Denali National Park is larger than the state of Massachusetts and tenderly watched over by Denali — “the high one” — at over 20,000 feet the highest mountain in North America.Weather can be an issue. For current conditions, please follow this link here: https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

On an African safari, the goal is to spot the Big Five — lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, cape buffalo. In Alaska, the concept is the same — just the names are different: moose, bear, wolf, caribou and Dall sheep. But when we initially stopped to see a rabbit — okay, our guide called it a Snowshoe Hare — I thought, “This is not a good sign.” And in truth, you can’t always accurately decipher what you see in the distance: snow fills are mistaken for sheep; large boulders for bears. Hopes rise and are dashed and the guide takes refuge in another Snowshoe Hare.

But this is a tour for the long haul — and you’re not likely to be disappointed. And even more impressive, our driver/guide, with infectious enthusiasm, kept up a constant patter covering vegetation, history, animal lore, Alaska peccadilloes, personal experiences and other tantalizing tidbits for more than five hours. The fact that it was still interesting by that fifth hour is even more of a phenomenal accomplishment. The running commentary that accompanied our guide’s driving along narrow, winding roads clutching the mountainside while he rapidly gazed right and left for any movement that might indicate animal activity was a heroic act of multi-tasking I didn’t want to think too much about.

And there was always something to see –over the course of the tour, we saw numerous Dall sheep, occasional moose, caribou (the North American relative to the reindeer),the ubiquitous snowshoe hares, of course, and other native wildlife. And should the animals play hard to get for a period of time, just lifting your eyes to the proverbial snow-capped mountains in the distance is enough to keep you enthralled until the next native creature reveals itself.

Because the bus is so big, the sound of recognition travels like a wave from front to back — and there’s always a risk the animal the front has viewed is gone by the time the back of the bus catches up. But never fear. On the off-chance you miss the mama moose and her calf or the Dall sheep straddling a steep slope, it will magically appear on the TV screens lowered above the seats in the bus. Close-up images from the driver’s video camera are reflected on the drop-down screens. I was torn between resenting seeing my”in the wild” Alaska wildlife resembling a Discovery Channel documentary and feeling grateful I could see them at all — and close up at that.

But, in truth, I was in it for the bears. Earlier in the trip, I had discovered that we were there too early in the year (June instead of July) for the peak running season of the sockeye salmon and, therefore, too early for the bears to gather around the streams just waiting for those happily spawning salmon to fly into their mouths. My own mouth had been watering at the very thought of watching such a spectacle.

So once in Denali, I hoped at least to finally get my chance to see bears. Our guide kept reassuring us we would certainly see grizzlies, but by hour number five, when only a glimpse of brown had been seen once in the far distance, he finally, guiltily, sorrowfully, very apologetically acknowledged that maybe we wouldn’t this trip.

And then suddenly, the cry went out — waves of wows traveled along the bus — as a momma and two bear cubs came into view. “Hallelujah,” cried one excited passenger; “Thank goodness, we paid $5000 to see that critter,” noted another. Our guide admitted he was getting quite nervous — only 20 times in 18 seasons had he not seen a bear. It was far away and it clearly wasn’t catching any fish, but I did feel some sense of vindication.

At the end of the trip, our guide played back the video that captured the highlights of our bus trip from hare to bear and all the other denizens of Denali in between: the many Dall sheep, mama moose with twins, caribou, golden eagle, ground squirrels, ptarmigans(the state bird) and, of course, the bears. We just missed Alaska’s Big Five by one wolf. Not surprisingly, like the ubiquitous gift shop at the end of every museum tour, the video was for sale.

But Denali was only one stop on the Gray Line escorted Alaska Explorer Tour. There were also glaciers and mountains and gold mining history and native cultures and whale watching tours and frontier towns and backcountry plus a myriad of experiences I’ve had nowhere else.In the process, I learned to appreciate not only America’s Last Frontier but the hardy, independent-minded people who inhabit it. Still next time, I want to see more bears.

For more information, visit https://www.denaliparkvillage.com/tours/tundra-wilderness-tour or call 888-452-1737.88-452-1737.

The post Alaska’s Denali National Park & Preserve: Hours of Wildlife, Wild Scenery and Wild Stories appeared first on Traveling Archive.

The mighty Amazon River has amazed me since boyhood. It is the largest river in the world by amount of water discharged and the second longest in length. Boasting earth’s largest rainforest, the river offers visitors an unforgettable journey into the “selva” or jungle as locals call it, where the world’s largest and most diverse collection of plant and animal life are found.

The 4,000-mile-long waterway stretches across nine South American countries as it makes its way eastward from the foothills of the Andes Mountains in Peru towards the Atlantic Ocean. Along its route, the river provides a source of life to more than one-third of all recorded animal species in the world. This includes some 40,000 plant species, 427 types of mammals, 1,300 birds species, 378 different reptiles, more than 400 amphibians, and roughly 3,000 freshwater fish.

A great way to experience the river and jungle together is by boat. There are numerous excellent companies that provide memorable experiences down the Amazon. A friend recommended Rainforest Cruises, which showcases Amazon River cruises from Peru.

Rainforest Cruises start in Iquitos, Peru, located on the banks of the Amazon River, or in the city of Nauta. Both cities are the center of Amazon River cruise activity in Peru, and are found in the enormous province of Loreto, in North-Eastern Peru. Two-thirds of Peru’s land mass is covered by the Peruvian Amazon jungle, much of it unspoiled and waiting to be explored by riverboat.

“An Amazon River cruise in Peru will provide you with a genuine experience of the mighty Amazon River, the rainforest and all the wildlife and people who call it their home,” says the Rainforest Cruises website. “Mischievous capuchin monkeys, tasty Amazonian superfruits, smiling locals and rich rainforest scenery will be sure to give you a lifetime of lasting memories.”

