Read about highlights from recent tours to Namibia, Scotland, and the Seychelles.

It seems that everybody is talking about the episode of the new David Attenborough series “Dynasties” that aired on Sunday night, featuring a colony of Emperor Penguins. Much conversation has been stirred by the film-makers admitting that they dug a path to help some trapped mothers and chicks escape from a deadly ravine into which they had fallen, breaking the media protocol of not interfering. Other memorable moments included Aurora Australis over the colony at Atka Bay, Antarctica; the great huddle of males enduring a fearsome gale; and the sinister kidnapping of a chick by a frustrated female. And who could not agonise with the mother penguin abandoning her own chick in the same ravine mentioned above, the latter tumbling down to certain death like a soft toy falling down the stairs?

It has been another world-class year for wildlife encounters on the Lyme Bay marine safaris. There have been five trips this year, sailing out of Brixham on the Spot-On catamaran with skipper Ross Parham – himself a knowledgeable and eagle-eyed marine wildlife observer. With around nine hours at sea on each trip and cruising at 8-10 knots, there has been plenty of time to cover large parts of Lyme Bay over the summer months.

We are very pleased to be working with tour leader Matt Collis, for this short break to South Devon. Matt was born and raised in Devon, so he is very familiar with the areas to be visited during the tour and passionate about sharing the wildlife of his home county.

The celebrated ancient forests and wetlands of Belarus are now more easily accessible after the relaxation of visa restrictions. Belarus is one of the least developed countries in Europe and a paradise for naturalists. The country is home to tracts of primeval forest that once stretched across the European Plain and with many lakes, meadows and waterways this sparsely populated land supports such iconic mammal species as Bison, Elk, Wolf, Lynx, Wild Boar and Beaver.