In honor of the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth, which falls on July 18, African Travel, Inc. and Lion World Travel are proudly celebrating his legacy in multiple ways. Both companies are supporting organizations that promote Mandela’s “four pillars” of food security, shelter, education and literacy, and both are offering fascinating Mandela-themed itineraries for travelers.
Staff from African Travel, Inc. are volunteering their time this summer with Baby2Baby, a non-profit group serving 180,000 low-income children in Los Angeles by providing diapers, clothing, toys and other necessities that every child deserves. Volunteers help inspect items to ensure they are clean and ready to use, help create customized gift bags, and stock shelves in the shopping area where partner organizations buy items for low-income children they also work with daily.
Staff from Lion World Travel will be volunteering at Toronto’s North York Harvest Food Bank,where their tasks include weeding, mulching the grounds, building vertical gardens, filling beds with soil, tilling the ground and adding manure, transplanting seedlings, installing garden signs, and sowing seeds.
Additionally, African Travel, Inc. and Lion World Travel are also making donations to both organizations. African Travel’s donation will be used for school uniforms in Los Angeles and Lion World’s donation will be going towards ensuring that thousands of adults, seniors and children in the city of Toronto have enough to eat. African Travel also recently donated funds to Cape Town’s Amy Foundation, so that the 21 children from the organization who visited Los Angeles in late May had new clothing to wear during their trip.
Travelers interested in visiting South Africa and meeting the people Mandela knew, seeing the places he lived and worked, and visiting one of the prisons he was incarcerated in during his decades-long efforts to end apartheid and gain civil rights for all South Africans can try one of these remarkable Mandela-themed itineraries:
In the Footsteps of Mandela: This provocative and inspirational 9-day journey from African Travel, Inc. takes travelers through the vibrant and culturally diverse “Rainbow Nation” of South Africa, stopping at places in Cape Town and Johannesburg that figured in Mandela’s story, and rounded out with a wildlife safari at a spectacular reserve near Kruger National Park. The journey starts in Cape Town, where guests go sightseeing then visit Robben Island, site of the prison where Mandela was incarcerated for 18 years. They also visit a township and meet people empowering local communities through grassroots development programs. The next stop is Johannesburg, where guests visit the Apartheid Museum and the award-winning museum at Liliesleaf, once a secret nerve center of the liberation movement. In Soweto, they visit Freedom Square, the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Vilakazi Street, formerly home to both Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The journey continues as you fly off to a safari adventure at Kruger Private Reserve and enjoy two days of game drives, bush walks, and hearty meals at the luxurious Kapama River Lodge.
South Africa’s History and Heritage: Travelers trace Mandela’s legacy and explore South Africa’s captivating culture, cuisine and history on Lion World’s remarkable 8-day journey through Cape Town and Johannesburg. In “the Mother City” guests explore the riveting District Six Museum, then tour Langa township and visit a local market, an arts and crafts center, and a traditional healer. Guests experience warm local hospitality at a local B&B and visit a nursery that provides a fun, safe haven for local children. On Robben Island, guests visit the exact cell where Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years. In the evening, guests dine at a restaurant in Bo-Kaap, one of the oldest districts in town, where they indulge in tasty Cape Malay cuisine prepared by Yusuf and Nazli. In Johannesburg, guests visit Liliesleaf and get a first-hand account of the events and circumstances leading up to the infamous raid of the Rivonia farm, as well as insights into some of the revolutionary personalities who helped to shape South Africa’s democracy. Later, guests tour the Hector Pieterson Museum, the Regina Mundi Church (site of many underground meetings of the then-banned political parties), have lunch in Soweto at a local restaurant, and explore the legendary Apartheid Museum.
For more information visit www.africantravelinc.com.