The company says the best way to visit the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest is to tour backwaters aboard a traditional riverboat. River travel is still the primary method of transportation in the region as the Amazon rainforest is mainly a roadless wonder. An Amazon cruise is the only way to access the narrow, winding creeks and tributaries. Trips head deep into the rainforest for the best wildlife-spotting opportunities, jungle treks and local community visits.

Other animals to see on trip down the most biodiverse rainforest / river system on Earth include pink and grey river dolphins, three-toed sloths, jaguars, macaws, capuchin monkeys, anacondas, to name a few. Some of these creatures are endemic to the Amazon region, so being able to see them in their natural habitat can be spectacular. “The Pacaya Samiria National Reserve in Peru boasts some of the Amazon’s most abundant biodiversity. Once you are there, just sit tight, be very quiet and use each of your senses to listen to leaves rustling in the trees,” says Rainforest Cruises.

For many Rainforest Cruises travelers, an unexpected highlight of an Amazon River tour is the chance to sample many of the region’s popular dishes, both traditional and modern. “Meals are lovingly prepared with fresh, locally sourced ingredients from the surrounding environment. You can expect to sample a variety of exquisite fish, meat and vegetable dishes, accompanied perhaps by a cocktail made with exotic tropical fruits. Ask your guide for a Pisco Sour lesson,” says the tour company. With any style of Amazon cruise you choose, the food and drinks onboard will be a trip highlight!

The Peruvian Amazon is also home to a diverse population of Amazonian tribes and mestizo communities. Many of these people keep their traditional lifestyle and some are completely isolated from the outside world. Other communities have decided to share their culture with visitors to the Amazon, inviting tour groups to learn about their lifestyle. A river cruise can give guests an opportunity to meet a local shaman, learn about natural medicine, meet local school kids and see first hand how Amazonian food is prepared.  For more information, visit: Rainforest Cruises

The post A Dream Trip Down the Amazon River with Rainforest Cruises appeared first on Traveling Archive.

The hike was one of four daily activities during our 8-day adventure exploring Amazonia. Calling the Motor Yacht Tucano, an 18-passenger river yacht home, we traveled over 200 miles along the River Negro where the only other waterborne human we saw was the rare fisherman in a dugout canoe. For our daily excursions, we clamored aboard a small power launch which took us hiking, bird-watching, and village hopping, and on night-time outings that dramatized the allure of the river not experienced in any other way. But more on that later.

Souza demanded quiet during our launch rides, using all of his senses to read the forest, listening for the breaking of a branch or a flutter through the trees, sniffing for animal odors, scanning leaves above and below for motion, or the water for ripples… and alerting us at every junction of what he has discovered.  On our own, we would have heard, felt and discerned nothing.

Souza’s most amazing talent was his ability to identify the multitudes of birds traversing the river and forest, many of whose calls he could replicate precisely.  What to us was a dot on a limb was declared a green ibis. Then a snow egret, crane hawk, red-breasted blackbird, jacana, snail kite — so many I just stopped taking notes. So confidently did he identify the inhabitants, we would have believed: “That’s a green-tongued, red-beaked ibirus with one brown eye and a pimple on his right cheek…”

He could imitate more birds than the most gifted comedian can impersonate movie stars. He carried on such intimate conversations, that halfway through a lengthy discussion with a blackish gray antshrike, I think they became engaged. Then Souza, fickle male that he is, romanced a colorful azure blue-beaked Trogan perched upon a dead branch high in a tree. Birds have a surprising preference for dead tree parts. As one of my travel companions observed, “If you don’t like birds, you might as well take the next flight home.”

Back to Machete Man. Our forest walks also were a time for observation, not conversation. On a stop to view teca ants swarming over the bark, Souza wiped his hand across it, proceeding then to rub the ants over his forearms. Instant mosquito repellant — handy tool in the Amazon.

At one point, I looked down and saw a long brown twig draping a log. Souza saw a snake. I looked again and still saw a twig, albeit one that now had an eye. I stepped more gingerly.

We learned of the many medications the forest supplies to the natives; of vines for baskets and brooms; bark for strong rope; plants providing poison for arrows. As we heeded orders to be quiet, the dried leaves below screamed in protest at being trampled, the buzz of the horsefly the most persistent sound.

And then there are the leaf cutter ants! A long assembly line of tiny leaves paraded up a hill, as organized as a marching band. A closer look revealed leaf cutter ants to be the burly carriers. Hard to believe something so fragile can carry so large and unwieldy a load as much as half a mile to its colony.

Surprised at how much he learned about himself on the trip, Ritesh Beriwal, a 23-year-old worn-out Wall Street trainee, noted: “I didn’t realize how interested I’d be in the little things, like how insects such as the leaf-carrying ants build homes. Before it was just an ant; now it’s an ant with an entire life and work history.”

Each day brought new revelations and insight into our surroundings whether on land or water. Our visits to several villages only reinforced that impression.

Commonalities among villages: a dance hall where residents party once a month; a soccer field where youth exercise once a day; a school room where students of all grades learn; a clinic that caters to the medical needs of the community, 2-3 requisite churches where parishioners of different persuasions pray — and a generator. And that’s about it. But the differences are notable as well.

I found the contrast particularly interesting between one village of no more than 30 families producing one farm product and a larger “company” town in which thrives an asphalt industry. In the larger village, there is a convenience store, a small café, a bakery. Each hut has its own outhouse and there are several satellite dishes throughout the community.

The entire economy of the farm community revolves around manioc — a product made from grain that is the mainstay of the Amazonian diet. “If there is no manioc on the table, there is no meal,” explains Souza.

There are no stores in the village, no satellite dishes, and there are no outhouses. Using the woods that border their village as their toilet, it was clearly the largest bathroom facility I had ever seen. On the other hand, the men don’t have to worry about remembering to put the seat down.

Although every day was an adventure, nothing compared with the nighttime jaunts. Our post-dinner sojourns, beginning around 8 p.m., pitched Souza and his searchlight against the dark horizon, scanning shoreline and trees desperately searching for something to entertain his charges.

An all-pervasive quiet loomed, yet everything, including the sounds, seemed magnified: dolphins snorting, fish jumping, caimans slithering, monkeys howling — all vying for attention.

