Naturetrek Traveller Reviews

I spent a month in Madagascar, booking through Naturetrek, in October/November 2015. It was, quite simply, the most amazing experience I've ever had while abroad. The country is a complete assault on the senses from a Westerner's point of view. On arriving in Antananarivo (Tana) everywhere you looked you were bombarded with the chaos of the sights, sounds and smells of the capital. I found it incredibly humbling to see how the people there lived with comparatively so little. From people washing their clothes in local rivers to an old lady tending tentatively to her crop on a roadside verge, I was overwhelmed by how much I take for granted in the UK. Not only that, but all the people we saw in Madagascar appeared very happy. Community spirit seems to be huge and was refreshing and welcoming to see. We started our tour travelling south east from Tana to Ranomafana stopping in Antsirabe on the way. Civilisation started to peter out the further we travelled away from the capital, and was replaced by miles upon miles of rice paddies and other crops. It looked like back breaking work. Before we arrived in Ranomafana we made a stop at a small reserve known as Yalatsara. Not knowing what to expect this became a main highlight of our time in the eastern rainforest of Madagascar. We came across a beautifully coloured male Parson's Chameleon of vibrant yellow and green, and the most confiding Red Bellied Lemurs we saw including a mother with a very young baby still clinging to her belly. Ranomafana was a beautiful area of rainforest, full of wildlife at every turn. The village and learning about their way of life was fascinating. I could go on but the main highlights here were trekking through Vohipara and watching Milne Edward's Sifakas eating with content and bounding through the rainforest, seeing the 'jewels' of Madagascar; the amazingly coloured day geckos, as well as Giraffe Necked Weevils and Painted Mantella Frogs up close. From here we travelled south west to Isalo; a staggering landscape of sandstone formations and canyons. From the Hoopoes that were in constant search for insects around the hotel to the idyllic oases sheltering Ring Tailed Lemurs and Red Fronted Brown Lemurs, Isalo fast became one of my favourite destinations during our trip Further south west we travelled to the spiny desert of Ifaty. Here we needed to explore the area early in the morning to escape the heat and were rewarded with beautiful sunrises through Baobabs and Pachypodiums, as well as Madagascar Kestrel, Dumeril’s Boa and Standing’s Day Geckos. A splash in the pool during the midday heat was definitely a welcome retreat! A trip to Nosy Ve to see Red Billed Tropicbirds, their only nesting site in Madagascar, emphasises the importance of this country’s biodiversity and the amazing variety of experiences you can have there. Time seemed to fly and soon we were back on a plane flying from Toliara to Tana to continue our next leg of the trip; to Andasibe. This was an area of eastern rainforest I was most excited to visit. Andasibe is made famous by the largest lemur alive today, the Indri. We were lucky enough to see them up close and hear their haunting, whale like, call. It is a beautiful sound which I’ll never forget. Andasibe has an awful lot more to offer than just the Indri though, and my main highlight was actually being within touching distance of the Diademed Sifaka. After frantically traipsing through the rainforest to keep up with a troop of these beautiful lemurs they suddenly stopped, came down to the ground and proceeded to play fight and groom each other right in front of us. I have never observed wild animals so relaxed around people before and I came away feeling incredibly privileged to have been there. Our final stop was a week spent in Anjajavy. It is a ray of hope for the country. Travelling around the island it is clear to see that deforestation has decimated the landscape and in turn it's wildlife. Who can blame the people of Madagascar when they're living in the 5th poorest country in the world. Most live without running water or electricity, so the main thought is how to provide for themselves and their family. The wildlife and the landscape of the country is victim to devastating slash and burn agriculture by people who are just trying to scratch out a living. The manager of the hotel, Cedric, and the staff are dedicated to preserving the biodiversity of the area, having just tripled the size of their hotel's nature reserve to a vast area. It is to be run and managed by the local people, including grazing their zebu (cattle) there. The people are therefore happy as their traditions are being respected, and they have additional sources of fish to farm due a large area of mangrove forest. The fact that the hotel is working with the local villages surrounding the area, providing medicine and education has built up an invaluable trust between the cultures. The stars of Anjajavy are the Coquerel's Sifakas. Predominantly arboreal, when they have to cross the ground they maintain a distinctly vertical posture and leap over ground quite like a kangaroo. The wealth of indigenous plants attracts all form of wildlife from insects to mammals. It is an area where the Fat Tailed Dwarf Lemur can be found. Dwarf lemurs are the only primates to hibernate. This extraordinary characteristic has made them the subject of study by NASA. The research is looking at how these lemurs can slow down their vital organs in the hope it can be beneficial in space travel as well as emergency wards. Regrettably we had to say bye to Madagascar after spending four of the most amazing weeks of my life exploring the country. It won’t be the only and last time I visit.

No holiday of this nature goes as smoothly as our experience without the enthusiasm, support and knowledge of the tour operator and the local ground agents. Naturetrek, and specifically Kerrie, were fantastic. Kerrie patiently listened to my every idea and suggestion for the itinerary and we spoke for several months planning it to get it right. Kerrie’s insight into the country meant we were able to see and do things which I wouldn’t have otherwise known about, like the close encounters with Brown Mouse Lemurs in Ranomafana. Everything on the trip went smoothly, even where circumstances were out of our control. For instance, Kerrie had recommended staying in Tana for one night after flying back from Toliara as Air Madagascar are infamous for changing and cancelling flights. By staying one night in Tana it meant we wouldn’t miss out on any time spent at our next destination; Andasibe. I can’t give enough personal thanks to Kerrie and Naturetrek for their careful and intimate planning of this trip. Also worth mentioning was our driver for the trip; Kiki and all the guides we met along the way. Kiki is a man of amazing ability to make everything feel effortless, safe and ultimately enjoyable. He had an infectious laugh which went through all of us. The guides were amazing too. How they managed to spot wildlife in each area was incredible. Of particular note was our guide in Andasibe; Barry. Not only was his wealth of knowledge of the wildlife and plant life staggering, he also showed an unfaltering enthusiasm for the area. It is not often that I visit a country and don’t have constructive feedback to give, but on this occasion Naturetrek and their local ground agents had it covered. I can’t thank them enough.

