Safari lovers should look out of Africa
Reef and Rainforest Tours, the operator specialising in upmarket wildlife viewing holidays, suggests that travellers in search of premier safari experiences should look beyond Africa.
A selection of top itineraries include:
• INDIA: TIGER, RHINO, LION & LEOPARD
• BRAZIL: JAGUAR, GIANT OTTER, TAPIR & GIANT ANTEATER
• VENEZUELA: GIANT ANACONDAS, PUMAS & PINK RIVER DOLPHINS
• PERU: AMAZONIAN RAINFOREST WILDLIFE
INDIA: TIGER, RHINO, LION & LEOPARD
Rajasthan is renowned as India’s best wildlife viewing area, so it’s no surprise that Reef and Rainforest Tours’ 17-day Birds, Big Cats and Cultural Highlights of Northern India tour begins in the heart of this region at Bhandavgarh, one of the best parks for tiger sightings as well as a host of other fauna. The tour also takes in the world-famous birdwatching reserve of Keoladeo (Bharatpur) and a rarely visited region south of Jodhpur, Siana. This is where Sir David Attenborough’s Life of Mammals team shot footage of leopard and is where visitors are likely to see a number of these elusive cats, as well as blackbuck and perhaps caracal. Prices from £3,090 per person double occupancy.
The 18-day India’s Rhinos, Lions and Coral Islands tour features Assam in the east and the Kaziranga National Park, a special reserve located on the flood plain of the Brahmaputra River, near the Burmese border. The rare one-horned rhinoceros lives in large numbers within the park and visitors are able to view them by jeep or on elephant back. Wild elephant and buffalo herds and a number of tiger also populate this area, as well as many rare birds. The tour also visits the Gir reserve in Gujarat, last stronghold of the Asiatic lion, and the Indian Ocean islands of the Lakshadweep archipelago with their colourful coral reefs and golden sands. Prices from £4,266 per person double occupancy.
BRAZIL: JAGUAR, GIANT OTTER, TAPIR & GIANT ANTEATER
The Pantanal is South America’s most impressive wildlife viewing destination and The Kingdom of the Jaguar: The Wildlife of Brazil’s Pantanal and Southern Amazonia tour explores the northern Pantanal in depth. Home to the continent’s largest predator, the jaguar, which feeds on marsh deer, giant otter and caiman, the Pantanal is also an oasis for other wildlife from jabiru stork and capybara to puma and giant anteater. Guests stay at a traditional wildlife ranch and in a tented riverside camp from where boat rides are undertaken for virtually guaranteed jaguar sightings over a three-night period. This is where Channel 5 filmed Nigel Marven’s Jaguar Adventure.
Prior to arrival at the Pantanal, guests explore southern Amazonia, staying at a top-class lodge with a nocturnal tapir hide and 50-meter high canopy platform for bird’s eye views of the surrounding forest. Giant otter and jaguar can also be seen here as well as many primates and a vast array of bird species. Prices from £3,996 per person double occupancy.
VENEZUELA: GIANT ANACONDAS, PUMAS & PINK RIVER DOLPHINS
The Venezuela Flatlands, Rainforests and Caribbean Coast tour begins in the heart of the vast Flatlands, (Los Llanos) with three days of guided wildlife excursions during which participants have the opportunity to view the pink river dolphin, giant anaconda, ocelot, puma, jaguar, capybara, Orinoco crocodile, black caiman, giant anteater and the primitive hoatzin.
Next, a flight over vast expanses of virgin rainforest, table mountains, waterfalls and rivers, transports visitors to a small and remote lodge on the Rio Ventuari, a large tributary of the impressive Orinoco River. Here, boat excursions along miles of river bordered by primary lowland rainforest aims to reveal grey river dolphin, scarlet macaw, and rufous-winged ground cuckoo, amongst others. The trip ends on the Los Roques archipelago in the Caribbean, a beautiful marine national park of coral islands surrounded by dazzling fish-filled reefs. Prices from £3,233 per person double occupancy.
PERU: AMAZONIAN RAINFOREST WILDLIFE
The south-east Peruvian Amazonia has been aptly described as the richest biological area in the world. This is home to vast numbers of diverse species and an amazing concentration of varied flora. A flight to Puerto Maldonado followed by a journey in excess of a hundred miles by motorised canoe, takes visitors deep into the primary rainforest and an exclusive, luxury jungle lodge with just eight individual cabanas.
The lodge has a 17,000 acre private reserve inhabited by some of the highest mammal densities so far recorded in the region as hunting and logging have been banned in the surrounding land. A five-night stay in the rainforest brings daily encounters with giant river otters, a wide array of monkeys from red howlers to saddle-backed tamarin, caiman, anteater and two-toed sloth. Various clay licks, which attract large herds of peccaries and numerous macaws and parrots, can be found deep inside the forest, while specially constructed hides and a 120ft canopy platform ensure that visitors see a spectacular variety of wildlife during their stay.
Reef and Rainforest’s 16-day Peru’s Amazing Amazonian and Andean Attractions tour combines the rich Amazonian Rainforest with highlights of the Andes (the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Cusco, part of the Inca Trail, and the spectacular citadel of Machu Picchu) and the highest navigable lake in the world, Lake Titicaca. Prices from £3,550 per person double occupancy.
PRICES, based on shared double or twin accommodation, include international and domestic flights, transfers, accommodation, most entrance fees, guide services, tour leader expenses, meals as stated.
For more information and bookings, visit Reefandrainforest.co.uk.