Travel Plans: Wildlife Viewing by Month

For people just finding my blog, I am in the beginning stages of planning a pretty epic 18 month trip around the world, covering Oceania, Asia, Africa, and a small part of Europe.  Following this year and a half, I hope to complete another year and a half to two years of travel across the American continent with my dogs via RV.

This blog is meant to help keep track of my ideas and plans for this monster trip, a bit like a digital scrap book.  In addition, I periodically make posts about smaller-scale travel that I'm currently doing.  More recently, because of time constraints, I have mostly been doing the latter as I have been amassing piles of travel books without any time to look at them.

Now that I'm a bit more settled, I've finally had the opportunity to browse through my collection of travel books and have gotten the chance to start updating my lists again (yeay!).  Below is a list of experiences with wildlife that I would love to have, grouped together by month and separated by leg of the trip (Eurasia/Africa/Oceania +  Americas).  Keep in mind that I have scoured through a number of books to come up with this list and have only listed the things in these books that I am really excited about and are feasible for my own trip, but there are so many more listings in these books!

If any of these look interesting, you can check out: A Year of Watching Wildlife, Animal Addict's Guide to Travel, Swimming with Dolphins, Tracking Gorillas, and Wildlife Travel for a more complete list and tons more details.  All of these are amazing books and I highly recommend them to anyone serious about planning a trip that includes experiences with wildlife as they provide the nitty-grit\ty for getting to these places, the difficulty of doing so, and history of the animals and a plethora of additional information on places involved + things to see/do beyond the animals listed below (in fact, most items in these books include a long list of observable wildlife/actvities- I've just chosen the ones that appeal to me).

All Year:

1. Sharks, Ras Mohammad, Elphinstone, and Brothers, Egypt (hammerhead), Rangiroa, French Polynesia (reef), Sipidan, Malaysia (black and white-tip), Maldives (grey nurse, tiger, and leopard), and Cape Point, South Africa (great white)  (All year)
2.  Tropical fish/coral reefs, Mahmya Island, Egypt, Maldives, Port Launay Marine National Park, Seychelles, and Raja Ampat, Indonesia (All year)
3. Sea turtles, Banyak Islands, Sumatra, Indonesia, Ribbon Reefs, Australia, Bora Bora, French Polynesia, Maldives, Sipadan, Malaysia, and Cousin Island, Seychelles (All year)
4. Seals, Marlborough Sounds Marine Park, New Zealand (All year) 
5.  Red colobus monkeys, chimpanzees, Kenya- Sweetwaters Game Reserve, Rwanda- Nyungwe Forest, Tanzania- Gombe Stream National Park, Uganda- Kibale Forest National Park, Zambia- Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage  (All year)
6.  Bonobos, Salonga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo  (All year)
7.  Lions, leopards, Okavango Delta, Botswana, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, Serengeti National Park, Hwange National Park (All year)
8. Rhinos, Kenya- Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Namibia- Ongava Reserve, South Africa- Tswalu Game Reserve, Zambia- Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park (All year)
9. African elephants, Kruger National Park, South Africa (All year)
10.  African penguins, Boulders Bay, South Africa (All year)
11.  Hippos, Shapandani Hide, Kruger National Park and Pilanesberg Game Reserve, South Africa (All year)
12.  Shoebills, Moyowosi-Kigosi Swamp, Tanzania (All year) 
13.  Dolphins, Marsa Alam, Egypt (All year) 
14. Manta rays, Kadavu, Fiji, Manta Point, Bali and Kri Island, Papua, Indonesia, and Maldives 
15. Walking with elephants, Abucamp, Okavango Delta, Botswana
16. Camel trek, Simpson Desert, Northern Territory, Australia

1. Hammerhead sharks, Cocos Island, Cost Rica and Malpelo Island, Colombia (All year) 
2.  Sea turtles, Cabo Pulma National Marine Park, Mexico, Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica, and Fernando de Noronha, Brazil (All year)
3.  Tropical fish/coral reefs, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, Hol Chan Marine Reserve, Belize
4.  Sea lions, Cabo san Lucas, Mexico and Islas Palomino, Lima, Peru (All year) 
5.  Manatees, Everglades National Park, Florida, USA (All year) 
6. Penguins, seals, boobies, iguanas, tortoises, Isla de la Plata and Galapagos, Ecuador  (All year)
7. Golden rays, Gulf of Mexico (Migration?) 
8. Macaws, Manu & Tambopata, Amazon, Peru
9. Hummingbirds, Bellavista cloud forest, Ecuador
10. Tropical fish, eels, eagle rays, turtles, sharks, whale sharks, Belize Barrier Reef

