Guest Feedback
2012
A note from Phil and Lorraine who spent a week here in August 2012:
Hi Colin,
Many thanks for a superb time - we both really enjoyed our week in the Hungarian mountains. With the butterflies and the sun, it was a super trip. We've been going through the photo's - there are some cracking shots, we're really pleased. I'm not a city person, as you probably guessed, but Budapest was great - a stunning city. Please thank your colleague Laci again for us, as it was a great day out.
All the best,
Phil and Lorraine.
Some of the images taken during their full, action-packed week:
A note from Phil and Lorraine who spent a week here in August 2012:
Hi Colin,
Many thanks for a superb time - we both really enjoyed our week in the Hungarian mountains. With the butterflies and the sun, it was a super trip. We've been going through the photo's - there are some cracking shots, we're really pleased. I'm not a city person, as you probably guessed, but Budapest was great - a stunning city. Please thank your colleague Laci again for us, as it was a great day out.
All the best,
Phil and Lorraine.
Some of the images taken during their full, action-packed week:
2014
When Geoff saw that we have a new web site, he thought he'd write some comments about his experiences with Mátra Wildlife Tours. He is well qualified to comment: with 4 visits, he is our best customer! :)
"I first became interested in butterflies about 50 years ago at the age of 11 and I have remained interested in butterflies ever since, except for a few years when I became interested in the opposite sex. Of all the places I have visited in those 50 years the Matra area of Hungary is the best for butterflies. My first visit to the area was in June 2008, and the sites that Colin took me to were alive with butterflies. There were lots of wild flowers for the butterflies to feed on, but even so there were sometimes 2 or 3 butterflies on a single flower head. Since then I have visited 3 more times so far, including 2 times accompanied by my wife Sue. The butterflies I have seen in the Matra area include the Bath White, Black-Veined White, Black Hairstreak, Camberwell Beauty and Large Copper, which are all included in my ageing "Observers Book of Butterflies" but which I have never seen in Britain. Other butterflies I have seen in the Matra area include the ghostly Clouded Apollo, graceful Gliders and the crazily-marked Southern Festoon. For people who like an intellectual challenge, there are many species of Blues and Fritillaries to identify. As well as butterflies, I have seen other orders of insects and many wild flowers. To give some variety to your holiday, consider a visit to Kekes mountain, the highest point in Hungary. There is a communications tower on this mountain with an observation platform that gives panoramic views. Before you go there it is worth buying some shelled walnuts in Gyongyos market to feed to the Red Squirrels in adjacent woodland. Also, consider a visit to the historic city of Eger to see its decorative buildings and castle.
I love the countryside and I am not always keen on towns, but I do like the town of Gyongyos where the apartment is located. The apartment has a balcony which overlooks the main square of Gyongyos. Three sides of the square are pedestrianised, and only the far side of the square has traffic passing by. On most days I ate breakfast on the balcony, and late evening sat out on the balcony with cups of tea. Every silver lining has a cloud, and the downside of living at the square is the occasional tolling of a bell at the historic church.
At one corner of the square is the start of the pedestrianised main street, with many ornate buildings. A small co-op supermarket at the end of the pedestrianised main street could provide all the groceries required for light breakfasts and picnic lunches, although a walk to the local market would give a wider choice of fruit. The Kekes Etterem restaurant in the main street offers high-quality evening meals at prices lower than one would expect to pay in Britain. There is also a good Italian restaurant beyond the far end of the main street. The staff in the shops and restaurants were always friendly and welcoming despite the language barrier. Some restaurant staff speak English or German, and the menus had printed translations. It is worthwhile to learn some words of Hungarian using a fun method such as "Talk Now", but unless you are a dedicated linguist, try to avoid any grammar-based Hungarian language course.
One thing that visitors to the Hungarian countryside should be aware of is an illness called tick-borne encephalitis, which is spread by crawling insects called ticks. Prevention is better than cure and so visitors should decide in advance what precautions to take. These precautions may include vaccination (e.g. "TicoVac"), tick-repellant spray (e.g. "Autan Plus"), use of clothes as a barrier, and checking oneself for ticks in the privacy of the apartment with tick-removing tweezers at hand.
I would thoroughly recommend Matra Wildlife Tours to anyone interested in nature. Colin is very easy to get on with, and even on the journey from Budapest Airport to Gyongyos at the start of my first visit we were chatting like old friends."
When Geoff saw that we have a new web site, he thought he'd write some comments about his experiences with Mátra Wildlife Tours. He is well qualified to comment: with 4 visits, he is our best customer! :)
"I first became interested in butterflies about 50 years ago at the age of 11 and I have remained interested in butterflies ever since, except for a few years when I became interested in the opposite sex. Of all the places I have visited in those 50 years the Matra area of Hungary is the best for butterflies. My first visit to the area was in June 2008, and the sites that Colin took me to were alive with butterflies. There were lots of wild flowers for the butterflies to feed on, but even so there were sometimes 2 or 3 butterflies on a single flower head. Since then I have visited 3 more times so far, including 2 times accompanied by my wife Sue. The butterflies I have seen in the Matra area include the Bath White, Black-Veined White, Black Hairstreak, Camberwell Beauty and Large Copper, which are all included in my ageing "Observers Book of Butterflies" but which I have never seen in Britain. Other butterflies I have seen in the Matra area include the ghostly Clouded Apollo, graceful Gliders and the crazily-marked Southern Festoon. For people who like an intellectual challenge, there are many species of Blues and Fritillaries to identify. As well as butterflies, I have seen other orders of insects and many wild flowers. To give some variety to your holiday, consider a visit to Kekes mountain, the highest point in Hungary. There is a communications tower on this mountain with an observation platform that gives panoramic views. Before you go there it is worth buying some shelled walnuts in Gyongyos market to feed to the Red Squirrels in adjacent woodland. Also, consider a visit to the historic city of Eger to see its decorative buildings and castle.
I love the countryside and I am not always keen on towns, but I do like the town of Gyongyos where the apartment is located. The apartment has a balcony which overlooks the main square of Gyongyos. Three sides of the square are pedestrianised, and only the far side of the square has traffic passing by. On most days I ate breakfast on the balcony, and late evening sat out on the balcony with cups of tea. Every silver lining has a cloud, and the downside of living at the square is the occasional tolling of a bell at the historic church.
At one corner of the square is the start of the pedestrianised main street, with many ornate buildings. A small co-op supermarket at the end of the pedestrianised main street could provide all the groceries required for light breakfasts and picnic lunches, although a walk to the local market would give a wider choice of fruit. The Kekes Etterem restaurant in the main street offers high-quality evening meals at prices lower than one would expect to pay in Britain. There is also a good Italian restaurant beyond the far end of the main street. The staff in the shops and restaurants were always friendly and welcoming despite the language barrier. Some restaurant staff speak English or German, and the menus had printed translations. It is worthwhile to learn some words of Hungarian using a fun method such as "Talk Now", but unless you are a dedicated linguist, try to avoid any grammar-based Hungarian language course.
One thing that visitors to the Hungarian countryside should be aware of is an illness called tick-borne encephalitis, which is spread by crawling insects called ticks. Prevention is better than cure and so visitors should decide in advance what precautions to take. These precautions may include vaccination (e.g. "TicoVac"), tick-repellant spray (e.g. "Autan Plus"), use of clothes as a barrier, and checking oneself for ticks in the privacy of the apartment with tick-removing tweezers at hand.
I would thoroughly recommend Matra Wildlife Tours to anyone interested in nature. Colin is very easy to get on with, and even on the journey from Budapest Airport to Gyongyos at the start of my first visit we were chatting like old friends."