Winter/Spring | 2015 SAFARI OF A LIFETIME With Brian Jackman & Jonathan Scott Ship Ahoy! WILDLIFE CRUISES Close Encounters WITH BEARS DISCOVER Queensland’s Nature Coast TOP PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS from the Pros Five Greatest WILDLIFE LOCATIONS WELCOME A warm welcome to our latest seasonal brochure. here to start? As always, there’s lots happening! As I write, our winter season of Discover Wildlife evenings is well under way, with presentations across the south of England and northward, with dates in Manchester, W Newcastle, Edinburgh and York. You can also find us at Destinations consumer travel show in both London and Manchester, so there’s ample opportunity to come and meet us face to face and be inspired. Collectively we’ve been doing a lot of travelling in the last few months, with visits to Costa Rica, Panama, Australia, Namibia, Canada, and you will soon see the fruits of these trips… We have organised a very special trip to see the Marsh Lions of the Masai Mara with Brian Jackman, award-winning journalist and author, and Jonathan Scott, renowned wildlife photographer and TV presenter. This is a unique opportunity to join Brian and Jonathan on this small group safari as they rekindle their relationship with the Marsh Lions after 30 years - see page 23 to read more. Our regular look at a taxonomic order of the animal kingdom focuses on our closest cousins, the primates. And if that doesn’t float your boat, our feature on wildlife cruising certainly should! Photographer Nick Garbutt provides some handy tips for budding wildlife photographers, while the geographical range extends yet further as we visit Canada to hear of a heart-stopping moment in the forests of British Columbia on a walk to seek grizzly bears. Back in Africa we celebrate the seasonal arrival of the waters in the Okavango Delta, which last year was admitted as the one thousandth entrant to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites. Meanwhile our portfolio of family and small group trips has expanded considerably, (see pages 16-17) and we’re working on a number of other exciting ideas for the future - watch this space! We look forward to welcoming you on your next wildlife holiday. Chris Breen Founder, Wildlife Worldwide Contents Welcome & Discover Wildlife Events 2/3 Zambian Safari 18/19 Walking with Bears, Canada 4/5 Okavango Watery Wilderness, Botswana 20/21 Whale Tales from Québec 6/7 Self Discovery on the open road, Namibia 22 Life Story in the Americas 8/9 The Marsh Lions Revisited, Masai Mara 23 Costa Rica Pura Vida! 10/11 Primates of the World 24/25 All Aboard, Wildlife Cruises 12/13 Australia’s Nature Coast 26/27 Wildlife in Focus, Photography tours & tips 14/15 Predators of Asia 28/29 Small Group Experiences 16/17 Greatest Wildlife Locations 30/31 All holiday prices in this brochure are based on two persons sharing, including flights from the UK, accommodation and transfers. (Except where specified). For full details call our expert Wildlife team. Prices correct at time of going to print. 2 Over 23 years experience in designing the finest wildlife holidays SAVE THE DATE Destinations, the holidays & travel show in Manchester & London Visit our stand and immerse yourself in a world of unlimited travel inspiration for your next wildlife adventure. 15-18 January at EventCity, Manchester - Stand E38 29 January-1 February at Olympia London - Stand AF12 We are delighted to offer you a pair of complimentary tickets - to claim two tickets to the show visit DestinationsShowTickets.com and quote DST40 We will again be exhibiting at Whalefest in Brighton so do come along and visit us on the 14th/15th March. Discover Wildlife - Evenings to inspire Featuring presentations by our own wildlife experts together with guest speakers from around the world, our Discover Wildlife evenings appeal to all travel and nature lovers. If you would like some inspiration for your next wildlife holiday you will have the opportunity to meet our team and share your experiences with like-minded travellers who share your passion. The evenings are completely free of charge. To book your place simply complete the registration form online wildlifeworldwide.com/journal/discover Date Discover Wildlife Presentations Location Art safari evening with photographer Nick Garbutt & 13 Jan Winchester Sculptor Nick Mackman 15 Jan Whale watching around the world and Guyana Manchester 20 Jan Discover Zambia and Guyana Swindon 29 Jan Discover Namibia London 3 Feb Whale watching around the world and Discover Namibia Newcastle 4 Feb Whale watching around the world and Discover Namibia Edinburgh 12 Feb Whale watching around the world York 18 Feb Discover Namibia and Guyana Chichester 26 Feb To be confirmed Winchester 4 Mar Where