Places In New Zealand That Don’t Feel Real

By Katie Manly, Swain Destinations

New Zealand is for adventure seekers of all levels.

Its Māori culture is renowned for being welcoming and wise.

The adventure on offer ranges from mild to high octane. 

Its landscapes have become immortalized thanks to the many films it has set the backdrop for, including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, because of its otherworldly natural formations. Here are just a few amazing places in New Zealand that will make you feel like your life is a movie…

On the South Island, witness the pristine wilderness of the Fiordland National Park. Experience the unspoiled beauty of the Southern Alps with a helicopter tour of Fiordland National Park’s breathtaking wilderness. A landing at Milford Sound, where you can indulge in a delightful picnic lunch, will be an absolute highlight of your time in New Zealand as its beauty is so legendary, that it is almost folklore.

There’s no place quite like Queenstown for adventure seekers. Known for its breathtaking landscapes, it’s no wonder that it is considered the adventure capital of the world – who wouldn’t want to see this iconic destination from every angle? Take a leap from an airplane or bungee from the iconic Kawarau Bridge for a bird’s eye view. Prefer to keep your feet closer to the ground? Get the adrenaline pumping from a more reasonable height; try jetboating or whitewater rafting on the Shotover River. But, if your stomach does somersaults at the thought of it all, you can still enjoy Queenstown’s picturesque scenery from aloft by scenic helicopter flight, ATV, cycling, or hiking the countryside.

After an action-packed adventure in Queenstown, an escape to blissful seclusion in the Ahuriri Valley, a destination truly off the beaten path, is a must-do. Home of the Ahuriri River, a legendary spot for world class fly fishing, it is considered to be in the top five best places to cast a line across the planet. If fly fishing isn’t your area of expertise, there is still plenty of adventure on offer. Hiking, horseback riding, and star gazing all top the list as must-dos in this beautiful part of the country.

After recharging your spirit in the expansive wilderness of the Ahuriri Valley, put your explorer boots on and hike the estimated 16,000-year-old Tasman glacier and marvel at the beauty of Mount Cook. Spot dolphins, whales, seals, and adorable little blue penguins at Marlborough Sounds before traveling through the rolling hills of the Marlborough wine region in search of your favorite Sauvignon Blanc.

Stay a few nights in the cultural and architectural capital of the South Island, Christchurch, a city on the sea with a small-town feel. Christchurch also serves as the gateway to Akaroa and Kaikoura. Kaikoura is a seaside settlement renowned for its variety of marine mammals, including the giant sperm whale and the acrobatic Dusky Dolphins. Kaikoura is overlooked by majestic, snow-capped mountains. Experiencing this stunning alpine scenery while swimming with dolphins is a memory which will stay with you for a lifetime.

On the North Island, visit the ancestral home of the Te Arawa, a Māori tribe whose people came by canoe and settled the area more than 600 years ago. This is Rotorua, famous for its geothermal springs, bubbling pools of sulfuric mud, and geysers. Allow the locals to show their Māori history and hospitality in all its glory, sharing a meal cooked from the steaming ground, a traditional Haka performance, and indulgent spa therapy.

A couple hours’ drive away through dairy farms and kiwi fruit orchards, Waitomo Caves are subterranean limestone caverns with something unique deep within. Arachnocampa Luminosa, or glow worms as they’re lovingly called, are found exclusively in New Zealand and light up the Waitomo Caves as though they were decorated for the holidays.

This is just a small sampling of the awe-inspiring destinations in New Zealand that don’t feel as though they belong to this planet. Well worth the trip, these places will have you wondering how you’ve lived this long without bearing witness to these otherworldly vistas for yourself.

About the author:

Katie Manly, VP of Sales & Marketing at Swain Destinations

As the VP of Marketing and Sales at Swain Destinations, I craft the communications and advertising that represent a truly knowledgeable and purpose-driven team of master designers of luxury travel – a responsibility that I am honored to have been given. As part of my job, I am lucky enough to travel to our destinations all over the world, just as our clients do. Traveling as a Swain Destinations client would is a privilege of my job and also part of what makes Swain Destinations so successful, as we experience what our clients experience – whether on safari, snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, or even taking my family to meet the real Santa Claus in the Arctic Circle. I truly believe that travel has the capacity to create personal connections and fulfillment so strong that it changes us for the better, which is why I am so passionate about what we do here at Swain Destinations.

About Swain Destinations

Swain Destinations are Master Designers of luxury travel. Our Team has been meticulously planning personalized vacations to Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific Islands, Africa, and the Middle East for over 35 years. Nothing we ever do is cookie-cutter. We have access to places and excursions that can only come with time, relationships, and experience. It is our culture of integrity, value, and personal service that makes us the luxury traveler’s choice and is why our philosophy is “luxury with heart”.

The Plight of the Forest Person

By: Ralf Korber – SITA World Tours

Wake up is at 3am. Breakfast. At 4am we get into our two boats, ten of us in each simple, open craft to go down the lower Kinabatangan River to the Bornean village of Sukau where a bus will be waiting returning us to Sandakan airport. The river is wide here. It is dark and low fog is hanging over the water. The stars and half-moon are beautiful, but we cannot see the riverbank. A strangely delightful experience. The remoteness of this place is palatable. And how do the boat drivers navigate safely in this foggy darkness?

Our small group had spent three days in a rainforest lodge at the Kinabatangan, Orangutan and other wildlife trekking. We were folks in our 60s, 70s and three of us were octogenarians, all nature and animal lovers. Most of us visiting were aware that the world we had entered was under threat. Three days earlier on our two-hour ride from Sandakan to the tiny hamlet of Sukau, where the boats were waiting to take us upriver, we had transited a landscape of rolling hills with palm oil plantations. These palms lined up in orderly rows to the horizon. A man-made landscape. Impressive and at the same time ominous. The home of the Orangutan no more.

