Reviews & Testimonials

It is impossible to see a country in 2 weeks, apparently. This trip with Pete and 10 guests very nearly did just that. Madagascar is the world's 4th largest island and we covered it from top to bottom. Exhausting but exhilarating. Immaculate planning by Pete, Renee and the local guide Gersica gave us the most memorable experience.

Pete has travelled extensively in Madagascar and has an affinity for the country. His love and knowledge of the natural world allowed him to share some of the wonderful sights and experiences that few people will see. He chooses excellent local guides who are enthusiastic and together they seek out a massive variety of local animals, birds, reptiles and insects. We just go along and are treated to this spectacle.

I have travelled with Pete before and he attracts groups of like minded people who share experiences, help each other and just have fun. The trips are a little out of the ordinary. Things can be impulsive and you are expected to get up and go at unearthly times. This is why you will be treated to these wonderful experiences and see the wildlife at their best.

I would highly recommend this trip for an experience of a lifetime.

My husband and I went on Pete's October 2024 Madagascar trip at the suggestion of friends who were going and who themselves had been on two prior Pete Oxford trips. There was a total of 12 on the trip - 10 travelers as well as Pete and his wonderful local guide, Gersica. All the other travelers had been on at least one other trip with Pete, and it quickly became obvious why he has so many returnees! Pete has a unique set of personality traits, wildlife and cultural knowledge, insight from his many years of international exploration and group leadership ability that made our trip a worldview expanding adventure.

The itinerary was very well planned to find and photograph a wide variety of Madagascar's wildlife and well as increase our understanding of the country and the culture - all in a two-week trip. Looking back, it was quite a feat to shoehorn all that we did into two weeks! We saw countless mammals, birds, reptiles and insects in their natural environment, many endemic to Madagascar.

It was obvious that a tremendous amount of legwork had been done to choose where to go, where to stay, who and what type of local and location-specific guides and drivers to hire. For example, one nocturnal lemur was well known to be exceptionally difficult to find and see. To increase the odds that we would indeed see this lemur, a specialized local guide was hired to find and track one of these lemurs for the week prior to our visit. We took 4-wheel vehicles for an hour over very primitive roads close to the location where this lemur had been located. We hiked the rest of the way and arrived an hour before dusk and camped out quietly, waiting for the lemur to emerge from his nest. Sure enough, at the expected time, the lemur emerged, and we were able to see and photograph this elusive lemur. The last location of our trip was in Nosy Be, where we found and were able to snorkel adjacent to magnificent whale sharks and sea turtles. These are just two examples of the detailed planning and foresight that made our trip so memorable.

Pete had boundless energy and enthusiasm which kept the group spirits high even in sometimes challenging environments. I really appreciated Pete sharing his insight into the Western world’s attempts at “helping” various less privileged countries and how that can have negative unforeseen consequences.

After my return, I read Pete's book, Trampled by Tapir and Other Tales from a Globe-Trotting Naturalist which retrospectively further improved my understanding of Madagascar, its wildlife and its people. This is an excellent book to gain insight into Pete's depth of experience as well as his world perspective.

In short, if you are seeking a wildlife centered adventure that also provides a broader understanding of wildlife conservation and the local people and culture, I highly recommend going on a Pete Oxford Expedition.

Yet another amazing Pete Oxford expedition!

We’d heard diving was incredible in Indonesia but this surpassed our expectations once again. The Damaii II was fabulous, the crew were on hand for ones every need, whether it be a steak and chips (the food on board was incredible), a full body massage, a hot chocolate after the dive or help with removing one’s wetsuit!! The diving was phenomenal.

Pete organised one of the trip highlights - jelly fish lake. You have got to do the trip to experience that! Only with Pete do these things happen!

Thank you, Pete, and thank you Renee for putting it all together for us – hassle free as always.

This trip was 4 months ago and I am still having dreams about being back on The Damaii boat! The best scuba diving and snorkeling you could ask for with an unbelievable team, I never wanted to leave this paradise.
We saw amazing wildlife and learnt so much about what we where seeing from Pete & the dive guides on the boat. They where all amazing underwater guides and I felt so safe in their hands. The food was unreal, a highlight being fresh tuna sashimi! The boat was so beautiful and the boat team were also a highlight, so friendly and so much fun.
This really is the dream trip for anyone who loves being in the water.

I have never written a review before but as I fly home from Pete Oxford’s Botswana expedition I am brimming with such deep gratitude that I feel compelled to puzzle through why this trip was such an extraordinary, stand-out adventure. I would begin with the fact that owners, Pete and Renee, are two top in class naturalists who love what they do. Everyday, from dawn to dusk, they took us on gloriously wild rides, tracking down rare sightings of animals with their cubs, predators on the hunt, endangered species in action. Their irrepressible enthusiasm for our “hunts” was impossibly contagious and we ended each night feeling moved by the privilege, rarity and uniqueness of what we had encountered.

Behind the scenes we benefited from their organizational perfectionism, personal connections with the camps, guides and staff; and their quiet kindness and sensitivity to both guests and personnel. This was a unique trip and everyone in our group was profoundly affected by their experience. To a person, we walked away hoping we had measured up to Pete and Renee and that in some way we could remain a meaningful part of their lives. How often does that happen?

Oh, and Botswana itself was a dream: teaming with wildlife, incredibly lovely people, a storied, fascinating history. We will be back!