NEW TENTED CAMP AT LOISABA

LAIKIPIA, Kenya (12/2013) Loisaba Wilderness  has announced the opening of a new Tented Bush Camp during its process of lodge renovations.  The Kenyan camp, which opened its doors on December 15^th, 2013, goes back to tradition with communal dining and bucket showers – true safari experiences.

In a 60,000-acre conservancy, the bush camp features double and twin tents, as well as one family tent.  Enjoy the en suite bathrooms that include bucket showers and flush toilets. You also have the opportunity to combine your stay at the camp with Loisaba’s legendary Starbeds. The Kiboko  Starbed and  the Koija Starbed are two variations of these handcrafted beds on raised platforms: one overlooks the eastern valley  and ‘Kiboko’ water hole, and one is located right next to the Ewaso N'giro River. From canvas tent to Mukokoteni bed, take in a one-with-nature experience under the twinkling African stars.

This equator location is a cornucopia for activities. This is one of the best destinations for game watching: the camp offers the chance to track lions and the endangered wild dogs living in the area. Also enjoy horseback riding, guided bush walks and game drives, camel trekking, river rafting and fishing, bush meals and sundowners.

A night at the new tented bush camps starts at $395 per person sharing.  This includes the aforementioned activities; all meals; local airstrip transfers; house wine, beer and soft drinks and limited laundry.

Please note: rates for the camp have been posted until March 31, 2014. The progress of lodge renovations will be determined before continuation of the tented camp.

For more information, visit www.chelipeacock.com or email info@chelipeacock.co.ke.

STEPPES DISCOVERY ANNOUNCES THE BONOBO GREAT APE EXPEDITION RARE WILD ADVENTURE TO HELP SAVE MAN’S CLOSEST RELATIVE

NEW YORK, New York (12/2013) Steppes Discovery, a division of Steppes Travel devoted to ethical wildlife travel, announces The Bonobo Great Ape Expedition, a two-week journey beginning August 17, 2014, into the heart of the Congo in search of our closest living, rarely seen relative. Sharing 98.4 – 98.6% of human genes, the Bonobo is even closer to us than the Chimpanzee.

Leading the tour will be renowned primatologists Sally Coxe and Michael Huxley, known locally as Mama and Papa Bonobo for co-founding the Bonobo Conservation Initiative charity (BCI). Rates start at $13,762 per person, excluding international flights, based on a group of 6, and a portion will directly benefit their efforts.  A Steppes specialist will accompany the group to ensure the trip runs as smoothly as possible as travelers are taken by bush plane and by pirogue along the Congo, the world’s deepest river.

This is not a journey for the faint of heart.  Travelers must be fit and unfussy – the Congo Basin which the endangered Bonobos inhabit, is the second largest rainforest (after the Amazon) on the planet and a somewhat demanding terrain. “We are very proud that  Steppes is the only tour operator in the world to offer this amazing experience, one that took our company 15 years to put together to ensure unrivaled adventure and the extraordinary pleasure of not only encountering our Ape ancestors but helping in their survival,” said Steppes’ Managing Director, Justin Wateridge.

The Bonobo is known as the Peacenik of the Animal Kingdom or the Make Love Not War primate: it lives in large communities (up to 120) and resolves conflicts through sex. It is believed that when the Congo River formed two million years ago, it split what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo into two parts. The Chimps went north of the river and became increasingly aggressive because food was scarce. The Bonobos stayed south of the river, where food was always plentiful, so they became harmonious. They are frugivores (fruit-eaters), but they also eat shoots and leaves, and, on occasion, small monkeys.

What distinguishes Bonobos from other primates is their social behavior. They are swingers:  highly acrobatic, they have more frequent sex (age and gender don’t matter though mother/adult son sex is taboo) than other primates and, like humans, they don’t have sex just to procreate but for pleasure, bonding and tension-release. It’s a matriarchal society, compassionate and egalitarian.

For bookings, more information or a detailed itinerary contact:  enquiry@steppesdiscovery.com

STEPPES TRAVEL NEW TOUR OF EARTH’S WILDEST FRONTIER: PAPUA NEW GUINEA

NEW YORK, NY (12/2013) Steppes Travel, the bespoke tour operator known for its pioneering adventures, is one of the first companies to offer a new, 11-day journey to Papua New Guinea (PNG), exploring with an expert the extraordinary history, exotic wildlife and unique culture of the “Land of the Unexpected.” Tours are limited and there are two departure dates for 2014 -- May 30^th and June 13^th. Rates for the 11-day trip start at US$9752 per person and US$1432 for a single supplement, excluding flights.

Alternatively, Steppes offers a tailor-made PNG adventure which will be handcrafted by the Steppes team.

