Sun and Storm over Botswana (Customer Review)

"Darkness came early on March 13th. A layer of leaden clouds descended over Maun Airport like a giant threatening duvet. The pilot of the four seater Cessna flew at a low altitude, changing direction to navigate around the rain. I arrived at the airstrip only to be greeted by an almighty thunderclap from the dark velvet sky.

I have travelled to Botswana several times before, but always in October, when the sky is a flawless azure blue, and the sun is scorchingly unforgiving. Animals are desperate for water. and competition at water holes is fierce. By mid morning they are seeking shade. A dusty arid landscape.

My camp in March is beside the now flowing Savute Channel. All about me is verdant, vibrant flora. Emerald and lime trees surround glorious grassland, dotted with an abundance of wild flowers. What a contrast with October! Now the animals seem very contented. Cheetah spots more defined. Hyena coats thick and lustrous. October in Savute resembles a different planet, for the Mopane trees are stripped bare by elephants, and black ghostly trunks and branches litter the white parched terrain. A scene of desperation and desolation, with a paucity of water, but perfect for game viewing. Elephants search longingly for water, travelling many kilometres every day.

In March, game is still about, but it takes clever guiding and intense detective work to track animals. Elephants suddenly appear through thickets. The virgin butterfly shaped leaves of the Mopane glow with a rosy hue. At dawn, tall golden grasses appear white with dew, water droplets suspended, reflecting the sunrise. Carmine Bee-eaters swoop beside the vehicle, catching insects, and butterflies abound, enjoying the colourful flower selection. It has not rained for two days, but the sky is adorned with fluffy clouds.

The Duba Plain in March is like a green fire blasting through swamps. A thousand ebony coated buffalo cross the marsh fleeing from the Tsaro lion pride, hastening to the bush, where heavily leaved branches form dark tunnels. Giraffe graze contentedly on the Acacia now, but soon their supply will be scarce in the rolling savannah of Duba. The seasonal deep water affords me a wonderful view of lions and cubs swimming through a metre deep channel.

The area around Mombo Camp now resembles a gigantic shallow lake, here and there interspersed with lily filled lagoons, like a scene from a Monet painting. Suddenly, another storm descends, sending the fauna for cover. However, it is brief, and the Monitor lizards appear again to soak up the sun.

October in Botswana is amazing, but it is so, so dry. In March the senses are bombarded by the aroma of the bush, and allured by the scent of wild sage and basil. An ornamental allotment where the wildlife feast on a market garden of vegetation. On the horizon, distant trees are etched black silhouettes. Dusk leaches colours from the sky. Mauve, cobalt, grey, and then black. Stars gradually emerge. Goodnight Botswana."


Annette & Andrew B. April 2011.

Wildlife Safari Holidays in Botswana - Click here

Customer Review: Tswalu, South Africa - Renewal of Land and Spirit

"The word ‘desert’ conjures up visions of endless sand and rolling dunes, as in the Sahara or Namib Deserts. Imagine our surprise when we arrived at the Kgalagadi or Kalahari Desert to find that, as far as the eye could see, desert sand was visible only as an ochre background to a foreground of blond savannah grass. Instead of the scrubby bushes we expected, our eyes were drawn across a great plain dotted with blossoms, yellow on the camel thorn acacia and white on the blackthorn, liberally interspersed with leafy green shrubs and small trees, some yet to bloom.

Tswalu before

Tswalu after

Welcome to the aptly named ‘thornveld’ and welcome to Tswalu, literally the ‘re-birth’ of this part of Africa.

We have often been disheartened in our travels round the world by witnessing man’s destruction of habitat and wildlife. In one nature reserve in India, poachers had preceded us and killed all the tigers. In a National Park in Borneo, two hundred metres from our lodge, we awoke to the buzz of chain saws ripping into the forest. In the Amazon, 25% of the rainforest has been mowed down. In Los Llanos, Venezuela, destruction of habit and wildlife is rife since the Chavez government ‘nationalised’ many ranches/nature reserves.


Doubly welcome then to Tswalu, a rehabilitation project that will restore some of your faith in human nature.

Over many years, cattle farming reduced this region of the Kalahari to a barren landscape, with patches of savannah, blackened shrubs and large areas of land scuffed down to the sand by bovine hooves. This is what team Tswalu, with careful husbandry, is gradually restoring to flourishing thornveld, re-populated with the animals that had previously inhabited it.