Eventually the flashlight, seemingly darting randomly above, below and beyond the trees, alighted (so to speak) on a caiman in the brush, his whole snout protruding for a moment before slinking away. Or perhaps instead the light reflected off a kingfisher’s eyes, temporarily blinding him so that we could drift in almost close enough to touch. Then for an encore, we watched a spider grab a dragonfly from a crack in a tree directly in front of us — and diligently devour it. Did I mention it was pitch black?

Once again, the refrain in my head: “How does Souza do that?” Either he has a seventh sense about the animals, or the Amazon Tourist Board set them up ahead of time.

Whereas during the day, the trills, tweets and twerps of the birds dominate the landscape, at night it’s the croaks, caws and throaty outpourings of the frogs and caimans.

In between our first launch at 6 a.m to our final return sometime after 9, we pretty much spend the rest of the time eating. The native foods, beautifully prepared and presented, are a surprise this far from civilization.

As much as that is a typical day, so are the exceptions. One particular day we got to sleep in until 6, still early enough to watch the sun pull itself over the forest, and late enough to feel the already oppressive heat seep into my lightweight, washable. anti-bug-treated blouse (though overall, the weather was much more comfortable than anticipated). We were going fishing.

I sat with my Tom Sawyer fishing pole thinking the Amazon’s a long way from the Mississippi. I attached the chunks of beef to the end of the line thinking this was strange bait until I remembered our prey. Watching Souza rattle the water with his pole, I remembered that being quiet was the order of the day on most fishing sojourns. Still, I followed his lead — make the quarry think there’s a wounded fish thrashing about — and within a minute I knew I had snagged the big prize: at the end of my line was the famed carnivorous predator — a 6” piranha.

Souza held it up to a tree and used it like a scissors to cut a branch in two. Just looking at its imposing teeth, we knew it came by its reputation honestly. Still, piranhas get a bad rep. The truth is unless they’re starving, or you’re bleeding, we’re really not in their food chain. Nonetheless, the fried piranhas we had that night as appetizers were scrumptious, their tiny bones crunchy and the meat flaky, proving the wise adage that more people eat piranhas than piranhas eat people — at least in Amazonia.

If You Go

I flew United, one of several airlines that go nonstop from several U.S. cities to Sao Paulo, then transferred to TAM for the hop to Manaus. American Airlines and LATAM Airlines also have daily non-stop flights from Miami to Manaus.

When to go. The January to June rainy season brings heavy but relatively brief downpours. Rivers rise dramatically — often as high as 45 feet. The high water enables small boats to reach areas inaccessible at other times of year

During dry season, roughly July to December, rivers run shallow, and while white sand beaches — excellent for a refreshing swim — appear, most of the area is more arid and less lush.   Best time to visit is April to September.

For more information, contact Latin American Escapes or call 800-510-5999.

Some Caveats

• If you’re looking to see a lot of four-legged wildlife, go on a safari.
• If taking a nightly hot shower is important, stay at a hotel (although the river water is tepid enough so as not to be too uncomfortable). There are hot water showers during the day on the vessel.
• Although we didn’t experience any, the pre-trip information warns of glitches, inconveniences and delays and advises to bring along a lot of tolerance and patience.
• Post-hike showers are required, including the need to wash out your clothes to prevent any insect mishaps.
• There is a certain sameness to the daily activities.
• There is also a 5 day/4 night option.

The post Amazonia: Not Your Typical Tourist Destination appeared first on Traveling Archive.

There was at one time no margin for error for sailors rounding the Horn of Africa and heading north through rough seas past this vast expanse, which stretches along the northern third of Namibia’s coast. The region borders more vast expanses, among them the world’s oldest desert, the Namib. One wonders whether whalers and sailors who somehow made it ashore after reefs had thrashed their ships found a moment to appreciate landscapes that would have challenged even the surreal imagination of Salvador Dali.

Along the coastline are immense flat plains, broken in places by lines of small cones denoting abandoned diamond mines. The plains yield to giant, orange-yellow sand dunes. The wind etches geometric patterns on their long curves and slopes.

Walking across a flat plain from our vehicle – a Land Rover with old airplane chairs strapped to the roof – my companions and I step in each other’s footprints to minimize the impact on the tiny blades of vegetation that suck moisture from the ocean fog.

After hiking up a dune’s long backside, we slide down its steep interior slope. Suddenly, the sound of the wind is drowned out by the eerie monotone crescendo of a double bass. But there are no double bass players in sight.

The musicians, in fact, are us. The dunes’ uniquely shaped sand grains emit a deep roar as they grind together. Delighted, some of us take long leaps down the slope, adding staccato notes.

Struggling back up the huge half-bowl slope, the solitude of the coast hits home. Despite a huge concession set aside for the Skeleton Coast Camp – which is where we are staying – it is limited to 12 visitors at a time.

I keep imagining the challenges shipwrecked sailors would have faced. If I were in their shoes, would I have been able to overcome fear and march up the coast, giving my skeleton a run for its money?

Yet there are those that survive in this environment. The wildlife is fascinating in how it has adapted to the desert conditions. Up on a ridge facing the ocean breeze are several gemsbok, or oryx, weighing nearly 230 kilograms each. A type of antelope, they hyperventilate in the ocean air in order to cool their body temperatures. Their horns are like scimitars, forcing the region’s desert-adapted lions to think twice. Fresh lion tracks in a river bed make me think twice when, separated from the only other vehicle, I collect flat rocks to jam under tires bogged down in dry sand. A bit inland, amid arid canyons and valleys, are ostriches, jackals, mountain zebras, baboons and foxes.

Even the bugs are amazing. I saw a beetle that satiates its thirst by using grooves in its back to build up a drop of water from condensed fog.

Desert elephants sometimes venture to the coast and surf the dunes, creating their own symphonies. We track the elephants on foot – they’re always just around the bend, judging by the fresh elephant dung – but the sun reflecting off the walls of a clay canyon beat us back. Our vehicles cause us to throw in the towel as well, as an unexplored river bed that might leave a vehicle stuck becomes too forbidding near sunset. There are no tow trucks here.

