Dear Friends,

We have a busy month coming up with the launch of our 2006 Naturetrek brochure at the British Birdwatching Fair.

This Month's Newsletter Features

2006 Brochure Launch

Our 2006 brochure is currently at the printers and due to be launched at the Bird Fair. If you are already on our mailing list, you will receive your new brochure towards the end of August. If you have not previously received our brochure, please let us know by calling the office on 01962 733051 or emailing Abby on abby@naturetrek.co.uk and we will gladly send you one and add your name and address to our mailing list.

Violet-tailed Sylph

Bargain Selection – Ever Popular!

We are pleased to announce confirmed dates and prices for our increasingly popular Bargain Selection range. We hope you will enjoy looking at the portfolio of destinations on offer, which we have expanded for 2006 to include Australia, Cuba, Belize and Ecuador’s Mammals.

These action-packed, long-haul birding and mammal tours – each led by an expert local ornithologist/naturalist – offer excellent value for money, and outstanding birding and mammal-viewing.

To view a list of our Bargain Selection trips please click on one of the following links – Bargain Bird Tours | Bargain Mammals Tours

The British Birdwatching Fair – Marquee 2, Stand 42 & 43

Friday, 19th – Sunday, 21st August 2005

Naturetrek is pleased to announce that we will be attending the annual British Birdwatching Fair, at Rutland Water Nature Reserve from Friday, 19th August to Sunday, 21st August 2005. Visit us in Marquee 2, stand 42 & 43 (not as printed in the Show Guide).

This year will be the 17th British Birdwatching Fair – the National Birdwatching Event combining local and national support for international bird conservation. This year's BirdLife International Project is Helping save Gurney’s Pittas and their forest home.

It is a great day out and you can buy everything from your holiday to clothing, optical equipment and books to take with you! There are lectures, slide shows and entertainment to amuse everyone. Admission is £10.00 for adults and FREE for children under 16. RSPB and Wildlife Trust Members are eligible for a reduced entrance fee of £8.00 on Sunday only.

Join us for drinks!

We would like to take this opportunity to invite you to join us for a drink and ‘nibbles’ on the Saturday from 4pm at the Naturetrek stand! A number of you took us up on this offer last year and we hope to see a great many more at our “Happy Hour” this year.

Many of our staff, tour leaders and ground operators will be attending, plus Paul Stanbury, Paul Dukes, Andy Tucker and Debbie Ward from our office and Tika Ram Giri from Nepal.

As always it is lovely to have the opportunity to see many familiar faces – both clients and tour leaders – and to meet those of you who have not travelled with us before.

For further details please see www.birdfair.org

Tour Reports

Butterflies of Southern Greece

Glanville Fritillary

A cold start to the spring had clearly affected the numbers of butterflies on the wing during our July Southern Greece tour but whilst dancing clouds of insects may have been largely absent, the variety of species encountered was wonderfully diverse. Although butterflies formed the principal focus of the tour, (and 10% of the proceeds from the holiday will be donated to Butterfly Conservation), there were plenty of other natural history attractions to compete for attention and tour leader Toby Abrehart reports fine displays of Mediterranean flowers as well as a good selection of birds. Full details of this epitome of summer tours may be viewed by clicking here.

Kazakhstan Deserts & Mountains

Naturetrek was one of the pioneers in offering natural history tours to Kazakhstan and we have noted with satisfaction a gradual increase in the number of clients wishing to visit this picturesque and bird-rich country. Between April and June 2005 five Naturetrek tours visited Kazakhstan and one of these was our 'Deserts and Mountains' departure led by Chris Kehoe. As implied by the title, the itinerary for this tour embraces both the montane habitats of the impressive Tien Shan range as well as the characteristic steppes of the interior which includes tracts of unique Turanga forest. This is a tour that offers wonderful possibilities for both botanist and ornithologist with many of the spring wild tulips still in flower and a mouth-watering list of bird species which includes such highlights as Ibisbill, McQueen's Bustard, Pallas's Sandgrouse and Himalayan Snowcock. A full account of the 2005 tour is continued in Chris's excellent report when you click here.

Special Offers! – To Uganda & Namibia

UGANDA MAMMALS & MOUNTAINS

Sunday, 9th October – Friday, 21st October 2005
Save £150 per person!
Price was £2,495, NOW £2,345

Mountain Gorilla by Peter Price

Join Naturetrek on an unforgettable 13-day wildlife safari in search of the mammals of Uganda, particularly the primates, of Kibale Forest, Queen Elizabeth and other national parks. The highlight of this tour, however, will undoubtedly be the opportunity to track the amazing Mountain Gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

This tour will be escorted by one of Naturetrek’s most popular leaders, Rob Mileto. Rob has travelled extensively in east and southern Africa and undertaken voluntary conservation work and research in Tanzania, Namibia and Zimbabwe. He now runs a wildlife consultancy in Shropshire.

This tour operated in January 2005 and the group participants returned having had fantastic sightings of birds (including African Finfoot, Great Blue Turaco and Bat Hawk), mammals, breathtaking scenery and also the awe-inspiring Mountain Gorillas.

