Rajan Jolly, our operations manager for India, has come up with two exciting tailormade itinerary suggestions based at top lodges. The second of these is an 11--day wildlife holiday based at Samode Safari Lodge, Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.

The trouble with Tigers is that it’s only ever the next one that counts. No matter how many you’ve seen, or how cool you pretend to be about seeing one again, each time you enter the forest and hear the throaty alarm-bellow of a Sambar – telling you that a Tiger is near – the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and your heart thumps double-time, just as they did for your very first Tiger. And your second, and your third …

The Azores means pretty much one thing to the avid whale watcher - Sperm Whales. That’s what brings us to these remote islands, strung out like beads halfway across the Atlantic. Of course Sperm Whales are not the only appeal of a holiday in the Azores, but the chance to see lots of Sperm Whales - and see them very close - is irresistible.

It was during our second of three autumn trips to Western Canada that the group had an extraordinary run of luck. While on a small boat at Zeballos in search of Sea Otters, tour leader Tim Melling spotted an animal swimming between two nearby islands. A split second later, the valleys were resounding with his scream of 'Cougar!' and the boat raced forward to take a better look.

The Isles of Scilly have long enjoyed a reputation for sightings of American birds in September and October but in recent years the Atlantic weather systems responsible for bringing these lost migrants to Europe have tended to track north and brought rarities to Scotland whilst South West England has suffered a relative paucity of records.