In a world where bucket list activities and once-in-a-lifetime experiences are more possible than ever before, it is the wilds of the natural kingdom its majestic and often eccentric inhabitant that fuel the wanderlust. While African safaris might have long lured early explorers to witness first hand lions and elephants, giraffes and rhinoceros, today the opportunities to see animals in their natural environment spans the globe far beyond the kings of the jungles and plains.

From tracking jaguars in Brazil to swimming with whale sharks in Honduras, hiking in Transylvania’s Carpathian Mountains in search of brown bears to cruising the Azores to spot blue whales, the opportunities for exploration and adventure are endless.

Embark on an adventure across oceans and polar ice caps, rainforests and mountain peas in search of the most astounding creatures on the planet.

SAMANTHA WILSON is a longtime travel writer and author whose journeys have taken her from the Northern Lights of the Arctic to the wilds of Patagonia and the remote islands of Palau.

She has inter-railed through Europe, canoed the Swedish lakes and camel-trekked the North African deserts. When she’s not researching her next book she lives in the British countryside with her husband and far too many pets.