights for us were to see the lion kill at Duba Plains, the leopard kill (OK it was a dove, but still) and the wild dog kill at Chitabe Lediba.

We kicked off at the remote Duba Plains camp, and saw an abundance of wildlife with our private guide Reuben. On the second morning we observed the lions of the Tsaro Pride resting in the shade of the acacia bushes and closely monitoring a herd of buffalo. Within 10 minutes, five lionesses (including the infamous Silver Eye) had spotted an opportunity on hearing the plaintive cry of a sick calf left behind at the rear of the herd. They looked at each other and seemed to communicate their strategy. With their necks outstretched, mouths watering, their gaze in the distance, they raced off and we followed at great speed. Not knowing what to expect, it was quite a thrill, and we had to hold on tight as the Land Rover followed at the same pace. My heart was racing as I saw other lions joining the hunt. We crossed through a deep channel - not a problem for these strong swimming lions. One lioness hunted the calf and the others prepared to attack its mother who had returned to protect it.

What an adrenaline rush to witness this sequence of events at such close range. These lions were hungry, and according to our guide, hadn't eaten for 18 days, so it didn't take them long to cripple the buffalo. Once the buffalo was down, the male lion appeared on the scene and settled in by the hindquarters for his long awaited breakfast. What followed was a veritable feeding frenzy by eight growling lions and the last remaining cub from this pride, interspersed with the occasional pause to drink from the nearby channel.

We left them to it but returned at sunset and saw them still at the scene of the crime, and clearly not leaving much for the vultures and hyenas. The game was poor at our second camp, Kwetsani, due to the higher than expected water levels and fortunately we were able to transfer to another camp. I was very keen to see wild dog and leopard and our guide suggested Chitabe Lediba. Nothing was a problem for our hosts and Wilderness Safaris helped us charter a flight. We were met at the airstrip by Newman Chuma who would be our private guide for the next 3 days. That afternoon we set off with Newman in search of leopard. Within 2 hours or so we found ourselves in a dry, low wooded area and our guide listened and watched for signs. He stopped the vehicle when he heard a flock of noisy and agitated francolins in a nearby tree, then drove off through the long grass and soon spotted a leopard sleeping under a tree. It was a female, about 6 years old, and so beautiful. An awesome sight. Our guide made a scratching noise which caused the leopard to sit bolt upright, slowly look around, and make eye contact with us. Poised and ready with my camera on continuous shoot mode, my shutter release sounded like grateful applause. The leopard then fixed its gaze on something a few metres away, and we were treated to a display of a stealthy stalk-and-pounce. Its prey was a collared dove feeding in the long grass. She played with it rather like a domestic cat with a mouse. We watched her strip the feathers, then eat it but not without a fight, lick her lips, clean the feathers from her whiskers and walk off through the woods. What a promising start!

After that we spotted wildebeest, giraffe, elephant and black back jackal, all very special, but my heart was still pounding from the leopard experience. With the sun sinking fast we headed off to find a safe spot for our sundowner. We parked up by some trees with an open area ahead of us and hopped out to stretch our legs. I swapped over to my macro lens to photograph some colourful wild flowers whilst Newman prepared our G&Ts. Newman heard something - it was an impala running at speed towards the trees on the far side, but what was it running from? An African wild dog no less.

We looked at each other in disbelief. Newman asked us what we wanted to do? No brainer, let's follow the wild dog. In a mad rush we abandoned the cool box, drinks and nibbles, and sped off after the wild dog. Bouncing around in the back I swapped my lenses over in record time. The dog was joined by another one and we raced after them. They stopped to drink at a pool of water, but didn't stop for long, they were very excited about something. We followed and saw them join up with 6 other dogs all running straight ahead of us. Newman made the call of a wild dog in distress which caused them to stop and look around at us - nice photo opportunity! They continued and we followed them into the woods where we found them all huddled around a freshly killed impala. The noises and the smell were remarkable. These eight dogs were hungrily gnawing away at the kill, barking, growling, moaning. I snapped away with my camera but with the combination of the adrenalin and the low light found it difficult to get good shots, however I can't complain. What beautiful animals they are with their yellowish brown, black and white coat, white tipped tail, black muzzle and huge oval black ears.