But the greatest survivors are the members of the Himba tribe, some of whom reside just outside the park. Scattered across northern Namibia, they make up less than 1 per cent of the population. They haven’t changed their nomadic lifestyle in centuries, raising cattle and living in huts of dung and sand.

The women are particularly striking, wearing only goat skin aprons and jewellery that glows red from a mixture of ochre and rancid butter, rubbed daily over every square inch.

With their braided hair coated with mud and hardened like a helmet, these women work hard while the men count their cattle. The women’s true beauty is rooted in their physical strength and a meticulously tended traditional appearance that, according to anthropologists, maintains their cultural identity and protects them against the vagaries of modern life. Their refined beauty is framed by the harsher beauty around them.

Horrors such as the diamond wars farther north in Angola, the heartbreak of AIDS orphans, tribal conflicts and deprivation magnified by an envy of wealth have missed the Himba in this neck of Namibia. The elements of their neighbourhood are so tough no one hungers for their land – it’s safety in lack of numbers.

A couple of decades ago, a drought – the term is relative here – killed enough cattle to drive some Himba into the towns. They didn’t fare well – alcoholism and prostitution were often the byproducts of poverty and culture shock. Much farther east, a proposed dam threatens the Himba way of life. But on the Skeleton Coast, it’s likely that in 50 years, the headman’s progeny will still be tending the holy fire, a smoldering log that is said to help departed paternal ancestors bring good fortune to the tribe.

At night, I stand watching the sky, stealing glances at the silhouette of a jackal slipping around my tent, which by Himba standards is as luxurious as the Taj Mahal. Before the morning fog, the night is moonless but bright. The stars are the brightest and most numerous I’ve seen, and shooting stars abound.

None of the hemisphere’s constellations are familiar. It’s an alien world, beautiful as long as I know a prop-driven aircraft will eventually alight on our desert runway with ample provisions.

GETTING THERE:  Tour operators such as Wilderness Safaris, which operates the Skeleton Coast Camp, offer flights into the park in small bush planes from various points in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi, Namibia and South Africa, and Skeleton Coast Camp for a four-day, three-night safari package.

For more visitor information, visit the Namibia Ministry of Environment

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Outlined by 21k+ miles of jaw-dropping coastline and filled in with 3m+ square miles of camera-ready land mass, Australia, the oldest, flattest and driest inhabited continent, is home to the indigenous kangaroo, koala, laughing kookaburra, platypus, wombat, 755 species of reptiles and the late, beloved Steve Irwin, “The Crocodile Hunter.”

During his amazing life, cut short at the age of 44 after being pierced in the heart by a stingray barb while filming an underwater documentary, Irwin thrilled and educated audiences around the globe with his derring-do antics out in the wild in a variety of television wildlife series, including everyone’s favorite, The Crocodile Hunter. Gone, but not forgotten, Steve Irwin’s legacy as a zoologist, conservationist and naturalist lives on at his dream-come-true Australia Zoo.

One of the icons of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, the 1,000 acre Australia Zoo, located in Beerwah, is as wild as life gets and as approachable as Steve himself.  With 1,200+ wildlife on display, many just an arm’s length away, and oodles of daily shows, you’ll get a healthy dose of action and adventure — from the Crocoseum, to Bindi’s Island, to the African Savannah — all in one place without having to don a pair of khaki shorts.

Where else can you get up close and personal with some of Oz’s indigenous species, like having a stare-down with a ring-tailed lemur or witnessing a huge croc strike from the water’s edge. Crikey!

Open 364 days a year, the Australia Zoo, where a portion of every dollar spent is placed back into conservation to protect wildlife and wild places, is the perfect place to remember the legacy of Steve Irwin.

As I continue my discovery of the Sunshine Coast, I promise to keep you out of harm’s way when next we meet up in the Blackall Range of the Hinterland for strolls around colorful Maleny and Montville and take in a panoramic view of the landmark Glasshouse Mountains. Until then, cheers mate!

The post Discovering Australia’s Sunshine Coast: At The Zoo appeared first on Traveling Archive.

5 Smartphone Photography Tips from Thanda Safari

Christian Sperka Resident Wildlife Photographer and Field Guide at South African safari destination says you can travel light and photograph like a heavyweight.

There’s a wildlife photographer inside of each of us – all it takes is a smartphone and good technique to bring out the talent. Christian Sperka, the Resident Wildlife Photographer and Field Guide at Thanda Safari in the heart of Zululand, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, has 5 tips to share for capturing striking imagery while traveling light on safari.

• Private Game Reserve vs. National Park?  Stay on a Private Game Reserve – Destinations such as Thanda Safari are great for smartphone photography, as travelers can usually get much closer to wildlife than at a national park. Professional and experienced guides knows exactly how close they can get to animals – safely – for you to snap a good picture. Get as close to eye-level with your picture subject, and you will create some great shots.
• Smartphones are Excellent for Macro-Shots – Everyone wants to bag an image of a lion, but some of the best shots will come from something smaller scale. Anything from plants to small creatures can be captured very well with a smartphone. Just be sure to check with your guide to be sure it’s safe to get close.
• Clip-On Tele-Focus Lenses are Available for Very Little Cost – Speaking of lions and the like, having a tele-focus lens for your smartphone will make it possible to get good shots of faraway targets. Binoculars can also serve the same purpose – just be sure there is a small distance between the camera lens and the binoculars’ ocular, and focus first with the binoculars before using your smartphone camera.

