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Pack Your Sense of Adventure but Leave Your Savings Intact for African Safari Steals

Let's blame Hollywood for reinforcing the myth that safaris are strictly reserved for the eccentric, the Europeans, the terribly wealthy -- or some combination of all three; it's simply not true. In fact, a couple of reliable companies have made it their business to bring this vastly underrated, under-explored terrain to American travelers at substantial discounts. We look at offers from two providers who specialize in African safari tours, some at unbelievably affordable prices. The dollar typically fares well, the accommodations are inexpensive compared to Europe, and the natural splendor is uncorrupted by man, woman or any multniational corporation.

New Jersey is a famous birthplace of all kinds of people, places and things, one more surprising than the next. Add to that list the Jersey City-based travel company 2 Afrika (tel. 866/462-2374; www.2afrika.com). This 10-year old provider of African-centric outings reaches over 20 countries in Africa and Spice Islands in the Indian Ocean. They're currently offering a half dozen inexpensively priced safari trips on their "It List," including "10-Day Affordable Tanzania Safari" advertised from $995, but travel now is $1,395 plus tax for a July 17 departure (there were only 8 spaces left on this particular departure at press time); the price is the same for departures on August 21, September 18 and October 23. This remarkable fare includes remarkable sights, such as the Tarangire National Park, where elephants, migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, gazelle and other animals traverse the area, transervsing a shriveled and sere red dry river bed that is replete with water during the wet season. Accommodations include rooms with private verandas in the park, with views of the scores of baobab, a tree that looks like it's been turned upside down, with its roots exposed. Other stops include Lake Manyara National Park, where you can see tree-climbing lions and travel the eastern side of the Great Rift Valley, and Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Olduvai Gorge and Serengeti National Park, perhaps the most famous wildlife preserve in the world. There is a morning, full-day or afternoon game safari drive on seven of the 10 days, and 26 meals are included. The only downside is that you must find your own affordable flight to either Kilimanjaro International Airport or Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Note: They are offering a 13-day air-inclusive trip not advertised on the website (you must call for details) that is exactly the same itinerary except the price includes round-trip airfare from New York-JFK or Newark for $2,795, or Los Angeles for $2,995, for departures September 16, October 21, and November 18. According to 2 Afrika president/CEO Kenneth R. Hieber, this trip is so affordable and popular that all the summer dates are already sold out.

Currently, the "3-Day Victoria Falls Breakaway" is the most astonishingly low-priced trip 2 Afrika offers, from $465 plus $175 in tax. There are departures available daily through October 31 for two nights at Zambezi Sun, or $645 plus $175 tax for two nights at the Royal Livingstone. For either place, the trip can be extended for about $100 a night. It's entirely possible two nights will not be sufficient, especially after seeing one of the Seven Wonders of the World and a Zambia safari. The price does include some meals, and airfare from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls International Airport, but not airfare to and from Africa. Finding inexpensive airfare to South Africa at this time of year is not impossible; it's just tricky. A quick check using Mobissimo (tel. 650/577-2306; www.mobissimo.com) shows late June flights from $1607.10 through Cheap Tickets (tel. 877/259-2691; www.cheaptickets.com) fares hover in that area until early September, when rates drop to around $1200 on Iberia Airlines through Cheap Tickets. Whatever you choose, 2 Afrika's trips seem to provide an authentic, unique, and up-close-and-personal look at parts of this continent that most Americans have never seen.

It is worth nothing that 2 Afrika is currently finalizing the details for a 4-14 day Rail Safari in 2006 through Southern Africa from $835, which promises to be a unique way to experience a safari coupled with the romantic notion of train travel. (The blurb announcing this appears under their "It List.") According to Hieber, 2 Afrika is the only company that will take travelers through Africa in this manner.

Lion World Travel (tel. 800/387-2706 in the U.S. or 800/668-9968 in Canada; www.lionworldtravel.com) has been sending people to Southern Africa for 30 years specializing in both group and individual tours. Under the list of Affordable Africa tours is "Dunescapes and Cityscapes," based-priced from $1,999 including airfare. It's a 10-day excursion starting with your arrival to Cape Town via Johannesburg from either Atlanta or New York City. Accommodations for the first few days are at the four-star Portswood Hotel, located in the heart of Victoria and Alfred waterfront. The third day takes you on a tour of the Cape Peninsula, through Kirstenboch Botanical Gardens, to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. Day four is free, and day five you fly to the luxurious Windhoek Country Club in Namibia. After that, you hit another coastal site, Swakopmund Hotel and Entertainment Center, located in a restored historical train station for three nights. A desert tour awaits, with a visit to Moon Valley, Swakop River Canyons. There are no close encounters, on foot or by vehicle, with wild animals in National Parks: just lots of leisure time at luxurious resorts in the very south of Africa, with some local color thrown in. If you are curious about Africa but uncomfortable or uninterested in coming this close to the natural world, this trip is probably more appropriate.

Another affordable Africa trip they're running, which does bring you close to nature, is "Kenya Highlights". The rates start from $1,899 for departures from New York, Boston, Newark, and Washington, D.C.; $1,999 from Miami, Tampa, Atlanta, Fort Worth; $2,099 from Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco and other west-coast cities. Once you land in Nairobi (via London), travel heads north and crosses the equator through the verdant countryside responsible for the production of Kenyan coffee, to the arid desert surrounding Samburu Lodge for an afternoon game drive. Journey onward to Aberdale National Park and a stay at Kenya's well-known tree hotel, the Ark and from there, to Lake Nakuru, flush with flamingoes. The rest of the trip incorporates a couple of nights near the Masai Mara Game Reserve at the northern tip of the Serengeti, complete with game drives and optional balloon ride. Valid travel dates are September 1-November 30, 2005 and January 1-March 31, 2006. The cost covers airfare, meals, park entrance fees, and airport transfers; it does not cover taxes (from $265) or travel insurance.

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