The rainforest the Orangutans call home today is a relatively narrow stretch of secondary forest along the river. Primary forest lands here had been logged decades earlier we learned. Classroom style information shared with us at the rainforest lodge was honest and thorough. Informative maps highlighted the remaining wildlife space in comparison to the vast surrounding palm oil lands truthfully.

Patches of rain forest along the river, a few square miles each and not all connected to each other. “Does this mean the Orangutan population cannot cross breed to keep the gene pool healthy”? “Do they cross over the palm oil plantation space to the next forest patch”? Those were questions we had. They were met by euphemistic answers. “The government is aware”, we were told. And “Orangutans are the slowest breeding mammals and inbreeding issues would earliest become a challenge in 100 years”.

Nevertheless, trekking through these forests is a rewarding adventure. The nature guides we had contracted were phenomenal and much needed. All of us were from US metro areas and therefore had developed urban sensory expertise. Useless here. The guides saw things we would not. The trekking itself is not always easy. One must cross creeks and ditches and while it is fun to slide down a muddy embankment, try to climb up on the other side. Some of us needed help, a push or pull. The nature guides performed well in this, too. It made for good laughs as did the ever-present leech avoidance efforts. The lodge sells leech-socks at a nominal fee, a garment most were unfamiliar with, but all added quickly to their wardrobe. And one can rent rubber boots.

With the help of the guides, we found orangutans in the forest including a mother and son duo. Magic moments. For a minute the thought of danger confronting these amazing animals is forgotten.

Some of us also took boats to travel to the forest. Ideal for older visitors. There are plenty of natural side channels to the Kinabatangan, some of them narrow. It is easy to meet a variety of rainforest creatures. During one such moment, we came across a 23-member troop of Long-Tailed Macaques. The sun was setting; bedtime. The adults were already resting on various branches of a large tree right at the water’s edge, yet one juvenile couldn’t settle down and visibly annoyed the seniors by jumping around. We lingered for a while watching the spectacle. An Asian elephant family delighted with considerable noise a few moments later.

The touristic service part of our visit was impressive. Nature guides enhance the experience. The river lodge was well done, built on an elevated wood frame construction to keep distance to the forest floor. There were two-bedroom units to each chalet. The units were air conditioned. The power is solar cell generated with traditional generators as emergency backup. Daily fresh food. Malaysian cuisine is fusion cuisine by cultural default, a mixture of Malay, Chinese, Indian. Very tasty.

We learned a lot. A question remains: how will the Orangutan, a creature with about 97 percent of our own DNA, survive man’s relentless expansion into their habitat? Or will they?

About SITA World Tours

With 89 years of exemplary service in travel, SITA remains as the go-to tour operator for exotic destinations worldwide. Headquartered in Los Angeles, SITA is renowned for its highly experienced team of international specialists and is dedicated to travel excellence in every element of its programs. As a deluxe, luxury tour operator specializing in Packaged, Independent, Customized and Groups travel, SITA has become a key source for both the Consortium and Agent network nationwide. SITA’s well-planned tours focus on a destination’s culture, history and unique geography providing the greatest value to clients.

About Ralf Korbner – SITA World Tours

Growing up on a horse ranch in Germany with a younger brother, two cousins and lots of animals, travel was part of our annual family rhythm as long as I can remember. Summers were spent in Italy or Spain, winters in Austria for skiing and there were trips to the Baltic Sea or along the Rhine and Mosel with visits to castles and towns along those rivers. After graduating from high school on an island in the North Sea and while a university student in Germany, friends and I drove all over Europe during summer vacations. Those trips also included Turkey, Morocco and several of the countries then still behind the Iron Curtain. I became a member of the travel industry community after completing my studies at a California university. Visits to countries in Asia, Africa and travel in Australia and New Zealand have since broadened my geographic and cultural knowledge.

Germany’s Wood Wide Web

By: Ralf Korbner of SITA World Tours

About 30 percent of German lands are tree covered. Germans have long had a mythological identification with their forests.  In German literature, the forest has often been portrayed as a place of happiness and contentment where people feel protected from social pressures and the chaos of everyday life.  

Hermann Hesse comments: “A longing to wander tears my heart when I hear trees rustling in the wind at evening. If one listens to them silently for a long time, this longing reveals its kernel, its meaning. It is not so much a matter of escaping from one’s suffering, though it may seem to be so. It is a longing for home, for a memory of the mother, for new metaphors for life. It leads home.”  

Prussian poet Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff expressed how the forest embodied freedom and the idea of home: “Gentle rustling in the treetops – Little birds flying afar – Springs bursting from silent peaks – Tell me where my homeland lies.” 

Towards the end of the 18th century, Romanticism became a dominant theme in poetry, painting and music including in the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. The forest is the stage: Little Red Riding Hood meets the Wolf, Hansel and Gretel are abandoned, four mistreated animals become the Town Musicians of Bremen. German Romanticism also stylized the forest as a symbol of unity. The forest is more than the sum of its trees. It is a central part of German identity and culture that today is becoming a defining symbol of a sustainable future.

Fast Forward:

Wood Wide Web is a term Canadian research scientist and professor of forestry Suzanne Simard first coined twenty-five years ago. Simard tells us that trees communicate with each other. She describes how they are interconnected, send each other messages and she speaks about the prominence of all important mother trees.

Simard and the German forester Peter Wohlleben are on the forefront of a much-needed new understanding of how trees live, and forests thrive. A few years ago, Wohlleben described the Hidden Life of Trees in his New York Times bestseller.

Modern Germans understand that the mystical and religious connection of their long-ago forbearers, who believed their Gods resided in tree groves, is today the very practical knowledge that healthy forests are needed for our survival.

