Cape Town to Gorillas
Cape Town
Cape Agulhas
The Garden Route
Outeniqua Mountains
Oudtshoorn
Knysna
Mikumi National Park
Addo National Park
Kalahari Desert
Maun
Victoria Falls
Rift Valley
Lake Malawi
Kande Beach resort
Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean
Equator crossing
Lake Victoria
Kampala
Bujagali Falls on the River Nile
Lake Naivasha
Transport whilst on tour
Cooking and camping equipment – tents and mattresses on board
Campsite fees
Services of professional crew
The main sites listed in the trip dossier
Food – 2 meals a day whilst traveling (breakfast and dinner)
International flight transfers and taxes
Pre and Post tour Accommodation (can be arranged at time of booking)
Lunches & meals in towns
Items listed in ‘Optional activities’ section
Items of a personal nature & spending money
Travel Insurance and Visas
Local Tour Payment
Payable in £ Pounds Sterling cash but you can pay in $US dollars or Euros cash at the current cross exchange rate on date of departure, check with the driver for the rate. Please pay this to the driver on departure. Traveler’s Cheques, cards or other forms of payment are not accepted.
We require the local payment as we are unable to reliably transfer foreign currency required to operate the tour. It is for this reason that we ask for a part of your tour payment to be paid on the first day, directly to your driver. The Local Payment is not a Food Kitty. Whilst it does pay for the food as per itinerary, it also covers; camping accommodation cost, local tolls and taxes and other payments required to make the tour run successfully. It is administered by the driver/guide and is not refundable. All Local Payment amounts are subject to change without notice. Changes are very rare and are normally due to a sudden or unexpected price increase by a local service provider or National Park. Although the LP is better for the Driver in USD, with the ever fluctuating exchange rates we feel it is fairer to advertise in Pounds as it is a far more stable amount. We can then worry about the exchange rate rather than you.
Optional Extras, Day trips in Johannesburg - Soweto, Gold mines, 3 Day/2 night Okavango Delta Trip, 1 hour flight over Delta, Vic Falls Park Entry, Rafting the Zambezi, Jet Boat, Bungee Jump, Adrenalin Day, 15 Min Helicopter Ride, Booze Cruise, 1 Day Ngorongoro Crater Trip, 3 Day Serengeti/Crater Trip, Return Ferry to Zanzibar, Accommodation on Zanzibar, Spice Tour & Stone Town & Slave Market, 2 Scuba dives & Lunch, Snorkeling day out with boat, Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater, Nakuru National Park Entry, Trekking Mountain Gorillas, White Water Rafting on the Nile River.
*Please see the OPTIONAL ACTIVITY PAGE for a full list of what is available en-route
We see the gorillas in either; Uganda, Rwanda or DR Congo. The Gorilla Permits are payable on the spot and can only be paid in US dollars cash. The cost of the permit is approx: $500 payable directly to the park authorities. There is also a small charge to get up to the gorilla viewing area. The price of the gorilla permits often changes without notice. Seeing the gorillas may involve you having to get extra visas on the borders, this changes with each trip and each different place or country we see them.
The options for seeing these parks are either (1) an overnight trip to Ngorongoro Crater or (2) a two night trip to both Serengeti Park and Ngorongoro Crater. The Serengeti can only be reached by twice passing through Ngorongoro Crater. To do this trip we arrange to hire 4x4 vehicles from Arusha to the parks and back. While in the region it is well worth seeing both parks; they are the best wildlife parks in the world. The side trip is a bit expensive, though most of the charges goes towards park entrance fees and therefore to park upkeep and anti poaching. The Tanzanian Park Authority continually changes or raises their entry fees with short notice so prices can increase.
There are times when we will have some long drives in order to cover big distances, but on most days that we travel, we only move for half the day. The African landscape and people you pass are never boring and most find it hard to put their head down and read whilst on the road, for fear of missing something. Most evenings we pull into camp and you and your tent partner will put up your tent, then either relax with a cool drink, or get involved in a local activity. Breakfast is usually cereal, toast, tea, and coffee, with the occasional cooked breakfast. Lunch, if we eat on the truck is cold.
Camping
Tents
are provided and all have sewn in floors and mosquito netting. You will need to
bring with you a sleeping bag, sleep sheet, foam roll mat or airbed. Bring a
mosquito net only if you want to sleep outside of your tent, these can be bought
in
Africa.
Participation
Participation
is essential. A successful and smooth tour depends very much on
everyone taking part in the duties that arise i.e. cooking, vehicle
cleaning and food shopping. With this in mind your crew will organize
groups on a rotating roster. The most successful tours are those where
everyone becomes involved as much as possible. These are not luxury
tours, so join in! In the end the more you put in the more you get out.
Spending Money
£10 - £30 a day is a
good start excluding side trips. Of course this varies from person to person
depending on how much you drink, eat and how many souvenirs you buy. In most
parts of
Africa it is difficult to change
travellers cheques and to use ATMs so we suggest for ease of exchange and
better rates of exchange take your money as 50% travellers cheques and 50%
cash. As travelling with cash is risky please ensure that you have adequate
insurance to hedge against the risk of loss. Be aware that if your cash is lost
it is very unlikely you will recover it. In
Zimbabwe you need $US cash to
change at the banks and they can ask for proof of purchase. A credit card is handy
for emergency spending only, but useless for day-to-day spending. Do not rely
on credit cards/switch type cards until you get to
Southern
Africa as money machines are almost non-existent. For spending in
Namibia it is
best to start the trip with £100 changed into South African Rand as you can't
change money for the first few days. You can spend rand all over
Namibia and of course in
South Africa at
the end of the trip, get it before leaving home or at the airport as you fly
out.
Group Size
The average number of passengers on an Africa tour is normally between 12 - 18,
with a maximum of 30 and minimum of 8.
We depart from: Ashanti Lodge
11 Hof Street, Gardens
8001, Cape Town
South Africa,
el: (+27-21) 423 8721
http://www.ashanti.co.za
If you would like to stay at the Ashanti Lodge, please
book on line through the above link.
Dorm Bed - R140 to R150 per night
Single Room - R3500 to R400 per night
Twin/Double Room - R510 to R550 per night
Triple Room - R765 to R825 per night
En-suite - R600 to R700 per night
*Prices are subject to change
If you arrive at the airport or bus station between 8.30am and 4pm they offer a free pick-up service (subject to availability). It is not a "meet-and-greet" service but all you have to do is call them on 021 423 8721 when you arrive and they will send their driver out to collect you. If you are arriving outside of those hours, then let them know your flight details and they will arrange for the Backpacker Bus to collect you (costs vary).
Visas are not included in the tour price or recommended daily spending money. Your passport should be valid for at least 6 months with 5 clear pages, 20 for the Trans Africa. If you have dual nationality you should use only one passport. Check what visas you need before departure with the relevant consulates or with www.embassyworld.com
AFRICA – Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe – visas are required by most nationalities, but for most these can be obtained on entry. Or if preferred you can get them from your local embassy before you travel. Botswana, Namibia and South Africa – visas are not required by most passport holders.
TRANS AFRICA – Visas needed for most countries. These we normally get on route.
For information on the location of your nearest embassy or consulate we recommend the following website: yahoo.com/Government/Embassies_and_Consulates/ . For current updates on visa information you can try the website www.visaproject.com