FAM Report

Swinging through Africa
By Clive Harvey, Safari Studio

Safari Studio hosted a Southern African fam trip in April, escorting
seven travel agents to South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and
Botswana.
Safari Studio uses Welcome Tourism Services as its ground handler
in South Africa. Rory Phelan was outstanding and even managed to
arrange an elephant safari in Zimbabwe at the last minute.
We spent our first night at Sandton Sun, a five-star hotel approximately
30 minutes from ORT airport. There is currently road works in
Johannesburg so the trip took longer than normal, about 45 minutes,
so advise any of your clients that this travel time may take longer than
normal due to the road works.
There is a train service under construction called the Gautrain
that will link ORT airport to Sandton and should be finished early this
summer. There are plans to extend the train service to other cities
around Joburg.
At Sabi Sabi (Kruger Park Area) we saw four of the Big Five within
an hour of our first game drive and ended up following a leopard for
about half an hour, thanks to the expertise and skill of our game ranger.
On our next game drive we saw the elusive lion so we notched up
five of five in two games drives, which left us wondering what else
there is to see. Let me tell you, safaris are not only about seeing the
Big Five, they're also about wondering what is around the next corner.
The bird life is amazing, there is a whole host of antelope, buck, giraffe,
zebra, hippo, bush baby and more and more. Not to mention the insect
life.
In Zimbabwe we participated in some Extreme Activities offered at
the Vic Falls by Wild Horizons in Zimbabwe. I figured the zip line over
Vic Falls would be extreme enough for me. Peer pressure and adrenaline
do amazing thing, and so you throw all caution to the wind.
Suddenly the zip line was not extreme enough for me and the Vic Falls
Gorge Swing was next thing to conker.
As soon as I uttered something about doing the gorge swing, I was
strapped into a harness and making my way to the jumping platform
with two other crazies from our group. Now let me reassure you,
safety is paramount and harnesses are checked and triple checked so
it is very safe, but still crazy.
Now I am not one for heights so whatever possessed me to do this
I don't know. After expelling every bit of air in my lungs as I jumped
and plunged 70 m over Vic Falls Gorge, I was left swinging over the
gorge and feeling exhilarated. Yes it was frightening but well worth it.
Would I do it again? YES! I ended up doing it twice.
If you have clients who enjoy excitement I would suggest that
they do the gorge swing in Zimbabwe. It is similar to bungee jumping
but instead of bouncing up and down at the end of the rope after the
jump, you swing out over the gorge once you have reached the end of
the rope.
To calm the nerves, send your clients on a sunset cruise along
the Zambezi River. This was so tranquil and the African sunset
spectacular as we sipped Gin and Tonics - a very South African drink
- and watched a hippo lounging in the river.
Wild dogs are not easy to spot on game drives, but three of us were
up early on our first morning in Botswana for a game drive in the
Chobe National Park and were rewarded with this rare sighting. We
spent about 20 minutes watching and observing the wild dogs, which
had obviously just eaten.
Elephant-back safaris in Zimbabwe are also an amazing
adventure for any group. Not only do clients get to go out on safari on
the back of one of these giants but they also get to interact with them
and feed them.
The four countries we visited - South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
and Botswana - all have diverse and amazing tourist attractions.

604-990-1511 � 800-991-6111;
email: tsyvr@travelstudio.com � africa@wildafricasafari.com

Enjoying sundowners on a safari night drive during a recent fam trip to
southern Africa, were (L-R): Janice Lachowich from Farlie Worldwide
Travel St. Albert; Corey Forester from WW Smith Travel, Swift Current;
Clive Harvey from Safari Studio, North Vancouver; and Ton Den Hartigh
from Advantage Oceanside Travel, Qualicum Beach.