(EMAILWIRE.COM, July 29, 2010 ) SAUSALITO, California—Wildlife enthusiasts looking for the most life-altering wildlife experiences have the opportunity for heart-pumping, close encounters with the world’s most fascinating wildlife in 2011 with Wild Planet Adventures’ unique safari’s and wildlife ecotours. For 20 years, Wild Planet Adventures has offered award-winning wildlife eco-tours designed especially for wildlife enthusiasts, featuring interactions with animals, value-packed itineraries, small groups, and destinations teeming with wildlife and 2011 offers seven unforgettable wildlife encounters:
1) Jaguar Kayak in the Amazon – Tambopata Biosphere Reserve, Peru Ultimate Wildlife Eco-tour – Only Wild Planet Adventures offers this exclusive activity – with probably the best track record of seeing Jaguars in the wild of any tour operator. Travelers float silently downstream in kayaks at dawn, looking for Jaguar, Tapir and other rare animals as they visit the river to drink in the stillness of the morning.
2) Gibbons, Treehouses and Ziplines– Thailand & Laos Ultimate Wildlife Eco-tour – In a remote part of Laos, a primate once thought to be extinct sings a duet with its mate as the morning mist burns off the rainforest. Guests are offered a unique vantage point: A magnificent tree house high in the rainforest canopy, accessible only by an innovative system of ziplines and hiking trails. The comfortable treehouses offer panoramic views to observe wildlife, especially during dawn, dusk and at night when animal activity is at its peak. Each treehouse is stewarded by a local guide from a different village, which also receives a generous portion of your fee.
3) Track Wild Tigers and Leopards in Siana, Kanha & Kaziranga, India Ultimate Wildlife Multi-Safari: Leopards, Tigers & Palaces: Travelers will use every sense they have tracking tigers and leopards in a jungle that is teeming with life. Adventurers will listen for the roving alarm calls of the barking deer, look for fresh pug tracks by the water’s edge, and hear the unmistakable lazy roars –each clue bringing them closer to the prize of sighting a majestic tiger in the wild.
4) Cuddle With a Sloth –Costa Rica Ultimate Wildlife Eco-tour: Everyone loves the sloth, often called the cutest of all animals. Wild Planet’s Costa Rice Ultimate Wildlife itinerary brings adventurers to rarely visited Cahuita National Park, a wildlife lover’s dream where visitors typically see 20 sloths in the wild in just a few hours, along with dozens of monkeys and other wildlife. Guests also enjoy Wild Planets’ exclusive arrangement with a world-famous Sloth Rescue Center to stay overnight and enjoy breakfast the next morning alongside 100 rescued baby sloths who love to be cuddled. Explore the 280 hectare private reserve by canoe the next morning.
5) Track Wild Elephants - Kaeng Krachan & Pa La U National Park Thailand Ultimate Wildlife Eco-tour: This trip offers travelers the chance to track wild elephants to their resting place at night in the largest and least visited national park in the country, while sighting rare animals such as black leopard, tigers, flying fox, gibbons and more in Wild Planet’s exclusive “deep jungle” option. Other highlights include visiting an eco-responsible elephant camp where instead of riding the elephants, guests get to spend a full day learning how to communicate with these very social creatures, an experience so heartfelt that many travelers are moved to tears. And for travelers that don’t spot a tiger in the wild, a stop along the way at a renowned tiger rescue center will provide them with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play with playful baby tiger cubs.
6) Frolic Underwater with Sea-lions & Penguins – Galapagos Islands Ultimate Wildlife Cruise: Only a tour operator that specializes in wildlife would know this bit of inside information: Female sea lions sometimes play a game, somewhat similar to dolphins, where they will circle around snorkelers as they are snorkeling. With some instruction guests can learn to join them and slowly tighten the circle, which may make the playful sea lion feel safe enough to get extremely close -- so much so that and we have reports of full body hugs –with both flippers involved – lasting over 2 minutes! Penguins play a different game, rubbing and pecking at brightly colored snorkel fins.
7) Witness a thousand macaws and parrots painting the sky in color – Peru Ultimate Wildlife Eco-tour: 15 different species of macaws and parrots congregate at the world’s largest clay lick several times a year, marking one of nature’s greatest events. The sky is literally full of color and sound until the macaws quiet down later in the morning. This trip also includes exploration of the most biodiverse part of the Amazon Rainforest looking for monkeys, jaguar, and tapir.
AP - Hurricane Earl played havoc with travelers' Labor Day weekend plans even as it weakened Friday on its path up the East Coast toward New England.
Continental recalling furloughed pilots
(AP)
3 Sep 2010 at 2:56pm
AP - Continental Airlines Inc. is recalling 132 pilots who were furloughed in 2008, saying it needs them to offset retirements and handle an increase in international flying.
Delta Air Lines traffic up 1.1 percent in August
(AP)
3 Sep 2010 at 2:59pm
AP - Delta Air Lines Inc., the world's largest airline, said Friday its traffic in August inched 1.1 percent higher as a continued international uptick was balanced by a domestic decline.
Happy trails for Colorado's Buckskin Joe
(AP)
3 Sep 2010 at 1:41pm
AP - It's happy trails for Buckskin Joe, the replica Old West town that served as a setting for Westerns that include "True Grit" and "White Buffalo."
AP - The new iPhone application mTrip is a travel guide and then some: It uses the latest in smart phone technology to make it easier to stay on track in a foreign locale.
Lawsuit: Disney manager made dangerous situation
(AP)
2 Sep 2010 at 2:30pm
AP - The mother of a Walt Disney World monorail pilot killed last year accuses her son's former boss of leaving his post and creating a dangerous situation.
AP - Delta Air Lines Inc. plans to upgrade the seats on its Boeing 747s next summer, while cutting the number of seats in the plane's most expensive cabin.
American Eagle says August traffic soared 13.8 pct
(AP)
3 Sep 2010 at 2:53pm
AP - American Eagle, which operates regional flights for American Airlines, said Friday that August traffic soared 13.8 percent higher compared with a year ago.
2-day event to celebrate all things `Gunsmoke'
(AP)
2 Sep 2010 at 2:05pm
AP - Fans of "Gunsmoke" can travel back to the glory days of the classic TV western during a 55th anniversary celebration opening Friday in Dodge City.
AP - Federal officials say a passenger has been taken into custody after screeners detected something suspicious in a checked bag at Miami International Airport.
Four-state region updates travel website
(AP)
2 Sep 2010 at 1:36pm
AP - Motorists in the states along the shores of Lake Michigan now have an updated website to ease their travels.
Meeting and Travel Publications
We are pleased to offer you this exciting, new, and entirely free professional resource. Visit our Free Meetings & Travel resource center today to browse our selection of 600+ complimentary Meetings & Travel magazines, white papers, webinars, podcasts, and more. Get popular titles including:
