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Namibia's
Kalahari Desert Bushmen In
January, 1996, INTU AFRIKA, under the direction of
two South African anthropologists, Michael and Bets
Daibar, invited 40 !Kung Bushmen to reestablish a
self-sustainable community on the company's
Kalahari Game Reserve. These families now are
working successfully in a variety of income
generating projects such as game guiding, camp site
supervision and the making and selling of
traditional handicrafts. Although the Bushmen have
built a typical !Kung village where visitors come
to learn about their traditions, they actually live
in the privacy of their own village. INTU
AFRIKA offers a choice of accommodations, the
luxurious Kalahari Game Lodge, and for the more
adventurous, the fully equipped !Kung campsite
managed by the Bushmen. The beautifully appointed
lodge, designed to be in tune with the desert
environment, has 8 double rooms and 5 freestanding
chalets. The complex contains a full range of
facilities including a restaurant, lounge, bar,
curio shop, swimming pool and boma. The
highlights of the INTU AFRIKA program are an early
morning desert walk, where the Bushmen demonstrate
tracking skills and share their desert survival
secrets and an afternoon visit to the!kung village.
It is here that one witnesses the characteristic
playfulness and spontaneity of these traditionally
nomadic people. The
magical red dunes of the Kalahari serve as a
dramatic setting for the roller coaster-like game
drives, evening desert sundowners and sunrise bush
breakfast. The night drives are topped-off with a
hearty braii (barbecue) served under a star-filled
sky. Visitors staying at the !Kung camp have choice
of two hiking trails that wind through the rolling
red dunes of the Western Kalahari. Both hikes are
led by Bushmen who introduce the hikers to the
secrets of the desert !Kung camp facilities feature
fully equipped tents, "open air" flush toilets, hot
showers and basic cooking
facilities.
INTU
AFRIKA, 011-264-61-248741, Fax
011-264-61-226535. AFRICAN TRAVEL LAUNCHES
ACTION AND ADVENTURE TOUR TO NAMIBIA African Travel Inc, who have
been operating African safaris since 1976 and are
based in Glendale CA, have launched a new action
and adventure tour to Namibia 'Roaring Dunes &
Silent Skies'. This tour is one of the recently
created collection of specialty safaris,
Exclusively Yours Africa, geared to the independent
traveler who wants to experience unique aspects of
Africa that are not available on
group 'Roaring Dunes & Silent
Skies' is a luxury 13-day journey through Namibia
that culminates with 3 nights in Cape Town. The
cost is from US$ 10,890 per person sharing. This
rare adventure brings together the roaring sand
dunes, the thundering Atlantic Ocean and the
endless skies of the Namib Desert with activities
that focus on Namibia's extreme
environments. Action and adventure feature
prominently on this trip of a lifetime: dune
boarding and walking, quad biking, sea kayaking,
rhino and elephant tracking on foot, night game
drives, hot air ballooning, abseiling, fly fishing,
river boating and walking with the nomadic Himba
tribe. On
this 'Roaring Dunes & Silent Skies' itinerary,
guests will stay at Gache Ganas Nature Reserve,
where a 60-minute marula oil massage, as well as
morning and afternoon game drives, is included in
their stay. In the Namib Desert they will stay at
Kulala Tented Camp in one of only six tents,
enjoying a hot air balloon ride at sunrise over the
incredible sand dunes of Sossusvlei and
experiencing the excitement of night
game Bungalows
on stilts overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the
Swakop River are the accommodations for two days of
adventure and excitement that include dune boarding
and a lunch of fresh oysters and champagne on the
beach. The Swakop River and Walvis Bay are teeming
with bird life: thousands of flamingoes, pelicans
and other water fowl can be observed from sea
kayaks and from the beach. On a quad bike
excursion, guests will explore the river bed,
gravel plains and the mystifying dune field, all
arranged for the maximum enjoyment of both the
sightseers and the thrill-seekers. Highlights
of a stay in the rocky desert area of Damaraland
are excursions to track the rare and endangered
desert elephant and rhino. Wildlife in this area
includes lion, cheetah, leopard, hyena, black
rhino, mountain zebra, giraffe, ostrich and the
desert-adapted elephant. A maximum of 12 guests at
one time can explore this wild and remote area,
staying in Palmwag Rhino camp, a luxury tented camp
run in conjunction with the Save The Rhino Trust.