Occupying the eastern half of New Guinea (the western half belongs to Indonesia) on the remote periphery of both Asia and Australia, PNG lies on a vast tropical island of torturous topography, tree-dwelling kangaroos, 850 separate languages, 1000 different cultures and people addicted to the art of adornment. 

The tour takes in some of the wildest frontiers on Earth -- the coastal fjords of Tufi, the rugged Western Highlands, and New Britain, the main island of the Bismarck Archipelago. It is designed to give a few adventurous travelers access to pristine rainforest, roaring rivers, coral reefs, beaches and crystalline waters teeming with marine life, all making up what is deemed the most culturally diverse country on earth.

·   The very charismatic and knowledgeable Aussie, Ray Andrews, will lead the tour.  A native of tropical North Queensland, Andrews has a vast amount of experience, including roles as Resident Naturalist at a number of bush camps, working with indigenous Australians to create businesses and planting some 100,000 trees in regeneration of the Wet Tropics.  He has also appeared on television with Jeff Corwin and the late crocodile hunter, Steve Irwin.  He has deep knowledge of PNG, having guided extensively throughout the island.  Above all, he is hugely passionate about the natural world.

ADVENTURE: 

• ·   Dive or snorkel the pristine waters of the Coral Triangle and dozens of ocean dive sites in the blue waters of the Solomon Sea, the calm waters of the tropical fjords, and explore wreck and muck dives. 
• ·   Paddle traditional outrigger canoes up tropical fjords
• ·   Climb an active volcano. There is no more dramatic place to do this -- PNG is home to one of the most active volcanic regions on the planet.

WILDLIFE: 

• ·   Go in search of the spectacular Birds of Paradise. Of the 43 known species on earth, 38 are found here, including the Superb, the Twelve-wired, and the Ribbon-tailed Astrapia. The island is also inhabited by the beautiful rainbow bee-eater, the striking palm cockatoo and the prehistoric cassowary. 
• ·   See bizarre Tree Kangaroos, a myriad of other wildlife, and the highly-valued Megapode eggs, incubated by the large chicken-like birds who lay them in the volcano’s heated soils.

CULTURE: 

• ·   The Indigenous people and unique fauna and flora of PNG are found nowhere else on earth.
• ·   See the colorful body adornment of the Huli wigmen, the ceremonial and decorative carvings of the Sepik, meet the Mudmen of New Guinea and the Baining Firedancers.
• ·   Learn about the significance of sorcery and the part it has played – and continues to play – in the original animist religions, and discover ancient rituals, bush medicines, fire-making, mat-making and traditional tattooing.
• ·   Discover modern day PNG and politics Melanesian-style with a visit to Parliament House, one of the most distinctive government buildings anywhere in the world.   

For more information and details please visit www.steppestravel.com

ROBIN POPE SAFARIS DISCOUNTS EMERALD SEASON RIVER JOURNEYS TO CELEBRATE NEW BBC DOCUMENTARY ON THE ZAMBIA’S SOUTH LUANGWA

SOUTH LUANGWA, Zambia (12/2013) Robin Pope Safaris (RPS), the conservation-conscious company known for its innovative safaris, is offering a 10% discount on its seven-night Emerald Season River Journeys in celebration of a new BBC2 documentary (Africa 2013: Countdown to the Rains) shot in the Nsefu sector, with the film crew staying at RPS’ Tena Tena tented camp.

Rates start at US$2667 sharing and include all safari activities, accommodations at Nwalki, Nsefu and Luangwa River Camp; meals, bar, laundry and transfers to and from Mfuwe airport. Excluded are domestic round-trip flights from Lusaka (US$570 per person); airport taxes, Visa fees and International flights.  Offer is valid for safaris booked before January, 2014 and are valid from January 22 to March 31, 2014.

Robin Pope Safaris River Journeys cover one of Zambia’s premier national parks – the South Luangwa.  The Luangwa Valley marks the end of Africa’s Great Rift Valley and is one of the last unspoiled wilderness areas and arguably the finest wildlife sanctuary in Africa.

“The Luangwa Valley is at its most dramatic in the Emerald Season with the Luangwa River flowing into the brimming lagoons. Boating into the lagoons, flooded ebony groves and flowing channels gives safari-goers a glimpse of the Valley not normally accessible in this season,” says RPS Managing Director Ton de Rooy.

Guests will also be able to experience walking in the bush; day and night game drives; a Kawaza Village Tour, and visits to Tribal Textiles (for stylish souvenirs) and Chipembele Wildlife Orphanage.

