COLLETTE’S new mammoth 25-day exploration of Africa from Cape Town to Cairo is designed for travellers who want to “connect all of the dots” on the continent, Collette Tours Product Design Manager Roger Clulow.
Speaking with travelBulletin about the bold new product, Clulow said the ‘Cape Town to Cairo: The Ultimate African Expedition’ – which he mostly designed himself – plugs a key gap in the Aussie market.
“Collette has tours that focus just on southern Africa; some in east Africa exploring Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda; and we have tours that focus on Egypt and Morocco,” Clulow explained.
“But there’s few and far between that connect all the dots, and this is just about the only tour in the world where you can travel the length of Africa from the very bottom to the very top on a fully escorted tour.
“That’s what makes this tour unique and that was exactly my intention [when designing it].”
Clulow said the exploration was more than two years in the making, borne from his own extensive travels on the continent as a native South African.
“It was taking all of that knowledge over 30 years of travel and putting it into one escorted itinerary that was the challenge.”
When asked what the highlights would be for the typical Australian traveller, Clulow found it difficult to separate his baby into its constituent parts.
However when pushed, the African expert said the Kruger National Park in South Africa is one of the jewels in the crown.
“That is South Africa’s premier wildlife destination, it’s a ‘big five’ park with open vehicle game drives – so it is a big highlight.”
Other big ticket items include the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, the Maasai Mara in Kenya – which has the largest concentration of wildlife on the planet, and river cruising on the Nile.
The tour arrives a golden time for Collette, with Clulow pointing to “very strong demand” out of Australia for Africa more broadly.
“Southern Africa is selling very well, east Africa is always close to selling out, and Tanzania in particular is very hot right now.”
Among the advantages of booking the Collette tour include a slower pace in destination, with most locations building in a three- night stay.
“One- and two-night stays really restrict the ability to stop & smell the roses,” Clulow concluded.
Learn about the tour HERE.