Client comments from the January tour include:

“To see Mountain Gorillas in the wild at such close quarters was the most memorable wildlife experience of my life.” B.L., Devon

“There will be so very many happy memories to think back on, especially the wonderful gorillas.” S.H., Lincolnshire

Click here for further details and to view a copy of the itinerary.

PHOTOGRAPHY SPECIAL TO NAMIBIA!

Friday, 11th – Sunday 27th November 2005
Save £200 per person!
Price was £3,795, NOW £3,595

Leopard by Paul Stanbury

Join professional wildlife photographer Chris Gomersall for a fantastic 17-day wildlife tour departing on Friday, 11th November 2005 to Namibia, one of Africa’s most spectacular countries. Situated to the south of Angola and bordering both Botswana and South Africa, Namibia is renowned for its breathtaking scenery and wealth of wildlife – quite literally a photographer’s paradise…

Natural history highlights of this tour are likely to include a visit to the world famous sand dunes at Sossusvlei, the Cape Fur Seal colony at Walvis Bay on the Skeleton Coast, as well as the Namib Desert and the Waterberg Mountains. In addition, four days of this trip will be spent at Etosha National Park, one of the world's greatest wildlife-viewing venues where we anticipate having memorable sightings of both the varied birdlife and mammals that inhabit it. Throughout the tour, Chris will be on hand to give photographic hints and tips and will be keen to share his wealth of knowledge on wildlife and landscape photography.

Click here to view a copy of the itinerary.

To discuss these ‘Special Offers’ in more detail please contact Paul Stanbury, Naturetrek’s Africa specialist on 01962 733051 or email paul@naturetrek.co.uk.

Holiday Extras & Airport Lounges

When you join a Naturetrek tour, Holiday Extras offer you the opportunity to save up to 60% on Airport hotels and parking. Another attractive benefit is their great deal on access to Airport Lounges. From only £17 per person you can relax in first class comfort with all drinks and snacks included, to escape the hustle and bustle of the airport for up to 3 hours before your flight.

For further information visit their website on www.holidayextras.co.uk.

India – Birdwatching in Bharatpur & Chambal

Indian Roller by Chris Gomersall

Despite the terrible news from Mumbai (Bombay) of the flooding and disruption caused by the monsoon, areas of India, especially Bharatpur are benefiting from the monsoon showers.

Mr Khalid Pasha from Travel Inn, India informs us that Keoladeo Ghana National Park, popularly known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary has for the past 10 years been suffering from a water crisis. Last year the National Park received only 18 million cubic feet (mcft) of water but in the last few days alone, 300mcft of water has fallen. About 14 inches of rain was recorded in the span of a mere day and a half in the water-parched regions.

The Park hosts a variety of bird species, which come from various parts of the globe. Close to 380 species of birds are found in this 29 sq km stretch, approximately 10 sq km of which comprises marshes and bogs. UNESCO declared Keoladeo a “World Heritage Site” in 1985, due largely to its vibrant bird life.

The rise in water levels in the lakes and escalation in bird nesting activities has pleased the many birders visiting the park. The breeding of Openbill Storks, Night Herons, egrets, cormorants is already in full swing, with the Black -headed Ibis and Painted Storks following closely behind. Currently about 550 nests of different birds have been observed in and around the sanctuary and park officials have said that the sanctuary now has enough water to last the entire season.

To go birdwatching in the Keoladeo Ghana National Park, join one of our Naturetrek Birdwatching tours to Bharatpur and Chambal:

Saturday, 26th November – Sunday, 4th December
Tuesday, 27th December – Wednesday, 4th January

To read our tour dossier (daily itinerary) for this holiday please click here.

Naturetrek tour documents updated

We are in the (very long!) process of updating all of our tour documents (dossiers, pre-departure information, checklists and tour reports).

The documents which have not altered since their original conception are being updated to a more modern style complete with images. If you have any suitable images from a Naturetrek tour that you would like to see on our tour documents (or maybe even the brochure) then please email them to the usual address.

Our 2006 dossiers and pre-departure information will be the first to be updated and will be available from mid/late August, whilst any existing tour reports will remain as they are but new ones will be produced in the new style. Checklists will be the last documents to be updated. For these we will be using wildlife recording software to produce up-to-date and accurate species lists for each of our tours.

Over the next few months the new style documents will be uploaded to the website in PDF format. The PDF versions will have links to various sections of the website making it easier and faster for you to find the information you are looking for.

For those of you who are unable to open PDF files you can download your free version of Adobe Acrobat by clicking here.

Late Availability

To view a list of the late availability for Naturetrek tours departing over the next couple of months, please click here. However, as things are constantly changing, we advise you to call our Cheriton Mill office on 01962 733051 to check for any amendments.

We hope you have enjoyed reading this edition of the Naturetrek e-news. If you would like some help planning a future wildlife holiday, please call or e-mail us on info@naturetrek.co.uk and we will be happy to assist you.

Please feel free to forward a copy of our e-newsletter to any family members, friends or colleagues that you think will also benefit from reading it. Please note, we do not pass your e-mail address to any one else and you can unsubscribe at any time.

We are continually striving to improve our e-newsletter – any comments and feedback would be gratefully appreciated!

Best wishes from us all,

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