Experience Classic Africa on Safari
In Africa, safari comes in many forms. Regardless of the option selected, the highlight of most safari experiences is exploring the wide-open African savannah filled with an amazing diversity and quantity of wildlife and big game. These safaris may take guests from the open savannahs, past snow-capped mountains and into deserts or the cool highlands.
East Africa: East Africa is the birthplace of safari. Nowhere else in the world can you experience such a magnificent diversity and concentration of wildlife. A safari in East Africa is a personal and can be an emotional experience. For many people, the safari experience is so drastically different than the daily lives we all know, and is so full of sensory delights and new images that they go home forever changed. Trust Heritage Hotels, Express Travel Group and African Latitude to create a highly personalized and unique safari for every guest.
Explore Our Anthropological Roots
Culture is also an important piece of the African travel experience, bringing travelers face-to-face with tribal communities living as they have for thousands of years and places of interest steeped with historical significance. Visitors to Ethiopia can join in on one of the many and important cultural and religious celebrations that take place throughout the year.
Ethiopia and the roots of Christianity: Orthodox Christianity and Islam, the two main religions in Ethiopia, have coexisted since the time of Mohammed. The first Ethiopian mosque was built in the eighth century. However, culturally the Orthodox Church has dominated the political, social, and cultural life in the highlands, as it has been official religion of the imperial court and hence also of the feudal establishment until Haile Selassie was deposed in 1974. Ethiopians date the coming of Christianity to Ethiopia to the fourth century AD, when a Christian philosopher from Tyre named Meropius was shipwrecked on his way to India. Meropius died but his two wards, Frumentius and Aedesius were washed ashore and taken to the royal palace. Eventually they became king Ella Amida’s private secretary and royal cupbearer respectively. Ethiopians love their festivals and here is further detail on some of the most important festivals in Ethiopian culture.
Timkat (Epiphany) is the most colorful event in the year when Churches parade their Tabots to a nearby body of water. This is the commemoration of Christ’s baptism, which falls one the 19th of January. The Tabot is taken out in the afternoon on the eve of epiphany and stays overnight with the priests and faithful congregation. The following morning the water is blessed and splashed on everyone in a ceremony where the faithful renew their vows to the Church. If the body of water is large enough, some people will immerse themselves. Woman who have been unable to have children participate in the ritual for fertility. After the ceremony, the Tabot is paraded back to its Church accompanied by much singing and dancing.
Fasika (Easter) is a festival that follows a fasting period of 55 days. During this time, no animal product is eaten. The faithful do not eat anything at all until the daily service is finished at around three in the afternoon. From Thursday evening before Good Friday, nothing is eaten until the Easter-service ends at three in the morning on Easter Sunday.
Kidus Yohannes or Enkutatash Ethiopias New Years day is celebrated on the 11th of September. It is primarily secular and a time for People to put on new clothes and visit friends and relatives.
Maskal, Said to be in memory of the finding of the true Cross by the Empress Eleni. This is as colorful as Timkat, however instead of water the focus of the celebration is a bonfire topped with an image of a Cross, to which flowers are tied. Priests in full regalia bless the bonfire before it is lit. This festival coincides with the mass blooming of the golden Yellow Maskal Daisies, called Adey Ababa in Amharic.
Lidet or Gena, the Ethiopian Christmas is not the primary religious and secular festival that it has become in Western countries. Falling on the 7th of January, it is celebrated seriously by a Church service that goes on throughout the night, with people moving from one Church to another. Traditionally, young man play a game similar to hockey called Gena on this day, and now Christmas has also come to be known by this name.
Where Time Stands Still – Lamu
Lamu is Kenya’s oldest town, and a visit to Lamu is very much like stepping back in time. The narrow, winding streets accommodate only pedestrian and donkey traffic. In the early 1970s Lamu became famous for its reputation as an exotic, remote, and self-contained society. It became a spiritual center of sorts for hippies and other non-conformists drawn to its undisturbed traditional culture. With its relaxing, laid-back pace of life, friendly locals, warm breezes and miles of beaches, Lamu has become popular with tourists seeking a quiet getaway.
