Bear Watching in Slovakia - Trip Report by Mark Wright

"We've arrived at the ranger's cottage deep in the Tatras for two days.


Accommodation is ok, an old wood cottage straight out of Red Riding Hood. Although facilities are pretty simple it's a real privilege to be allowed up here in the midst of nature in the park - Projekt Medved (project Bear) works with the national park authorities to allow a select few tourists to stay and visit and see wildlife. There are NO other tourists up here and we have the entire park ourselves.

It's our first day and we have struck lucky. Observing the avalanche slopes between stands of fir trees we spot a solitary brown bear high on the upper slopes. Binoculars and telescope at the ready, we are delighted to see that three young cubs are in hot pursuit of their mother. We watch with fascination for a few minutes until the four figures lumber and toddle away into the dwarf pine and are then lost from view.

We walk through incredible mountain landscapes for the rest of the day, but see no more bears. Plenty of evidence on the trail of bear activity, but no more sightings today.

Tomorrow we'll be out at 5am to look for more."

Bear Watching in Slovakia - Trip Report by Mark Wright

Maths homework in the Tatras

Soon to be added to Wildlife Worldwide's European Bear Watching Holidays, Mark Wright is in the Tatras with his son Joe on a recce trip for Families Worldwide:

"As I get deeper into this trip in Slovakia I realise the importance of Project Bear. Throughout Europe, bear-watching tourists are attracted to sit in hides and wait for sightings. Bears are attracted to the hides by food being regularly placed outside the hides. The ethics and wisdom of this is very questionable; bears that become accustomed to being fed can become dependent upon such food sources and seek out places with people and problems start as bears become more aggressive and are then shot by fearful humans.

This project, where tourism works hand in hand with national parks and a research project, allows bears to be seen in their natural habitat without the need for baiting.

The project is terribly underfunded. It needs help as tourism alone may not be able to provide enough support for this worthwhile cause."

Mark Wright
Families Worldwide

Staff Report: Simon Barnes of the Times in Zambia

Simon Barnes recently joined Wildlife founder Chris Breen leading the Zambian Luxury Escape group safari. He has kindly given us permission to publish his article which appeared in the Times this weekend:

"I have a secret vice. I re-read books. Some I read again and again and again, always content with them, always rejoicing in the familiarity, always finding something new. In particular, I read Ulysses.

I have another vice, but after in indulging in it for more than a week, I think it might be the same vice in different form. I go back to places. Well, one place. Here I rejoice in the familiarity, always finding something new. I revisit the Luangwa Valley in Zambia.

I was co-leading a trip with Wildlife Worldwide. We drove out from the lovely Kakuli bush-camp to a place deeply familiar, where this mad untameable river seems to make an impossible 360-degree loop. The cliffs stand high over a river horribly diminished as the dry season flows towards its dramatic climax.

Lion.

Lions love a dramatic spot. They like sit on the top of these cliffs with their paws flopping over the edge. A lion doesn’t need to look for a safe place. A lion is a safe place. A lion needs merely to indulge his sense of drama.

It was on this spot, 21 years ago, that I saw lions for the first time. It was here I first witnessed that glorious hot cosy intimacy of lions at peace: sometimes striking commanding poses like the lions of Trafalgar Square, at other times rolling sloppily onto their backs like daft old pussy-cats.

I watched as one young male – his mane just beginning to get serious – slouched from one group the next and then lay down as if he were a puppet and all his strings had been cut. And I thought: this lion is almost certainly related to those first lions of 21 years back.
*
The social life of lions is full of contradictions. Unlike hyenas or wild dogs, they seem to make it up as they go along, improvising, falling out, snarling, making up. A pride is a central group of related females that takes on a succession of males.

The pride male – sometimes there’s more than one -- kicks out young males out when they get too sniffy round the back ends of females. Then they must go and seek their fortunes; when they are good enough and confident enough, they can try for a pride of their own.

There has always been a pride around here, and its female axis is likely to be stable. It would be highly improbable if these lions weren’t, as it were, related to me. How many generations? Three or four, I’d guess. Good afternoon, ladies: I knew your great-great-grandmother. We go way back.

