Introducing the 2014 Micato/Lindblad Photo Expedition Safari
New York, NY (PRWEB) July 15, 2013 -- Luxury safari operator Micato Safaris, in partnership with Lindblad Expeditions, is pleased to announce the departure dates for its highly-popular annual Micato-Lindblad Photo Expedition Safari with renowned photography team Rikki and Jack Swenson. Now in its ninth year, the safari includes the highlights of East Africa: Lake Nakuru National Park, the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Lake Ndutu, and Serengeti National Park at the height of the magnificent Great Migration.
The Swensons will be at the exclusive disposal of guests on this intimate journey through East Africa, February 2 through February 15, 2014. Guests may also opt to add a pre-safari in Kenya’s Samburu region. The Swensons’ combined expertise lends immeasurable value to this program created especially for photography enthusiasts. Jack is a professional photographer and wildlife biologist whose work has appeared in National Geographic publications, Smithonian, Audubon, Travel + Leisure and TIME-Life. Rikki, also a widely published photo pro, is an inspiring photography instructor, providing photographic instruction and photo imaging techniques for all skill levels.
The 14-day Micato-Lindblad Photo Expedition Safari includes visits to:
- Maasai Mara National Reserve. Every superlative you’ve ever heard about this place -- breathtaking, awe-inspiring, otherworldly – is true. The Mara is considered the finest game sanctuary in Kenya and home to an astonishing number and variety of animals. Here guests may observe and photograph large prides of lions, and close views of cheetahs are a regular occurrence. Other inhabitants include elephant, giraffe, buffalo, leopard, hyena, topi and gazelle. Guests will also visit a Maasai village, where tribes live as they have for centuries.
- Lake Nakuru National Park. Known for its large aggregations of flamingos and white pelicans along the lake shores, Lake Nakuru was designated a Rhino Sanctuary in 1987, and now these impressive animals, both black rhino and the rare white rhino, roam the reserve.
- Serengeti National Park. With its vast rolling plains, flat-topped acacias, and huge herds of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle, Tanzania’s Serengeti is just what one expects Africa to be. The wide-open spaces, impossibly bright blue skies and glorious wildlife will amaze at every turn.
- Lake Ndutu Region.—At the heart of the Serengeti, Lake Ndutu is in a region renowned as the calving ground for hundreds of thousands of wildebeest. It is an incredible wildlife spectacle, and February is the optimal time to be there to witness the great herds!
- Ngorongoro Crater. This nine-mile-wide crater supports one of the densest populations of large animals on earth. Inhabitants include lion, cheetah, hippo, hyena, elephant and thousands of antelope, and its diverse habitats of forest, swamp, grassland and lake make it an exciting area to explore and an amazing place for photography.
- Hot Air Balloon Safari. An optional hot air balloon safari ($480) is offered to provide guests with a singular perspective of the region’s landscapes and wildlife!
Optional Pre-Extension:
- A pre-safari visit to Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve, January 29-February 2, 2014. The reserve is a wild and less-visited region with great photography opportunities. It boasts scenery and wildlife not found elsewhere in the south: reticulated giraffe, Somali ostrich, gerenuk antelope, and the endangered Grevy’s zebra. Watch a Samburu traditional dance performance where the morans, or young men, dance by jumping high in the air from starting position.
Services and Amenities on the Micato-Lindblad Photo Expedition Safari include:
- The services of a highly trained Micato Safari Director and Lindblad/National Geographic Photo Instructors Jack & Rikki Swenson.
- A four-guest-per-vehicle limit to allow more room for camera gear (safari vehicles normally accommodate six guests).
- Extra baggage allowance. The Micato-Lindblad Photo Expedition Safari has special arrangements with Africa’s airlines. On flights within Kenya and Tanzania, each guest will be permitted to bring baggage weighing 60 pounds (in lieu of the usual 33lb limit) to accommodate extra photography gear.
- Accommodations in deluxe hotels, lodges and tented camps, selected to support daily battery charging needs.
- All internal flights, meals, gratuities, porterage fees, park entrance fees, government taxes, VAT, and much more.
The Micato-Lindblad Photo Expedition Safari is limited to 18 guests; the safari is priced at $15,985 per person based on double occupancy. (Rate excludes international airfare, visas, personal purchases, hot air balloon safari and optional pre- safari excursion.) The pre-safari Samburu National Reserve Expedition costs $4,740 per person, based on double occupancy.
For more information or to book the Micato-Lindblad Photo Expedition Safari, visit http://www.micato.com or call 1-800-MICATO-1.
About Micato Safaris
Micato Safaris is a luxury safari operator—offering adventures in East Africa, Southern Africa and India—that’s been setting the industry standard for luxury and service for more than three decades. Travellers have recognized Micato’s unsurpassed service by naming the company the #1 World’s Best Tour Operator & Safari Outfitter” a record nine times in Travel + Leisure’s prestigious annual survey. Micato’s accolades from industry peers also include four Conde Nast Traveler World Savers Awards. For a quarter century, Micato’s nonprofit arm, AmericaShare, has been supporting orphaned and vulnerable children and adults affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Micato furthered its philanthropic outreach in 2010 when the company introduced its revolutionary One for One Commitment, which places one impoverished child in school for every safari sold.
Jessica Brida, Micato Safaris, http://www.micato.com, 626-379-2381, [email protected]
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