“90 percent of the people in a safari vehicle have a camera, and for 70 percent that camera is a smart phone. The smartphone-crowd is a very important part of safari today.” 
                                                                        — Christian Sperka, Resident Wildlife Photographer & Teacher

• Smartphones are Great in Difficult Light Situtions – Sunsets, sunrises and interesting cloud formations over beautiful scenery are often easier to capture with a smartphone than with a regular camera. Combined with a good ‘enhancement app’ – such as the excellent Camera+ for iPhones – can yield amazing pictures.
• Smartphones are Very Good for Wide-Angle Pictures – Focus on beautiful scenery with wildlife and you will create great memories. Zooming in on pictures (a.k.a, ‘pinching’) should be avoided as most smartphones only provide digital zoom (equivalent to picture cropping). Better to take the picture ‘un-zoomed’ and crop it later. Some very advanced smartphones – including iPhone 7+, 8+ and X – have a second tele-focus lens, which provides optical zoom capability.

Bearded and fun, Sperka has traveled the world photographing animals in wild game reserves in South Africa, Namibia, Costa Rica and Yellowstone National Park, as well as in zoos across Europe and the United States. His work has been featured in wildlife magazines, zoo publications and books, including Thanda Cats (2014), his tribute to the felines that make the wilds around Thanda Safari their home.

Guided by his motto, “keep it simple,’ Sperka offers a wide range of instructional programs to guests of Thanda Safari including a complimentary 30-minute Smartphone Photography Lesson for those staying two nights or longer (subject to availability). All sessions should be booked well in advance.

For a fee, guests can book private game drives in Sperka’s Green Mamba — outfitted with special photography seats and arms to rest cameras on, plenty of legroom, and even a full martini bar and Nespresso machine — to test their newfound skills in the wild under his watchful eye. Or if you’d rather enjoy the game drives and have someone else document them for you, Sperka can shoot the experience on guests’ behalf — from capturing stunning shots of each animal encounter to snapping beautiful images of the guests taking it all in.

For more information or to reserve travel at Thanda Safari, please contact
T: +27 (0) 27 32 586 0149;  E:

re**********@th****.za











; or visit www.thandasafari.co.za.

Changi Airport Singapore is Voted the World’s Best Airport for the 6th Consecutive Year at the 2018 World Airport Awards

Singapore Changi Airport has been named as the World’s Best Airport by air travelers for the sixth consecutive  year at the 2018 Skytrax World Airport Awards, held at Passenger Terminal EXPO in Stockholm, Sweden.

Best Airports by Passenger numbers

A-Z of 2018 Award Winners

A New Hotel on Skis Is Launched in Finland, Perfect for Watching the Northern Lights in Bed

Northern Finland is the site of a new hotel experience where a well-appointed glamping cabin is towed into a remote wilderness location, deep in the Arctic Circle. The cabin is one of three rooms that are then moved to an optimal spot for lying back to experience the Northern lights from the comfort of your bed.

The new mobile rooms set on skis include a clear Aurora viewing roof and are located six kilometers east of Kilpisjärvi, Finland. Creating the Aurora Wilderness camp, the three rooms are available to book through Off the Map Travel until mid-April 2018. After the end of the season, the Aurora Wilderness Camp will reopen in January 2019.

Those staying in the new wilderness rooms will enjoy a cozy cabin which measures 2.5m wide, 4.5m long and 2m tall, and includes a comfortable, wide bed to lie back and take in the night sky; a table; dry toilet; a gas heater with thermostat; and gas stove to ensure a warm and peaceful night.

Guests will also have exclusive use of the cabin’s snowshoes and kicksleds, offering the chance to explore the local area during the stay.

“The wilderness surrounding Kilpisjärvi is known for its remote and uninterrupted Arctic tundra,” notes Jonny Cooper, founder of Off the Map Travel and Arctic travel expert. “Away from any manmade light pollution, it is here that that the wilderness camp is placed for the winter, giving guests the best possible opportunity to experience the Northern Lights and simply enjoy the silence of the Arctic plains.” The camp is located 6km east of Kilpisjärvi.

The new cabins provide a combination of adventure and comfort. They allow those looking to completely escape from the modern world to be with nature as they hunt for the Northern Lights from their bed. With three mobile rooms available to book, each comfortably sleeping two people, the new cabins combine to create the Aurora Wilderness Camp situated optimally for Northern Lights hunting. Once the winter ice has thawed, the rooms (on skis) will then be relocated to a new home for the following season.

The experience starts at 6pm where an experienced guide transports guests by snowmobile to their room before teaching them how to make a campfire and grill some local sausages. After the wilderness grill, guests will have the camp to themselves to hunt for the Northern Lights and enjoy the peace of the Arctic wilderness. To fuel guests’ Northern Lights hunting, local snacks and hot drinks are provided, with a warming breakfast also included in the overnight experience.

Statistically, the Kilpisjärvi area has more clear night skies and records more Northern Lights activity than any other place in Finland. Experts have estimated that if the sky is clear, visitors have more than a 70 percent chance of seeing the Northern Lights.

As with any itinerary from Off the Map Travel, every itinerary can be tailor-made to fit the wishes and requirements of any guest. As an example, a 3-night, 4-day itinerary costs from £1599 per person based on two adults sharing on a full board basis. This includes private transfers to and from the Airport in Tromso, accommodation for two nights in a cozy log chalet and for one night in the new Aurora Wilderness Camp including all meals. Other activities are available on request. Flights are additional.

For more information on tailor-made travel itineraries visit Off the Map Travel; call +44 (0) 800 566 8901; email

in**@of*******.travel











.

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My dream became a reality at the end of July 2017 when we boarded a KLM flight to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. After a 10-hour flight from Los Angeles to Amsterdam, a short layover in Amsterdam, and another nine-hour flight to Tanzania, we arrived at Kilimanjaro International Airport about seven in the evening – one day ahead of when we left LA. I knew we were in for many unforeseen experiences when we deplaned from a Boeing 777 via stairs (no jetways here) and looked back at the massive plane from the tarmac thinking that this adventure was going to be as huge as the plane beside us.

There are quite a few countries in east and south Africa that host safaris, but only two that can claim the Great Migration (Tanzania and Kenya) and really only one that is home to the Serengeti (Tanzania), even though the plains along the southern border of Kenya, that run along the northern part of the Serengeti in Tanzania, known as Maasai Mara, are also part of the Serengeti Eco-system. But by all accounts, the Great Migration, probably the greatest annual movement of animals on the planet, happens in Tanzania.

