Tag Archives: Natural Habitat Adventures

ecotourism, National Parks, Photography Expeditions

Natural Habitat Adventures Introduces New Polar Bear Photo Expedition to Alaska’s High Arctic

Natural Habitat Adventures has a new trip to photograph polar bears in the remote Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska, where they roam the shoreline along the Beaufort Sea.

BOULDER, CO– Natural Habitat Adventures, the world’s leader in sustainable travel and ecotourism since 1985, is introducing an exclusive new seven-day opportunity to photograph polar bears in the remote Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska, where they roam the shoreline along the Beaufort Sea.
The expedition, Photographing Polar Bears in Alaska’s High Arctic, debuts in August 2017 with three departures for eight guests each: Aug. 21-27, Aug. 24-30 and Aug. 27-Sept. 2. Similar dates are tentatively set for 2018. The per-person double rate from $10,895 includes private chartered roundtrip air from Fairbanks (gateway city) across the Arctic Circle to Kaktovik, flying over the vast Yukon River Valley and glaciated Brooks Range; six private 3-hour boat excursions (limited to just four passengers per vessel) to photograph polar bears and other Arctic wildlife at eye level; accommodations; all meals; and more.

Kaktovik, an Inupiat village of 250 people located on Barter Island in the Beaufort Sea on the edge of the coastal plain, is Alaska’s premier location to view polar bears. Sightings have been increasing in the region over the past few years as bears spend more time on land due to waning sea ice. Nat Hab has operated popular polar bear adventures in Churchill, Manitoba, since the 1980s; this new trip is the company’s first polar-bear-focused trip in Alaska.

The expedition, which takes place at 70 degrees north latitude, is also Nat Hab’s most northerly adventure. Guests fly over the Arctic Circle before landing on Alaska’s North Slope on the edge of the Beaufort Sea. This immersion in the far north provides an unusual chance to witness the impacts of climate change while learning about changing polar bear behavior and how local people face challenges to their age-old subsistence lifestyle.

Guests travel with a Nat Hab Expedition Leader who is an Arctic naturalist and polar bear expert as well an accomplished wildlife photographer offering guidance for all ability levels. Boats are skippered by local resident guides who are intimately familiar with polar bears and their behavior, ensuring a thorough interpretive experience.

The itinerary, exclusive to Nat Hab and its conservation partner World Wildlife Fund, also includes a full day of exploration in Fairbanks, including a visit to the University of Alaska’s Museum of the North and the university’s Large Animal Research Station.

“No other major travel company offers an all-encompassing Alaska polar bear experience like this one, with such an immersive focus,” explains Ben Bressler, Nat Hab founder and president. “Along with multiple extended excursions to view and photograph the bears, we include all the elements to safely and comfortably get you there and home—including internal chartered flights. Once you arrive in Fairbanks, we’ve got your every need covered.”

For information on all of Nat Hab’s trips, descriptive itineraries, date availability and reservations, call 800.543.8917 or visit http://www.nathab.com/. Click HERE to order a copy of the 2017 catalog.

Natural Habitat Adventures is a world leader in responsible adventure travel and nature-based ecotourism. Since its founding in 1985, the company has offered eco-conscious expeditions and wildlife-focused small-group tours to the planet’s most remarkable nature destinations. Inspired and created from years of scouring the planet for the singular and extraordinary, Nat Hab’s itineraries are artfully crafted experiences that are far from “typical.” Trips are guided by professional naturalist Expedition Leaders, and Nat Hab enjoys a longstanding reputation for hiring some of the world’s best guides. Conservation is at the forefront of everything NHA does, and its philosophy is simple: tourism must work with and benefit local communities, which will in turn find value in protecting natural resources and wildlife. NHA is the travel partner of World Wildlife Fund, sharing a mutual commitment to travel as a means of helping to protect the world’s wondrous natural places. Nat Hab has donated more than $2 million to WWF and will continue to donate 1 percent of gross sales plus $100,000 annual through 2018 in support of WWF’s mission.

Follow Natural Habitat Adventures:
Facebook:     https://www.facebook.com/NaturalHabitatAdventures
Google+:        https://plus.google.com/+Nathab/
Twitter:           https://twitter.com/nathab
YouTube:       https://www.youtube.com/user/NaturalHabitatAdv
Pinterest:       http://www.pinterest.com/nathabpinterest/
Instagram:     http://instagram.com/naturalhabitatadventures

 

For more travel features, visit:

goingplacesfarandnear.com

www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin

goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com

moralcompasstravel.info

travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/

goingplacesfarandnear.tumblr.com/

instagram.com/krubin0830/

‘Like’ us on facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Twitter: @TravelFeatures

Asia/Pacific travel, Conservation, ecotourism, international travel, Nature Travel, Voluntourism, Wildlife travel

Rare Chance To Help Care for Giant Pandas on Natural Habitat Adventures’ Wild China Trips

nat-hab-china-panda

BOULDER, CO – Natural Habitat Adventures has introduced a new opportunity to get behind the scenes and assist with panda care on its China nature adventures. Guests can enjoy a one-day volunteer experience at a Chinese research base that has helped pull giant pandas back from the brink.

The optional caregiver opportunity takes place at Dujiangyan Panda Valley, China’s newest facility for panda research, education and conservation located outside Chengdu. It is included on both Nat Hab’s Wild Side of China Nature Odyssey and Wild Side of China Photo Adventure.

On both panda-focused itineraries, travelers have the rare chance to spend a day with panda keepers, enjoying pandas at close range while assisting with tasks that are part of the daily care routine, such as feeding pandas and cleaning enclosures.

This intimate contact comes in the context of a celebratory victory for conservation, as China’s giant panda population was recently downgraded from endangered to vulnerable. While giant pandas are still at risk, their numbers continue to rebound. More than 1,800 were counted in the wild in China’s 2014 survey, a jump of 17 percent since the 2003 national census.

Top naturalist Expedition Leaders provide insight into this success story on Nat Hab’s two 12-day itineraries, which offer the most panda-intensive and nature-centered exploration of China provided by any travel company. In addition to visiting three different panda research bases, guests are immersed in the giant panda’s wild native habitat, including two days in a remote mountain nature reserve in Sichuan Province that few tourists ever see.

