Naturetrek Newsletter

TOUR REPORTS
Chile
Egypt
Ethiopia
Great Whales & Fall Migration in Eastern Canada
Norway’s Orcas

Apply to us now for your Complimentary Ticket (worth £10) to Destinations, the London Travel Show, from 2nd to 5th February 2005.

Apply to us now for your Complimentary Ticket (worth £10) to Destinations, the London Travel Show, from 2nd to 5th February 2006.

Destinations, the annual London Travel Show at Earl’s Court, runs from Thursday 2nd February to Sunday 5th February 2006. This is your opportunity to be inspired by the vast range of travel opportunities and ideas offered beneath one roof… and to visit our Naturetrek stand (no. R01) to discuss your wildlife interests and travel arrangements with our expert consultants.

Do join us in February, applying for your free ticket(s) by phoning Abby Grainger (01962 733051) or e-mailing abby@naturetrek.co.uk with your name, address and number of tickets required.

If you need some help in planning your wildlife holiday for 2006, join our leaders and staff at our Cheriton Mill offices for tea, coffee, cakes and expert advice on one of the Naturetrek Open Days listed below… but please do phone the office to ensure an appointment can be made for you to see the staff member best suited to discuss your interests!

Why not make a day of it – and visit some of the local nature reserves or attractive market towns and historic sites in our pretty corner of Hampshire – whilst you are in the area?

A full Naturetrek group departed a cold, damp Heathrow with high expectations in early November 2005 and they weren’t to be disappointed. From within a few hours of arriving in Santiago the group were enjoying superb views of an endemic Tapaculo and over the next sixteen days everybody enjoyed first class views of an amazing selection of species. Picking species of the trip was a near impossible task but included Diademed Sandpiper-plover on an Andean Bog, a pair of Torrent Ducks on a fast flowing stream in the Lake District, Rufous-chested Dotterel near Punta Arenas, Commerson’s Dolphin surfing the wake of a boat, Andean Condors circling against snow covered peaks and an adult Shy Albatross cruising over the waves in the Humboldt Current. With breathtaking scenery, a mostly dry and mild climate, good infrastructure and friendly, relaxed people Chile is a superb country to visit. To read the full tour report and find details of our 2006 tours to Chile click here.

Unique is an overworked adjective in the world of travel but it is surely applicable to Egypt, a country with a phenomenal six thousand years of recorded history, of which so much is still accessible to modern visitors at the many archaeological sites and museums throughout the country. By happy coincidence it is also a first class birdwatching destination, standing at the crossroads for migration movements between Africa and Europe as well as boasting many interesting resident species. Both the historical and ornithological attractions of this fascinating country are combined in the Naturetrek November tour led by Gerald Broddelez and an account of the 2005 holiday may be viewed when you click here. If you are looking for a tour that blends some of the most famous historical sites in the world with superlative Palearctic birding, then our 2006 departure might be just the holiday you are seeking!

Two Naturetrek tours to Ethiopia were scheduled to take place in November 2005 but unfortunately an outbreak of violent political protest in Addis Ababa resulted in the FCO advising against non-essential travel to the country and as a consequence our November 10th tour was unable to operate. This advice was however rescinded mid-month, just in time to permit the second Endemic Birds tour to take place and participants were rewarded for their patience by a fine variety of bird species. Ethiopia seems destined to always be portrayed in a negative way by the British media but whilst the country has certainly suffered its fair share of calamities, the reality awaiting visitors is a land of superb highland scenery, unique birdlife and friendly people. In our view, Ethiopia is one of the very best African destinations and our programme continues with no less than eleven tours scheduled for 2006. If you have never considered Ethiopia as a holiday destination we invite you to read tour leader Peter Clement's account of the November Endemic Birds tour by clicking here and perhaps it will inspire you to look beyond the newspaper headlines!

In September Tom McJannet escorted another very successful tour to New Brunswick and Québec. For the second year in a row, we enjoyed excellent whale watching with close-up views of the magnificent Northern Right Whales from Grand Manan. On one day we saw about 30 of these wonderful creatures, even coming alongside a mating circle! In addition we also saw Fin, Minke, Humpback and numerous Beluga Whales, plus Harbour and Grey Seals. We did extremely well for land mammals too, adding many Moose, White-tailed Deer, Snowshoe Hare, Black Bear and excellent views of Beaver to our impressive list. Birds did not disappoint either. Raptor sightings included Red-tailed and Broad-winged Hawks, Northern Harrier, Golden Eagle and numerous Bald Eagles. Other species included Great Northern Diver, Spruce Grouse, a good number of warblers, Snow Geese and a rare find in New Brunswick, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. The magnificent fall colours and renowned culinary delights also lived up to expectations! To read Tom’s detailed report click here. Why not join us for another Canadian adventure next autumn? Our tour will run from Friday 15th September to Sunday 1st October 2006.

