Wild Watch
An excellent general guide to Africa's wildlife, provided by a company - CCAfrica - with an agenda to help protect the continent's natural resources through sustainable tourism. The site is updated monthly with a mixture of regular features and in-depth articles on individual species, and you can access the back issues from the front page. If you're overcome with the need to see it all for yourself, click on the 'Safari Lodges' icon. Here you can compile a 'wish list' of destinations, based on the wealth of information which the site offers, from extensive country guides to 360-degree virtual galleries of the lodges themselves. When your list is complete, you can send it to the CCAfrica consultants, who will help you organise the trip. Another useful feature is the FAQ section, which looks at issues such as entry requirements, weather and transport in Africa.
Safaripark.co.uk
You don't have to leave the UK to get down with some serious wildlife. Safaripark.co.uk is a smartly designed, easily navigable site which provides comprehensive information (admission price, opening times and directions as well as the animals and attractions they offer) on all the wildlife parks in Britain. There's also a substantial photo gallery, arguably removing the need for armchair safari enthusiasts to stir themselves even as far as the nearest park. Keep your children away from the 'fun stuff' section, which offers all manner of blandishments in the form of car stickers and posters if you "do your bit for animals" and adopt an otter or a donkey. The pictures look cute, but the "regular news sheets" would undoubtedly get wearing.
Wildlife Africa
The real strength of this site is its focus on the different types of safari you can take - from cruising safaris to camping, canoeing, fishing and, improbably, golf - drawing attention to the fact that going on safari can be an active as well as a passive experience. You can search by country and region for accommodation that suits you and, if you've reached the stage where living in a country without giraffes in it no longer cuts the mustard, you can look for something more long-term in the Property Corner. An otherwise excellent photo gallery is marred by the huge reference numbers printed on each photograph, but this is more than made up for by the African Tales section, which gives some of the continent's legends and creation myths: The Crafty Jackal was my favourite.
Africam
The site for office-bound wildlife lovers everywhere. It has around 20 webcams at various locations in Africa: you can happily spend your day with one eye on your spreadsheets and the other on the Kruger National Park. The impressively high quality of the video stream is backed up by clean, clear site design, navigability, and in-depth editorial content on a wide range of related subjects, from the installation of artificial waterpoints in game reserves to South African rock art. The interactive element which begins with the webcams is maintained throughout, with lively message boards, competitions and a community page, where you can find out what other users make of the site and learn about the people who operate the safari cams. Engaging stuff.
GORP Wildlife
US-based GORP (Great Outdoor Recreation Pages) is deservedly rated as one of the web's best resources for all things exterior, and its wildlife pages are no exception. As well as all the comprehensive information you'd expect from GORP on species, regions, habitats, and tours - plus some spectacular photo galleries - there are loads of extra features which lift the site above the ordinary. A very diverting 'how to' page, for example, gives you expert tips on how to make low-tech bird calls and how not to run into bears when you're in grizzly country. The 'ask the expert' section also looks useful, although the fact that the resident bird expert, Sam, was wearing binoculars and sunglasses didn't inspire confidence.
Utah's Hogle Zoo
The online site of Utah's Hogle Zoo: one for the parents of city-bound, wildlife-deprived children everywhere. Ignore the slightly evangelical tone and head for the animal tour, which takes a look at endangered species from around the world, and spices up the in-depth factual information on habitat and characteristics with snippets of 'zoo trivia' (do you know how much water an elephant's trunk can hold?). Younger children will enjoy the kids' page, which features animal-based games and invites readers to send in their own animal pictures or photos, which will then be posted on the site " for you and the rest of our visitors to see". Bless.
Safari Health Links
Most safari holidays take place in Africa, and the health concerns involved in travelling to the continent are something of which everyone considering a holiday there should be aware. Don't let the ominously blood-red page put you off: once you're in, the tone is briskly informative, and tips are given on which vaccinations you'll need, where you can and can't drink the water, what you should bring with you and the precautions you need to take after you've returned home. There are also good links to official sites such as the World Health Organisation, which will provide you with up to the minute information. If you're after some light relief, there's an interview with the man who discovered the Ebola virus, and if nothing else, you can while away a happy half-hour counting up the number of different ways it's possible to spell diarrhoea. You'll need both hands.
Africa In Gear
If you're thinking of going on safari, it's important you have the right gear (who wants to look like a fool in front of all those lions and elephants, after all?). Africa In Gear can equip you with all the photographer's waistcoats, bush skirts, and safari pants you're ever likely to need - and if you want to dress your home as well as yourself, they'll also provide you with Ndebele artwork (look out for the beaded bottle opener) and 'framed curios'. You're probably better off buying your safari gear from your nearest outdoor shop, but the site is indispensable if only for the fact that featured in its stock are the lamentably-named 'colonial shorts'. You wouldn't get a pair of those down in Snow and Rock, would you?
Australian A-Z Animal Archive
Given that Australia, thanks to its geographical location, is home to some of the world's most unusual species of wildlife, there's a baffling lack of good sites on the subject. However, the Australian A-Z Animal Archive takes you on a guided tour round all the animals, birds and arachnids unique to the country's shores, from dingos to dugongs to funnel web spiders. Very useful for swotting up if you're planning a trip to the antipodes - at the least, you'll know what to look out for and whereabouts to look for it.
