*Prices are for departure dates stated and are per adult based on two adults travelling with return economy flights, sharing a Luxury room. Includes all applicable taxes and fuel surcharges which are correct at time of print and are subject to change. Prices advertised are for online bookings only; when booked in-store or by telephone a higher price may apply. Peak season and weekend supplements may apply. Savings where shown are per adult and are the maximum saving within the date shown. Price includes saving. Offer applicable until 30 Jun ‘14. All offers are for new direct bookings and are subject to availability and Virgin Holidays standard terms and conditions. Offers cannot be combined with any other offer, promotion or discount including Tesco Clubcard points. Paying by VISA/MasterCard will incur a charge of 2% of the value of the transaction. Paying by American Express will incur a charge of 2.6% of the value of the transaction. All calls charged at 5p per minute at all times from a BT landline including VAT. Charges may vary from other networks or mobile networks. Offer valid for Virgin Holidays division of the Virgin Holidays Group only, for definition visit virginholidays.co.uk/ourfamily. ATOL protected (2358) and ABTA (V2043). All the flight and flight inclusive holidays featured are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. When you pay you will be supplied with an ATOL Certificate. Please ask for it and check to ensure that everything you booked (flights, hotel and other services) is listed on it. Please see our booking conditions for further information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to www.atol.org.uk/ATOLCertificate

ANIMALS FEEL LIKEthey’re on safari.

You make ANIMALS FEEL LIKEthey’re on safari.

IN-STORE 0844 557 3868 VIRGINHOLIDAYS.CO.UK

KRUGER4 nts • A Inclusive • 5

LION SANDS GAME RESERVE

FROM £2,429*pp

01 Dec ‘14

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*Prices are for departure dates stated and are per adult based on two adults travelling with return economy flights, sharing a Luxury room. Includes all applicable taxes and fuel surcharges which are correct at time of print and are subject to change. Prices advertised are for online bookings only; when booked in-store or by telephone a higher price may apply. Peak season and weekend supplements may apply. Savings where shown are per adult and are the maximum saving within the date shown. Price includes saving. Offer applicable until 30 Jun ‘14. All offers are for new direct bookings and are subject to availability and Virgin Holidays standard terms and conditions. Offers cannot be combined with any other offer, promotion or discount including Tesco Clubcard points. Paying by VISA/MasterCard will incur a charge of 2% of the value of the transaction. Paying by American Express will incur a charge of 2.6% of the value of the transaction. All calls charged at 5p per minute at all times from a BT landline including VAT. Charges may vary from other networks or mobile networks. Offer valid for Virgin Holidays division of the Virgin Holidays Group only, for definition visit virginholidays.co.uk/ourfamily. ATOL protected (2358) and ABTA (V2043). All the flight and flight inclusive holidays featured are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. When you pay you will be supplied with an ATOL Certificate. Please ask for it and check to ensure that everything you booked (flights, hotel and other services) is listed on it. Please see our booking conditions for further information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to www.atol.org.uk/ATOLCertificate

ANIMALS FEEL LIKEthey’re on safari.

You make ANIMALS FEEL LIKEthey’re on safari.

IN-STORE 0844 557 3868 VIRGINHOLIDAYS.CO.UK

KRUGER4 nts • A Inclusive • 5

LION SANDS GAME RESERVE

FROM £2,429*pp

01 Dec ‘14

E10_ADs.indd 16 27/05/2014 10:36

Few things in travel beat the thrill of coming face-to-face with the animal kingdom’s biggest stars. Cathy Adams and Laura Chubb track down epic safaris to suit every taste

Experiences SAFARI

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Moremi Game Reserve is known for particularly high game densities, thanks to the year-round water supply provided by the lagoons of the Okavango Delta.

