ZECO TRAVEL TALK

Albatross are special. Even for people with absolutely no interest in birds, these immense creatures instill a sense of admiration and awe. Soaring effortlessly over the world’s oceans, they are the most itinerant life forms on our planet, circumnavigating the globe many times a year and flying millions of miles in a lifetime.

Our Wild Edge of the Pacific trip from the Chathams to New Zealand carries us through the global epicenter of albatross evolution, with well over half of all species nesting on New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic islands. Read more

It’s not often that the partners of Zegrahm Expeditions visit a place where none of us have ever been. So when the Clipper Odyssey pulled into the Chatham Islands, our final destination on the inaugural Wild Edge of the Pacific trip, the excitement was palpable.

The previous evening, while sailing in from Gisborne (on the “mainland,” as the Chatham Islanders prefer to call the North Island), had given the birders a taste of what lay in store when we’d encountered a single magenta petrel. The sighting of this almost mythical species, one of two critically endangered seabirds restricted to the Chatham group, occurred at the end of an entire day’s sea-watching from the deck… and in the middle of a staff meeting! Peter and I emerged to find a small posse of hardened birders, their expressions a mixture of delight and apology. Read more

In late November, just before departing for our epic Fiji to Chatham voyage aboard the Clipper Odyssey, Peter Harrison described the epic rediscovery of three “lost” seabird species. Two of these, the almost mythical Fiji petrel and the similarly rare Vanuatu petrel, both unrecorded by ornithologists for over a century, survive around the tropical islands of Fiji and Vanuatu respectively, while the third, the New Zealand storm petrel, was known from only three specimens collected in the 1800s… until its dramatic rediscovery in the cool waters of the Hauraki Gulf North of Auckland in early 2003.

When we created the itinerary for this inaugural journey to the Kermadecs a few years ago, Peter went on to suggest that passengers who combined these two southwestern Pacific voyages might have a chance of seeing all three species. It was upon that revelation that I realized I just HAD to be on these voyages!

Approaching the Chatham Islands at the end of the first of two Wild Edge voyages, I am happy to report what can only be described as spectacular success so far: Read more

From the luxuriant rain forest of the Amazon basin to the stark puna grasslands of the altiplano, the blinding whiteness of the Uyuni salt flats to the impossibly blue expanse of Lake Titicaca, our exploration of this little known South American nation proved to be that perfect blend of culture, nature, and unexpected highlights, including our time in the Amazon . . . Read more

Zegrahm director and expedition leader Jonathan Rossouw recently set out on a personal trip to Kyrgyzstan in search of the snow leopard, one of the most elusive and endangered animals on the face of the planet. Following is his account of the amazing adventure that unfolded:

It took us two full days of travel to reach Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan from Cape Town via Johannesburg, South Africa to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on to Almaty, Kazakhstan, and by road across the border into Kyrgyzstan (5hrs, including border crossing). Read more

From the capital, Antananarivo, our expedition began in earnest with a domestic flight to the remote town of Maroansetra, gateway to Madagascar’s most extensive wilderness of the Masoala Peninsula. A boat excursion along the backwaters of the Antainambalana River in the afternoon offered insights into the way of life of the rural Malagasy, along with a fine male panther chameleon, but the day’s highlight was undoubtedly our spectacularly successful quest for nocturnal creatures around the Relais de Masoala. This nocturnal foray with our intrepid local guide, Julian, is usually fairly productive but no previous Eco-Expeditions group had ever managed to see the most elusive and bizarre of all lemurs, the legendary aye aye. A short walk into a coconut plantation brought us to the spot where this strange creature was foraging, clambering around the crown of a tree. We were able to appreciate all the unusual features of this remarkable animal, from its enormous ears and peculiar face to its bushy tail and skeletal middle finger. This fortuitous sighting was to set up our record-breaking lemur tally for the trip.

