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Tours
Tours
Mike, often with his wife Liz, leads easy going, wildlife watching tours to a number of destinations in Europe, Africa and the USA for Dorset based company The Travelling Naturalist.
Mike and Liz's tours for 2010 are listed below. While Mike is happy to answer emailed questions about these tours, all booking arrangements should be made with the Travelling Naturalist. Click here to go to their web site and see their full range of tours or to get more details on individual destinations.
Camargue and Pyrenees - The best of France in Autumn
Saturday 4th - Sunday 12th September 2010
The freshwater marshes of the Camargue are famous for the white horses and black fighting bulls. However, there are masses of birds to be seen too! Cattle Egrets feed beside domestic animals while Grey Herons, Little and Great White Egrets stalk through the shallow 'etangs'. Closer to the Mediterranean, saline lagoons hold masses of Greater Flamingos as well as a host of migrating or resident waders such as Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Kentish Plover, Curlew Sandpiper and Dunlin. Migrant Ospreys vie for attention with Marsh Harriers quartering the reedbeds and Short-toed Eagles hunting a reptilian meal.
The nearby boulder-strewn steppe of La Crau hosts flocks of Little Bustards, groups of Stone Curlews and occasional Short-toed Larks and Tawny Pipit. There is also a slim chance of Pin-tailed Sandgrouse too.
Contrast this flat landscape with the rugged peaks and scenic 'cirques' of the Pyrenees, and you know that with a change of scenery comes a change of wildlife. Alpine Marmots and Isards (the Pyrenean form of Chamois) are found on high meadows while overhead, Griffon and Egyptian Vultures soar on extended wings. Also here are Golden Eagles, Lammergeiers, Red Kites and Booted Eagles all riding the thermals over the mountains. Snow Finch and Alpine Accentor will also be sought along with Black Redstart, Rock Thrush and Water Pipits.
This two centre tour combines fabulous wildlife with great food and lovely wine with the evening meals. Yes, the wine is included in the price of the tour!
For more details and price click here.
South Africa - Kruger, Zululand and Drakensberg
Tuesday 2nd - Thursday 18th November 2010 (Leaders Mike Read and local guides)
On arrival in Johannesburg, we meet up with our local guides and head towards Dullstroom making a couple of stops on the way. Freshwater pans will hold birds such as Cape Shoveler, Hottentot and Red-billed Teals, Maccoa Duck, African Spoonbill, Greater Flamingo, Glossy and Sacred Ibis. The following day we will visit Valoren Valei Nature Reserve where we hope to find Secretarybird, Buff-streaked Chat, Denham's Bustard, Gurney's Sugarbird and much more.
We then move over for a four night visit to Kruger National Park which is full of birds and big game.Elephants, both species of Rhino, antelopes of various sizes as well as herds of Cape Buffalo and Zebra. With a huge array of herbivores available, Lions and Cheetahs laze about with plenty of time to secure their meals. Birds are plentiful and colourful here with various Bee-eaters, two species of Rollers and a sprinkling of Kingfishers to be seen among so much more.
From here we travel, bird-watching as we go, to the Wakkestroom Wetland Reserve. Species we expect here will include African Marsh Harrier, Southern Crowned Cranes, Southern Bald Ibis and a good selection of wildfowl. Nearby grassy plains hold Blue Crane and Blue Korhaan as well as groups of Meerkats.
After two nights in Mkuze Game Reserve, where White Rhinos were saved from extinction, we move to the coastal town of St Lucia where there is a possibility of a whale watching trip in search of Humpback Whales as well as a visit to the St Lucia Wetland Reserve. Red and Blue Forest Duiker are the favoured prey of Crowned Eagles while large antelopes, such as Greater Kudu and Waterbuck wander around grazing.
Our final two nights are spent on the edge of the fabulous Drakensberg Mountains. Four-wheel-drive vehicles take the strain of getting us up the winding dirt road of the Sani Pass. En-route we should encounter Gurney's Sugarbird again as well as many more low mountain species. Then, among the spectacular peaks and crags of the Kingdom of Lesotho, we should find Lammergeiers, Cape Vultures, Drakensberg Rock-jumpers, Mountain Pipits and Sloggett's Ice-Rat, a small but rather endearing mountain mammal. The journey up and down the Sani Pass may be somewhat bumpy but most people reckon it is a great finalé to a brilliant African safari.
For more details and price click here.
