Here in the office we are always researching new destinations and looking for ways to improve existing tours. Finding new destinations or different tours to a region we already visit is one of the most exciting parts of the wildlife travel business. This spring we are pleased to announce the addition of twelve brand new tours to our portfolio of wildlife holidays. We are still preparing the dossiers for these new tours but if you would like to register your interest then please contact us (by email or by phoning 01962 733051) and we will send details as soon as they become available.
Romania – The Wildlife of Transylvania
An 8-day wildlife holiday to the beautiful Carpathian Mountains of Romanian Transylvania, in search of birds, flowers, butterflies and European Brown Bears. From our base in the mountains we will take day walks through the forests, rocky gorges and meadows to look for a wide variety of birds including Wallcreeper, Ural Owl, Alpine Swift and Black Woodpecker, plus a wonderful selection of flora and insects. We will also spend time looking for, and learning to identify, the tracks of Wolves and Brown Bears and on one evening hope to see the latter from a specially constructed bear hide deep within the forest.
Sat 24th – Sat 31st May ’08 Cost: £995
Romania – Wild Flowers of The Carpathian Mountains
An 8-day botany holiday to the beautiful Carpathian Mountains of Romania. This is a two-centre tour based in comfortable and characterful hotels from which we will explore the coniferous forests, meadows and alpine pastures of Transylvania and the Piatra Craiului National Park. Highlights may include Carpathian Snowbell (Soldanella carpatica), Carpathian Bellflower (Campanula carpatica), Rhododendron myrtifolium, Gentiana brachyphylla, Primula minima and, in the forests, the Large Yellow Foxglove (Digitalis grandiflora).
Sat 21st – Sat 28th Jun ’08 Cost: £995
Wild Spain – La Montaña Palentina
This single-centre holiday, based in three beautifully renovated farm cottages in a remote hamlet, explores a truly wild landscape on the southern fringes of the Cordillera Cantabrica in northern Spain. High mountain ridges rich in alpine flora, jagged crags and cliffs, and vast oak and beech forests support a high percentage of the endangered eastern population of the European Brown Bear, as well as a healthy population of Wolves and a rich birdlife including a full suite of breeding raptors, Wallcreeper, and both Black and Middle Spotted Woodpeckers. We will also explore the rich steppes to the south, home to Great Bustard, Stone Curlew, and other grassland birds, and the large reed-fringed lakes which support good numbers of ducks, geese, waders and such interesting passerines as Penduline Tit and Moustached Warbler. We also hope that, with the help of expert local guides, a dusk vigil may reveal a pack of Wolves to round off a truly rich and diverse holiday in an unusually wild European environment.
Thu 20th – Thu 27th Sep ’07 Cost: £985
Thu 18th – Thu 25th Sep ’08 Cost: £985
Bhutan’s Birds & Mammals
An adventurous 17-day overland traverse of the unique and spectacular Himalayan mountain kingdom of Bhutan in search of the wonderfully rich birdlife and elusive mammals of its temperate and subtropical forests, led by Tika Ram Giri.
Fri 29th Feb – Sun 16th Mar ’08 Cost: £3,895
Spain – Granada & The Sierra Nevada
A chance to enjoy the birds, mammals and wild flowers of the Sierra Nevada (Spain’s highest mountain range), the exquisite Andalucian villages of the Alpujarras, and the magnificent Moorish city of Granada, home of the Alhambra Palace.
Wed 21st – Wed 28th May ’08 Cost: £985
South Africa – Best of The Cape
A single-centre holiday, based in beautiful Cape Town, focusing on the region’s colourful flora, scenic national parks, wild coastlines, and its wealth of birds, mammals and cetaceans, amongst the latter the abundant Southern Right Whales that bask in inshore waters. The tour also includes an optional day spent watching (or cage diving for) Great White Sharks.
