September 2011
NOT YOUR AVERAGE SAFARI!
Swinging through the trees, bobbing along at eye level with orcas or maybe mushing your own husky sled, just a few ways of getting up close and personal with some of the great wildlife of our world.
Costa Rica
Arenal, Costa Rica, not only famed for its highly active volcano but also for a collection of tree-top zip wires that will send you flying down the mountains and across valleys amongst a fine selection of forest birds. In fact Costa Rica is one of the best locations in the neotropics for bird watching given the diversity of habitats and the enthusiastic local guides.
Canada
Vancouver Island, Canada, the perfect place for some whale watching. A guided kayaking trip leads you round the inlets and channels of Johnstone Straight looking out for the pods of magnificent orca. Watch out for sunbathing seals too.
Botswana
Okavango Delta, Botswana, is one of the best places on earth for horse riding. This is a truly exhilarating way to watch wildlife. There are wonderfully diverse landscapes and a wealth of riding companions in the form of lions, leopards, elephants and great numbers of plains game.
Alternatively, relax in a mokoro, a dug out canoe with a native of the Delta poling you slowly through the reed beds & lily ponds in search of the smaller creatures of Africa.
India
A horse just not far enough away from feline teeth? Perhaps you should consider an elephant back encounter with tigers in any one of a number of national parks in India then head to Satpura and walk with expert guides through the bush or relax on a wildlife cruise on the river.
Finland
Either in Finland or now also crossing the border into Sweden are exhilarating escapes with huskies. Fast, silent and keen, your own dog team will take you out across frozen lakes and snowy plains, onwards through forests in which wolves, elk, wild reindeer and lynx still roam in the depths of winter. At night you can leave guesthouses or wilderness cabins and stare upwards at the dancing aurora borealis.
Galapagos Islands & Australia
Jump in and join it… don flippers, snorkel and mask. Some of the best places in the world include the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador and Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. The Galapagos are well known for wildlife on the islands but underwater the scene is possibly even more amazing… swim alongside turtles, watch a school of rays pass by, enjoy encounters with a friendly sea lion or join a Galapagos penguin at mealtime gobbling up small fish. There's an incredible world just below the surface.
Ningaloo Reef has just been designated a World Heritage Site and is home each year to the awesome whale shark. Swimming with this leviathan is a real privilege. Manta rays, dugongs, turtles and sharks are also close by on one of the cleanest reefs in the world.
Sitting Still
OK, so if you do have to sit in a hide, then where to go? Well no better a location is eastern Finland. There are a number of bear viewing sites now well established in the country and from now until the late autumn they offer a tremendous encounter with one of Europe's own Big 5. Take tour or short break and you may also see beavers, elk, wolves and wolverine too.
Been there, done that? Well will soon be bringing you some excellent natural history itineraries in Bulgaria for next spring and summer as well as adding to our Tasmania wildlife holidays.