Hi .
Peru is the safest country in Latin America (together with Dominican Republic and Bolivia), according to the US Center for Disease Control. Formerly, Peru was on Level 3 (High Risk) and has been downlisted to Level 2 (Moderate Risk). If you are vaccinated, you should have very little to worry about if you come to Peru, especially as social distancing and use of masks are
still obligatory here. Check out this graph from today with average daily values (over 7 days) of new COVID cases per 100 000 inhabitants. Where would you rather be?
You can make your own graphs on this excellent page.
Here is another example looking at some states in the US compared to statd for US nationwide.
I hope that these figures convince people that Peru, and for that matter, most of Latin America, are very safe destinations when it comes to COVID. The US has 10 times more new cases per day normalized by population compared to Peru, while the UK has almost 30 times more.
Just sayin'!
Updated remaining 2021 Birding Peru Tour Calendar
Prom Peru is doing a marketing campaign in the US for three months with the help of Blue Sky Wildlife called Awaken your Wildlife Adventure in Peru. In this campaign Kolibri Expeditions is also promoted.
Here is the video for the campaign.
If you travelled with us in the past, please help us and leave a review on the Blue Sky Kolibri page so we get higher placement on their page. (And while you are at it, please leave reviews on Tripadvisor and Google as well).
To prepare for increased numbers of clients the coming months, I have updated the tour calendar with more departures. Included are our three main short 5 day tours that we intend to run every Monday. Prices are based on groups of 5 people, but the surcharge for smaller groups is quite manageable, so don't hesitate to book if you have found a date that suits you that is not yet
confirmed.
Either of these trips make a perfect short holiday to which one can add extra days to fill a week, or run them back to back to make it into a longer holiday focusing on Peru's highlights.
A few tours and day trips are already confirmed for the remainder of 2021 with 1-2 clients booked and to which you can join for a good price. Check these out:
We shall also at least run one set departure for complete Central Peru between April-November, 2022 as well as the already confirmed Manu road Oct 6, 2022. Let me know if you are interested in any of the complete regional
birding circuits, so I can schedule them in the calendar.
If the regular weekly five-day trips work out well for the remainder of the 2021, we shall continue to offer these throughout 2022 and 2023.
Birding with Gunnar Nov 24-Dec 11
There was a large group of 12 Swedish birders who were going to travel with me in Chile for 18 days Nov 24-Dec 11 this year. Although, Chile has just opened for tourism but with a fair amount of COVID red-tape, some people in the group felt like they'd rather wait a year to do this trip. Others have declared their interest to either go on and do
the Chile trip in a smaller group, or do Central Peru, join some of the scheduled "Best of Peru" trips above or do a combo with SE Brazil and Pantanal. There are at least 2 people wanting to go, and to be able to give a better price, I'd thought I'd let everyone who receives this newsletter know about the options.
Would you be interested in birding Chile, Brazil or Peru with me during this time period? If so, let me know ASAP!
I could also send you a trip report from Brazil and/or Central Peru if you request it by answering this email.
Flock to Marion - Birdparty!
Are you going on BirdLife South Africa's "Flock to Marion"-cruise Jan 24-31, 2022? I am seriously considering going myself. Imagine two thousand birders from all over the world on a cruise ship together. What an amazing Bird Party that will be!
I don't have a ticket yet, but reservations are re-opening soon. I'd like to know if anyone would want to share cabin with me to limit costs.
I hope to be able to meet up with a bunch of Facebook friends In Real Life, meet with clients from the past and make new friends. And the seabirding will be fantastic.
While I am in the area I plan to test two ideas for 7WB tours in South Africa. Therefor, I am offering two reasonably priced pilot trips before and after the cruise. If interested, let me know asap.
- Aardvark twitch. Jan 18-22. The best place is Marrick Safari Reserve near Kimberley. We shall combine with a visit to Mokala National Park. There are a number of good mammals to see here such as Black-footed Cat, the rare Roan Antelope, Bat-eared Fox, Aardwolf, Southern African Hedgehog, Cape Porcupine, Spring Hare, Sable Antelope, Kudu, Black Wildebeest, Giraffe, Tsessebe, Steenbok, and Meerkat. And of
course plenty of birds including Blue Crane and Secretary Bird.