On this rare expedition into the Minshan Mountains, walks and wildlife drives in this virtually unvisited preserve provides reveal the panda’s native environment, including lush bamboo forests, river gorges and waterfalls.

Because wild pandas are highly elusive, guests are not likely to see them, but approximately 60 live within this densely forested 100,000-acre sanctuary. The reserve is rated as a Grade I global biodiversity hotspot by World Wildlife Fund and is home 430 different mammal species including golden monkeys, Tibetan and rhesus macaques, musk deer, muntjac, serow, wild boar, blue sheep, and endangered moon bears and red pandas. More than 2,400 different plant species and 150 bird species are also found in the park, including the golden pheasant.

Both itineraries also include Jiuzhaigou National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and UN Biosphere Reserve, containing some of China’s most dramatic wild landscapes. Guided walks showcase steep peaks, ravines, forest, meadows, marshes and a multitude of lakes and waterfalls. The park’s most distinctive feature is its terraced limestone pools filled with turquoise water that flows in crystalline cascades from ledge to ledge.

Each departure is led by a Nat Hab Expedition Leader who has trained with WWF scientists and researchers, along with a top Chinese naturalist guide. Travelers benefit from a breadth of expert scientific knowledge, authentic cultural insight and attentive personal service. Photo tour departures feature personalized guidance from an expert professional photographer.

This unique itinerary also offers an unusual chance for Western visitors to witness rural Chinese life. In the Gansu Muslim village of Qing Xi, guests stroll among 300-year-old wooden buildings from the Qing dynasty. On an overland journey onto the Tibetan Plateau, they traverse a landscape dotted with fluttering prayer flags and chortens and share lunch with a Tibetan family. And on a visit to a small farm, they learn about a WWF-supported bio-waste project that uses agricultural by-products to create cleaner cooking fuels, reducing local wood consumption and preserving habitat for pandas and other wildlife.

The per-person rate, based on double occupancy, starts at $10,495, for both regular and photo departures. 2017 season departures are: April 2, April 6 (Photo Tour), April 16, April 20 (Photo Tour), May 1, May 4 (Photo Tour), Sept. 3, Sept. 17, and Oct. 7 (Photo Tour). Dates also available for 2018.

For information on all of Nat Hab’s trips, descriptive itineraries, date availability and reservations, call 800.543.8917 or visit http://www.nathab.com/. Click HERE to order a copy of the 2017 catalog.

Natural Habitat Adventures is a world leader in responsible adventure travel and nature-based ecotourism. Since its founding in 1985, the company has offered eco-conscious expeditions and wildlife-focused small-group tours to the planet’s most remarkable nature destinations. Inspired and created from years of scouring the planet for the singular and extraordinary, Nat Hab’s itineraries are artfully crafted experiences that are far from “typical.” Trips are guided by professional naturalist Expedition Leaders, and Nat Hab enjoys a longstanding reputation for hiring some of the world’s best guides. Conservation is at the forefront of everything NHA does, and its philosophy is simple: tourism must work with and benefit local communities, which will in turn find value in protecting natural resources and wildlife. NHA is proud to be the travel partner of World Wildlife Fund, sharing a mutual commitment to travel as a means of helping to protect the world’s wondrous natural places.  Nat Hab has donated more than $2 million to WWF and will continue to donate 1 percent of gross sales plus $100,000 annual through 2018 in support of WWF’s mission.

 

For more travel features, visit:

goingplacesfarandnear.com

goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com

moralcompasstravel.info

travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/

goingplacesfarandnear.tumblr.com/

instagram.com/krubin0830/

‘Like’ us on facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Twitter: @TravelFeatures

Responsible Travel, Sustainable Travel

Travel Companies Join White House Effort To Fight Wildlife Trafficking

Natural Habitat Adventures joined other founding members of the US Wildlife Trafficking Alliance for meetings at the White House to share commitments and discuss how to work with the Obama Administration to communicate the seriousness of the wildlife trafficking crisis, change consumer buying behavior and reduce demand for illegal wildlife products in the U.S.
Natural Habitat Adventures joined other founding members of the US Wildlife Trafficking Alliance for meetings at the White House to share commitments and discuss how to work with the Obama Administration to communicate the seriousness of the wildlife trafficking crisis, change consumer buying behavior and reduce demand for illegal wildlife products in the U.S.

BOULDER, CO— Natural Habitat Adventures joined other founding members of the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance for meetings at the White House on April 4 to share commitments and discuss how to work with the Obama Administration to communicate the seriousness of the wildlife trafficking crisis, change consumer buying behavior and reduce demand for illegal wildlife products in the U.S.

Hosted by Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell along with representatives of the White House and State Department, the gathering included nonprofit leaders such as WWF President Carter Roberts, as well as corporate executives from Google, eBay, Etsy, Discovery Communications, Tiffany & Co., Ralph Lauren, Royal Caribbean, Jet Blue, the Adventure Travel Trade Association and others.

Wildlife trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar industry centered on the killing of endangered and threatened species to produce illegal products made from ivory, snake skins, furs and other animal parts. Demand from American businesses and consumers has a tremendous influence on whether lions, elephants, pangolins and other at-risk species will become extinct within our lifetime.

“Frankly, I didn’t realize we still had an illegal wildlife trade problem here in the U.S. — this common misperception was a recurrent theme at the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance’s White House gathering,” said Nat Hab’s Ted Martens, Vice President for Marketing and Sustainability.
While many people are familiar with the poaching epidemic in Africa, the perception is that the demand for products such as elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn is limited to the Asian market.  What most people don’t realize is that the United States is second in demand for illegal wildlife products after China.

A 2013 visit to East Africa brought the issue of wildlife crime to the center of President Obama’s priorities.  Through an Executive Order, Obama called on government, nonprofits and the private sector to mobilize behind a joint effort to save at-risk species around the world.  The outcome was the creation of the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance — a broad coalition effort to stop the demand for illegal wildlife products and choke off the supply chains traffickers rely on for access to the U.S. market.

Convened by WWF, National Geographic and other prominent nonprofits that have been active on this issue, the Alliance partners with leading companies in industries where wildlife traffickers try to sell their goods, including jewelry, apparel, e-commerce, and tourism.  Natural Habitat Adventures is proud to be a member of the distinctive group of industry leaders committed to reversing this trend.

