During my trip to Cape Town, the two day trips I had planned were for Robben Island and the Cape Peninsula. I had always assumed that Cape Town was at the very bottom of Africa at the Cape of Good Hope, but the cape is about 90km further south. Close enough to the bottom if […]
Lake St. Lucia – home to the largest hippo population in South Africa
When it comes to the big animals of Africa the hippopotamus lives in the shadow of the Big Five: African lion, African elephant, cape buffalo, African leopard, and rhinoceros. The term “Big Five” was coined by game hunters for being the five most difficult animals to hunt on foot. It has since become a check-list […]
Lodge and safari review: Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park – South Africa
Lodge Name: Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge Address: Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Usually when I write accommodation reviews I write about the hotel separately from the destination. This case is a little different because the destination and attractions and part and parcel of the accommodation experience. So for this review it also includes the […]
A monolith and a meerkat – camping at Namibia’s highest mountain
Brandberg Mountain is Namibia’s highest peak, standing at 2,606 metres. It is also a monolith, so when you cross the northwestern Namib Desert you will know when you see it. I was in Namibia visiting the Mad Max filming locations, which was mostly shot near Swakopmund (this was a press trip on behalf of the […]
Tarsiers – The unofficial mascot of Bohol
With my time in the Philippines ticking by, I reluctantly dragged myself away from Palawan to give some other destinations in the Philippines half a chance. One of those places was the island of Bohol and a visit to its star residents, the tarsier. [Tarsier in Bohol, Philippines] While various species of the tarsier can […]
My plan for saving the endangered Giant Panda
As I made my way across China what I kept hearing the most was how good the pandas of Chengdu were. I was getting so many good reviews I had to investigate further. Chengdu has become famous for the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, which is the most popular place to view pandas in China. […]
Pulau Pangkor Travel Guide
Travel Guides > Malaysia > Pangkor Travel Guide Pulau Pangkor (Pangkor Island) is on the West Coast of Peninsula Malaysia. It’s close enough to Kuala Lumpur to make it an accessible stopover destination, which was how I ended up on the island. I had a week in KL enroute to China, so rather than staying […]
Ubud Monkey Forest – Bali
The Sacred Monkey Forest Ubud Sanctuary is a great place to see monkeys in a natural environment. The sanctuary is south of the town at the end of the Monkey Forest Rd (Jl Wanara Wana). [Monkeys At Steps] The sanctuary is set in a lush forest with temples, stone statues and hundreds of monkeys (Long-tailed […]
Orangutans of Sumatra – Gunung Leuser National Park
Orangutans are the worlds largest living arboreal animal and can only be found in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra, Indonesia. These two islands have been logged extensively which has endangered the orangutan population. The North of Sumatra has seen less logging and palm oil/rubber plantation development thus has a the largest orangutan population in […]
