Snow Monkeys & Grizzly Bears

Many people think of Japan as being crammed with people, a wilderness void. That is far from being the truth. Japan is so mountainous that the vast majority of the nation remains undeveloped. The terrain has seen to that. It's a country of heartbreaking beauty with a fascinating culture and I just can't recommend a visit highly enough. Don't go believing the old stories of how expensive the place is either. It isn't, not these days anyway. Eat in the local restaurants and you'll find it's a lot cheaper than Australia. Of course if you want to eat steak and drink Aussie wine in your hotel it will be expensive. Heaven knows, it's dear here too. Here's a great example of what you can do. Just click on the (somewhat over sized) ink below.
http://www.adventureworld.com.au/tours-and-destinations/asia/eastern-asia/japan/tours/discover-japan-by-rail/

Be sure to add on a visit to the beautiful snow monkeys too. Here's a  (even longer) link for that. http://www.adventureworld.com.au/travel-deals/japan-onsen---snow-monkeys---save-$96--per-person/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=World+Deals+Trade+7+February+2012&utm_content=World+Deals+Trade+7+February+2012+CID_95c73c75358c9f1611d30e2dd12d3aa0&utm_source=Email+marketing+software&utm_term=CLICK+HERE+FOR+MORE+DETAILS

One of the planet's ultimate wildlife viewing locations is Canada's Knight Inlet.

KNIGHT INLET LODGE
Spectacular wildlife viewing amongst stunning scenery.

Knight Inlet Lodge has achieved a reputation for being one of the best places to view grizzly (brown) bears in the wild. This comfortable but rustic floating lodge nestles in the only protected cove on the 100 mile long inlet, and the only neighbours are bears, mountain goats, otters, seals and eagles! Each day is filled with a range of activities, and tours are accompanied by trained naturalists. Grizzlies can be viewed from specially built tree platforms overlooking the salmon spawning channels, or by boat. There are marine tours to the magnificent Johnstone Strait to see orcas, minke whales, sea lions, seals, dolphins and porpoises. For more information, please download the following PDF brochure excerpt :
http://www.africanwildlifesafaris.com.au/canada_alaska/brochures_canada_alaska/canada_alaska11_p30_33_bear_viewing2.pdf

Our final destination today is Madikwe Private Game Reserve in South Africa. Madikwe is interesting in that it is situated at the transition from low veldt country to desert and so contains species that are comfortable in either, or both. Federal Air fly there from Johannesburg, or you can drive there from the city in about four or five hours. There are plenty of excellent lodges there, but the two I particularly recommend are Madikwe Hills Lodge and Impodimo Lodge. Both are very comfortable and are surrounded by spectacular scenery and wildlife. At Impodimo there's even a herd of elephants that come to drink from the swimming pool and they don't care if you're in it. I must say that I prefer the game viewing in Madikwe to that in the Kruger area.

Here are links to the two mentioned lodges.
http://www.madikwehills.com/   
 http://www.impodimo.com/

Photo above. A very rarely sighted pangolin at Madikwe Private Game Reserve. Just for a giggle, ask your game ranger to find one for you.

For further information on any of the products featured or to make a booking, please call me - Peter Emery on 0449 689 447. Alternatively call Ucango Travel on 1300 822 646 and be sure to ask for me by name, or just drop me an email. peter.emery@ucango.com.au