Galápagos ...

The Trip of a Lifetime

from GALAPAGOS TRAVEL

The Galápagos Islands are a dream come true for any wildlife photographer! Join us for a special in-depth photo tour led by Galápagos native Daniel Fitter (Angermeyer). This is your opportunity to experience and photograph the islands as few see them. Daniel typically leads just two or three tours for us annually, and oftentimes they are private charters for international photography groups, leaving few openings for individual photographers and nature enthusiasts to join.

Born and raised in the Galápagos, Daniel's higher education was mostly in the U.K. His father, Julian Fitter, is well-known in the human history of Galapagos, as he was one of the "main characters" in the biography MY FATHER'S ISLAND (the husband of Johannah Angermeyer's older sister, Mary). Today Julian is a strong voice for conservation in Galápagos. Daniel has the same sense of pioneering spirit, curiosity, and conservation ethic as his father. Daniel is a professional photographer, with work published internationally, and used extensively by the BBC. He has two books out; WILDLIFE OF THE GALAPAGOS is the leading natural history field guide to the islands, and a coffee table photography book, CREATIVE FORCE / GALAPAGOS. A Naturalist Guide and Dive Master in the Galápagos for more than two decades, Daniel currently lives in mainland Ecuador with his wife, Tina, but still considers Galápagos his home.

Daniel's upcoming tour dates include:
November 16-29, 2016: 11 days in Galápagos
January 25-February 7, 2017: 11 days in Galápagos
June 28-July 15, 2017: 15 days in Galapagos)
October 4-17, 2017: 11 days in Galápagos.
His tours each spend a minimum of 11 days aboard the yacht - the Tip Top IV - in Galápagos and highlight the best photographic opportunities.

Together with Daniel all tours are led by a licensed Naturalist Guide, trained by the Galápagos National Park, whose role is to escort participants on shore, to provide wildlife interpretation, and to make sure the rules of the National Park are enforced. We hand pick Naturalist Guides and Tour Leaders for our expeditions from a pool of the best in the field.

Not a photographer? No worries - these tours are perfect for anyone really interested in the science behind Galápagos, with expert leadership, and seeing the peak of wildlife behavior. Daniel and the Naturalist Guide are there to share their wealth of knowledge with everyone!

ITINERARY

Our photo tours follow the same yacht routing - visiting the same visitor sites - as our standard Natural History Workshops. The daily schedule however is more intense; earlier morning landings, lingering ashore for longer landings (often 3+ hours), late afternoons still ashore. Bracketing our time closer to sunrise and sunset affords us not only the best wildlife behavior but also the magic light.

On mainland Ecuador as well these specialized Photo Tours mirror our standard Natural History Workshops, including 3 nights in Quito plus airport transfers and most meals. Several of our optional mainland Ecuador side tours offer special departures geared towards photography as well.

POSSIBLE PHOTOGRAPHY HIGHLIGHTS

Over the course of 11 days aboard the yacht we will be able to explore not just the center of the archipelago, but also the seldom visited yet extraordinary outer islands. While all routings are subject to approval by the Galápagos National Park, the following is a sampling of the sites you will likely call on...

NORTH SEYMOUR.: blue-footed booby courtship and nesting, magnificent frigatebirds displaying, sealions surfing the rocky shore, marine and land iguanas, swallow-tailed gulls.

TOWER: great frigatebirds, Nazca Boobies and red-footed boobies nesting. Endemic lava gulls, herons and Galápagos doves; frigatebirds in piratical pursuit of red-billed tropicbirds; short-eared owls in pursuit of storm petrels; dwarf palo santo forest.

SANTIAGO - James Bay/Puerto Egas: spectacular eroded coastline and tidepools; Galápagos Fur Seals; Galápagos Flycatchers and Hawks; shorebirds and seabirds, including yellow-crowned night herons and American Oystercatchers near tidepools.