Fri 21st – Sun 30th Sep ’07 Cost: £1,495
Fri 19th – Sun 28th Sep ’08 Cost: £1,495
Argentina’s Mammals
A 16-day holiday to northern Argentina in search of the region’s larger mammals. This wide-ranging itinerary visits a diversity of habitats from Andean altiplano to Yungas and Chaco providing an astonishing list of potential mammals, amongst them such South American specialities as Jaguar, Giant Anteater, Maned Wolf, Brazilian Tapir, Vicuna and Guanaco. Spending our time in such unspoiled areas of great solitude and grandeur, there will be plenty of time to enjoy the landscape, learn about the ecology of the various habitats and observe a magnificent selection of wildlife including birds, snakes and wild flowers.
Sat 13th – Sun 28th Sep ’08 Cost: £2,895
Boston, New England & Its Whales
A 5-day holiday focusing on the outstanding whale-watching off Cape Cod, one of the top destinations for cetaceans anywhere in the world. Here Humpback, Fin, Minke, Pilot and North Atlantic Right Whales are all on the cards, as are Atlantic White-sided Dolphins and Harbour Porpoises… not to mention a little sightseeing in Boston and the charming and historic town of Plymouth.
Thu 4th – Mon 8th Sep ’08 Cost: £1,095
Greenland – Glaciers, Icebergs and Musk Ox
A 12-day holiday incorporating a 10-day cruise along the magnificent east coast of Greenland. Wildlife highlights may include Musk Oxen, white phase Gyr Falcon, migrating waterbirds and a variety of cetaceans including the unicorn of the sea, the Narwhal, and perhaps even a Blue Whale. We will also enjoy some of the most spectacular landscapes on Earth. Huge icebergs crowd the fjords of eastern Greenland, such as Scorsby Sund, fed by the largest glaciers in the northern hemisphere; additionally, in September, the tundra will be awash with Autumn colours as the Blueberry, Crowberry and other plants turn a rich red/brown hue. If the weather is clear we may even witness the ethereal flickering of the northern lights! Our cruise starts and ends in Iceland.
Fri 12th – Tue 23rd Sep ’08 Cost: approx £3,195
China – Sechuan
A pioneering 17-day botanical exploration of the spectacular mountains and beautiful rhododendron forests of Sechuan province in western China, led by John Shipton.
Fri 23rd May – Sun 8th Jun ’08 Cost: £2,995
India & Nepal – Corbett To Kathmandu
A fascinating 17-day wildlife journey from Delhi to Kathmandu, incorporating three of the subcontinent’s finest national parks: Corbett in the Himalayan foothills of northern India, and both Bardia and Chitwan National Parks in the lowlands of Nepal, before ascending the Himalayan foothills to Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. We expect to see an unrivalled selection of north ‘Indian’ birds and mammals.
Fri 15th Feb – Sun 2nd Mar ’08 Cost: tba
Fri 14th – Sun 30th Nov ’08 Cost: tba
India – Assam, Darjeeling & Bhutan
An 18-day holiday exploring the charming hill station of Darjeeling, with its fabulous views of the Himalaya and bird-rich temperate forests, the finest of India’s national parks – Kaziranga – and the magical kingdom of Bhutan, where both a fabulous natural environment and rich Buddhist culture are preserved and unspoiled. This is a broad-based holiday that offers a wealth of birds, mammals and both cultural and scenic diversity.
Sun 16th Mar – Wed 2nd Apr ’08 Cost: tba
Sun 9th – Wed 26th Nov ’08 Cost: tba
Australia – Queensland’s Birds and Mammals (Bargain Birdwatching Tour)
A 13-day birding holiday focusing on the rich birdlife and many unusual nocturnal mammals of Cairns and its Esplanade, the wetlands and forests of the Atherton Tablelands, the rainforests of the Daintree National Park and the Great Barrier Reef.
Tue 13th – Sun 25th Nov ’07 Cost: tba
Tue 11th – Sun 23rd Nov ’08 Cost: tba