Archive for May, 2012

New Martin Clunes documentary on Madagascar’s lemurs

If you enjoyed David Attenborough’s series on Madagascar last year, don’t miss the new documentary called Martin Clunes: The Lemurs of Madagascar, which is showing on ITV1 at 9pm on Tuesday 5^th June.

The programme sees Martin realise a childhood dream of visiting the Indian Ocean island to see the planet’s last surviving lemurs.  These iconic and endearing primates live only on Madagascar and a number of the species – there are over 100 different species in total  - are being endangered by the presence of hunters and the destruction of forests in areas that are not adequately protected.

Indri

Madagascar broke away from mainland Africa about 140million years ago, and it is thought the lemurs arrived on the island on rafts of matted vegetation 60 million years ago. They evolved into more than 100 different species to make best use of the abundant sources of food on this island, which has been called Eden with its thousands of unique plants and animals. Martin’s journey takes him to remote corners of the island in search of these cute primates, which range in size from just over an ounce to over twenty pounds.

Madagascar lost much of its bilateral funding after the political events of 2009 and this has affected conservation adversely. Environmental tourism is now more crucial than ever and a Madagascar holiday can make a very positive contribution towards conservation by giving impoverished local communities an incentive to earn money from protecting their forests and wildlife, rather than allowing miners and logging syndicates to destroy their environment, whilst simultaneously poaching wildlife to supplement their diet.

Eastern grey bamboo lemur

Madagascar Lemurs and Spies scoops three awards

The recent BBC Natural World documentary that first aired in March 2012, about the critically endangered Silky sifakas of Marojejy National Park and the illegal logging of precious timbers, has scooped awards in three categories at the prestigious 35th Missoula International Wildlife Film Festival.

The Madagascar Lemurs & Spies documentary won Best Conservation Message, Best of Category in Conservation, and a Merit Award for Cinematography.

Silky sifaka & young by Eric Mathieu

Huge congratulations to Erik Patel and his team for their tireless efforts at conserving a magnificent rainforest wilderness area and its often remarkable denizens, in particular the Silky sifakas, such as this one photographed by Eric Mathieu. If you are thinking about a holiday in Madagascar and would like to visit Marojejy to seek out some of these elusive ‘spirits of the forest’, contact our team of experts to help you – 020 7666 1252.

Aerial bliss in La Reunion

I wouldn’t have missed the helicopter trip for anything. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the mountain hiking in Reunion, walking across the barren lava fields to the Piton de la Fournaise volcano, snorkelling on the sandy west coast and tucking into plates of delicious Creole curries, but this was really something else.

I felt a heady mix of excitement and fear as I strapped myself into the front seat alongside the pilot and pulled on the headset. The noise from the rotating blades added to the anticipation and only once the female pilot was happy that we were all safely buckled up, did she manoeuvere the controls and we glided forward over the grass and down the gentle incline.

We then banked to the right and rose slowly upwards over the forest-clad slopes of the Cirque de Mafate… at just under 3,000 metres, this is not an inconsiderable height. Lulled by the rhythmic sounds I felt immersed in a living geography lesson, or even better, in my very own natural history programme.

Reunion waterfall

As we reached the rim of the cirque a huge chasm suddenly opened up below us, thousands of feet deep. My stomach lurched and I felt a moment of terror followed by total exhilaration. I felt I was flying. I could see for miles and was utterly entranced.

From the Cirque de Mafate we passed close to the bare rock of the Piton des Neige, the highest point on the islands at 3071 metres, and on to the Cirque de Salazie. Verdant, almost perpendicular forested slopes were awash with white ribbon waterfalls plunging thousands of feet to the floor of the ancient crater. We hovered in the Iron Hole, a wild canyon with yet more impossibly beautiful waterfalls.

Our return took us over the scenic west coast beaches and then back to the heliport. We’d taken one of the shorter trips- just 25 minutes – but it had felt like an age. Time really did stop still for me and I loved every single minute.

