Hi Adrian

I have never been on a dedicated butterfly tour before my 2 trips to Peru. However, I have been on a few wildlife tours and one of the most frustrating things I found was the way you are rushed about and the assumptions made about what you want to see. That didn't happen with your tours - there is an immense amount of time put into finding the right places at the right time and there is always a backup place to go to if necessary.

When you get to the destination, you can make your own way around without being constantly shepherded by guides. There is no ill feeling between people on the tour because we all have the same passion, and the local guides you choose do everything they can to help us see as many butterflies as possible. The guides double as cooks, mechanics, local diplomats and problem solvers, doing all they can to let us concentrate on our butterflies. This is aided by the small size of the tour group making things easier to plan and manage.

I love that fact that we are usually off the beaten track for tourism and the most important thing is the destination; yes, nice hotels are a bonus but they are not the priority and one of my favourite stays is in Shima where we have a sleeping bag in a hut in a forest. Of course there can be breakdowns and hitches when you travel to such out of the way places but these can add a touch of excitement and intrigue.

Last but not least Adrian, your knowledge of butterfly identification, behaviour and habitat is second to none. Even my sieve-like brain is starting to recognise a few genera thanks to your help. Emily is an angel; always enthusiastic, helpful and a joy to have around; her butterfly and moth knowledge is also increasing dramatically.

I'm looking forward to North East India in April and would recommend anyone with a passion for butterflies to get on one of these trips.

All the best to you both,

Hi Adrian

Feedback on the trip is all positive – I honestly can’t come up with a negative.

The things I liked are:

Pre-trip admin and communication were excellent, always speedy. Full responses to emails, and proactive with information. The complete focus on butterfly photography. Site selection was spot-on. Your selection of ground agents – the bus was perfect and well-driven, bottled water always available, etc. Hotels and accommodation were fine. I found the small group chemistry – always an unknown quantity at the outset, to work well. Plenty of unhurried time at each major location, maximising daylight hours. Transit time kept to a minimum. The flexible approach to amend the itinerary, e.g. the extra Friday morning at Bunso, and lunchbox takeaways. The depth of your species knowledge. I don’t think I’ve missed anything. So, thanks again for organising a truly memorable trip. I'm looking forward to teaming up with you again for Sikkim & Assam and very confident that it will be another cracking experience.

Best wishes to you and Emily,

Hi Adrian

I wish to congratulate you on the first class organisation of the tour to Ghana.

As you know, not being familiar with butterflies from West Africa, my primary interest was to see and to observe the behaviour, rather than specifically to photograph, the butterflies and this, along with all other aspects of the tour, proved to be an unqualified success. I was particularly fortunate with the unexpected bonus of virtually one to one attention each morning from the local guide, Paul, looking at a wide variety of birds. It is difficult to see how the service from the tour guides could have been better.

A major contribution to the enjoyment of the whole venture was the excellent company of all the participants; courtesy in the field during the day, and then entertaining and broad ranging conversation during the evening meal, with a welcome beer, rounded of each day perfectly.

I am so glad that I decided to join you on this thoroughly enjoyable venture and, if circumstances allow, I would be only too willing to come with you on a future tour.

With my best wishes to you and Emily,