Four experiences of many available:

Sixty miles south-east of Berlin is the Spree Forest, a water meadow setting that has managed to stay largely natural in spite of centuries of human activity. The UNESCO World Heritage listed Spree Forest Biosphere Reserve mixes a mosaic of meadows, fields and forests with waterways. Ideal for a variety of plant and wildlife, a visit also highlights the customs and traditional costumes of the Slavic Sorbs minority living here. One-day or multiple-day visits can be included in any itinerary. The area and waterways allow for bikes, canoe or very enjoyable, traditional Spree Forest barge travel.

Some fifty-five miles south-west of Cologne (35 miles from Bonn) we will find the Waldakademie (forest academy) Wohlleben in the small town of Wershofen. The aforementioned Wohlleben is Germany’s tree whisperer. His academy provides guided tours and overnight adventures in the protected, adjacent forest reserve familiarizing the visitor with the emerging understanding of how trees communicate with each other through their root- network, warn and protect each other from danger, and look after their off-spring. 

The town of Neuschoenau, some thirty-five miles from Passau, puts you at the center of the Bayerischer Wald. Munich is under three car hours to the south. Here the woodland of beech, spruce and fir is densely packed with tall trees, wild and ancient. However, it is accessible offering many hiking paths and even a treetop walkway with gorgeous views of the surrounding Bavarian landscape.

The UNESCO World Heritage site Hainich Forest, twenty miles from Eisenach of Luther and Wartburg fame, features the last remaining central European beech forest. The forest offers miles of hiking paths, a canopy walk and horseback riding. During winter one can take horse drawn sleigh rides. And there are guided tours available, explaining every aspect of the forest and how care is taken to safeguard its continued health.

Find your dream vacation to Germany with a USTOA tour operator here https://ustoa.travelstride.com/trip-list/germany

About the author: Growing up on a horse ranch in Germany with a younger brother, two cousins and lots of animals, travel was part of our annual family rhythm as long as I can remember. Summers were spent in Italy or Spain, winters in Austria for skiing and there were trips to the Baltic Sea or along the Rhine and Mosel with visits to castles and towns along those rivers. After graduating from high school on an island in the North Sea and while a university student in Germany, friends and I drove all over Europe during summer vacations. Those trips also included Turkey, Morocco and several of the countries then still behind the Iron Curtain. I became a member of the travel industry community after completing my studies at a California university. Visits to countries in Asia, Africa and travel in Australia and New Zealand have since broadened my geographic and cultural knowledge.

Best Wildlife Experiences with African Travel, Inc. That Go Beyond Your Big Five Bucket List

By Chelsea Todaro of African Travel

Wildlife in Africa is so vast and plentiful, it’s sometimes hard to choose where you can find the best animal encounters.

Whether it’s the big five, exotic birds, desert roamers, or aquatic life you’re searching for, an African safari will deliver for any wildlife preference. You can still enjoy sundowners, culinary delights and other luxury experiences while on safari, but there’s also extraordinary wildlife encounters that will check off your big five bucket list and also contribute to sustainability.

African Travel Inc.’s safari experts curate wildlife experiences tailored to any traveler’s desires, and do so sustainably with their not-for-profit partner, TreadRight Foundation.

Below, African Travel Inc. breaks down the top wildlife safari experiences in Africa.

Help Save Rhinos in South Africa

At Shamwari Game Reserve you’ll learn about the important conservation work done to help save rhinos and big cat species. Shamwari is one of the largest conservation initiatives in Southern Africa, and every guest participates in the conservation story – whether it is a through a donation made for each guests’ visit or their own experience with the animals. Learn about the balance between wildlife and plant life from the rangers or meet the veterinarians and ecologists at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. If conservation is your passion, consider a two-week volunteer program with the Shamwari Conservation Experience.

A picture containing grass, outdoor, sky, mountain Description automatically generated

See the Greatest Show on Earth from Your Treehouse Balcony

In Tanzania, the Great Migration is a must-see as millions of Wildebeest, zebras and gazelles– to name a few–come together for the largest animal migration in the world. If you’re staying in the Serengeti, you can have your own private showing from your treehouse balcony at Tarangire Treetops. These luxury elevated suites are perched on platforms in the branches of age-old Baobab and Marula trees. It makes for some of the best panoramic wildlife viewing from a high altitude!

A picture containing indoor, room, furniture, area Description automatically generated

Close Encounters with Gorillas and Chimpanzees

To discover Rwandan wildlife, get your outdoor gear and camera ready as you hike into the rainforest mountains in search of the magnificent, and critically endangered, Silver Back Mountain Gorilla. Any fatigue from your mountain trek at Volanoes National Park will fade away with your first close glimpse of the gorillas while they forage and move through the forest. While visiting Nyungwe National Park, expert rangers will guide you during a chimpanzee trek deep in the rainforest. You’ll observe them playing wild and free, hooting and dashing through the trees—this is their home after all!

A picture containing mammal, primate, tree, ape Description automatically generated

Take Wildlife Photography Lessons in Botswana

Botswana offers one of the most diverse game-viewing in Africa with land and water safaris. At Botswana’s new Xigera Safari Lodge, travelers can relax for a night in the new Baobab treehouse experience and join the lodge’s wildlife photography expert Mike Myers on a private safari perfecting their photography skills. You’ll spot wildlife all over from the Okavango Delta’s diverse ecosystems—ranging from hippos, crocodiles, lions, leopards, elephants, wild dogs and a myriad of birds. Designed to frame the breathtaking floodplains and riverine forests, the Xigera’s spacious suites look out onto lily-filled lagoons, providing a front-row seat to the theatre of the African bush.

