Don't forget to bring your camera... Brown Bear in the Carpathian Mountains! tour participant Jim Bennett

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1 Romania BIRDS & BROWN BEARS Don't forget to bring your camera... Brown Bear in the Carpathian Mountains! tour participant Jim Bennett 2019 Wednesday 24th - Sunday 28th April (5 days) Single-centre, small group tour with Zoli Baczó Join us for a super short break in Romania s beautiful Carpathian Mountains, combining great birdwatching with opportunities to see and photograph Brown Bears in the wild. Enjoy exclusive access to purpose-built bear watching hides on this small group tour limited to just 6 participants. Excellent for birds: Lesser Spotted Eagle, Ring Ouzel, Collared Flycatcher and Wallcreeper to look for - plus up to 10 species of woodpecker. And all within a few hours drive of the Romanian capital, Bucharest. Single-centre tour to Romania s beautiful Carpathian Mountains Mornings watching birds... late afternoons watching for bears Up to 10 of Europe's woodpeckers possible on this tour Ferruginous Duck, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Great Grey Shrike, Collared Flycatcher, Hawfinch Past tour highlights have included Hazel Grouse, Marsh Sandpiper, Ural Owl, Wallcreeper Seeing and photographing wild Brown Bears from purpose-built hides Small group size - maximum 6 participants - ensures comfort in the hides Led by our resident English-speaking Romanian naturalist guide, Zoli Baczó What's Included? Our expert English-speaking Romanian naturalist guide Return flights - London Heathrow to Bucharest, nonstop with British Airways 4 nights at a comfortable rural hotel in the mountains All main meals (and some local wine) - with drinking water provided during the day Minibus transport Permits for bear watching hides and forestry fees All excursions, entry fees, local guides, tour based tips and taxes LIMOSA HOLIDAYS, West End Farmhouse, Chapelfield, Stalham, Norfolk NR12 9EJ (UK) TEL: +44 (0) info@limosaholidays.co.uk WEB: limosaholidays.co.uk

2 Female Ring Ouzel in the snow - these handsome 'Mountain Blackbirds' will be arriving in April Zoli Baczo, Limosa Holidays Outline Itinerary Day 1: Days 2-4: Day 5: Tour Overview We fly from London Heathrow- Bucharest and transfer north to our hotel in the Carparthian Mountains. Night Zetelaka Watching birds and bears in the splendidly scenic Carpathian Mountains. Three further nights Zeteleka Return to Bucharest and catch the late afternoon flight back to London Heathrow The Carpathian Mountains run in a huge arc, stretching 900 miles from the Czech Republic in the west, through Slovakia and the Ukraine to dominate the landscape in northwest Romania. Rising to 1800m (6000ft), the immensely scenic Harghita range lies along the eastern flank of the Carpathians and is home to more than one third of Europe s Brown Bear population, with an estimated animals within Romania. We visit the area in late April, when the winter snows at lower elevations have melted and the region's breeding birds are busy establishing territories as the trees begin to break into leaf. The European Brown Bear is one of the largest carnivores in the world, weighing up to 500kg (that's 79 stones in old money!) - and yet in spring is sustained by a diet of carrion, grasses, shoots and sedges. These shy mammals are most reliably encountered in April, when food is still scarce in the forest and the bears are hungry after their long hibernation. Sightings of wild animals can never be guaranteed of course, but on this short tour we stand an extremely good chance of seeing and photographing Brown Bears in the wild - indeed, a quite remarkable total of 21 different individuals was seen by our group on our last April tour here! Restricted to a maximum of 6 participants, this exclusive short tour is designed to spend time enjoying Carpathian Brown Bears in their natural environment. Mornings will be spent exploring locally for birds - including visits to the remarkable Bicaz Gorge, the fishponds at Sanpaul and the great forests of the area; our afternoons are set aside for us to enter purposebuilt bear observation hides. Tour participants are invited to spend all three afternoons in the hides, to wait for, watch, photograph and enjoy these impressive large carnivores in their natural habitat. Wild Boar, Red Fox, and Red and Roe Deer often come close - and hunting Goshawks passed right in front of the hide on both our April 2015 and 2017 tours! info@limosaholidays.co.uk