to see whales and Discover Zambia Norwich Swarovski will also be joining us in Manchester, Newcastle, York and Chichester so you have the chance to talk about the best optics for your wildlife holiday. Visit Us We are based in the charming and historic city of Winchester and welcome you to visit us in our central offices. We are open from 9-6 Monday to Friday and on Saturday morning from 9-1 during January, February and March. [email protected] 01962 302 055 wildlifeworldwide.com 3 Walking With Bears The real thing Earlier this year wildlife consultant Amanda DeSimone travelled to a seldom visited area of Canada, where she was taken on a guided walk to see grizzly bears, with heart-stopping encounters… t was my first visit to the Cariboo Mountains, a vast, that rose on my neck - I was reassured by Gary’s calm reaction. pristine wilderness an hour’s flight north of Vancouver, and an area often overlooked by European visitors in In fact, after over 30 years experience among the grizzlies, Gary favour of British Columbia’s more familiar parks. I was even thinks like a bear now. To communicate with them he Ithere for a unique experience not offered anywhere else - a speaks in a soft monotone, with the odd stern note of command chance to interact with wild and unhabituated grizzly bears when necessary - “Hey, bear, how’s the fishin’?” or “Enough in their natural habitat with ‘bear whisperer’ Gary Zorn. bear, back off now!” This particular bear remained hidden in the bushes, its growl a warning not to come any nearer - one that we Gary has devoted his life to studying the habitat, behaviour, body heeded. language and social hierarchy of these magnificent creatures, while communing with them on their turf, and he offers visitors a Instead, we headed back across the river into magnificent first once-in-a-lifetime experience of joining him as he walks upriver growth rainforest until we literally stumbled across a sleeping into their favourite feeding grounds. While chatting to Gary and bear, tucked up in a hollow in the roots of a tree. We saw piles of his wife Peggy at my after-dinner briefing, they conveyed such freshly dug dirt, and Gary suggested a hasty (but quiet!) retreat; respect, love and affection for the big bears that it brought tears he knew this bear, and it was old and grumpy - definitely not to my eyes. one we wanted to wake! Another heart-stopping moment of excitement for me was the realisation that we were, literally, My wilderness adventure began predawn with a one-and-a-half surrounded by bears that were tolerating our presence. hour boat ride across the lake. We kitted ourselves out in waders and boots before jet-boating up a remote mountain river. Even at Due to an unseasonably warm spell for October, the bears’ some distance from the river mouth the stench of rotting fish was thick coats and salmon-stuffed stomachs made them unusually palpable, and on entering the river we were surrounded by signs drowsy. Visitors usually stay for three or more nights and no-one of bears: piles of half-eaten salmon carcasses, bear trails, as well in the entire season has left without sighting a bear at least once, as scat and paw prints on the sandy banks. and usually more often. Some clients have seen as many as six in a day! We jetted upstream until the boat could go no further, then continued on foot, crossing a huge log jam and wading upstream I don’t think that I have ever had such an intense and thrilling to a place with signs of very recent bear activity. Gary knows the wilderness experience. As one of Gary’s clients whispered to him bears so intimately that he can talk about each one’s temperament, excitedly on seeing her first bear “This is it, isn’t it? This is the habits, family unit and colouring, so when a long, low growl real thing!” issued from the bushes just a few feet away - despite the hairs 4 Over 23 years experience in designing the finest wildlife holidays WE CREATE OUTSTANDING WILDLIFE HOLIDAYS Our website features 28 bear-watching trips and almost 30 bear locations in the Americas and Europe that we can use to tailor-make your own wildlife holiday NEW Grizzlies of Khutzeymateen Explore the remote Khutzeymateen, the world’s first Grizzly Bear Sanctuary aboard an exclusive chartered vessel. See grizzly bears, humpback whales, orcas, sealions and dolphins. Small group departure, 9 Jun 2015 10 days, from £4,195 The Bear Essentials Focus on British Columbia’s largest carnivore - the brown or grizzly bear - in a variety of locations, reached by float plane for a real wilderness experience. Tailor-made, May-Oct 8 days, from £3,595 Classic Polar Bears See polar bears at close quarters in Churchill amidst the snowy winter wilderness for an awe-inspiring and unforgettable wildlife encounter.