Baobab Partners with and Supports the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International and the Born Free Foundation
KIGALI, RWANDA and NAIROBI, KENYA (07/10) Baobab Expeditions is continuing their partnership with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International and the Born Free Foundation. In 2011, Baobab will once again offer exclusive expeditions, accompanied by some of the world’s best guides, to discover the gorillas in Rwanda’s Parc National des Volcans and the Big Five across Kenya’s wild bush. For every booking on this amazing adventure, Baobab will generously donate to both the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International and the Born Free Foundation.
Upon arrival, travelers will meet their guide, president of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International and gorilla expert, Clare Richardson. Before traveling to the Rwandan mountains, they will stop in Kigali to visit the market, a pottery project, and the genocide memorial. Adventurers will spend the next two days tracking the gorillas through the Parc National des Volcans, where about 300 mountain gorillas (half the world’s remaining population) survive. They will also choose between a visit to the local school, a walk to Bulera, or visit to the local “Iby’Iwacu” village. Travelers will be staying at the Volcanoes Virunga Lodge, which boasts a stunning vista over the Virunga Volcanoes and Lakes Ruhondo and Bulera. Following their treks in the Rwandan mountains, adventurers will part with Clare Richardson and return to Kigali, where they will spend the night at the five-star Kigali Serena Hotel.
Travelers will fly out to Nairobi the next day. After meeting up with guide Lynne Leakey, they will settle in for the night at the five-star Sarova Stanley hotel, where Kenya’s first locally brewed beer was served in 1923 and where Ernest Hemingway, Denys Finch Hatton and Edward Price of Wales all stayed. The next day, adventurers will delve into the Kenyan bush in the Meru National Park, best known as the location of Joy Adamson’s Born Free film, where Elsa the lioness was released into the wild. The park boasts a wide variety of game within its perimeters including elephant, hippopotamus, lion, leopard, giraffe, cheetah and zebra. Even the accommodations channel the origins of Born Free. Travelers will stay at Elsa’s Kopje, one of the most elegant lodges in Africa, which was built at George Adamson’s original camp site.
Travelers will then continue on to the Shaba National Park, often referred to as ‘Free Born’ country. While the remote park forms a unique habitat where both northern and southern wildlife can be found, it is also home to a number of rare species including the reticulated giraffe, the Waller’s Gazelle, Somali ostrich, and the endangered Grevy’s Zebra. While here, travelers will stay at Joy’s Camp, which, as the name suggests, was built on the site of Joy Adamson’s tented home. The site was also home to Penny the leopard, the heroine of Adamson’s last book.
Finally, adventurers will reach Kenya’s Masai Mara, a 200 square mile reserve, widely considered to be Africa’s greatest. The vast grassland plains are scattered with herds of zebra, giraffe, gazelle, and topi; the Acacia forests abound with birds and monkeys; and the Mara and Talek Rivers are brimming with hippos and crocodiles. While here, travelers will visit a traditional Maasai village, close to their lodgings at the Sarova Mara Tented Camp. After their explorations of Kenya’s wildlife, travelers will return to Nairobi to enjoy lunch at Rusty Nail Restaurant and relax in dayrooms at the Ole-Sereni Hotel until their departure for the airport.
Baobab’s eleven-day Dian Fossey’s Gorillas and Born Free’s Big Five adventures are set for June 18, 2011 and November 5, 2011. Pricing begins at $10,998 per person based on double occupancy. Prices include all domestic flights; all ground transportation; meals as described; all accommodation, beverages and laundry at Virunga Lodge; bed and breakfast accommodation in Nairobi; all meals and accommodation on safari; game drives as indicated; park entrance fees; expert guides; and generous donations to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International and the Born Free Foundation. International flights, visa entry fees for Kenya and Tanzania, medical and travel insurance, all personal expenses, and any other additional costs that may be incurred as a result of alterations in the itinerary are not included. For full itinerary details, please click here. To find out more about Baobab Expeditions or to book, please call 516 622 2279, email reservations@baobabexpeditions.com or visit www.baobabexpeditions.com. For more information on the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, visit www.gorillafund.org. For information on the Born Free Foundation, visit www.bornfree.org.uk.
