ALLURE OF TREE HOUSES

EXPERT AFRICA'S TOP PICKS

The magical setting of a tree house you may have escaped to as a kid is now a trend-setting place you can escape to for vacation. Expert Africa, one of the leading designers and operators of personalized tours to Southern and East Africa, has highlighted its top picks for tree house accommodations in Africa. Chris McIntyre, managing director, Expert Africa, points out, “The wide variety of tree houses in Southern Africa gives travelers a real choice. Some offer a unique romantic atmosphere with candlelight playing on the surrounding branches. Others feel more adventurous: a night in the African bush with rustic surrounds, perhaps with the adrenaline rush of dangerous animals below. All give the guest a one-off way of seeing Africa from a new angle with stunning views.” Check out these tree houses with overnight stays:

1.     Moja, Mbili, Tatu, Nne, Tano and Saba: Tanzania

The epitome of a tree house in an exotic land is one of the six eco-friendly tree houses at Chole Mjini Lodge on Tanzania’s tropical Chole Island, just off the coast of Mafia Island. Each of these tree houses is set in a huge ancient baobab tree, and waves lap at the roots of some of them (yes, really, tell your botanist friends). Open to the elements on all four sides, all offer breathtaking views - mangroves, the sea, the ocean – with a soft breeze easing through. With sand at your feet, climb up closer to the skies filled with fireflies to the tree house built by the skilled craftsmen of Chole. If you look closely, you will see the natural materials used, including mangrove wood.

2.     Elephant Hide: Zambia

The Elephant Hide of Kaingo Camp in the South Luangwa is a must for the adventurous traveler. This tree house is on a wooden platform nestled between an Ebony tree and a Sausage tree high above a centuries old elephant highway through the Luangwa River. You can comfortably sleep two here and enjoy the simple ambience while your senses take in the thrill of the African bush, as well as the frequent elephant crossings.

3.     Dove’s Nest: Zimbabwe

There’s no place like home while staying in this multi-level tree house known as the Dove’s Nest, which offers a unique way to spend the night. As part of the Zimbabwe lodge, The Hide, this tree house is positioned in a leadwood tree which stands in a plain within Hwange National Park; and, while it may feel like home with tiered rooms, the Dove’s Nest has the added perk of a middle floor viewing platform and an even higher level bedroom containing a double-bed reached by wooden stairway and trap door. All in all it’s an offbeat house where travelers can keep an eye out for any of the 100 plus mammal species that live in this park.

4.     Tarangire Treetops: Tanzania

All accommodations at Tarangire Treetops are tree houses (20 total), and are perfect for a relaxed and pampered stay. These rooms are 8 – 10m off the ground in Tarangire National Park and are reached by spiral staircase. As one of the most luxurious lodges in the area, Tarangire Treetops offers comfort with the fantastic view that comes with literally being in the tree tops. Each tree house boasts one of the largest bedrooms to be found in any camp or lodge in East Africa with an expansive but private balcony to take in the Masai land and the dense vegetation of the park.

5.     Bush Night: Tanzania

Coming soon: Beho Beho’s fly-camping experience – what they call their Bush nights – is going to relocate so people will spend their night in the trees above on a platform. Chris McIntyre adds, “Without doubt, it will be highly original, luxurious and slightly quirky in the best of ways.” Located in the Selous Game Reserve (Africa’s largest game reserve), this way of camping will have you experience several tree houses in one stay.

6.     The Tree House: Zambia

Recently rebuilt, Tongabezi Lodge’s Tree House has to be one of the most romantic tree houses in Southern Africa. Constructed around the branches of a riverine Ebony tree, the secluded house spreads over a pine deck with views of the Zambezi River, just upstream of Victoria Falls. Part of the house is suspended over the water, giving the sensation of floating. And, with the claw-footed bath affording views of the river while bathing - as well as the king-sized bed - honeymooners will be scrambling to book their stay.