“The unique challenge within the tourism industry is that travelers are participating in the black market unknowingly — they are fueling demand for illegal products without realizing that is what they are purchasing. Given the opportunity to choose to buy a souvenir made from an endangered species or one made from a sustainable material, I am confident that 100 percent of our travelers would choose the sustainable material,” explains Martens.

To address this issue, Nat Hab has been working in partnership with WWF to develop educational materials for travelers to guide them when purchasing souvenirs during their travels.  These resources are being integrated into pre-trip materials and distributed to Nat Hab Expedition Leaders to help guide traveler purchasing behaviors during their travels.  Additionally, Nat Hab is working with the Adventure Travel Trade Association to raise awareness of these issues and share best practices with others in the industry.

To learn more about the efforts of the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance to combat the illegal wildlife trade, visit www.uswta.org.

Natural Habitat Adventures is a world leader in responsible adventure travel and nature-based ecotourism. Since its founding in 1985, the company has offered eco-conscious expeditions and wildlife-focused small-group tours to the planet’s most remarkable nature destinations. Inspired and created from years of scouring the planet for the singular and extraordinary, Nat Hab’s itineraries are artfully crafted experiences that are far from “typical.” Trips are guided by professional naturalist Expedition Leaders, and Nat Hab enjoys a longstanding reputation for hiring some of the world’s best guides. Conservation is at the forefront of everything NHA does, and its philosophy is simple: tourism must work with and benefit local communities, which will in turn find value in protecting natural resources and wildlife. NHA is proud to be the travel partner of World Wildlife Fund, sharing a mutual commitment to travel as a means of helping to protect the world’s wondrous natural places.  Nat Hab has donated more than $2 million to WWF and will continue to donate 1% of gross sales plus $100,000 annual through 2018 in support of WWF’s mission.

 

For more travel features, visit:

www.examiner.com/eclectic-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

www.examiner.com/international-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

goingplacesfarandnear.com

goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com

moralcompasstravel.info

travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/

goingplacesfarandnear.tumblr.com/

‘Like’ us on facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Twitter: @TravelFeatures

Adventure Travel, camping trips, ecotourism, hiking, National Parks, Nature Travel, US Travel

Natural Habitat Adventures Launches New “Safari America” Series in Iconic National Parks

Natural Habitat’s newest trip seeks to replicate a traditional African safari experience with large canvas tents, fine dining and a telescope for stargazing.
Natural Habitat’s newest trip seeks to replicate a traditional African safari experience with large canvas tents, fine dining and a telescope for stargazing.

BOULDER, CO — The nature travel professionals at Natural Habitat Adventures have come up with a fresh way to explore America’s national parks and reserves. By choosing paths less traveled and incorporating deluxe catered camping, guests experience in solitude the wonder of the country’s most magnificent landscapes without compromising comfort.

NatHab-NatlParks2Natural Habitat’s newest trip seeks to replicate a traditional African safari experience with large canvas tents, fine dining and a telescope for stargazing. The first offering in the Safari America series, Safari America: Under the Desert Sky, is a 9-day, 8-night adventure that combines moderate hiking with catered camping and classic lodge stays at four premier parks: Grand Canyon (the quieter North Rim that hosts just 10 percent of all visitors to the park), Bryce, Zion and rarely visited Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Departures begin and end in St. George, UT. 2016 dates are Aug.7-15 and Aug. 25- Sept. 2. The per-person double rate is $3,995; single supplement $1,095. Guests spend four nights in walk-in canvas tents with real beds (two twins or a queen) and down comforters, a private toilet for each tent, and hot showers. Home-cooked meals are served at a table set with linens and porcelain dinnerware, complemented with fine wines. Three nights are spent in classic western lodges.

Evoking the concept of a mobile African safari, camps are secluded on private lands adjacent to national parks. An open-sided lounge tent provides a gathering space, with comfortable chairs for relaxing. A high-powered telescope is situated for shared use after dark. Camps are set in areas known for near-perfect conditions for stargazing, with low humidity, isolation from ambient light and the darkest skies in the West. While accommodations are not luxurious, they offer full-service, classic tented camping at its finest.

Interspersed during the week between safari camp stays are three nights at exclusive western lodges. Guests enjoy two nights in rustic luxury at Zion Mountain Ranch, a private spread with its own bison herd, perched atop a plateau under wide-open skies. From individual cabins with private decks, guests watch buffalo and wild deer graze in meadows before retreating inside to the warmth of a wood-burning fireplace. The ranch restaurant prepares acclaimed farm-to-table meals featuring seasonal dishes sourced from local growers. Guests also spend a night at Bryce Canyon Lodge, the venerable 1920s hostelry recently restored to its original splendor and that remains the only lodging on the rim inside Bryce Canyon National Park.

NatHab-GrandCanyon NRimTwo naturalist Expedition Leaders share with a maximum of 14 guests per departure the highlights and hidden corners of the Colorado Plateau’s dramatic topography, a trip that includes the little-visited Grand Staircase-Escalante, a geological wonderland of broad mesas, narrow slot canyons, stacked sandstone and arid washes. While tenting in Escalante and on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, guests may gaze at the heavens with a high-powered telescope under a canopy of stars. While traveling throughout this region, each guest has a window seat in one of two comfort-designed vans.

The canyon country of the American West has long held a storied place in the annals of travel adventure. From John Wesley Powell’s Colorado River explorations to Mary Colter, who influenced Southwest architecture, to Teddy Roosevelt, who fell in love with the Wild West, intrepid pioneers and everyday explorers alike have pursued the allure of these rustic landscapes. This trip’s focus in tandem with Nat Hab partner World Wildlife Fund is a classic journey into America’s high deserts, forests and canyonlands, shunning crowds by staying in secluded areas where quiet and solitude reign, just as they did for the early explorers.

For details, see http://www.nathab.com/us-national-parks-tours/southwest-national-parks-camping-tour/.

For information on all of Nat Hab’s trips, descriptive itineraries, date availability and reservations call 800.543.8917 or visit http://www.nathab.com/. Click HERE to order a copy of the 2016 catalog.

