It was early in the morning and the air was wet and hot. We were gliding across the water of the Salado River, one of the many water channels that flow through the Pico Bonito National Park, just 45 minutes away from the coastal town of La Ceiba in Northern Honduras. The river is part of the Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge, home to a vast collection of endemic wildlife ranging from the shy and elusive manatee, to howler monkeys and crocodiles. But because of its isolated location, it receives only a trickle of curious travelers and wildlife seekers.

Wildlife Safari on the River

Earlier that morning, we had left our comfortable base, the Lodge at Pico Bonito, to explore the area around the national park. At the village of La Union, we’d found our ride: a rickety tourist train dating back to 1912, previously built to transport coconuts and now used as a form of transportation for visitors. Along with a big group of young students from Tegucigalpa, we boarded the locomotive, swaying to the slow but hypnotic motion of the train while traversing the 9.5km-long trail.

On our left, we watched the early morning sun rise above the Pico Bonito Mountain Range; and on our right, clusters of villages and patchworks of farm lands whizzed by. Locals waved at us, children shouting ‘hola!’ as we trotted past.

Once on the river bank, our next ride was awaiting: a small six-passenger boat equipped with a motor, that would take us deep into the swamps surrounding the Salado River.  On the surface, the river looked just like any — with emerald green mangroves fringing its banks and murky water lurking its shores. But on closer look, it’s in fact a sanctuary, inhabited by thousands of plants, fish, birds, reptiles as well as local villages.

Covering an area of 13,500 hectares, the refuge sprawls across two major rivers – Cuero and Salado – stretching all the way to the Caribbean Sea.

Covering an area of 13,500 hectares, the refuge sprawls across two major rivers – Cuero and Salado – stretching all the way to the Caribbean Sea. The refuge is home to hundreds of local fishermen who depend on the river for livelihood. Our young boatman is one of them, having grown up in the nearby village of Salado Barra which houses over 40 families. He now works for the Cuero y Salado foundation, shuttling tourists around the river. Having spent decades of his life here, he knows the river inside out.

Within five minutes on the boat, he already spotted our first animal. A beautiful black bird with yellow feet was walking lightly on the water lily leaves, picking on insects hiding within the plants. A northern Jacana, said our naturalist Elmer. These birds have big webbed toes that help them tread on floating plants. Besides the yellow feet, they usually have big yellow patches on their foreheads and their underarms are painted in yellow too. We soon saw it for ourselves when the northern jacana spread its wings and took off, displaying its gorgeous golden-yellow wings in the sky.

Further along, we spotted three northern jacana babies, all eagerly chirping away under their father’s protection. For these birds, their father – instead of mother – takes care of the infants, staying with them for three months before they are mature enough to hunt and survive on their own. Nearby, we found a juvenile Great Blue Heron staring out into the water, looking for the catch of the day. Despite being a juvenile, the heron was already rather large in size, spotting a dark green beak, yellow eyes and dark magenta feathers.

Crabs, Reptiles, and Bats

Continuing on our journey, we glided closer to the mangroves, skirting the edge of the muddy banks. Elmer explained that mangroves play a vital role in this eco-system, holding the roots and protecting land in the area. The Salado River itself has three species of mangroves, each of them easily distinguished from the other based on its color: white, red and black. These mangroves also provide food and shelter for many of these animals, including the toads and mangrove crabs that we saw sputtering across the roots and muddy riverbed.

Sprouting from these mangroves were sapotone flowers, their white lily-like petals and red thin needles creating quite a contrast to the greenery of the setting. And on these sapotone trees were brown patches that seemingly moved with the wind. As our boat inched close to a sapotone tree, Elmer whipped out his binoculars and urged us to take a look. Through the magnifying lenses, I stared for a few minutes before finally realizing what I was looking at: with sharp eyes, small rabbit-like nose, pointy ears, and big wings by their sides, these were long nose bats hanging from the tree trunk, immaculately camouflaging into the backdrop. By this time, our boat was almost touching the tree and just at that precise moment, the bats flapped their wings and fled in all directions. They were gone in just seconds.

Soon enough, we were slowly weaving through a narrow channel flanked by thick fig trees and coiling vines. Three turkey vultures circled overhead, while a large montezuma oropendula stood on a branch staring at us from a distance. A huge lizard was lounging out on the shore under the sun when we were sailing close to shore. According to Elmer, this species of lizard is known as Jesus Christ Lizard, because of its ability to walk on water. While we didn’t quite see the lizard work its magic, we could sense its unspoken power.