January:

1. Birding (cranes, eagles, owls) in Keoladeo Ghana National Park, India 
2. Iguana spotting during mating season, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador  
3. Bat-sitting, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Philippines  
4. Snorkel Jellyfish lake, Palau (January-March) 
5. Wild chameleons, Madagascar
6. Red-crowned cranes, Kushiro, Hokkaido (Tancho no Sato reserve/Akan International Crane Center), Japan 
7. Guided tour of baby bent-wing bats, Mt Etna Caves National Park, Australia  
8. Sand cats, jackals, dolphins, sea turtles, Banc D'Arguin (UNESCO), Mauritania 
9. Kea, the ground-dwelling alpine parrot, Arthur's Pass National Park, New Zealand 
10. Camels (china?)
11. Whale sharks, Donsol Bay, Philippines (January- April)
12. Wildebeest calves,  Ndutu plains, Serengeti, Tanzania (January- March)
13. Big game, Kgalagadi, South Africa (January- June)
14. Flowering mountains, Southern Alps, New Zealand

1. Boas and birds by boat, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica
2. Coati, Muleshoe Ranch, Arizona, USA  
3. Flamingos, Laguna Colorado, Bolivia  
4. Wolves, bison, elk, Yellowstone National Park, USA   
5. Harpy eagles, Punta Patiño Nature Reserve, Panama   
6. Grey whales, Baja California, Mexico
7. Bull elephant seal dominance, Piedras Blancas Beach, San Simeon, CA, USA

February:

1. Hornbills and bearded pigs, Gurung Leuser National Park, Indonesia 
2. Cheetahs, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania  
3. Baby baboons, Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
4. PLATAPI! Eungella National Park (Broken River early morning/late afternoon), Australia (December-February)  
5. Lions and cheetahs, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, SA/Botswana/Namibia
6. Dholes (must see these pups!), Kanha National Park, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India
7. Wealth of marine life: turtles, fish, corals, Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia 
8. Sea eagles, Hokkaido, Japan
9. Tasmanian devils, Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, Tasmania, Australia
10. Bengal tigers, sloth bears, Panna Tiger Reserve, India (February-  April)      
11. Snow leopards and blue sheep, India   
12. Leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa
13. Snow leopards, Ladakh mountains, India 
14. Bird migration, Coto Doñana, Spain (February- April, September- November)
15. Tigers, India (February- April)

1. Pink River Dolphins, Yarapa River, Peru   
2. Monarch butterfly migration, El Chincua, Mexico
3. Orcas, Valdés Peninsula, Argentina

March:

1. Giant flying squirrels, mouse deer, orangutans, Danum Valley Conservation Area, Malaysia Borneo 
2. Sandhill cranes, Platte River, Nebraska, USA
3. Dancing scallops, Quirimbas National Park (Pemba), Mozambique 
4. Courting Kob (antelope), Queen Elizabeth National park, Uganda  
5. Breeding raptors, Great Bustards, Extremadura/Monfragüe National Park
6. Whale sharks, dugongs, manta rays, spawning coral Ningaloo Marine Park, Australia
7. Meerkats, Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa
8. Gharials, Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal
9. Flying foxes, Tooan Tooan Creek, Australia 
10. Mountain gorillas, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Uganda  (March-April, Oct-Nov)        
11. Whale sharks, Richelieu Rock and Hin Daeng, Thailand (April- May) 
12. Pandas, Qinling Mountains, China
13. Blue whales, south coast, Sri Lanka (March- April)