The tour departs from near to Saint-Gilles-les Bains, the cost for adults on the 25 min trip is approximately £170 and for children up to 12 yrs old it is £130, any infants under 2 yrs old are free. I would advise taking the tour early in the morning. Longer and shorter trips are available.

Take a look at this video to get a taste of this thrilling experience, a real highlight of any Reunion holiday.

It’s a hard life working in travel!

When my Manager asked if I had recently visited Cape Town, I was expecting to receive a new South Africa holiday enquiry. Nothing arrived and instead I was delighted to find out that I’d been invited on a week’s educational trip to Cape Town, the Winelands and the Garden Route, a scenic stretch of coast some 300 kms long. I’m a great fan of East Africa but South Africa is always a destination I enjoy returning to. What a perfect antidote to a chilly March in the UK!

As the plane landed in sunny Cape Town, the views from the window filled me with excitement and expectation… I’d forgotten just how beautiful South Africa is, and in particular Cape Town’s gorgeous setting beneath Table Mountain, right on the sea. As we set off on our scenic 30-minute drive to the award-winning Steenberg Hotel in the Constantia Valley, I breathed in the fresh air and luxuriated in the tranquil surroundings, the cold grey weather in England seemed like a distant memory…

Once we arrived at the hotel our bags where whisked away and we were welcomed with a refreshing glass of Methode Cap Classique, a lovely sparkling South African number. This was just the beginning of a week filled with classy wining and dining. Lunch was at the hotel’s delightful BistroSixteen82, a stylish, new restaurant. This was followed by al-fresco wine tasting. I believe we were meant to taste and spit, but that advice was totally ignored as the wines were superb!

After a short rest it was time to get to grips with the Steenberg’s bubbly bar, Gorgeous by Graham Beck. What a treat! We quaffed some delicious sparkling wine and defiantly did no spiting. I fell into a fabulously comfortable bed exhausted… it’s a hard life testing out holiday experiences for our customers!

Fancourt

The following morning we set off on the scenic journey through the mountains to Mont Rochelle Hotel near Franschhoek, the Winelands culinary capital. The setting was breathtaking, the food delicious and the wine cellar expansive. I was amazed to learn how many types of grapes are used to produce the various wines.

Another glass of sparkling wine later, I found myself accompanied by a private butler on a guided tour of my enormous suite at The Manor House at Fancourt. What an amazing bathroom! It was the size of my flat in London, complete with huge shower. The golf courses at Fancourt looked so inviting that I wished that I was a golf player! The courses designed by Gary Player, have won various awards and hosts top championships. At dinner, at the La Cantina one of the three informal restaurants on the property, I had locally caught salmon – a must!

Chania trying ostrich riding in Oudtshoorn

In Oudtshoorn, just over the mountain, I tried ostrich steak, the local speciality, it tastes like beef but is less fattening they say, and I also visited the Cango Caves. I recommend doing the ‘Adventure Tour’ where you get to crawl through small spaces and up chimneys, a great day out for a family, however not recommended if you suffer from claustrophobia!

In Knysna the fresh local oysters washed down by sparkling wine was delicious, and I highly recommend the scenic river and lagoon trip by speed boat. Feeding the rescued elephants at the Elephant Park was good fun too… I could happily spend four or five days here – there are a ton of outdoor activities.

This was an amazing trip of re-discovery for me…I felt so touched by the kind and friendly hospitality I experienced in South Africa. The food and service is world-class and I would have loved to have spent more time just soaking up the Cape scenery. I’ve been reminded once again of all the reasons why I love Africa – the scenery, the adventure, people, the food and of course the excellent sparkling wine. Hick!

Fresh oysters in Knysna

Spotted: Turtles laying eggs on Kenya’s Beaches

Today we received fantastic news from one of our favourite lodges on the Kenya coast, Kinondo Kwetu. Recent tracks on the beach show that turtles have been laying eggs overnight, an activity that is very unusual for this part of the coastline. The turtles have returned for the second year in a row and this is a promising sign that all the conservation work that the lodge is doing is having a positive effect.

Congratulations to Kinondo Kwetu and we look forward to seeing pictures of the hatchlings in the future.