SANTIAGO - Playa Espumilla & Buccaneer Cove: golden sandy beach backed by mangroves, with occasional turtle nests; ghost crabs; Galápagos Hawks; spectacularly eroded tuff cliffs.

ISABELA – Punta Vicente Roca (zodiac cruise and snorkel): whales and dolphins; possible snorkeling with Galápagos Penguins or mola mola.

FERNANDINA : the largest colony of marine iguanas in the islands; flightless cormorants; Galápagos Penguins; herons; Galápagos Hawks. Often the best opportunity to snorkel with feeding marine iguanas.

ISABELA - Tagus Cove: landscapes, including multi-island panoramas; brown pelicans; Galápagos Flycatchers; Snorkeling opportunties often include Galápagos Penguins.

ISABELA - Elizabeth Bay (zodiac cruise): mangrove inlet; sharks and turtles below the surface; Galápagos Penguins swimming.

ISABELA - Urvina Bay: marine remnants and giant coral heads on shore; land iguanas; Galápagos Tortoises; brown pelicans nesting along shore.

ISABELA -Punta Moreno: Pahoehoe lava formations; all 3 types of cactus; flamingos.

FLOREANA - Punta Cormorant: flamingos; pin-tail ducks and shore birds; native and endemic flora; both olivine and white sand beach (the latter a nesting area for sea turtles with their tracks often on the beach early morning,

FLOREANA - Highlands:Galápagos Tortoises; only place the medium tree finch is found.

SANTA CRUZ - Puerto Ayora & Highlands: all 7 vegetation zones of the Galápagos; giant tortoises in the wild and also at the research station; land birds, including vermillion flycatchers, Galápagos Flycatchers, woodpecker finches, dark-billed cuckoos, and Barn Owls; volcanic formations including pit craters and lava tunnels; the local population center including an outdoor fish market, the research station, and handicrafts shops.

ESPANOLA - Punta Suarez: waved albatross, Nazca Boobies, blue-footed boobies, Galápagos Hawks, Galápagos Doves; marine iguanas (the most colorful in the islands), clifftop views & a ocean blow hole.

ESPANOLA - Gardner Bay: multitudes of Galápagos Sea Lions on a white sand beach; lava lizards; finches, yellow warblers, & Hood Mockingbirds. One of the best opportunities to snorkel with young sea lions

SAN CRISTOBAL - Punta Pitt: blue-footed, Nazca & red-footed boobies together at a single site; frigatebirds, swallow-tailed gulls, and storm petrels.

SAN CRISTOBAL - Cerro Brujo: landscapes of the eroded tuff cone; brown pelicans, blue-footed boobies often feeding; swallow-tailed gulls; a variety of shore birds; the endemic Chatham Mockingbird; ghost crabs.

MOSQUERA :Galápagos Sea Lions; Sally Lightfoot Crabs; lava lizards, vagrant shore birds.

If continuing on our 15-day tour you will enjoy an additional 4 days in Galápagos, including 8 more visitor sites and as many as 6 additional snorkels.

SANTA CRUZ - Black Turtle Cove: mangrove lagoon with sharks and sea turtles; possibly feeding boobies & noddies.

SANTIAGO - Sullivan Bay: fields of abstract Pahoehoe lava formations

BARTOLOME: pioneering plants; landscapes; multi-island panoramas

SOMPRERO CHINO: marine iguanas; Galápagos Sea Lions; some of the best storkeling in the archipelago.

RABIDA: Galápagos Hawks; flamingos; lava lizards; red sand beach.

SANTA FE:: unique species of land iguana; only opportunity to see Galápagos Rice Rat; largest opuntia cactus in the islands.

SOUTH PLAZA: unique flora; land and marine iguanas (and only site they occasionally hybridize at); eye-level views of soaring sea birds, including red-billed tropicbirds and swallow-tailed gulls, from cliff top.

SANTA CRUZ - Las Bachas: sunrise on deserted beach; possible nesting sea turtles or tracks; shorebirds.

Photo credit: Daniel Fitter