As a point of reference, the Serengeti is a national park about the size of the state of Connecticut, and has no paved roads. The Land Cruiser is the vehicle of choice for all the safari companies we saw while in the bush and at the tented camps (in which) we stayed in. The roads are brutal on these vehicles (and on the people inside), but they are incredibly sturdy and surprisingly comfortable. Nearly all have pop-up tops that remain in the up position during game drives to provide its passengers the ability to stand up at any time to take in the scenery or take pictures. Getting out of the vehicle while on a game drive or traveling around in the bush is highly discouraged except at certain locations when cleared by your driver or at designated locations. One must remember that although the animals are used to seeing vehicles during the day, they are wild animals, not in a zoo, and there are no fences.

Since I enjoy researching and scheduling my own travels, my safari planning took me to the Internet and several safari blogs which helped me understand what the trip would entail as well as choosing the right safari company and the best time to go. All the travel sites will tell you that there is no bad time to go on safari, which is essentially true. So, if the Great Migration is on your bucket list, it can be seen all year-round at different locations, mostly in Tanzania. But if you want to see the river crossings where thousands of wildebeests and a few of the bravest zebras cross the Mara River, home to the largest crocodiles in Africa – the Nile crocodile – the northern hemisphere’s summer months are the best time to go.

Suffice it to say that I could spend a considerable amount of time on how I ended up choosing the safari company, tented camps (some call it glamping) and when to go, but I will only say that time, money and personal preference must all be considered since there are both budget safaris and luxury safaris. Since I considered this a once-in-a-lifetime trip, I opted for luxury.

We spent our first and second nights in the small town of Moshi at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro, just east of the larger city of Arusha where most Tanzania safaris begin, just to acclimate to the time difference and getting over jet lag. Most importantly, we met our driver, Said, from Pristine Trails, our safari company. Soon we climbed into our Land Cruiser for the next eight days of travel through Tanzania.

Some people with limited time or a dislike of rough roads and lots of dust, may choose to fly into the Serengeti on a small bush plane, but I wanted to experience driving from location to location, tented camp to tented camp, which essentially results in a continuous game drive since there are animals of all types everywhere in the Serengeti and surrounding areas.

After making a brief stop at Said’s school outside of Arusha to deliver soccer balls and frisbees that we had brought with us as gifts for the kids, we were off to our first destination – the Tarangire National Park – to begin our quest to see the “Big Five” – lions, leopards, rhinoceros, elephants and buffalos.

Tarangire National Park lies to the southeast of the Serengeti and is known to house a large population of resident animals so we were not disappointed by our first venture into the bush. In our day and a half in Tarangire, we had our first sightings of lions, leopards, wildebeests, zebras, elephants, giraffes, impalas, several varieties of gazelles, baboons, dik diks (the smallest antelope in Africa), waterbucks, a few buffaloes and a large variety of birds.

We also saw the famous baobab trees which have huge trunks and branches that look like tree roots. The myth behind the baobab tree is that the gods were angry with the natives and turned the tree upside down so that its branches look like roots reaching for the sky.

Every animal we saw presented a photo op, so I have an abundance of pictures of these animals, but by the time we left Tarangire for the Ngorongoro Crater, I didn’t think that some of the animals I had photographed were so special anymore. I couldn’t have been any more wrong.

Being up close to many of these animals is simply fascinating. After taking picture after picture of the same animals, I learned to put my camera down and just enjoy watching these animals in their natural environment. For the most part, most of the animals – predators included – get along and go along during the day as they share the same space in the bush. Most of the predators – the big cats, hyenas, jackals – hunt at night for their food. Many of the animals are herbivores which means they eat the grasses in the plains. As the grasses are consumed by the thousands of animals, they then migrate to new areas where the grasses are more plentiful. Hence, the natural wonder behind the Great Migration. More on that later.

As I noted before, the clear majority of safari vehicles are Toyota Land Cruisers that are customized for the rough and dusty gravel and dirt roads along the safari route.

There simply are no paved roads to be found once one enters the bush. Also, most of the vehicles have front seats for the driver and a passenger (hardly anyone rides shotgun), and up to three additional rows of seats depending on the size of one’s group and/or the type of safari booked. The vehicles of choice have pop-up roofs that when in an open position, allow the passengers in the second and third rows to stand up inside for unobstructed animal viewing and photos.

Since Elaine and I were on a private safari, we were in a vehicle with two rows behind the driver. The empty row of seats afforded us a bit more room to move around, plus extra space for our luggage which consisted of airplane carry-on bags and a soft sided duffle bar. Safari is definitely one trip where you need to travel light. Most of the tented camps have a laundry service, although in one camp our laundry seemed to come back dirtier than when we sent it in.

There are safari visitors who prefer to fly from bush camp to bush camp, avoiding the rough roads and dust. The flights are typically an hour or two in small bush planes that fly in and out of the several dirt airstrips that dot the Serengeti and surrounding areas. However, driving from camp to camp turns into a continuous game drive and allows the opportunity to stop anywhere along the route to observe an animal previously not seen or to watch a group of incredible giraffes feasting on the treetops.

The drive from Tarangire to the Ngorongoro Crater is about 100 miles over relatively good gravel roads.

Upon arrival, we stopped at the main gate of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to pick up our permit before ascending to about 7,000 feet above sea level to get our first look at this World Heritage Site. Talk about taking your breath away.

From the rim of the once volcano that erupted several million years ago and left the world’s largest dry caldera in its wake, the view across the 10-mile wide crater is spectacular. Surrounded by a continuous rim of what remains of the volcano, the valley below contains almost every species of east African animals except for the giraffe, which could never navigate its way down the steep slopes of the crater.