Best for: The Big FiveKRUGER SAFARI, SOUTH AFRICA

Kruger isn’t the classic for nothing: South Africa’s showstopper is bigger than Ireland, the most popular safari destination in the country and home to more than 147 species of mammals. A Kruger Safari with Exodus includes game drives and walks to spot that all-important pentad and more. There’s also a special conservation departure where you can help out with micro-chipping rhinos. Nine days from £1,949pp includes breakfasts, dinners, accommodation, safaris and flights.exodus.co.uk

MOMBO CAMP, BOTSWANA

Overlooking the floodplains of the Okavango Delta, Mombo Camp sits pretty in Botswana’s Moremi Game Reserve, which combines drier, wooded areas with the area’s signature, wildlife-teeming lagoons. Game drives will help you stalk the Big Five. Four nights is £4,363pp, including full-

board and transfers. originaltravel.co.uk

SINGITA SASAKWA

LODGE, TANZANIA

Just as essential a safari experience as The Big Five – which Tanzania naturally

offers – is the annual Great Migration of wildebeest and zebras, which sees more than two million animals surge between Tanzania’s Serengeti and Kenya’s Maasai Mara. At Singita Sasakwa Lodge, you can watch the spectacle from a sprawling veranda, before bedding down in luxury cottages, each with an infinity pool. Rates from £1,107pp, including all meals and beverages, accommodation and transfers. singita.com

Best for: Luxury FOUR SEASONS SAFARI LODGE SERENGETI, TANZANIA

When the Four Seasons sets up camp in the Serengeti, you know it’s going to be good. Infinity pool overlooking a watering hole? Check. Traditional Maasai spa treatments overlooking lions roaming the bush? Check. If you’re looking for no-expenses-spared African luxury, well, you’ve found it. Rooms start from £722 a night. fourseasons.com/serengeti

MNEMBA ISLAND LODGE, OFF ZANZIBAR

Why settle for just the bush when you can peg a beach break onto the end? That’s where private Mnemba Island comes in – it’s

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CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Giraffes are a frequent sight; a pool with a view at the Four Seasons Serengeti; forget the Big Five and track gorillas in Rwanda; sunset over Addo Elephant Park in South Africa; and glamping at Mombo Camp in Botswana

three miles off the coast of paradise island Zanzibar, and only lodge guests reside here, providing your very own stretch of Indian Ocean. Plus, you’re only a short flight from the heart of the Serengeti for that safari. Rates start from £470pppn on an all-inclusive basis. andbeyond.com

VOLCANOES LODGES, RWANDA

Rwanda has one big trump card over the Serengeti and Maasai Mara – its chimpanzee and gorilla populations. From your base at one of Volcanoes’ eco-safari lodges in north-eastern Rwanda, there’s gorilla tracking in Parc National des Volcans and game drives around Queen Elizabeth National Park in neighbouring Uganda. At the camp, relax on terraces with views over misty volcanoes in classic ‘bush chic’ surroundings.Rates start from £375pppn. volcanoessafaris.com/lodges

Best for: BudgetADDO ELEPHANT PARK, SOUTH AFRICA

If you’re looking for a safari that won’t totally blitz your bank account, steering clear of the big names and driving your own vehicle will go a long way. Addo Elephant Park, just north of Port Elizabeth (handily near the end of the Garden Route), is South Africa’s third-biggest national park. Despite the name, it’s not just elephants here – there are also lions, hyenas and rhinos, alongside abundant antelope and zebra. Park entrance costs around £11pp. Game drives are available from £16pp. sanparks.org

SOUTH AFRICA’S KRUGER NATIONAL PARK IS BIGGER THAN IRELAND

Experiences SAFARI

While in Zambia, don’t miss Victoria Falls, where the Zambezi River plunges 328ft into a steeply walled gorge. Try the 364ft bungee jump off Victoria Falls Bridge.

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MAJETE WILDLIFE RESERVE, MALAWI

Celebrate World Lion Day on 10 August by heading to Majete Wildlife Reserve to get up close with the lions. Over the weekend of 9-10 August, stay at Mkulumadzi Lodge in the country’s only Big Five park and learn all about tracking the big cats. Costs £210pppn on a full-board basis, inc. activities, park fees and transfers. robinpopesafaris.net

ADVENTURE CAMPS, TANZANIA

In the Selous Game Reserve in southern Tanzania, bed down in a rustic tented camp, smack-bang

in the heart of the action – think animals wandering up to your tent, and enjoying cheeky sundowners under the stars. While here, try a safari along the Rufiji River.Rates start from around £250pppn at the Selous Impala Camp. adventurecampstz.com

