Gap Year Expedition Advice

[George!]

Hi,

This is my first post on this forum so hope its in the right place.

In the year starting Sep 2007 until Sep 2008 im thinking of taking a gap year before going to university. Im still new to the hobby but i find my and all tarantulas fascinating and really want to get stuck in. I currently have 6 T's and they are all fantastic but i want to plan a trip in my gap year where I can expect maybe to see some awesome T's in the wild and where its just generally amazing scenery.

Any suggestions? Can anyone help with organising ideas (i.e works for charity (I will do volunteer work)? etc.

Dan

[Gigas]

If your doing volunteer work you don't get too much time to go T hunting, and T's can hide well. Costa rica seems to be the major one as of recently but obviously no good if you want to check out old worlds.

[Sheri]

Check out Peru - I only say thins because I have been there. I'm sure any south american country is incredible.

But, I believe there are several volunteer organizations that work in the forest, so might be a good place to begin.

Good luck!

[skinheaddave]

Check out Global Village International. They go all over the world, so the options are wide open. There were a few Brits from GVI at the research station when I went to Costa Rica.

Cheers,
Dave

[George!]

Cheers for the suggestions so far, I checked out GVI and its exactly what I wanted there. Now to choose between Peru, Ecuador and Costa Rica which look the best because they are rainforest conservation type projects.

Im inclined to go to Ecuador because the wildlife in general looks the best because there is literally everything :) but if anyone has any other ideas or pictures of these three places It would be amazing if you could show them :)

Cheers,
Dan

[titus]

I took a trip to Puru about 4 years ago in a study of Dendrobates (Dart Frogs) they have some wonderful T's their. If you choose to go there ask about the frog cafe they know the good spots to start looking.

[George!]

Aww awesome my neighbour keeps Dendrobates, i would have but my parents are already suspicious enough of the T's and the Turtles lol

Have you got any pictures, i know 4 years ago is a long time but i would love to see them it would be great.

And any other advice about how you arranged you trip etc would be great.

Cheers,
Dan

[titus]

I set up the trip though a herpofauna group in the Netherlands, as for pictures I'll have to look though my photos and scan some in. I've thought of keeping darts again but it's a lot of $ to keep them properly.

[ShadowBlade]

Im inclined to go to Ecuador because the wildlife in general looks the best because there is literally everything :) but if anyone has any other ideas or pictures of these three places It would be amazing if you could show them :)

I've been to Ecuador for a couple weeks, its an awesome place for lots of different inverts.

-Sean

[George!]

Awesome, sounds good. Was it just a family holiday or an expedition or what? i see your just 1 year younger than me but uve had T's all your life, i wish i had :(

Cheers,
Dan

[ShadowBlade]

Was it just a family holiday or an expedition or what?

It was a 'vacation group' thing. But I got to go because of my Grandma.:D No one else in my family got to go.

Make friends with the natives there, esp if they know English. I got to be really good friends with one, and he found out about my fascination with invertebrates, he took me to tarantula burrows, helped me find nests, and showed me around the jungle at night to find whipscorpions and true spiders.
They're pretty friendly people.

-Sean