Dear Friends,

Welcome to the April edition of our e-newsletter.

A variety of Naturetrek groups are scattered around the globe as we write, with a particular concentration in the Mediterranean region with groups currently enjoying the spring sunshine, birds and flowers in Crete, Cyprus and Portugal, while further a field we have birdwatching groups in Jordan and Uganda while two groups are enjoying searching for Tigers in India’s national parks.

This Month's Newsletter Features

Trip Reports

North-West Argentina – Bargain Birding, March 2004

The Argentina Andes Birdwatching Tours have proved to be extremely popular since their introduction in 2003. The carefully designed itinerary guarantees both superlative scenery and a diverse bird list which includes a number of Andean and regional specialities.  Naturetrek client Pete Reader was a recent participant on one of these tours and has very kindly permitted us to include his entertaining report in this newsletter. Click here to see it.

Thailand – Bargain Birding, February 2004

Northern Thailand offers some of the most exciting birding in Asia and with the expert guidance of Kamol Komolphalin, the Naturetrek 'Bargain Tours' consistently record impressive bird lists. Our most recent visit took place in February 2004 and details of the bird species observed by the group may be found by clicking here.

Future visits to Northern Thailand take place in November 2004 and February 2005 but in addition we are also pleased to announce a new tour in March 2005 visiting the south of this fascinating country.

Spanish Steppes and Ebro Valley , February 2004

This three-centre holiday, originally set up to support BirdLife International’s Steppes Campaign, operated successfully for the second time in mid-February.

Based at Castuera (cranes), Trujillo (bustards and other plains specialities) and Daroca (from where we explore Laguna de Gallocanta for more cranes and Belchite for Dupont’s Lark and the Steppes Project) the tour was enjoyed by all and has been attractively documented by leader Tom McJannet whose report, complete with colour photos, can be seen here. If you have problems opening such a large file, please contact andy@naturetrek.co.uk and we will be pleased to post you a copy.

Holland in Winter, February 2004

Leader Gerald Broddelez described this short break in February as “A Goose of a Trip”! Utilizing Eurostar’s excellent service from London, the group were treated to fine Dutch hospitality and excellent views of tens of thousands of geese, swans, a variety of interesting sea duck including Smew, Greater Scaup, Long-tailed Duck, Common Scoter, Eider plus Red-throated Diver, Red-necked Grebe and Slavonian Grebe.

White-tailed Eagle, Hawfinch and Snow Bunting provided further trip highlights. See Gerald’s full trip report here.

Mexico’s Monarchs, February 2004

Tour leader, Tim Melling, has completed a wonderful account of Naturetrek's inaugural visit to the Monarch butterfly wintering grounds in the hills of Michocan, Mexico. Please click here to read Tim's account of being enveloped in clouds of Monarchs or give us a call to learn more about our 2005 Mexico’s Monarchs holiday.

New Tours

Join Naturetrek and Maureen Ponting on a botanical exploration of South Africa’s Garden Route

With the continued popularity of our wildflower spectacular in Namaqualand and floral appreciation of the Drakensberg Mountains, we are delighted to be able to offer another botanical holiday to South Africa, this time to the forests and mountains along the 'Garden Route'. Led by Maureen Ponting and Jeremy Exelby, this exciting new tour visits the forests, mountains and white sandy beaches between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. During the tour you will explore such wonderfully scenic areas as the mouth of the Storm River, Addo Elephant Park, Table Mountain and the Aghulus Plain in search of the region's abundant plant life along with a wealth of birds, mammals and other wildlife. The tour runs from the 19th September - 2nd October 2004 and costs £1,995. Please contact the Naturetrek office paul@naturetrek.co.uk for more details or visit our website at www.naturetrek.co.uk

South Africa – Birds and Cricket, Winter 2005

With memories of our hugely successful Birds/Cricket World Cup tour in February 2003 fresh in our minds, we are looking eagerly forward to England ’s next tour to SA next winter. Provisional match dates have now been released (subject to ECB approval) and we are pleased to announce the following tentative plans:

Option 1 A 16-17 day birds, cricket and natural history tour which will link up the one day internationals in Johannesburg (30th January), Cape Town (6th February) and Pretoria (13th February, vs. Sri Lanka).

Option 2 Our popular bargain Birds/Mammals tour in Kruger National Park . A departure specially timed to dovetail with either the start or end of the Johannesburg test match (13th – 17th January).

Details will be posted out soon. If you have not already registered your interest, please do so now by emailing your name and address to info@naturetrek.co.uk

Sri Lanka Botanical tour

The tropical island of Sri Lanka is without question one of the most enjoyable holiday destinations in Asia and many facets of the country's unique natural history are already highlighted in the current Naturetrek programme of tours. One notable exception is the island flora but in response to numerous requests we plan to rectify this omission by the introduction of a 10-day Botanical tour in 2005. Centred around the picturesque Hill Country and Sinharaja Forest, this specially designed tour will introduce participants to a tremendous diversity of wild flora but also includes a visit to the world-famous Peradiniya Botanical Garden at Kandy. With this latest addition, our clients will now have an even wider range of Sri Lankan natural history holidays to choose from in 2005.

Provisional tour cost: £1,190 per person (subject to confirmation)       

Dates: Saturday, 26th February - Monday, 7th March 2005   

Antarctica at Christmas

Enjoy a Christmas with a difference in 2004 by spending the festive season in Antarctica. Amongst some of the world's most spectacular scenery colonies of Adelie, Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins crowd the hillsides whilst huge Elephant Seals fight for dominance nearby.

This 15-day holiday includes a 10-night voyage from Ushuaia in Patagonia to the South Shetland Island and Antarctic Peninsula. Additional highlights should include Wandering Albatross, the beautiful Snow Petrel, Leopard Seal, Humpback Whale and Orca. Please email paul@naturetrek.co.uk for the detailed trip dossier.

Please see below for late availability. Do not hesitate to give us a call on 01962 733051 if we can help with any queries or questions.

Kind regards,

The Naturetrek Team

If you would prefer not to hear from us in this way, please email remove@naturetrek.co.uk

For more information on any of our holidays please call us on 01962 733051