2007 dates TBD
This fascinating trip organized by EXPLORE, Inc. will comfortably bring a few lucky visitors into the presence of the largest and most intelligent animals on land and in the sea. Katy Payne, author of Silent Thunder: In the Presence of Elephants, will participate in the trip and will give frequent informal presentations. Katy spends much of her present life eavesdropping on elephants in the heart of Africa. She has been studying communication in elephants since 1984 when she and two colleagues discovered that elephants use calls below the range of human hearing for the long-distance coordination of their complex social behavior. A research biologist at Cornell University, Katy leads the Elephant Listening Project which uses elephant vocalizations as the basis of a monitoring program to learn about this little-known and very endangered species. But thirty years ago it was whales she was studying, in the heart of the ocean.
A naturalist, conservationist, and closet artist-musician, Katy has participated in three earlier EXPLORE trips, immensely enjoying the experiences and the ongoing friendships they have fostered. Aside from studying elephants in Zambia and Botswana on this trip, we also visit the Grootbos Nature Reserve in South Africa which takes Katy on a sentimental journey back to the decades she spent with her family documenting southern right whales off the coast of Patagonia.
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Day 1
NEW YORK / JOHANNESBURG
Depart on SAA Flight #204 at 5:55PM from the New York's JFK Airport to Johannesburg, South Africa.
Day 2
JOHANNESBURG
Upon arrival in Johannesburg we are met and transferred to the Fairlawns Hotel. Set in estate-like grounds in Morningside Manor, Fairlawns is an exclusive boutique hotel for the discerning guest. It was established in January 1998 on the property once belonging to Mary Oppenheimer, the daughter of the famous mining magnate and philanthropist. Apart from the beautiful surroundings and warm ambience, the emphasis is on personal service. The guest rooms are in a separate building that would look entirely at home in a Parisian square. Dinner this evening in the hotel's gourmet restaurant (on own account).
FAIRLAWNS HOTEL
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| BOTSWANA |
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Days 3-6
CHOBE NATIONAL PARK
 On the morning of August 25 we transfer to the airport to board our Nationwide flight #202 departing for Livingstone, Zambia at 11:20AM. Upon arrival at 12:55PM we are met and chartered to Kasane, Botswana (on the border of Zambia and Botswana). Here we are met and transferred by vehicle to our luxury mobile camp in Chobe National Park. An authentic, tented safari camp awaits our arrival, set up in a private location. Each tent has an attached bathroom with long drop loos and bucket showers (hot water on request). All meals are taken in casual safari style near the campfire.
Chobe National Park remains one of Africa's prime game-viewing areas. The Park forms part of Botswana's northern-most border, where desert aridity and flood plains. Dominated by the Mababwe Depression, the Chobe region is best known for the amazing concentration of wildlife, including enormous herds of elephants, buffalo, sable, lion, leopard, hippo, hyena, and a great variety of antelope all meeting on the banks of the beautiful Chobe River.
In huge herds of huge animals, anything can happen, from the most serene to the most
puzzling or thrilling. Do bring your binoculars and notebooks and we'll try to make sense of it
all at day's end...
Each morning and evening we take a 3-4 hour game drive in an open vehicle along the banks of the Chobe River. Crowning this experience on one of the last days, a boat cruise gives us the same experience closer up as we are likely to experience a spectacular sunset while watching herds of elephant along the river banks and large flocks of waterfowl overhead as we sip our chardonnay.
LUXURY MOBILE TENTED CAMP
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Days 7-9
NORTHERN BOTSWANA
On the morning of August 29 we charter to the Kwando Reserve and Lagoon River Camp in Northern Botswana. Here one finds a luxury camp shaded under massive African Ebony trees and situated on the banks of the Kwando River, surrounded by 550,000 acres of private concession land and 80 km of river  frontage. Elephants move between mopane woodland where they find shade during the midday heat, and the cool, clear Kwando River where they drink and bathe. Lagoon offers regular and reliable sightings of lion, wild dog, leopard, buffalo, cheetah, giraffe, zebra, tsessebe, impala, wildebeest, buffalo and waterbuck.
Excursions are in open 4-wheel drive safari vehicles with a professional guide who teaches us how to track animals. Our guide also presents in-depth insights into the behaviors and relationships among the individually known lions, wild dogs and other animals as well as discusses the surrounding ecosystems and the current threats to the Okavango Delta. We can go on game walks and venture into the lagoon on a double-decker boat for hippo- and bee-eater viewing or for fishing. Night drives (with a spotlight) enable hardy visitors to watch nocturnal mammals civit cats, bat-eared foxes, genet, and of course lions -- hunting. Accommodation is in large classic safari tents with attached bathrooms, flush toilets as well as hot and cold running water. The spacious outdoor reeded showers capture the essence of Africa. The resident hippo entertains us as we sit on our decks in front of our tents.
