WildPhotos – Wildlife Photography Event

The 22-23 October sees the return of Wildscreen’s WildPhotos event, the UK’s premier photography symposium for those passionate about nature photography.

With a sensational line-up of the world’s finest nature photographers and industry experts, this two-day event, held at the Royal Geographical Society in London, promises to inspire and enthuse. The impressive line up of international speakers led by David Doubilet (USA) includes Mark Carwardine (UK), Danny Ellinger (Netherlands), Charlie Hamilton James (UK) and Stefano Unterthiner (Italy) and many more.

The event will close with a series of unique behind the scenes presentations by winners of the 2010 Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition (winners names to be announced on 21 October 2010).

Tickets and a full programme are now available. A one-day ticket costs £110; two-day tickets are £180.

Join us there and find out more about our wildlife holidays and maybe you could start taking award winning wildlife shots! Find out more and to book your tickets »

In addition, clients visiting our stand will have the chance to win either a signed print by Iceland’s leading photographer Ragnar TH Sigurdsson or a signed copy of his stunning photo book “Eyjafjallajokull, untamed nature”.

Come & Meet Us at the British Birdwatching Fair!

Come and meet us at the world's largest international bird watching event where our New Zealand and Australia Specialists, Lindi and Liz, will be on hand to discuss our range of fantastic birding and wildlife holidays in New Zealand, Australia and beyond.
   
The Birdwatching Fair is a three day event and has been described as the ‘birdwatcher’s Glastonbury’! Offering visitors a programme packed with everything from bird shows to interactive workshops, a charity auction to a variety of shopping opportunities, selling everything from sculptures to binoculars. Take time to also enjoy the various lectures throughout the show and leave feeling inspired ready to explore the world's incredible wildlife.

Visit us in Marquee 4. We’ll be on the Australian Birdwatching stand (no. 41,42) as well as the Heritage Expeditions and Wild Earth stand (no. 43,44) where you can talk to us about New Zealand wildlife holidays as well as expedition voyages to Antarctica and beyond.

20 - 22 August 2010
At Egleton Nature Reserve
Rutland Water, Oakham, Rutland
See it on the map here» 

Find out more and purchase your tickets at www.birdfair.org.uk »
 
New Zealand Wildlife Holidays »
Australia Wildlife Holidays »
Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Expedition Voyages » 

New Volcano Charter - Your Holiday is Protected

Here at Discover the World we are committed to providing you with the best possible service and understand that the recent air travel disruption may have highlighted some travel concerns. To offer you reassurance in your future travel plans we would like to advise you of our new clear and transparent travel policy.

New Volcano Customer Charter – Applicable to all our Destinations

This comes into effect in the event of any further ash cloud disruption where an airline does not provide this equivalent level of care and assistance.

Flight Cancellations

In the event that it is not possible for your outward flight(s) to operate within 24 hours of the scheduled departure time we will do our best to rearrange your holiday for a later date or if you prefer, receive a full refund of the holiday costs that you have paid to us (excluding any travel insurance premium).

If your scheduled return flight(s) are cancelled and it is necessary for you to remain in your destination and if the airline does not make these arrangements for you, then we will provide you with accommodation and meals until such time that we or the airline can make alternative travel arrangements. This may include returning you to an alternative UK airport via an alternative route, in order to repatriate you to your original UK departure airport.

Holiday Alterations / Rerouting

If you are on holiday and it becomes necessary to alter or reroute any of our holiday itineraries then we will make these arrangements for you at no additional cost. 

To read our complete new Volcano Customer Charter and conditions please click here.

Please contact our specialist team if you require any further advice.

 
  

The Arctic Tern's 50,000 mile Migratory Route Uncovered...

Upon reading the news recently I was fascinated to discover that for the first time ever a team of international scientists have tracked the complete migration of the Arctic Tern. Whilst this incredible bird has always been known for its vast migratory journey, researchers using traditional bird ringing methods have only previously been able to track the birds as far as South Africa. However, using miniature ‘geolocators’, researchers have managed to follow the birds complete route, one that is largely dictated by food availability.

Research suggests that the Arctic Tern makes not only the furthest journey of any creature on Earth, a mere 50,000 mile year round trip but also sees the most daylight by travelling between the Arctic and Antarctic summers. Furthermore, despite this extraordinary migratory route, few Terns die each year and can live for up to 34 years! Truly fascinating.

Not only is this a wonderfully curious piece of research it is significant for us here at Discover the World as the Arctic Tern has long been part of our history. Discover the World began in 1983 operating holidays to Iceland and the Arctic and appropriately we adopted the Tern as our logo. Soon, we began introducing new holiday destinations with our expanding portfolio reaching as far as Antarctica. The Arctic Tern thus then became even more symbolic of our company, embodying not only the destinations we travel to but the unique and specialist operator, that is Discover the World.

Passionate about Wildlife and Photography?

Friday 23 & Saturday 24 October sees the return of Wildscreen’s WildPhotos event, the UK’s premier photography symposium for those passionate about nature photography. With a sensational line-up of the world’s finest nature photographers and industry experts, including winners from the prestigious Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, this two-day event, held at the Royal Geographical Society in London, promises to inspire and enthuse.   
 
