Armchair Travel

Even Simon Reeve can’t beat lockdown, but here’s how we’ve been enjoying the planet’s wildest spaces and most impressive wildlife from the comfort of our own homes...

From podcasts and books to virtual tours, here’s how to travel from home

Okay, so the bad news is that even ever-intrepid Simon Reeve can’t get around a global shutdown, which means his South America series won’t be out for a while yet. The good news, though, is that the first half of his Americas project, North

America with Simon Reeve, is now out on DVD (£15), and has been cheering us up in the meantime.

Lockdown’s also given us the time to catch up with another Wanderlust favourite. The latest series of Ben Fogle’s New Lives

in the Wild (C5, available on catch up) sees him travel from Georgia, USA, to New Zealand, revisiting the rat-race defying people amid some of the planet’s most rugged terrains.

Elsewhere, we’ve been enjoying two different sorts of travel challenges on BBC iplayer. Win the

Wilderness, which saw six British couples compete to own an impressive pile in the middle of the Alaskan nowhere. And of course the South America-set second series of

Race Across the World – see our interview with the stars on page 32.

We might not be able to go on safari right now, but digital alternatives have sprung up to bring the sights and sounds of the bush into our home. Wearing khaki and a bush hat is entirely optional.

Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy is famously the home of the world’s two last northern white rhinos. It has been offering a daily programme ranging from wildlife-dense game drives to joining the morning routine of the rhinos, walking with the tracker dogs and joining the armed rangers for a fierce gym workout. You’ll find them on Facebook @ olpejetaconservancy

We’re also loving Wildearth’s live broadcasts from Djuma

Private Game Reserve in Sabi Sands, South Africa (wildearth.tv).

Tune in for good sightings of lion, wild dogs and elephants.

The 24-hour live webcam at

Tau Game Lodge in South Africa’s Madikwe Game Reserve is addictive. You can catch up with the web cam at

taugamelodge.co.za

Also worth checking out is

Jonathan and Angie Scott’s (left) new Youtube channel, The Big Cat People, telling the stories behind their photographs.