Category: Wildlife

Unique travel experiences with a difference

If you want to spend your precious holiday time on exploring a new culture or activity, we have compiled the perfect collection of holidays for you. We have unique experiences from all over the world, from staying on a houseboat on India’s backwaters, to trekking among gorillas in Rwanda and discovering the real North Korea, not to mention spending New Years in the Viennese Hofburg Palace and becoming a cowboy in Arizona.

Komodo Dragon

Komodo Dragon Tour with Bali & Lombok

For a holiday with a difference, combine immersing yourself in Bali’s culture in the capital of Ubud with visiting the islands of Labuan Bajo, Rinca Island and Kalong Island to spend time with mythical Komodo Dragons as well as Giant Flying Bats. End your stay in Nusa Dua and Lombok, for beach relaxation.

12 DAYS FR £2039 PP* 020 7666 1220

Bust of Lenin, Moldova

Behind the Iron Curtain, Romania & Moldova

Discover the former Soviet strongholds of Romania and Moldova, with the chance to experience dining in a old communist restaurant and to explore collective farming and tractor factories. There is also a visit to The Transdniestr Republic, with 600,000 residents, which still has links to Russia and communists in power.

8 DAY GROUP TOUR FR £1699 PP* 020 7666 1299

Mountain Gorilla in Rwanda

Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda

This five-day trip to Rwanda’s Parc National des Volcans is all about seeing the endangered Mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. Our travel specialists and clients alike say this wildlife experience is beyond compare.

5 DAYS FR £2,495 PP* 020 7666 1261

Statues of Kim il-Sung and Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang

Pioneering North Korea

To gain an insight into the secretive land of North Korea this tour is led by a leading expert on the country, Carl Meadows. The highlights include the Demilitarized Zone at Panmunjom, a trip on the a trip on the Pyongyang Metro and a musical performance by the locals. This trip also involves visiting Mt. Paekdu, Chongjin, Hamhung, Wonsan Mt. Kumgang and Nampo, the untouched pockets of the country.

18 DAY GROUP TOUR FR £2795 PP

Rice barge on Kerala's backwaters

Kerala Backwaters & Beach

Start your trip in Cochin, a true mix of it’s past, with the Portugese Mattancherry Palace, a Jewish synagogue built in 1568 AD and fishing nets influenced by the Chinese. The sprawling tea estates are stunning and the spice plantations are riveting. The pinnacle of the trip is cruising and an overnight on a traditional houseboat on the backwaters.

11 DAYS FR £1745 PP 020 7666 1220

Riding at White Stallion Ranch, Arizona

The True American West… & Las Vegas

Head for glitzy Las Vegas, then in complete contrast enjoy the open spaces and real American west on a ranch stay in Arizona, learning how to ride cowboy-style, visiting rodeos and enjoying a good old hoe down. Yee-har!

10 NIGHTS FR £1,965 PP* 020 7666 1220

Hofburg Imperial Palace, Vienna

Vienna New Year Ball

Vienna’s Imperial Ball takes place in the Viennese Hofburg Palace, former winter residence of the Austrian Emperor. Enjoy a private dancing lesson, guided city tour, romantic carriage ride and a three-course New Year’s Day dinner.

3 NIGHTS FR £2,030 PP* 020 7666 1299

The scene of Chernobyl

Kiev & Chernobyl

Enjoy a fascinating introduction to Kiev before an in-depth tour of Chernobyl, ever synonymous with the 1986 nuclear disaster. Spend two days touring the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone, including one night in the town itself.

6 DAY GROUP TOUR FR £995 PP* 020 7666 1299

Tiblisi, Georgia

Cheese & Wine Tour of Georgia

The bouquet of wine, toasts of the Tamada, beautiful folk songs and as they say in Georgia bread, cheese and a kind heart… What else do you need? Take in the main sights and taste delicious food, with plenty of opportunity to sample wines, almost every village produces its own.

9 DAYS FR £2030 PP* 020 7666 1299

Top Diving Spots in the World

Our team of luxury travel specialists have have put together a collection of the best diving spots in the world. Whether you want to swim amongst sharks, see manta rays in their natural environment, get up close and personal with coral or just lie back and enjoy drift diving, take a look below to find your perfect diving holiday destination.