3 The birdlife of this fascinating region is both varied and exciting. The dark pine forests and upland habitats are home to a range of 'boreal' specialties, including Ural Owl, Fieldfare, Great Grey Shrike and ten of Europe's woodpeckers. We will also spend time searching the limestone gorges of the region for another highly soughtafter bird - the crimson-winged Wallcreeper. By way of a nice contrast to the forests and mountains, we will also visit some productive local wetlands, which can be excellent during spring migration. In April, the fishponds can host Garganey, Ferruginous Duck and Pygmy Cormorant along with passage waders, gulls and terns. Marsh, Green and Wood Sandpipers, Black-winged Stilt and Little Gull were present on our last tour. Warblers will also be arriving now and in song and we have been lucky to see Citrine Wagtail here, a rare but regular migrant to Romania during the second half of April. Harghita is part of the historic region of central Romania known as Transylvania, renowned for the scenic beauty of its Carpathian landscape, its rich history - and bloodthirsty legends! Though we'll not see any vampires, there are still wolves in the mountains (shy and seldom seen), and we hope that you will want to join us on this varied short tour to Romania. Limosa has been operating bird tours to Eastern Europe since 1992, including more than 30 trips to Romania in the last dozen years. Our April 2019 tour - our third in search of 'Birds & Bears' - is designed and led exclusively for Limosa by our English-speaking Romanian wildlife expert Zoli Baczó. Born and raised in Transylvania, he knows the birds and wildlife of this land of myth and legend like the back of his.. very hairy hand! Wallcreeper on our 2017 Birds & Bears tour Zoli Baczo Three-toed Woodpecker in Transylvania Birds & Bears tour participant Jim Bennett Tour Itinerary Day 1 FLY BUCHAREST, TRAVEL NORTH TO ZETELAKA Our April Birds & Brown Bears tour to Romania begins with British Airways morning flight from London Heathrow to Bucharest. We ll be met on arrival in the Romanian capital by our resident guide Zoli and travel north (a journey of three to four hours) to our comfortable Carpathian hotel. We spend all four nights here, with views across a tranquil valley in the foothills of the Harghita range - and close to our bear-watching hides. If time allows, we may pause for some birding along the way. After dinner at our hotel this evening, we have a first opportunity to sample the local Blueberry brandy... before sleeping well in readiness for tomorrow. Night Zetelaka Day 2-4 WATCHING BIRDS & BROWN BEARS IN THE CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS This mountainous corner of Europe has been populated by Hungarian Székelys since the Middle Ages. Clad in dense natural forests of pine, oak and beech, the woodlands have a distinctly 'primaeval' feel that have not only given rise to this region s characteristic architecture of decorative wooden gates and info@limosaholidays.co.uk

4 houses with pine harrows and shingle roofs, but to the stuff of supernatural legend! In the 15th Century, the Romanian ruler Vlad Drakulea was exiled in the mountains as the Transcarpathian lowlands came under Turkish control... and the bloody legend of Dracula was born. The town of Sighisoara is where Vlad Tepes (alias Drakula ) was born and we may catch sight of his house in the citadel on our way to check some nearby beech woodland for woodpeckers. Our hotel is the perfect base from which to explore the spectacular forested mountains of the lovely Harghita range. On one morning we will visit Bicaz Gorge, a canyon carved by the waters of the Bicaz River. It serves as a link between the old Romanian provinces of Moldova and Transylvania, and is designated an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International. The most beautiful and scenic of all Carpathian gorges, and well worth seeing in its own right, Bicaz's dramatic limestone cliffs also host the region s biggest population of Wallcreepers. In many parts of Europe, finding these unique, crimson-winged birds requires considerable walking and climbing - so it is quite a luxury here to be able to drive right into the heart of their domain! Although it can still be quite tough to find so small a bird against the immensity of the sheer limestone walls, Bicaz is a reliable spot - we've not yet missed them here. Rock Buntings also inhabit the cliffs and bluffs, and Golden Eagles can sometimes be seen soaring above. Another morning will find us visiting nearby Sanpaul fishponds, which are located on a superb - and very picturesque - migration route. This tiny fishpond system boasts an impressive bird list of over 250 species, and we will hope to experience the excitement of spring migration. Past Limosa visits here have produced plenty of migrants, plus a few surprises - such as Lesser Spotted Eagle, Pallid Harrier, Marsh Sandpiper, Great Snipe and Red-throated Pipit, a handsome bird in spring! This compact area is a magnet for birds and we will hope for something unusual. The second half of April is a particularly good time to find Citrine Wagtail, another scarce migrant but one that is now recorded annually here as this species continues to expand its range westwards. At lower elevations, the magnificent beech woodlands are home to the wary Hazel Grouse, Grey-headed and Black Woodpeckers, Collared Flycatcher and Hawfinch. We might also be fortunate to come across