Within ten minutes there was nothing left but bones; two black back jackals were waiting for their chance, also the vultures, including white headed, white backed, hooded and leopard faced. All this in one afternoon - how amazinlgy lucky we were, and what a great guide we had in Newman. Am I glad we changed our plan and came to Chitabe Lediba! We would definitely recommend this lodge. The wildlife is prolific, the accommodation is adequate, and I believe is due for a refurbishment shortly and its sister camp, Chitabe, was undergoing a refurbishment while we were there. I hope it's not too long before my next African adventure.

Annmarie Meredith

http://www.annmariemeredithphotography.com/

Wildlife Safaris in Botswana and the Okavango Delta - Click here

Festival of Wildlife 2009 - Tanzania - Staff Report by Mel Kinder

As far as the eye can see....

Nothing can quite prepare you for the expanse of the Serengeti plains. Driving to our private camp from Arusha in preparation for the 6th Annual Festival of Wildlife was a truly memorable experience for Alison and myself. With numerous bags loaded with Festival auction items, little customer gifts purchased at the Masai market, projector, laptops, a printer, banner and our personal equipment, we headed away from the ever-growing arable suburbs and bustle of the town and west towards the peak of Ngorongoro crater. Having carried out the necessary pre-Festival meetings in Arusha we were being treated to an afternoon game drive in the crater with top guide Ayoub, en route to our camp spot in the central Serengeti. As we climbed towards the rim of the crater the increasingly green landscape turned into what could almost be described as lush rainforest. Ayoub suddenly insisted we close our eyes and then, once instructed a moment later, we were gazing down into what must surely be one of the greatest natural wonders of the world. But where are the flamingos I insisted? I was overwhelmed by the landscape before me but intent on cementing my dream of witnessing the mass of elegant pink birds on the lake.

Soon we had descended the steep sides of the crater and were eye to eye with zebras, hyenas, Wildebeest, warthogs – you name it! But still no sign of pink. This is when you begin to realise just how big the 260 square kilometre crater is. We trundled along and although we had managed to see lions and 4 of the meagre Black Rhino population within an hour, it wasn’t until we neared closer to the soda lake that the blur of pink haze became thousands of individual birds….astounding!

Leaving the hospitable and comfortable Serena lodge bright and early in the morning we headed further west and down into the lowlands towards the Serengeti, passing solitary and regal Masai herders as the dark green turned into varying shades of yellow and brown. This is where the horizon becomes infinite and space unrestrained and this is where we were to host the Festival of Wildlife.

Turner’s Camp was the perfect base from which to witness the Great Wildebeest Migration – the reason for our presence in this location. At the end of the rainy season the ground here provides the perfect larder for the million or so White-bearded Wildebeest and Burchell’s Zebra which have arrived from the east. They did not disappoint. Having flown back with our Festival group into the local Seronera airstrip we were all warmly welcomed with cheery register calls of endless grunts resembling ‘here’, ‘here’, ‘here’, as we passed by the scattered and sometimes bunched brown cattle.

The welcome continued at camp with dancing by the local Wakuria tribe, poachers in a past life but now working with conservation tourism. Everyone was glad to have finally reached their home for the next 5 days.

Festival is always ‘full-on’ and this year was to be no exception. Joined by expert wildlife photographers Mark Carwardine, Suzi Eszterhas and Nick Garbutt, artist Mandy Shepherd and editor of BBC Wildlife magazine Sophie Stafford, not forgetting Selous Save the Rhino project leader Fraser Smith, Jackson Looseyia from Big Cat Live, local Masai and bushcraft expert Ole Kirimbai and Damian Bell from the local Honeyguide Foundation, we had a lot to pack in.

‘Water ready’ came the call in the dark at 5:30 each morning as our superb camp staff miraculously provided about twenty tents with hot water for washing before everyone congregated around a welcome camp fire for hot porridge and tea. Head torches blinding fellow participants, we headed for our designated vehicles in readiness for the mornings viewing. ‘Who heard the lion roar last night?’ exclaimed a voice ‘It was really close!’ In fact much closer than we had realised. At dusk a lioness was spotted a few dozen metres from camp, surveying the territory atop the nearby kopjes.