For a detailed itinerary or more information, contact:  info@robinpopesafaris.net or visit www.robinpopesafaris.net

ON FOOT’S WALKING TOUR OF SPAIN’S INCOMPARABLE CATALONIA: TONIC FOR BODY AND SOU

NEW YORK, NY (12/2013) On Foot Holidays, specialist in self-guided, designed walking and hiking tours through the hidden scenic byways of Europe, announces a walking tour of Spain’s historic Catalonia. The tour takes in the volcanic zone of La Garrotxa and the precipitous cliffs of the Cabrerès. Stays are in the medieval towns of Besalu, Santa Pau, Rupit, Joanetes and Olot.  Rates for the seven-night tour start at US$1316 and include seven bed and breakfasts, five evening meals, five picnics, and luggage transfers between hotels. Level: medium to hard with 4 1/2 to 6 hours of walking/hiking a day.

Catalonia is the picturesque region of Spain that encompasses the northeastern provinces of Girona, Tarragona, Lleida and Barcelona. Stefano Buonamici, writing for The New York Times, described it as, “….a Catalonia outside Barcelona, one tourists rarely see — a rural countryside, created in part by those volcanoes, with dramatic cliffs, verdant fields and untrammeled medieval villages.”

Hikers will savor Catalonia’s fabled hospitality and scrumptious Catalan cooking. The town of Girona, for example, features El Celler de Can Roca, one of the top-ranked restaurants in the world, while little Olot boasts Les Cols, a two-starred Michelin restaurant (reservations are a must). Hikers will also be ensconced for two nights in a Vogue-featured farmhouse. “What is more uplifting than walking through lands that have been untouched by time?” says On Foot’s Director Simon Scutt. “Throw in culture, fine food and accommodations full of character, and our walks are a perfect tonic for body and soul.”

The walk begins in the beautifully-preserved medieval town of Besalú, staying in a stylish hotel next to the old bridge. From here it’s through the heart of La Garrotxa Natural Park with its numerous (now extinct) volcanoes. Winding up through the beech woods and rolling pastures of the cliff-girt plateau of El Cabrerès, the views are over the Catalonian hills, the towering heights of Mount Puigsacalm and the often snow-capped Pyrénées.  The final stay is in a converted farmhouse in the rural calm of La Vall d'en Bas.

On Foot’s Catalonia tour was designed by wildlife and walking guide Mike Lockwood, who has lived in Catalonia for 25 years. Fluent in Catalan and Spanish, Lockwood authored the “Sunflower” walking guide to the area and designed much of the network of historical paths that this tour follows. Recently, he handed over the baton to Richard Calvin, a keen walker and sculptor in stainless steel, whose wife Sara looks after hotel liaison and runs her own villa rental company.

This trip can be combined with a visit to Barcelona.

Contact: On Foot Holidays at 011 44 1722 322 652 or visit www.onfootholidays.co.uk

DISCOVER SOUTH WEST ENGLAND AT YOUR OWN PACE

NEW YORK, NY (11/2013) On Foot Holidays, the company that stands out for its self-guided walking tours all around Europe, offers an excellent option to discover Southwest England. Walk to hidden and delightful spots of the most English counties of the region: Wardour Castle, Saxon Shaftesbury, Cranborne Chase, Milton Abbas, The Cerne Giant, Evershot, Bridport and Lyme Regis.

South West England (Dorset - In the footsteps of Thomas Hardy). This seven-night journey is considered of medium difficulty to walk, with four and half to six and a half hours of walk per day. The tour starts in the beautiful cathedral city of Salisbury and ends in the fishing village of Lyme Regis, where you will be able to relax and have a platter of fresh seafood in the so called “Pearl of Dorset”. Created by locals of the region, the route ensures that countryside is varied with plenty of cultural interest on the way. Walk the romantic ruins of Old Wardour Castle, the Saxon hilltop town of Shaftesbury and picturesque Gold Hill. Explore the tiniest and most concealed streets of quintessentially English villages and enjoy our trails with gently rolling landscapes as backdrops, such as the old royal hunting estate of Cranborne Chase, prehistoric Hambledon Hill and the perfectly designed village, Milton Abbas. Characterized by its richness in geological history, the route will take you to the emblematic World Heritage Site: the Jurassic Coast, and guide you up the Golden Cap clifftop, with its far-reaching sea views.

The eating and drinking in this region will be local and plentiful. The tour passes through towns and villages where food enthusiasts will be able to taste real English ales and hearty and traditional foods.

Forget about the hustle of making schedules that include all the “must-see” places of a city, or reading infinite reviews to find the perfect hotel. On Foot Holidays will prepare you a complete itinerary for you to enjoy the region, and arrange your stay at fascinating and typical old inns. We will also handle luggage transfer so you don’t have any worries or items to carry around while walking.