7.     Lake Manyara Tree Lodge: Tanzania

One of only two lodges inside Lake Manyara National Park, Lake Manyara Tree Lodge is in the trees, rather than really up in the trees – ideal for anyone afraid of heights. The rooms are only raised slightly off the ground, and once inside, you enter spacious rooms, lounge area, en-suite bathroom and a vast outside deck. Tucked away in the park within a forest of mahogany, wild mango and fig trees, it’s far from the busy main park gate.

8.     Onguma Tree Top: Namibia

Onguma Tree Top Camp offers peace and tranquillity in Namibia’s mystical Etosha National Park. Raised on stilts above the bush and among the trees that give the camp its name, Onguma lies just outside the park - an endless pan of silvery-white sand upon with mirages that blur the horizon. Only eight guests (including the guide) can be accommodated in the four thatched rooms at this camp – perfect for friends and families.

Contact Chris McIntyre, managing director, Expert Africa for customized itineraries that will hit one or more of these places. Email info@expertafrica.com, call 1-800-242-2434 or visit www.expertafrica.com for more information on each of these extraordinary tree houses.

GEN Y AFRICA: EXPERT AFRICA'S TOP TEN FOR 20- TO 30-YEAR OLDS

Explore. Excite the senses. Exult in the exotic. For the energetic and soul searching 20-something year old, Southern Africa offers the kind of experiences travelers dream about and then brag about. Expert Africa, one of the leading designers and operators of personalized tours to Southern Africa, has centered in on the top ten places and activities in Southern Africa a Generation Y individual would traverse the Atlantic Ocean for:

1    Devil’s Pool: Zambia

Victoria Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. For a real thrill, jump in Devil’s Pool, which is literally on the lip of the falls. From September to December, this natural rock pool is shallow enough for adults to safely swim in. You can even peer over the edge as the waterfall drops more than 300 feet. Nearby is luxurious Tongabezi Lodge, that offers ‘houses’ with one side completely open to the river and tours to the island where Devil’s Pool is located.

2     Mana Pools National Park: Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is being re-discovered. Mana Pools National Park is perhaps Africa’s best park for really close encounters with relaxed big game. This is the place where old-Africa guides, like Stretch Ferreira and Nick Murray, can walk you within a few meters of wild bull elephants, or crawl with you up to a pack of wild dogs (Africa’s rarest large predators thrive here!). Of course, there’s also magical scenery– open areas and long curving pools – with great plains game.

3     Biking safari: Zambia

Yes, there are game drives, walking safaris and river safaris – but bike safaris? Amid the lush rift valley enclosed by steep escarpment walls in South Luangwa is Tafika Camp, which offers one of the more adventurous safari options: mountain-bike safaris. A small group - no more than four - is led by a highly experienced cyclist and accompanied by an armed National Park scout.

4     Saltpans: Botswana

Take the leap and leave behind your cell phone; it won’t work in the vast open expanse of the Northern Kalahari. Take out a quad-bike across the vast, silvery-white Makgadikgadi Pans – where it’s said that the silence is so complete that you can hear your own blood flowing. Then stop to pick up pre-historic flint tools, arrow-heads and axe-heads which litter the ground. Use San Camp as your base - a small, tented camp with a real sense of place.

        Big game canoeing: Zambia

For a sense of involvement as well as some adrenaline, head out on a canoeing trip beside the Lower Zambezi National Park. The current will gently press you along as your guide in the lead canoe helps you navigate around hippo pods and browsing elephants – you can be sure to spot monster crocodiles on the great Zambezi River. Base yourself for this at Chiawa Camp; it’s not just a premier safari camp – some of the best guides on the river can be found here.

6    Trek with Bushmen: Namibia

Culture is a huge reason to travel, and it’s a true education to visit the Bushmen – the oldest inhabitants of Southern Africa. Nhoma offers one of the most authentic cultural immersions with the Bushmen. Here they are able to share their traditions, teaching guests how to gather food, track game and make arrows and snares. Energetic guests are able to head off on a hunt that will often last most of the day and requires a good level of fitness. Time can also be spent with the villagers where evening celebrations will sometimes include trance-dances.

7    Diving: Mozambique

The 2,000km coastline of Mozambique not only has fine white sand, turquoise waters and vibrant coral … but also many largely unexplored islands, and thousands of unknown dive sites. Much of the diving that has been done is excellent with outstanding marine life. And, many of the good lodges here are remote and have their own fully-equipped dive centers with qualified instructors – like the tiny coral island of Quilalea where you can dive from the beach.

8    Gorillas: Rwanda

Though on the pricier side, sitting with the mountain gorillas in Rwanda is an experience that you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Set out on a gorilla safari, and trek to one of the ‘habituated’ groups where you can spend an hour in the midst of a group of wild mountain gorillas – often you will be sitting within a few feet of these amazing primates.

9     Seeing the great migration… on foot: Tanzania

The great Serengeti wildebeest migration circles the Serengeti ecosystem in an annual pattern, and many will try to see it from a vehicle. Now there are several places within Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park where Expert Africa can arrange a private walking safari. You need an expert guide to make the most of this – but to stand and look down over the vast herds is a very sobering moment.

       Camp out from a dug-out canoe: Botswana

Another offbeat take on a conventional safari is to venture out on a ‘mokoro trail’ in the Okavango Delta. On the Kanana Mokoro Trail, you’ll leave a remote safari camp with just a few mokoros (dug-out canoes), and poles for power. Your expert guides will then paddle you around the delta’s waterways, camping on islands (with the tents set up for you!) and observing the area’s prolific game at close-quarters.

Contact Chris McIntyre, managing director, Expert Africa for customized itineraries that will hit one or more of these places. Email info@expertafrica.com, call 1-800-242-2434 or visit www.expertafrica.com.

EXPERT AFRICA SHOWCASES BICYCLE OPTIONS: EXPLORE AFRICA AT YOUR OWN PACE

London, England (04/12) - Expert Africa, one of the leading designers and operators of personalized tours to Southern Africa, has outlined several places that offer the opportunity to explore by bicycle. Wind rushing through the hair…rays of sunshine caressing the skin…and the world before you – pedal on.

Zambia:

Amid the lush rift valley enclosed by steep escarpment walls, is Zambia’s South Luangwa. Tafika Camp, located on the banks of the Luangwa overlooking the South Luangwa National Park, offers one of the more adventurous biking options: mountain-bike safaris. Bike rides usually leave after afternoon tea and consist of a small group - usually not more than four guests. The group is led by a highly experienced cyclist and accompanied by an armed National Park scout. These bikes are also used to visit the nearby Mkasanga village and the local school and clinic that Tafika supports. Visitors are introduced to the village elders who are always pleased to show the guests around.

On the Livingstone side of Victoria Falls, the very peaceful Islands_of_Siankaba is built on two densely forested islands, linked by suspension bridges. This lodge provides mountain bikes with frames made out of bamboo - the bamboo is almost as good as carbon, with a much lower carbon footprint. The bikes are used by visitors to see the local villages and school, as well as to take in the 1.5km nature trail.


Malawi:

Likoma Island, located in Lake Malawi, is home to implausibly clear waters, sandy beaches and secluded coves. The one lodge on this island is Kaya_Mawa with rooms widely spread around a golden beach and the two rocky headlands that bind it. Kaya Maya provides two kinds of bikes for visitors to explore the island: mountain bikes and quad-bikes. Both of these bikes can navigate the small footpaths that criss-cross the area without the interference of traffic. Lots of the other islanders bicycle, so the bikes are a great way to blend in with the local community. They are also much less ostentatious than 4WDs when arriving in a local village – the traveler feels less self-conscious and the villagers are more accepting.

Expert Africa offers an eight day package combining both Tafika Camp and Islands of Siankaba, as well as Kaya Mawa in Malawi with rates starting at $5,647 per person sharing. This is on an all inclusive basis and includes flights and transfers from Johannesburg.


Mozambique:

In northern Mozambique, the rugged and untouched tropical coastline is dotted with small villages and a few beach lodges. One of these lodges is Nuarro Mozambique. The beach is a short walk down the hill from Nuarro; and, the bush is filled with natural paths that lead to each of Nuarro’s chalets. Venture into the local villages by bicycle, accompanied by a member of the staff who comes from the area. Thus, you will receive a very warm welcome and numerous requests for photos. Many also utilize the bikes to travel to a rather remote lighthouse.

Expert Africa offers a seven day package at Nuarro Mozambique for $2,121 per person sharing. This includes full board accommodation, non-motorized activities which do not require a local guide, as well as flight and transfers from Johannesburg. Motorized activities with local guides are additional and payable locally.


For more information, contact info@expertafrica.com or visit www.expertafrica.com.

UNIQUE MOZAMBIQUE: KAYAK WITH EXPERT AFRICA IN PRISTINE WATERS

Mozambique (03/12) – Mozambique is one of Africa’s hidden gems: fine sand that squeaks underfoot, remarkable mangrove forests and tropical islands surrounded by turquoise waters and vibrant coral. With a permanent tropical ocean current running north to south along its 2,000 km coastline, water excursions are a must for visitors.

Expert Africa, one of Southern Africa’s leading designers and operators of personalized tours, has explored and studied Mozambique’s pure coast line, gathering a fun list of places to kayak the smooth waters well off any beaten track.


1. Quirimbas Archipelago: This string of small islands is in an exceedingly remote area of Northern Mozambique – Expert Africa believes that it’s the last large stretch of East African coastline where the marine environments are ecologically pristine and largely unexplored. Located within Quirimbas National Park, Ibo Island Lodge offers overnight kayak safaris where guests can sleep in mobile fly camps on tiny deserted islands, as well as excursions by sea kayak into the cool mangrove forest and through the winding canals – both accompanied by excellent guides. These opportunities are great to explore the further reaches of the park and usually entice the more adventurous traveler.

Ibo Island Lodge’s standard mobile island hopping safari is based on a seven night package that includes three nights at Ibo Island Lodge. This is $2,968 per person, based on two people sharing and includes local aircraft transfers, full board with four nights hopping by traditional dhow or kayak, three nights at Ibo Island Lodge, snorkelling and a guided tour of Ibo Island. When island hopping, guests will stay in a mobile camp (crew assembles the camp, cooks and looks after guests).

Should travelers only wish to visit Ibo Island Lodge, nightly rates start at $335 per person sharing, and include meals, guided historical island tour, non-motorized water sports (unguided kayaking and use of snorkel gear) and daily transfers to the private beach. Guided sea kayak excursions are $30 per person.

2. Nampulu Province: Few visitors come to the stunning province, and those who do usually head straight for its rugged and untouched coastline, which is dotted with small villages. Both Nuarro Mozambique and the luxurious Coral Lodge 15:41 offer kayaking into the mangroves. The coastline around Nuarro is a mix of rugged coral rock, giving way to little coves and secluded beaches. Guests can spend a morning exploring by kayak and arrange for a picnic lunch on one of the tiny deserted beaches nearby. The lagoon in front of the Coral Lodge is home to mangroves and sea grass that provide a nursery for a large number of fish – kayak here alone or with a member of the Coral Lodge team.

Nuarro Mozambique’s rates start at $295 per person per night, and include a buffet breakfast, two course lunch, three course dinner, dhow cruises, kayaking, snorkeling, bush trails and bike rides. Rates at Coral Lodge start at $425 per person sharing per night, including all meals, all non-motorized activities and a guided tour to Ilha do Moçambique.

3. Bazaruto Archipelago: A marine national park covers most of the archipelago, a chain of four large islands strung out in the Indian Ocean - two of which are uninhabited. These islands are surrounded by a maze of sandbanks and corals reefs in the turquoise seas. Pestano Bazaruto Lodge lies at the northern tip of Bazaruto Island, the largest island of the Bazaruto archipelago. There is a distinct laid-back feel here with kayaking as one of the many water activities. Benguerra Island is famous for its unspoiled white beaches and is comprised of forest, savannah, freshwater lakes, wetland eco-systems and a two-mile long coral reef. The island is home to approximately 140 bird species and was declared a National Park. Marlin Lodge, located one of the island’s most beautiful areas overlooking tranquil Flamingo Bay, is another kayaking candidate. Vilanculos is a coastal town on the mainland and the gateway to Bazaruto Archipelago. Within the Vilanculos Coastal Wildlife Sanctuary, located on the mainland but accessed by boat, is the Dugong Lodge. The lodge resides on a long beach in the area and is for travelers who are looking to relax – water activities, such as kayaking, are payable locally.

Pestana Bazaruto Lodge rates start at $502 per person per night – kayaking is an additional fee. Marlin Lodge’s rack rate is $580 per person per night and includes meals, selected drinks, non-motorized water sports and laundry. Dugong Lodge rates start at $390 per person sharing per night, and includes meals and non-motorized water sports.


For more information, contact info@expertafrica.com or visit www.expertafrica.com.

SILENCE IS GOLDEN: “KALAHARI SAFARI OF SILENCE”

LONDON, England (01/2012)- EXPERT AFRICA, one of Southern Africa’s leading designers and operators of personalized tours, is offering a Kalahari Safari of Silence in response to a trend to escape the noise of everyday life. “Botswana’s Kalahari is a vast and often silent wilderness. We believe that it’s an ideal place for those seeking solitude,” says EXPERT AFRICA’S Managing Director, Chris McIntyre.

The thirst for silence is evident in the rise of travelers looking for “retreats,” places free of TV, Internet, computers, cell phones and other electronic devices, where luxury is the location. Some of these are “reading retreats,” others are spiritual; still others are trips into the wilderness, such as EXPERT AFRICA’S Kalahari Safari of Silence (see rates and details below). A recent column in the New York Times lamented the absence of silence in our lives, saying, “There will be fewer and fewer of what Virginia Woolf called ‘moments of being,’ intense sensations that stand apart from the ‘cottonwool of daily life.’”

One place to experience “moments of being” is in the middle of the northern Kalahari, an area of huge, flat saltpans. The Makgadikgadi and Nxai pans were at the center of a great lake that dried up thousands of years ago, leaving behind some of the largest saltpans in the world. It’s a harsh, sparse landscape, but it offers isolation as complete as anywhere in Southern Africa, and a wealth of hidden treasures. The pans play a vital role in the area’s ecosystems; their geology is unique, their history is fascinating, and they’re incredibly photogenic.

There’s a saying that the silence is so complete in the vast, silvery-white Makgadikgadi Pans that you can hear your own blood flowing. Occasionally, the pans host fleeting herds of Kalahari game, but essentially this is a wilderness. For most of the year, these great pans cover some 3900 square miles of the Kalahari in a thin crust of salt. It’s an eerie, other-worldly environment. “Around January to March, if the rains have been good, the pans flood,” says McIntyre. “Then grasses spring to life, and often flamingos arrive, together with a huge migration of zebra and wildebeest. Although unpredictable, this is one of Africa’s great wildlife spectacles.” Another spectacle is the millions of stars that can be seen through the pollution-free environment.

McIntyre’s expertise is based on years of travel and research within Southern Africa. He is the author of more than a dozen guidebooks to Southern Africa, from the first English-language guide to Namibia and Botswana, first published more than 20 years ago, to all three editions of the Botswana guidebook published by Bradt Travel Guides.

KALAHARI SAFARI OF SILENCE

Rates for the 10-night safari that includes Botswana’s Nxai and Makgadikgadi pans as well as the Okavango Delta start at US $5,183 per person sharing.

Flights ex-Maun, Botswana
4 nights Nxai Pan Camp, Nxai Pan
3 nights Kwara Camp, Okavango Delta
3 nights Camp Kalahari, Makgadikgadi Pans

Includes:
All flights and transfers, starting in Maun and ending in Maun.
All meals, non-premium drinks (including South African wine, beers and local spirits) and activities.
All park fees.

Excludes:
Flights to and from Maun, Botswana
Any fine wines, champagnes and premium spirits

For more information, visit: www.expertafrica.com or + 44 20 8232 9777