Maldives

The Maldives are renowned as a diving destination because of the sheer variety of species you can spot. If you are a keen diver, Maldives holidays allow you to be able to swim amongst manta rays, turtles, parrot fish, snappers, sweetlips, grouper, bat fish, whale sharks and barracudas, not to mention vibrantly coloured sponges. There are also fascinating caves and caverns to explore at Fotteyo Kandu and Banana Reef. You can also experience drift diving, letting the current that sweeps through the chain of islands carry you along.

A diver sizes up to a whale shark in the Maldives

 South Africa

Kwazulu-Natal is the ultimate destination for diving in Africa. Divers could experience the rush of spotting anything from tiger, whale or spotted sand sharks, not to mention manta rays and one of many of Aliwal Shoals’ resident bottle-nose dolphins. Sodwana Bay is home to over a thousand species of tropical fish, as well as sea turtles and a plethora of sharks, attracted by the migration of millions of sardines – an unmistakably once-in-a-lifetime experience!

A sea turtle swimming near Gili Meno Island

Bali & Lombok

The Gili Islands have a renowned reputation for being the turtle capital, such as green and hawksbill turtles, but there is a lot more to discover here. With over twenty dive sits to explore, from underwater canyons and walls, as well as cuttle fish, lion fish, bump head parrot fish, blue ringed octopus and frogfish, as well as white tipped sharks. While on your Bali holiday, we also recommend that you head to Manta Point to see the gently sloping reef covered in corals, reef sharks, octopus and, of course, manta rays!

Mexico

Experience the fantastic feeling of drift diving in the Gulf Stream, a powerful Atlantic current. If you want to see hammerhead sharks, head to El Bajo and for grey whales, Magdalena Bay is for you. A wonderful experience can be found at Los Isoltes, where captivating Californian sea lions will be curious enough to approach you underwater.

Egypt

Not many people know this when they are on their Egypt holiday, but Egypt is home to one of the most renowned wreck dives on the planet. In 1941 the British SS Thistlegorm sunk in the Red Sea on its voyage transporting supplies to soldiers stationed in Alexandria. Sitting on the ocean floor are rifles, jeeps, radios and boots, as well as the ship. The hole left by the German bomb is visible! To add to the drama, look out for crocodile fish! Also on the Sinai Peninsula is Ras Mohammed National Park with the stunning Yolanda and Shark Reefs.

Underwater photography in the Red Sea

A green turtle swimming at Sipadan Island, Malaysia

Malaysia

The Sabah province is Malaysia’s diving haven. Head to Sipadan Island to see green and hawksbill turtles; there is even a turtle tomb, 22m underwater. Highlights include facing down a school of barracuda and the renowned Drop Off, where the ocean floor dramatically drops 600m! Malaysia holidays will also give you the chance to encounter hammerhead sharks at Layang Layang, whilst admiring its beautiful coral.

Thailand

In the Andaman Sea lie the paradise islands named Surin and Similan, where divers are likely to spot magical manta rays and leopard sharks. Close-by is Richelieu Rock, the place to head to if you fancy swimming alongside a whale shark. These gentle giants are like gold dust, yet sightings here are common. The rock is coral-encrusted, with glistening giant trevallies and dogtooth tuna whizzing past – a gem of a dive!

Turquoise waters at Surin Island National Park, Thailand

Costa Rica

Cocos Island, a marine national park, is a world-renowned diving site. Set in the Golden Triangle and 300 miles from mainland, it takes commitment to visit but is well worth it! Divers will find over twenty sites to dive, from never-ending vertical walls to drift diving spots. Magnificent silvertip, hammerhead and guitar sharks, manta rays, eels and can all be found here, as well as deep sea creatures such as red-lipped Cocos batfish!

Divers exploring Providenciales reef, Turks & Caicos

Turks & Caicos

Famous for being the third largest reef on the planet, the Turks & Caicos islands are a fantastic diving destination. With a 7,000ft drop in its ocean bed, wall diving here is incredible. The walls are covered in colourful corals and sponges. Providenciales, Grand Turk and Salt Cay host the top diving spots, with great visibility so you can spot the marine life.

Myanmar (Burma)

Diving in Myanmar’s waters near secluded islands feels delightfully off the beaten track. Divers could be swimming amongst dogtooth tuna, manta rays and unicorn fish. At Shark Cave you will also find grey reef sharks as well as yellow sponges and corals. Added to this there is a plethora of crustaceans, varying from lobster to shrimp and crab, alongside fascinating octopus and cuttlefish. Explore Black and Tower Rocks’ steep walls and submerged boulders too!

