Absolutely Extraordinary
Two years ago Goway, one of the world’s leading travel companies, put together an itinerary which they now promote as the “Ultimate Journey of a Lifetime.”
The tour company created a Cape to Cairo program that includes luxury rail travel, stays in some of the world’s most luxurious accommodations, quintessential African experiences, including safaris and a gorilla trek, and the opportunity to tick at least 14 items off the classic Africa travel bucket list.
Goway’s inaugural trip returned in February. The journey cost singles US$54,000 or US$44,500 per twin (plus airfare and insurance).
Goway’s president Bruce Hodge, along with his wife Claire, hosted that trip and what follows is an excerpt from Hodge’s blog on the last day of the trip in which he writes:
“After 32 days of travelling through 8 countries by luxury train, small planes, big planes, safari vehicles, buses, a river boat, a felucca, flying in helicopters, riding a horse and carriage … our Journey of a Lifetime is over.
“We’ve stayed in amazing and luxurious accommodations, encountered mountain gorillas, viewed virtually every animal (except the leopard) and many birds in Africa.
“We’ve met important people and many, many lovely friendly locals who are extremely poor.
“We never felt unsafe or threatened in any way at any time – just the complete opposite. We felt welcome everywhere!
“Our tour guides were all experienced and professional and taught us a lot of things we didn’t know. Our drivers were amazing, navigating the streets and traffic of Cairo, the African bushland searching for and chasing game, or winding over high mountain roads in Ethiopia.
“We saw some of the most stunning sights in the world such as Table Mountain, Victoria Falls, Ngorongoro Crater, the great Wildebeest Migration and the Pyramids
“We’ve enjoyed amazing meals and wines (and beers), and several cultural performances. Our knowledge of trains has been enhanced and we learned the history of Southern Africa from Rhodes to Livingstone to Mugabe.
“As well we’ve learned that East Africa is the cradle of Mankind (they found “Lucy” in Ethiopia) and that human movement down the Nile River to the fertile river delta enabled Egypt to become the first civilization.
“We had one day of rain – yet it’s hard to remember when or where!
“No-one got sick or had a fall. Personally my weak ankle got a workout on the gorilla trek (as did Bev and Greg’s knees) and negotiating the steps at Lalibela – and only once did I detect a need to take Imodium!
“We’ve travelled from Cape Town to Cairo – an adventure few people can brag about – and we did it in style.
“We’ve shared an extraordinary experience as friends and comrades for life.”
Goway’s next Cape to Cairo departure is on Sept. 28, 2017, with more departures in the planning stage. To maintain exclusivity as an ULTIMATE journey, less than 15 guests will participate.
Full details for the trip are featured on http://www.HOLIDAYSOFALIFETIME.com .
Caption: Claire and Bruce Hodge at Victoria Falls