Naturetrek groups enjoyed huge success in northern Norway during November 2005. Orca viewing was exceptional with hundreds of animals seen on several days and plenty of action which included spy-hopping, breaching, tail-lobbing, feeding and calling. However it wasn’t just the Orcas that put on a show. The local White-tailed Eagles, stunning Northern Lights and a very confiding Hawk Owl were all seen. To see some images and read one of the tour reports click here.

Hot on the heels of the Jaguar sighting enjoyed by November's Peru Rainforest Mammals group, some of the Christmas tour group enjoyed views of another beautiful neotropical cat, the Ocelot. To our knowledge this is the first time this cat has been seen by a Naturetrek group. We hope to have a full account in next month's e-news. In the meantime, click here for 2006 dates.

Without a doubt, Italy is one of the favourite destinations for many travellers. It combines everything necessary for a memorable holiday – spectacular scenery, cultural treasures, friendly people, good weather (normally!) and excellent food. It is fitting that it has just featured as the first of the Telegraph travel section’s in depth destination guides, in which Naturetrek was listed as running a “sumptious programme of wildlife watching and botanical holidays”. We believe we offer one of the very best selections of natural history tours to Italy, if not the best! In 2006 we are operating 11 different itineraries to various parts of the country, with Tuscany and Abruzzo featuring in our brochure for the first time.

The spectacular scenery of the Dolomites hosts some truly wonderful plant and butterfly species. We visit in the summer, staying in the friendly family-run hotel that we have used for the last nine years. Our new Abruzzo itinerary is also based in a wonderfully friendly small hotel, the walking is excellent and we have the chance of seeing the endemic Marsican Brown Bear or Apennine Wolf who inhabit the national park (although we would need to be very fortunate!). For botanists, the range of orchids and other plants found on our tour to the Gargano Peninsula is a delight, while our Sicily tour searches for wild flowers in a completely different habitat – the foothills of Mount Etna. Our new Tuscany tour visits the WWF reserves in the expert company of Dr Gianluca Serra, an ornithologist and conservation biologist from Florence, whilst also enjoying the cultural treasures of the region and on all our trips there is the opportunity to extend your stay to take in the great cities of Venice, Florence, Rome or Naples. For further details of all our Italian tours please click here.

For many of the staff working for the Conservation Department in Sri Lanka's excellent wildlife reserves, binoculars are a luxury item that they cannot hope to own, although possession of a pair would greatly enhance their daily field work. Naturetrek groups have often benefitted from the local knowledge of these individuals at places such as Sinharaja Forest and in return we would like to equip as many as possible with optical equipment. If you have a spare pair of serviceable binoculars that you might be prepared to donate to this worthy cause, we would be very pleased to hear from you and will make the necessary arrangements to ensure that they reach the intended recipients. We appreciate that there are many demands for charity at this season but if you can assist please contact Paul Dukes on 01736 711280. A pair of binoculars will be very gratefully received in Sri Lanka and lovingly cared for, as demonstrated last year when a warden surprised Paul Dukes by producing an old pair of Zeiss binoculars that Paul had given him five years earlier and they were in such pristine condition that it was obvious they had been carefully cherished over the years!

During 2005 Naturetrek organised tours in association with the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) to see Tigers in Kaziranga and Panna, India and Orang-utans in Borneo. These tours raised £7880.00 which was donated to the EIA to help with their invaluable work in protecting the habitats and populations of these two species.

If you would like to learn more about these tours please click here. More information regarding the work undertaken by the EIA on these and other species under pressure can be accessed through their website at www.eia-international.org/campaigns/species/

Interested in travelling to India? There is so much to offer; from wildlife watching – birds to Tigers; National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries; hotels, lodges and houseboat overnight cruises and not forgetting the fabulous cuisine.

If you are looking for available dates or inspiration on where to travel in India, then read our Incredible India special e-news coming shortly!

Alternatively please do contact our India specialist Rajan Jolly on 01962 733051 or email rajan@naturetrek.co.uk.

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.

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

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