To celebrate 2009 being the UN year of the Gorilla, Goway’s AFRICAExperts has launched a special offer to encourage clients to track these gentle giants. Goway is offering clients a free second gorilla permit (Worth $500USD) on a safari of 6 days or more valid for new bookings until December 31, 2009. In effect this money is being donated to the gorilla national parks for conservation and communities, thus increasing revenue for the gorilla parks. “Before I saw my first mountain gorilla he brushed my shoulder as he bounded from the canopy above and went somersaulting down the track behind me,” says Bruce Hodge, President of 39-year-old Goway. “There was another gorilla in the undergrowth to the left and one to the right and even more in the bamboo canopy above.“ The place was Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, East Africa the region where Dian Fossey became famous. “I feel privileged to be one of the very few travellers who have ever encountered mountain gorillas in their own habitat” continued Hodge.

Consider that in contrast to the six billion human beings living on our crowded planet, there are only some seven hundred mountain gorillas left. Goway’s AFRICAExperts offers travellers some programs where they can encounter gorillas up close. One is a 7 day ‘Gorillas, Wildlife & Chimps’ (http://www.goway.com/africa/uganda/gorillas-wildlife-chimps.html) which includes gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda and chimp trekking from $4434. Also on offer is the 3 or 4 day Mountain Gorilla Encounter in Rwanda from $2936CAD. Only 8 permits are issued each day in Rwanda to visit each of 5 families habituated for tourists, so early booking is essential if you want to join one of the few travellers to have encountered mountain gorillas in their own habitat.

For more information on these and many other great value Travel ideas, visit www.goway.com or call 1-800-245-0920.

You don’t get much closer to nature than spending a night up a tree in the African bush, in the open with only a mosquito net between you and the stars above. Discerning guests at Lions Sands Private Game Reserve in South Africa can do just that.

Guy Aubrey Chalkley, an Irish-American immigrant, first founded a modest camp there on the banks of the Sabie River, which flows through Kruger National Park, in the early 1930s. Now his grandsons Nicholas and Robert More operate a 5-star luxury safari lodge in the same area and they have created Chalkley Treehouse and Jackalberry Treehouse to add a touch of excitement to their guests’ stay.

The treehouses consist of a wooden platform outfitted with the comforts a guest can expect at a luxurious lodge – a comfortable double bed, crisp linens, mosquito net, comfortable armchairs for game viewing, toilet, vanity table, gowns and slippers.

Chalkley Treehouse is built around a majestic, 500-year-old Leadwood Tree with views across the game-filled plains; Jackalberry is constructed high in a 100-year-old jackalberry tree and overlooks the Msutu dry river bed. They are 20 minutes drive from Lion Sands Lodge.

Guests are driven to the treehouses at dusk and served a champagne picnic dinner. They are then left alone to enjoy the African dusk and absorb the sounds and sights and the beauty of the bushveld night. They have lamps and a spotlight for picking out game in the bush below before turning in to sleep under the stars, safe and sound in their treetop aeries.

At dawn, guests are collected by the game ranger who looks after them throughout their visit and taken for a morning game drive that includes a delicious bush breakfast in one of the many bird and animal hides scattered through the reserve.

For information and reservations for this unique experience, call 1-800-245-0920 or visit AfricaExperts.com

Goway’s AFRICAExperts is pleased to advise that Kenya will reduce the cost of tourist visas by 50 percent beginning April 1, 2009. Also, in recognition of growth in family travel, visa fees will be waived for children under 16 years of age.

“This announcement eases costs for travellers” said Moira Smith, General Manager Goway’s AFRICAExperts, ‘A family of four would currently pay $200 in visa costs. With the revised pricing structure, from 1 April this is a reduced to $50.”

AFRICAExperts offers several tempting vacation specials including their popular 8-day Classic Kenya Safari starting from $2399 per person on select departures, a savings of $730. Also on offer is the 14-day Classic East Africa safari with special pricing starting from $4999, which reflects savings of up to $1117 per person.

Due to an increase in demand for safaris in Kenya, AFRICAExperts have introduced some additional exciting itineraries. Some samples of these new itineraries are the 6-day Karibu Kenya Safari visiting Mount Kenya National Park, Kigio Wildlife Conservancy and the famous Masai Mara starting at $1589, the 7-day Masai Footsteps Safari exploring the Masai Mara, Kigio Wildlife Conservancy and Amboseli starting at $1933 and the 12-day Grand Kenya Safari that covers all the major parks in Kenya such as Sweetwaters Wildlife Sanctuary, Samburu National Park, Mount Kenya National Park, Kigio Wildlife Conservancy, the Masai Mara and Amboseli all from $3799.

For more information on travel to Kenya, call AFRICAExperts at 1-800-245-0920, email info@africaexperts.com or visit AFRICAExperts.com.