World’s Top 10 Animal Encounters

Witnessing the majesty of nature is one of the most exciting things about travel, and there are plenty of ways to get close to some of the natural world’s most impressive specimens. Here are some of the best options for nature lovers to explore.

1. Try cage diving with great white sharks

Some of mother nature’s most beautiful creatures are the most deadly, and Great Whites certainly fall into that category. Thankfully, you can descend in a solid metal cage and get within a metre of these beasts, and you don’t even need any diving experience.

Cape Town is the best place to go, with reliable shark-spotting locations like False Bay and Geyser island.

2. Experience a full-on African safari

Back on dry land, why not do the “big five” and see elephants, buffalo, rhinos, lions and leopards? There’s no better place to see them all than between January and March on the Serengeti Plain in Kenya and Tanzania. It’s an experience you will never forget.

3. See Yellowstone by… Llama

The American west is associated with horses and buffalo, but by far the best way to explore the beauty of Yellowstone National Park is by saddling up a llama and hitting the trails.

Wander past geysers, waterfalls, lakes and canyons, and camp under the stars in a land filled with wildlife like wolves, bison and bears.

4. Swim with humpback whales

Swimming with whales may seem daunting at first, but there’s really very little danger and swimming with humpbacks can change your perspective forever. That’s because these gentle giants genuinely make human swimmers feel safe in their midst. Try heading to Mooloolaba on Australia’s Sunshine Coast for guided humpback swimming tours.

5. Get hip to the hippos in Zambia

The hippopotamus is an iconic creature, and seeing them in the wild is exhilarating. The best place to do so is definitely Botswana, where the hippo population is over 40,000 and thriving. The Chobe National Park is a comfortable place to stay to watch hippos basking, playing and yawning every day of the week.

6. Make friends with the peaceful panda

Panda’s are a big part of popular culture, but they are hard to find in the wild, being restricted to parts of the Chinese wilderness. However, travellers can take a trip Chengdu’s famous Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding where you can learn all about these mysterious bears.

7. Explore the Polar wilderness by dog-sled

Visitors to Norway can harness a couple of huskies and whizz off into the dazzling polar landscape. You can join organized dog-sled tours to seek out local wildlife like polar bears, arctic foxes and seals, or just relax and enjoy the experience of being isolated with man’s best friend for company.

8. Witness the power and grace of tigers

Few creatures have the lithe power and feline grace that Tigers possess. They are also generally endangered, so meeting them isn’t easy, but if you do want to see tigers, India is the place to be.

Try the Ranthambore National Park to get the best chance of seeing tigers in the wild.

9. Meet orangutans in Indonesia

Orangutans are our closest relatives and it’s incredible just how much we are like our ape cousins. You’ll be blown away by spending only a few minutes, just a few metres away from them. There are only two remaining natural habitats in the world and Indonesia is the place to head to catch a glimpse of them.

There are some excellent environmentally conscious guides in Borneo and Sumatra who will introduce you to the Orangutan community, but their numbers are falling all the time.

10. Experience the diversity of the Galapagos

Nowhere on earth is blessed with natural riches like the Galapagos Islands. See giant turtles, sharks, dive with penguins or study the finches that inspired Charles Darwin to write his theory of evolution. There’s nowhere like it.

Get close to the animals on one of our escorted tours

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