In our travels around the globe, we’ve been fortunate enough to experience some pretty incredible things — luxury villas in the Maldives, all 7 world wonders, and dives in the Great Barrier Reef.
However some of our most memorable travels have come from the opportunity to interact with some of the planet’s most powerful and peaceful creatures. There’s something so magical about seeing these animals in their natural habitats that can’t be replicated from watching a nature documentary.
Just picture yourself swimming with gentle humpbacks in Tonga or sitting with baby gorillas in Uganda. It’s these one-of-the-kind experiences that bring a life long love and awe for our planet.
Here are our 5 favorite wildlife encounters (in no particular order) that you’ll want to add to your bucket list.
1. Sitting with Gorillas in Uganda
Trekking to see wild mountain gorillas might be one of our all-time favorite experiences; and might even bring tears of joy to your eyes (like it did for us). We started our journey in Kibale National Park, where we watched hundreds of chimpanzees swing in the trees. Next, we hiked to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to spend an hour sitting with the habituated Mishaya gorilla family. We watched the babies playfully wrestle and we got to witness their strikingly human-like behavior.
The last stage of this encounter involved trekking deep into the forest to meet a wilder family of gorillas that have never interacted with humans. It’s admittedly kind of terrifying to stand mere feet away from an untamed 500-pound gorilla, but at the same time, the majesty of these creatures makes it hard to look away. It was an absolutely incredible 4 days.
2. Witnessing the Polar Bear Migration in Canada
Spending five days in a remote camp along Canada’s polar bear migration trail might be North America’s coolest wildlife encounter. From the moment we stepped off the plane in rural Nunavut, we found ourselves up close and personal with Arctic polar bears. Honestly, it almost felt like we were in a National Geographic documentary! Thanks to the help of our Inuit guides, we learned how to approach them respectfully and carefully.
Each day, we got to watch polar bears go about their daily lives. We spotted male polar bears wrestling and a mother nursing her babies… Sometimes they were brave enough to walk up to us and sometimes they just passed by in the distance. As if the experience couldn’t be any more magical, the week was capped off with a sighting of the northern lights above our camp.
3. Swimming with Wild Orcas in Norway
There are only a handful of places in the world where you can swim with killer whales in their natural habitats, and one of them is Tromso, Norway. For five days, we cruised through the icy Norwegian fjords, searching for pods of orcas and humpback whales. Each time they got close enough, we put on our wetsuits and dove into the freezing water for a glimpse of them swimming underneath the surface.
It was pure magic watching the wild orcas dive peacefully in the water, swirling above us, below us, and next to us. Listening carefully, we could hear the unintelligible clicks and creaks of the pods communicating with each other. The entire experience was so life-changing it was well worth braving the freezing arctic waters for!
4. Cruising with Humpback Whales in Tonga
If a week cruising around an Arctic fjord sounds a little cold, a catamaran cruise in Tonga might be right up your alley. We spent a week sailing around the Togan islands, looking for opportunities to swim with humpback whales. Every day, we woke up, ate breakfast on the ship’s deck, and spent the rest of the day searching for whales to swim with.
It was only once we were in the water with the whales that we could truly grasp how massive these creatures are. A fully grown adult is roughly 45 feet long — that’s 10 feet longer than a school bus! Despite their gigantic size, the whales were so peaceful. We watched as mothers cuddled their babies and swam on through the South Pacific waters.
5. Visiting Penguins and Seals in Antarctica
The main appeal of taking an Antarctic cruise is to check the seventh continent off your bucket list. That’s a fun accomplishment, no doubt, but there was one main reason our adventure to Antarctica was unforgettable—the wildlife. We thought we’d hit the peak when we saw humpback whales swimming alongside our Zodiac, but once we hit land, our minds were truly blown.
On Antarctica’s rocky shores, we found dozens of adorable penguins waddling around and sleepy seals lounging on rocks. They were very aware that we were watching them, but that didn’t scare them off from doing their thing. Having these experiences amongst the glaciers, snow-capped mountains, and icy waters of this untouched continent made them all the more special.
Which one of these wildlife encounters do you want to add to your bucket list?
