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www.farsouthexpeditions.com
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Introduction
ack in 1997, as Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule, Tony Blair became UK’s Prime Minister, Dolly the Cloned Sheep was born, Microsoft became the world’s most valuable company, Harry Potter was first published and the Lion King made its debut in Broadway, two passionate birdwatchers, field researchers and naturalists from a remote country named Chile founded what was not only the first ever birdwatching venture in the country, but also a company that thanks to the quality of service and hard work of everyone involved with it, would quickly become the standard for birding, nature photography and wildlife watching in South America. Like its first name of Fantastico Sur Birding suggested, it was first born out as an extension of Enrique and Claudio’s unremitting passion for birdwatching, and their extensive field experience and thorough study of the history of Chilean Ornithology, paired with a natural curiosity about everything related to Chile and South America’s natural history, made themselves a name not only as substantial contributors in the knowledge of the birds of Chile through records and the publication of field guides and other books, but also in a then budding market of travelling birders and wildlife watchers and photographers who were becoming increasingly interested in the Neotropics and the far reaches of the Southern hemisphere like the Atacama Desert, the Chilean Fjords, Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica. After a few years already, Far South Expeditions had become synonymous with excellence in service, knowledgeable and friendly staff, efficient trip planning, high standards in comfort, lodging and food, reliability and safety on the road and a commitment to fulfill and exceed the client’s expectations, a reputation we strive to live up to, establishing and renewing bonds and
partnerships year after year, both virtually through our website and in person through our attendance to the most important Bird and Nature shows in the world, like the British Birdwatching Fair where we have been present every year since 1999 and the American Birding Expo, where we have been from their Inaugural version. Along the twenty years since Far South Expeditions pioneered Nature tourism industry in South America, the wildlife watching and nature tours business has experienced a dramatic rise in popularity with an ever increasing flow of customers from every corner of the globe, a change that in turn has seen us branch out into a variety of subjects from birds to flowers to mammals to wildlife photography, and has also inspired us to push the envelope and always keep on the look for new experiences, spots, angles and content to offer to the curious and demanding wilderness explorer of the 21st Century. It is therefore with eternal gratitude to all our loyal clients in these two decades, that we present this 20th anniversary 2017 catalogue, a summary of all our programmes that includes several new ones we are proud to offer with the hope that they will capture your fascination about our beautiful land and nature, and continue inspiring us to spearhead into the promising future of Wildlife tourism here in the Far South. The Far South Expeditions Team Punta Arenas, Chile, August 2017.