Africa discovery cruise with AMA Waterways

Are you ready for a brand new adventure? Are you ready to discover the incredible landscape of Africa from the continents internal waterways? When AMA Waterways extended their range of popular river cruise routes to incorporate the most exciting and utterly compelling continent of them all, Africa, they knew they were onto something. What they have created is, without doubt, the cruise of a lifetime.

Going on safari is no longer solely the privilege of old money. Taking a game drive out into the countryside with a professional guide is now affordable to and desired by many. AMA Waterways are offering you the opportunity to experience a new safari adventure in several different countries, spotting some of the worlds most impressive and most elusive creatures. Taking a safari by boat is an exciting new way to get off the beaten track.

Scratch the surface of most peoples travel bucket lists and youll find at least a few of the highlights AMA are offering. Its easy to see why a holiday like this is so popular. Think big moon, big game and big luxury. Warning a thrilling and unparalleled fortnight aboard the Zambezi Queen, may make you change the way you holiday forever! We thought, this week, wed take a look at why everybodys talking about African river cruising.

State of the art sailing vessel

The sophisticated river sailing vessel, the Zambezi Queen, combines luxury, comfort, entertainment and cuisine. With its many balconies and sunshine decks, the Zambezi Queen has been designed to help you get the best possible view of the worlds most fascinating wildlife. Not only will you be able to spot the big 5 out on a game drive, theres a also a great chance of seeing exotic creatures as you sit in the lounge or bar, sipping a cocktail, thanks to the ships glass sides. However, your impressive stateroom accommodation with its view of the Chobe riverbanks provides the most exclusive viewing platform of all. Stand hand in hand on your private balcony as you watch baby hippos play in the water below. This is safari in comfort and style!

Watching an incredible array of animals in their natural habitat as you sail past never gets boring, but if you can tear yourself away for short while, you can enjoy a refreshing dip in the pool, or some first class dining in one of the modern restaurants, each of which offers an individual mouthwatering menu, freshly prepared by their highly skilled chefs. Classic English and European dishes sit alongside delicious local delicacies on the menu and the wine served with lunch and dinner is included in your package.

Here are three popular cruise routes of the Zambezi Queen with a view to giving you a taste of life aboard a premier river cruising vessel and the excursions youll enjoy.

Golden Trails of East Africa

Your 17 day journey will begin with a night in Johannesburg, where youll have the chance to explore one of East Africas most vibrant cities at your leisure before you set eyes on the Zambezi Queen for the first time. Once youve enjoyed your welcome drinks, the ships crew

will waste no time, ensuring youre comfortable and settled in before hauling anchor and initiating this memorable cruise through African rivers. As you see the elephants playing in the water near the Chobe National Park, youll know your trip has truly begun! Itll be time for you to climb into an open top 4×4 in search of giraffe, lions, buffalo and zebras before you know it. Make sure you dont forget your camera!

Following your safari in the game reserves, the Zambezi Queen will set sail for an African village. This is a unique opportunity to gain a first hand insight into African village life, finding out about the role of elders and children within the community. After that, youll head over to Victoria Falls for a birds eye view of the smoke that thunders as you take an exhilarating helicopter ride across the front of a waterfall.

Youll have the opportunity to bring your heart beat down to a more sensible rate, when you sip cocktails on a sundowner cruise at the bottom of the falls. Further relaxation will be on offer later when youll be invited to stroke some of Africas gentle giants. Be ready to set your dial to thrill once more a little later though, as you embark on your second safari of the trip at the Tarangire National Park and then a tour of the Ngorongoro Crater, the mouth of an enormous former volcano and beauty spot unlike anywhere else on Earth. This is a view of Africa youll never forget.

Safari number 3 marks the end of your holiday and what a finale! If your holiday was a concert this final game drive would be the fireworks, the ticker tape parade and the release of 10,000 balloons all in one! Deep in the Serengeti, youll be privy to one of the most sought after, bucket list sights in the world, that of migrating wildebeest moving across the plains between their destinations. Discover a natural wonder that few have had the privilege to experience.

Rivers and Rails of Africa

This 15 day escorted tour of Africa incorporates both rivers and tracks as half of the excursions will be from the base of the Zambezi Queen river cruise boat, giving you a unique insight into the wildlife that can be found along the banks of the the Chobe river and half will be taken using the ROVOs rail train as your transport, taking in inaccessible terrains with views of vast swathes of African countryside on either side.

This trip begins with 3 nights in the famous African city of Cape Town. Youll be given a private tour of the coastline by an experienced driver and guide who will point out the Cape of Good Hope and some of the beautiful white sandy beaches here. Boulder beach will stand out particularly in your mind, due to its inhabitation by 1000s of African penguins. Determined to introduce you to further spectacular sights the next day as well, AMA will then take you to the very top of Table Mountain, before giving you a tour of South Africas most exclusive wineries, including the opportunity to sample some Cape wines. Sipping the very best in South African wine as you feel the sun on your face and take in the view below, youll certainly feel very far from the office.

Its from Cape Town that youll then board the Zambezi Queen river cruise boat, before following a route similar to that of the Golden Trails tour. Youll take in the wildlife of the

Chobe riverbanks and enjoy first class dining and entertainment , until you get to Victoria Falls, where youll board the luxury ROVOS rail service. On your first night, youll enjoy the exceptional dining car as the train speeds towards the Hwange game reserve, where youll disembark for another incredible safari experience.

Stars of South Africa

If your once in a life time African river cruise needs to fit into a more condensed schedule, this 11 day cruise is the perfect, compact African holiday. Youll enjoy all the same highlights as the other cruises weve mentioned, including Cape Towns coastline, Table Mountain, the river cruise along the Chobe, Victoria Falls and Johannesburg. All the iconic sights of South Africa are compressed into a thrilling and relaxing adventure holiday, of just over a week.

AMA Waterways have thought of everything!

AMA Waterways first introduced themselves to the river cruising industry only 10 years ago, but in that time they quickly made a name for themselves. Given the exclusivity and opulent nature of their vessels you would expect it to be the boats themselves that draw the most pride from the team behind them, however, despite being incredibly proud of their fleet, AMA firmly believe the reason why theyve won awards is because of the care and attention they lavish on their customers. This is an operator who believes that exceptional customer service is the key to providing cruises that people will want to enjoy year on year, again and again. They make it a priority to accumulate feedback from their loyal customers, so any issues can be addressed immediately, in order to provide an excellent ongoing level of service.

If youd like to discover South Africa, go on exciting safaris and take excursions that will expose you to views of breathtaking beauty, then please give Aspen Travel a call. Our friendly and knowledgable team will be able to advise you more about the routes taken, when the boats are sailing and on top of that, theyll also find you the best prices! Please get in touch.

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