Southern Thailand National Park
One
of the easiest way to encounter the birds of Thailand
is from the comfort, convenience, and safety of
a kayak. You can slide silently to the thick rain forest.
Khao Sok's massive 165 square kilometer reservoir has hundreds
of coves to explore. This is where we do our best
birding. Sitting in a cove, you quickly become part
of the scene. Wildlife doesn't seem to mind us being
there.
The birding and
wildlife sightings are unbelievable! Hornbills
are actually common. In fact, we've actually seen 6 species
of hornbills in Khao Sok. We see five species on a regular
basis: Great Hornbill, Wreathed
Hornbills, Bushy-crested Hornbills,
Oriental Pied Hornbill and during November and
December, we often see the very strange Helmeted
Hornbill. We sometimes see Southern
Pied hornbills, White-Crowned Hornbills
and Plain-pouched Hornbills.
Dave is an avid
birder and has sighted and is familiar with most
of birds in southern Thailand.
In additions
to the exotic birds, there are plenty of Long-tailed
macaques (monkeys), Pig-tail macaques, Dusky Langurs (monkeys),
and even White-handed gibbons (apes). We see all of these
on most trips. One thing is inevitable, you’ll see
and/or hear a lot of monkeys and gibbons.
Elephants can
still be found in the park, but they are uncommon. It's
not uncommon to see elephant tracks or droppings however.
We stay in unique,
low impact, floating
bamboo bungalows. These bungalows
are very basic. One thing that still amazes us is the rareness
of mosquitoes. What an nice bonus.
Thale
Noi and other birdwatching add-on
For
serious birders interested in adding some truly
unusual birds to their 'life lists', we offer a two day
addition to the four day Khao Sok experience. Thale
Noi (which literally means "sea,
small") is a huge freshwater marsh area. Birds
that are rare in other areas of Thailand are actually common
here. Purple Swamphens, Pheasant-tailed
Jacanas, Bronze-winged Jacanas,
and Cotton Pygmy-Geese are abundant in
this very important wildlife preserve.
Click here to see a list of
common birds found in
Khao Sok National Park.
Click here to read more about Khao
Sok National Park. Click here for
info on a Phang
Nga Province birding add-on. Click
here for info on a Khao
Nor Chuchi birding add-on. A fairly
new birding hot spot is Thai
Muang. There are several type of
birding habitat, including marshland and a beach lagoon.
Southern Thailand National Park
Phang Nga Bay is
one of the most popular tourist destinations in
southern Thailand. Every day over a dozen canoeing companies
and countless independent operators take tourists to a few
well-known locations in the Bay. The result is similar to
road traffic in Bangkok. It's noisy, congested, and chaotic.
The tourists see the famous "hongs", or inner
island lagoons in some of the islands, and make the obligatory
trip to see "James Bond Island".
Each of our trip
leaders has paddled extensively in Phang Nga Bay
since 1993. The Bay is a large, lovely area that seems different
in every change in weather and light. There are many fine
secluded islands that can be explored at our leisure in
comfortable touring kayaks. In these areas, where only the
occasional fisherman is seen, wildlife is plentiful.
Our
guests, paddling at their own pace, quickly learn
the difference between White-belly Sea Eagles and Brahminy
Kites (another large raptor) by the wing configuration while
in flight. Other frequent sightings include Pacific Reef
Egrets, a wide variety of Kingfishers, Little Herons, Frigate
Birds, and Blue Rock Thrushes. Sometimes we catch sight
of Oriental Pied Hornbills perched in trees or in flight.
Flameback Woodpeckers, a variety of Bulbuls and many other
perching birds are often seen on the islands we visit.
We frequently
come upon large monitor lizards sunning
on rocks, and often see Crab-eating Macaques on the beach
or moving in trees near the water. Sometimes we see Dusky
langurs in trees high on a cliff face.
It is the quiet and solitude that we seek as individual
paddlers.
It is this environment which we offer our guests.
We stay in bungalows
on an island with a wonderful view of limestone
karst formations spread out before us. We enjoy the laid
back quality of island life. We aren't too interested in
tent camping, which in the tropics we find not very comfortable.
Our escort boat
is large enough to carry our boats and gear, and
has plenty of room under the roof to sit out of the sun
between visits to islands.
We offer two day and three
day trips into the Bay, for two to six people. Small groups,
touring kayaks, orientation to proper paddling technique
and safety, islands off the beaten path - this is PaddleAsia.
Click here to read more about
Phang
Nga Bay National Park.
You can combine Phang Nga
Bay with a Phuket
birding day trip. Click here to
see a list
of Phuket birds.
Departure dates are from
November to mid April as these are unprotected waters subject
to the storms and waves of the rainy season.
Tarutao
was chosen by the TV series Survivor due to its vast
expanse of old-growth jungle and stunning scenery. Tarutao
is approximately 30 nautical miles around. There are a lot
of small beaches and rocky points. There are also a couple
of nice rivers to paddle. These tend to be great places to
spot wildlife. Oriental-pied, Southern-pied and Wreathed Horbills
are commonly sighted on Tarutao. Brown-wing, Collared and
Common Kingfishers fish the waters around the island. 
