Image above taken from The Hide photo gallery.


One of the things I love most about Africa is that childhood dreams come to life. You have the opportunity to become a kid again and venture to the ends of the earth as a great explorer and walk in the shoes of your childhood heroes.

Find your childhood dream below and let your imagination take flight in Africa:

Walk in the footsteps of Jane Goodall: It was July 1960 when Jane Goodall fearlessly traveled to Tanzania to venture into the unexplored world of Chimpanzees. Now it’s your turn to face these magnificent creatures in the wild of the Mahale Mountains—where Africa’s largest population of chimps live.

As you trek through the thick forest of these enchanting mountains in search of one of earth’s most fascinating animals, there’s no doubt that your senses will become heightened as adrenaline and excitement pump through your veins. And of course, when you actually do come across the chimps as they forage, feed, groom, and play, you’ll find yourself completely taken aback in sheer awe.  For an hour, visitors can observe the unbelievable similarities that humans have with chimps as they interact in a social setting.

Image above photographed by JGI / Rob Sassor and taken from the Jane Goodall Institute website.


Here’s what one visitor to the Greystoke Mahale Lodge in the Mahale Mountains had to say about the experience:

“Anyone who doesn’t believe in evolution needs to visit Mahale! It is both funny and wonderful to see how human the chimps are, down to the adult disagreements and the young ones somersaulting in the leaves.” –TripAdvisor, October 2010

Become one of the world’s greatest explorers: Many parts of Africa are still classified as some of the most remote regions in the world. With only a few thousand travelers visiting some of these areas each year, it’s impossible not to feel like an explorer surveying the land for the very first time in history.

himba

Namibia, for example, is made up of a vast red desert that is truly untouched. The Himba Tribes that live here are still fully in touch with their ancient traditions and ancestry. From cultural visits with the Himba to venturing through the unexplored canyons and salt pans of Skeleton Coast, and embarking on game drives through the wildlife-rich Etosha National Park to quad biking across the Namib Desert, a trip to Namibia is for explorers at heart.

Uncover ancient fossils as an archeologist: A visit to the Fossil Hominid Sites of Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai, and Environs in South Africa will surely stimulate your childhood curiosity. These Sites are celebrated for their remnants of ancient human activity dating back nearly 3.3 million years ago—such as fire and human specimens—and are studied to help illustrate the origin and evolution of mankind.

In fact, in 1924 the Taung Skull was uncovered in these sites. Part of the ancient species, Australopithecus africanus, this skull is one of the oldest fossils found on planet earth. This region also contains elements from the Paranthropus species, which dates back nearly 4.5 million years ago.

Float down Africa’s rivers as Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn did in the Hollywood film, The African Queen: Filmed in Uganda in 1951, this classic Hollywood film tells the tale of “two companions with mismatched, “opposites attract” personalities who develop and implausible love affair as they travel together downriver in Africa around the start of World War I.” (GoAfrica.com)

Play Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn as you travel down the Zambezi River in on a mokoro (canoe) safari or sunset cruise, taking in the sites of the spectacular Zambian shores. Here you’ll witness elephants, crocodiles, hippos, giraffes, and much more from the comfort of your boat!

Sleep beneath the stars in a tree house: Ah, imagine relaxing beneath the brilliant, star-studded African sky in the comfort of a luxury tree house. You’ll undoubtedly feel transported back in time to a place where life’s worries were about making the little league baseball team and finding an excuse for why you didn’t do your homework. In other words, all of your cares, worries, and stress will seem non-existent.

One of our favorite luxury tree houses in Africa is the Lake Manyara Tree Lodge, located within an enchanting mahogany forest in Tanzania’s Lake Manyara National Park. Designed strategically to compliment its untouched natural surroundings, all of the lodge’s elements incorporate natural materials, tones, and textures to enhance guests’ experiences.

Celebrated for its quaint and personalized feel, Lake Manyara Tree Lodge is equipped with only 10 stilted tree house suites. Each and every suite has an open-layout and is situated in lush tree canopies that work to enhance guests’ experiences and to provide the ultimate setting for romance and seclusion.

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