one or two of the rarer inhabitants of these forested uplands, such as White-backed Woodpecker or the big Ural Owl. Snowline permitting, a drive up into the higher altitude pine forests should produce a new range of species. Ring Ouzel, Nutcracker, Common Crossbill, black-bellied Dipper and Crested Tit await our discovery, along with one of Europe s most elusive woodland birds, the uncommon and undemonstrative Three-toed Woodpecker. After enjoying full mornings birding and lunch, in the afternoons we head into the forests and position ourselves in one of our special Brown Bear watching hides. With the help of local foresters, we will select the hides where we have the best possible chance to observe these magnificent but declining creatures in the wild. The population of Brown Bears in Transylvania is currently estimated at around individuals and, being here at the very best time of the year, we have a great chance to see these magnificent creatures - our April 2017 visits produced no fewer than 21 different individuals! Each hide can accommodate six people, but to make our observations more comfortable and allow everyone the best chance of photographing bears we may decide locally to split the group between two different hides. As we wait for the bears to emerge from their daily slumbers in the forest, we will take up our station well before sunset and may well see other forest creatures such as Wild Boar, Red Deer and Roe Deer. Three further nights Zetelaka Day 5 ZETELAKA TO BUCHAREST We leave the hotel after breakfast this morning and start our journey back to Bucharest - but not without enjoying some more good birding along the way. On our last tour, this day produced Wryneck, Common Redstart, Wood Warbler, Serin and nest-building Hawfinches in a nearby park, followed by Lesser Spotted Eagle, Marsh Sandpiper and Ring Ouzel at various stops info@limosaholidays.co.uk

5 Returning to Bucharest after lunch, we catch British Airways late afternoon flight back to London, where our Romania Birds & Brown Bears tour concludes early this evening. Trip Information Group Size Max 6 participants & 1 leader What to Expect In mid-late April, the sunrises over Romania at about 06.30am and sets again around 8.00pm. On this short break the pace is easy but we shall naturally want to make the most of our time, remaining at the hides until near sunset to maximise our chances of seeing bear activity. As ever, birdwatching is most productive during the first few hours of daylight, so we will usually take breakfast relatively early. Birds species Mammals We will be making a special effort to see Brown Bears on this trip, enjoying late afternoon or early evening visits to secluded, purpose-built bear watching and photography hides in the mountains. Note that the hides are quite small, each holding about 6 people, so for comfort and best experience we may sometimes divide up into two smaller groups stationed in different hides. Clearly, we need to be on station before the bears appear and so we generally go to the hides at around 2.00pm, leaving there again around dusk (7.00pm). These shy forest mammals typically appear during the last hour or two of daylight - but if we are lucky, they may arrive earlier! Please do keep in mind that these are wild animals and just occasionally in spite of our best efforts and local knowledge of the foresters who will escort us the bears do not show. Nonetheless, we have several days at our disposal and April is a prime time for bear activity, so we do have an excellent chance of seeing and photographing these amazing wild creatures during our stay... and haven't missed them yet! Accommodation 4 nights accommodation at a pretty rural hotel in Zetelaka (close to Zoli's home town of Odorheiu Secuiesc), in the Carpathian Mountains. The hotel serves good food, has wonderful surroundings and all rooms are en suite. Meals All main meals are included in the tour price, commencing with dinner on the evening of Day 1 and concluding with lunch on Day 5. Food is good, with breakfasts and dinners taken at the hotel. Lunches will usually be picnics. To maximise our chances of seeing bears, we may remain in the hides until dusk some days, so this does of course mean that dinner may be taken relatively late (about 9.00pm). Walking The walking effort is easy and, with a maximum group size of just 6 participants, this is a rather relaxed tour - with time to doze in the hides while we watch and wait for the bears to appear. We follow well-established forest trails and move at a gentle pace. Please note: In April, the higher altitudes are still 'off limits' because of winter snow and so do not form part of the itinerary on this trip. Sturdy waterproof walking shoes or boots with stout corrugated soles for grip are advised. Weather Spring in Romania's mountains is a relatively short season, with variable weather. In April temperatures here typically range between 5-22C (41-72F), but due to their upland location the areas we visit are