The Talking Drum

Read our latest Newsletters

The Talking Drum is our twice-yearly magazine designed to keep our clients up to date with all of the latest developments relating to our products and destinations.

Welcome to our first E-newsletter for 2024, full of exciting travel stories to inform and entertain you.

As we begin the new year we look forward to being able to travel freely once again, and the chance to be captivated by extraordinary experiences both within our borders and overseas.

In 2023 some of our clients and staff embarked on a range of incredible tours and safaris, returning home with wonderful life-changing memories. Many more are already booked for this year and into next year, eagerly anticipating the joys that travel always brings, especially when it brings connection with the natural world.

In February we have our escorted group trip departing to India – our ever-popular Taj, Temples & Tigers tour. In June and July, James Cameron will be escorting our newest small group tour – Classic Botswana & Zimbabwe – exploring the wonders of Botswana’s Okavango Delta on a mobile camping safari, combined with 3 nights in Victoria Falls, where a wide variety of adventures await. In August Steve & Sara are once again leading another safari to Zambia, with limited space still available.

Due to pent up demand, there is pressure on all travel for 2024 and into 2025, so we highly recommend you book early. Africa is amongst one of the hottest destinations at the moment, with travellers wishing to get back out into nature and try to escape the crowds of Europe.

‘Slow Travel’ is definitely the current trend and something we have always recommended. Staying longer in each place and visiting fewer destinations in one trip means less time in airports and more time relaxing and enjoying the wonderful places you have come to see. On a safari it means more time in the bush watching wild creatures in their natural environment. In a town it means wandering at leisure, breathing in the history, being immersed in the culture, discovering unique crafts and sampling local cuisine.

Small is beautiful and better for the environment, so we prefer small lodges and camps, even small ships, for a more intimate and authentic experience. Cruising Alaska’s remarkable and remote Aleutian Islands on a small boat means access to areas others never get to see. Many of our African eco-lodges are on private concessions away from the crowds. Apart from our escorted small-group tours, all our itineraries are tailor made to suit your individual style and special interests.

This newsletter features some incredible and authentic experiences across our amazing planet – searching for wild tigers in India, tracking pumas in Chilean Patagonia, watching polar bears in Canada, spotting jaguars in Brazil’s Pantanal Wetlands, and getting up close to Africa’s iconic wildlife. These and other trips are wonderful opportunities for choosing more sustainable options, like train journeys, wilderness safaris, walking trips, barge cruises, small ships and intimate hotels and lodges.

We hope you find plenty of travel inspiration in this newsletter, and we look forward to seeing you soon.