The South West England tour is available all year round. Rates for seven nights per person sharing are from $1,213 and include accommodation, breakfast daily, detailed itinerary and supporting material, and luggage transfers. On Foot Holidays recommends an extra day to relax and explore the local countryside at Plush, the seaside at Lyme Regis or Salisbury.

For more information, and questions regarding customized variations of the trip contact On Foot Holidays at 01722 322 652 or visit www.onfootholidays.co.uk

WALKING TOURS IN FRANCE: DISCOVERING PATHS LESS TRAVELED WITH ON FOOT HOLIDAYS

NEW YORK, NY (12/13) – On Foot Holidays, creators of walking tours designed just for you and where you act as your own guide while they handle the hassles of transferring your luggage by vehicle, arranging stays in charming inns, hotels or B&Bs, and ensuring that you will dine deliciously at the end of each day, offers three journeys in undiscovered France that will surprise and delight you.

Cotes du Rhone (Gigondas and the foothills of Mont Ventoux).  This seven-night journey is considered medium to hard with walks of four to seven hours each day.  It starts and ends in villages perched atop a cliff.  You’ll visit medieval Venasque, the cobbled-stone alleys of Crestet, the formidable castle of Vaison, and the pretty villages of Mazan, Le Barroux, and Gigondas.  Walk in the extraordinary geological formation of the Dentelles de Montmirail with the highest peak in Provence within sight.  Saunter through olive and cherry tree groves and a sea of vineyards.   Spectacular views throughout.  You might want to upgrade to a night in the Marquis de Sade’s former home.  End your trip, if you like, in historic Avignon, home of the popes in the 14^th century.

All meals typify the best of Provence.  Some recommended dishes include stuffed chicken and mushrooms with cream sauce and roast lamb accompanied by potatoes with foie gras.  The wines include Gigondas reds and whites, from family-owned vineyards in the region.

The Cotes du Rhone tour was designed by Regis Leroy who knows the region intimately.  He and his wife Patricia are always willing to be helpful. Rates per person sharing for seven nights are from $1,560 and include accommodation, breakfast daily, five evening meals, five picnics, a detailed itinerary and supporting material, and luggage transfers.

Chamonix and the French Alps (Le Pays du Mont Blanc).  This seven night self-guided hike at the foot of Mont Blanc is difficult and sometimes frankly challenging but worth the extra effort as it encompasses some of the most awe-inspiring and spectacular landscapes in Europe.  In summer, the Alpine meadows are flower-decked and the Aiguille de Midi cable car rises 3840 meters for dramatic vistas over glaciers and snowfields.  There are various options for taking it slightly easier, such as a gentle stroll along the oratories and chapels of the “Route du Baroque” but the best walking is to be had up high with views to die for.

The Chamonix area is a gourmet’s delight and the tour enables you to stay with three excellent cooks – Fiona at Les Contamines, Helen and Leighton at Les Houches, and Carla at Chamonix.  Since you’re in France, the wines everywhere are delicious.

This route was designed by Lizzy Ashley Cooper who regularly walks the paths and routes in the forests, mountain slopes and meadows around Mount Blanc.  Rates for seven nights per person sharing are from $1,633 and include accommodations, breakfast daily, six dinners, six picnics, detailed itinerary and supporting material, and luggage transfers.

Alpes Maritime (From the Alps to the Mediterranean). A seven night self-guided walk ideal for you if you would like to move your walking grade up to medium.  The route goes from La Brigue on the France/Italy border down the Roya Valley to Menton on the Riviera and takes you through one of the most remote parts of France.  The medieval village of La Brigue offers the chance to explore winding alleyways and old town houses while Saorge beckons from its cliff-side position..  Visit the ancient towns of Breil and Sospel and stay in the mountain-top village of Ste. Agnes with its views across to the Mediterranean.   The last stop is Menton, Belle Epoque splendor now restored to its former glory.

The cuisine on this route is very southern-France and includes such tasty fare as Nicoise Stew, mushrooms with goat cheese and aioli Provencale.  You’ll also find a touch of Italy-in-France with bresaola and cacciatore.

The Alpes Maritime tour was designed by Richard Petitjean who has lived in the area for 29 years and is a licensed tour guide. Since 60% of France’s flora is found in the region, his knowledge of botany is put to good use.  Rates for seven nights per person sharing are from $1,214 and include accommodation, breakfast daily, two evening meals, four picnics, detailed itinerary and supporting material, and luggage transfers.

For the lowdown on any of these tours such as when best to go, how much walking is involved, where you would stay and how to get there, etc., visit www.onfootholidays.co.uk