Nature based trips you have liked
Jul 12th, 2023, 07:24 AM
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Nature based trips you have liked
I like shortish nature trips particularly when they take care of you. All-inclusive only by necessity. Expensive but reasonable considering the travel and food. Here are two we've done.
For grizzly bears: Khutzeymateen Wilderness Lodge in June. You fly to Prince Rupert B.C. From there you take a float plane to their floating lodge and spend three days going out twice a day to watch bears eating sedge grass and clams. I don't need the salmon catching. All meals provided of course. Grade A
For gray whales: Baja Discovery tours in March: Get yourself to San Diego. They bus you to the border and shepherd you through to the Tijuana airport where you take a small plane to the San Ignacio Lagoon area. Then a bus to the small boat taking you to whale camp. Tents. Cots. Big tent for eating etc. Great people. Small boat whale watching, touching, twice a day for three days. (Touching is only if they want to, but they seem to like it. Strict limits on the number of boats allowed in the lagoon and times boats can be out.) Grade A+ (we've only done it three times)
You trips?
P.S. I still like two spaces after a colon but they don't allow it. Saves them so much money I guess.
For grizzly bears: Khutzeymateen Wilderness Lodge in June. You fly to Prince Rupert B.C. From there you take a float plane to their floating lodge and spend three days going out twice a day to watch bears eating sedge grass and clams. I don't need the salmon catching. All meals provided of course. Grade A
For gray whales: Baja Discovery tours in March: Get yourself to San Diego. They bus you to the border and shepherd you through to the Tijuana airport where you take a small plane to the San Ignacio Lagoon area. Then a bus to the small boat taking you to whale camp. Tents. Cots. Big tent for eating etc. Great people. Small boat whale watching, touching, twice a day for three days. (Touching is only if they want to, but they seem to like it. Strict limits on the number of boats allowed in the lagoon and times boats can be out.) Grade A+ (we've only done it three times)
You trips?
P.S. I still like two spaces after a colon but they don't allow it. Saves them so much money I guess.
Jul 12th, 2023, 07:28 AM
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I loved our trip to the Galapagos. Seeing all the animals up close was so exciting. One of my favorite moments was swimming by a rock where penguins were sitting less than an arms length away. We just looked at each other. I really wanted to touch one, but that isn’t allowed! I have amazing photos from that trip because the animals are so close.
Jul 12th, 2023, 02:14 PM
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Marine mammal pictures
I tried to start a post here but they quickly moved it. Instead here are some nice elephant seals released today after coming in as emaciated babies.
And some other mammals by the marine area.
And some other mammals by the marine area.
Jul 12th, 2023, 03:07 PM
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Emma, some may've seen this below excerpt here before. Its from the Brit mag 'Canoeist', one of the publications that my travel pieces appeared in, back when I used to do a little semi-pro travel writing on the side in the 80s and 90s. Nature-based for sure.
I am done. the croc
'There is no place on earth with as many dangerous animals as southern Africa.'
( Charles Darwin)
'The crocodile on the riverbank was longer than our 18 foot canoe. We were drifting directly into its nest. My momentary lapse of steering to put on gloves had led to this terror. Losing my wife off the stern to this monstrous dance partner would hurt a lot more than any blister. To complicate matters, this croc had its youngster beside it. Adrenaline.
We back-paddled furiously, but the front of our craft was snagged in the branches of the nest. I waved frantically to our guide, who was 70 yards away with our six fellow canoeists. Adrenaline. Adrenaline. We back-paddled for our lives.
Finally, we freed ourselves and rowed not so gently down the stream. Unusually high winds blew in our faces, making our task all the more arduous. It was impossible to avoid crashing into a few dangerous, partly-submerged stumps and branches. We never thought a river could have such large waves!
There was a sort of smugness about my attitude just then, one which conveyed, "Hey honey, won't this be a great story to tell at parties?!" Uh-huh. To reassure myself, I reached behind the bow seat to touch my camera bag containing extensive gear, including a tape recorder, my journal, a guidebook and all my research notes. Remember that above back-paddling? Well, the soaked bag was floating in several inches of Zambezi River water. Oh no! I almost wept.
Welcome to wild Africa!'
Shutterbugs might be interested to hear that it was my clever wife who came up with the solution to my Nikon having been submerged and made inoperable that way. While I lay on the sandbanks curled in the fetal position and howling for my mummy (wouldn't you, if your only camera was wrecked that way on a chance-of-a-lifetime safari?), she came up with a brilliant remedy: we would set my embattled camera to dry on the beach at each of the various sandy islets that we nightly camped on. Emotionally spent, I looked on like a lost little boy and crossed my fingers ever so hard. Sure enough, after the third day of drying, my Nikon spit out some remaining drops of water and BEGAN TO FUNCTION AGAIN!
PS God's sense of humour. The sunrise after my Nikon was born-again, we unzipped our tent intending to step out, only to discover the shed skin of a black mamba (world's fastest, most aggressive poisonous snake) mere inches in front of us. No need for coffee to wake up that morn!'