The large tents all have ensuite facilities that
include bucket showers with hot water on
call. A
chartered light aircraft takes guests to the
extreme north west of Namibia and what is probably
the most remote camp in Southern Africa, Serra
Cafema. Here guests will take a boat trip on the
Kunene River. This river creates a lush oasis
surrounded by rugged mountains and sand dunes and
the boat trip provides opportunities to observe the
many unique birds as well as basking crocodiles.
Guests will also enjoy a tour in a 4x4 vehicle,
walking trails and quad biking. Cape
Town is the final destination on this 'Roaring
Dunes & Silent Skies' itinerary, where guests
will stay at the luxurious eight-room Kensington
Place for three nights. Two days of private
sightseeing encompass visits to Table Mountain,
Cape Point and the wine areas of Paarl and
Constantia. Transport options include combinations
of private vehicle, cable car, bicycles, hiking and
abseiling. A sumptuous picnic lunch will be
arranged for guests on the beach at Cape
Point Nature Reserve, as well as lunch on the top
of Table Mountain. African
Travel Inc is a member of USTOA and is covered by a
$10 million consumer protection plan. For more
information and a copy of the Exclusively Yours
Africa brochure, contact African Travel Inc, The
Safari Building, 1100 East Broadway, Glendale CA
91205, telephone 800-421-8907 or 818-507-7893.
Email: ati@africantravelinc.com. Web site:
www.africantravelinc.com.
Company
Profile: Just Namibia Tours a classical African
Adventure with style and quality or for the more
discerning, a hands on expedition of real
adventure, all within the parameters of Eco
friendly and sustainable tourism activities across
Namibia. Our lodging
Safaris are done in comfort under the guidance of
fully qualified bi- and trilingual Namibian tourist
guides. Join us for a truly out of Africa safari
with the comfort, classic style and quality service
Just Namibia Tours is known to have, and is proud
to offer you. Just Namibia Tours offers a wide
range of scheduled departure tours within Namibia.
These tours are operated in a fleet of modern mini
buses and all all- terrain vehicles. We combine all our
safaris and tours with action activities wherever
possible so that you get to experience all there is
to offer. These include parasailing, sand boarding,
stand up boarding, quad biking, hot air ballooning,
micro lighting, big game tracking, shark and tiger
fishing. Special interest safaris are also offered
with a Namibian specialist in their various fields,
and include ornithological, geological, fauna and
flora based expeditions. For more
information on itinerary's and general information
on Namibia, contact Just Namibia Tours at: e-mail:
ondulisafaris@yahoo.com
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Ecotourism:
Intu Afrika. A rare opportunity to learn from the
Bushmen themselves about their hunter-gatherer
traditions and the ecosystem of the Kalahari desert
awaits travelers to INTU AFRIKA'S Kalahari Game
Reserve in Namibia. For thousands of years, Bushmen
were an integral part of the ecosystem of the
Kalahari. As the area was colonized, the Bushmen
were driven out and forced to live outside their
traditional hunting areas. No longer able to hunt,
the Bushmen were reduced to living on government
handouts.
For
the Exclusively Yours Africa collection, African
Travel have selected intimate and exclusive
accommodations, often with 15 rooms or less:
private retreats, elegant bush homes, regal manors
and off-the-beaten track safari lodges not
typically found on most Africa itineraries.
Personal service, attention to detail and
flexibility at these elite properties guarantees a
stay tailored to each guest's needs. Many are award
winning and all are chosen because of their unique
qualities.