Here we'll explore an exquisite area that Katy loves both for its beauty and for its extraordinary Tswana guides who know the wildlife and their habits intimately and infallibly manage to lead us in to the center of the action.
Meals are exceptional and taken in the dining area which overlooks the lagoon and reedbeds that lead to the Kwando-Linyanti floodplains, bush, and trees.
LAGOON RIVER CAMP
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Days 10-11
OKAVANGO DELTA
On the morning of September 1 charter to Stanley's Camp situated in a 260,000 acre private concession in the Okavango Delta and bordering the famous Moremi Game Reserve. The Okavango Delta qualifies as one of the most unique and beautiful environments on Earth. Hundreds of tiny islands are formed as the Okavango River fans out over the flat Kalahari sands of Northwestern Botswana, creating a verdant Eden-like Utopia for wildlife. The Delta covers an area of over 12,000 square miles.
The camp overlooks the Boro River and the area is home to a wide variety of big game including elephant, buffalo, giraffe, hippo, lion, leopard, cheetah and the rare and elusive wild dog. Accommodation is in classic styled safari tents, with handcrafted beds dressed with the finest linen, antique furniture individually selected and oriental carpets that transport us to early 19th century Africa. Each tent offers a private balcony, attached bathrooms with hot & cold running water and flush toilets.
 Stanley's offers the opportunity to spend a day walking with a group of semi-habituated African elephants, observing them up close in their natural environment. (Note: This will be a new experience for Katy! Although she has spent thousands of hours watching elephants from a vehicle and observation platforms, even from the backs of other elephants, to her knowledge she has never gone for more than a brief accidental walk with one. Katy assures you that this experience in not commonplace!)
- A delicate blink of Morula's long lashes reveals her sensitive yet powerful personality; Jabu takes you hand in trunk, with his bold and generous nature and together you slowly uncover the age-old secrets of the African elephant and the mysteries of the surrounding wilderness; Thembi, cute, boisterous and impossible to ignore, infatuates you and transforms your understanding of elephants to a deeper and more personal level.
Other activities available at Stanley's Camp include serene mokoro canoe excursions (subject to water levels), exclusive bush dinners, and game drives in open 4 x 4 vehicles - including the rare opportunity of night drives. Due to the fact that Stanley's Camp is in a private concession, we also have the exclusive option of walking safaris with an armed professional guide.
STANLEY'S CAMP
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| SOUTH AFRICA |
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Day 12
CAPE TOWN
In the early afternoon of September 3, we charter to Maun to board Air Botswana flight #271 to Cape Town departing at 4:00PM. Upon arrival in Cape Town at 6:30PM we are met and driven to the Victoria & Alfred Hotel which is situated in the heart of the waterfront. Combining true Victorian elegance with innovative, modern luxury, the hotel offers superior accommodation.
Cape Town is a city where old and new harmoniously converge in history, architecture, cultural pursuits and the essence of its people. It is dominated by a towering, table-shaped mountain, set on a peninsula of soaring, rocky heights and lush valleys, where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. Immense natural beauty and the fast pace and bright lights of a great urban center meld effortlessly here.
Dinner on our own account this evening at the hotel restaurant or a restaurant in the waterfront area.
VICTORIA & ALFRED HOTEL
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Day 13
CAPE TOWN
This morning we will take a cable car ride up the steep granite slopes of Table Mountain (weather permitting) to see the splendid views of the city and peninsula, perhaps the most magnificent views in the southern hemisphere. Over the centuries Table Mountain has become one of South Africa's most famous landmarks. The steep cliffs and rocky outcrops of the mountain play home to a number of plants and animals.  The mountain is home to approximately 1470 species of plants. Complimenting this vast array of flora is a stunning range of fauna, such as the Table Mountain Ghost Frog, being found in no other place in the world.
We then visit the Kirstenbosch Gardens, South Africa's world famous botanical garden which is renowned for the beauty and diversity of the Cape flora it displays and for the magnificence of its setting against the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. There are over 22,000 indigenous plants in the garden, many of which are found only in the Cape Peninsula and nowhere else. The estate covers approximately 1,300 acres and supports a diverse fynbos flora and natural forest. The cultivated garden (90 acres) displays collections of South African plants, particularly those from the winter rainfall region of the country. Lunch is on own account at the Gardens.
Dinner on our own account this evening at the hotel restaurant or a restaurant in the waterfront area.
VICTORIA & ALFRED HOTEL
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Days 14-17
GROOTBOS NATURE RESERVE
On the morning of September 5 we travel to the Cape Peninsula, one of the world's most beautiful places. The Cape Peninsula is a stretch of rocky mountain jutting southward into the sea. Here we find a myriad of pristine beaches, sheltered bays and coves, quaint fishing harbors and a rich array of rare indigenous flora. Cape Point is the meeting place of the Indian and Atlantic oceans, and the fynbos (unique vegetation type of this region which is known as the Cape Floral Kingdom) rich reserve is home to a variety of wildlife and bird species. Jackass penguins and Cape fur seals are common.