A picture containing outdoor, grass, tree, sky Description automatically generated

Take a River Cruise at the Mighty Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls is hailed as one of the world’s Seven Natural Wonders and attracts many wildlife species to its large water source. Sail upstream the Zambezi River on a sunset dinner cruise for a wildlife photographer paradise. Use binoculars to zoom in on the hippos cavorting in the river and look out for the elephants as they make their way to the riverbank for their last drink before settling down for the night.

A boat on the water Description automatically generated with medium confidence

Discover Pristine, Desert-Adapted Wildlife and Track Black Rhinos

On Namibia’s Skeleton Coast, you can discover desert-adapted animals that live in this harsh environment, like the unique lions, and the conservation efforts to try and ensure their survival. You’ll also see one of the greatest concentrations of desert elephant, along with Hartmann’s zebra, oryx, giraffe, springbok, and even lion and brown hyenas. Dramaland is recognized for having the largest free-roaming black rhino population in Africa. Enjoy the thrill of tracking these rhinos with expert rangers and learn about the work being done by Save the Rhino Trust.

A giraffe standing in a desert Description automatically generated with medium confidence

Chelsea Todaro is a Communications Specialist and Writer for The Travel Corporation, where she promotes family-owned travel brands across the globe. She graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a B.A. in Journalism and Multimedia Studies. Chelsea Todaro is also an opinion columnist for CEO World Magazine. Follow her on LinkedIn.

About African Travel, Inc. - ”We Know Africa” 
African Travel, Inc. is the longest established luxury safari operator based in the US focused exclusively on the African continent. With a team across North America and in Africa, the luxury safari operator creates unforgettable tailor-made journeys. Each trip also has a positive impact on the people, place and wildlife through their #AfricanTravelCares program and partnership with The TreadRight Foundation. African Travel is one of the most awarded safari companies, including a Travel +Leisure 2020 Top 10 World’s Best Safari Outfitter, and a proud member of The Travel Corporation (TTC), a family-owned company with more than 100 years of expertise in luxury travel.

5 Questions to Ask: Make Your Next Trip Animal-Friendly

5 Questions to Ask: Make Your Next Trip Animal-Friendly

By Dana Santucci, EF Education First, and Ben Williamson, World Animal Protection

Travelers increasingly seek unique experiences that they couldn’t get anywhere else. However, many tourists, whether they’re with a group or adventuring on their own, choose activities that put animals and wildlife at risk, even if they don’t do so intentionally. Younger generations tend to be more conscientious of animal welfare when making travel decisions, but there’s room for improvement among travelers of all ages.

Travelers and travel providers alike have a responsibility to leave destinations just the way – or better than – they found them. In the context of animal tourism, this means understanding that there’s more power in proactively protecting, promoting and facilitating animal welfare than there is in holding, petting or otherwise exploiting an animal.

In 2018, EF Education First (EF), became the first international education company to launch a global collaboration with World Animal Protection, a leading international nonprofit dedicated to animal welfare. We’ve worked together to remove activities from our travel experiences that don’t meet these animal welfare standards, including shows that involve animals and excursions that involve activities such as riding, petting, holding, feeding or swimming. We’ve also committed to educating our staff, Tour Directors and travelers about the importance of animal welfare, common misconceptions and how to recognize violations.

There are plenty of ways to see the world while contributing to its resiliency. For example, you can visit responsible elephant sanctuaries in Thailand and meet with “mahouts,” or elephant caretakers, to learn about their role in Thai culture; protect sea turtle habitats and vulnerable eggs in Costa Rica; or learn about overfishing and track endangered dolphins in the Amazon River.

*Instead of swimming with dolphins, volunteer to help with reef restoration, as this* *EF Educational Tours* *student did in the Dominican Republic. Photo Credit: EF Education First*

Whether you’re participating in an operator-led tour or are venturing out on your own, here are the top five things we at EF ask ourselves to make sure our trips are animal-friendly, and that you can use to make sure yours are, too:

What is the venue’s intent? A good rule of thumb is that if a venue offers guests direct interaction with animals, it doesn’t have wildlife’s best interest at heart. Look for venues dedicated to conservation, rehabilitation and ending mistreatment.

Are the animals well cared for and comfortable? Reputable venues will abide by the Five Domains of Animal Welfare, which state that animals must be given positive experiences and be free of pain and suffering. Animals have good lives under human care when they enjoy good physical and mental health; have balanced and varied nutrition; and are in an environment that allows them to express the widest possible range of natural behaviors.

Training elephants to accept humans on their back is a cruel process that breaks the animals’ spirit. Instead, consider visiting a sanctuary where you can help with their care and learn from local experts. *Photo Credit: EF Education First*

Are guests allowed to pet, ride or take selfies with animals? Prioritize venues that allow animals to exhibit natural behavior (such as grazing and wandering) and do not rely on exploitative animal entertainment such as animal shows, riding, petting or holding. People participate in these activities out of a love for animals, but don’t see the extreme mistreatment and abuse that go into them..

Is this activity an ethical gray area? Some venues, such as aquariums and zoos, run the gamut on animal care and facility standards. If you can’t see animals in a more natural environment, compare the facility against the Five Domains of Animal Welfare and prioritize venues whose conservation and rehabilitation efforts have been thoroughly vetted.

Have you done your research? Just because a venue says it’s a sanctuary doesn’t mean it’s an animal-friendly destination. Look beyond the venue’s website and do your own digging, such as looking for references to chains or petting activities in past customers’ reviews.

It has been an honor for our organizations to collaborate and develop these industry-leading standards, and we hope other travel organizations will adopt comprehensive animal welfare standards too. We all have a role to play in making sure our travels do not harm the animals that live in the destinations we visit. Before you book your next trip, make sure you check out additional resources, such as World Animal Protection’s guide on how to be an animal-friendly traveler and elephant-friendly tourist guide. By researching, educating ourselves and changing habits, we can make the world a better, safer place for all its inhabitants.

