Wildlife & Nature Travel Club

My wife, Joy, and I had a great experience in Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia with Wildlife & Nature Travel Club (East Lansing, MI; 517/303-5394).

We took the 12-night “Land of the Orangutan, Borneo & Brunei Wildlife Expedition,” Sept. 16-28, 2009. It began in Kuching, Malaysia, and ended in Kota Kinabalu and took in the states Sarawak and Sabah as well as the country Brunei. That was followed by the five-night “Komodo Islands Extension,” Sept. 28-Oct. 3, ending in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.

Excluding international airfare, our primary trip cost €2,845 (near $4,093) per person, double (the 2010 cost, now priced in dollars, is $3,845), and the extension, $1,785 ($1,995 in 2010), including basically everything but visa fees and travel insurance.

The company owner and leader of our trip was Akos Hivekovics. His background as a nature conservationist, researcher and ornithologist is obvious by his knowledge of and familiarity with his travel sites. We were impressed with his prompt responses to questions prior to the trip as well as his genuinely enthusiastic, friendly and professional approach.

WANT is quite different from most companies in that it really focuses on understanding and experiencing conservation and nature along with providing photographic opportunities with wildlife, yet the trip is not so rugged, permitting older folks to enjoy the adventure.

I see that the major change in 2010 is the tour will stay in the Hilton Batang Ai Resort rather than at an Iban village lodge. Akos put us up in the Hilton one night at his expense because of a trip delay, and it was wonderful and we suggested it be inserted into the tour.

There were no surprise expenses, and we were asked not to tip anyone unless special favors were provided beyond the normal responsibilities of guides, drivers, servers, etc.

DON CHAMBERLAIN

Salem, SC