Various types of birds, lizards, bats and even crocodiles had made their appearance — only the legendary howler monkey was missing. When we went backpacking in Guatemala a few years ago, we had heard the loud roar of these howler monkeys. The howl they made was so loud and disturbing that we’d found them hard to forget. But in actual fact, we had heard them but never seen them.

Various types of birds, lizards, bats and even crocodiles had made their appearance — only the legendary howler monkey was missing.

Howling Haven

“Its so quiet. Usually we can hear howler monkeys in the refuge, even if they’re 5km away.” Elmer shared, “they are probably out hunting since after the rain last night.” I was beginning to lose hope. Perhaps it was our fate.

But then our boatmen suddenly killed the engine, shushed us, and pointed to the trees overhead. There was a crew of six monkeys right above us — some were lazing on the fig tree branches chewing on fruit, others were swinging from tree to tree with babies on their backs, and one was staring at us cheekily, as if it were up to no good. A few minutes later, the cheeky one spread its legs and started pissing above us, in a bid to protect its territory. Thank goodness it missed.

We spent several minutes quietly watching the monkeys in action. Surprisingly, there was no howling. They didn’t even make a sound. Perhaps they knew we came in peace. Indeed, it’s hard not to be at peace in such a glorious setting, surrounded by the wilderness of the Cuero y Salado.

Additional Information:

This visit to the Cuero y Salado Refuge can be booked at the Lodge at Pico Bonito. It’s priced at US$70 per person including lunch. The tour includes entrance fee, the train ride, boat trip and local wildlife guide.

Disclaimer: This trip was made possible by the Lodge at Pico Bonito, but all opinions expressed above are our own.

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We’ve just returned from an action-packed week in Maui, and my perspectives of Hawaii have completely changed. Granted, there are the signature surfing spots and wide sandy beaches, but there are many things that surprised me about Maui. For one, the island is huge, measuring over 727 square miles and covering different types of climates and terrains, stretching from hot, tropical wetlands to rugged and chilly upcountry. Along the coastlines are craggy black rocky beaches, with tropical forests inland, and high up in the upcountry region sprawl dry grassy pastures and horse ranches.

We explored the island as much as we could — hiking the Waihe’e sand dunes refuge, driving up to the highlands region of the Haleakala Volcano, paragliding off the slopes of Kula, and scuba-diving the Molokini Crater and witnessing its dramatic underwater topography . From the rugged coastline of Wailea to the Kula upcountry region, Maui has given us a new outlook on what Hawaii is all about.

We’ll let Alberto’s photos do the talking for now, hopefully they’ll show you the Maui that we saw. More stories up next!

At the summit of the Haleakala volcano with the crater before me

Alberto exhilarated to be on the top of Maui

Paragliding off the slopes of Haleakala

The greenery of the Waihe’e Sand Dunes and Wetlands Refuge

A farmer at work at the organic O’o Farm in Kula

Watching a girl surf on the north coast of Maui

A native Hawaiian performs by a traditional ritual at Feast at Lele

This performer shows us his moves

A reef shark at the Maui Ocean Center

An upside-down jellyfish up close

The psychedelic colors of a bioluminescent jellyfish at the aquarium

While diving off St Anthony shipwreck, we saw this huge green turtle just chilling out on the sunken boat

The rare Triton’s trumpet snail underwater at Molokini Crater

A beautiful black and white striped sea urchin we saw while scuba diving

A stunning sunset at Kaanapali

Disclaimer: Our trip was made possible by Visit Maui, but all opinions expressed above are our own.

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Over the past week, we found all means to explore the islands of St Vincent and the Grenadines: on foot, by car, and by boat. We hiked La Soufriere volcano, drove inland to see its waterfalls and towns, and island-hopped by boat. But it was only when we took to the sky that our understanding of the Grenadines really came together.

By a stroke of luck, our ferry had broken down and the next alternative was hiring a private plane. On board a tiny 8-person charter plane with Mustique Airways, we left the island of Bequia behind and flew over a few tiny uninhabited Caribbean islands, to land on Union Island. As we took off, the brightly colored houses of Bequia and patches of farm land faded quickly into the distance.

From above, the islands looked like patches of mountains that rise from the sea, with spearmint blue water sparkling off their craggy coastlines and green vegetation adding a splash of color inland. Sailboats floated on the choppy sea, looking like little lego pieces lost in the big blue sea. Under the sunshine, the water danced in different shades of blue: from light aqua to cyan and dark ominous navy.