Best for: ConservationZAMBIAN CARNIVORE PROGRAMME

You won’t just be watching the animals at Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park – this specialist safari

offers a hands-on six days of tracking and surveying carnivores including lions, African wild dogs and their prey. You’ll get

to go a-wandering in one of the best-known national parks for walking safaris, checking out giraffe, elephants, hippos and more on the way. Seven nights cost from £2,320pp, including all safari costs and a donation to the programme. robinpopesafaris.net

WILDLIFE RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICA

Join a wildlife conservation team with social enterprise GVI and you’ll be posted to one of two animal-rich regions in South Africa: Limpopo in the north or “garden province” KwaZulu-Natal. You’ll be asked to play an active role in the research and conservation of reintroduced predators and large herbivores on a private game reserve, receiving training in the use of equipment, adjusting to life in the African bush and getting acquainted with all the major game. Two weeks from £1,195pp, including all meals, accommodation, training and permits. gvi.co.uk

GORONGOSA NATIONAL PARK, MOZAMBIQUE

Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park is one of the world’s largest conservation areas, thanks to a huge conservation effort that’s been going on over the past few years. As a result, it now boasts small colonies of lions, leopards, elephant, buffalo and

A SPECIAL SAFARI IN ZAMBIA OFFERS SIX DAYS’ HANDS-ON TRACKING OF CARNIVORES

ABOVE: The misty mountains of the Virunga volcano range in Rwanda. Stay at eco-safari camp Volcanoes Lodges (previous page) and see this view every day. BELOW: A lioness crouches in the bush, Botswana. The country is also good for spotting the rare black rhino

Experiences SAFARI

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Rajasthan in India is home to some of the country’s most colourful sights: blue city Jodhpur, gold city Jaisalmer in the Thar Desert, and the walled pink city of state capital Jaipur.

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zebra. Visitors can see conservation in action on game drives around the park. Park entrance for international visitors costs around £10pp. gorongosa.org

Best for: Off the beaten trackODZALA FLY-IN SAFARI, REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Spotting lions and leopards is all well and good, but if you really want to one-up your mates, head into the thick jungle of the Congo to track the country’s abundant gorilla population. Not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of Congo – locked into a long-running civil war – the Republic of Congo’s vast swathes of impenetrable rainforest and inhospitable swamps have kept the humans out and the gorillas thriving, giving you the chance to see huge groups of the great apes.Nine days from £6,369pp including full-board accommodation, transfers, park fees and flights. expertafrica.com

XUGANA ISLAND LODGE, BOTSWANA

Botswana’s Okavango Delta is a unique African oasis of lagoons and grassy floodplains, which means you can leave the 4WD parked up and explore its snaking waterways by dugout canoe. Xugana Island Lodge is a hush-hush hotspot offering reed-thatched, lagoon-facing chalets with private viewing decks, so you can linger over the vista without even leaving your lounger. Lodges start from £522pppn in high season, including accommodation, meals, local brand

drinks, and safaris. desertdelta.com

JAWAI LEOPARD

CAMP, INDIA

A spectacular safari doesn’t have to automatically mean

Africa. In between Rajasthan’s ‘blue city’ of Jodhpur and stunning town-on-a-lake Udaipur, Jawai Leopard Camp pitches its tents in the remote Aravalli Hills, where leopards roam the rocky ridges. Along with leopard-spotting (sorry) drives, there are swimming pools to cool the dusty heat and a spa on site, should all that being driven around leave you in need of a pampering.Three nights in a luxury tent from £1,050pp on a full board basis. originaltravel.co.uk

KENYA ADVICEAs we went to press, the FCO warned against all but essential travel into parts of Kenya. For the latest guidance and advice, see fco.gov.uk or ask your travel agent. If you choose to travel against the guidance, check you are covered by your travel insurance.

ONE-UP YOUR MATES AND HEAD INTO THE THICK JUNGLE OF THE CONGO TO TRACK THE GORILLAS

ABOVE: Set up at India’s luxurious Jawai Leopard Camp and take drives to see the spotty cats that roam the remote Aravalli Hills. BELOW: A baby croc shouldn’t cause too much angst in the waters of Gorongosa. Watch out for mum, though...

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Experiences SAFARI