Imagine wafting over virgin Kenyan grasslands and woodlands in a hot air balloon. Migration season is picking up, and herds of wildebeest behind you are seeking greener pastures. As you drift over a glade of acacia trees, you spot a buffalo, dropping a calf, before your eyes. And nary a telephone pole adulterates this view of raw, African nature.
For Kenneth Hieber, president and CEO of 2Afrika (tel. 866/462-2374; www.2afrika.com), this experience was the height of his annual Memorial Day safari last May. "I'll never forget the tense excitement and silence as we started rising over the Masai Mara Reserve. All you heard was the whoosh of flames fueling the balloon. Someone in the group finally said, 'I can't believe I'm turning 360 degrees and seeing nothing man-made -- only God-made.' "
Even on the ground, when it comes to safaris, 2Afrika "defies gravity," says Hieber of the ten year-old, Jersey City-based provider, with scores of all-inclusive safaris to more than twenty countries in eastern, northern, and southern Africa, as well as the Indian Ocean spice islands. "I make sure the American traveler gets the best deal possible," he says.
"I'm native to South Africa and have been in the travel industry since 1977," he says. "When my country underwent a huge transition and became a democracy in 1994, under President Nelson Mandela, I thought, 'Who is going to help African Americans understand this place?' My major focus was to come to the U.S. and say, 'Listen: It's affordable. Go home and look.' "
Hieber believed that Africa should be a budget destination, given the favorable exchange rates for Americans and the relatively low cost of airfare. "When I came to live in the U.S., in 1995, I noticed what the trade was doing here, and I realized the American traveler was being exploited."
He says, "I spoke to airlines and tour operators in South Africa and said, 'Let us build a product that can transport people from New York to Cape Town and back, with six nights accommodations, transfers, breakfast, and a half-day of sightseeing -- for $995 plus tax.' "
"Everyone looked at me like I had gone crazy," he says. The advertised price of Hieber's Cape Town safari was so low Arthur Frommer personally called him up in disbelief, to make sure it wasn't some kind of joke, Hieber says.
The overwhelming response confirmed Hieber's instincts. Now, in 2005, the 9-Day Black History Month Special Cape Town Great Escape is still only $1,395 plus tax. This year's trip departs every Wednesday during February, but all forty spaces have sold out.
"As the company grew, people asked about Victoria Falls and safaris, so we ventured there too. Now, we're sending bulk movement to Africa. Our East Africa product is off the map." The least expensive safari is the monthly 9 Day Swinging Safari, to Kenya. It departs twelve times a year on Sundays and covers six game drives in the Serena Mountain Lodge, Lake Nakuru National Park, and Masai Mara National Park, with a stop in the capital of Nairobi. "For 2005, we've retained the price of $1,995 plus tax," he says.
"We have another bombshell coming up," he adds. "Forever, the Kenyans and Tanzanians have been fighting, and you can't cross the border of the Serengeti (in Tanzania) into the Masai Mara (in Kenya). It's ridiculous; it's the main migration route for zebra, wildebeest, gazelle, and other game, but to combine both parks, you'd have to leave Tanzania, go all the way back to Nairobi, and enter the Masai Mara from there."
"For the first time, we have been able to break that dividing line," he says. In February 2005, 2Afrika launches Kenneth R. Hieber's 14-Day Memorial Day Safari Without Borders, for $3,595. The trip departs May 18, 2005.
The most distinctive trip is the 11-Day Botswana Eden Undiscovered tour. After visiting Johannesburg, Songwa Village at Victoria Falls, Chobe Safari Lodge, and Kwando Labada Camp, travelers go right into the Okavango Delta. Hieber says, "It's one of the most fragile ecosystems in the world, and you stay in the most sumptuous, five-star deluxe lodges." Including air, the trip is $3,395.
The 13-day Walking with the Bushmen safari is the Botswana Eden Tour capped off with a trip to Deception Valley. Hieber says, "Deception Valley Lodge brings you into the heart of bush man territory. You spend two days with the bushmen in the Kalahari Desert, plus a whole day game trekking, learning how to find water underground. Absolutely no one else is doing that." The total pre-tax price: $4,595.
Hieber says, "People say, 'My greatest wish has been to take a game safari to Africa, but I thought you had to pay $6,000 or $7,000. I'm so glad I found your website."
His next dream is to lead a tour along the Great North Road -- from Cape Town to Cairo. The 21-day trek will pass, via various modes of transportation, through Cape Town; Namib Naukluft National Park; Victoria Falls; South Luangwa Valley in Zambia; Zanzibar in Tanzania; Masai Mara National Park in Kenya; Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, and Lalibela in Ethiopia; and finally Luxor and Cairo in Egypt.
Keep your eye out for this new addition to 2Afrika's extensive itineraries, scheduled to depart for 2006. "It will be our absolutely most extraordinary product," Hieber says.
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