546 stories
“The Jaguars & Wildlife of Brazil’s Pantanal was our third Natural Habitat trip, and it by far exceeded our expectations. The trip was just magical. From the start of the trip, the excitement built at each location.
By Megan Koelemay, Director of Digital Marketing at Natural Habitat Adventures Weather can impact our travel experiences as much as (and sometimes more than) anything else. As French novelist Marcel Proust once wrote, “A change in the weather is sufficient to recreate the world and ourselves.”
“As much as the trip was about swimming with whale sharks, the experience that will have the most lasting effect on me was snorkeling the Mesoamerican Reef. After swimming with whale sharks for two days, we headed back to Puerto Morelos.
“As our trip was coming to its conclusion, the captain of our sailing boat, the Island Odyssey, passed around a ‘talking feather’ so each guest could make comments about what they enjoyed most during their voyage and adventure.
Nowadays, it’s becoming increasingly harder to find African safari experiences that evoke the profound sense of wilderness immersion that so many of us seek. Far off Southern Africa’s typical tourist track are Zambia and Zimbabwe, two less-visited safari destinations that are home to some of the continent’s richest wildlife enclaves.
By Nat Hab Traveler Margaret Mitchell | Hidden Yellowstone & Grand Teton Safari The grandeur of the Tetons and Yellowstone was inspiring, with moose, bear, bison, pronghorn and more, all among the wonderful smell of sagebrush.
Originally featured in World Wildlife Magazine (summer 2017). The high-pitched calls of gibbons echo through the steamy valley and send chills down my spine. Gibbons live only in intact old-growth forests like this one in Danum Valley, deep in one of Asia’s most pristine wilderness regions.
“How does one capture an experience that is so indescribable? We saw every species we had hoped to see, many in greater numbers and much closer than we had ever dreamt possible.
“Wow, it’s hard just to pick one out of all of the great things I experienced. I have to say, my favorite experience was following the mom and her three cubs.
By Nat Hab traveler Rick Whitson | Secluded Botswana Safari It was day seven of our 10-day Secluded Botswana Safari, and we were staying at a remote tent camp in the Okavango Delta that we had accessed via a bush flight. We enjoyed high tea at camp and were headed out to a new area for our evening bush ride.
The small and rickety aluminum shelter at Barranco Camp shook each time I took another sleepless turn on the hard cot. The noisy movements kept my two climbing companions awake all night.
I’m six years old, standing at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, nose pressed up against a glass partition, feet rooted to the ground with the 1,000-pound force only a child who has no intention of moving can muster. “NO,” I say as my mother tries to tug me away from the orangutan enclosure.