prone to colder periods. Depending on the lateness of spring, some wet weather (occasionally even snowfall) is possible, especially in the mountains, so be sure to pack some warm and waterproof clothing as well. Flights We fly from London Heathrow to Bucharest, nonstop with British Airways. Ground Transport By minibus (4WD vehicles are available to reach some of the bear hides, if needed). The drive from Bucharest to our hotel in Zetelaka is about 180km and takes 3 to 4 hours. Once we are there, distances are relatively short so we will not have to travel far each day. Photos Good to excellent photographic opportunities, especially from the hides. Please make sure your camera has a 'no flash' mode (or you disable it), and that the flashing red lights of autofocus can also be switched off - bears are info@limosaholidays.co.uk

6 timid creatures and although the sound of a camera is not a problem, the different lights (flash or otherwise) readily scare them away. Tour Cost 2019 (5 days): 1295 (inc flights from London) Land only cost: 1125 Deposit: 300 Single Supp: 95 Cost includes Limosa Tour Leader Return flights London Heathrow-Bucharest 4 nights accommodation in Romania All main meals (with drinking water and some local wine included) Minibus transport Forestry fees and permits for bear hides All excursions, entry fees, tips to drivers and local guides and airport taxes Map & Limosa checklist of birds Cost excludes Insurance, drinks, airport/in-flight meals and snacks & other items of a personal nature. About Your Guide Zoltán Baczó 'Zoli' is our expert, Englishspeaking Romanian bird tour guide working for our specialist destination management company in Hungary and Romania. Born and raised in Transylvania, he has been interested in birds since an early age and went on to graduate at the university in his hometown of Odorheiu Secuiesc. During his studies there, he worked on wildlife and nature conservation projects within the Harghita Mountains and various wetland sites in Transylvania. His thesis was written on the development and rehabilitation of Romania s Sanpaul fishponds, which we visit on our tour and are recognised by BirdLife International as an IBA (Important Bird Area). Zoli has been guiding visiting birding groups in Transylvania and the Danube Delta area since his late teens. He is one of the authors of the current Romanian bird checklist and has travelled and birded extensively in the Western Palearctic. He's also a passionate bird and wildlife photographer and has been at the helm of all Limosa's Romania tours for ten years now - including designing and leading this 'Birds & Bears' tour for us in April 2015 and April Our 'Birds & Brown Bears' tours are limited to a maximum of 6 participants plus Zoli to ensure optimum comfort for everyone in the bear hides. Financial Security Limosa Holidays is a fully bonded Tour Operator and a member of the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO). We hold an ATOL (Air Tour Operators Licence) granted by the CAA, providing for your protection in the event of Limosa Holidays' insolvency. Our ATOL licence number is ATOL For tours not including the cost of a flight from the UK or for holidays booked by you as Land Only, all payments made to us are fully bonded through the Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT). Our ABTOT membership number is For details please see our brochure or website: Limosa Loyalty Discount We are proud of the number of loyal customers who travel regularly with us. As our way of saying thank you, we offer a Frequent Travel Discount. Under the scheme, everyone who takes four trips with us is entitled to claim a 5% discount on their 5th trip. *1 *1 Conditions: This offer applies to the basic tour cost only and excludes certain commissionbased trips, extra costs such as additional flights or accommodation, private extensions and cancellations. Discounts cannot be given in lieu of tour deposits or off the cost of single room supplements. Please note discount must be requested at time of booking! info@limosaholidays.co.uk

7 How To Book Check availability on our website or with our office. We are happy to hold Provisional Reservations for up to 7 days. After this, we do require a Booking Form and deposit to confirm your place on tour. Any unconfirmed space will be released. Book Online, by Phone or by Post You can book and pay the deposit simply and securely Online via our website, using the Book This Tour button on the relevant tour page or the Booking tab at the top of the page. Telephone bookings must be confirmed in writing by completion of a Booking Form (there's one tucked inside every brochure or as a PDF download from our website), which can be mailed to us in the time honoured way. Be sure to read our Booking Conditions and General Information (found at the back of our brochure, on our website or available from our office on request) prior to booking. When to Book Early booking is advised since flights and accommodation are