Safari and Wildlife

8 days, 7 nights in Southern Africa. Departures May-June, Aug.-Nov. 2021, March-June, Aug.-Nov. 2022. Group limit, 8. Highlights: First night at Victoria Falls, ZIMBABWE/in Botswana, game drives in Chobe Nat’l Park, home to lions, elephants, hippos/Okavango Delta for mokoro (dugout canoe) fishing or sunset boat cruise, game drives in Moremi Game Reserve/fly to Rra Dinare Camp for game drives, mokoro rides.

12-day, 11-night safari in Southern Africa, Oct. 15-26, 2021. Highlights: At safari lodge in Victoria Falls, ZIMBABWE, choose game drives/below Victoria Falls, hike to rafts for journey toward Indian Ocean/rescued elephants at elephant camp/day trip to Chobe Nat’l Park, BOTSWANA/explore Upper Zambezi for giraffes, baboons, in 2-person inflatable kayaks. $6,995 ppdo. Single supp., $1,500. ROAM Adventures (Invermere, BC, Canada; 888/639-1114, iroamtheworld.com).

Birding away from Wisconsin in winter is a welcome relief. Don’t get me wrong, I like Wisconsin’s weather in all seasons, but my family (including my husband, Jerry, and adult daughter, Sue) has a 21-year tradition of going birding in different locations in February or March, for a respite from our coldest winter months. For our February 2020 destination, Sue picked Panama.

12-day, 11-night luxury tour in East Africa. Departures May 2021-Dec. 2022. Group limit, 18. Highlights: Arrive in Nairobi, Kenya/game drives in Amboseli Nat’l Park, home to elephants, zebras/in Tanzania, game drive at Lake Manyara, home to tree-climbing lions/Olduvai Gorge/Serengeti Nat’l Park/in Kenya’s Maasai Mara Nat’l Reserve, game drives, choice of activities (birding walk, bead crafts, weaponry skills testing with Maasai). $8,995-$12,995 ppdo (per dates). Single supp., $895-$2,195. Internal air, from $995.

The US Department of Transportation made a ruling on Dec. 2 that the only service animals to be allowed on planes are dogs. It further ruled that “emotional support animals” are not a category of service animal, which they defined as “a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability.”

9-day, 8-night “easy to moderate” ecotour. Departures March-April, June-Aug., Dec. 2021. Highlights: Near San Isidro, Toucan Rescue Ranch wildlife sanctuary, home to sloths, toucans/two species of monkeys in Cahuita Nat’l Park/whitewater rafting on Sarapiquí River in La Selva Biological Station, home to coatimundis, otters, anteaters/soak in hot springs at base of Arenal Volcano/Monteverde Cloud Forest for rare birds/Carara Nat’l Park, home to scarlet macaws, ocelots/depart from San José. $3,998-$4,248 ppdo. Single supp., $598.