wildlife Archives - Planet Whitley

A bear in Yellowstone National Park's Lamar Valley.

Desperately searching for bears in Yellowstone National Park

After a week in Wyoming with no bear sightings, an expedition into the Lamar Valley is the final hope… Looking for bears in the Lamar Valley An air of misery overwhelms the car. We’ve driven to the end of the Lamar Valley – supposedly the…

bears, national parks, USA, wildlife, Wyoming

Moose in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

Elk, moose, bears & bison on a Grand Teton National Park wildlife tour

Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park has spectacular scenery – but it’s also one of the best places in the United States for wildlife-spotting. Evidence of bears in Wyoming The bear-proof trash cans outside Wyoming’s Signal Mountain Lodge are a good idea of what lives in…

national parks, tours, USA, wildlife, Wyoming

Big Five on the cheap: Self-driving Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park

In KwaZulu-Natal, you can ditch the expensive safari lodges to see elephants and lions under your own steam. Meeting a teenage elephant Is it angry? Is it frisky? Should we back away slowly? Or should we just put the foot down and get away to…

KwaZulu-Natal, safari, South Africa, wildlife

Tricots rayés, clownfish and giant lighthouse: An Amedee Island boat trip

In New Caledonia, Amedee Island is frequented by semi-aquatic sea snakes, but on a glass-bottomed boat trip there are plenty more surprises beneath the water To skip the story and book a full day trip to Amedee Island from Noumea, with a glass-bottomed boat tour,…

cruises, New Caledonia, Pacific Islands, wildlife

Exploring the natural side of Cape Town, South Africa

From the dassies on Table Mountain to the penguins of Boulders Beach, you’re never far from nature in Cape Town. Meeting dassies on Table Mountain From the top of Table Mountain on a blazing blue-sky day, Cape Town’s appeal is obvious. The views look over…

Cape Town, South Africa, wildlife

Visiting the Apollo Beach manatees at the Big Bend Power Station near Tampa

At the Big Bend Power Station in Apollo Beach, Florida, manatees have a winter holiday home. The Big Bend power station at Apollo Beach, Florida The Big Bend power station at Apollo Beach near Tampa is, even by power station standards, stonkingly ugly. It’s an…

Florida, USA, wildlife

Taiaroa Headland: The best place in the world to see albatrosses

The Royal Albatross colony at the Taiaroa Headland on New Zealand’s Otago Peninsula offers an extraordinary chance to see nesting albatrosses. The Royal Albatross colony on Taiaroa Headland It’s a long time since the old fort on the Taiaroa Headland was used for spotting enemy…

birds, Dunedin, New Zealand, South Island, wildlife

Seeing takahe and Haast tokoeka at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary

The Orokonui Ecosanctuary near Dunedin is home to some of New Zealand’s rarest endangered birds. Here’s how to visit. Returning to pre-human New Zealand As tasks go, returning a 307 hectare valley to how it would have looked before humans would have arrived in New…

birds, Dunedin, New Zealand, South Island, wildlife

Sign at Slope Point on New Zealand's Catlins Coast.

Discover nature’s beauty on New Zealand’s Catlins Coast

Very few people need to drive along New Zealand’s Catlins Coast. And that’s what makes the road trip so enjoyable. Native birds at Kaka Point The noise along the muddy tracks near Kaka Point is extraordinary. Glimpses of wing and tail can be caught amongst…

driving, New Zealand, South Island, waterfalls, wildlife

Bison roaming in the road on Antelope Island, Utah.

Antelope Island – the surprising bison refuge of Utah’s Great Salt Lake

In the middle of Utah’s Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island is home to a thriving bison herd. Here’s why. The size of Utah’s Great Salt Lake There’s a magnificent starkness to Utah’s Great Salt Lake. A thin coating of water covers patches of it, but…

USA, Utah, wildlife