Spain’s national carrier, Iberia, has brought in convenient new routings to Central America which avoid their previous stop at Miami International airport.You can now fly to Costa Rica, Honduras and Panama in two hops: Heathrow to Madrid, then connect direct onwards (with maybe one touchdown), completely avoiding the United States. All those who have endured the inconvenience involved in transiting through Miami or even Houston may well appreciate this new option. Furthermore, Iberia’s Club Class fares to the region are excellent value. For instance, throughout 2005 you can fly London to San Jose, Costa Rica, return in Club for only around £1900. And for Caracas, it’s an even better Club Class deal at around £1500. So avoid the crush and the cramped seats by flying with Iberia.

In April, 2004, Alan Godwin, our director, journeyed to Panama to see for himself what makes that small Central American country so special for lovers of nature’s diversity. He was absolutely delighted to discover ancient, old growth dry tropical forest for the first time; to stay in an isolated Embera Amerindian village in the heart of the wild Darien region; to find a harpy eagle’s nest; to spot a silky anteater sleeping in a tree; to hear the eerie howl of wild hunting dogs; to see the impressive Panama Canal and Bridge of the Americas; to explore the old colonial heart of Panama City; to snorkel in the Caribbean; to marvel at numerous poison dart frog species; to find quetzals and bellbirds in misty cloud forest; and to spot a huge variety of other bird and mammal life. Perfect for families and amateur naturalists alike, Panama is set to become a major wildlife destination in the future. Please call 01803-866 965 to talk with Alan about possible ideas for a great natural history trip or family adventure or to order a brochure on this extra-special country with its two long coastlines.

The new progressive government of Madagascar has announced that it will more than triple the area of habitat under official protection from 1.7 million hectares to 6 million hectares over the next five years. We at Reef and Rainforest believe strongly that this encouraging development is a direct result of the steady increase in wildlife tourism to Madagascar. It supports our long-held view that the income from small scale, low impact tourism demonstrates the long-term potential benefits of preserving rather than destroying a country’s natural heritage. One such newly protected area is Tsimanampetsotsa, south of Tulear, which has recently been declared a National Park. Its new gazetting now affords official status to a beautiful 15km-long salt lake inhabited by flamingos, and a rare limestone escarpment of pachypodium forest with two thousand year old baobabs, ring tail lemurs and a cave containing blind fish. Another encouraging sign is the recent listing under CITES of some very endangered reptile and amphibian species in an attempt by the new government of President Ravalomanana to limit the damage done by the international exotic pet trade. For many years, the former government seemed to do little to curtail that damaging trade. More still needs to be done, as the dealers simply switch to unprotected species which in turn will become endangered, but it is a good start.We at Reef and Rainforest wish Madagascar every success in the forthcoming battle, and will do our best to assist.

Many of our clients know that a visit to Brazil’s Pantanal gives perhaps the best chance of spotting the New World’s largest cat. But what are your chances of sighting a jaguar at Chan Chich Lodge in Belize (cited by the late Gerald Durrell as the model for all wildlife lodges)? Pretty good, it would seem. Although endangered throughout much of their range, jaguars are still plentiful in the Gallon Jug region of Belize, a vast protected forested area in the north of that small Central American country. Thanks to a "no hunting" policy in the Rio Bravo Conservation Area, there is a healthy prey base for the big cats, who also have little to fear from humankind. Such was the conclusion of a Wildlife Conservation Society researcher. In 1991, Chan Chich began a book of wildlife sightings. Two hundred and eighty jaguar sightings were recorded within a ten year period, with the incidence rising from zero in 1990 to 65 in 1998.That may be due to there being more animals, or just that the cats are more habituated. In 2003, the lodge guests averaged a little better than one sighting per week, most often on the Chan Chich to Gallon Jug road, but also in the lodge trail system. They occurred usually between 2pm and 8pm, showing that the cat is not strictly nocturnal, and there has never been any incident of feline aggression towards the guests. One of our clients actually saw four jaguars at one time crossing the road – a possible world record (see left hand testimonial). If you fancy your chances, please call us on 01803-866 965 to learn more about Chan Chich and the many other wonderful lodges in Belize.

During the months of April through June, southern Belize offers divers and snorkellers the unique opportunity for swimming with the largest fish in the sea, the pelagic plankton-feeder known as the whale shark.

When in a playful mood, these gentle and curious giants will remain close for long periods of time as they sift small sealife through huge gaping mouths. If you are keen to dive in Belize with whale sharks, the best time to do so during the above months is a period from three days before the full moon to three days after the last quarter moon (it's during this period that cubera snappers spawn, attracting the whale sharks in droves). April to June is also spawning season for many other species of fish as well as the mating season for turtles.

During an exciting recent trip to Sabah in Malaysian Borneo, we found abundant primates which were particularly easy to observe, mainly the majestic orang-utans and the comical proboscis monkeys.

Wild orang-utans were observed on five separate occasions, two being females with young. From their vantage points high up in the dipterocarp forest canopy, these great-apes seemed to show little fear and carried on with their daily business with little regard of onlookers.

One of the best places to photograph orang-utans is the rehabilitation centre of Sepilok. Here semi-wild individuals often come down to the lower forest canopy to investigate the assorted tourists and guides.

One large male once became so inquisitive he stripped a male French tourist completely naked: this, fortunately, appears to have been a one-off occurrence.

The highest concentration of proboscis monkeys is found in the gallery forest along the banks of the Kinabatangan river. With their pale faces, pendulous noses and large bellies, they look human-like and their local name, orang blander literally means Dutchman. We found them to be in surprisingly large numbers and quite undisturbed by the passage of our small boat with an electric motor.

Other primates included silvered and maroon langur monkeys and large numbers of macaques. In addition, Sabah also has a wealth of other fauna including the buffy fish owl and eight species of hornbill, asian elephant, clouded leopard and Sumatran rhinoceros. We feel sure that Sabah offers the best wildlife viewing in the whole of south east Asia.

Please call 01803 866 965 for further details of our Borneo tours.