Natural Habitat Adventures is a world leader in responsible adventure travel and nature-based ecotourism. Since its founding in 1985, the company has offered eco-conscious expeditions and wildlife-focused small-group tours to the planet’s most remarkable nature destinations. Inspired and created from years of scouring the planet for the singular and extraordinary, Nat Hab’s itineraries are artfully crafted experiences that are far from “typical.” Trips are guided by professional naturalist Expedition Leaders, and Nat Hab enjoys a longstanding reputation for hiring some of the world’s best guides. Conservation is at the forefront of everything NHA does, and its philosophy is simple: tourism must work with and benefit local communities, which will in turn find value in protecting natural resources and wildlife.

NHA is proud to be the travel partner of World Wildlife Fund, sharing a mutual commitment to travel as a means of helping to protect the world’s wondrous natural places.  Nat Hab has donated more than $2 million to WWF and will continue to donate 1% of gross sales plus $100,000 annual through 2018 in support of WWF’s mission.
Follow Natural Habitat Adventures:
Facebook:     https://www.facebook.com/NaturalHabitatAdventures
Google+:       https://plus.google.com/+Nathab/
Twitter:          https://twitter.com/nathab
YouTube:       https://www.youtube.com/user/NaturalHabitatAdv
Pinterest:       http://www.pinterest.com/nathabpinterest/
Instagram:     http://instagram.com/naturalhabitatadventures

 

For more travel features, visit:

www.examiner.com/eclectic-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

www.examiner.com/international-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

goingplacesfarandnear.com

goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com

moralcompasstravel.info

travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/

goingplacesfarandnear.tumblr.com/

‘Like’ us on facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Twitter: @TravelFeatures

ecotourism, Sustainable Travel

Natural Habitat Ventures ‘Round Iceland’ On New Circumnavigation by Land and Sea

Natural Habitat Adventures’ new Round Iceland adventure explores this curious island of glaciers and geysers, hot springs and waterfalls, frigid fjords, flowing lava, puffins and whales.
Natural Habitat Adventures’ new Round Iceland adventure explores this curious island of glaciers and geysers, hot springs and waterfalls, frigid fjords, flowing lava, puffins and whales.

BOULDER, CO – The word has gotten out about Iceland’s astonishing natural wonders. This curious island of glaciers and geysers, hot springs and waterfalls, frigid fjords, flowing lava, puffins and whales is now a hot destination for adventure travelers. Avoiding the crowds is the emphasis on Natural Habitat Adventures’ new ‘Round Iceland’ adventure, a comprehensive 11-day exploratory journey circling this small Nordic nation lying between the North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean.

Trip dates in 2016 are July 9-19 and July 23-Aug. 2, and in 2017, July 9-July 19 and July 23-Aug. 2. Each departure is limited to no more than 12 travelers.

Nat Hab’s newest nature immersion introduces Iceland with a complete loop around the island, exploring the fjord-indented coast and penetrating the wild interior where people are few and elements of traditional culture endure.

“While there are some small-ship cruises that circumnavigate Iceland, to our knowledge, no one else offers such an extensive and multifaceted exploration as this,” said Ben Bressler, Natural Habitat Adventures’ founder and president.

Nat Hab utilizes different modes of transportation to add variety and adventure, including excursion boats, a private mini bus with a window seat for all guests, 4×4 vehicles including a “Super Jeep” for rugged overland travel, and two short flights — one privately chartered — to maximize efficiency and give more time on the ground to explore.

A Nat Hab trademark is a focus on less-explored, less-touristed areas. Guests will experience places far off the heavily traveled track, including the remote Westfjords. Here, two private boat excursions offer opportunities for whale watching and viewing puffin and seal colonies, while a 4×4 excursion inland may reveal Arctic fox. The little-visited east coast showcases a tranquil region of mountains, forests, fjords and fishing villages.

Other itinerary highlights include a Super Jeep tour to Askja Volcano crater; a private Zodiac cruise among bobbing blue icebergs in Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon; hiking or an optional glacier walk in Skaftafell National Park; an overnight stay in Hveragerdi, Iceland’s hot springs capital; a tour of an Icelandic horse farm; and visits to several dramatic waterfalls including Mongufoss, Skogafoss and Dettifoss, Iceland’s largest cataract by volume.

On display throughout the itinerary are waterfalls, volcanoes, lava fields, geothermal features such as bubbling mud pots and steaming geysers, grazing Icelandic sheep famed for the warmest wool in the world, and the hospitality of a hardy, welcoming people whose lineage traces back to the arrival of the Vikings in the 9th century.

Meals are a highlight, featuring abundant fresh seafood, local lamb and greenhouse-grow Icelandic produce, among varied options. In the less-traveled locations, accommodations are selected for their proximity to natural areas and a high standard of hospitality that is genuine and authentic.

The per-person double occupancy rate is from $11,995 and includes accommodations, meals, transportation, and the services of a dedicated Nat Hab naturalist Expedition Leader plus local guides.

The trip begins and ends in the capital city of Reykjavik, the heart of Iceland’s cultural, economic and governmental activity. It is among the cleanest and greenest cities in the world and the site of the first permanent Norse settlement in Iceland in the 9th century.

For more details on Nat Hab’s Iceland adventure, see: http://www.nathab.com/alaska-northern-adventures/iceland-nature-adventure/

For information on all of Nat Hab’s trips, descriptive itineraries, date availability and reservations, call 800.543.8917 or visit http://www.nathab.com/. Click HERE to order a copy of the 2016 catalog.

Natural Habitat Adventures is a world leader in responsible adventure travel and nature-based ecotourism. Since its founding in 1985, the company has offered eco-conscious expeditions and wildlife-focused small-group tours to the planet’s most remarkable nature destinations. Inspired and created from years of scouring the planet for the singular and extraordinary, Nat Hab’s itineraries are artfully crafted experiences that are far from “typical.” Trips are guided by professional naturalist Expedition Leaders, and Nat Hab enjoys a longstanding reputation for hiring some of the world’s best guides. Conservation is at the forefront of everything NHA does, and its philosophy is simple: tourism must work with and benefit local communities, which will in turn find value in protecting natural resources and wildlife. NHA is proud to be the travel partner of World Wildlife Fund, sharing a mutual commitment to travel as a means of helping to protect the world’s wondrous natural places.  Nat Hab has donated more than $2 million to WWF and will continue to donate 1% of gross sales plus $100,000 annual through 2018 in support of WWF’s mission.