About EF Education First

Dana Santucci is Vice President for EF Education First and has worked for EF in a variety of capacities over more than 25 years. She has held senior positions in EF Go Ahead Tours, the organization’s adult travel division, as well as with EF Educational Tours and EF Explore America, both of which cater to educators and student travelers. Currently, she sits centrally and oversees a variety of special projects related to EF’s mission of opening the world through education. She serves on the executive board of directors for the USTOA and is the recent former Chairperson of the USTOA.

EF Education First (EF), founded in Sweden in 1965, provides culturally immersive education through language, travel, cultural exchange, and academic programs in over 100 countries around the world. EF’s mission is opening the world through education. Learn more by visiting https://ef.com.

About World Animal Protection

Ben Williamson is the U.S. Programs Director of World Animal Protection, a global animal welfare organization with offices in fourteen countries. Its mission is a world where animals live free from suffering. Ben oversees World Animal Protection’s five U.S. campaign areas (Wildlife. Not Entertainers; Exotic Pets; Pigs; Chickens; and Meat Reduction), and his areas of expertise include animals in entertainment, exotic pets, factory farming, vegetarian/vegan issues, cruelty to animals and humane education. Ben has nearly a decade of experience working for animal protection in both the U.S. and the United Kingdom.

World Animal Protection has moved the world to protect animals for more than 50 years. World Animal Protection works to give animals a better life. The organization’s activities include working with companies to ensure high standards of welfare for the animals in their care; working with governments and other stakeholders to prevent wild animals being cruelly traded, trapped or killed; and saving the lives of animals and the livelihoods of the people who depend on them in disaster situations. World Animal Protection influences decision-makers to put animal welfare on the global agenda and inspires people to change animals’ lives for the better.

Top Five Wildlife Encounters Off the Beaten Path

Top Five Wildlife Encounters Off the Beaten Path

By: Kelsi Auld, TCS World Travel

Nothing compares to the thrill of seeing animals in the wild. From encountering loveable lemurs only found in Madagascar to witnessing the epic Great Migration across the African savanna, first-hand animal experiences create unforgettable vacations, cherished memories and a deep appreciation for nature that lasts long after returning home. Discover how you can venture off the beaten track with TCS World Travel, who has been taking guests on incredible around-the-world journeys for over 25 years, to encounter extraordinary wildlife and enjoy adventure along the way.

Photo Courtesy of Karine Aigner

1. FOLLOW THE TRACKS OF TIGERS IN RANTHAMBORE NATIONAL PARK

On TCS World Travel’s upcoming Wildlife and Natural Wonders expedition, explore Ranthambore, once the royal hunting grounds for maharajas and the ideal destination for observing wild tigers in their natural habitat. Ranthambore National Park works hard to protect the diverse wildlife within its borders, including some 80 Royal Bengal tigers who rule their own dedicated sanctuary. Accompanied by an expert naturalist, embark on an early-morning game drive amid the dry tropical forests, scenic lakes and open grasslands for your best chance to follow the tigers in their daily routines.

Photo Courtesy of Karine Aigner

2. COME FACE-TO-FACE WITH MOUNTAIN GORILLAS IN RWANDA

Take the trek of a lifetime into the Rwandan rain forest and discover one of the most moving animal experiences: to observe the highly endangered mountain gorilla in the wild. These peaceful and powerful giants live in groups of up to 30 individuals and make their home in only three places in the world. Hike through the thick forests of Volcanoes National Park with knowledgeable local guides in search of a mountain gorilla family, and watch in awe as they munch leaves, groom each other and play.

3. WITNESS THE WILDLIFE OF THE MASAI MARA FROM ABOVE

Observe one of the world’s most ancient migration rituals from a hot air balloon. Every year, more than 30 species of herbivores and nearly 500 species of birds make the perilous trek across the Masai Mara plains, following the rains in search of lush feeding grounds. With a breathtaking bird’s-eye view, watch as the sun rises over the golden African savanna and witness millions of migrating wildlife—including wildebeest, zebras and gazelles—pour over the seemingly endless horizon.

4. SPOT ENDEMIC LEMURS IN MADAGASCAR

Due to its geographic isolation from Africa’s mainland, Madagascar is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. Some 80 percent of the island’s plants and animals exist nowhere else on the planet. And of all Madagascar’s impressive inhabitants, the most famous may be the lemur—60 species of this big-eyed mammal call the island home. From ring-tailed and wild black to Hawks’ sportive and Sifaka, see how many lemurs you can spot as you traverse the lush Lokobe National Park or Canyon des Singes (Canyon of Monkeys) with an expert naturalist guide.

5. ADVENTURE ACROSS LAPLAND BY DOG SLED

Explore Finland’s rugged frontier on TCS World Travel’s Winter Wonders expedition, offered during “Northern Lights season” when conditions are just right for spotting this astounding natural light display. Experience how Laplanders traveled before the arrival of snowmobiles by embarking on a snow safari by dog sled. Listen to the skids hissing softly as the dogs reach speed and the sled glides across the snow-covered wonderland. Set out on a nighttime ride to float underneath the breathtaking sky, or make the most of the precious daylight hours and opt for a daytime ride where you can get the chance to drive the team of huskies through snowy fells and forests with a dog sledding expert.

Want to learn more about these immersive wildlife experiences? Check out TCS World Travel’s upcoming journeys and discover how you can encounter some of the world’s most incredible creatures by private jet.

