2019-10-01 Wanderlust

TRAVEL SECRETS

wanderlust.co.uk October 2019 127

vultures and other scavengers
overlook. If you see a bateleur
perched quietly below the canopy,
check nearby trees for a leopard –
a useful tip if you’re on a self-drive
safari with no guide to help you
…ind the big cats.

133

Dive the Great
BarrierReefafter
theNovemberfullmoon
Karina Holden,
conservation biologist
and wildlife filmmaker
Four-to-six days after
the November full moon, billions
of tiny organisms in the The Great
Barrier Reef synchronise their
reproductive systems – the largest
mass breeding event on the planet.
Corals across over 2,000km set
their biological clocks to the lunar
cycle. In the darkness of the night,
the slack currents of the neap tide
signal to corals that it’s a safe time
for sex. The sexual tension of
a billion sea creatures release like
champagne bubbles, …loating to
the surface. Microscopic sperm
wriggle throughout the water in
a blind quest for eggs. Single-sex
corals also send out misty clouds
into the water, as females produce
a milk of microscopic eggs. Global
reefsareunderthreataroundthe
world,buttoexperiencethemass
eventoftheGreatBarrierReef
spawning,isstillawonderofthe
naturalworldthatsparkshopeof
recoveryandrenewal.
Karina’stheatricalilmBluewas
screenedattheUNandwas
awardedtheOkeanosPrixfor
servicestotheOcean.

134

Spottheworld’s
largestspiderin
MapariWildernessCamp
Claire Antell, author,
Bradt Travel Guides:
Guyana
Only accessible by boat,
the Mapari Wilderness Camp is
one of Guyana’s most remote
destinations but it’s also ideally
situated for wildlife spotting,
located on the uninhabited
Mapari River and at the foot of
the rainforest-…lanked Kanuku
Mountains. The Mapari’s a clear

water river, so drifting down

it allows easy viewing of …ish,

stingrays and electric eels, while

heading out on it at night will see

you …loat you past roosting birds

and snakes. A three-minute walk

away from the riverbank brings you

toaharpyeaglenestatopagiant

silkcottontree,butforarealthrill,

takeashortwalkintotheforestto

locatetheburrowoftheGoliath

bird-eatingspider,thelargestspider

bymassintheworld.

135

Explorepristine

reefsinPonta

Mamoli,Mozambique

ZaraGaspar,assistant

editor,Wanderlust

Ifyou’relookingfor

unspoiltbeachesand

pristinereefsMozambiqueisa

diver’sparadise.Ifyouwanttoget

toPontaMamoliyou’llhavetohire

a4x4orarrangeatransferfrom

theSouthAfricanorMozambican

borderasgettingthereinvolves

drivingthroughsanddunesand

tiny,remotevillageswithnothing

buthutsmadefromreedsand

mud.Itcanbepricey,butthe

Wild at heart

(clockwise from above)

Spot leopards by inding

bateleur eagles; search

for harpy eagles in

Guyana; thresher sharks

visit cleaner stations; the

luke of a diving

humpback