Check out the Birding Naturally podcast on which Charley Hesse recounts his encounter with Aardvark at Marrick (26:56).
- Durban to Johannesburg with Swaziland and Lesotho. Jan 31-Feb 5.
Imagining visiting three countries in five days with superb birding included and many highland and grassland endemics, visiting Sani Pass on the way to Lesotho, Wakkerstroom and Malolotja NR (Swaziland) With a local guide and a 4WD rental car, the tour is open to three more punters. AWith more people we can go in two self drive cars.
Arriving in Cape Town midday before the cruise we'd have a day and half to look for some Cape endemics.
7 Wonders Birding Tours - revisited.
Personally, I am very excited about 7 Wonders Birding and the short itineraries we are putting together focusing on the bucket list birds, bird families, iconic mammals and world heritage sites around the world.
The calendar has seen many cancelled trips because of COVID, why I am updating the calendar for 2022 and 2023. I think the calendar will be more or less ready in the next week or so. If there are any particular tours on the website that you are interested in, don't hesitate to let me know.
We shall start a marketing campaign on Facebook during November and December which should reach a lot of people. I also hope that you will help us spreading the word about this novel birding idea, which is perfect for couples and birders/bird photographers with little time, regardless of previous experience.
New planned programs that shall be added as COVID allows are the following:
- Namibia and Pangolin (perhaps for Christmas-New Years this year if there are any takers?)
- Tanzania - classic Safari with Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater - Wildebeest migration.
- Madagascar Bird Families (Nov 2022 confirmed),
- Mongolia Snow Leopard (July 2022),
- Papua New Guinea Bird Families (Aug 2022)
- Irian Jaya with Wilson's Bird of Paradise.
- Philippines with Philippine Eagle
- New Caledonia with Kagu.
Bucket List Birding Podcast
As mentioned in my Kolibri News newsletter, I shall soon announce the premiere of the Bucket List Podcast. I have already done three interviews with Peter Kaestner, Nigel Marven and James Wolstencroft which I am currently editing. I want to submit all three at once to get more traction.
Additionally, the new expanded logo for the podcast is ready. We are getting there! How do you like Zafeer A. Shaikh's additions?
Pretty cool, huh? Which have you seen? Which are still on your bucket list?
Harpy Eagle is available at a nest on the Manu road right now. And Marvelous Spatuletail have started the lekking near Huembo in Northern Peru. You find tours in the schedule above. It's time to start working on that bucket list.
Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival Nov 10-14, 2021.
At first I was a bit hesitant to take part in an eye to eye birding festival again. Would anyone show up? Would it be worth the time and money?
Perhaps it would be worth it for me, if I get the chance to interact with people in the field, if there are some good socials, if I would get to do a presentation and if it could be combined with something else that I was going to do anyway.
In the end I caved in, because:
- I have a stand at the Birder's Bazaar, where I can pitch 7 Wonders Birding and Kolibri Expeditions. Come and talk to me.
- I get to guide at least two excursions. Pitching is not allowed, but I figured it would be worth it just to meet people in the field. I may even get a few new birds, who knows.
- There is a "meet the guide" social on Wednesday Nov 10, and many socials every late afternoon after the trade show and spontaneous dinner events as well.
- I will do a presentation on Friday afternoon about the Bucket List Birding concept.
- After the Festival I will be heading to Houston to meet a friend and mid-week I fly to Philadelphia to participate in Philadelphia Marathon.It turns out that making a detour over Texas did not particularly increase the price for the air fare.
If you have the opportunity, come and see me. Or tell a friend!
That's all, folks. I hope you enjoyed these updates. It has been a tough time the past two years, but there is light at the end of the tunnel as the world is opening up, and we start coping by living with the virus.
A lot of things will not be the same, that is certain. I think however that travel experiences will still be a priority for many people. We can offset our carbon footprint by choosing destinations where our presence help save forests and threatened species, and by eating less red meat and drive less. But most of all, one can use the power as citizens by voting for politicians with a green agenda and choosing ethical consumers products.
Saludos
Gunnar
|
Gunnar Engblom
Guide/owner
7 Wonders Birding/Kolibri Expeditions
|
PS. Goal setting has become a part of life for me. If you want to join a FB group for Goal setting and make yourself accountable, check out https://www.facebook.com/groups/376755024147932
|
|
|