TCS World Travel has been enriching lives through jet expeditions and custom itineraries for over 25 years. With over 300 luxury jet expeditions to more than 200 destinations, TCS World Travel is the most experienced jet expedition company in the world. This expertise has led them to be named a top Tour Operator by Travel + Leisure magazine three years in a row.

9 Ways To Preserve The Polar Regions For Future Generations

9 ways to preserve the polar regions for future generations

Aspiring polar explorers learn about sustainability and conservation on polar voyages with Quark Expeditions

By Doug O’Neill, Quark Expeditions

It was one of those travel moments that was both Instagram-perfect—yet simultaneously soul-stirring. I stood on the deck of Ocean Adventurer as it sailed into Krossfjord, a 30-km long fjord on the west coast of Spitsbergen in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago. Most of my fellow passengers were at breakfast so I had the deck to myself, with my camera at the ready, my eyes peeled on the horizon for my first glimpse of Lilliehöök Glacier, and my ears alert for the signature thunder of glacier calving.

In the midst of all that anticipation of nature’s drama unfolding before me, I was suddenly overcome with a sense of quiet, a stillness that brought with it a razor-sharp clarity of my surroundings. My mind began to run through an inventory of every stunning image I had experienced in the days leading up to this moment: the sculpted icebergs, the expansive glaciers, the snow-capped mountains, the long-abandoned historic sites, the polar bears prowling along the ice edge, the reindeers that cantered past me when I was on a shore landing, the walruses that gazed at me as I kayaked 30 metres away, of the whales spotted from the ship, and of cliff-tops covered in thousands of nesting Brunnich’s guillemots.

And in my private polar epiphany, I was overcome not only with an intense appreciation for this pristine polar wilderness before me but also with a desire to protect it for every future visitor who came after me.

This realization was by no means unique to me—it’s a moment shared by many who visit the Arctic or Antarctic. And this raised a fairly basic question: what can guests do to help preserve the pristine polar regions?

For this answer, I turned to my colleague, Lyndsey Lewis, Operations + Sustainability Manager at Quark Expeditions, a long-time sustainability advocate and one of the forces behind Polar Promise, Quark Expeditions’ holistic sustainability framework for protecting the polar regions.

9 ways to be kind to the planet on your next polar voyage

By Lyndsey Lewis, Operations + Sustainability Manager

Pack and use only reusable bottles (the only option when on a voyage with Quark Expeditions), coffee cups and reusable bags that you can take home with you.
Choose refillable toiletry containers or non-plastic packaging that are free of microbeads. Your Quark Expeditions cabin is equipped with refillable dispensers of body wash and shampoo.
Don’t introduce non-native species. Pack clean gear, including clothing, footwear, and bags. Decontaminate boots before leaving and upon returning to the ship by using the provided Virkon disinfectant bath.
Bring a reusable waterproof bag to protect your camera and/or phone from the elements. (Avoid single-use plastics at all times.)
Don’t dispose of waste during shore landings. Where waste is unavoidable, bring along a reusable bag and carry the waste back onto the ship to be disposed of properly.
Support local communities in the Arctic: Purchase goods from local artisans during community visits in the Arctic, but don’t purchase important goods like groceries and supplies as stock is limited and deliveries are rare.
Follow the environmental and conservation guidelines established by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO), who outline strategies, policies and behaviors to protect the polar regions.
Place a bid during our onboard auctions: proceeds from our onboard auctions support polar research and conservation groups.
Become a Polar Ambassador. Talk to one of our Expeditions Team about becoming a Polar Ambassador. This program teaches you how to make changes to reduce your carbon footprint every day. It’s also your way of educating your respective communities on the importance of protecting the majestic polar regions.

Quark Expeditions is the leader in polar travels. Quark Expeditions has been taking global travelers on immersive journeys to the Arctic and Antarctica for almost three decades.

Meet the Primates: The Gorillas of Rwanda

By Jennifer Eremeeva

Jennifer Eremeeva was Alexander+Roberts manager of services in Russia for many years. An accomplished traveler, Jennifer writes about her adventures around the world frequently and recently published Lenin Lives Next Door, a witty depiction of life as an expat in Moscow.

It is telling an overwhelming number of travelers report that the steep, arduous climb of 1-4 hours to see the gorillas is a small price to pay for the exhilarating experience of witnessing these remarkable animals at work, play, and in the midst of intimate family interaction. It’s a long day, but an exhilarating one. Once the arduous climb is behind you, and the team of expert guides has located gorillas who have been adapted to humans in proximity, you need only sit quietly and marvel at these remarkable animals.

Photo Courtesy of Alexander+Roberts

According to the World Wildlife Fund, gorillas share a whopping 98.3% of DNA with humans; just one of the myriad of similarities that make gorillas so eerily familiar to humans. Researchers who have worked for over 40 years with Koko, a domesticated gorilla have been able to teach her over 1000 words in American sign language, in which Koko communicates her grasp of complex concepts such as happiness, remorse, and even the nature of death and dying. In their closely-knit family or “natal” units, gorillas display years-long nurturing of their young, which involves socialization into the broader community. We also know that they can fashion tools, which enable them to better exist in their native habitats.

Though still considered “critically endangered,” the gorilla population has shown encouraging demographic growth thanks in large part to the dedication of conservationists and the government of Rwanda. Stringent efforts to curb illegal hunting, poaching and the sale of gorilla body parts for trophies, traditional medicine, and charms have seen the population rise from 250 to its current estimate of approximately 1000.

Traditional gorilla “natal units” are led by a dominant older male, immediately recognizable by the silver hair on his back, which turns with age and gives these patriarchs their name of Silverback.

Gorillas and humans are similar not only in our unique fingerprints and facial features but also in the way we conduct intimate relationships and how we progress through our life cycles.

