The Nouabale Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo offers something special: it is an area with untouched forest (no lumbering) surrounded by swamps difficult to access by poachers, therefore providing a safe habitat for a wide range of animals. Here the principal activities are watching animals in the Bai, especially the lowland gorillas that are attracted here by their favourite food, a unique type of vegetation only found in and around this bai. Mbelli Bai also allows the unique opportunity to watch gorillas in their natural habitat and to learn more about their behaviour. 
Mbelli Bai also offers viewings of other species of mammals such as elephants, sitatunga, buffalo, red river hogs, otters, crocodiles, etc.
We will also spend two days tracking lowland gorillas - this is a fantastic experience as anyone who has been to Uganda or Rwanda to see mountain gorillas will know. There aren't too many people who get to see lowland gorillas as well though.
We finish this expedition by crossing the Congo River to the Democratic Republic of Congo and staying very close to Kinshasa, where we then spend four days with another of the seriously endangered great apes, the bonobos. If you saw our photographs in this month's December-January Wanderlust (see below) you will appreciate the charisma of these loving apes. We will spend pretty much all day for each of the four days viewing, photographing and in some cases holding and playing with the bonobos. Everyone who has been on this trip has fallen in love!
This trip offers the opportunity to see two magnificent endangered great ape species. The expedition is a real adventure and a lot of fun. There is not alot of time before the trip and there are visas to organise which tends to be a slow process. The expeditionis not inexpensive on account of these countries having poor tourist infrastructure. This of course does mean that you will get a genuine travel and wildlife experience, you will not meet tourist buses or indeed many other tourists on the expedition which makes for a magical trip of a lifetime. If you would like to join this expedition please email or call and we will be delighted to answer your questions.
We are off to India tomorrow and in the meantime, please have a very pleasant seasonal break.
Julie and Adam
Lowland Gorillas in The Republic of Congo 10 days followed by Bonobos in The Democratic Republic of Congo 4 days in July 2010
Wanderlust - 29 November 2009
Wanderlust is an excellent travel magazine aimed at adventurous travellers. The December/January edition hit the shelves of all good news agents earlier this week. In it is a four page spread on Bonobos which we wrote and supplied all the photographs. We are delighted as it allowed us to highlight the charity (www.friendsofbonobos.org) which works in DRC to protect Bonobos.
We are tentatively planning another expedition to DRC, Republic of Congo and Central African Republic; perhaps in the Summer of next year. So if you are interested, let us know.
Julie and Adam
EIA Save the Tiger Campaign
Attended EIA's fundraising dinner during the week at Cafe Spice Namaste. Thank you so much to everyone who came along - we had two tables and everyone commented on how great the food was - well, we had three of London's leading chefs whipping up an Indian storm for us - and everyone also commented on the dedication of the EIA team to the seemingly endless work they need to do to collect the evidence they need and to campaign for change. Even some of our more cynical City guests have become very interested in the good work the EIA do.
Donal McIntyre was a guest speaker. He commented on the integrity of the reports the EIA write - it seems he and other reporters know that anything coming out of an EIA investigation is factually correct, backed by evidence.
Check out their website:
http://www.eia-internatioinal.org
To see more about the plight of the Tiger and EIA's Tiger campaign specifically, it's:
http://www.eia-international.org/campaigns/species/tigers/
We can vouch that they run their work on a shoestring! No swish offices, overheads are low and many of their investigators have dedicated their entire lives to environmental campaigning. For instance:
* EIA's evidence played a key role in securing a ban on the international ivory trade in 1989.
* EIA's campaiging closed down illegal talc and marble mines in protected Indian tiger reserves.
* EIA's investigation prompted the Indonesian president to crack down on illegal logging.
Military and police officers were among some of the suspects.
We hope you too will become fans of some of their work. You can join for a year for a mere £30! For anyone who has seen a Tiger or an Elephant, it's worth it!
Julie and Adam
November 2009
Shooting in London - 1 November 2009
Well, winter has set in here in London. Lots of rain and dark afternoons. We cannot wait to get back to India in December for some intensive shooting in Rajasthan and Corbett National Park, with two festivals along the way. To keep us sane we often walk round London looking for stuff to shoot. There is more out there than you think and today we focussed on some Grafitti at a local skate board park. There are some great artists out there!
Julie and Adam
More shots from our recent expedition - 13 September 2009
A couple of weeks ago we put up a slideshow of the Bonobos in DRC. This time it is some of the Lowland Gorillas, Forest Elephants and people we met in the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo. A fantastic time for those who want something a little different.
Some tips if you are about to go there:
1. Expect the unexpected.
2. Carry some Euros. This is by far much preferred over the US$ as the local currency (the CFA) is pegged to the Euro.
3. Brush up on your French.
4. The food you eat will actually be very good. However the Pygmys catch animals in nets in the Forest, some of these are dried and smoked. We were not hungry enough to take a bite of one of these!
5. Expect the unexpected and be disappointed if everything goes according to plan!
Enough of that, here is a quick slideshow:
The shots at the beginning if the slideshow are the tribe who dug us out of the mud. Their reward some hard currency and a few packets of cigarettes. The shots of the Elephants taken from a hide overlooking a bai, which is a clearing in the middle of a rain forrest where animals and birds come down for minerals. Finally we took many of the people shots in a market where snakes and various monkeys were available as meat. To us disturbing, but for the local people a source of protein.
Check our website in a week or so as we are working on a trip-report and putting some more high-res photos on the site.
Julie and Adam
Bonobos and Lowland Gorillas - 31 August 2009
We came back yesterday from our 20 day expedition to the Central African Republic (CAR), the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo; what an adventure! Some of the highlights:
2. Having the real privilege of trekking Lowland Gorillas in the dart rainforest in CAR. We managed three treks. On the first, elephants came between us and the Gorillas and we could not get round them. On the second we were under really heavy tropical rain. Imagine being in a shower on full blast and trying to take photos and you get the idea. On the third, we walked for perhaps three hours before having the joy of seeing them up close and personal. Less hairy than the Mountain Gorillas found in Rwanda and Uganda but equally impressive. The Silverback was stunning.
3. After the Gorilla trekking we travelled by pirogue down the Sangha river and then caught one of the most extraordinary flights to Brazaville. Extraordinary because the flight was three hours late, passengers did not use the terminal and stood out under a large tree but as it started to rain (again) we all rushed through the barricade and stood under the wing of the plane until we were allowed to board amidst a scrum that would have defeated the British Lions on any day.
4. Finally a week with the Bonobos at the Lola sanctuary just outside Kinshasa. As you can see from the pictures below you can get really close to these amazing creatures almost all of which have been saved from cruelty and inhumane conditions. A great charity doing some serious work which we support in our own small way.
Adam trying to get a shot!
Julie being caught by surprise!
And set out below is a slideshow of some of our shots of the Bonobos.
Within a few weeks we will put more photos up on the site, a slideshow from the first half of the trip and a trip report with more details. Thanks to David, Robin, Marian and Lisa for being such great traveling companions. As we hope you can tell, we had a terrific time and as first time visitors to CAR and the Republic of Congo would recommend them to anyone with a sense of adventure and acceptance that not everything will go according to plan. We are planing to return to all three countries, possibly over Christmas and New Year of 2010/11.
Julie and Adam
Botswana - a slideshow for some special friends