The restoration of the desert adapted animals has progressed so well that, after just twelve years, there are now small herds of ungulates, twenty two different species, happily breeding, as well as predators and a plethora of smaller mammals and birds. The investment is enormous. It provides for over 140 people, progressive fencing of 1,000 sq. kilometres and the import and export of suited species to and from other reserves.


They have created a haven here for the endangered rhino, both black and white, which, despite their bulk, are only found with persistent searching because the area is so vast. And what a place this is to go cheetah tracking: for three mornings the spotted cats led us a merry dance in and around the sand dunes. We did not find them this time but maybe next time, for surely this is place worthy of another visit in a few years to see how the re-birth is progressing.


The Kalahari is home to over 70 species of mammals and 240 species of birds. We had first ever sightings of black rhino (below), black maned lion, blue wildebeest, Hartmann’s mountain zebra, roan and sable antelope, red hartebeest, springbuck and the mischievously entertaining meerkats. At night, we had our first tantalising glimpses of aardvark, aardwolf, cape fox and spring hare.

We re- encountered white rhino, giraffe, Burchell’s zebra, eland, kudu, ostrich, oryx, steenbok, duiker, bat eared fox, rock monitor lizard, slender and yellow mongoose, ground squirrel, kori bustard and some non-indigenous antelope (nyala, impala, waterbuck) introduced by the founder, Stephan Bolar, but gradually being re-settled by the Oppenheimer family, who took over ten years ago when the founder died only two years into the project.


Save up your money and invest in a visit to Tswalu to refresh your spirit and your soul. Fly in on an executive turbo prop. See animals on your way to and from the airstrip. Set out your viewing ambitions with your private guide, Adrian, and tracker, William, two of the best in Africa, and discuss your likes and dislikes with the executive chef. Enjoy being pampered beyond belief in your own gorgeous Motse (thatched, private lodge) capacious enough to live in permanently. One evening you may be served diner on the deck of your Motse, another by the pool, another amongst the sand dunes, another in the Boma, where the dinners are ringed by fires, and take a leisurely brunch in the eagle’s nest, entertained by frolicking animals and overlooking thornveld which stretches to the horizon.


The author of this article, Alan Wood, a frequent traveller with Wildlife Worldwide, has made 25 journeys in search of wildlife in Africa, Asia and the Americas. Tswalu is the 21st reserve visited across 9 countries in Africa."

For Wildlife Safari Holidays in South Africa - Click here

Customer Review: Bears in Finland, by John B. May 2010

“Climbing up a small incline we approach our hide for the evening, here in the ancient taiga forest of pine on the Russian-Finnish border we need to move carefully as our guide, Jano, has warned that Bears could be close by and we need to quickly secure ourselves in the hide for the evening. However, as our small party of 6 reach the larger of the 3 hides, these words dissolve as quickly as our first bear of the evening appears about 20 metres away and the pure excitement of seeing these animals in the wild kicks in and we do the opposite of our genetic instinct and we try and move in closer, as this is the reason we have travelled this far for a short 4 day break in Finland.

Having arrived the previous evening after a flight through Helsinki and Kajanni and a dusk (about 10:00pm) drive through the serene forest and lake environment of eastern Finland we had woken that morning to the sound of birdsong, and the pet Reindeer Martin at our window at the Martinselkonen Erakeskus. Here as an unexpected consequence of the Cold War, this former guard house, has been comfortably converted and is a true family affair with the family providing food and help over the day before the trip to the hides in the evening. After a morning walk, accompanied dog-like by Martin, we spend a happy hour before hot drinks at 12:00 by the bird feeders spotting squirrels, woodpecker, Siberian Jays, gloriously coloured finches and a host of other small birds.However, this is just the warm up act; and after a sumptuous feast of salmon (very much like the bears we will soon be seeing) at 15:00 we depart promptly towards the hide at 16:00. As there is still snow on the ground, we travel part way to the hide on a skidoo and sleigh construction, but due to the weather just starting to warm the male members of the party have to de-camp half way to the hide after a couple of groundings in the mix between frozen and de-frosting ground.