1. Bee hummingbirds, sea turtles, crocodiles Ciénaga de Zapata National Park, Cuba
2.  Harp seals, Magdalen Islands, Canada 
3. Quetzals, Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, Costa Rica
4. Blue whales, Gulf of Corcodavo (Puerto Montt), Chile 
5. Volunteer with seaturtles, Matura Beach, Trinidad
6. Capybaras! hoatzins, parrots, dolphins, Anavilhanas Archipelago, Brazil 
7. Killer whales, sea lions, elephant seals Valdés Peninsula, Argentina  
8. Whale sharks, Placenia, Belize (March- June) and Utila, Honduras (March-April, August- September)

April:

1. Leopards, slender loris, Sinharaja National Park, Sri Lanka 
2. Sectral Tarsiers, Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park, Sulawesi, Indonesia
3. Chimpanzees, Kibale Forest National Park, Uganda
4. Red squirrels, Abernethy Forest, Scotland 
5. Giant Pandas, Wolong(Wulong?) Nature Reserve, Chengdu, China  
6. Sooty terns, white fairy terns, Bird Island, Seychelles 
7. Orangutans, Bohorok Rehabilitation Centre, Sumatra Indonesia, Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre, Malaysia (April-October)
8. Lemurs, chameleons, Kirindy Forest, Madagascar (April-October)
9. Proboscis monkeys, Bako National Park, Sarawak Malaysian Borneo, Malaysia
10. Whale sharks, Ningaloo Reef, Australia (April- July, March to June?) 
11. Lemur courtship, Madagascar (April- mid May)
12. Wild rains, Kalahari Desert
13. Whale watching, Iceland (April- August)
14. Flowering mountains, Himalayas
15. Wildebeest migration, Western Corridor, Serengeti, Tanzania (Mid April- June)
16. Great white sharks, Gansbaii, Western Cape, South Africa (April- September)

1. Sea otters, Monterey Bay, CA, USA  
2.  Jaguars, manatees, Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area/Chan Chich Lodge, Belize 
3. Andean Condons, Machu Pichu, Peru  
4. Roseate Spoonbills, High Island, Texas, USA 
5. Pacific herring spawning, humpback whales, eagles, sea lions, Sitka Sound, Alaska, USA
6. Gila monsters, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, USA 
7. Belugas and narwhals, Davis Strait, Baffin Island

May:

1. Snow leopards, takins, bharals, red pandas, Tashitang trek, Bhutan  
2. Giraffes, North Luangwa National Park, Zambia 
3. Orange fruit doves, Taveuni, Fiji 
4. Saigas, greater flamingos, wolves, marmots, Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve, Kazakhstan  
5. Komodo dragons, Komodo National Park, Indonesia 
6. Aldabra tortoises, green sea turtles, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles  
7. Asian elephants, Uda Walawe National Park, Sri Lanka (May-September) 
8. Hippos, Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe (May- October) 
9. Dense widlife (party!), Okavango Delta, Botswana(May- June)
10. Birding, Kakadu, Australia (May- September)

1. Red-sided garter snake mating balls, Narcisse Snake Dens, Manitoba, Canada
2. Sea lions, iguanas, tortoises, blue footed boobies! Galapagos, Ecuador 
3. American Bison, Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, OK, USA 
4. Black howler monkeys, Community Baboon Sanctuary, Belize  
5. Puffins and puffins, Látrabjarg, Iceland, Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, Newfoundland, Canada, and Easter Egg Rock, Maine and Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska, USA
6. Grey whales, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
7. Brown and Black bears, Banff National Park, Canada and Glacier-Wharton National Park, USA/Canada
8.  Jaguars, Guyana rainforest (May- August)

June:

1. Hippopotamuses, red river hogs, whales, dolphins, Loango National Park, Gabon 
2. Red pandas, Bingzhongluo National Park, Kunming, PRChina  
3. Sardine run "the greatest shoal," humpback whales, cape fur seals, bronze whaler sharks, dolphins, South Africa  
4. Barren ground caribou, George River Herd, Porcupine Herd, Alaska- USA, Northern Canada
5. Pacific walruses, Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary/Togiak Nationa Wildlife Refuge/Round Island, Alaska, USA
6. Atlantic Puffins, Shetland, UK
7. Night drive through Kruger National Park, South Africa 
8. Wildebeest migration, Tanzania's Serengeti National Park and Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve, Tanzania/Kenya   （June-July)
9. Lions, Kafue National Park, Zambia, Mana Pools National Park (June-October) 
10. Hippos, The Retreat, Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania (June- November)  
11. Seals, Jervis Bay, Australia (June- September) 
12. Wildflowers, Western Australia