 

For more travel features, visit:

www.examiner.com/eclectic-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

www.examiner.com/international-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

goingplacesfarandnear.com

goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com

moralcompasstravel.info

travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/

goingplacesfarandnear.tumblr.com/

‘Like’ us on facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Twitter: @TravelFeatures

 

expeditionary cruises, Sustainable Travel

Natural Habitat Adventures Introduces Charter Flights, Making Antarctica Sailing Expedition More Accessible

NatHab-Antarctica

BOULDER, CO– Natural Habitat Adventures, a leading nature travel company, has just introduced a new opportunity for guests to fly to and from the White Continent on its Antarctica Sailing Expedition—The Ultimate Polar Nature Adventure (http://www.nathab.com/expeditions/arctic-antarctica/antarctica-expedition/) on chartered flights, included in the program price.

“Choosing to fly both ways by chartered plane allows guests to save time,” said Ben Bressler, founder and president of Nat Hab. The option bypasses the voyage across Drake Passage, a journey that typically takes three days in seas that are notorious for frequent gales.

The new “fly both ways” itinerary will debut with the Dec. 12, 2016, departure from Punta Arenas, Chile. Two additional round-trip flight itineraries have been added for 2017. The 12- to 17-day adventure (depending on itinerary chosen) also offers departures that fly one way across Drake Passage and sail the reverse. Guests aboard all departures will explore the Antarctic Peninsula aboard the 75-foot polar expedition sailboat Australis.

Flights land at King George Island in the South Shetland group where guests will board the ice-strengthened sailing vessel to begin an exclusive polar nature adventure. Each departure accommodates just seven guests on this unique-to-Nat Hab vessel that offers a taste of how legendary expeditioners encountered Antarctica. The per-person rate is from $22,995. In addition to the expedition cruise and flight, pre- and post-voyage hotel accommodations are also included.

NatHab-Antarctica shipS/V Australis is a modern sailboat that’s a seasoned veteran of polar waters, with state-of-the-art navigation and safety equipment. A crow’s nest with ladder access offers 360-views and fantastic wildlife viewing. Guests are hosted by Nat Hab’s naturalist Expedition Leader and crew members, who provide hearty and tasty meals throughout the journey.

The nimble dimensions of the 75-foot Australis allow exploration of remote coves, narrow passages and isolated beaches that larger ships can’t access. And in contrast to the typical ship-based Antarctica voyages that generally spend four to seven days making shore excursions on the Antarctic Peninsula, this itinerary calls for eight to 12 shore adventures (depending on weather and sea conditions), several of which are exclusive to this vessel.

While some ships offer a single night’s camping on the ice at an additional cost, Nat Hab holds special permits from the National Science Foundation that allow its guests to spend up to six nights camping ashore (weather permitting, included in the voyage price) in remote locations frequented only by penguins and seals, rather than ship-based crowds. Guests also enjoy intimate kayak outings and extended hikes to view whales, seals, penguins, a multitude of seabirds and astounding icebergs at close range. The company employs the best and most up-to-date equipment available, including top-quality safety and survival gear, tents, kayaks and camping equipment.

NatHab-Antarctica3The skipper of the S/V Australis, Ben Wallis, has an impressive maritime resume. On or around boats since before he could walk, he sailed at age 16 in the prestigious Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, sparking his interest in Southern Ocean sailing. In 1997 at age 18, he began crewing on yachts in Antarctica alongside his father, a seasoned skipper in polar waters. He worked his way up to skippering the S/V Australis, operating in both Arctic and Antarctic polar regions for approximately eight months each year. He holds multiple certifications for offshore safety and sea survival training and guides a crew that is also exceedingly experienced in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic waters.

For more information see http://www.nathab.com/expeditions/arctic-antarctica/antarctica-expedition/

For information on all of Nat Hab’s trips, descriptive itineraries, date availability and reservations, call 800.543.8917 or visit www.nathab.com. Click HERE to order a copy of the 2016 catalog.

Natural Habitat Adventures is a world leader in responsible adventure travel and nature-based ecotourism. Since its founding in 1985, the company has offered eco-conscious expeditions and wildlife-focused small-group tours to the planet’s most remarkable nature destinations. Inspired and created from years of scouring the planet for the singular and extraordinary, Nat Hab’s itineraries are artfully crafted experiences that are far from “typical.” Trips are guided by professional naturalist Expedition Leaders, and Nat Hab enjoys a longstanding reputation for hiring some of the world’s best guides. Conservation is at the forefront of everything NHA does, and its philosophy is simple: tourism must work with and benefit local communities, which will in turn find value in protecting natural resources and wildlife. NHA is proud to be the travel partner of World Wildlife Fund, sharing a mutual commitment to travel as a means of helping to protect the world’s wondrous natural places.

 

For more travel features, visit:

www.examiner.com/eclectic-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

www.examiner.com/international-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

goingplacesfarandnear.com

goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com

moralcompasstravel.info

travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/

‘Like’ us on facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Twitter: @TravelFeatures

Africa, Conservation, Sustainable Travel

Win 7-day Natural Habitat Adventures Kenya Safari for 2 in World Wildlife Fund Sweepstakes

You can win a 7-day/6-night safari, offered by Natural Habitat Adventures, to the famed Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya World in a sweepstakes from the World Wildlife Fund aims to raise public awareness of conservation efforts.
You can win a 7-day/6-night safari, offered by Natural Habitat Adventures, to the famed Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya World in a sweepstakes from the World Wildlife Fund aims to raise public awareness of conservation efforts.

You can win a 7-day/6-night safari to the famed Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya  The World. Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Natural Habitat Adventures have just launched a sweepstakes for the safari, custom-designed by Natural Habitat Adventures for the sweepstakes and not available anywhere else. Enter by December 8; the winner will be randomly drawn in mid-December.

The week-long safari offers an immersion in East Africa’s iconic landscapes, amid some of the most prolific and diverse wildlife on the continent. The prize-winner and a guest will explore the vast savannas of the Maasai Mara in search of the fabled Big Five — elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard — and a host of other wildlife. Safari activities include classic game drives and exclusive guided bush walks on a private conservancy, with exceptional proximity to wildlife from a mobile safari camp located in a remote sector of the reserve.

