You may want to control your instincts this winter and ignore the budget airline advertisements plastered on multiple billboards.

Budget airlines for charging extra for services you may not know about. Customers could end up paying 30% more than the advertised sums as a result of extra fees such as credit card charges.

The companies bmibaby, EasyJet, Ryanair and Jet2 were analysed in a study by Which?, in relation to four destinations: Paris, Rome, Malaga and Faro.

All of these companies charge extra for credit or debit card use and also for checking in luggage. Flying to Paris with bmibaby showed a 25% increase in price when both of these services were used and for Ryanair it meant £50 extra across all of its routes.

EasyJet had the smallest luggage and credit card charges out of all of the airlines, though this still means £26 – £38 extra. Ryanair’s charges saw tickets at 8 – 29% higher than what was advertised, so make sure you aren’t fooled by these advertisements and are aware of the credit card charges before booking.

It has been argued that these are essential rather than additional services and therefore, airlines should not charge for them. A holiday without luggage seems ridiculous, particularly at this time of year where skiing necessities fill the holds of many planes.

Also, the main way to book budget flights is over the internet, which means that it is virtually impossible to pay through another method than credit card.

30% of Ryanair customers use Visa Electron credit cards or debit cards to avoid extra card charges.

However, Ryanair seem to have realised and are therefore intending to charge for the use of the Visa Electron as of the 1st of January. So, if customers use this credit card in the New Year, £5 will be added per flight, per person.

Ryanair claim that the card charges are used to fund their website rather than as addition personal income. They also claim that the change in policy with the Visa Electron card has been prompted by the fact that the card is being phased out in the UK. It has been confirmed that after the 14th of December, Abbey will not be issuing this card to customers.

Mastercard pre-paid cards remain the only loophole. These are now the only way to avoid a booking fee with Ryanair.

Pre-paid cards are the opposite of credit cards seeing as you put money on them in advance and then spend it.

However, there can be charges for even applying for one of these. The Tuxedo PAYG Prepaid Mastercard, for instance, charges a £9.95 application fee and a 3.5% ATM charge. So, if you are thinking about applying for one so you can evade Ryanair card-charges in the future, make sure you compare cards to find the best one for you.

The next arrival is a marsh mongoose. First time I’m seeing one. It’s quite a cuddly animal and gnaws on the meat, till well satiated and then disappears into the swamp in front of the camp.

The morning sun lights the marsh and awakens the golden weavers whose busy chirping wakes us up and we step out of the tent to a brand new day.

“Umani or rather Umanyi is a Kamba word for ‘place of knowledge or place where everyone comes to’, Richard explains. We notice that the elephants have been near the camp during the night. Their dung is fresh and so is the loose soil on the terrain. “That’s our supply of brown bread, “say’s our guide teasingly pointing at the mound of the dung.

The enchanted forest is full of sky scraping trees fat figs and tall yellow fever trees. The path is laden with a wild strain of busy tizzies near the water and other colorful flowers. Overhead a troop of Sykes monkey race across the tree branches and a cacophony of sounds fill the air. Richard identifies the birds from their call-Narina’s Trojans and trumpeter hornbills. He has some interesting tales.

A few months ago, as he was taking visitors on a walk, he almost stepped on a python. He cried out to the family of three to alert them. But instead of running away they walked straight on thinking he was joking. The good thing is that the python was well satiated and slithered away while the visitors clicked away with the cameras. Another time, the trumpeting of the elephants brought him out to the swamp.

One of the young ones had all but disappeared into the marsh. Only the tip of its trunk and part of the face was visible. He dashed to the rangers office to get help, but they thought he was spinning a yarn. They arrived just in time to save the baby elephant from being swallowed a live in the mud. The water from the springs is in full flow with the rains. A gigantic fig tree stands near one of the springs.

“In the 1960s there was a forester here who used to sleep in the tree. He had five –inch nails stuck up in the tree to climb up. I found one of the nails recently sent it to him with a seed from the tree. “Richard tells us.

The gurgle of the crystal-clear water coming out of the ground is soothing. We spend a few moments sitting on the banks watching the water flow into the pool.” This one of the two large springs.” continues Richard.” There are many smaller ones.”

The forest is cool and we step on stones polished smooth by the water to cross over to the other bank. A marsh terrapin swims first to hide under the water plants. A cormorant perched on a log spreads its wings to dry in the sun while a dainty lily trotter delicately walks on the marsh lilies.

“Look”, says our guide suddenly. He is pointing to white little flowers but when he touches them they move like fairies on a twig. “These are the Kibwezi bugs.” It’s an annual event. In one of nature’s most opulent events, the Kibwezi forest is decked in these fairy-like snow-white bugs which feed of the sap of a vine during the months of August and September. They then metamorphose into earthy colored tangy small butterflies, some of which are fluttering around us.

“Kibwezi is a special enchanted forest,”says Simons of Umani Springs camp.” It’s a ground water enchanted forest.” The forest protects the springs which come filtered from all the surrounding Chyulu hills.

But its not been easy protecting this unique glade of enchanted forest where charcoal burning is rampant and demand for land ever increasing. “We are lucky that we came in when we did,” say the cam owner. Prior to that, there was little in the way of forest protection. “We had a forest officer who worked in cahoots with the charcoal burners and tree poaching was rampant.”

Coming out of the enchanted forest we walk through the silky webs of the tiny caterpillars to the camp, a simple rustic affair by the pond’s edge.

How to get to Umani

Your tour operator will organise a drive from Nairobi in a minivan. While staying at the several camps in the area, you will also be able to visit Kenya’s largest wildlife park-the Tsavo National Park, with its largest brown elephants (brown colour from mudbaths). This safari can also be combined to terminate at the coastal white sandy beaches thereby crowning your wildlife safari with some beach relaxation.

To sample your wildlife, beach, wilderness and adventure safaris see this website. http://www.landmarksafaris.com