much more easily secured well in advance. To encourage early booking, we are pleased to offer an Early Bird Discount - see our current brochure or website for details. All our tours are limited to small group sizes. So they can fill up quickly - sometimes even before our new brochure comes out! Single rooms in particular can often be in short supply and among the first to go, so do try to plan well ahead if you definitely require one of these. Last-minute Bookings: We inevitably receive a few unexpected cancellations over the course of a season so it is always worth enquiring about vacancies on any tour - even for those departing in just a few weeks! Payments Deposit: The amount of booking deposit per person is shown alongside every tour. We accept deposit payments by electronic bank transfer (please ask for our bank details), UK debit card and cheque (made payable to Limosa Holidays and drawn on a UK bank in GBPounds Sterling). For payment of booking deposits only we also accept Visa and MasterCard credit cards. Balance: Full payment of the tour balance is due not later than 12 weeks prior to departure (20 weeks in the case of certain tours such as cruises or those involving rail travel). We will send you an invoice before the balance is due. We accept balance payments and any additional payments (e.g. interim flight deposits, flight upgrades, extra hotels etc) by electronic bank transfer (BACS), UK debit card or cheque. Payment by overseas customers must be in GB Pounds Sterling and may be made by electronic transfer direct to our bank (please ask for our bank details). We do not accept cheques on US Banks in US Dollars, or cheques in Euros or Eurocheques. Credit cards - please note: (i) We do NOT accept credit cards or overseas debit cards for balance payments (including any additional or interim payments) from customers living within the UK or European Economic Area (the EEA is the EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). (ii) For customers living in North America, Australia and all other areas outside of the UK and the European Economic Area we are able to accept payment by Visa and MasterCard credit cards or overseas debit card but with a charge of 2.5% of the transaction amount to help offset card company charges. Late Booking Payments: In order for us to guarantee your airline seats, hotels etc., full payment is required at time of booking for all late bookings (i.e. bookings made within 12 weeks of departure) info@limosaholidays.co.uk

8 Other Things You Need To Know Passports & Visas For UK passport holders, your passport must be valid for the proposed duration of your stay. You do not need any additional period of validity on your passport beyond this, but when travelling anywhere overseas we always recommend your passport has a minimum of 6 months left to run after your intended date of return home, in case of unforeseen delay. VISA NOT REQUIRED by British citizens to enter Romania. Holders of non-uk passports should contact the nearest Romanian embassy or consulate to enquire whether or not they require a visa. If a visa is required, you need to apply locally. If the embassy or consulate requires you to provide a letter confirming that you are booked on an allinclusive tour, please contact our office and we will be happy to provide one. Health & Vaccinations Compulsory vaccinations: None. Recommended vaccinations: For travel everywhere (even within the UK), we recommend you check you are up-to-date with protection against tetanus, polio and hepatitis A. Check with your doctor for current advice about typhoid, diphtheria and hepatitis B, which may occasionally be recommended. Ticks occur in grassy, forested and wetland areas below 1400m during the summer months across most of the UK and continental Europe, including Romania. If you are at all concerned by this, you may wish to seek advice about inoculations and other measures to prevent tickrelated problems prior to travel. The above information, together with that contained within our Travel Information sheets (sent to everyone who books), outlines health requirements for this tour. Please note that these details are given for guidance only - and are only for certain diseases - and you must consult your doctor in good time prior to travel as to what immunisations (if any) are needed for your chosen holiday. For full and up-to-date health information we urge everyone to consult The National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) website prior to booking any overseas holiday. NaTHNaC is funded by the UK Government s Health Protection Agency and provides health information for both health professionals and travellers, with information compiled by its own clinical and scientific team. You can search for individual country requirements, which are updated regularly. Your Safety & Travel Advice An unavoidable aspect of travelling abroad nowadays is the risk it may pose to your safety and security. The best advice on current risks is provided