It is after we have all met up again that we have our first bear encounter as we approach the hide. On the first night our party of three had the whole 10 person hide to ourselves with the guide, and after our spectacular arrival we quickly moved into the safety of the hide and were securely locked in for the evening. Within half an hour of setting up in the well-organised hide, another bear arrived, walking in the area in front of the hide, which soon discovered and starting eating the salmon and "Bear" snacks (dog biscuits) cleverly hidden around the small clearing.

Over the course of the next 6 hours we saw around 18 different bears come and go according to hierarchy within the group, with barely any time when a bear wasn't in sight. The number of bear sightings was mainly due to the fact that they had only recently emerged from hibernation so were wanting to "power-snack" their way up to mating weight. We were completely enthralled; it made for a stunning spectacle. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any more exciting, the evening was ‘crowned’ just towards dusk, when one of the alpha males moved in close to a female and her three two-year old cubs resulting in the family making a mad dash up the nearest pine tree. However, one of the smaller cubs wasn’t going to miss out on his food – he made sure he took it with him and then proceed to nonchalantly eat this piece of salmon whilst secured around 75 feet from the ground away from the grumpy male.

When the light began to fade, we turned our attention to getting some sleep. The arrangements were simple – bunk beds each equipped with a sleeping bag and pillow. We each claimed a bed and climbed into our sleeping bags fully clothed. During the night we could hear the sounds of grunting and snorting as the bears continued to eat, which competed with the sounds of snoring from inside the hide.Those of us keen enough then re-commenced watching from around 04:00 and although not the same volume, did manage to see some bears before we were released from the hide around 07:00 and transported back to the lodge for a well deserved breakfast.

Our schedule saw us staying a second night in the same hide where we were joined by two coaches from the bronze medal 2010 Finnish Olympic Ice Hockey team. The hours passed swiftly as we sat enthralled by the antics and inter-play between the bears who we'd now come to regard as friends.

The next day we said our farewells to Martinselkonen, and with Markuus driving were transferred over the next 2 hours to the latest addition in the family business near Kuhmo at Viiksimo called Boreal Wildlife Centre..

Run by Markuus's son Jani in joint ownership with world renowned Finnish videographer Kari Kemppainen the recently converted guard house had only been taking guests for around a month but the place was in full swing with the short season of capercaillie lecking and black grouse. However, despite the wonderful crisp weather the thought of an evening in a small tent hide wasn't why we had swopped location; for us the spotting list here was about the elusive wolverine, wolves (a pack of eight had been seen the previous night), which along with the bears promised a real spotting feast.

The set-up here was similar to the well tested operation at Martinselskonen and we quickly slipped into the routine culminating in making our way to the hide for the evening again at 16:00 but with a slightly shorter trip. Here the hides are located in atmospheric no-mans land between Finland and Russia. This experience offered a more open environment from the previous two nights looking out over rough grass and ponds with the tree line about 1/2 km away on all sides. This created an altogether more wild and isolated experience with the bears seemingly more nervous (whether from the recent arrival of the wolf pack or just their recent awakening from hibernation) and smaller in number but with a very knowledgeable guide and visits from a white tailed sea eagle, a veritable murder of crows and black headed gulls the time passed quickly, and although as nature often does, we weren't rewarded with sightings of wolves or wolverines, over the course of the three nights we had more than our fair share of memories and enough reason to return in the not too distant future.

This is certainly a trip we’ll recommend to fellow wildlife enthusiasts.”

John B. May 2010.

Wildlife Holiday, Bear-Watching in Finland - 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

Customer Reviews: Mr Wood in Belize

REPORT ON VISIT TO BELIZE, April 2009

It always seems extraordinary to me how difficult it can be to travel from one country to another in a region, even to neighbouring countries. As you grow older time seems to accelerate exponentially; this is an illusion of course but for older folk time relates more to what is left than what is past. Now we know we can only travel to other continents for a relatively short number of years, we are inclined to twin or triplet the countries we visit.

This year we were returning to Venezuela and wished to marry it to a wildlife experience in another nearby country in Latin America. Guyana looked like a good choice for the Kaieteur Falls, the possibility of jaguar at Iwokrama and giant otter on the Rupununi River. But there are no direct flights between these immediate neighbours and travel by road would have taken us away from our dogs for too long. Combining Venezuela and Guyana involves using Trinidad as a staging post. To get the best air fares, the trip demands 4 local flights to and from the island. Maybe next time the call of steel bands will be enough to seduce us.