The sweepstakes aims to raise public awareness of the efforts of WWF and its on-the-ground partners in Kenya who have worked together for years to protect elephants, rhinos and other wildlife by fighting illegal wildlife trade, minimizing human-wildlife conflict, and protecting critical habitat.

RULES

  • Enter the sweepstakes by visiting www.worldwildlife.org/sweepstakes and completing the sweepstakes registration form.
  • The sweepstakes begins on November 2, 2015 and ends on December 8, 2015.
  • Open to legal residents of the United States who have reached the age of majority at the time of entry.
  • The registration form requires each entrant to provide his/her full name, complete mailing address, date of birth, telephone number, and email address. All required information must be provided to enter and to be eligible to win.
  • During the sweepstakes period (November 2, 2015 – December 8, 2015), there will be a limit of one (1) entry per person. Sponsor (Natural Habitat Adventures) reserves the right to disqualify any person who submits more than a single entry.
  • No purchase necessary to enter or win.
  • Winner will be drawn at random in mid-December.

PRIZE DETAILS

  • Explore the savannas of Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve via open-air 4×4 vehicles and on foot with a local Maasai guide, and spend three nights in a luxury mobile safari camp in the heart of the reserve.
  • Stay at an intimate safari camp on a private conservancy with exclusive activities that are not available in the national parks, including bush walks and night drives in search of nocturnal wildlife.
  • Opportunities to look for Africa’s Big Five—elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard— as well as a multitude of other classic African wildlife such as giraffe, zebra, cheetah, gazelle and more.
  • Grand Prize package includes: Two (2) round-trip standard economy airfare tickets to Nairobi from a major commercial airport in the United States near the winner’s primary residence; accommodations for six (6) nights in Kenya (double-occupancy room, room and tax only); economy-class airfare from Nairobi to the Maasai Mara National Reserve; meals from dinner on Day 1 through breakfast on Day 7; services of the Natural Habitat Adventures’ professional Expedition Leaders and camp staff; airport transfers; and permit and entrance fees.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, working in 100 countries for over half a century. With the support of almost 5 million members worldwide, WWF is dedicated to delivering science-based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment and combat climate change. Visitwww.worldwildlife.org to learn more and follow our news conversations on Twitter @WWFnews.

Natural Habitat Adventures is a world leader in responsible adventure travel and nature-based ecotourism. Since its founding in 1985, the company has offered eco-conscious expeditions and wildlife-focused small-group tours to the planet’s most remarkable nature destinations. Inspired and created from years of scouring the planet for the singular and extraordinary, Nat Hab’s itineraries are artfully crafted experiences that are far from “typical.” Trips are guided by professional naturalist Expedition Leaders, and Nat Hab enjoys a longstanding reputation for hiring some of the world’s best guides. Conservation is at the forefront of everything NHA does, and its philosophy is simple: tourism must work with and benefit local communities, which will in turn find value in protecting natural resources and wildlife. NHA is proud to be the travel partner of World Wildlife Fund, sharing a mutual commitment to travel as a means of helping to protect the world’s wondrous natural places.  Nat Hab has donated more than $2 million to WWF and will continue to donate 1% of gross sales plus $100,000 annual through 2018 in support of WWF’s mission

 

For more travel features, visit:

www.examiner.com/eclectic-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

www.examiner.com/international-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

goingplacesfarandnear.com

goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com

moralcompasstravel.info

travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/

‘Like’ us on facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Twitter: @TravelFeatures

Adventure Travel, Africa, experiential travel

Natural Habitat Adventures Debuts New African Riverboat Safari in Botswana

Natural Habitat Adventures is introducing an exclusive new safari adventure aboard a privately chartered deluxe riverboat cruising the Chobe and Zambezi rivers beginning in June 2016.
Natural Habitat Adventures is introducing an exclusive new safari adventure aboard a privately chartered deluxe riverboat cruising the Chobe and Zambezi rivers beginning in June 2016.

BOULDER, CO – Natural Habitat Adventures is introducing an exclusive new safari adventure aboard a privately chartered deluxe riverboat cruising the Chobe and Zambezi rivers beginning in June 2016.

The Great African River Safari features an intimate cruise aboard the Chobe Princess followed by an overland safari through private reserves, a combination that offers some of the best wildlife viewing in Botswana while also touching into Zambia and Namibia. Guests spend three nights aboard the Chobe Princess, plying the broad channels and backwaters of the Chobe River and its confluence with the Zambezi River, and five nights at small luxury camps exclusively for Nat Hab guests and deep within Botswana’s premier private game reserves.

The 10-day itinerary begins in Livingstone, Zambia, near Victoria Falls. Days 2, 3 and 4 are aboard Chobe Princess. Guests then transfer by air from Namibia into Botswana to commence the land portion of the trip, which includes immersive safaris in the Selinda and Moremi game reserves. The adventure ends in Maun, Botswana. Departures begin in June 2016 and are scheduled through October 2017. Rates start at $10,995 per person, double, and vary by travel date. See: www.nathab.com/africa/namibia-botswana-africa-cruise/.

“Animals absolutely abound here, and our guests will encounter them in exceptional seclusion on this private adventure,” said Nat Hab founder and president, Ben Bressler. Hundreds of hippos, enormous elephant herds (70,000 live in Chobe National Park on the Botswana side of the river alone), great numbers of buffalo and antelope, rafts of crocodiles, a multitude of water birds and more are on display from the boat’s outdoor decks, and in air-conditioned comfort through the panoramic windows. Excursions by small skiffs up narrow channels provide even closer eye-level sightings.

Each departure is limited to just seven guests to ensure the most personalized safari experience possible in the quiet, remote areas visited. On wildlife drives, each traveler gets a window seat for optimal viewing and photography.

The adventure also includes Victoria Falls, one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World. Nat Hab guests will have a guided tour of the national park on the rim, exploring different viewpoints over the falls via a network of walkways before heading upriver to secluded Toka Leya camp, located on the banks of the Zambezi. A sunset cruise is included, where guests are sure to see plentiful hippos.