by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). In order to assess and protect against any risks in your chosen destination we strongly recommended that you refer to the relevant FCO Travel Advice - both prior to booking and regularly before you travel. See It is standard Limosa policy for our office to send a copy of the relevant FCO Travel Advice about the tour to all participants along with their Final Letter (ca. 2-3 weeks prior to the trip). Travel Aware - staying safe and healthy abroad - is a travel safety campaign run by the FCO, and another useful resource. Go to: Travel Insurance Good travel insurance is essential before setting off on any overseas trip. In common with all responsible tour operators, it is a condition of booking that all clients are fully and adequately insured before travelling overseas with us. Be aware that some destinations may require you to produce proof of comprehensive travel insurance (e.g. valid insurance certificate) at immigration on arrival in the country, so you should carry your documentation with you info@limosaholidays.co.uk

9 Your travel insurance should cover against cancellation, curtailment, missed departure, delay, personal accident, death, loss of baggage and valuables (see note below), personal liability and legal expenses. Most importantly, your insurance must cover you fully in respect of medical care and repatriation should you become too ill to continue with the tour, including the cost of emergency evacuation by helicopter or air ambulance should this be necessary. Note that passenger liability insurance covering the transportation that we hire, particularly in Third World countries, may be inadequate; it is therefore important that your insurance cover includes sufficient provision for your dependents in the event of an accident. We recommend that you obtain travel insurance as soon as possible after booking your holiday to ensure you are protected right from the word go in the event of unexpected cancellation prior to departure due to accident or illness. You must inform your insurers of any pre-existing medical conditions (including those of persons not necessarily travelling but upon whom your holiday may depend) that may require treatment during a period of overseas travel or might cause you to cancel the trip. Once you have arranged your insurance, please be sure to send us the following essential details: name and contact details of your insurance provider, your policy number, expiry date and your insurers 24hr Emergency Assistance number. Important Things to Note about Insurance Travel Insurance does not normally provide sufficient cover for valuable optical equipment, which is often best protected under your own household insurance policy. If in doubt ask your insurers for advice prior to travel. Most travel insurance policies limit the amount of cover, typically up to a maximum tour cost of 5000 per person. If the tour you are booking exceeds this amount, additional cover can usually be provided upon payment of additional premium. We recommend all travellers check their individual policy limit to ensure the full cost of their holiday is covered. Arranging Your Insurance: due to UK Government legislation, under Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulations, we are not allowed to offer or recommend travel related insurance to customers. Premiums can vary widely according to your age, needs, health, choice of destination and other factors, while many people nowadays have Annual Travel Insurance cover. For these reasons, we leave you free to shop around and pick your own policy, one best suited to your own individual needs. General Information Our website gives easy access to detailed tour itineraries (Tour Info Packs), trip reports, trip photos and the latest Limosa News. Special Diets & Other Requests We pass on all such requests to the airlines, hotels and other suppliers, and do our best to ensure (but of course cannot guarantee) that your needs will be met. Please be sure to tell us about these (in as much detail as possible) at the time of booking, to allow good time to make the necessary arrangements. Smoking Almost all of our clients prefer a smoke-free environment. For the enjoyment and comfort of all, we ask that smokers refrain from smoking in proximity to the group and respect our NO SMOKING policy in the vehicle, at meal times and when watching wildlife. Any Questions? If you have any questions at any time, you ll find our office staff friendly, efficient, approachable - and just a phone call away, eager to assist you in every way. Our office is open hrs Mon-Fri, and can also be reached by . In the event we are info@limosaholidays.co.uk

10 unable to take your call, please leave a message on our answerphone (24 hrs) and our office will contact you as soon as we can. Thank you for your interest in our tours. We do hope that you will be able to join us - and we look forward to hearing from you again! CK info@limosaholidays.co.uk