Safari and Wildlife

My wife, Gail, and I are both snorkelers, big time, and had read about divers swimming with whale sharks. We had the opportunity for such an experience during an eight-day tour of the Philippines in March ’09.

Whale sharks are not mammals like whales but are, instead, fish, belonging to the shark group. However, whale sharks are not predators; they feed mostly on plankton sieved through their gills as they swim. It is the largest fish in the world, growing to over 40 feet and weighing some 39 tons.

My wife, Joy, and I had a great experience in Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia with Wildlife & Nature Travel Club (East Lansing, MI; 517/303-5394).

We took the 12-night “Land of the Orangutan, Borneo & Brunei Wildlife Expedition,” Sept. 16-28, 2009. It began in Kuching, Malaysia, and ended in Kota Kinabalu and took in the states Sarawak and Sabah as well as the country Brunei. That was followed by the five-night “Komodo Islands Extension,” Sept. 28-Oct. 3, ending in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.

by Herb Phillipson; Dowagiac, MI

Long ago I fell in love with Africa.

On a trip to South Africa with Africa 2000 (www.africa 2000tours.co.za), my husband, Maurice, and I visited The Crags Elephant Sanctuary (Plettenberg Bay; phone +27 44 534 8145, www.elephantsanctuary.co.za).

by Ailsa Donnelly, Binghamton, NY

Interested by the chance to see an almost totally unspoiled African country, my husband, Nick, and I planned a visit to Malawi for February ’09.

My family (two adults and a child) traveled to Panama, June 18-July 1, 2009, having utilized EcoCircuitos (Hotel Country Inn & Suites, Ground Floor, Ste. 3, Amador, Pelican Ave., Amador Causeway, Panama; phone +011 507 314 0068, vwww.ecocircuitos.com) to arrange a custom trip for us.

The cost was roughly $7,000 for three people and included domestic airfares, ground transfers, many of the meals, guides (except in Bocas del Toro) and entry fees. We went to Panama City, Boquete, Bocas del Toro and San Blas.

by Dennis Sherwood, Gig Harbor, WA

In Windhoek, Namibia, my wife, Kathryn, and I stayed one night in the 4-star Safari Court and, later, in the less-expensive but no-less-comfortable Hotel Safari (phone 262 61 296800, fax 235652, www.safarihotelsnamibia.com), both located at the corner of Auas and Aviation streets and owned by the same company.

Our double room at Hotel Safari cost $65 per night. (In 2009, Safari Court rates start at $156 per night for a double.) A free bus from the hotel goes into the city center.

On a visit to Shanghai a few years ago, one evening I decided to walk back to my hotel, the Bund (which, actually, is a 10-minute walk from the Bund). The weather was unusually warm for December.

I noticed an interesting emblem on a pair of gates located on Julu Lu. Representing a British government activity, the symbols are quite common: two vertical lions wearing kingly crowns and facing each other.

by Teresa O'Kane, San Jose, CA

In Koh Chang, Thailand, we met an 18-year-old Canadian girl who told my husband, Scott, and me about the Tiger Temple outside Kanchanaburi. “You can touch tigers!” she said.