Botswana’s All Women Guiding Team – Chobe Game Lodge

Chobe Game Lodge has the only all-female guiding team in Africa

Chobe Angels

Chobe Game Lodge has the only all-female guiding team in Africa. Fourteen professional guides from Botswana will share with you their intimate knowledge of the wildlife and flora of Chobe National Park. Not only are they qualified and enthusiastic nature guides but our team of lady guides will also share with you their passion for Botswana and their culture, ensuring that each guest leaves with a more rounded knowledge of this wonderful nation.

LADIES ARE BREATHING FRESH LIFE INTO GUIDED SAFARIS

Africa Geographic Magazine
by: Fransje van Riel    date: 13 February 2015

Click HERE to read full article

Chobe Game Lodge - Chobe National Park - Botswana Safari Lodge

Chobe Game Lodge

For more information, contact Africa Discovery at:
1 800 886-7321, (415) 444-5100
or Email us

Cape Town: #1 destination to visit in 2014 by New York Times

Cape Town

Now is the perfect time to visit South Africa! Here’s why…

Cape Town was, voted #1 destination to visit in 2014 by New York Times.

Due to the recent devaluation of the South African Rand against the US Dollar, South Africa represents outstanding value for your money and now is the time to go! With its five star restaurants and some of the oldest grand vineyards, Cape Town, at the tip of the African continent in South Africa, is a food connoisseur’s dream location at any time but especially now with the strong US dollar.

A favorite hangout of Africa Discovery………….

Seaside Cycling in Cape Town

For more information, contact Africa Discovery at:
1 800 886-7321, (415) 444-5100
or Email us

Machaba Camp – Best New Safari Property in Botswana

Machaba Camp News

We are very proud to announce we won the “Best New Safari Property in Botswana” for 2014 Safari Awards and in December won the Global Award for “Best Luxury Eco Safari Lodge” at the World Luxury Hotel Awards.

This year our focus as a conservation group is to continue offering incredible safari experiences to our guests through dedicated guiding, wildlife interpretation and giving our guests an appreciation of nature in its wildest truest form. Not forgetting our commitment to communities neighbouring these wild areas and of course our struggle to protect the Rhino.

Machaba Camp:
http://www.africa-discovery.com/botswana_safaris/khwai/machaba_camp.shtml

Machaba Camp News

We look forward to meeting new guests and old friends who travel to our wild corner of the earth this year and hope you all get some time to visit those special places you have been dreaming about.

For more information, contact Africa Discovery at:
1 800 886-7321, (415) 444-5100
or Email us

Zimbabwe: NY Times Top Travel Destination 2015

Zimbabwe: NY Times Top Travel Destination 2015

Zimbabwe: NY Times Top Travel Destination 2015

Zimbabwe may have had a rigorous political past, but now that the dust has settled, many are opening their arms to the charm and beauty of Zimbabwe. One of these being the New York Times who gave a rather apt description of why this country sits as one of the top 15 to travel to in 2015 (Click here to view the article).

They talked about the Victoria Falls, the Zambezi, the Unesco World Heritage sites like Matobo Hills and mentioned the colonial vigour which comprises much of its capital city, Harare. But the biggest highlight they could muster was the wildlife and we are proud to be at the heart of that. Zimbabwe holds an extensive elephant population together with plenty of the big five.

For more information, contact Africa Discovery at:
1 800 886-7321, (415) 444-5100
or Email us

Six Countries Summer Special by Wilderness Safaris

Six Countries Summer Special by Wildnerness Safaris
Six Countries Summer Special

FEATURES OF THIS SPECIAL

  • Addition of Little Mombo, Hoanib Skeleton Coast and Odzala.
  • Reduction in rate at Toka Leya and Davison’s Camp.
  • Reduction in in guide rates for South Africa and Namibia.
  • No single supplement on accommodation, with the exception of Odzala.
  • No maximum numbers of nights…mix and match!.
  • The Zimbabwe Government implemented a VAT increase of 15% on the hospitality and tourism industry from the beginning of 2015. For our Zimbabwe camps, an increase of 7.5% has been passed on to the consumer, while Wilderness Safaris is absorbing the other 7.5%.
  • Children 6 to 16 years sharing in a family room with full paying adults, pay 50% of the adult rate. Child rates are only applicable at camps with family accommodation.
  • Valid from 1 November 2014 up to and including 31 March 2015. Excludes the festive season from 20 December 2014 to 10 January 2015 for all camps, except Rocktail Beach Camp whose exclusion period is from 5 December 2014 to 10 January 2015.
  • Travel to key areas of southern and central Africa and combine a vast range of complementary experiences.