We turned instead to Belize, a lot like a Caribbean ‘island’ except it is landlocked. Getting to this charming country from Venezuela, and then home, is even more complicated than combining Venezuela and Guyana. It involved a flight from Caracas via Panama City into San Salvador for an overnight stop, before a further two flights to take us to the lodge at Gallon Jug in Belize; with two flights via San Salvador to Guatemala and a flight home from there, exiting the plane at Panama City, changing in Madrid for London. Exhausting, yes, and not recommended. The first time we went to Belize we flew direct to Cancun in Mexico and took a simple, easy and interesting road transfer from there.

The lure in Belize was the real possibility of an encounter with puma, jaguar and ocelot at Chan Chich, a terrific lodge located in the heart of 125, 000 acres, most of which is tropical forest. The small plane journey was a dream. We were whisked by our pilot through Godson International Airport, Belize City, like VIPs, and flown in to Gallon Jug, 2000 ft over jungle as dense as a forest of broccoli. Effects of the two day transfer started to fade with the onset of delicious anticipation in searches and sightings to come.

We had our first night drive that very evening, not wholly productive as heat and travel were taking their toll. We relied entirely on Luiz, our driver, for spotting and to awaken us if we nodded off. During the following seven days we fell into a routine of rising at four thirty to catch the dawn on our morning drives and departing two hours before sunset for pre-dinner drives. On two of the days we varied the routine so that we could stay out longer, taking a breakfast picnic on the escarpment one morning and a picnic dinner by Laguna Seca one evening. In between drives, we walked the nine trails that surround the lodge.

There were lots of howler monkeys roaring to get us up before dawn and, each evening, an entertaining troupe of spider monkeys swung in near the lodge to take up residence for the night. As we travelled, we marvelled at the display and colours of the ocellated turkey, every bit as impressive in its shimmering, many coloured feathers as a peacock. Apparently these large birds have been ‘disappeared’ in most places outside Gallon Jug because they make such good eating.

Gallon Jug provides a variety of habitats and some great places to observe birds and butterflies, not forgetting frogs and crocodiles. Our quest was centred on the big cats; we had to rely on them to make an appearance in the open areas as the jungle is so dense, a jaguar would be lost to sight a few metres into it. The road and trail systems together with the 3000 acre clear area around Gallon Jug village and farm, offers the best possibility of a sighting. On our first day, one member of staff saw a puma on the Logger’s Trail within a kilometre of Chan Chich lodge. On day three there were two puma sightings by the lodge manager and, on day four, a jaguar was seen at 200 ft. crossing the road, apparently on its way to slack it thirst in Laguna Seca.

Next morning, an hour after we had driven our golf cart to Sylvester Village, there was a close encounter there with a large puma by staff man, Jorge, who came back to lodge with a photo in his camera. That night we staked out a spot where the farm had laid a dead calf to be naturally re-cycled by vultures and, we hoped, the big cats. No luck there, so we headed off to Laguna Seca keeping our eyes peeled as it grew dark so suddenly. On our way back from the lagoon, I was picking out the eyes of deer and cattle with the spotlight, when I lighted up something that was too low down to be either: the green eyes reflecting back at me were only two or three feet off the ground on a hill in a large field fenced off for the cattle.

We moved right next to the fence and continued to stare through the binoculars until we could be sure the colour, shape and size meant we were looking at a puma. It was 80 metres away but identifiable in the spotlight, although out of camera range. We squeezed through the barbed wire and tried to get a better view but it shrank away over the hill and out of sight. We drove down an adjacent road still trying to catch it in the light. As we cast about, our guide saw a different pair of green eyes lurking in a mango orchard on the opposite side of the road to the first sighting, this time about 120 metres away. We saw the eyes and a faint suggestion of a body as it moved along the base of the trees but we could get no closer. So we had two distant, night sightings to go down in the book, our first ever of puma, and therefore a special thrill.

The Chan Chich Lodge at Gallon Jug is situated in an old Mayan site. Both the main lodge and the cabanas are beautifully appointed: our bathroom alone was 15 sq metres, with his and her showers and washbasins. The forty odd staff come from about 6 families who live nearby in service areas or the village. Most of them have grown up in Gallon Jug or worked there for years, all part of a Chan Chich community which gives the place a very special feeling. There is a school, where almost 80 of the community’s children are taught, located near the airstrip and farm, along with a shop and post-office.