Flying over the Grenadines was an experience on its own, and in this case, the journey itself made the whole trip whole the while. To give you a better idea of what I mean, here are some of Alberto’s photos shot from the plane.

Disclaimer: This trip was made possible by DiscoverSVG, but all opinions expressed above are our own. 

The post Shades of Blue: The Grenadines From Above appeared first on Wild Junket.

We’re wandering around the central market in Nadi town, here to catch a glimpse of locals out and about. This is a world away from the fancy, self-contained resorts along the coast. This is where Fijians go for their groceries, meet their friends, and basically hang out. We had come with the hope of getting a chance to see a slightly different side of Fiji and interact with locals – and we did just that here in Nadi market.

To share with you what we found, here’s a collection of photos that Alberto shot – we hope they take you there with us.

Warm and friendly vendors smile for the camera – this lady in particular is selling aubergine, spinach and carrots.

Heaps of coconut on offer – coconut is Fiji’s biggest export.

Bright green chili- the Fijians like some of their food spicy!

Fijian Indians selling an array of local vegetables including ladyfingers and pumpkin.

In a corner of the market, we find heaps of Fijian Indian spices on offer.

The very popular kava is found everywhere in the market. Kava is the root of the pepper plant and is usually consumed by pounding it and mixing with water to form a narcotic drink that has a numbing and relaxing effect.

Kava is wrapped into a spiral coil and offered as a gift when visiting friends and family.

Plates of long beans and bitter melon for sale.

Big, fat pumpkins are a common sight in the market.

Rows of pineapples, oranges and dragon fruit on display.

Many of the produce here remind me of home – here are some ginger on sale.

Fresh from the sea, mussels piled in heaps.

Sweet potato is another staple in the local cuisine.

Locals leaving the market as it starts to wind down.

Disclaimer: Our trip was made possible by Captain Cook Cruises, Air Pacific and Tourism Fiji, but all opinions expressed above are our own.

The post Photoblog: Local Market Flavors in Nadi Town, Fiji appeared first on Wild Junket.

The sun is setting and showering the whole area in sparkling gold as I dive into the warm Atlantic Ocean. The coconut trees on the white pearly beach are swaying, while soft reggae music play gently in the background. As the locals like to say, “We’re on Caribbean time, man.”

We’re on Young Island, a private island resort just off the southern tip of St Vincent, and we’re here to learn more about the Caribbean’s favorite past time of liming. As active full-time travelers, we’re constantly out and about and we hardly have time to relax on the beach and unwind. So this trip is a refreshing change for us and we’re thoroughly enjoying the slow pace. It’s been easy getting into the Caribbean rhythm – waking up to the sound of lapping waves, hopping on the bus to explore the island come afternoon, and settling in for cocktails and Caribbean food at sunset.

We’ve spent the past few days wandering around the nation’s big island, St Vincent – driving along its west coast visiting secret coves and fishing villages, dining on local breadfruit and fish on the beach, swimming in waterfalls, dancing on the busy streets of Heritage Square with thousands of Vincentians, and even climbing the 4,028-feet high La Soufriere Volcano. It’s perfect for us – plenty of time to kick back on the beach with bits of outdoor adventure and island exploration mixed in between.

Here’s a peek at some of our Instagram photos from St Vincent and the Grenadines - pardon us for the low quality images, they’re taken with our iPhone. To see more of them, head over to our #SVGLiming Instagram wall.

Beautiful Admiralty Harbor off the island of Bequia

The clear waters off Young Island

A hawksbill turtle at the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary on Bequia

Dramatic landscapes at La Soufriere Volcano

Our group tired but thrilled to have reached the top of La Soufriere

A cooling respite at the Dark View Falls

Rapids at the Dark View Falls

The rugged terrain nearing the top of La Soufriere

St Mary Catholic Church in Kingstown, St Vincent

Delicious curry beef with rice and breadfruit, a typical local dish in St Vincent

Disclaimer: This trip was made possible by Discover SVG but all opinions expressed above are our own.

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We’re here to spend the weekend in the Pico Bonito National Park, Honduras, in search of some birding, hiking and boating opportunities away from the crowd. Located on the northern coast of Honduras, Pico Bonito may be just 15 minutes away from the gateway city of La Ceiba yet it’s still quite a stranger to tourism. As the country’s biggest national park, the protected area spans over an area of 564 square kilometers, with many pockets of wilderness that are impenetrable. With one of the highest biodiversity in Central America, the national park sprawls across a multitude of forests – ranging from low-level dry forests to high altitude cloud forest – in the Nombre de Dios mountain range.

