Birding in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is considered to be one of the most bio-diverse regions in the world. This trip took us right across the country exploring the many different wildlife habitats along the way.
Provence – June 2014
This was another holiday organised by our group, and the second year, with Wildlife Provençale, a great little company. We were based in the village of Sainte Jalle (see marker on map), staying in various gites around the village. We had breakfast in our gites, lunchtime picnic in the field and evening meal at a local restaurant in the village. Day 1 – Baronnies The first day was spent in the Baronnies where we had wonderful sightings of all three…
China #8: Yangshuo
Tuesday 13 We woke up in the morning, drew the curtains and looked out on to the most amazing scenery. The Silver Caves Our day started with a visit to the Silver caves. These caves are about 2,000m long and the various rock formations were spectacular despite the garish lighting. The Cormorant Man I had watched a documentary about the fishermen and using cormorants to catch fish so was curious to see. The fishermen drive the birds into the water…
China #7: Chengdu
Monday 12 August This is the capital of China’s southwest Sichuan Province and is famed for being the home of the giant pandas. The Giant Pandas are found only in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. There are fewer than 2,000 with 70% distributed within the territory of Sichuan Province. Chengdu Panda Base was founded in 1987. It started with 6 giant pandas that were rescued from the wild. The base also cares for other rare and endangered wild animals. At…
China #6: Xian
Saturday 10 – Xian City Wall We arrived in Xian early evening on Friday 9 August and explored a local park near the hotel on our own. The next morning we set off for a walk along the city wall. Xian is one of China’s former capitals, and one of the few cities in China to have retained its city walls. In the early evening we visited the Muslim quarter with its bazaars and Great Mosque. We ended the day…