As we descended into the crater on a dirt road, we passed several Maasai villages and their herds of cattle. Years ago, the government of Tanzania took away much of the land claimed by the Maasai Tribes and turned the areas into national parks with the mandate that the tribes could not live in the national parks. Instead, the Maasai Tribes were relegated to live in the conservation areas that were established by the government. The Ngorongoro Crater is one such conservation area so the Maasai people have learned to live in harmony with wildlife that occupies the crater floor. Although the cattle roam freely, they are herded into corrals at night to keep the predators from having them for dinner.

Once on the vast flat floor of the crater, there are dirt roadways that lead in all directions and numerous of safari vehicles. One of the popular lunch spots in the crater is the Hippo Pool, home to hundreds of hippos just lounging around in the large lake. Here we could get out of our vehicle to enjoy our box lunch along with other visitors and the hippos who obliged everyone by putting on shows of playfulness with each other. Although we ended up seeing all of the “Big Five” (the rhinos were a distance away and not reachable by vehicle due to the driving restrictions requiring vehicles to stay on the dirt roads), the crater itself was the main attraction. To see the vast number of animals all co-existing, at least during the day, was remarkable, but the sound of the wind blowing across the crater floor combined with the animal sightings was a moment to remember.

After spending several hours in the crater, it was time to make our ascent to our tented camp for the night before making our way to our next stop – the Serengeti. The word Serengeti is derived from the Maasai language and translates as “endless plain”. The name and the place were remarkable.   Upon entering the Serengeti at the Naabi Hill Gate and climbing to the top of the local kopje, or rock outcropping, the views were as far as the eye could see. We stopped to pick up our permit, have a quick bite to eat and then set off to the central Serengeti for overnight stay at Ang’ata Serengeti Camp.

The drive to the camp over the usual dirt/gravel roads, traveled at about 40 MPH to help smooth out the rough road. The faster one drives, the less one feels all the ruts in the road. While this may be true because all the vehicles we saw along the way were traveling at this speed, unfortunately, what is sacrificed for relative comfort is given up for the endless dust, and the tsetse flies which somehow manage to get into the vehicle even at that speed. Our pop-top was open to keep the temperature inside the vehicle somewhat comfortable and to be able to view the variety of animals along the way, but a dust mask or a bandana would have helped to keep from inhaling the dust. I kept reminding my wife that we were in the Serengeti so deal with it – which she did quite admirably.

Several years ago, my wife, one of my daughters and I visited the ancient city of Petra in Jordan with its many rock carved buildings. After about a 45-minute walk through a gorge to get to the city, I was astonished to find a young man sitting on a camel talking on his cell phone. Well, hate to say it, but cell phone service is everywhere in the Serengeti too. Our driver got his share of calls, although most communication between vehicles is by radio.

One never knows what you’ll see along the route and this came true when we spotted a spitting black cobra in the middle of the road. Said explained that this cobra can spit its venom up to 10’ at the same time it lunges toward its prey. Needless to say, there were several vehicles stopped on the road just watching the cobra and not wanting to disturb it for fear of being its next victim. The venom can be deadly if it gets in your eyes or even on your skin. Fortunately, after about 10 minutes, it decided the show was over and slithered its way to the side of the road and was gone.

After an overnight stay in central Serengeti, we left camp early and headed for what we hoped would be the highlight of our safari – the Great Migration and river crossings in the north Serengeti. It’s hard to imagine thousands of animals roaming the plains, all with a common goal to search the fertile plains full of grasses that sustain their lives. This is the Great Migration and we were thrilled to witness it.

The wildebeests and zebras have a very symbiotic relationship. Generally when we came across a group of zebras, we would notice that while standing next to each other, one zebra would be looking left and the other looking right. When we asked Said about this anomaly, he told us that the zebras and wildebeests complement each other in a couple of ways. The reason the zebras are looking in different directions is because they have excellent eyesight and can spot predators off in the distance. The wildebeests, on the other hand, have excellent hearing and can distinguish the faintest sounds of approaching predators. Hence, the eyes and the ears working together help keep each other alert and alive. Also, the zebras eat the tall grasses while the wildebeests eat the shorter grasses. Got to love mother nature.

Wildebeests travel in herds that are led by one leader. From what we saw during our days in the north Serengeti, the herds varied from several hundred wildebeests to several thousand. So, imagine driving on a dusty road in the Serengeti, surrounded by nothing but endless plains and thousands of animals – wildebeests, zebras and gazelles. It is simply overwhelming and difficult to describe. As we drove through these herds towards the Mara River, the animals would scatter to the sides of the road, but amazingly staying with their herd as they followed the leader crossing the river on their way to the Masa Mara.

The Great Migration is a year-round event, but the river crossings only occur as the herds head north through the Serengeti from around June through September. There are about 16 known crossing points on the Mara River that are historically used by the herds. Call it instinct or just mother nature again, but these crossing points are well documented by the safari companies and their drivers. The drivers are constantly alerting each other via radio when it looks like a crossing is eminent.

There is an unspoken rule about waiting for a herd to cross. Herds are approaching the river every day during the months previously noted and the safari vehicles give them a wide berth so as not to disturb the leader’s pathway. When it’s evident that a leader is preparing to make its move to the river bank, all the vehicles hang back a few hundred yards, waiting along the tree line or the road that leads to the river. We witnessed a leader take its herd, numbering in the hundreds, to the water’s edge, then for some unknown reason, decide to turn away and walk back up the river bank to the plains. Why the leader and herd decided not to cross is just another mystery of nature.

We spent the most of our first day at the river, riding up and down the river from location to location, in the hopes of seeing a crossing. Said assured us that he would eventually lead us to a crossing. The stars must have been aligned because we were not disappointed for long.

Our first night at Kazkas Mara Camp was extraordinary. From the front of our luxury tent, which was about the size of 3 hotel rooms, the plains were spread out before us and filled with herds of wildebeests and zebras as far as the eye could see. We knew that the herds were heading to the Mara River, but were probably two or three days away since our camp was about a 45-minute drive to the river.