This largely unexplored area is home to a myriad of wildlife, ranging from the world famous toucan bird to the Central American aguti, the elusive jaguar and ocelot (a type of big cat). Out of the 750 species of birds that inhabit Honduras, 500 of them are found here in Pico Bonito. New species continue to be found each year. Head naturalist of the Lodge at Pico Bonito, James Adam,  even goes so far to call this, “the toucan capital of the world”. Undoubtedly, we’ve made it our mission to catch a glimpse of the toucan bird while we’re here.

Over the short span of a weekend, we’ll be unearthing as much of Pico Bonito as we can from our base, the Lodge at Pico Bonito, a luxury eco-lodge standing at the foothills of Pico Bonito in the midst of the lush, tropical rain forest. A network of hiking trails, as well as two rivers and a series of waterfalls are peppered all over the grounds of the property. We won’t have to travel far to see wildlife or immerse in the natural environment – the lodge is literally in the heart of all the action.

Here are some photos Alberto has snapped so far. But do we complete our mission in the end? Keep reading to find out.

Read the full article here

Disclaimer: This trip was made possible by the Lodge at Pico Bonito, but all opinions expressed above are our own.

The post In Search of the Toucan – Pico Bonito, Honduras appeared first on Wild Junket.

Just 12 km (7.5 miles) away from the Adelaide city center, the Cleland Conservation Park is a beautiful patchwork of natural bushland poised on the very top of Adelaide Hills. Here, the mountain air is fresh, grasslands sprawl across the area and Eucalyptus trees are peppered all over the hill slopes. It’s the perfect home South Australia’s native animals. Kangaroos jump and hop freely, emus saunter leisurely on their own turf, while Tasmanian devils screech and brawl into the darkness. Even rare and endangered species such as the yellow-footed rock wallabies and brush-tailed bettongs scamper and scuttle in freedom. There are no large fences nor giant enclosures – so you really get the chance to mingle and interact with these adorable creatures. I even got to hug a koala bear – it was an experience unlike no other.

For a look at our experience at Cleland, here are some photos that Alberto took. Hope they give you an idea of how close you can get to these animals.

The adorable koala bear posing naturally

A koala bear in the trees of Cleland

A wallaby sniffing for food

A rock wallaby hiding in the bush

One of my favorite animals in Cleland: the echidna, an adorable spiny ant eater

The emu is a very curious creature, pecking at our camera cheekily

A wallaby lounges on the grassland

A kangaroo and her joey relax side by side

The koala bear that I got to know

We finally got the chance to see a wombat in reality after hearing all about it

Alberto reaches out to feed a wallaby

A kangaroo hungrily devours food from my hand

That’s me and my adorable koala!

Disclaimer: Special thanks to Tourism South Australia for the tips and advice! This visit was funded by ourselves, though our trip there was partially sponsored by Tourism South Australia. All opinions expressed above are our own.

The post Koalas, Emus and Kangaroos: South Australia’s Wildlife appeared first on Wild Junket.

Besides the view, the journey itself was one epic adventure: it brought us through 291 bridges and 91 tunnels, countless viaducts and passes, as we climbed up to a lofty altitude of 2,033 m (6,670 ft). The entire journey only took eight hours, but the changing backdrop and diverse landscapes made it feel as though we’d journeyed through so many different terrain and landscapes.  But despite its name, it’s barely an ‘express’ train – in fact it’s been dubbed the slowest express train in the world. There were so many highlights on the trip: the spectacular Rhine Gorge, the wineries surrounding Visp, and the summit of the Oberalp Pass – it’s hard to say which was the best part of the train journey. Here’s a look at the photos that Alberto snapped along the way — we’ll let you be the judge.

On our way to St Moritz to board the Glacier Express

A View of the Alps

All on board the shiny red Glacier Express

Beautiful glass panorama cabins open up to stunning views

One of the many alpine towns we passed

Skiiers and snowboarders are often seen at the stations

A lonesome skiier looks out into the distance

A pair of skiiers stops for a snap

This was the highest point of the train journey: the Oberalpass at 2,033m of altitude

Crossing a viaduct

Beneath our feet sprawls yet another alpine town

Our train pulling in at the Chur station

Essential Information:

The Eurail Pass includes a 25% discount on the Glacier Express, be sure to book your tickets in advance on the Glacier Express website. The train runs on a different schedule in winter, be sure to check it online beforehand. Here’s a look at its itnerary on the Eurail map:

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Our feisty ride for the day took us through bamboo forests, muddy jungles and old sugar plantations. Along the way, we passed quiet villages – one of which was aptly named ‘hard times’ – and we met curious islanders who waved at us enthusiastically, welcoming us to their island. At the Hermitage and Golden Rock, we wandered through the grounds of boutique hotels converted from sugar estates. From vantage points, we took in views of the Atlantic Ocean coastline and Mount Nevis. And along the way, we even stumbled upon the island’s famous velvet monkeys and sipped the island’s legendary ting with a sting (a local lime beverage with rum).

