Top 2016 Adventure Travel Trends & Tips

Forecasts peg the jungles of India, Cecil the lion’s legacy, advice for workaholics & more

Exodus Travels is poised to lead the way into a new era of travel that is quickly becoming defined by an adventurous spirit, a search for locals-only experiences and a willingness to brave the unexplored. With 42 years of experience and tours in over 100 destinations around the globe, Exodus’ globetrotting experts always have their fingers on the pulse of what’s next. From country comebacks to blockbuster set-jetting, here are Exodus’ top 10 adventure travel trends & tips for 2016:

1. The Cecil Effect - African Conservation Safaris Last year’s global outcry over the killing of Cecil the lion has put the fate of wildlife tourism under the microscope. Exodus anticipates Botswana will see a rise in bookings, with safari-seekers choosing to spend their tourism dollars in this southern African country, which has made a serious commitment to wildlife and environmental preservation. If a chance to spot the Big 5 wasn’t reason enough to go, Botswana celebrates 50 years of Independence in 2016.

2. Set-Jetting – The Jungle Book From Indian Jones to the Hobbit, the biggest Hollywood hits always motivate travelers to set-jet to exotic new locales. India’s jungles and animals will steal the show in 2016 with the release of a new adaption of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. With a star-studded cast of Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson, Christopher Walken and Lupita Nyong’o, India’s tiger and safari parks are destined to be one of the year’s travel blockbusters.

3. Unveiling The Treasures Of Iran With Mahmoud Ahmadinejad out of the political picture and travel sanctions lifted in 2015, Iran has recaptured the attention of globetrotters who’ve been waiting to tick it off their bucket list. The world’s finest Persian architecture and historic sites, bustling bazaars, artistic masterpieces, mind-blowing cuisine and hospitality steeped in ancient traditions promise an extraordinary adventure.

4. Extreme Wellness Holidays – Not For Wimps Forget about yoga, spa and wellness retreats, 2016’s travellers are asking for rigorous, physically demanding and mentally challenging adventures that focus onextreme biking and trekking. Exodus has seen a huge spike in bookings that take the ‘wellness concept’ to a whole new level with full force adrenaline expeditions, such as biking in remote Madagascar and the Alpine Cols of the Tour de France or climbing volcanoes’ in Indonesia and the Three Peaks of Ladakh.

5. Time Off For Travel = ROI Workaholics, listen up. Studies show that employees who regularly take overseas vacations are more energized, creative and ultimately more productive in the workplace. Some companies, like LinkedIn, are even offering unlimited vacation policies as a way of encouraging its passport-ready staff to seek new challenges, find inspiration and reduce burnout.

6. Cuba Calling In 1961, the U.S. severed its relationship with Cuba and pursued a covert operation to overthrow the Castro regime. Fast forward 54 years later and the two nations have agreed to normalize ties. Remember there’s more to this Caribbean archipelago than palm fringed beaches, colonial architecture, classic cars, Che Guevara and mojitos. In 2016, Exodus draws the curtain back with new experiences like staying with local families, Hemingway haunts, the limestone karsts of Vinales Valley and caves linked to the 1962 Missile Crisis.

7. Eastern Europe’s Road Less Traveled Europe buffs are moving further east to uncover a welcome refuge from the well-trodden paths of Italy, France, Croatia and Switzerland and to immerse themselves in a collision of ‘east meets west’ cultures. Cycle through Romania’s rolling hills, gaze wide-eyed at Bosnian architecture or test the waters in Slovenia with a week of whitewater rafting, canyoning and mountain biking on the banks of the Soca River.

8. Rise of the FST (Female Solo Traveler) Women travelers have tipped the tourism scales in the last couple years and Exodus saw a huge 40% increase in their number of female solo travelers in 2015, a trend that is gaining momentum in 2016 because of social media and the added safety provided by experiential group travel. P.S. Exodus’ solo tours do not have a single supplement and upgrades to private rooms are available for as little as $20 a night.

9. Self-Guided + Stress-Free With so much to absorb whilst seeing the world it’s sometimes best to take it all at your own stride. Independent travelers can now have it all: the seamlessness of an organized tour combined with the privacy, freedom and flexibility of a self-guided trip. Set your own agenda while someone else worries about the bag transfers, where to sleep and the always important 24/7 support. Exodus has seen a spike in bookings that combine the carefree ease of guided group travel with the independence of going it alone.

10. Winter Travel As mercury levels drop and the snow starts falling, travelers are opting out of fly and flop beach vacations and, instead, taking advantage of the smaller crowds, cheaper rates and unique thrill-seeking activities, like snowshoeing, northern lights, ski touring and dogsledding, that the winter season offers.

To book with Exodus Travels, call 1-800-267-3347 or visit exodustravels.com. About Exodus Travels Celebrating 42 years, leading adventure tour operator Exodus Travels offers an extraordinary range of adventure and activity trips to over 100 countries worldwide. Specializing in Culture, Hiking and Trekking, Wildlife and Cycling itineraries, the adventure pioneer offers new takes on classic destinations like Italy, France, Thailand and Costa Rica to places as diverse and as exhilarating as Kilimanjaro, Machu Picchu, the Himalayas and Antarctica. Whether for solo travelers, couples, groups or families, Exodus has a diverse choice of small group journeys for all ages and activity levels. Exodus is dedicated to low impact, responsible tourism and contributing to local communities. Learn more at ExodusTravels.com.