Other connexions, too. Isaac Banda works at out next camp, Mchenja. I knew his father, also Isaac. He was a scout and he led me to those first lion, with his air of easy comfort in the bush, leaning on his gun and smiling at the lions with a kind of paternal pride.
*
But as I found new things in Ulysses, while Bloom walked along the Liffey and I sat by the Luangwa, so I found new things in the Luangwa. I saw a butterfly of outrageous beauty, a cream-striped swordtail. At Kakuli I found a pan-hinged terrapin, a flap-necked chameleon and an olive grass-snake, all new to me. One new bird, a grey-rumped swallow.

Going back to the same place is no way to build a great life-list of birds – but I’d sooner revisit the colony of carmine bee-eaters, and live with the sounds of their aerial squeaking, looking up as the sun catches their extravagant colours. As a lay in my grass hut at night, I could put a name to every sound I heard: wood owl and scops owl and barred owlet, Mozambique nightjar, painted reed frog, Peterson’s epauletted fruit bat, the whoop of hyena, the distant barking as a leopard disturbed a baboon colony, and the great crump of lion, using the Luangwa river as an amplifier.

This trip was not the first time I have experienced the thump in the gut that comes when you meet lions on foot. But like pain, like a dream, it isn't something you can ever quite remember, until you experience it again. It’s not precisely fear; I’ve been out there enough to know what’s safe and what’s not. It’s more vulnerability. That sense of being not so much a student of James Joyce as an item of protein. You can see lions from a vehicle: you only experience them on foot.

Another point. Ulysses is simply the best book, and the Luangwa Valley is simply the best place for wildlife. Why go elsewhere? Why read a lesser book? The peaceful bits of this trip were every bit as good as the headline moments, but I’d better give you a taste of the drama. Pitch darkness, lit by a single spotlight, in a vehicle surrounded by 200 buffalo, the lowing, crashing noise of their panic as they encountered the lions we had been watching, and then the detonation as the two pride males came out of nowhere to knock down a calf, after which, with the calf only half-dead, they proceeded to have a stand-up dominance dispute, roaring, slashing and raising dust as the poor calf staggered to its feet and tried to make a run for it –


These two rivers never disappoint. The Liffey and the Luangwa flow through my life. I will return, I hope, to both before long."
Simon Barnes. November 2010.

For images from a participant on this trip click here.
To check out future departures on Zambian Luxury Escape click here.

Staff Report: Guyana in Pictures - By Sally Jefferis

Rewa River sunset

A lazy morning spent paddling down the Buro Buro river wildlife spotting

An early morning wake up call from a Red Howler monley beats any alarm clock!

Fruit bats woken from their sleep

Giant river otter swimming

Giant river otter

Guyana's national flower the Victoria Amazonica has leaves that grow up to 3m in diameter. At dusk the lily's flower slowly opens to reveal a brilliant white bloom.

Humming Bird at Maipaima Eco Lodge

Incredible sunsets over unspoilt rainforest

Kaieteur with Rainbow

Playful Giant River Otter

Singing and dancing with children from the local village

The Central Rainforests area is best viewed from the canopy walkway at Atta Rainforest Lodge.

The sight of 30,000 gallons of water per second tumbling over the 741 foot sheer drop is an awe inspiring sight and sound.

For further details of Tailor-made Wildlife Holidays in Guyana - 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:

Staff Report: Mexico - A whale of a time! By Clementine Gent

Deciding where to go on holiday is never easy and with four people, each with differing demands, this trip was going to be no different. Getting away in the depths of winter the destination definitely had to be warm, adventurous if possible, good food (very important if travelling with the French!) and (my demand) some good wildlife encounters! Mexico managed to tick all the boxes!!

British Airways fly direct several times a week to Mexico City but to get to Baja California it is actually easier, quicker and cheaper to go via the States. Immigration was actually relatively painless when entering the US (much to my surprise) and after a few days of exploring northern California I was eager to reach Baja.