There are lots of activities both on and off the Chan Chich reserve, which itself borders two other large areas of forest, including the 260, 000 acre Rio Bravo Nature Reserve. You can visit the impressive Mayan ruins at Lamanai or trip next door to seek out the wildlife. We had more than enough within the reserve to keep us fully engaged, with visits to the Jacuzzi, swimming pool and massage parlour to help recover from all those drives and walks. You can also hire a golf cart (make sure its battery is fully charged!), go bike riding or take a canoe out on Laguna Verde, another pretty lake on the property. All of which makes Chan Chich a great place to visit.

"Female collared peccary"

"Peccary and 'Peclet' "

"Bigger than my hand, Tarantula"

"Ocelot, Hato Pinero"

"Is it a Space-ship orbiting the moon?"

Alan Cantrell Wood, April 2009

Customer Review: Mr DeFrias in Botswana

"The trip was outstanding, really good - despite all my concerns with the wet season. Clearly the tall grasses make wildlife watching much more of a challenge, and we missed a few things (for example we were not able to find a cheetah with 2 month old cubs despite we tried and tried... and there are no buffalo herds this time of the year which means much less predator activity...).

But I saw lots and lots of animals, and a few very special things. The absolute highlight was that in Laggon I could spend several hours following a pack of dogs whilst they hunted... and we were lucky enough to see them taking down an impala, less than two meters from our car. We witnessed the whole process - which I found very upsetting, as they ate the poor animal alive in less than two minutes - and I took probably a hundred top quality pictures in those two minutes. I have never seen in my life pictures of a wild dogs kill so I think I got something that is really unique... although very gory.

We also saw cheetah almost daily, including an amazing image of a coalition of three brothers watching from a termite mound less than 10 meters from the car, in great light... a family of lions playing rough games... a coalition of 7 male lions hunting by night, hippos fighting, a very rare African Wild Cat, an even rarer Pangolin...

And of course, the lodges are very good, the guides and trackers are fantastic (the two guys that I had at Laggon are absolutely top class), etc.

You also did well by choosing 3 nights at each Lagoon and Kwara and only 2 at Tau Pan. Although Tau Pan is a very beautiful lodge - and of course brand new - and the Kalahari is a very interesting experience, it is lighter than the delta in terms of wildlife, which is my main interest.

All said, without doubt, one of my best trips to Africa. Thanks very much for 'convincing' me to go, I will definitely return to Kwando as soon as I can."

Mr DeFrias, Botswana, March 2009

Click here for safari holidays in Botswana

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

Customer Review: Luangwa Zambia - August 2008

"At last I have finished editing the video taken during our visit to South Luangwa in Zambia. During this delightful occupation there has been opportunity, once again, to appreciate all the careful planning, and the care lavished on us to make our final trip wonderful and unforgettable.

We met up with so many old friends, and the warmth of their greeting was very moving. It was like coming home, and being with family. Everyone looked after us so well, and made sure that we made the best use of our time with you. Our new friend Laurence was an excellent guide. Most interesting, and with a good sense of humour. His impressions of birds and animals were great fun. On our first night drive at Kapani he even found two leopards!

Nsolo was even more special than before. We loved the position of the new camp, and Hut No.4 was absolutely perfect. Our sunrise view of the Luwi river bed is now my desktop picture and a daytime one is Joan's. On our arrival with Laurence we were even welcomed by a dung beetle! He said it was an unusual sight, as the rainy season is when they are usually around.
On one of our drives I managed at last to get a picture of a lilac breasted roller in flight. I had been trying for 16 years!

On our previous trip to Nsolo in 2006, we decided to be brave and leave our curtains open to the night sky. Not long after we had settled in, the drama commenced. A lioness, not a healthy one, who had been lying low locally with her warthog prey, decided to go walkabout. She walked under our hut, and stayed there, I think. Anyway, trucks, staff, lights, radios, all was uproar that went on for hours. We were fascinated, especially when she finally walked across in front of us (we were lying upright in bed, me with my camcorder clutched in my hands!) Everything quietened down at about 3.30 a.m., and we composed ourselves for a short night's sleep. It was not to be, because a Scops owl in a tree by our hut started up when the lights went out, and continued saying 'prrrrrrrrrrrp every 5 seconds until the wake-up call came!