Foodie Travelers Explore The Cuisines Of Angola, Botswana And DRC

For many travelers, food is the central focus of their journeys. They are often called “foodie travelers,” and enjoy partaking in the various types of food found in the myriad of cultures around the world. How else does one get to take in and savor the culture of a place than through an experience of food that involves all the senses? Hearing the sizzle coming from the kitchen, smelling the aromas of the dishes being prepared, seeing the plates of delightful food being served, tasting the delectable flavors, and in many cases, eating without utensils and reveling in the feeling of picking up one’s food and licking one’s fingers like a delighted child.

The fifteen countries of Southern Africa - Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe – offer a wide variety of delicious dishes for the foodie traveler to enjoy. Today, we explore some of the foods of Angola, Botswana, and the Democratic Republic of Congo

Angola

Luanda has a rich cuisine, which draws from both European and African influences. With its coastal location, seafood is extremely popular, with prawns and white fish such as tilapia used in many recipes. Meat is also prized, with chicken, beef and pork most commonly available.

Angola was a Portuguese colony for centuries, so it isn’t surprising that Portuguese cuisine has significantly influenced Angolan cuisine. Funge and pirão are very common dishes, and can be eaten with fish, chicken, and beans. Funge de bombo, more common in northern Angola, is a paste or porridge of cassava (also called manioc or yuca), and is made from cassava flour and has a gelatinous consistency. Pirão, yellow in color and similar to polenta, is made from corn flour and is more common in the south. Fubá is the term for the flour that is used to make either funge or pirão, and is also used to make angu, a Brazilian polenta. Both foods are bland but filling and are often eaten with sauces and juices or with a spicy condiment called gindungo.

Chicken moamba is made with a palm paste, okra, garlic, and palm oil hash or red palm oil sauce, and is often served with rice and funge. Both funge and moamba de galinha have been considered the national dish. A variant dish of moamba de galinha, muamba de ginguba, uses ginguba, a peanut sauce instead of palm paste.

In the countryside, a box of one hundred mangos sells for around 10 dollars. But by the time the fruit has reached Luanda, a single mango can be 5 dollars. This means a basic meal for two people can easily cost around 50 dollars. Local beer remains the exception to the high food prices, with bottles at less than a dollar.

Botswana

Botswana’s traditional local dishes use sorghum or maize as their basis, prepared as a porridge (bogobe) or pap. This staple is accompanied by servings of meat such as seswaa (a salted stewed beef) or vegetable sauces such as wild spinach or pumpkin.

Other popular local dishes include serobe (made from goat, sheep, or cow lungs and intestines) and recipes which use imported bread-flour such as matemekwane (dumplings) and magwinya, dough balls deep-fried in fat (known as fat cakes).

Melons are popular in Botswana. Local varieties include the lerotse or lekatane and the watermelon. This is believed to stem from the wild tsamma melons of the Kalahari. A wide variety of vegetables and other crops are grown commercially, including beans and groundnuts/peanuts.

Beer is a popular drink in Botswana, with cloudy local varieties fermented from sorghum, maize, millet, and wild fruits or berries. But beware! Some home brews have an extremely high alcohol content.

Democratic Republic of Congo

The staple food in DR Congo is cassava. This root vegetable is often ground into a paste and served with plantains, fish or bushmeat. Grubs and caterpillars are also collected to provide protein. Nuts and fruit are widely grown, and oranges and bananas are the most commonly available fruits.

Congolese meals often consist of a starchy ingredient, along with vegetables and meat in the form of a stew. The starch can come in the form of a paste or mash made of cassava and/or corn flour, called fufu or ugali. When eaten, the fufu is rolled into golf ball-sized balls and dipped into the spicy stew—often an indentation is made with the thumb in order to bring up a thimbleful of sauce.

A type of fermented bread, kwanga, made from cassava, is commercially produced throughout the country. Lituma is a popular plantain dish made from mashed plantains which are formed into balls and baked. Sweet potatoes are prepared in a similar way, and mixed with roasted peanuts in some parts of the country. Rice is often mixed with beans.

To accompany these starchy ingredients, green vegetables such as cassava leaves, tshitekutaku (a spinach-like plant) and okra are often added. Mushrooms, especially prized among the Luba people, are often seen as a substitute for meat in times of shortage. Though actual vegetarianism is unknown, most meals are eaten without meat due to its high price.

Fish are plentiful along the River Congo, its tributaries, and various lakes; and are baked, boiled, or fried for immediate consumption as well as smoked or salted when preserved. Markets often sell ready-to-eat peppered fish baked in banana leaves. Goat is the most widely consumed meat, and Mwambe is a common way of cooking chicken with peanut sauce. Edible insects such as grasshoppers and caterpillars are eaten, which tend to have a nutty flavor.