Festival is all about sharing wildlife knowledge and information flows freely from dawn till dusk as the melee of participants, experts, camp staff and the Wildlife Worldwide team share stories, witness events, listen to presentations and attend workshops in their preferred subjects.

Varying workshops this year included beadwork with the Wakuria ladies, bushcraft with local Masai guru - Ole Kirimbai, birding with Nick Garbutt, painting with Mandy Shepherd and the ever popular photography skills and manipulation. The pace is fast but there is just so much to do and see in the space of the event so a few nodding heads just after lunch are all part and parcel!

Everyone’s back in camp for brunch at 11am and the stories are coming thick and fast – lions in abundance in trees, leopards spotted both in trees and wandering through the thick grass, Wildebeest in their thousands and a solitary python trying to hide unsuccessfully in a termite mound!

Once fed and watered presentations follow, taking in subjects like ‘Last Chance to See’ with Mark Carwardine previewing a couple of antics from the forthcoming series he has been filming with Stephen Fry, ‘Tales and Tragedies from Tiger Land’ by Nick Garbutt about his recent India trip and ‘Life as BBC Wildlife Editor’ by Sophie Stafford.

Workshops and further game drives ensure everyone is kept busy followed by a quick bucket shower before sitting down to the delights created by Leonard the camp chef and stories around the camp fire. Having never visited the Serengeti before, I understand now that May and June are excellent months to visit; before the numbers of visitors really kick in. As a reasonably large group taking 8 vehicles out each morning, we rarely came into contact with more than one or two other vehicles at most stopping to view a similar event. Our local Tanzanian guides were extremely knowledgeable and attentive to the needs of the group. Aware that other vehicles would encounter equally exciting events, they did not jump to grab a radio resulting in situations of vehicle overload, as can so easily happen when wildlife viewing.

There is also another wonderful way of getting a different perspective on the whole area – a balloon ride. Six of us braved the 4:30am wake-up call and headed wearily to the take-off point. Packed like pigeons into racing baskets, with only heads protruding as we sat in our advised astronauts position. Slowly the heat built into the balloon and we were upright again and gazing out towards the rising sun and the magnificent plains. Soon we could see for miles and the rising and falling to turn of the balloon, allowed us unparalleled wildlife sightings as we skimmed vulture nests in acacia trees, saw lion cubs darting into the undergrowth and gazed in awe at the aphid-like mass of black which described the head of a huge Wildebeest herd and the tail stretching for miles behind.
Everywhere the abundance of wildlife is staggering. Big cats lounge nonchalantly in acacia branches, well fed and seemingly unconcerned by the stampeding of nearby hooves. Giraffes in their dozens browse gracefully as they create acacia topiary and hyena and jackals roam freely on the off-chance of a grabbed meal. All this and thousands of Wildebeest on a mission. I couldn’t help but draw an imaginary comparison with the bison roaming on the former plains of the USA and the cartoon by the great cartoonist Gary Larson where he has drawn a traffic report helicopter entitled ‘Herd Report’ circling above a mass of cattle with a bubble from the pilot stating ‘It’s bad out there today folks....Noses to derrières as far as I can see.

Of course we can never take these incredible spectacles for granted, and the Festival ethos is one of conservation and learning to highlight issues and promote discussion regarding solutions. We always try to raise as much money as possible for different conservation groups in whichever destination we happen to be. This year we are raising money for Save the Rhino International, The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation and the Honeyguide Foundation. Even in this year of cutbacks and credit crunch, people realise the importance of wildlife conservation and we are proud to have raised £5,135 during this Festival trip alone. The Serengeti is a vast and unique wildlife reserve without boundaries which is constantly under treat from land usage, poachers, climate changes and more. Let’s try and ensure that its fate is not sealed as below……

If you would like to find out about next year’s Festival trip to the Pantanal in Brazil then please click here.