Reviews

George McGavin is a MUST. Hugely informative, entertaining and engaging. Also his evening presentations were well pitched and unique in my experience. He’s much more than his TV personality.

It is difficult to comprehend that the holiday is over. PNG is a special, amazing place where you still feel like a traveller/explorer, not a tourist. The images of the extremely varied birds, culture, people and scenery will remain with me always. Thank you for arranging it!

About 90 percent of the tour was wonderful. Reggiana’s Bird of Paradise displaying on the first afternoon, awesome! Food was superb throughout (a first for Shirley and I!). Logistics were essentially smooth and punctual. Regarding the lodges Raintree Lodge served it’s purpose, a comfortable base. Rondon was contemporary and well appointed (lovely rooms). Kumul was, as expected, rudimentary but an experience enhanced by THAT BIRD FEEDING STATION!). I was literary just two metres away from a Bird of Paradise! Wailindi was relaxing and very efficient. Everywhere the people were so affable and welcoming!! Incomprehensible levels of diversity regarding the culture, remarkable.

We had a brilliant trip to Borneo and (apart from Clouded Leopard) we saw everything we anticipated and more. If we were doing it again we would probably add another night or two to Deramakot and leave rest the same. Deramakot is a fantastic location, so remote and peaceful. Accommodation is basic but adequate considering the location. We were actually the only guests there most of the time.

Borneo Rainforest Lodge – fantastic location, enhanced by our upgrade to a deluxe chalet with a view across the river. We woke at 5am on the first morning and watched a male Orangutan vacate his nest in the tree right above us and climb down nearer to us and start finding his breakfast while we were in the outside bath! Amazing.

This was our second visit to Namibia in just over 12 months, with Reef and Rainforest and our seventh consecutive wildlife trip with them. I think that speaks for itself. This year we were particularly keen to try and observe some desert adapted Lions. The Lions found in ‘The Namib Desert’ are genetically identical to those found in the rest of Southern Africa but have adapted to live in one of the harshest environments on earth. They number around 150 and have a huge range, and are rarely seen. They came to prominence in the outstanding documentary film ‘Vanishing Kings’. The best chance of observing members of this subset of Lions is during a stay at Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp, although sightings cannot be guaranteed and weeks can pass by without any success. Therefore a stay at this camp was at the heart of our itinerary and we were very lucky to spend time with a Lioness and her niece who had killed an Oryx in the conservancy. The camp itself is absolutely outstanding in every respect and the location is just spectacular.

Visitors should be aware that this is not ‘The Serengeti’ and that the wildlife is quite thin on the ground. However you would have to be very unlucky not to see Elephant, Giraffe and several other species. Whilst we were out in the desert we were lucky to bump in to Dr P. Stander who has dedicated the whole of his adult life to the conservation of The Desert Lion, what a thrill. The day trip out to the coast was pretty special as well.

The rest of the itinerary worked very well and we were very pleased to have three full days in Etosha N.P. where we recorded 25 mammal species, including 32 individual Lions, observed the aftermath of 4 zebra kills, 11 Rhinoceros (both Black & White), an African Wildcat and the rarely seen in Etosha, elusive Leopard.

So a big thank you to ALL at Reef and Rainforest, another highly successful trip, you certainly delivered again.

I would like to thank you for putting together such an excellent trip and to highlight a few items. The service provided in country was first class. All drivers were on time and went beyond the call of duty to be of service. I have never been on holiday where the standard of bird guiding has been so good.

One of my best ever. Everything went like clockwork. 10 tigers seen plus a sloth bear. Your choice of accommodation is brilliant! Just thank you so much for helping design and organise such a great trip. I will come back to you in future.

Absolutely loved it. I would recommend it to anyone. John Melton was always extremely helpful and answered all of my questions quickly and efficiently. Thank you John, it was very much appreciated.

A really good insight into the different habitats and environments in Ecuador. Highly recommended. Really enjoyed our trip and appreciated how well it was organised. Will be looking through your website in the coming weeks to plan our next trip. Would recommend the company to others. Thank you.

We had a great holiday seeing and getting close to more wildlife than we’d imagined. The guides and wildlife guides were excellent and very knowledgeable. The accommodation and food was excellent and we were able to relax given how well everything was planned. Thank you!

Everything ran like clockwork. Everyone we dealt with was friendly and very helpful. Transfers, guides and wildlife sightings all exceeded our expectations. Highlights were having a male tiger with his mouth and legs covered in blood following our jeep a long the track in Tadoba and seeing a leopard lounging on a rock by the roadside.