I am done. the natural things
I am done. the croc
'There is no place on earth with as many dangerous animals as southern Africa.'
( Charles Darwin)
'The crocodile on the riverbank was longer than our 18 foot canoe. We were drifting directly into its nest. My momentary lapse of steering to put on gloves had led to this terror. Losing my wife off the stern to this monstrous dance partner would hurt a lot more than any blister. To complicate matters, this croc had its youngster beside it. Adrenaline.
We back-paddled furiously, but the front of our craft was snagged in the branches of the nest. I waved frantically to our guide, who was 70 yards away with our six fellow canoeists. Adrenaline. Adrenaline. We back-paddled for our lives.
Finally, we freed ourselves and rowed not so gently down the stream. Unusually high winds blew in our faces, making our task all the more arduous. It was impossible to avoid crashing into a few dangerous, partly-submerged stumps and branches. We never thought a river could have such large waves!
There was a sort of smugness about my attitude just then, one which conveyed, "Hey honey, won't this be a great story to tell at parties?!" Uh-huh. To reassure myself, I reached behind the bow seat to touch my camera bag containing extensive gear, including a tape recorder, my journal, a guidebook and all my research notes. Remember that above back-paddling? Well, the soaked bag was floating in several inches of Zambezi River water. Oh no! I almost wept.
Welcome to wild Africa!'
Shutterbugs might be interested to hear that it was my clever wife who came up with the solution to my Nikon having been submerged and made inoperable that way. While I lay on the sandbanks curled in the fetal position and howling for my mummy (wouldn't you, if your only camera was wrecked that way on a chance-of-a-lifetime safari?), she came up with a brilliant remedy: we would set my embattled camera to dry on the beach at each of the various sandy islets that we nightly camped on. Emotionally spent, I looked on like a lost little boy and crossed my fingers ever so hard. Sure enough, after the third day of drying, my Nikon spit out some remaining drops of water and BEGAN TO FUNCTION AGAIN!
PS God's sense of humour. The sunrise after my Nikon was born-again, we unzipped our tent intending to step out, only to discover the shed skin of a black mamba (world's fastest, most aggressive poisonous snake) mere inches in front of us. No need for coffee to wake up that morn!'
I am done. the natural things
Jul 12th, 2023, 03:58 PM
#8
Thanks so much for starting this thread. Let's see what else we can contribute. We have a Dugong (also called Manatee) who visits the seagrass in the Broadwater outside my home occasionally & I'll try to capture him/her on my iphone next time I see it.
Lovely, gentle animal and we're all enthralled to have a visit.
Lovely, gentle animal and we're all enthralled to have a visit.
Jul 13th, 2023, 06:54 PM
#14
Yeah, that is weird it got moved and merged. Well, I'll post those sea turtle pictures, hope you don't mind emmajm.
A sea turtle's first glimpse of the sea.
Wow, it's huge!
And the untimely, but perhaps necessary, demise of another.
A sea turtle's first glimpse of the sea.
Wow, it's huge!
And the untimely, but perhaps necessary, demise of another.
Jul 13th, 2023, 08:26 PM
#15
So sad to see that poor injured turtle, Nelson.
A dear late friend was involved with turtle rescue and rehabilitation on our North Coast for many years.
I hope that little turtle making its way to the big ocean makes it to live a long & happy life. The odds are against it enough, but we wonderful humans who throw our waste out so thoughtlessly make it infinitely more likely that it will have a short life & a painful death.
A dear late friend was involved with turtle rescue and rehabilitation on our North Coast for many years.
I hope that little turtle making its way to the big ocean makes it to live a long & happy life. The odds are against it enough, but we wonderful humans who throw our waste out so thoughtlessly make it infinitely more likely that it will have a short life & a painful death.
Jul 14th, 2023, 01:16 AM
#16
Bokhara, in this case it was a jaguar that killed the turtle on a beach in Costa Rica. One endangered species predating on another. The natural world, but now out of balance due to human activity.
That little turtle does unfortunately have slim odds of living a long life. Still, it was a wonderful thing to witness that moment.
That little turtle does unfortunately have slim odds of living a long life. Still, it was a wonderful thing to witness that moment.
Jul 14th, 2023, 04:51 PM
#19
Bokhara, in this case it was a jaguar that killed the turtle on a beach in Costa Rica. One endangered species predating on another. The natural world, but now out of balance due to human activity.
That little turtle does unfortunately have slim odds of living a long life. Still, it was a wonderful thing to witness that moment.
That little turtle does unfortunately have slim odds of living a long life. Still, it was a wonderful thing to witness that moment.
We're wreaking havoc that will eventually take us out. Unfortunately, the animals will go first. My country is doing a pretty good job at that, with developers winning the war against conservationists in many areas. Add stupidity, greed and complicity/corruption in bodies supposed to be governing water management & land clearing - and that handbasket is gaining speed.