We flew two hours from LA and landed in Cabo – surrounded by brown desert, cacti and the heat. I was slightly nervous as I had made all the arrangements and knew two of the group were wildlife virgins – fingers crossed they were going to enjoy it!

We travelled north to the city of La Paz – actually the capital of Baja California Sur – which has a pleasant seaside-town feel with a large waterfront promenade and plenty of good shops and restaurants. Mardi Gras celebrations had just finished but many of the fair rides and entertainments were still there and the local people were out in force, enjoying the evening.

We had an early start the next morning – the group met in the hotel lobby (10 Americans, 2 French, 1 Finn and myself) and we were transferred three and a half hours by road to Magdalena Bay on the Pacific side of the Baja Peninsula. Our camp was perched on the side of the bay on a white sand beach – nothing luxurious but perfect for easy access to the Whales.

The days consisted of breakfast, morning whale watch, back to the camp for lunch, afternoon whale watch or other activity, sundowners at the camp and then dinner.

Grey Whales calve in three bays on the Baja California Peninsula of which Magdalena (Mag for short) Bay is probably the quietest as it is furthest away from the US. The whales enter the bay in December and stay there until early April when they start their long migration to the feeding grounds of northern Canada and Alaska.

In Mag Bay the mothers and calves generally remain in the shallow water whilst mating adults congregate at the mouth of the bay. Our guides JJ and Carlos (both fantastic!) also showed us dolphins, Frigate birds, Sea Lions, pelicans and cormorants to name a few.

We must have seen 30 or so different individuals over the three days we were there. The mothers and calves tended to keep a little distance from the boats although a number of the calves we saw breached seemingly to get a closer look at us. We were able to have closer contact with the mating adults – perhaps because they were rather distracted?! It was not uncommon for us to see between three and five whales in a mating group and every so often one would break off to inspect our boat – perhaps to assess his chances.

Other activities were available when we weren’t whale watching; one afternoon we took the boat to the opposite side of the bay and walked across the sand dunes to the Pacific coast. Large shells by the thousands had been deposited high up by the winter storms, along the never-ending beach we found giant Mussels, Sand dollars, desiccated Trigger and Puffer fish and the skulls of dolphins and pelicans. On another afternoon we went kayaking in the mangrove swamp close to the camp. No prior experience is necessary as the waters in the mangroves are shallow. Paddling through the waterways we got up-close and personal with herons, ospreys, grebes, Whimbrels and had the privilege to see a school of dolphins herding a shoal of fish onto the sandbanks.

Sadly our three magical days in “Mag Bay” came to and end but all was not over as the next half of the trip was based on an island in the Sea of Cortez. We travelled back to La Paz and from there by boat to Isla Espiritu Santo.

Our camp in the island was on the beach in a beautiful bay surrounded by towering red cliffs and green cacti. The camp was more basic than the one at Mag Bay – thermorests rather than cots and torches rather than a generator but the setting was so stunning that no one minded at all.

Our activities here were very flexible – the emphasis was on kayaking but it was optional and there were plenty of other things to do. We started the stay with a dunk test in order to kayak out on the open sea. There were rock stacks going out into the bay which were covered by birds and ringed in coral and we could snorkel to them easily from the camp.

We could hike in the canyon behind the camp where Turkey vultures flew overhead, Rock lizards sunned themselves and Ant lions waited for the unsuspecting to walk into their traps. We kayaked around to an adjacent bay where we saw the archaeological evidence of human habitation some 12,000 years ago. On one morning we went by boat to Los Islotes – a group of islands just off the northern point of the island. Here there is a large Sea lion colony where you can snorkel with them. There are also large colonies of Brown and Blue-footed Boobies. Snorkelling with the playful Sea lions, despite a large swell, was a fantastic experience. The Sea lions were very inquisitive and were eager to inspect (i.e. chew on) anything within their grasp.

The days passed too quickly and soon it was time to return to La Paz and civilization. A final hour adjustment to the homeward plans however meant that our wildlife extravaganza was not over yet…Whale sharks had been spotted in La Paz bay – incredibly early as they usually arrive in May! JJ and Carlos were very helpful in organising an additional tour so, on our final morning, instead of last minute present shopping; we were to be found cruising the shallow waters in desperate search of the biggest fish in the sea.

