Come Travel with us in our Twenty-Seventh Year of Safaris
Cheesemans Ecology Safaris Philosophy
In 1975 during Doug Cheesemans’ summer hiatus as a zoology and
ecology college professor, he and naturalist wife Gail led their first
expedition. This expedition was to the Pacific Ocean waters of Baja.
Both had a contagious passion for nature and all living creatures, and
they soon found themselves leading incredible safaris each summer to
international destinations like Africa, South America and beyond. Doug
& Gail also realized that international wildlife expeditions provided
the opportunity to combine their love for nature with education and
public awareness and Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris
was founded in 1980. The goal was to provide a higher standard of wildlife
travel. Tours were designed specifically to provide participants with
maximum time in the field to experience natural habitats and the wildlife
that is found there and to inspire travelers with the values of conservation
and education.
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| Doug, Gail, and Ted Cheeseman |
Today, Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris still follows that same philosophy
and is now a family-run business as son Ted has joined his parents in
leading international wildlife tours. As a boy, Ted grew-up in the business
as he often accompanied his parents on their international adventures.
His contribution to Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris has been exciting
as he combines his years of experience in the wild lands of the world
with his graduate degree in conservation biology and he incorporates
it all with his technical and computer savvy.
Each tour is scheduled during the best time of year for viewing wildlife
within a particular habitat and are mapped out so that participants
can experience a variety of different mammals, birds, reptiles, insects
and fish and witness all their unique behaviors. Each expedition and
safari includes local leaders from the destination area to insure maximum
wildlife observations and allowing the opportunity to give back to the
local communities. Every leader is carefully selected by the Cheesemans’
in order to achieve their goal to serve the inspired traveler, the motivated
tourist, and all who want to see and experience more.
Please contact us for references from people who have traveled with us.
Compare these tenets of our company philosophy:
- Maximum time in the field. We offer to you all day every
day in the field.
- Wildlife and birdwatching are our priorities. We spend enough
time with the wildlife to make for great photography.
- Nonsmokers policy! All our trips are for non-smokers only.
- Small groups. On rainforest tours the total number of participants
is 8 to 12. In Africa group size is 15 - 18, with two to three leaders.
In Antarctica, our groups are larger to facilitate a ship that makes
the itinerary possible; we make the group an asset by bringing as
many leaders and using as many landing crafts as we need so that you
won't have to wait for the group.
- High leader/participant ratio. On all tours we hire resident
guides in each area who are experts on the native birds and mammals,
to complement our very knowledgeable tour leaders.
- Window seats each participant, on Africa safaris that
depend on vehicles.
- Quality accommodations.
- Personalized attention. Your individual needs will not get
ignored as they might with a large, impersonal corporation.
- Each tour is created individually, "one of a kind" for the
best time of year in each location. Most itineraries are changed every
year-we have no repetitious, tired itineraries.
- We are a small company. We do not schedule trips everywhere,
all the time. We have intentionally maintained a small size in order
to deliver our standard of quality.
- Education and Conservation. As teachers and lovers of natural
habitats, we want to make our tours a positive force.
- Attention to the smallest details. We even arrange carpools for
the Monterey Bay pelagic day trips. Please ask about details concerning
you.
- Personal investment in quality. We want to have fun on the
trips too, so it's in our best interest to design a great trip.
- Let us repeat: maximum time in the field.
Whether the field be savanna, forest, reef, or ocean, we travel only to the richest
wildlife areas. We hope that all trip participants will contribute to wildlife
habitat conservation and restoration. We do everything in our power to follow
a responsible code of ecotourism. Early registration is important to have
plenty of time to prepare for a Cheesemans' Ecology tour. Space is definitely
limited; our tours often fill over a year in advance. We look forward to
many more outstanding seasons of traveling with you!
Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris Tour Leaders
Cheesemans Ecology Safaris carefully selects leaders who are tops in their field to insure that your experience is the best it can be. We also provide a complete staff on our larger expedtions, such as to Antacrtica and the Arctic.
 Gail and Doug Cheeseman have found leading safaris to be a fresh
way of blending a desire to observe nature with a wish to inspire
travelers towards the values of conservation and education. Doug
turned on biology majors with zoology and ecology at De
Anza College in Cupertino, California during his long career. Gail is an avid
birder and naturalist, plus a meticulous coordinator of trip logistics.
Gail and Doug lead as many trips as their schedule can accommodate, including Antarctica, Africa, and Bhutan.
Ted Cheeseman caught the travel bug early, growing up amid wildlife safaris. After earning a graduate degree in conservation biology, Ted returned to California to lead and organize safaris as an avenue for turning travelers on to the beauty and value of wild lands, finding in wilderness a tonic for the soul. He authors this webpage, organizes tours and leads our Antarctica, Silver Banks, and Galapagos tours.
 Hugh Rose has guided Alaska trips since 1991 with unending praise for his
true talents as an expert guide, birder, geologist and professional
photographer. Both nature and camera have intrigued Hugh since childhood
and he continues to explore these worlds through guiding, photography
and birding. He is also a
top-notch professional photographer and part of our Antarctica
staff.
  Jim Danzenbaker, who is an expert seabirder, has been the ornithologist on our Antarctica staff since 1998. Jim grew up on the coast of New Jersey, where he started birding with his family at Brigantine NWR and
Cape May and has never stopped. After moving to California, he began leading
pelagic trips in Monterey Bay. On one trip, Jim spotted a Streaked Shearwater, as many people were dozing off. No one will ever forget Jim's enthusiastic yell, "Streaked Shearwater"! Jim's other specialty is leading birding trips to the Neotropics, especially
to Panama. Jim has led for us in Ecuador and is leading our tour to
Panama. People who travel with him appreciate his friendliness, enthusiasm for finding birds and mammals, and willingness to share information. Jim now lives in Washington state and works for Kowa, who makes fantastic sporting optics including spotting scopes. Jim is also one of our top birders on our our Antarctica staff. You will have wonderful "Kowa views" when you travel with Jim Danzenbaker!
