EXPLORE sent a group of intrepid travelers to the Congo Basin in 2007. Even after being attacked by veracious ants while searching for gorillas in Dzangha Sangha, they returned and asked us to design a trip to celebrate their 60th birthdays. They had a few experiences in mind and we did our best to pick places that would keep this fast-paced group moving. Their customized itinerary included: South Africa, Zambia, Madagascar, the Seychelles and Dubai. Here are a few emails from the field…
Awesome trip–seen eles, hippos, crocs, simba, etc. Been swimming in The Zambezi River. Flew microlites over Victoria Falls and went into Zimbabwe for the day – inflation over 2,000,000 % and 90% country unemployed Spent today in nearby village watching local dancers and learning about their farms and conservation efforts – they are no longer allowed to hunt animals. Rick hooked a Tiger Fish. Has been FAB living in the bush and eating under the stars.
-Lotsie
Lemurs amazing in Madagascar…heard the famous “call of the Indri” which is ONLY here; also a nocturnal walk in the jungle to see and hear night animals. Been canoeing and hiking in the rainforest avec ring-tailed lemurs, brown and bamboo lemurs. Now in NW Madagascar at Anjajavy, a Relais & Châteaux; went swimming and snorkeling in Mozambique Channel. Flew two hours in a Cessna to the middle of nowhere to get here and land on dirt runway with Zebu at end of runway. Resting and hiking for two days as we have been going tres vite. Marlin fishing tomorrow; it is 100° and very tropical. French is primary language..soo poor due to political unrest. Everyone is well and having a ball.
-Lotsie
Hooked a Marlin which got away after a fight but he danced on the water and was so beautiful; boated a 40lb Dorado and had chef cook it for a yummy last night dinner in Madagascar. Awesome flight to the Seychelles in a chartered LearJet; 115 gorgeous islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Turquoise water and fun boating, snorkeling and the whitest beaches we have ever seen under almost full moon. Now in Mahe, Seychelles, waiting for Air Emirates flight to Dubai departing at 1:30AM. Trip has been FAB. Everyone well and no lost passports nor problems – a miracle for sure!!!
-”The Magnificent Seven”
Flew amazing Emirates Airlines from the Seychelles to Dubai. Dubai has 10 cities being built along a “creek” and the Arabian Sea; each is bigger than St. Louis. Simply incredible; 50% of the cranes in the world are here but many with skeleton crew. Business is way off; maybe the bubble has burst here as it did in USA? Been to the Dubai Museum, Gold Souq, Spice Souq, into the Arabian Desert last night for belly dancing, henna painting and camel rides. The first night and cocktails on top of the Burj Al Arab and then dinner under the sea with sharks and a zillion fish in tank; it is supposed to be the only seven-star hotel in the world. Took boat ride today and swam in the Arabian Sea just four hours across from Iraq – amazing. Also to Dubai Mall with 1,300 stores, an aquarium where you can dive with sharks, and a skating rink at other end of the mall. Emirates Mall has a ski village with ski lifts, toboggan runs and 500 stores; it is so beyond anything any of the seven of us has ever seen. There is terrible traffic and smog. Visited a mosque and had the Muslim way of life/religion explained by a very attractive woman. She showed us how to tie her burka and allowed us to take pictures. Cocktails at the Dubai Yacht Club tonight and now at the airport. Sorry contact has been spotty but we have been “out there”; what a way for the four of us to celebrate our 60th B-days. All is well; we fly 15 hours all night to Atlanta then St. Louis by 8:30AM Tuesday.
-Lotsie, Cindy, Cookie, Isabelle, Sheika, Cheryl and Rick
The brochures often refer to the Victoria Falls Hotel as “the grand dame of the Falls”… Well in this case the hype is true. A grander queen doesn’t exist in Africa! And she has a new spring in her step after recent renovations which brought the hotel back to its original colonial era glory… with a few nods to contemporary comfort. The hotel has not lost charm of its classic ambiance, unlike almost all other refurbished hotels. And its just minutes away from the world famous Victoria Falls. You see the spray from the falls on the balcony at lunch, and hear its quiet thunder all night.
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Finkelstein Family Safari
Finkelstein Family with Cheetah
Our trip – organized by Explore – to Botswana and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe in late June was perfectly planned by Elizabeth providing us a myriad of animal life and creature comforts that could not be improved upon. We – family of 4 with two older children – stayed at four locations: three in Botswana – Pom-Pom Camp, Gunns Camp, and Chobe Safari Lodge and at the Elephant Camp in Zimbabwe. Each was spectacular yet different from one another. All provided both wonderful experiences with the African flora and fauna along with terrific food, lodging, and interaction with the staff.
The abundant animal life at Pom-Pom is a highlight we will not forget. Seeing 7 lion cubs and 4 adult females eating the remains of a giraffe on the very first jeep ride was shocking yet amazing. Gunns is a smaller camp but our most relaxing stop. Chobe
Safari Lodge is a fine hotel and its design more familiar to us but we enjoyed the camps more. The Chobe National Park is a treasure but one only needs two jeep rides and one boat trip (lunch boat trip was more fun than the evening one). We had three days there and spent some time reading by the pool and watching the monkeys try to steal our Fantas. At no time were we bored. Lastly, we traveled into Zimbabwe and stayed at the Elephant Camp which was our favorite lodging. The tent rooms are luxurious and the setting spectacular. Seeing and interacting with their pet cheetah is a memory we will all cherish. Getting into Zimbabwe is a pain but worth it despite the visa cost for four people. Victoria Falls is great fun and the town curio shop prices quite reasonable. We kept away from the crafts market and the many street hawkers (although I nearly traded my Explore cap for a bowl). If I was there without my children I may have been a bit more curious. At no time did we fell unsafe. All of the camp guides (one or two assigned only to your group) and 
staff are knowledgeable and go out of their way to assist. At the Chobe Safari Lodge it is a little different as each trip into the Park is staffed by a different person so the individual connection is somewhat lost.
At each stop, the camp/hotel was expecting us and the small plane flights/auto rides to the next location always on schedule. All of the journeys into the bush or river at the camps/lodge are perfectly timed. We had two point and shoot cameras (Canon, Olympus) both with up to 80X that took fabulous pictures/movies so spending over $500 ($1000!) for a SLR with a powerful telephoto lens is, in our opinion, not necessary.
~K. Finkelstein