Tawàyama Safaris - Safari Calendar

Dear visitor,

Over the past two years we at Tawàyama Safaris Inc. have offered specific trips at specific times of the year. While we have had clients take advantage of our services in that manner, we are finding that more and more clients wish to have an experience that they have had a hand in planning. Even in our standard safaris there has been a desire to customize the various itineraries to suit needs and wishes of our clients. We want to make each trip a special and unique experience for our adventurers, so we have been more than happy to let participants have input into the itinerary of their safaris.

For 2005 we are taking this custom safari one step further: we will only be offering personalized trips, by prior request and reservation, four to five times a year, at most.

Since relocating to Salt Lake City during the summer of 2004, our commercial work has picked up considerably. The time we have available to offer safaris has been tremendously reduced. Our safari schedule will no longer consist of trips offered to specific locations at specific times during the year. The 'menu' of safaris is gone - in it's place we are offering our services on a very limited basis to individuals and groups that would like to book our services privately. No challenge is too great, no location too obscure and no request too quirky not to entertain them.

If you are half-way serious about arranging a safari, please contact us early. Available times will fill quickly. We will be offering safaris to the locations we have traditionally gone to, but also wish to broaden our reach over the following years. Trips to Alaska will be new for 2005, as will a possible expedition to the Arctic Circle via the Dempster Highway in Canada. There will be no more safaris offered, nor reservations taken for the 2004 calendar year.

Of course we would want those making reservations to decide where and when they go, so please contact us with any questions, ideas, concerns, or just to shoot the breeze. We welcome your inquiries and hope to be able to plan a custom safari for you soon.

Below are two new ideas for safaris that we have been on personally in the past. We are throwing them out to our audience to show that we are not strictly offering trips to the southwest of the USA any more. We will take our clients to the ends of the earth to facilitate their wilderness safari experience.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you.

Michael Slade

2005

5 days at the SilverKing Lodge, near Ketchikan, Alaska. Some of the best salmon and halibut fishing in the world as well as photography of bald eagles, black bears, killer whales, and the breathtaking scenery will surely make this 4th of July celebration one to remember.

The SilverKing is on the Inland Passage of Alaska. We will fly into the lodge on either a DeHaviland Beaver or Otter depending on the group size we have flying in (sometimes it takes multiple planes, the photographs of them landing and taking-off are spactacular). We are very remote and the only way in or out is by boat or plane, ensuring your complete peace and solitude. A warning for those tied to their cell phones...leave 'em home.

There will be many diverse opportunities to photograph in Ketchikan, an afternoon spent in the city photographing the old part of town can happen, but mainly we will be there to photograph the wildlife and the scenery. This is a great trip for those of you with BIG glass to bring it and put it to good use.

A river filled to the brim with spawning salmon will put you in direct visual contact with more black bears than may make you comfortable. The fact that they are well fed and are used to humans makes them safe to view from comfortable distances. Bald eagles diving into the ocean to pluck out fish is sure to please, and also is a photographic challenge to enjoy.

Along with the photography, of course there will be some fishing (we are staying at a fishing lodge after all), so if you didn't take advantage of that you would certainly be missing out. We can't take pictures all the time now can we?

The fishing is world class, the accomodations are very comfortable with lodge style rooms and a common kitchen, the staff at SilverKing will take care of preparing the days catch for dinner (nothing better than crab legs in the evening from the pot you set that morning!). They will assist you in catching and preparing your fish for shipment home with you should you want to take home some of the fruits of your labors.

The trip price includes everything including airfaire originating from inside the continental US to and from Ketchikan. Alaska has daily flights to Ketchikan from Seattle, and we will arrange your flight arrangements for you. Trip limited to 6 individuals. $3800

CONTACT US REGARDING PEAK SEASONS FOR THE VARIOUS SPECIES OF SALMON THAT RUN. TRIPS CAN BE OFFERED TO CONCIDE WITH THE RUN OF YOUR SPECIES OF CHOICE.

14 Days exploring the famous Dempster Highway, including visiting the historic gold-rush town of Dawson City. One night spent in Dawson at the Downtown motel. Camping on the Arctic Circle, flyfishing for Arctic grayling is possible at several stops along the way. This trip will have one night at the hotel in Eagle Plains on either the 5th or 6th night depending. Trip coincides with the migratory pattern of the Caribou indigenous to the area. Expedition terminates in the northernmost city in Canada: Inuvik. Participants can choose to either fly out of Inuvik via Canada Air to Whitehorse, or return with us via the second leg of the trip. We will see the Northern Lights several times during our trip, and will devote some significant time in the evenings discussing the theory behind the phenomenon and cover photographic techniques to capture their immense beauty. This is an incredible opportunity to bring additional camera equipment, long lenses, ultra-large format, telescopes, etc.

The following expedition is one of great complexity and commitment. There have been several inquiries as to the possibility of guests bringing and driving their own vehicles. A trip of this magnitude is one not to be taken lightly. If you cannot do your own maintenance on your own vehicle, troubleshoot problems in the field, carry enough spares and tools to fix whatever has and will break, then don't consider bringing your own vehicle. There will be an extensive check-list for those who wish to take the trip to Inuvik as a self-drive tour, as well as increased liability waivers. We reserve the right to make a judgement call based on telephone conversations we will have, to refuse to allow any self-drive participation.

THE CARIBOU MIGRATE NEAR THE END OF SEPTEMBER. TRIPS CAN BE CUSTOMIZED TO CONCIDE WITH THE MIGRATION SO THAT WE WILL HAVE A REASONABLY GOOD CHANCE AT PHOTOGRAPHING HEDS OF CARIBOU.