I did not bring a book with me this time, but was lucky enough to be able to buy a second hand copy of 'The White Impala' at the Kapani shop. I asked people to write in the front and back for me. I cannot close on anything better that what Rice wrote.................. Shaking hands will vanish, but memories will remain fresh....................................."

Foy and Joan, August 2008

Click here for details of Zambia Safari: Leopards of Luangwa

Festival of Wildlife 2008 Madagascar

Madagascar - what a destination! We have just returned from our 5th Annual Festival of Wildlife and have been totally mesmerised by this most magical of islands. With a mix of cultures incorporating African, Indian, Indonesian and European, the visual and sensory stimulation was overwhelming and that was before even getting close to the flora and fauna! Most of the wildlife can be experienced nowhere else on this earth and as we walked in small groups to discover it for ourselves, the whole experience became more intimate and adventurous....

Click here for the Festival 2008 Blog, which includes articles and pictures from participants, and experts, and also details of the auction which raised £13,391 for wildlife and conservation charities.

Customer Review - Mr & Mrs Donner in East Africa

We went on a month's holiday to Kenya and Tanzania from mid-November to mid-December 2007. Overall the holiday was a great success. We thoroughly enjoyed it and Isabel did a good job planning our itinerary and putting up with our frequent suggestions for changes to get it just right...

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Customer Review - The Parens in Chile

The Atacama provided a wide variety of desert and saltpan scenery and an amazing range of colours, particularly at the beginning and the end of the day. The Tatio Geysers were the best we have seen anywhere, although they only function for a couple of hours at dawn each day. Our guide, Patrick, struck the right balance between scenery and wildlife...

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Simon Crosbie's Travelogue - Central America

Simon Crosbie has recently departed on a life-changing experience. By coincidence, prior to attending our Costa Rican evening in November, Simon had already decided that he was heading over to South America to take part in volunteer conservation projects. You can keep up with Simon's activities in South America, and read all about his 'Jewels of Costa Rica' trip later in the year, by checking the Travelogue...

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Festival of Wildlife 2007 Feedback

Festival 2007 participants write in with some feeback about her experiences of the trip, and includes some fantastic photos... "Very many thanks to you all for another super Festival; so very different, but just as exciting amongst wonderful scenery, and to all the experts for imparting some of their experience in all forms."

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Customer Review - The Carbols in Finland

As we hiked into the towering trees of the Finnish forest, we were struck by the lush, green, peaceful setting. The quiet and tranquility were a welcome escape from the harsh sights and sounds of modern day civilization. Martinselkonen is a nature park of around 6000 hectares and sits in the wilderness of the Kainuu region. Accessed by dirt road, it takes you deep into the realm where moose and bear are more common than human...

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Customer Review - Mr Thomas in China

The main reason for the visiting the Qinling mountains in central China was to attempt to observe and perhaps photograph Giant Pandas in the wild. This iconic species must be one of the most instantly recognisable animals in the world yet has been seen by only a handful of western observers in its remote mountain strongholds. Areas such as Lao Xian Cheng National Park are reputed to have the highest densities of Pandas in the world, so we considered a five day trek into the core area of the park would offer at least a chance of success, as well the opportunity to view other rare mammals such as Takin and Golden Monkey....

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Customer Review - Anthony Guest in China

Overall an excellent trip and I got the photos I wanted, and the overall experience was a very good and positive one from me. But bear in mind the road problems and the choice of hotel for future clients and this is an excellent trip....

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Customer Review - Mr & Mrs Litton in India - January 2007

Here is a review from Mr & Mrs Litton who travelled with us to India in January 2007.

"Tiger" I breathed as the adolescent tiger cub emerged from the bushes less than five feet from my elbow. A second cub followed rapidly and then the mother emerged. She snarled at us and was obviously warning us to keep away from her family......

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Customer Review - Mr & Mrs Beech in Madagascar

Here is a review from Mr & Mrs Beech who travelled with us to Madagascar in November 2006.

"All the arrangements went very well. We were very impressed with the service of your ground agents. We had an excellent guide/driver, Kempschen, who was very well informed about everywhere we went. We were warned that not many people speak English and it helped that we were able to communicate with him in French - his French was fluent, his English seemed more limited, but he went out of his way to be helpful. In practice we used French most of the time..... "

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