A group of Travellers Choice award recipients have just returned from a journey through Zanzibar and Kenya.
They combined Indian Ocean luxury with a Maasai Mara safari and a stop at the childhood home of rock legend Freddie Mercury.
The trip was led by Susie Potter, Chief Executive of The Africa Safari Co., and a veteran of more than 70 visits to the African continent.
The journey began in Zanzibar, an archipelago off the Tanzanian coast that once served as a haunt for 17th-century pirates and later became a global centre for the spice and ivory trades.
The group explored the narrow alleyways of historic Stone Town, sailed on a traditional dhow at sunset and visited the museum dedicated to Zanzibar’s most famous son, Freddie Mercury.
For Select World Travel owner Chip Popescu, visiting Zanzibar was a lifelong dream.
“As a child growing up in Romania, books were the only way for me to get a look at the outside world. I read about the pirates of Zanzibar and always wanted to get to this mysterious destination,” Mr Popescu said.
From Zanzibar the group flew to Nairobi before heading south to the Maasai Mara, where they spotted 23 lions, multiple sets of cubs, buffalo, giraffes, zebra, elephants, jackals and hippos across two days of game drives.
Leah Mullen, owner of Tailor Made Travel Mt Gambier, said the wildlife was so abundant that sightings began on the transfer from the airport.
“We joked that it was the best transfer any of us had ever had,” Ms Mullen said.
The group also spent time with local Maasai, who performed cultural songs and dance on the final evening of the trip.
All participants were recipients of Travellers Choice Awards, an annual program recognising members who make the greatest contribution to the group through preferred supplier sales.
