Murchison Falls National Park lies in north-western Uganda around the White Nile and east of Lake Albert and is the country’s biggest national park. Over a hundred years ago, the area’s inhabitants had to leave because of the sleeping sickness spread by tse-tse flies. In the 1950s, the area was declared a national park and in…
Category: Wildlife
Lake Natron: Harsh Beauty Lake Natron Area, Tanzania
A few hours drive north of the town of Mto wa Mbu, near the border to Kenya, lies Lake Natron. Away from the safari- and therefore main tourist trail, this was supposed to be a relatively cheap adventure (compared to the safaris). Pictures on Google showed a red colored salt lake, thousands of flamingos, and…
Tarangire & Ngorongoro: Going on Safari Tarangire and Ngorongoro Crater National Parks, Northern Tanzania
Arusha is the place to organize a safari to the northern circuit-parks from. Tons of tour operators, some better, some worse, offer all kinds of tours to the parks. How the Safari Finds You Our hotel was located one or two kilometers west of Arusha city center, where most of the tour operators are located….
Otago Peninsula: Beaches, Lookouts, and (no) Albatrosses South Island, New Zealand
The rugged, steep Otago Peninsula is one of the only few peninsulas on the South Island’s east coast. Although right in front of the city of Dunedin and easily accessible, the peninsula – probably due to its hilly terrain – is only lightly populated. Driving is on narrow roads, along steep hills, and around impossibly…
Waitomo Caves: It’s a Kind of Magic North Island, New Zealand
I’d say a visit to New Zealand isn’t complete without a visit to at least one glow worm cave. The New Zealand glow worm lives in wet caves or humid and sheltered places in the forest. The larvae emit a light in order to attract prey. They can be seen all over New Zealand but…
Kakadu National Park: Open Air Gallery Northern Territory, Australia
The area of UNESCO World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park has been continuously inhabited by Aboriginal people for over 50,000 years. Aboriginal history and culture is illustrated by some 5000 recorded rock art sites; however, only very few of them are accessible to tourists. Astonishing Biodiversity The national park covers a huge area (about half…
Arfak Mountains: A Bird’s Paradise West Papua, Indonesia
Situated on the east of West Papua’s Vogelkop, the Arfak Mountains are the habitat of some of the world’s most unique and astonishing birds: the birds-of-paradise. Only few people live in the Arfak Mountains and just a handful of tourist guides offer tours and accommodation in the Arfak region. One of them is Hans Mandacan,…
Batuputih: Thousands of Dolphins & One Boat Sulawesi, Indonesia
Batuputih Batuputih is not only the gateway to wonderful Tangkoko National Park, it’s also a great place to go snorkeling, diving, or dolphin watching. Lea, the local guide and divemaster (find her contact info below) with whom we booked a snorkeling and dolphin watching tour, promised us that, if we’d go, our boat would be…
Tangkoko: Where the Wild Things (Still) Live Sulawesi, Indonesia
On the easternmost tip of North Sulawesi lies Tangkoko National Park. According to the Lonely Planet, it’s possible to get there by public transport from Manado, but in reality this proved to be close to impossible. Even if you’d manage it, it wouldn’t necessarily be cheaper than a taxi from the airport directly to Batuputih,…
Kinabatangan Cruisin’ Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia
Wildlife Spotting in Borneo A great place to spot wildlife in Sabah is along the Kinabatangan river, the second longest river in Malaysia. Actually, the reason why there are so many animals, is a sad one: They have been pushed ever closer to the river by logging and clearing of forest for palm oil plantations….
Sepilok: All About Orang-Utans Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia
Endangered Orang-Utans Orang-utans, native only to Borneo and Sumatra, are endangered due to habitat loss (because of logging and palm oil plantations), poaching, and the illegal pet trade. Until it’s seven to ten years old, an orang-utan baby depends heavily on its mother and if the mother dies, the baby is likely to perish as well….
Elephants Up Close: Sri Lanka’s National Parks Minneriya and Kumana National Parks, Sri Lanka
Although Sri Lanka has one of the highest densities of elephants in Asia, these animals are threatened by habitat loss. Now they live only in quite small areas in the country’s dry zones. Minneriya National Park One of the best places to spot elephants is in the national parks Minneriya and Kaudulla close to the…