Looking to get away from the dark days of winter in the new year? There are some great value safaris to be found in Namibia in early 2012. Namibia is one of our favourite destinations, terrific scenery, more wildlife than you ever expect and some great lodges and camps. It is the green season too so the deserts may be blooming. You can enjoy the adventure either by self drive or by flying around the country. Both are excellent ways to enjoy a safari holiday exploring this beautiful country. For more details contact us.

Vicki from our office was in Finnish Lapland last week checking hotels for our Northern Lights Holidays – she had an exceptional evening under the aurora borealis.

30 November 2011 – After getting kitted out in my thermal snowsuit and equally fetching accessories I headed out to the snowmobiles with the rest of my group. A quick, but comprehensive lesson later we mounted our steeds and were ready for the off. As my thumb depressed the accelerator trigger my anticipation built with the noise of the engine and then we were off. Slowly to start with we headed along the trails into the forest, under bridges and across frozen lakes, the only lights to guide us coming from the full beam of the headlights. As we increased our speed, the cold blast of air hit the only exposed flesh of my cheeks and I was suddenly grateful for my fetching thermal attire which was more than doing its job. The heated handle grips helped, as did the warm juice during our mid-safari break and it was here in the darkness of the wilderness that we first saw the faint glow of the silent northern lights. Back on board and with twice the confidence we hit the throttle and were off on our homeward journey. A quick pit stop in the middle of the forest to let the others catch up resulted in an unforgettable experience, as above us the night sky came alive with the most incredible aurora display. Vivid green bands of light danced in the sky creating swirls and waves before the colours faded only to emerge again in a new location. As the colours turned from green to red to a hue of blue I lay on my snowmobile, head resting on the handle bars and lost myself in the silence of the moment, knowing that this could possibly be a once in a lifetime experience. And it is one I will never forget.

photo taken from the snowmobile

We now have uploaded our images of nature taken during a research trip to Finland in September to our Facebook page. Next year we are planning to run some wildlife holidays to this area of northeastern Finland where bears and wolves can be found on the Russian border. The wildlife watching takes place from comfortable hides in wilderness locations. For more information on a European wildlife holiday do contact us.

There has never been a better time to visit the national parks of India in search of tigers and other wildlife. There are now a good number of new ’boutique’ lodges and safari camps around the main wildlife reserves dotted throughout India providing a great choice for all budgets. Furthermore, the excellent network of reliable internal flights mean that you can be exploring a city in Rajasthan one day, on safari in rural central India the next and after a few days enjoying nature here then quite easily relax on a beach in Kerala. Therefore with the parks opening again in October you should be ready to explore the Indian sub-continent. However, we’d recommend travelling between February and April for the best wildlife viewing.

As a consequence of organising one such itinerary recently we will shortly be adding a ‘safari of the month’ to our website so that you can see the types of holidays currently in fashion with our clients.

There is now little or no volcanic activity in Grímsvötn with only a small plume of steam being produced. Scientists have not declared the eruption over and do continue to monitor the situation but there are few signs of any likely resumption of volcanic activity.
The clean up operation is underway around Kirkjubaejarklaustur and Route 1 in the southeast is open again.
This short eruption is indicative of life on an island that sits on 2 tectonic plates and is slowly being pulled apart and where much less powerful geothermal activity can be seen on a daily basis. Iceland remains a fascinating country to explore.

Grímsvötn volcano is continuing to erupt although the amount of tephra ejected is diminishing and the plume is now at a reduced height of 3 – 6km but still layering ash in the same area on the south-east coast of Iceland. However, it is expected that Route 1 through this scenic part of the country will re-open very soon.
Flights to Iceland and within Iceland have resumed although there are currently delays affecting Glasgow flights on Icelandair.

Grímsvötn, the most active volcano in Iceland erupted again at 1930h on Saturday 21 May 2011. It has erupted 5 times since 1983, the previous event being in 2004. The volcano lies beneath the vast Vatnajokull ice cap and often there is delayed flooding associated with eruptions. None of these eruptions threatened lives or inhabited areas and most are classified as minor eruptions lasting 2 – 14 days. Activity from Grímsvötn is steady after a peak yesterday, the plume now reaching around 10km in height.

The Icelandic authorities have the situation fully under control and whilst there is some disruption to travel at present in Iceland, nobody is in danger and no areas have been evacuated. Considerable amounts of course ash has been deposited along the southeast coast and as a precaution the Ring Road (Route 1) has been closed between Vik and Skaftafell area. The glacial lagoon of Jokulsarlon is also affected.

International and domestic flights have been cancelled and we will continue to monitor events and update as necessary.

1200h 23 May 2011

UPDATE: Keflavik International Airport is scheduled to open later this afternoon.

Wildlife & Wilderness was recognised recently at The Vestas, a European award initiative held at ITB travel market in Berlin and identifying those companies in Europe that are actively promoting good practice in sustainable tourism. The recognition was in respect of the work of Wildlife & Wilderness with PAN Parks, an organisation that is protecting Europe’s wilderness areas. Specifically Wildlife & Wilderness is promoting walking holidays in Majella National Park in Italy.

Just arrived in the Bieszczady mountains in the far corner of southeast Poland and its snowing steadily for the first time here this winter. Out searching for wolves, bears, beavers, bison and birds for the next few days and snow will help with tracking… perhaps an ideal time to be here, but then there are terrific mammals and birds here year round with the added bonus of butterflies and flowers in the warmer months.

An asssement of the possibility of re-introducing cheetah into India after their extinction on the sub-continent in the 1960′s, has been made. A group from the Wildlife Institute of India and the Wildlife Trust of India have submitted a paper to their country’s Ministry for Environment and Forests considering the improvement in dry grassland and desert ecology by bringing back cheetah.

This would mean that in some areas potentially tiger, leopard, lion and cheetah could co-exist which is sure to have a positive impact on tourism even though there is still talk of terminating tourism in the tiger reserves. The experts recognise the need for government backing of course, but also realise a requirement for an increase in prey species and protection of the areas of reintroduction.

Three national parks were identified including two in central India and one in the desert of western Rajasthan in which suitable habitats would be available for cheetah survival. They also recognise that the cheetahs would need to be introduced from populations in Africa and Iran. There is no time frame for this and it must be approved but given that there is so much that needs to be done just to save the Bengal tiger, India’s flagship feline, this is certainly a very optimistic proposal for the near future.