To see and experience some of these amazing diving spots, speak with our travel specialists on 020 7666 1234 and let us tailor-make your next luxury holiday.

Kate’s experience in Turtle Island, Malaysia

Kate Kuchnowska of Western & Oriental, talks about her experience in Turtle Island, Malaysia.

When my friends suggested we should visit Selingaan Turtle Island of the coast of Borneo I hesitated. First of all the thought of boarding a flight from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan only two days after arriving on my Malaysia holidays from London made me wary, as being a nervous flyer I try to avoid planes at any cost!

Secondly the attraction itself has mixed press. Some visitors loved it; others called it a “sad spectacle” and argue that the turtles should be left alone.

Somehow my friends managed to convince me that as we were already there, we could not miss such an opportunity for a close encounter with wildlife. We took an early morning Air Asia flight that thankfully lasted only 35 minutes. A very talkative and difficult to understand Chinese taxi driver took us from the airport to the jetty and from there we boarded a speedboat and our turtle adventure began.

The day was beautiful, we were speeding past colourful villages on stilts, the sea and the sky were equally blue and when after an hour boat ride we arrived to the little tropical island in the middle of Sulu Sea it looked to us like a private paradise. There were over 40 guests on the island that day, but I had no idea where they were hiding, as we only saw other people during mealtimes.

We left our bags in our simple but comfy chalets, hired snorkelling equipment and spent a large part of the day swimming in the warm, clear water.

After lunch, the island looked completely deserted. I went for a walk to take some photos. The world seemed to be so peaceful that I decided that even the jungle is not as scary as I thought it would be and I really enjoyed being in the tropical forest. At this precise moment I saw a dragon! A huge monitor lizard was taking advantage of the quiet afternoon sitting on the pavement and almost scared me to death!

The evening was all about the turtles. We had a guided tour of a small turtle museum, watched an informative film about turtle conservation and were getting more and more excited. Will the turtles come, we were wondering. Will they lay eggs? Are we going to see them? We were waiting in the darkness ready to go. At about 8:30pm the ranger called that a turtle had landed.

Meet Olivia the Turtle, Marine Researcher in the Maldives

Meet Olivia the turtle, Four Seasons Resort Landaa Giraavaru’s latest marine researcher in the Maldives. Olivia is a rare Olive Ridley turtle and a pioneer for her species. She spent some 12 months of her long life being nurtured and cared for at the island’s successful Landaa Turtle Rehabilitation Centre and as the longest-staying resident to date, she has been fitted with a satellite tracking device and released back into the wild.

Her adventures so far have already taken her into the middle of the Indian Ocean, a distance of 510 miles from the resort, and with the satellite tracking device anyone is able to follow her whereabouts via the regularly updated ‘Olivia-link’ run by the rehab centre here. This geo tagging technology has allowed marine biologists exclusive access to the life of Olivia. With such little information known about the world’s smallest sea turtles, this project is an excellent opportunity to find out more about these fascinating creatures.

Meanwhile, we have been watching Olivia’s emotional release into the wild and look forward to discovering Olivia’s whereabouts in the world. Other patients at the rehab centre include Sally and Clover, Olive Ridley turtles who were found with multiple lacerations caused by fishing boats in the local area. Landaa’s Turtle Rehabilitation Centre’s successful program means that their release back into the wild is imminent and with the necessary sponsorship of these turtles, the centre would be able to purchase more satellite tags to continue their important research.

See the world in under 5 minutes – with 6237 photographs

Fancy speeding around the world in under 5 minutes? Kien Lam, a keen photographer, has made this possible with his stunning time-lapse video taken whilst spending nearly a year adventuring around the world on a journey that took him through 17 different countries over 343 days. Whilst doing so, he took 6,237 photographs which he has pieced together as several beautiful fast-paced montages.

Kien wanted to capture the spirit of his journey and took time-lapse photos at every city that he travelled to. Each two-second scene comprises approximately 40-60 photographs.

The countries showcased within the video and on his 25,000 mile journey include Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Egypt, England, France, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Morocco, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay and the United States. Kien also visited popular landmarks such as Stonehenge, the Louvre, Times Square, Mt. Sinai, Pier 39 and the Alhambra. He rode on 58 buses, 18 boats and 19 airplanes over the course of the entire trip.