Sauces to mix with the available ingredients can be made with tomatoes, onions, and local aromatic herbs. Vegetable oil, together with salt, hot red chile pepper, and sweet green pepper are used to impart extra flavor. These spices are less frequently used in the far south.

Palm trees are grown in some parts and their fermented sap is used to make palm wine.

About Retosa

The Regional Tourism Organization of Southern Africa (RETOSA) is a Southern African Development Community (SADC) institution responsible for tourism growth and development. In part, the aims of RETOSA are to increase tourist arrivals to the region through sustainable development initiatives, improved regional competitiveness, and effective destination marketing. The organization works together with Member States’ tourism ministries, tourism boards, and private sector partners. For more information about RETOSA, go to www.retosa.co.za

6 Top Luxury African River Cruises

Luxury boat cruises on peaceful rivers are not what many would imagine for an African holiday, this is one of Africa’s hidden luxury experiences. Africa is blessed with amazing and powerful perennial rivers, and although not exactly the sight one envisions when they think of Africa, several large and luxurious cruise liners are offering world class river cruise holidays with a magical blend between world class luxury and African hospitality.

African Queen

Every inch of this 70 feet, triple-deck catamaran speaks of African luxury. With its Rhodesian teak finishes, you cannot mistake this catamaran as a product of Africa. And if you look out over the Zambezi River with the soothing sounds of a Marimba band playing in the background, you will be moved to a place where time passes slowly, and where days are spent in luxury. Choose between sunrise, lunch or sunset cruises – each accompanied by a menu offering a feast for a king. And if you want to escape the 120 guests on board, the captain’s cabin on the top deck is the ultimate luxury experience on board the African Queen. The African Queen travels on the Chobe River through Botswana and Namibia.

Oberoi Zahra Nile River

The Nile River, with all its majesty and grandeur, needs little introduction. We when talk about river cruising in Africa, the Nile has to take central place. On the Nile, you will find some of Africa’s most sought-after river cruises. Now, imagine yourself on board one of the world’s most luxurious cruises, overlooking Egypt. The Oberoi Zahra cruises between Aswan and Luxor and offers legendary service, including spa treatments, top-class restaurant menus and cabins that will have you wishing you could stay on board forever!

Zambezi Queen

With the Chobe National Park setting the scene, the Zambezi Queen offers overnight cruises, allowing you to enjoy the magic of a sunrise and sunset on the Zambezi River. On this cruise, enjoy some of the best of Africa’s river luxury and wildlife. The Zambezi River is an activity of wildlife and birdlife – the wildlife and bird song will hardly let you forget your African location. The Zambezi Queen cruise starts on the Botswana side of the Chobe River. On board, 14 luxury suites are offered, each enjoying views across the Chobe River with small private decks. Do not be concerned about Africa’s relentless heat – the suites are fully protected against Africa’s summers. And to end yet another sunny day on the Chobe River, watch the sun set from the luxury lounge and bar on board. The Zambezi Queen visits Botswana, Namibia, Zambia & Zimbabwe.

Pride of the Zambezi

Enjoy a very intimate river cruise on the northern Namibian side of the Chobe River – on board the Pride of the Zambezi houseboat. The keywords here are cruises tailored to your desires, privacy and flexibility. Each guest is offered the dedicated services of a guide and tender boat, meaning you can explore the Chobe River as you please. The Pride of Zambezi has not excluded any luxury. Its six cabins are all luxury en-suite cabins, with large sliding windows opening up to the sights and surrounds of the Chobe River. The Pride of the Zambezi visits Botswana, Namibia, Zambia & Zimbabwe.

Rivers of West Africa

The selection of Mega Harmony cruises offer stylish cruise trips and follow the river routes of epic African explorers. These modern cruise ships are equipped with high-tech, comfortable cabins and luxury cruise spaces for all guests to enjoy. The sunbathing deck is a highlight with views over small African villages. The cruise also offers optional day cruises as well as time available to spend at local fishermen villages and markets. West Africa remains undiscovered by many tourists visiting the African continent, and the Mega Harmony cruises are equipped to show you West Africa from the safety of a cruise liner. With only 25 cabins available, you are assured of small group privacy, away from noisy crowds that can so easily spoil a luxury cruise. On there typical eight-day cruise, the cruise departs from Dakar, Senegal, and set sail for Gambia River.

The Luxury Cruise Company from Cairo

One cannot otherwise but be charmed by the world’s longest river, and the pure luxury offered by the Luxury Cruise Company, and their ultimate river cruise launching from Cairo, Egypt. On this cruise, visit several Egyptian historical sites – something every individual should experience! Cruise the banks of the Nile in luxury while the crew serve you with their bespoke service and entertainment on board. The Luxury Cruise Company has a number of Nile cruise liners, including the Nile Goddess. Their Nile cruises are popular – so be sure to book well in advance!

An African river cruise, whether you opt for the South, North or West, the Chobe, Zambezi or Nile – all will offer an entirely unique experience. There are few things in this world as pleasant as river cruises, and if you add African warmth, charm and hospitality, you are in for some of the world’s best luxury experiences, with the adventure of the African continent at your feet.

Contributed byJavier Luque, Co-Founder and Director of Your African Safari. www.aluxuryblog.com

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