Other trip highlights included fimbriated leaf-tailed geckos, brilliant green-backed mantellas, boisterous white-fronted brown lemurs, and a bonus sighting of black-and-white ruffed lemurs resting in the crown of an enormous wild fig tree. A nocturnal spotlighting excursion produced sightings of nocturnal lemurs in the form of eastern woolly lemurs and the recently described Goodman’s mouse lemurs, as well as an incredible five species of chameleons.

Our visit illustrated Madagascar’s remarkable natural diversity, with fascinating wildlife, breathtaking landscapes and cultural interactions en route—our pilgrimage to the eighth continent was an enriching experience.

Excerpts from the Welcome Home Letter written by Expedition Leader Jonathan Rossouw for our September 2008 Madagascar: The Eighth Continent expedition.

With its combination of spectacular but elusive forest wildlife, challenging logistics and the uncertain future of its ecotourism establishments, it remains to be seen whether “Africa’s Eden” ever reaches its much-vaunted objective of becoming the continent’s “Rainforest Mecca”. What is certain is that we experienced, first-hand, the best of this remote, largely unspoilt and truly unique travel destination.

Traversing the extensive coastal savannas and waterways of Loango National Park, criss-crossing (slowly) the mosaic of gallery forest and savannah in Lope National Park, and even reaching the remote bai in the heart of Ivindo National Park’s virgin rain forest, our expedition was designed to explore the scenic and wildlife highlights of this little-known corner of the continent.

In the coastal lagoons and termite mound-studded grassland of Loango, our explorations revealed everything from noisy flocks of screeching African grey parrots to quiet rain forest waterways frequented by basking, slender-snouted crocodiles, from distant forest elephants to intimate encounters with spy-hopping and breaching humpback whales.

Just getting to Langoue bai in Ivindo National Park proved to be an expedition in itself, from the flight over endless miles of unbroken rainforest, to the bumpy, four-wheel drive track overgrown with thickets of wild ginger and the final, humid hike into camp. Langoue bai provided most of us the very rare opportunity to witness the behaviour of western gorillas in the wild.

Mandrills are aberrant baboons restricted to rain forest flanking the coasts of the Gulf of Guinea, and Lope is the only place on Earth where one stands a reasonable chance of glimpsing these elusive forest sprites. We all managed (with varying degrees of difficulty!) to witness these peculiar primates in their natural environment. Lope also provided the opportunity of stalking, on foot, a variety of smaller primates, such as the noisy grey-cheeked mangabey and scruffy-looking black colobus; duikers; forest buffalo and even forest elephant.

Along the way we experienced the full spectrum of Gabon’s rich diversity of habitats and encountered a varied pageant of birds and beasts, some of widespread occurrence, others known only in this corner of the globe.

Excerpts from the Welcome Home Letter written by Expedition Leader Jonathan Rossouw for our July – August 2008 Gabon: Africa’s Forest Eden

Bolivia is a country like no other. Our exploration of this highest, poorest, and least known South American nation proved to be that perfect blend of travel and adventure: some of our pre-conceptions enhanced, and others shattered.

Never ones to enjoy “down time” in an exotic locale, on our first day in La Paz we transformed our “morning at leisure” into a dawn excursion along the famous crossing to Coroico, known as “The Most Dangerous Road on Earth.” Climbing out of the high city bowl of La Paz, we were met by a rare scene on El Cumbre pass: llama herds wandering through a snowy wonderland against a dramatic backdrop of rugged peaks. Later, we explored the colorful streets of the city’s Witches’ Market, where traditional remedies of dried armadillos and llama fetuses adorned the exteriors of traders’ stores.

After a scenic journey to the remote village of Uyuni, on the salt flats of the same name, we witnessed the surface of the world’s highest, largest, and surely most spectacular expanse of salt. The dazzling whiteness, brilliant blue sky, and multi-hued volcano was the setting for lunch, with rosy-pink Andean flamingos foraging along the lake shore. Our journey deep into the heart of Potosi’s mountain of silver, Cerro Rico, gave us fascinating and sobering insights into the Colonial history of South America. And the Sunday market in Tarabuco, with its potato-tossing vegetable sellers and piles of magnificent woven fabrics, is surely one of South America’s most traditional and colorful markets. Read more