Text and photos by Gareth Robbins Recently, I managed to make a short visit to the Garden Route. I had one day free to go birding, so I chose the Wilderness Section of the Garden Route National Park. This section of the GRNP is famous for its lakes, rivers and estuaries and is surrounded by indigenous...

Searching for reptiles and amphibians – affectionately termed “herping” – is an interesting pastime that often gets the enthusiast deep into fascinating habitat in far-away places – just like birding! Unlike birds, however, the vast majority of herps do not make themselves noticeable in any way – they...

I was very lucky recently to be invited by the Palau Visitors Authority to visit the Micronesian Island of Palau, from the 29th of May to the 1st of June. The invitation was part of an initiative to encourage bird-watching tours to visit the islands. A full programme was laid out for me, and I was kept busy...

Ask most folks where Melanesia is and more likely than not you’re met with a blank stare. To some it sounds more like a health condition best avoided, more so than a place name. Indeed, even of the “-esia” regions it is not the best known, overshadowed by Polynesia and/or the tiny shards and...

Right between Russia and China, Mongolia, “the land of the eternal blue sky”, sits on a high plateau at an average altitude of 1500 meters. Far from any ocean or sea, it’s the second largest landlocked country in the world. Comprised by endless steppes, the spectacular Altai Mountains, and the vast...