HERE ARE THE WILD THINGS
Trips to get you into nature
If you’re the type of traveller with a passion for getting a whole new perspective on a destination, along with an active itinerary that encompasses culture and adventure, you’ll want to check out a selection of new excursions available for 2018.
G Adventures and National Geographic have partnered on eight new trips to some of the world’s most exotic destinations — Borneo, Mongolia and a couple off-the-beaten-path nature preserves in Botswana and Tanzania.
Here’s an overview of the new offerings:
Discover Mongolia:
This 14-day excursion begins and ends in Ulaanbaatar. You’ll discover the diverse landscapes and culture of Mongolia, including seeing the Flaming Cliffs of the Gobi Desert and meet a Lama Buddhist monk at the mythical Erdene Zhu monastery built in the mid-1500s. Along the way, you’ll also see how yak farmers and nomadic camel herders live and learn about the reintroduction the Takhi wild horses that were nearly wiped out in the 1960s.
Best of Borneo:
On this wonderful wildlife-focused 12-day expedition, you’ll see orangutans in their natural habitat and take a river cruise to see a herd of pygmy elephants, plus an unusual colony of bats at Mulu National Park.
Safaris:
Choose from two safaris, in Botswana and Zimbabwe or in southern Tanzania. Each has its own unique itinerary taking guests into largely unknown national parks and preserves.
Ruaha National Park and Selous Game Reserve are two places known to have some of the largest populations of lions in the world.
Guests will also see up close some of Nat Geo’s key conservation efforts during a visit to its Okavango Wilderness Project.
TAKE A HIKE IN VICTORIA
If you happen to be in Victoria in late fall, take the time to get off the beaten urban path to see a fascinating natural spectacle just on the outskirts of the city.
From late October to early December, the Finlayson Arm in Goldstream Provincial Park becomes reddish pink as tens of thousands of chum, coho and Chinook salmon arrive from the Pacific Ocean to spawn and die here.
It’s a mystery of nature how the salmon find their way back after three or four years maturing in the ocean. But the return makes for a fascinating natural spectacle that also attracts such wildlife as eagles and bears, coming to feed on the salmon.
You can hike the park yourself, or get a more educational experience with HikeVictoria, which offers salmon run hikes that also include a visit to Vancouver Island’s version of Niagara Falls and the Railway Trestle, where you’re sure to get some beautiful fall photos.