We started our holiday to South Africa with a tailor made trip to Cape town , the cape peninsula and lastly Hermanus .We then joined the group tour , and spent four nights at two separate rest camps in the Kruger national park and four nights in two separate camps in Sabi Sands . We had a wonderful trip. The intimate wildlife viewing in Sabi sands was out of this world.

Naturetrek had put together a superb tour ,culminating in exceptional wildlife viewing in Sabi Sands.Private caterers were brought in during our stay in the Kruger national park .This was a very nice touch.

An amazing adventure in India - perfectly organised by real professionals. Our target was to see and photograph Indian wildlife, specifically Tigers. We saw eleven of these magnificent creatures and got some great shots. Our guide was brilliant in every respect. Accommodation was as expected, a very good standard for the environment. All went like clockwork despite a fairly extensive itinerary. Naturetrek staff both in UK, India could not be more helpful. We love wildlife holidays and fully expect to use Naturetrek for our future adventures!

Superb from day one, nothing too much trouble and very efficiently handled.

Great attention to detail, excellent guides. Extremely well organised. All eating venues had been checked for health and cleanliness and we did not get sick. It was even safe to eat salads. Knowledge of local guides very impressive.

Naturetrek have clearly been in the business of organising specialised trips for many years and it shows by way of places to stay at and the guides who are contracted. In the UK before departure, the documentation side of it was handled generally pretty efficiently too.

Most enjoyable guided small group tour of New Zealand and its wildlife. The guides were excellent and we saw far more of New Zealand than we could of on our own in 3 weeks.

It is difficult to see how this tour could be improved.

comfortable accommodation, tasty food, great guides, tigers, sloth bears, all sorts of game and many beautiful birds plus a leopard. Exciting and fascinating drives through rural India. A gem of a trip.

Efficient

A well organised and enjoyable 1 week trip to Tenerife and Fuerteventura with a day trip to La Gomera. With some stunning scenery, good birds and dragonflies, lizards and plants there was something of interest for all. With a small group of people with varied special and general interests it made for a great holiday.

Everything was well organised and the leader's knowledge of the nature of the Canary Islands was excellent and combined with his general information on the Islands meant it was an enjoyable and informative holiday.

Ethiopia, a country of contrasts, hot and dry in the Rift Valley and cool and wet in the Highlands. The Simien Mountains in the North and the Bale Mountains in the South were completely different habitats although of a similar elevation. The mammal highlights would have to be sitting amidst a herd of 100 plus Gelada Baboons; watching an Ethiopian Wolf hunting, catching and eating a Giant Mole Rat, and the chance sighting of a Giant Forest Hog! The bird highlights are more difficult, there were so many of them! I think perhaps the Verreaux's Eagle, such a stunning bird and we got such amazingly good views that I didn't even attempt to try and photograph it. Then there were the numerous Lammergeier, again a stunning bird. I think the overall favourite has to be the Abyssinian Catbird. I heard them frequently, I got glimpses of various part of them quite a few times but eventually I got to see the whole bird in the last few days of the holiday. The photos were still pretty rubbish but I did get the whole bird in the end! One thing that I didn't expect about the holiday was the quality of the hotels and food. From the tripadvisor reports I read it sounded as if the hotels were dire. Not at all. They wouldn't muster much support from people who are used to 5* hotels in Europe/USA etc but every hotel that I stayed in, the bed was comfortable and I was able to have (mostly) a hot shower. Ok, I had to have a couple of cold showers but it really didn't matter :-). The food was great, I normally eat a lot but I couldn't manage the quantities that I was faced with. One thing that I haven't mentioned is the totally STUNNING scenery that we saw. You have to go there... or see my photos ;-)... to realise what an amazingly beautiful country Ethiopia is. Last but not least, our holiday had two amazing guides. Naturetrek organised a guide from the UK, Marcus John, and a local guide, Abiy. Both were amazing and totally made the holiday the success that it was. Damn, I wish I could go on the same holiday again!

My tour Company was Naturetrek. I was impressed with them from the start. When I first booked my holiday they offered to organise my flights from Scotland to London for me. I had been about to book those myself and had found a good price on-line but Naturetrek were able to get a better price for me and of course it meant that I had far less hassle. They also promised to get the Pre-departure information to me within a couple of weeks which was indeed the case. (I have had a previous experience with a different Company when I was told the same thing but then had to wait for almost 6 weeks after that before anything arrived)! During the holiday itself, everything went well, a few minor changes were made due to weather conditions and travel distances/time but this was done without any inconvenience to the participants. Basically Naturetrek were great. I have no complaints whatsoever and would thoroughly recommend them :-).

This was a superb holiday - the itinerary, the tented accommodation, the food produced with limited facilities (!!) the guides, but most of all the wildlife. We saw everything that we expected due to the excellent guides and we saw it all in natural settings, a truly un-commercialised nature reserve with limited other vehicles in sight !

Nothing is too much trouble for Naturetrek, their office communication is speedy & efficient. They give honest answers to the questions posed to ensure you get the holiday you expect

It was a bargain guided birdwatching holiday in which a small group were escorted around a number of good birdwatching sites. A wide range of species were seen. The guide and driver were very helpful and friendly.

All arrangements in advance of the holiday were straightforward, with queries quickly dealt with. I would travel with Naturetrek again