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 and we
see them rather often.
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.