Lunch this afternoon is at the Black Marlin Restaurant which is nestled unobtrusively on one of the most scenic coastlines in the Cape, just outside Simon's Town. This historical building, once a whaling station, ensures the perfect setting for an idyllic lunch. We then continue on to Cape Town which is a city where the old and new harmoniously converge in history, architecture, cultural pursuits and the essence of its people. Immense natural beauty and the fast pace and bright lights of a great urban center meld effortlessly here.
We then continue on to the Grootbos Nature Reserve Lodge, situated in the Grootbos Nature Reserve. Set among the ancient milkwood trees, our large, private suites give us a chance to unwind, surrounded by the splendors of nature and pampered by all the comforts of home. Each suite has its own secluded balcony from which to admire the sunsets over the ocean or start the day in tune with the forest birds. Natural textures and colors bring the harmony of nature into each suite.
 This coastline offers a marine experience like no other. We will have two full days to explore the coastline in our private boat and look for the grey giants. See 40-ton Southern Right Whales only feet from our boat or if walking along the cliffs of Walker Bay (right at the doorstep of the lodge) watch spellbound as mothers, calves and energetic bulls come to within 100 feet of the rocky shoreline. Travel to the island refuge of huge sea bird colonies and admire the underwater antics of a 60,000 strong Cape Fur Seal colony. Be amazed by the awesome spectacle of a great white shark breaking the surface and transfixing us with an unblinking stare. During this time of year it is quite possibly the only place in the world where one can see a mighty whale and a great white shark on the same boat trip.
Katy is burning with enthusiasm for this, her first trip to Cape Town and especially with the hope to see Southern Right Whales which were, in the 1970s, the focus of her and her family's attention during a dozen prolonged research trips to the remote Peninsula Valdez in Argentina. She will bring stories, memories, an introduction to southern hemisphere whales, and with luck we will be able to identify a few as individuals.
During our stay here we also take a fynbos nature tour. Grootbos is situated in the heart of the Cape's Unique Floral Kingdom-botanically, one of the world's richest regions of plant life. More than 650 species of plants, 100 birds, 20 mammals and 18 reptiles have been recorded on the reserve. This fauna and flora is intricately interwoven into a fascinating web of life in which each creature has its special place. The tour provides you with a unique opportunity to experience the wonders of the fynbos first hand with one of the knowledgeable guides. They will explain to us how the fynbos miraculously depends on fire in order to survive, why the region supports so much life and interpret some of the many fascinating stories that make the fynbos such a unique natural laboratory.
GROOTBOS NATURE RESERVE
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Day 18
CAPE TOWN / JOHANNESBURG / NEW YORK
Late on the morning we transfer to the airport to board our flight homeward.
Day 19
Arrive New York
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Cost:
$8,970.00 per person based on double occupancy
Single Supplement:
$1,250.00
Capacity:
Minimum of 8 passengers & Maximum of 12 passengers
Singles - VERY limited
Tour Includes:
General: All air charters - internal Africa; all ground transportation; accommodation throughout; guides; gratuities; park fees
Fairlawns: Breakfast on Day 3.
Chobe Mobile Camp: All meals and beverages, laundry, boat ride on the Chobe River.
Lagoon Camp: All meals and beverages, laundry.
Stanley's Camp: All meals and beverages, laundry, walk with the elephants.
Victoria & Alfred: Breakfast on Days 13 & 14, lunch on Day 14, activities as stated in the itinerary.
Grootbos Nature Reserve Lodge: All meals, activities as stated in the itinerary.
Tour Excludes:
General: U.S. domestic and international airfare; commercial internal air (Johannesburg/Livingstone ; Maun/Johannesburg; Johannesburg/Cape Town/Johannesburg); transit visa for Zambia on August 25; airport departure taxes; passport fees; medical immunizations; individual transfers, excursions deviating from the scheduled tour; excess baggage charges; medical expenses; meals not specified in the program itinerary; dishes and beverages not part of included meals; telephone or fax charges; room service; and other items of a purely personal nature.
Fairlawns Hotel: Dinner on Day 2
Victoria & Alfred: Dinner on Days 11 & 12, lunch on Day 12, all beverages, laundry, any activities not stated in the itinerary.
Grootbos Nature Reserve Lodge: All beverages, laundry, activities not stated in the itinerary such as horseback riding, diving with the Great White Sharks etc.
Other Trips:
Wild Africa - A Traditional Safari: Walking, Canoeing & Game Drives
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