BOTSWANA

Minimum 6-night stay in one country.

Deception Valley, Central Kalahari Game Reserve: Kalahari Plains
Okavango Delta Land Camps: Little Mombo (Premier), Banoka Bush
Okavango Delta Combination (Land/Water) Camps: Vumbura South (Premier), Jao (Premier), Abu (Collection), KwetsaniTubu Tree, Little Tubu, Seba
Okavango Delta Water Camps: Jacana & Xigera
Linyanti Camps: Kings Pool (Premier) & Savuti

NAMIBIA

Minimum 5-night stay in one country.

Sossusvlei Region: Kulala Desert Lodge & Little Kulala (Premier)
Damaraland Region: Desert RhinoDamaraland & Doro Nawas
Etosha Region: Andersson’s & Ongava Lodge
Skeleton Coast / Kunene Region: Hoanib Skeleton Coast CampSerra Cafema (Premier)

ZIMBABWE

No combination of camps required, minimum 3 nights.

Recommended in conjunction with Botswana and/or Zambia.

Hwange National Park: Little Makalolo & Davison’s

SOUTH AFRICA

Minimum of 3 nights.

Adventures Camp: iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Zululand: Rocktail Beach Camp

ZAMBIA

No combination of camps required, minimum of 2 nights.

Recommended in conjunction with Botswana and/or Zimbabwe.

Livingstone at Victoria Falls: Toka Leya

CONGO

6 Night Odzala package which includes 3 nights at Ngaga Camp, with two opportunities to track habituated Western Lowland Gorilla groups, and 3 nights at Lango Camp, exploring the rainforest, its rivers and Lango Bai via walks, kayaks and motorised pirogues.

For more information, contact Africa Discovery at:
1 800 886-7321, (415) 444-5100
or Email us

Ebola Outbreak in West Africa – Update

Holding Statement 
Ebola Outbreak in West Africa – Update 
By Wilderness Safaris:

1 October 2014Wilderness Safaris has noted the concerns expressed by a number of our travel partners and guests over the current outbreak of Ebola in the following West African countries – Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. We are also aware that there has been a minor outbreak in a very remote area of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (not the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) where Odzala is situated). This is not related to the West African outbreak and the DRC authorities have dealt with it quickly and effectively, due to their experience in handling any outbreaks in the past.

As a precautionary measure, the respective Ministries of Health of Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa and Zambia have issued travel entry restrictions on anyone who has recently spent time in one of the countries affected by the outbreak – whether visitors or returning residents. Entry and exit medical screening is in place in a number of countries, and travellers should allow for additional time accordingly. Zimbabwe has not introduced any travel restrictions, however, they are monitoring all travellers from the affected countries. Visitors to South Africa are required to complete a Traveller Health Questionnaire for the Department of Health on arrival.

Wilderness Safaris wishes to reassure all our travel partners and guests that during the current outbreaks there have been no cases of Ebola in any of the African countries in which we operate, namely Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Of these countries, Republic of Congo is the only one where Ebola has ever been recorded and the last such case was nine years ago in 2005. Since then, health authorities in the Republic of Congo have had ongoing early detection programmes in place in northern Congo.

The current outbreaks are still a long way from any of the countries in which we operate, for example Sierra Leone is 5 241 km (3 257 miles) away from Botswana (the distance between New York and Seattle is 2 852 miles). The very minor outbreak in DRC is in a remote area from which it is extremely unlikely that Ebola would spread to neighbouring countries. While it is possible that occasional cases may occur in other areas, quarantine and containment plans are in place at all major airports to combat this immediately.

Ebola can only be contracted through extremely close contact with the body fluids of an infected person or animal so it is very difficult to foresee any circumstances in which our guests would be at any risk. Please note that at present we do not consider there to be any risk to Wilderness Safaris guests and staff, due to the distances involved, the security measures in place and the means by which Ebola is spread. We will continue to operate as normal whilst monitoring the situation very closely as the health and safety of all our guests and staff members remains our utmost priority.

For more information, contact Africa Discovery at:
1 800 886-7321, (415) 444-5100
or Email us