As in all the safari camps, one does not venture outside of one’s tent at night without an escort who was usually a Maasai tribesman. The reason is simple – during the day, the predators are used to seeing vehicles and people in the vehicles. At night, anything that moves may be the predator’s next meal so the Maasai have their flashlights and spears just in case there is a predator close by. The predators may stay away from the camps at night, but the wildebeests and zebras do not. Each night we would heard the wildebeests and zebra right outside our tent eating the grasses. They would snort and grunt to the point where we thought they were somehow inside the tent with us. Fortunately, we were told about these visitors at night so we were not completely freaked out when it happened.

We got a 7:30 AM start the next morning and headed back to the river. On the way, we came across several hyenas who were enjoying a wildebeest that they had obviously killed during the night. We also stopped to watch a pride of lions, but we were anxious to get to the river which we did at 9:00. There is one “bridge” (more like an elevated concrete road with large gaps along it to let the river pass underneath) that crosses the Mara River at the Kogatende airstrip. Said apparently heard on the radio that a herd looked like it was getting ready to cross at a location on the opposite side of the river so we took a chance and drove about 20 minutes to the location. We were pleased for, shortly after arriving, a small herd of about 300 wildebeests followed its leader into the river and made the crossing. We were obviously excited at seeing our first river crossing although it only lasted about 10 minutes due to the size of the herd. Said then heard on the radio that another crossing looked like it was about to happen close by, so off we went to hopefully catch another crossing. We arrived in time to see our second crossing which looked to be about the same size herd as the first crossing except that there were zebras scattered about within the herd. As the herd crossed, the zebras seemed to hesitate as they entered the water and ended up turning around to where they started out. We never did see the zebras cross this time or any other time we spotted them close to the river.

Some say we were lucky or probably in the right place at the right time, but we ended up seeing a total of six crossings that day. The best was saved for the last.

Before crossing back over the Mara River to the south banks, we came across a sighting that hadn’t come up in any conversations or in safari guide books. Hundreds of thousands of wildebeests cross the Mara River every year. Inevitably, many never make it across due to fatigue, age, too strong of a river current or attacks by the infamous Nile crocodiles. At one point, hundreds of these unfortunates got caught by rocks or other obstacles in the river and simply piled up against each other’s carcasses forming a dam of dead wildebeest bodies. Standing on top of the bodies were hundreds of vultures, feasting on the dead wildebeests. The smell of death was stifling to the point of choking, but the sighting was profound for its macabre reality. Mother nature once again at work.

After crossing back over the Mara, we drove east along the river banks and were alerted by other drivers that a large herd was making its way to the river about a 20-minute drive away. Off we went in pursuit of another river crossing. We arrived to see a herd estimated at about three thousand following the leader along the river with what we hoped to be the intent to cross. As mentioned earlier, all the safari vehicles give a wide berth to a herd so as not to spook the leader and cause it to turn the herd away from the crossing. So, we waited patiently along with about 25 other vehicles, hoping for a huge crossing.

I’m not sure who sounded the alarm that the leader was heading down the embankment and into the water. Like a scene out of a Mad Max film, vehicles were charging out from their holding spots, making a hurried dash to the river to gain the best viewing spot available. Said did a good job manipulating our vehicle into a spot about 20 yards from the point of entry from which we could watch this incredible sight of hundreds of wildebeests stampeding into the river to swim, jump and maneuver across the river current. My Nikon also takes videos so I focused on the river and let the camera roll as the herd crossed and headed up the opposite bank to relative safety from the danger lying await in the river. Nothing it seemed would stop the continuous stream of animals. This was the first of four large herd crossings we saw that day, but the coup de gras was the last crossing of the day for we saw an encounter between a wildebeest and a Nile crocodile.

On occasion, one is lucky to see a crocodile come up out of the water and grab a wildebeest with its large jaws. A couple from Canada who was staying at our camp told us they witnessed such a killing. However, many battles between wildebeests and crocodiles happen quite differently as we observed during this last river crossing.

When a herd begins crossing, they stampede down the river bank to the opposite bank. Before you know it, the river is full of wildebeests maybe six to eight across, jumping over each other and any obstacles in their way. As we watched in amazement, I caught sight of a crocodile leaving its perch on a rock upstream and gliding into the water. I kept my camera’s video focused on the herd as the crocodile made its way closer and closer to the animals. I suddenly lost sight of the crocodile, but then noticed a wildebeest struggling to reach the opposite bank.

As I later learned, crocodiles will take hold of a wildebeest’s foot and hang onto the animal until it is exhausted and ultimately gives up its struggle to get free. Also, the Nile crocodiles only eat once a year when the migration crosses the river. For the rest of the year, they only eat small animals along the river banks or maybe a fish or two.

Back to the wildebeest that couldn’t escape from the jaws of the crocodile. Turns out that the wildebeest somehow got loose and made it to the opposite river bank, but as it left the river, I could see one of its legs barely hanging on its upper body. So, although it made it across, it would eventually die from loss of blood or be easy prey for a close predator.

For the thousands of wildebeest and occasional zebra that make it across the Mara River, the sacrifice of several hundred that don’t make it seem a small price to pay for the rest of the herd. Dangers still lie ahead for the herds that roam the Serengeti and the Masa Mara, for the predators are plentiful and have no problem finding their next meal.

The last crossing must have gone on for a good 30 to 40 minutes. I took video for about 10 minutes and finally shut off the camera so I could watch the seemingly endless stream of wildebeests charging into the river for their journey north. To see the herds crossing the Mara River is a natural phenomenon not to be missed if one goes on safari.

After a fantastic three days in north Serengeti, it was time to move on to our next destination – Victoria Falls. We said our goodbyes to the incredibly friendly people of Tanzania, and especially to Said, our driver and companion for the last eight days. We thanked him for all the animals we saw, watched, learned about and awed at, as well as the trek through the endless plains of the Serengeti. We vowed to hopefully return again one day to watch the Great Migration.

We then boarded our 10-passenger bush plane at the Kogatende airstrip and headed for Arusha.

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