AFRICA
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March 12, 2008: Depart U.S.A.
March 13, 2008: London, U.K.
March 14 & 15, 2008: Mali
Back at our Mopti hotel, enjoy a festive dinner and experience authentic African culture as you shop for local art at a special poolside market.
March 16 & 17, 2008: Togo & Benin
Aboard our private jet we take a day trip to Togo's rarely-visited north to see the fortified adobe castle-homes of Tamberma villagers, who honor us with traditional dances. We cross into Benin to visit the Somba people, whose daily lives have changed little since the Middle Ages. Truly off the beaten path, we have a rare chance for cultural exchange with members of both tribes.
March 18 & 19, 2008: Namibia
Customize your time here any way you choose. Cruise Walvis Bay, often escorted by dolphins and pelicans, to discover the haunts of Cape Fur seals and catch sight of endemic birdlife; take a sightseeing flight over the great red dunes of the Namib desert; traverse the lunar hills and valley carved by the Swakop River on a geologist-guided exploration and a search for the fascinating Welwitschia mirabilis, an endemic plant that can live for up to 2,000 years.
March 20 & 21, 2008: Cape Town, South Africa
March 22, 23 & 24, 2008: Madagascar
March 25 & 26, 2008: Victoria Falls, Zambia
March 27 & 28, 2008: Serengeti Plain, Tanzania
March 29, 30 & 31, 2008: Wildlife of Uganda or Rwanda
Go on safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park to see hundreds of hippos as well as pelicans, kingfishers, cormorants, and saddlebill storks. The park encompasses thousands of square miles of untouched wilderness, from low-lying riverine all the way to the otherwordly Mountains of the Moon.
Or choose to trek thorugh the rain forest in search of magnificent mountain gorillas in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park or Rwanda's Parc National des Volcans. The very fit travelers who choose this strenuous option will stay in basic, comfortable eco-lodges and spend their days exploring the lovely, mountainous terrain.
April 1 & 2, 2008: Imperial City of Fez, Morocco
April 3, 2008: Return to London
April 4, 2008: Depart London for Home
Depart on individual overnight flights to London.
Meet fellow travelers, lecturers and expedition staff at our deluxe hotel for a welcome reception and dinner.
Four Seasons Hotel, London
Aboard a brightly painted pirogue, we explore the waterways of Mopti, which teem with a colorful profusion of traders in the river markets.
Choose from two intriguing options. Follow a jumble of narrow streets to explore Djenne's mud-brick mosques and houses, then visit the remote Saharan outpost of Timbuktu in the afternoon. Or travel through the rolling Mali countryisde to remote Dogon villages of multi-story mud and stone houses built into sheer cliffs.
Kanaga Hotel, Mopti
Enter the birthplace of vodun (voodoo) in Togo. In a village near the capital of Lome we visit an extraordinary fetish market filled with elaborate statues as well as herbs, skulls, and animal parts used to prepare traditional medicines.
Mecure Sarakawa Hotel, Lome
Namibia harbors a wealth of beauty and history, from the colonial charm of Swakopmund to the hundreds of flamingos in the lagoon of Walvis Bay.
Swakopmund Hotel
Dominated by 3,000 foot high Table Mountain and situated at the southern tip of the continent, Cape Town occupies one of the most spectacular natural settings in the world. You may choose to take a scenic helicopter flight along the coast to Cape Point to explore the dramatic landscape where two oceans meet, and visit an African penguin colony to walk among the nearly 3,000 birds on the shores of the South Atlantic. Or visit the fascinating museum on Robben Island, infamous as the prison where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 years, and ride the cable care to the summit of Table Mountain for an unsurpassed view of the city. As another option, travel into South Africa's world-famous wine country and sample vintages at several wineries. Whatever your choice, you'll enjoy famous South African hospitality.
Mt. Nelson Hotel, Cape Town
There's nowhere quite like Madagascar. Choose to visit remote Anjajavy with its beautiful beaches, deep-sea fishing, and water sports, where you can see Coquerel's sifka and brown lemurs, baobab trees, unique birds, chameleons, geckos, and frogs. Or trek through the regged eastern mountain rainforest to see Malagasy wildlife and hear the eerie sound of the Indri, the largest lemur, in Perinet Reserve. Your third option is to explore Berenty Reserve with its profusion of lemurs in the southern spiny desert, taking guides night walks that reveal the tiny mouse lemur, as well as birds, carnivorous plants, and reptiles.
Antananarivo Hilton; Anjajavy l'Hotel, Vakona Forest Reserve, or Gite del Berenty Lodge
Here on the Zambian border, the mile-wide Zambezi River plunges 350 feet into a narrow chasm, creating one of the world's most magnificent sights. On arrival take a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River. The following day, choose to take a "Flight of the Angels" for a bird's-eye perspective. Or visit a nearby Zambian village to experience daily life. The afternoon brings further options when you may embark upon a river safari, try a game drive or, water levels permitting, venture out to Livingstone Island from where the famous explorer first sighted the falls.
Royal Livingstone Hotel
Each year with the coming of the rains, millions of wildebeests and zebras gather on the Serengeti Plain to calve and begin their 500-mile seasonal migration north in search of new grazing lands. Vast herds are stalked by lions, cheetahs, leopards, and hyenas. Our time here is filled with game drives to search out and photograph the abundant wildlife on the Serengeti. We also anticipate seeing elephants, hippos, giraffes, buffaloes, gazelles, and many other species.
Serengeti Sopa Lodge
Discover the charms of this green, biologically diverse region of Africa on your choice of small-group activities.
Kampala Serena Hotel; Mweya Lodge, Gorilla's Nest Lodge or Virunga Lodge (Rwanda)
One of the largest living medieval cities in the world, the vast medina of Old Fez is enclosed within magnificent gates and walls. Layrinthine streets reveal a rich visual fabric of mosques, medrasas (Islamic seminaries), palaces, and fountains. Depending on your interests, your guided walk through the medina might include the 9th-century Karaouine Mosque and University; fascinating traditional tanneries; the shrine of Fez's founder, Sultan Moulay Idriss II; a traditional pottery co-op; or the Borj-Nord weapons museum near the ramparts of the 15th-century fort.
Sofitel Palais Jamai, Fez
After breakfast, depart Fez for London on the last leg of our private jet journey. Arriving in the afternoon, transfer to our deluxe hotel, where we enjoy dinner and overnight.
Four Seasons Hotel
Following breakfast at the hotel, return home on regularly scheduled commerical flights.
| Date | Priced from |
| March 12 - April 4, 2008 | $51,950 |
| Single Occupancy: (where Available) | $55,150 |
Please note that the following items are NOT included:
Around the World Journeys
Around the World -- Spring |
Around the World -- Fall
Other Journeys
Empires & Explorers | Africa | India | South America | Eastern Europe
 |
To check availability or receive additional information on TCS Expeditions drop us a note, or call.... 800-777-7739 |
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