1. Snowy owls, polar bears, bowhead whales, caribou, bears, oxen, Arctic National Wildlife Reguge, Alaska 
2. Fireflies, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN, USA 
3. Mountain goats, Jasper National Park, Canada 
4. Golden rays, Yucatan Peninsula, Cancun, Mexico 
5. Maned wolves, Caraça Natural Reserve, Brazil  
6. Grizzly bears, Bella Coola River, Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, BC, Canada (August-September)
7. Macaws, river otters, Blanquillo Clay Lick, Manu National Park (June-November)
8. Polar bears, arctic foxes, Hudson Bay, Canada (June-September) 
9. Whale sharks, Holbox Island, Mexico (June- September) 
10. Wildflowers, Denali National Park, Alaska, USA (June- September)

July:

1. European Bison, West Caucasian Turs, Kavkazskiy Nature Reserve, Russia
2. Polar bears, walruses, snowy owls, grey whales, Wrangle Island Reserve, Russia
3. Great white sharks, South Africa
4. Mountain gorillas, chimps, African forest elephants, black bee eaters, Bwindi Impenetrable National Reserve, Uganda 
5. Snub-nosed monkeys, Baima Snow Mountain Reserve, China
6. Whale sharks, Maldives (July- November) 
7. Humpback whale calves, northeast coast, Madagascar (July- September)
8. Wildebeest cross Grumeti River, Tanzania
9. Big five viewing, southern Tanzania (July- October)
10. Southern right whale calves, Cape, South Africa (July- October)
11. Dense wildlife, Etosha National Park, Namibia
12. Camel trek, Laikipia Plateau, Kenya (July- October, January- March)

1. Belugas, Somerset Island, Canada
2. Humpback whales, minke whales, Avalon Peninsula, Canada
3. Brown bears, salmon, moose, caribou, wolverines, sea otters, Katmai National Park, Alaska, USA 
4. Hyacinth macaws, jaguars, capybaras, Pantanal National Park, Brazil
5. Grizzly bears, McNeil River Sanctuary, Alaska, USA  (July-August)
6. Caribou, Northern Alaska, USA (July- September)
7.  Orcas, Pacific west coast, Alaska, USA and BC, Canada (July- mid-September)
8. Beluga calves, Churchill River, Manitoba, Canada
9. Brown bears and salmon, Alaska and BC, Canada
10. Southern right whales, Valdés Peninsula, Argentina

August:

1. Fennec foxes, sand cats, cheetahs, Aïr & Ténéré Natural Reserve, Niger 
2. Hippos!!  Katavi National Park, Tanzania  
3. Snow sheep, sea otters, brown bears, Kronotsky Nature Reserve, Russia  
4. Leopards, chitals, sloth bears, barking deer, white ibises, painted storks, Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka  
5. Indian wild asses, desert cats, nilgais, Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary, India
6. Atlantic puffins, Westmann Islands, Iceland  
7. Barking deer, wild oxen, wild pigs, Taman Negara National Park, Malaysia   
8. Sea turtles, Kadavu island (August- October) 
9. Wildebeests, Mara River, Tanzania and Kenya and Masai Mara, Kenya
10. Wildflowers, Namaqualand, South Africa (end-August- mid-October)

1. Mexican Free-Tailed Bats, Bracken Cave, Texas, USA  
2. Spawning coral, tropical fish, Caribbean (Florida) 
3. Killer whales, Johnstone strait, Canada (kayaking)  
4. Macaws, river otters, Napa Wildlife Centre, Yasuni National Park, Equador (August-September)
5. Great white sharks, Guadalupe Island, Mexico 
6. Humpbacks bubble-net feeding, Chatham Strait and Frederick Sound, Alaska, USA

September:

