It's a wild world: the top 10 wildlife encounters

For a holiday with a difference, nothing compares to witnessing our planet's fascinating and bewildering range of wildlife. From watching polar bears in the Arctic to spying a tiger in India, travel writer and amateur wildlife photographer Kim Wildman offers her pick of the world's best wildlife encounters. 1. Experience the great migration, Serengeti, Tanzania One of the greatest natural spectacles on the planet — there is nothing more reliable and mesmerising as the Serengeti's annual migration. Driven by deep-rooted instinct, hundreds of zebra and wildebeest darken the vast plains as they head south from the northern hills during the short rains of October and November, then swirl north again after the longer April, May and June rains. 2. Discover the paradise of evolution, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador For those with a serious fauna fetish, the Galapagos Islands are a must-see. This Darwinian "paradise of evolution" is home to some of the strangest creatures on earth, including giant tortoises, marine iguanas and flightless cormorants. You can also swim with sea lions or discover the clifftop nesting grounds of albatross and blue-footed booby. 3. Watch feeding orcas, Vancouver Island, Canada In an awesome display of communal feeding, from June to September each year pods of hungry orca congregate in Johnstone Strait (which separates Vancouver Island from the mainland) to forage on schools of fleeing salmon. While the feeding frenzy can be seen from land or boat, the best way to get up-close-and-personal with these marine giants is by kayak. 4. Scour ice glaciers for polar bears, Svalbard, Arctic Circle For a wildlife experience with a chill, set sail for the archipelago of Svalbard to discover the most formidable of hunters, the polar bear. Just under 1000 kilometres from the North Pole, this remote region is gripped by ice for over eight months of the year and by darkness for over four and is home to around 5000 polar bears as well as walruses, beluga whales and vast seabird colonies. 5. Make eye contact with a gorilla, Bwindi, Uganda While making eye contact with a lion might send chills down your spine, exchanging glances with a gorilla will touch your soul. Tucked away in the south-western corner of Uganda, the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is home to half the world's remaining mountain gorillas. It's a tough trek through thick jungle to reach them, but there's nothing quite like an audience with these gentle apes. 6. Spy an elusive panda bear, Chengdu, China One of the rarest and most enchanting creatures, China's giant panda bear is also one of the most elusive, making spying them in the wild almost impossible. While some operators offer specialist treks with researchers through the reserves of Foping and Changqing in the Qining Mountains south of Xian, there's no guarantee that you will see them. The next best thing is to spend some time wandering through the Panda Breeding Centre in Chengdu. 7. Eyeball a great white, Gansbaai, South Africa For an extreme wildlife experience, jump into the shark-infested waters off the southern coast of South Africa — in a cage of course! The small fishing village of Gansbaai has become the hub for operators specialising in diving with great white sharks. From the safety of the cage, you can overcome your fears by eyeballing the ocean's most feared predator. You'll definitely emerge with a greater respect for these misunderstood denizens of the deep. 8. Watch brown bears fish, Alaska If you're a budding wildlife photographer, don't miss the action as Alaska's brown bears fish for salmon in Katmai National Park. During the peak of the world's largest sockeye salmon run each July and the return of the spawned out salmon in September, around 40 to 60 hungry bears congregate along the Brooks River eager for a feast. The sight of a magnificent grizzly bear nabbing a salmon needs to be seen to be believed. 9. Track a tiger, India Roaming freely through a jungle inhabited by tigers might sound like a Kipling-inspired childhood fantasy, but if you want to make your dreams a reality, join researchers in India as they track tigers through the Bandavgarh and Panna reserves from atop an elephant. Working alongside rangers, you'll learn to spot tracks and help with census counts. Even if you don't see a tiger this will rate as one of your best adventures. 10. Swim with dolphins, Kaikoura, New Zealand New Zealand is renowned for extreme adventures, but if you're after something a little less hair-raising, take a dip with the dolphins off the coast of Kaikoura. Located on the north-eastern corner of the South Island, the waters around Kaikoura are brimming with marine creatures, including dolphins, whale sharks and fur seals. Zipped into an ultra-thick wetsuit, you'll discover that mingling with the huge pods of dolphins is not only therapeutic and invigorating but also downright fun.