helloworld TRAVEL THE TRAVEL PROFESSIONALS Our staff are continually updating their knowledge on destinations throughout the world - Marie gives us a synopsis of her recent African experience. "On this visit I experienced THE SAFARI COMPANY'S 23-night Southern Explorer Safari which starts and finishes in Victoria Falls and travels through Namibia and Botswana. A visit to Vic Falls guarantees you to get soaked from certain vantage points even when there is a drought-different paths get you to amazing vantage points to get those fabulous photos. There's so many activities to do depending on your budget and level of adventurousness- the helicopter flight over Falls and jet boat ride up the Zambezi to Elephant Café were enjoyed by my group. We then boarded our overland truck and began the 2-day drive across the Caprivi Strip to Etosha NP in NAMIBIA. This was a nice time for the group of 18 passengers to get to know each other and friendships have been fomed that will go well beyond our time in Africa. The Safari Company specialises in "grownups overlanding" so ages tend to be between 50 and 75. Etosha is a massive National Park and we spent 3 days here, doing game drives where we saw many animals including the evasive cheetah. Both places we stayed in had floodlit waterholes where we could park up in the evenings with a drink and watch elephant, rhino, giraffe, and different antelope species come to hang out. Other highlights in Namibia included some adventurous activities in Swakopmund (riding the dunes on E-bikes and quad bikes) and amazing seafood meals; getting amongst the colourful sand dunes in and around Sossusvlei; sleeping under the stars in the desert; learning about the Herero and San people. We continued on to BOTSWANA for more memorable experiences. Sitting in a dugout canoe with a local guy using a pole as your propeller is a sublime experience especially given the amount of hippo and crocodiles we cruised by. We topped that off with a night camping on a remote island with animals roaming nearby day and night, swimming in the Delta, and taking long leisurely nature/wildlife walks. In Chobe NP we went game viewing in 4WD and by boat - both options yielding plenty of game including the elusive leopard and a pride of lions. Indelibly etched in my mind is the night we had at Elephant Sands. Our permanent ensuite tents were raised on stilts and arranged around a waterhole where wild elephants roamed freely to drink and wallow at all hours. To walk from tent to bar/restaurant required looking left & right the whole way watching for elephants coming past and giving them right-of-way. In the late afternoon we had over 30 male elephants hustling for space around the water and giving us an up-close & personal wildlife viewing experience." MARIE SAYS: I have a real passion for Africa and have been lucky enough to visit various countries in the African continent six times. There are so many different types of travel available from upmarket lodges to mobile camping to overland safaris and everything in between-l'd be happy to help you design your African trip of a lifetime. f ICnr Victoria & Duke Streets (07) 827 5100 CONNECT WITH US helloworld Cambridge Fly Buys Imarie.coles@helloworld.co.nz helloworld.co.nz 2Yoc90118- helloworld TRAVEL THE TRAVEL PROFESSIONALS Our staff are continually updating their knowledge on destinations throughout the world - Marie gives us a synopsis of her recent African experience. "On this visit I experienced THE SAFARI COMPANY'S 23-night Southern Explorer Safari which starts and finishes in Victoria Falls and travels through Namibia and Botswana. A visit to Vic Falls guarantees you to get soaked from certain vantage points even when there is a drought-different paths get you to amazing vantage points to get those fabulous photos. There's so many activities to do depending on your budget and level of adventurousness- the helicopter flight over Falls and jet boat ride up the Zambezi to Elephant Café were enjoyed by my group. We then boarded our overland truck and began the 2-day drive across the Caprivi Strip to Etosha NP in NAMIBIA. This was a nice time for the group of 18 passengers to get to know each other and friendships have been fomed that will go well beyond our time in Africa. The Safari Company specialises in "grownups overlanding" so ages tend to be between 50 and 75. Etosha is a massive National Park and we spent 3 days here, doing game drives where we saw many animals including the evasive cheetah. Both places we stayed in had floodlit waterholes where we could park up in the evenings with a drink and watch elephant, rhino, giraffe, and different antelope species come to hang out. Other highlights in Namibia included some adventurous activities in Swakopmund (riding the dunes on E-bikes and quad bikes) and amazing seafood meals; getting amongst the colourful sand dunes in and around Sossusvlei; sleeping under the stars in the desert; learning about the Herero and San people. We continued on to BOTSWANA for more memorable experiences. Sitting in a dugout canoe with a local guy using a pole as your propeller is a sublime experience especially given the amount of hippo and crocodiles we cruised by. We topped that off with a night camping on a remote island with animals roaming nearby day and night, swimming in the Delta, and taking long leisurely nature/wildlife walks. In Chobe NP we went game viewing in 4WD and by boat - both options yielding plenty of game including the elusive leopard and a pride of lions. Indelibly etched in my mind is the night we had at Elephant Sands. Our permanent ensuite tents were raised on stilts and arranged around a waterhole where wild elephants roamed freely to drink and wallow at all hours. To walk from tent to bar/restaurant required looking left & right the whole way watching for elephants coming past and giving them right-of-way. In the late afternoon we had over 30 male elephants hustling for space around the water and giving us an up-close & personal wildlife viewing experience." MARIE SAYS: I have a real passion for Africa and have been lucky enough to visit various countries in the African continent six times. There are so many different types of travel available from upmarket lodges to mobile camping to overland safaris and everything in between-l'd be happy to help you design your African trip of a lifetime. f ICnr Victoria & Duke Streets (07) 827 5100 CONNECT WITH US helloworld Cambridge Fly Buys Imarie.coles@helloworld.co.nz helloworld.co.nz 2Yoc90118-