Three hours into our four hour trip and not a dickey bird or indeed a very large spotted fish. We turned around to head for home and suddenly came across a baby (15 foot!) and shortly after another and then another. The boat dropped us to the side and slightly in front so we were able to have some incredible snorkelling with these gentle giants. I am actually still lost for words at how amazing this experience was and as we rushed from the boat straight to the airport we ended the holiday with gigantic grins on our faces!

Clementine Gent, Wildlife Consultant, March 2009

Click here for our wildlife holidays with Whale Watching in Mexico

Staff Report: Sarah Williams in Namibia - A unique place in Africa

The last time I visited Namibia was eight years ago so I was looking forward to returning to this dry and austere part of Africa. When I departed Windhoek two weeks later, I had completely fallen for this beautiful scenic country.

My journey began in the south, in Sossusvlei where the red dunes dominate the landscape. Staying at Sossusvlei Wilderness Lodge my large picture windows allowed the scenery to be an extension to my room.


An early start is required to visit the dunes, before the sun begins to really turn up the heat. By seven o’clock I was climbing ‘Big Daddy’ – in a moment of madness I had decided, when given the choice, to climb the highest dune in the area!! But the view from the top was quite spectacular and well worth the effort. We descended via Dead Vlei, an eerie graveyard for expired trees.

A couple of days spent at Wolwedans on the edge of the NamibRand Nature Reserve was an opportunity to appreciate one stunning scene after another. Every which way I looked was a view so breathtaking that it was just impossible to capture the scene in a photograph. The vast openness, occasionally punctuated by a hansom Oryx was simply one of the most incredible places I have ever seen. In this crowded world it was refreshing to be enveloped by both space and silence.

After an overnight in Windhoek and a delicious dinner in NICE, I headed north west past the Zebra Mountains and Namibia’s highest peak, Brandberg Mountain, to Palmvag Lodge where the Save the Rhino team is located. Chances of seeing Black Rhino in the Damaraland area is extremely high.

From this point we headed well off the beaten track and down the dry Uniab Riverbed where our progress was periodically halted by desert Elephants who were enjoying a bumper crop of seed pods lying under trees. Our destination was Hoanib River Camp, a remote camp in an amazingly scenic location. Around the fire that evening we stared into the wonderful canopy of stars which seemed so bright and so close, untouched by light pollution.

The following morning saw us climb gradually up a valley of golden grass and then down the other side towards the Hoarusib River, the scenery constantly changing but never dull. We never saw another vehicle or person and in these vast scenes we were just a speck on the landscape.

Further on we drove along a meandering riverbed, a permanent source of water, and saw several elephants who are attracted to this very green and fertile area. Lions are also an occasional visitor. That night we camped at Purros on the banks of the dry riverbed and enjoyed dinner al fresco before a light shower fell that night. The next morning the sky was clear so we set off along prairie style landscapes then through mountains before reaching Sesfontein where we camped on the high banks above the river. By late afternoon dark clouds were gathering and finally we were treated to the most amazing electrical thunderstorm from our dry location. When we woke the next morning the river had risen and our intended 40 km route along the river bed had to be abandoned for the longer 280 km route via the road!

We had only just set up camp at Hobatere, west of Etosha when another huge thunder storm struck. This was very unusual weather for this time of year; the previous December had seen the wildlife in the area desperate for food and water. The following morning, which was our last, we packed away wet camping gear while a beautiful rainbow appeared as a colourful conclusion to our amazing trip!

Namibia is unique; it’s unlike any other Southern African country. If you are a frequent traveller to Africa and have not yet visited Namibia, I urge you to go soon. This is such a beautiful country where the wildlife is unusual, the lodges are exceptional and the scenery is utterly breathtaking. I for one will not be waiting another eight years before I return.

Click here for our Wildlife Holidays & Safaris in Namibia

African Safari Holidays

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)