Which of these cities will you be putting onto your list of places to visit? Watch the video here:

Elephant Hills in Thailand Announces Birth of Baby Ha Ha

After waiting 22 months for the birth, Elephant Hills is proud to announce the birth of Ha Ha the baby elephant, born to Tor Por late last Sunday night on the 12^th of February 2012. It is Tor Por’s first baby and both mother and baby are doing well in the confines of their herd. The matriarch Khun Di-Be-Le is especially pleased with the new arrival and was a witness to her smooth birth.  She measures in at 90cm high with a healthy weight of approximately 100kgs and will keep Tor Por busy for the next few years.

Asian elephants were classed as endangered in 1986 and according to the WWF, their numbers are still dwindling in Thailand where they are domesticated and in some cases mistreated. This birth is a huge success for Elephant Hills and they are hoping that Ha Ha will have a brother or sister in the next five years.

Elephant Hills is nestled deep in Thailand’s Khao Sok rainforest and gives its visitors a luxury camping experience amongst the wildlife. Visitors can either choose to stay at the luxury floating camp or the tented camp and are treated to campfires and canoe excursions among many other activities. With the addition of Ha Ha, Elephant Hills will further ensure that they create a lifetime of memories for visiting guests, and continue to work with the local community to improve conservation in the area.

We wish the excellent team at Elephant Hills good luck and look forward to hearing how Ha Ha is doing in the future. Watch baby Ha Ha playing and see her photos below.

Abu Camp introduces baby elephant at 3 days old

Abu Camp, situated on the eastern edge of Botswana’s Okavango Delta, provides the original elephant riding safari experience and was proud to announce that Shireni, one of the Abu Camp’s leading elephants, gave birth to her third surviving calf, a healthy female, at 10.05pm on Saturday 17th December.

Measuring approximately 90cm at the shoulder and weighing about 110kg, the new-born, named Worona, stood on her own four feet, wobbling, within 20 minutes. Warona is the SeTswana name meaning ‘for us.’

Reaching up to her mother, Warona suckled properly for the first time at 7am the next morning, 10 hours after the birth, and now takes short naps of 5-10 minutes. Closely watched over by her doting big brother, Abu Junior, Warona is already showing signs of playfulness as can be seen in the video of her at three days old.

Warning – this is very cute!

I fell madly in love on a Luxury Ranch Holiday

Leaving my (relatively new) boyfriend for a week while I went off ranching with the girls was never going to be easy.  Sure, I knew that once I got there that I’d be fine because I’d be doing what I love, in a place I love, but still, I struggled saying goodbye (and no I’m not 14!).  Little did I know that I’d fall in love with someone else while I was away, well, I say some ‘one’ else, it wasn’t quite what you might think.

Being animal mad, I’m a long time horse lover, but never had the time, or the accessibility to horses to ride or spend time around them.  I actually started riding a couple of years ago, pretty late really, but instantly loved it.  I had read about ranching holidays and always wanted to go, but thought that I should at least have a bit of experience on horseback before I took the plunge.  I finally did in 2010 and loved it so much that I returned to the same ranch this year and met the same group of people as last year.  The very knowledgeable owner of the White Stallion Ranch in Tucson, Arizona, takes great care to match you up with a horse that suits you in every way, almost like the Cilla Black of the equine/human relationship.

Meeting the horse that’s going to be your best friend and companion for the next week is an exciting moment.  One look at Packer and I was hooked.  His big kind eyes and the way he looked back to check on me every time I climbed on his back or finished a lope made me feel very special and cared for.  The way he nuzzled my pocket for horse cookies while I bathed him at the end of a long day on the trails never failed to make me smile and his unfailing willingness to run that little bit faster whenever I asked him were qualities that left me more than a little bit smitten.  The way he slowly wandered into the Corral at the end of the day for a well deserved, roll, rest and a play with his friends, I could watch for hours.

At the end of the week, I was as sad to say goodbye to him as I was to my other love at home the previous week.  We had a ‘moment’ while I gave him his last hosing down of the week and while I know he’ll be on to his next guest this week, taking just as good care of them as he did me, I’d like to think that he remembers me as fondly as I remember him.

After our long day he was in need of a bath