WildPhotos is aimed at anyone with a passion for wildlife and high-quality imagery, whether amateur or professional photographers, working in the photography or publishing industries or wanting to make more use of the power of nature photography to move and inspire people.

This year’s event, hosted by Springwatch presenter and wildlife photographer Chris Packham, includes a keynote presentation by Michael ‘Nick’ Nichols, National Geographic Editor at Large for Photography.
  
Over the course of the two-day event, more than 20 expert speakers will present their work, deliver inspiring talks and offer technical advice on topics ranging from marine, black and white and macro photography to how to sell your pictures.  

A one-day ticket costs £105; two-day tickets are £175. You can register online at www.wildphotos.org.uk or please contact WildPhotos on +44 (0)117 328 5975
/ wildphotos@wildscreen.org.uk

Invitation to our Travel Day - Saturday 10th October

TRAVEL TALKS * WINE-TASTING * PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP * STANFORDS

Whether you’re looking for travel ideas or purely wishing to discover delightful wine from the stunning countries of New Zealand and Australia then join us for a day of travel inspiration!

Enjoy a day of talks on travel to Iceland, Lapland and the ICEHOTEL, New Zealand and the Polar Regions and discover the wonder of the northern lights and where best to observe them.

Sample fine New Zealand and Australian wine with Great Western Wines and perhaps pick up your favourite travel book at the Stanfords stand and take advantage of a 15% discount. Then learn how to capture the perfect shot during a photography workshop with Icelandic photographer Ragnar Sigurdsson.

A fantastic opportunity to meet our team of travel specialists, look around a Maui Motorhome first-hand for your adventure to New Zealand or Australia and meet our worldwide travel partners before your trip!

Places limited. Click here to RSVP

 

Galapagos on the Big Screen this Autumn

As the nights start to draw in, now is a great time to start planning a holiday to look forward to and there’s plenty of inspiration on the big screen at the moment.  This week sees the UK release of the new film ‘Creation’, a portrayal of the life of Charles Darwin starring Paul Bettany.  The controversial film charts the story behind the eventual publication of the theory of evolution, a discovery which came about following Darwin's visits to the Galapagos Islands in 1835 and other key destinations in South America and worldwide. You can find out more about Darwin's life and travels at the Natural History Museum's newly-opened Darwin Centre.

Of a completely different nature is the Antarctica-based film ‘Whiteout’ – the story of a serial killer on the loose in the Great White Continent!  It might not make for a cosy autumn evening’s viewing and it’s not exactly an activity we'd recommend in Antarctica (!), but it’s still a rare chance to marvel at these incredible frozen landscapes before planning your own Antarctic adventure…

Popcorn anybody..?!

Join James Cracknell and Discover the World for a night of Antarctic adventures!

We are delighted to announce that we will be joining James Cracknell at his forthcoming London lecture 'Race to the Pole'.  Taking place at the Royal Geographical Society on Thursday 18th June, James will be sharing the details of his recent Antarctic experiences and promoting his new book, Race to the Pole, co-written with Ben Fogle.

In addition the Discover the World team will be on hand to help you start planning your own adventure to the Great White Continent - we look forward to seeing you there!

Tickets cost £7.50 and are available through Stanfords at sales@stanfords.co.uk   Full contact details can be found here.  
The event is organised by Stanfords, The World’s Largest Map and Travel Retailer, and will take place at 7pm on the 18th June, at the Royal Geographical Society (RGS), 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR. The nearest Underground stops are South Kensington and Knightsbridge.

Guardian Travel Award - Last Chance to Nominate Us!

Enjoyed your holiday with us within the last year? Want to shout about your fantastic experience? Would like to recommend Discover the World to a wider audience?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then click here to nominate Discover the World in the Guardian Readers’ Travel Award 2009 and be entered into a prize draw to win £20,000 worth of prizes!

All you need to do is fill in a questionnaire about your holiday and potentially win another holiday – a great opportunity if ever there was one.

But hurry…your last chance to do this is tomorrow - Saturday 18 April! 

2009 - A Year of Anniversaries

Happy New Year!   Welcome to 2009, which marks a number of interesting anniversaries…  

In 1907 Sir Ernest Shackleton set out on the first significant attempt to walk to the South Pole, and trekked further south than any man before him. But on 9th January 1909, just 100 miles from the Pole at latitude 88’23”S, Shackleton was forced to turn back due to low supplies. This unfinished journey was a remarkable achievement, but for those of you with less time on your hands, why not fly to the South Pole instead?!  Contact our specialist sales team for further details.

2009 is also a special year for the Galapagos, as we celebrate several landmarks including the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, the 150th anniversary of the publication of Origin of The Species, and the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Charles Darwin Foundation in Galapagos and the Galapagos National Park. Darwin200 have organized numerous events in honour of Darwin, and the Natural History Museum are also hosting a major exhibition until 19th April. Alternatively follow in the footsteps of the great man with a 7 night cruise on The Beagle - and discover the wonders of the Galapagos for yourself.