- Heritage Hotel’s Kipungani Explorer: Perched on the edge of Kipungani Bay, where the protected mangroves of Kipungani Creek meet the end of a deserted 12-kilometre beach on the southwestern tip of Lamu Island, Kipungani is the ultimate dream destination for those seeking a true desert-island holiday. As well as all the usual aspects of coastal relaxation – sun, sand, sea-sports and spectacular seafood – Kipungani offers a unique opportunity to immerse oneself in a coastal culture unchanged for centuries. The property has an extremely close bond with the people of neighboring Kipungani Village, who will show you their ancient boat-building and mat-weaving techniques, take you fishing or prawn-netting in the remote Dadori Nature Reserve, or show you their model education and health facilities – all built with the support of Kipungani and her guests.
- Express Travel: Fly from Nairobi to Manda Island. Transfer by boat to Lamu, unspoilt and barely changed since the turn of the century. Spend a few nights relaxing at one of the small, informal and friendly hotels on the island. Relax on the miles of empty beaches, try some watersports or explore Lamu town. With no cars and few tourists, life on Lamu is simple and relaxing.
How about a Golf Safari?
Heritage Hotels’ Great Rift Valley Lodge in Kenya: Perched on the panoramic shoulder of the Eburu Escarpment, overlooking the sparkling waters of Lake Naivasha and the sweeping floor of the world’s largest valley, the Great Rift Valley Lodge & Golf Resort enjoys one of the most spectacular views in all of Africa. Just one-and-a-half hours’ drive from Nairobi (or a 30-minute flight to our own airstrip), the lodge is the perfect stopover on a safari to the Maasai Mara or the sights of western Kenya. As well as Kenya’s newest and most stunning championship golf course, the lodge offers exciting walking and horse-riding safaris in the Eburu forests, and mesmerizing ‘trips back in time’ along a string of volcanic lakes blessed with the world’s most prolific and diverse birdlife.
Birding in Africa
Ethiopia: No other aspect of Ethiopia’s biology typifies its unique situation more than does its bird fauna. Ethiopia’s position, an extensive highland-island surrounded by arid lands, has enabled the evolution of many birds in the region into unique forms and species, Ethiopia hosts 862 known bird species, of which 23 are considered Endemic, limited within the confines of the Ethiopian borders. Ethiopia benefits from the incredible variety and abundance of African bird life as well as the presence of species which have migrated from Europe.
True Adventure Travel in Africa
Walking Safaris with African Latitude: The African Safari can take many forms, and what most people think of when they think of safari is cruising through the bush in a Land Rover seeing as many species of African wildlife as possible. African Latitude has, for twenty years, been pushing the boundaries of this safari experience. Their trips take clients to areas in Africa so remote, yet so unequivocally beautiful, that vehicles can not access these areas. Thus, these expeditions take place on foot. African Latitude is dedicated to protecting and conserving natural habitats by attempting to minimize energy consumption, water consumption and waste materials. Additionally, the effort to involve community participation in these tourism projects is also aimed at promoting environmental awareness among these local communities.
White Water Rafting and Rwenzori Mountain Trekking in Uganda with Express Travel Group: White water rafting si perhaps Uganda’s best kept secret. Yet the Victoria (White) Nile offers world class rafting as it roars into life from it’s course at Lake Victoria with up to seven times the volume of the Zambezi and thunders between heavily forested islands before leaping wildly into a series of spectacular drops. Also, the Ruwenzories (considered to be the “true” Mountains of the Moon by the explorer John Speke), provide an extensive and spectacular range of mountain walks and hikes which, while strenuous, do not require technical climbing skills. In fact, mist is more likely to be a hindrance to progress than other factors! The best times to visit here are between December-February and June-August.
Climb Mount Kilimanjaro with Express Travel Group: Mount Kilimanjaro rises high above the flat African plains, its glistening, snow-capped dome one of nature’s most awe-inspiring sights. To reach the summit and look out over those same African plains far below, is one of life’s truly memorable experiences. Climbing the mountain does not require any special skills, although participants should be reasonably fit.