Travelers lodge at remote tented camps booked exclusively for Nat Hab guests. These include Selinda Explorers Camp and Little Tubu, an isolated enclave on Hunda Island. Rather than frequenting the more heavily visited national parks in Botswana, guests explore private concessions where visitor numbers are strictly limited but wildlife is prolific. The 320,000-acre Selinda Reserve is vast big-game country home to huge herds of elephant and buffalo, as well as lion, wild dog, sable and roan antelope that are spotted on a regular basis. Hunda Island within the private Jao Concession borders Botswana’s famed Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta. Huge numbers of various hoofed game abound here, with accompanying predators, especially lion and leopard. Guests fly on charter flights between locations, to reduce rough road travel and maximize time on safari.

Guests enjoy the personalized service of some of the top naturalist safari guides in all of Africa — a Nat Hab hallmark. A Nat Hab Expedition Leader accompanies the trip from start to finish. This staff also has additional training and resources provided exclusively to Nat Hab guides by World Wildlife Fund’s top researchers.

The Chobe Princess riverboat offers five suites with a choice of king and twin bed configurations. Bathrooms are en suite. Crisply decorated with contemporary flair in a palette of white, dove gray and chartreuse, the boat’s interior including the dining area and lounge make the most of its river setting with large picture windows and sliding glass doors in the cabins that provide private views of an ever-changing landscape.

For more information see www.nathab.com/africa/namibia-botswana-africa-cruise/

For information on all of Nat Hab’s trips, descriptive itineraries, date availability and reservations, call 800.543.8917 or visit www.nathab.com.

Natural Habitat Adventures is a world leader in responsible adventure travel and nature-based ecotourism. Since its founding in 1985, the company has offered eco-conscious expeditions and wildlife-focused small-group tours to the planet’s most remarkable nature destinations. Inspired and created from years of scouring the planet for the singular and extraordinary, Nat Hab’s itineraries are artfully crafted experiences that are far from “typical.” Trips are guided by professional naturalist Expedition Leaders, and Nat Hab enjoys a longstanding reputation for hiring some of the world’s best guides. Conservation is at the forefront of everything NHA does, and its philosophy is simple: tourism must work with and benefit local communities, which will in turn find value in protecting natural resources and wildlife. NHA is proud to be the travel partner of World Wildlife Fund, sharing a mutual commitment to travel as a means of helping to protect the world’s wondrous natural places.

For more travel features, visit:
www.examiner.com/eclectic-travel-in-national/karen-rubin
www.examiner.com/international-travel-in-national/karen-rubin
goingplacesfarandnear.com
goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com
moralcompasstravel.info
travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/
‘Like’ us on facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures
Twitter: @TravelFeatures

Adventure Travel, ecotourism

Natural Habitat Adventures’ Base Camp Greenland Wins OUTSIDE Best of Travel Award as ‘Best Splurge’

Natural Habitat Adventures won OUTSIDE's Best of Travel 2015 award for Best Splurge in travel for its Base Camp Greenland Adventure
Natural Habitat Adventures won OUTSIDE’s Best of Travel 2015 award for Best Splurge in travel for its Base Camp Greenland Adventure

BOULDER, CO — OUTSIDE has selected Natural Habitat Adventures, a premier nature travel company, to receive its Best of Travel 2015 award for the company’s Base Camp Greenland Adventure, the Best Splurge in travel.

OUTSIDE launched its travel awards series in 2012, and it has quickly become one of the most prestigious awards in the adventure travel industry. Nat Hab was honored as Best Outfitter worldwide in 2013, and the company is excited to make the list again in 2015.

“We’re thrilled that OUTSIDE recognizes the effort and meticulous planning that go into our trips. This has surely been the case with Base Camp Greenland,” said Ben Bressler, founder and president of Natural Habitat Adventures. “We think it is indeed worthy of a splurge!”

From newly revealed travel territories to the best deals, OUTSIDE’s Best of Travel 2015 celebrates the destinations and travel providers that inspire people to participate in an active lifestyle. The entire list of winners appears in OUTSIDE’s April issue (on newsstands March 17), and online at www.outsideonline.com/bestoftravel.

The Best Splurge, according to OUTSIDE, is to experience Greenland’s Arctic wilderness via an all-inclusive stay at Natural Habitat’s Base Camp Greenland (www.nathab.com/alaska-northern-adventures/greenland-nature-adventure). Base Camp Greenland is a new ecolodge near the edge of the Greenland Ice Sheet in East Greenland, one of the most isolated places on Earth.

Here, pods of whales feed in the bay in view of the camp. Icebergs, spawned from massive glaciers, glitter in the late-night sun. Beneath granite peaks that tower over deep fjords, Greenland’s east coast – known as the “Arctic Riviera” for its mild summer climate – offers some of the best kayaking and hiking conditions in the North.

Guests will experience the stunning Arctic landscape in supreme comfort, along the lines of a luxury safari camp. More expedition lodge than “camp,” Base Camp Greenland provides accommodations in deluxe double tent cabins with individual verandas that survey the panoramic view.

Each spacious cabin is warmed by an individual heater, though long summer days are typically mild, sunny and dry. Cabins have twin beds outfitted with warm duvets and comfortable pillows, writing desks with chairs, a carpet runner, and an en suite dry toilet and sink. Showers are taken in separate bathhouses segregated by gender. Excellent meals are prepared by the camp chef and served in the dining/lounge tent.

A hallmark of Base Camp Greenland is its eco-conscious construction and operation. In such a pristine environment, a minimal footprint is imperative. A true low-impact eco-camp, lodge facilities are set up for two months in the summer and taken down each year. Camp solid waste is removed and disposed of in a biodegradable manner– nothing is left on site. Only biodegradable soap is used in the kitchen and showers. Interior lighting is powered by small individual solar panels.

Base Camp Greenland trips are 9 days in duration and begin at Iceland’s Keflavik International Airport outside of Reykjavik.  The 2015 departures are Aug 1, 10, 18, 26, and Sep 2. Rates start at $8,995 per person based on double occupancy, plus internal air of $926 (subject to change).

To determine this year’s travel award recipients, OUTSIDE’s adventure travel veterans scoured the globe to identify the coolest mountains to climb, food to eat, rivers to float, guides to hire, beaches to lounge on, and lodges to luxuriate in. The result is 40 breathtaking options—from the guides to show you around, to the cameras to capture it all, to the places to stay, to the best place to grab a snack at a food truck along the way.