Photo Courtesy of Alexander+Roberts

Female gorillas mature at approximately 8-10 years, at which point they leave their own natal groups to avoid inbreeding and begin to search for a mate. When she finds a likely mate, the female initiates the mating ritual by pursing her lips and approaching a Silverback while maintaining prolonged eye contact with him.

If all of this sounds familiar, so too will the subsequent gestation period of 8-½ months. A female gorilla can expect to birth a baby once each 4-6 years for a total of 3-4 offspring in a lifespan.

The lengthy period between pregnancies is explained by the importance of parental care for the infants and juvenile gorillas. In extreme infancy, this care is provided by the mother, who feed infants on the hour and maintain close contact throughout the day with their young, including cuddling, grooming them, and wrapping them in her arms during sleep.

This close bonding gradually decreases as the infant enters the juvenile period at 4-5 years. At this point, the role of the father becomes more critical, particularly after the young gorilla is weaned. Up until this time, the father has acted primarily as a protector of the family unit from predators, but as the juvenile detaches from its mother and she enters a new cycle of ovulation, the father begins to play a more important role for the juvenile, helping him socialize into the larger community outside his tightly-knit natal unit.

Photo Courtesy of Alexander+Roberts

Since the 1990s, researchers have noted an interesting shift in the demographics of gorilla natal units, which appear to be expanding to larger numbers of up to 66. These expanded units boast multiple mature males as well as the traditional “harem” of females, though a Silverback is still the dominant patriarch. This shift may well be the gorillas’ evolutionary response to the threat of population decline, and the trend shows no sign of reversal.

Your arduous climb up the steep slope to their bamboo forests may well be rewarded by seeing female gorillas nurture their young, the playful antics of juveniles, overseen by a benevolent “babysitting” Silverback, mutual romantic grooming between a female and her mate, or even the mating ritual! So, put a meet up with gorillas on your travel bucket list!

Interested in learning more about Alexander+Roberts? Visit www.alexanderroberts.com or call 800-221-2216, 9am to 9pm, Monday through Friday.

Alexander + Roberts is proud to partner with Rwanda’s National Park Headquarters and their expert staff of gorillas experts and guides in our signature programs, Rwanda Gorilla Trekking. Contact one of our knowledgeable reservation agents to learn more about these unforgettable opportunities to meet the primates!

Marking its 72^nd year, Alexander+Roberts is an American travel company and a founding member of USTOA. Whether it’s a Small Group Journey with never more than 16 guests, a luxury Private Tour or a Custom Itinerary, Alexander+Roberts’ expert native-born guides can take travelers deeper inside the history, cultural traditions, personal stories and natural wonders of the world’s most fascinating places. Intimate hotels, luxury safari camps, congenial dining with wine, and authentic cultural encounters are among the Small Group and Private Travel highlights you won’t find on other tours.

Wildlife Viewing with Arctic Watch for the Active Traveler

By Daven Hafey, Quark Expeditions

Wildlife guide and documentary producer Daven Hafey has a passion for all things related to wildlife, weather, tides and Indigenous culture. He has guided on more than 40 polar expeditions, in the Canadian Arctic, Greenland, Alaska and the Antarctic.

The Arctic. Just speaking the name evokes a wide array of thoughts and emotions, of daydreams, and longing for those who seek wildlife adventures in the tundra and barren lands of the surreal landscape under the midnight sun. It’s this urge to explore the pristine wilderness of the High North that draws visitors to Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge, an off-the-grid base camp built to withstand the Arctic climate.

Located on the northern edge of Somerset Island, nearly 800 km north of the Arctic Circle, Arctic Watch is small, family-run, remote land-based lodge that enables visitors to explore the wilds of Canada’s Nunavut Territory.

One of the most popular draws to Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge is the prospect of witnessing the annual beluga whale migration to Cunningham Inlet on the island’s northern shores each summer. There, in the waters of Cunningham Inlet, the majestic belugas socialize and reconnect with hundreds of their species in the quiet and pristine waters off Peel Sound. Few wilderness experiences rival the vision of mother belugas and their calves playing in the shallows of Cunningham Inlet.

I’ve encountered so many other wildlife species during my visits to Arctic Watch Lodge. Muskox abound in the tundra and talus slopes of Somerset Island, along with Arctic hare, Arctic fox, and occasionally caribou. The King of the North, the polar bear, is often seen in the region, as the McClintock Channel on the west coast of Somerset Island is home to one of the more stable populations of polar bears in all of the Arctic. Migratory birds also take advantage of the short Arctic summer, congregating en masse to feed, breed and rear their young before returning south for the winter. Arctic terns and eider ducks are plentiful. The chance to observe such wildlife in their natural habitat is the appeal of the Arctic.

The active traveler has multiple wildlife-viewing options while staying at Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge:

By water: kayaks, stand-up paddle boards and rafts

Sea kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding are popular ways to explore Somerset Island. Imagine gliding through the pristine Arctic waters with sea ice on one side of you and dozens of belugas on the other, or propelling yourself forward on a stand-up paddle board in Cunningham Inlet while watching and listening to the belugas as they congregate in the same waters.

The expert team at Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge, operated by Richard Weber and Josée Auclair along with their sons Tessum and Nansen Weber, do their best to ensure guests get a fully immersive wilderness experience. That can mean navigating the rivers upstream of Cunningham Inlet to check out the water-filled canyons and waterfalls while on the look-out for musk ox, Arctic fox, and other iconic wildlife.

Exploring faster and further on a fat bike or an ATV

In the absence of developed trail systems, fat bikes provide an excellent means of exploring rocky beaches, hillsides, and ridgelines inhabited by myriad Arctic wildlife. Guests can also hop on an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) to explore a distant ridge or plateau land and then explore on foot. Lodges guides are available to drive should a guest prefer not to operate an ATV on their own.