 Tonia Cochran is our resident guide and leader of our tour to Australia. She grew up and lives in Australia where she received a BS degree in zoology and botany, and a PhD in zoololgy. Tonia has been involved in sub-Antarctic and Antarctic scientific research since 1985. She is heavily involved with the conservation of threatened species and works as a consultant on a number of projects. Her wide-ranging academic and teaching background, and her passion for conservation have formed an invaluable basis for her career in the tourism industry. She is committed to promoting a tourism industry that is ecologically sustainable and educational.
 Grant Reed, Director of Letaka Safaris, is the author of "Okavango - Spirit of Life" and narrator of "From Dust to Dust - the Story of Lake Ngami". In addition to his 15 years of guiding experience in five African countries, he also holds a post-graduate degree in Nature Conservation and is currently working on his PhD. Grant holds the highest level of guiding qualification in southern Africa (Field Guide Association of Southern Africa SKS (DA)). Grant is the owner of Letaka Safaris in Botswana and the Okavango Guiding School and does extensive guide training for all members of the tourism industry. Grant lectures both in Botswana as well as abroad, primarily on Birds and Ecology of Botswana. Grant leads our tour in Botswana and Zambia.
 Charles Chigodo is a top resident guide for Wild Dog Safaris. He's very good at identifying
both birds and mammals and has an excellent knowledge of bird and mammal behavior, and where to locate wildlife. Liz Kirby, owner of
Wild Dog Safaris, reported that people whom Charles has guided often rate
him as the best guide they have ever been with - and this is from
well-traveled people. He has a very broad knowledge of Namibia and Botswana
and his knowledge of the local people and languages will bring an extra
interest to the trip. Charles was born in Zimbabwe and started his career
guiding on the Zambezi River. Charles has lived in Namibia for many years
now and has made this country his home. Charles will lead
the Botswana and Namibia safari for us.
 Hishey Tshering, the owner of Bhutan Birding and Heritage Travels, is based in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. After working with the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature and George Archibald, the co-founder of the International Crane Foundation, Hishey established his company in 1999. RSPN is the only environmental NGO in Bhutan and Hishey is a member of their board. He still works closely with the International Crane Foundation. His attention to details is amazing and his knowledge of Bhutan second to none. Despite Bhutan only being open to the outside world since 1974, he is determined to keep his focus on quality and personal service. He believes in the concept of "Gross National Happiness", which he exudes from the moment he meets us on our Bhutan tour.
 Fraser Gear was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. After school, he followed his interests in conservation by rehabilitating habitats on private game reserves surrounding Kruger National Park. His extensive time in the field as a naturalist led him to guiding as a career and to becoming one of the few qualified game trackers in South Africa. He has an in-depth knowledge of birds, mammals and reptiles in Madagascar and will insure that everyone has maximum time in the field with the amazing wildlife that you will encounter. Fraser leads our Madagascar tour where he will spend quality time with the mammals, herps and invertebrates, as well as the birds and endemic flora. Madagascar is superb for nature photography and our leader
will stay as long as possible with any subject (of course, depending upon the cooperation of the beast involved!).
 Ricardo Clark lives in Salta, northern Argentina and is the founder of Clark Expeditions, the leading operator of natural history tours in his native country. Prior to establishing his company, Ricardo worked in the Argentine National Park Service and published a field guide to the birds of Tierra del Fuego, having spent several years working in this wild and beautiful southern extremity of the continent. Ricardo is considerate, outgoing and friendly, and has great enthusiasm for high energy safaris with long days in the field. He is an accomplished tour leader with a perfect command of English, and has escorted many groups within Argentina and in recent years has broadened his experience to include Peru, Paraguay, Brazil, Chile and Bolivia. Ricardo leads our tours to Peru, Argentina and Brazil.
 Etienne (ET) De Backer, who has a doctorate in biology, plus a decade of work experience in his native Belgium, set out (in his mid-30's) to explore the world. His adventures eventually led him to his home on the Galapagos Islands in 1985. Since that time Etienne has led tours on nearly every ship in the Galapagos. He speaks 5 languages. Ely Coral-De Backer, Etienne's wife, was born and raised in Guayaquil, Ecuador. In 1980, following college, she moved to Puerto Ayoara in the Galapagos Islands. Originally working with the Galapagos National Park, she then worked at the Charles Darwin Station, accompanying herpetologists, ornithologists and botanists in their fieldwork. She began guiding in 1982 and is fluent in four languages, and conversational in an additional four. She met her husband, Etienne, in 1985 and they live and work together in Galapagos. Etienne and Ely lead our tour to the Galapagos Islands.
Notice
Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris, Saratoga, California,
act only as agents and shall not be responsible or become liable for
any delay incurred by any person in connection with any means of transportation,
nor for the loss, damage or injury to person or property by reason of
any event beyond the control of the agency or default of such agency
suppliers. The right is reserved to cancel the cruise prior to departure,
in which case full refund will constitute full settlement to the passenger.
Termination of this expedition in progress for any reason will not necessarily
result in a refund, and no refund will be made for partially used portions
of air tickets or land arrangements. All rates are based on current
tariffs and exchange rates and are subject to adjustment in the event
of any change therein. Baggage is at the owner's risk.
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