For information on Base Camp Greenland trip and all the tours offered by Nat Hab along with descriptive itineraries, date availability and reservations, call 800.543.8917 or visit www.nathab.com. Click HERE to order a copy of the 2015 catalog.

 

For more travel features, visit:

www.examiner.com/eclectic-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

www.examiner.com/international-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/

goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com

‘Like’ us on facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Twitter: @TravelFeatures

New: Moral Compass: Great Places to Go Where the Going Does Good

moralcompasstravel.info

Africa, Conservation, ecotourism

Natural Habitat Adventures Introduces “Namibia: In Search of the Desert Rhino” Safari Expedition

NatHabitat-Namibia3Natural Habitat Adventures has created a safari expedition for travelers to learn about Namibia’s endangered black rhinoceros

BOULDER, CO– Natural Habitat Adventures has created a safari expedition led by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) scientists and rhino conservation experts for travelers to learn about Namibia’s endangered black rhinoceros.

Namibia: In Search of the Desert Rhino, offered this fall and next, provides a chance to track this rare animal that survives in the Namib Desert, one of the harshest environments on Earth. The trip is the second in the “In Search Of” series developed by Nat Hab and WWF, which began in 2013 with “In Search of the Snow Leopard” in Mongolia.

Guests will travel alongside local researchers, WWF experts and personnel from Save the Rhino Trust, learning firsthand about crucial measures WWF has pioneered in tandem with local community groups to protect the desert rhino and other threatened species. With the support of the Namibian government, such efforts have made Namibia a global conservation leader.

“These are unprecedented opportunities to meet with experts that have been arranged specifically for this trip and are not included on any standard Namibia safari,” said Ben Bressler, founder and president of Nat Hab.

The desert rhino remains critically endangered because of rising demand for rhino horn, largely among Asian consumers who believe it has value in folk remedies; this has driven poaching to record levels.

The new 10-day safari starts at $9,895 per person, double (single supplement $2,295) with departures Sept. 29 and Oct. 17, 2015 and 2016. The rate includes scheduled light aircraft flights, accommodations, airport transfers, meals, non-alcoholic drinks at camps and in vehicles, house alcoholic beverages in camps, services of a Nat Hab Expedition Leader, local guides and lodge staff, some gratuities, all permits, entrance fees and taxes. See: http://www.nathab.com/africa/namibia-in-search-of-the-desert-rhino/

Guests, limited to 12 per trip, will track the desert rhino and other desert-adapted species, including elephant, by vehicle and on foot throughout Namibia’s vast wilderness expanses. Varied habitats, from the arid wastes of Damaraland to the savannas and saltpans of Etosha, sustain a surprisingly diverse and vital wildlife population.

Private reserves, such as the Palmwag and Ongava concessions, are central to the experience. From the Ongava Reserve adjacent to popular Etosha National Park guests can view an abundance of wildlife without the presence of other visitors. Certain activities prohibited in national parks are offered as well, such as guided bush walks for an intimate perspective on the landscape and its wild inhabitants, and night drives in search of nocturnal animals.

One of Namibia’s top naturalist guides, Franco Morao, guides this special safari. A Namibia native, he has worked at camps and lodges throughout the country and holds a Level 3 national guiding certificate, the highest achievement possible in Namibia. In addition, as with all Nat Hab Expedition Leaders, Franco has received additional resources and training provided by WWF’s leading scientists, including those on the forefront of rhino conservation.

Guests travel in light aircraft, private mini vans, and top-of-the-line 4×4 safari vehicles with a window seat for each person. Flight transfers between destinations maximize time with wildlife. Accommodations are a highlight in their own right, with a focus on isolated, small-scale luxury camps featuring spacious individual tents with private verandas for secluded viewing.

The safari begins and ends in Namibia’s capital, Windhoek. From here guests travel to Desert Rhino Camp in the heart of the private million-acre Palmwag Concession in far-northwest Namibia. Few safari locales offer the privacy and isolation found amidst this expansive tract of desert wilderness. Several freshwater springs support healthy populations of wildlife including the camp’s namesake and the trip’s primary focus — the desert-adapted black rhino (Diceros bicornis bicornis). The largest, free-ranging black rhino population anywhere in the world lives here, as well as desert-adapted elephant, endemic Hartmann’s mountain zebra, giraffe, gemsbok, oryx, springbok and greater kudu. Namibia’s second-largest predator population thrives here, too, with more than 100 lion, cheetah, leopard and hyena. Birds are also abundant, including a number of southern African endemics.

Nat Hab and WWF have been working together since 2003 to provide conservation travel adventures exemplified by the “In Search Of” series.

“Twelve clients signed up for the first exploratory trip, and together with some of the world’s foremost snow leopard experts they journeyed to the far-western edge of Mongolia to visit two national parks where WWF Mongolia is performing important snow leopard research. Our guests were so moved by the experience that they came home and raised more than $20,000 for further snow leopard research in the region,” said Bressler, who hopes that this trip will similarly raise awareness about the black rhinoceros.

Natural Habitat Adventures is a world leader in responsible adventure travel and nature-based ecotourism. Since its founding in 1985, the company has offered eco-conscious expeditions and wildlife-focused small-group tours to the planet’s most remarkable nature destinations. Inspired and created from years of scouring the planet for the singular and extraordinary, Nat Hab’s itineraries are artfully crafted experiences that are far from “typical.” Trips are guided by professional naturalist Expedition Leaders, and Nat Hab enjoys a longstanding reputation for hiring some of the world’s best guides. Conservation is at the forefront of everything NHA does, and its philosophy is simple: tourism must work with and benefit local communities, which will in turn find value in protecting natural resources and wildlife. NHA is proud to be the travel partner of World Wildlife Fund, sharing a mutual commitment to travel as a means of helping to protect the world’s wondrous natural places.

For trip information, descriptive itineraries, date availability and reservations, call 800.543.8917 or visit http://www.nathab.com/. Click HERE to order a copy of the 2015 catalog.

 

For more travel features, visit:

www.examiner.com/eclectic-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

www.examiner.com/international-travel-in-national/karen-rubin

travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/

goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com

‘Like’ us on facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Twitter: @TravelFeatures

New: Moral Compass: Great Places to Go Where the Going Does Good

moralcompasstravel.info