This is the real Caribbean: where lush rainforests sprawl across the island, soothing Caribbean music echo through the streets of its capital, and beaches run for miles with no one in sight. Unlike other tourist-oriented Caribbean islands, Nevis has kept its natural environment in pristine condition and retained a sense of authenticity. We’re glad to have found our way into the island’s backcountry and uncovered the real Nevis.

Here are some of Alberto’s photos from our 4×4 adventures, hope they give you a look at Nevis’ backcountry.

Alberto ready to rumble

Mount Nevis looming in the distance

Venturing into the jungle

Stumbling upon a velvet monkey by the roadside

Monkey business

 Loving our 4×4 ride

 A view of the island from St Thomas Anglican Church 

A group of young children running out of their house to say hi

A traditional house for the slaves back in the 15th century

Friendly locals wave at us

Stopping for a drink

A sugar mill rises through the thick jungle foliage

Finding an abandoned sugar estate in the rain forest 

Our tour ends on Pinneys Beach, considered the best beach on Nevis

Disclaimer: This experience was made possible by St Kitts Tourism and Funky Monkey Tours, but all opinions expressed above are our own.

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It was 3am when we awoke. Darkness engulfed us as we left Jerusalem behind us and wounded down the valley towards the ancient desert fortress of Masada. Poised at the edge of the Judean Desert, Masada looms above the sands, overlooking the Dead Sea and the Moab Mountains in Jordan. At just 1,300 feet high, it’s perfect for a morning hike – providing a crash course in history and offering panoramic views of the surroundings.

In the darkness, we found our way up the Snake Path, a steep and winding dirt track that weaves it way along the mountain’s slope up to the top of the rock plateau where the desert fortress sits. Built around 37 and 31 BC, the fortress was home to Herod the Great and his massive troop. A flurry of majestic baths, synagogues, and amphitheaters were erected during its heydays. At the end of the Roman war, Masada was unfortunately sieged  by the Romans and it resulted in the mass suicide of its 960 Jewish troops. But the ruins of the fortress still stand today.

We clambered over the rocky steps, up the steep slope, with the howling wind blowing against us. Along the way, we constantly looked behind our shoulders to see the vast Judean Desert, its gorges and palm trees fading further and further away beneath us. While we started the trek in darkness, daylight came soon enough and the temperature rose to a comfortable level. It took us just over an hour of walking to get to the top but with the cloudy sky, the sunrise sadly eluded us. Thankfully the view and historical sights more than made up for it.

The View From Above

From the top of Masada, we feasted on a 360-degree view of the area. With the Snake Path beneath our feet, we could see the Judean Desert stretching ahead and the Dead Sea shimmering in the far distance. Behind it sprawled the mountains of Jordan. As we made our way around the ruins of the fortress, we saw the Masada Gorge plunging vertically into a giant crack. Over on the other side of the plateau was an even more stunning sight of the surrounding mountains and steep gorges that roll down towards the sandy desert.

The views aside, Masada’s rich history is impressive. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Masada’s ruins are the most complete examples of a Roman siege in the world. Covering an area of around 1,800 feet by 900 feet, the desert fortress sprawls across the entire plateau top and consists of many features like camps, walls and ramps. Many parts of the fortress including the Northern Palace (where you can still see the original mosaics) are extremely well protected. The Israel Nature and Parks Authority has invested great resources in conservation at Masada, with the help of world-renowned experts – and the efforts show.

By the time we headed back down to the base of the plateau, the sun had risen over our heads and it cast a bright golden glow on the mountain as well as its surrounding desert. We drank it all in – just like its original residents probably did.

This Masada Sunrise tour also includes a visit to the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve and a dip in the Dead Sea. Leaving at 3am and ending at 2pm, the tour picks up and drops you at Abraham Hostel. The price for this day trip is 260 Shekels (US$70).

Disclaimer: While our trip was made possible by Abraham Tours, Abraham Hostel, and Tourist Israel, all opinions expressed above are our own.

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