Let’s Go Fishing

The team at Arctic Watch includes experienced fishing guides who can equip you with gear if you don’t bring your own. It’s hard to imagine a more pristine freshwater environment than the rivers, streams, and meltwater ponds of the High Arctic. Thawed and free-flowing for brief periods every summer, the cold, clean rivers and streams of the Far North are paradise for fish, especially Arctic char, which sometimes weigh more than ten pounds.

Take a leisurely approach to the Arctic wilderness

Visitors who feel the urge to absorb the wonders of the Arctic at a more leisurely, relaxed pace can go on a hiking or photography-themed outing – or they can simply choose to enjoy the Arctic wilderness in solitude. Joining a guided hike means you have the benefit of listening to staff recount endless stories and northern experiences, which provide historical, ecological, or cultural context. What better way to learn about the intricate, resilient, and delicate ecology of the Arctic wilderness.

Interested in learning more about Quark Expeditions? Visit www.quarkexpeditions.com.

Quark Expeditions is the leader in polar travels. Quark Expeditions has been taking global travelers on immersive journeys to the Arctic and Antarctica for almost three decades.

An Experience in the Polar Bear Capitol of the World

by an AFAR Ambassador

I arrived to Manitoba, Canada, for my polar bear expedition with Tauck, and within my first thirty minutes at the Inn at the Forks in Winnipeg, I knew that I was not only in another country: I had entered another world. Words like Inuit, mushing, ptarmigan, grouse, dainty and Inukshuk were mingled into my conversation with a young woman named Dene who welcomed me from Travel Manitoba, and I tried to decipher with context clues what these words actually meant.

Our group hopped a chartered flight the next morning to Churchill, the polar bear capitol of the world. Churchill is accessible only by plane or train, but plane is definitely the way to go: it’s a forty hour train ride from Winnipeg, due to environment factors and land conditions. We arrived to the warm Lazy Bear Lodge, our outpost over the next few days as we explored this remote Canadian town and searched for its most famous inhabitants.

The Lazy Bear Lodge

I felt very far from New York City

The culture of Churchill is a microcosm of Manitoba, as its year-round inhabitants have had to become resourceful and inventive in order to live here with its harsh weather conditions.

There is an open-car-door policy in this town: everyone is required to leave the doors of their cars unlocked, in the case that a resident is walking around and gets approached by a bear. Colin, our local guide for the trip, as well as Dale, our Tauck guide and also a Canadian, explained the protocol to us: “If you’re walking around and you see a polar bear, just jump into the closest vehicle and start honking the horn to scare it off– or at least, to notify people close by of the situation.” This was definitely a different kind of street awareness from what I deal with in New York City.

A majestic polar bear, spotted on our Tauck expedition.

In this place, polar bears are equally feared and respected. All Churchillians, as they fondly call themselves, know that the bears ruled this land way before they ever got here, and every effort is made to keep humans and bears living in harmony with one another. There is a polar bear alert team that stands watch on the town’s borders in the effort to minimize any bear-to-human contact. If that contact cannot be diverted and a bear engages in behaviors like coming in to town, attempting to break into homes or if it does anything that could potentially threaten the safety of Churchill’s residents, it is deemed a “bad bear” and put into “bear jail.” Formally known as the Polar Bear Holding Facility (but called bear jail by all of the locals), this is a holding facility for up to eight “inmates” who are detained and then released out on to the Bay as soon as the ice forms. The polar bear is the only bear that will actually stalk people and is extremely stealthy; people have learned to adapt, but a great reverence for nature is at the forefront of life in Churchill.

The Polar Bear Holding Facility. Humans cannot enter, as the goal is to keep the bears from becoming desensitized to human interaction.

The people here have all adjusted to a different way of life: the shipping season is incredibly short, as summer just lasts for a few months. A ship isn’t insured if it is in these arctic waters past October 31st, so in Churchill, Christmas in July really does exist. If you have ordered something at any point in the year and are waiting for it to come via ship (as most heavy items do for the sake of cost), it comes in July. Everyone in the town goes down to the docks and there is a huge celebration– that t.v. or snowmobile you ordered six months ago, has finally arrived.

Life in Churchill at Dave Daley’s Wapusk Adventures, where you can discover the culture of dogsledding and experience it for yourself.

Tauck seeks to make every experience incredibly special, with unique and customized glimpses into a place and its culture. One evening, we went to meet a Maite woman in her seventies named Myrtle, who uses storytelling to conserve her culture. She has built a museum in Churchill full of personal and familial belongings, a museum that she has gifted to the city with the hopes that it will carry on the the legacy of her life and her people, long after she is gone.

Learning from Myrtle, a native Maite storyteller.

We gather around as Myrtle tells stories of her childhood, of styling her hair with bear grease and of what it was like growing up as a trapper’s daughter. “Nobody wants a skinny woman,” she says. “The worst thing about a skinny woman is she wasn’t that cuddly. The men went for the biggest, hottest woman they could find to keep them warm in the winter.”

She continued on and had us all laughing and wide-eyed about her life here, and how it could be so incredibly different from our own– and even from the lives of people in her same country. Anything or anyone below Churchill is referred to as the “south” or as “southerners,” and rightfully so: only true people of the north have been able to adapt and carve out a life here over the past several thousand years.

Dogsledding with Wapusk Adventures.

We returned back to the Lazy Bear Lodge and Cafe, and I ordered a bison steak, mashed potatoes and some steaming hot tomato soup. I figured I needed to put a little more meat on my bones– to keep me warm, and because skinny women don’t belong in these parts. With a full belly and a happy heart that evening, I drifted off to sleep.

The delicious food served at the Lazy Bear Cafe.

For highlights from this tour through Manitoba, please click here.