1. Wild yaks, black necked cranes, snow leopards, Chang Tang Nature Reserve, Tibet, PRChina 
2. Wrinkle-lipped bats, Gurung Mulu National Park, Malaysian Borneo  
3. Manta rays, Lankanfinolhu Faru, North Male' Atoll, Maldives  
4. Dugong, sea turtles, bottle-nose dolphins, tiger sharks, Shark Bay World Heritage Site, Australia
5. African elephants, Chobe National Park, Botswana  
6. African Wild dogs, Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana  
7. Mandrills, Lopé National Park, Gabon
8. Spotted hyenas, Harar, Ethiopia   
9. Little blue penguins, Penguin and Phillip Islands, Australia (September- June)
10. Blue and yellow eyed penguin, South Island and Stewart Island, New Zealand (September- June)
11. Seals, Port Philip Bay, Australia (September- May)
12. Sea lions, Punta Loma, Argentina (September- February)

1. Elk, wolves, bison, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA 
2. Variety of sharks, cave of the sleeping sharks, Isla Mujeres, Mexico
3. Giant anteaters, Emas National Park, Brazil  
4. Scarlet macaws, giant otters, emperor tamarins, Manu National Park, Peru   
5. Gentoo and Magellanic penguins, Isla Martillo, Argentina (September- April)

October:

1. White rhinos, Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve, South Africa 
2. African lions, zebras, hippos, black rhinos, flamingos, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania 
3. Variety of lemurs, aye-ayes, Madagascar (Volunteer here)  
4. African buffalo, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
5. Glow worms and bioluminescence, Waitomo Caves, New Zealand 
6.  Quokkas, Rottenest Island, Australia   
7. Dolphins, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand and Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne, Australia 
8. Elephants, mopane woodlands, Okavango Delta, Botswana
9. Wildlife, National Parks open, India (October-April)
10. Flamingos, Great Rift Valley, Kenya & Tanzania (October-December)
11. Reef herons, Heron Island, Noddy Island, Australia
12. Tigers, elephants, langurs, Corbett National Park, India (October- April)
13. Ethiopian wolves, gelada baboon, Simien Mountains, Ethiopia (October- March)

1. Polar bears, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada (October- November)
2. Raptors, river of raptors, outside of Veracruz, Mexico  

November:

1. Hawksbill turtles, dwarf minke whales, manta rays, tropical fish, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia 
2. Siberian Ibexes, Aksu-Dzhabagly Nature Reserve, Kazakhstan  
3. Indian rhinos, bengal tigers, Indian elephants, dolphins, Kaziranga National Park, India
4. Elephants, black rhinos, cape fur seals, flamingos, Namibia
5. Straw-colored fruit bats, Kasanka National Park, Zambia
6. Kagus, Rivière Bleue Provincial Park, New Caledonia   
7. Dolphins, Kizingo, Kenya (November- April)
8. Sea Turtles, Similan Islands, Thailand (November- May)
9. Manta Rays, Koh Bon, Thailand, Socorro Islands, Mexico, and Catalina Islands, Costa Rica (November- May) 
10. Wildebeests, south Serengeti, Tanzania (November-December)
11. Best time to trek Himalayas, Nepal
12. Birdwatching, Bharatpur, India (December- February)

1. Jaguars, Pantanal, Brazil 
2. Golden lion tamarins, Poço das Antas Biological Reserve, Brazil 
3. Bighorn sheep, Whiskey Mountain, Wyoming, USA  

December:

1. Kangaroos, koalas, possums, seals, Kangaroo Island, Australia  
2. Flying lizards, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia 
3. Markhor antelope, Chitral Gol National Park，Pakistan
4. Warthogs! Amboseli National Park, Kenya  
5. Snow monkeys, Jigokudani Monkey Park, Japan   
6. Tropical fish/coral reefs, Similan and Surin Islands, Thailand (December- April) 
7. Manta Rays, Donsol, Philippines (December- May) 
8. Birding, Everglades, Florida (December- April)

1. Scalloped hammerhead sharks, Cocos Island National Park, Costa Rica  
2. Elephant seals, Año Nuevo State Natural Reserve, CA, USA  
3. Toucans, blue cotingas, Canopy Tower, Panama    
4. Ocelots, Central American squirrel monkeys, Baird's Tapirs,  Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica    
5. Variety of birds, Tikal National Park, Guatemala (morning)    
6. Humpback and sperm whales, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica