SHUTTERBUGS CAN GO WILD WITH STEVE BLOOM ON STEPPES' MIGRATION AND GORILLA TREKKING CIRCUIT IN AFRICA

ARUSHA, Tanzania (9/13) The African continent is a veritable cornucopia of nature, and Steppes Discovery can take you on the tour of a lifetime to discover two of the continent’s most spectacular sights with the inimitable Steve Bloom: The Great Migration and Gorilla Trekking in Uganda. The trip consists of eight exhilarating days beginning in the northern Serengeti and ends with a trip to see gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

Visitors will obviously want to document this once in a lifetime experiences, and attempting to capture the teeming masses of wildlife as they race through the Serengeti can seem daunting. Capturing the elusive gorillas on film is no easy feat either. Luckily legendary photographer Steve Bloom will be on hand to teach the group some of his best tricks and techniques. Bloom has had a storied career as a wildlife photographer. He has published several compilations of his images and has even produced eleven critically acclaimed outdoor exhibitions, entitled Spirit of the Wild, all aimed at raising awareness about environmental issues.

The adventure starts at the Serengeti Wilderness Camp, located in the epicenter of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. The camp is mobile, and only exists during the Great Migration so it can follow the animals’ migratory patterns, ensuring that travelers are constantly in a prime gameviewing area. Serengeti Wilderness Camp is comprised of ten tents, all outfitted with ensuite bathrooms and luxurious verandahs that are highly conducive to appreciating the stellar views. The camp offers a variety of activities like balloon safaris, bird watching, game drives, and walking safaris.

Thanks to new flights between the Serengeti and Entebbe, travelers can easily jet off to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for the ultimate day trip. Bloom will travel with the group as they track and photograph the elusive gorillas.

The trip costs $7,392.60 excluding international flights, and $8,532.20 including international flights. The trip is from June 12-19, 2014 and available for a maximum of ten people.

For more information please contact http://www.steppesdiscovery.co.uk/ or call 1 855 2527606 (toll free)

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.