SOUTH AMERICA: THE TOP END 5 NOVEMBER 2021 – 7 DECEMBER 2021

Tour Cost ($AUD):$27,950 Tour Duration:33 days Single Supplement ($AUD):$4,775

OVERVIEW

‘The Top End’ is Travel Directors most daring traverse into South America. Little visited, this journey offers utterly pristine jungles and rainforests, the world’s highest waterfall and the rich culture of Colombia, a country that has emerged into a new and exciting era, and is waiting to be discovered. This tour, which is a scenic wonderland, will have great appeal for the wildlife enthusiast, but at the same time enriching our travellers with a tapestry of cultural wealth.

French Guiana is the starting point of the tour and in its capital city, Cayenne we experience France and the Caribbean meeting exotic South America. Here we visit France’s Ariane Space Centre, an incongruous hi-tech satellite complex surrounded by jungle. We the cross into the Dutch colony of Suriname where we explore remote villages that still cling to their African roots. We then reach Guyana, a country which arguably possesses the most pristine rainforest in the world and the greatest abundance of wildlife in South America. Travelling onto , we learn of the extraordinary hero, Simon Bolivar before heading south to one of the dazzling jewels on Earth – Angel Falls. From we travel to Colombia, a country that has emerged from a violent past into one of the most staggering destinations in Latin America. Here we discover the previously impenetrable colonial wonders of Salento, Medellin and Cartagena. From French Guiana to Colombia, ‘The Top End’ is a stunning adventure across South America’s north face.

Tour Fitness Level: Active

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ITINERARY town of Kourou, which is just 500km north of the equator. This proximity to the equator makes it ideally placed for launches into geostationary 05/11/2021 Australia – Singapore transfer orbit as few changes have to be made to a Fly from your preferred capital city to Singapore. satellite’s trajectory. Launchers also profit from the ‘slingshot’ effect, which is the energy created by the 06/11/2021 Singapore – Paris (D) speed of the earth’s rotation around the axis of the Depart Singapore Singapore Airlines SQ 336, 00.15 poles. This increases the speed of a launcher by Arrive Paris Charles de Gaulle 07.15 460m per second. These important factors save fuel and money and prolong the active life of satellites. On arrival in Paris we transfer to our hotel. Safety is also important and French Guiana is sparsely populated with 90% of the country covered Novotel Paris Coeur d’Orly Airport Hotel by equatorial forests. Following the tour we transfer to our hotel. Orly, Paris Hotel Les Roches 07/11/2021 Paris – Cayenne (French Guiana) (BD) Kourou After breakfast we transfer to Orly Airport for our flight to French Guiana. 09/11/2021 Kourou (BLD)

Depart Paris Orly Air France AF 852, 10.45 Today we enjoy a tour of Iles du Salut, known as the Arrive Cayenne 15.55 Salvation Islands, located off the coast of French Guiana 14 kilometres north of Kourou. These islands On arrival in Cayenne we transfer to our hotel. were part of a notorious penal colony from 1852 to 1947 for the worst criminals of France. We visit Ile Hotel Ker Alberte Royale, Ile St Joseph, with its eerie solitary- confinement cells, and finally the notorious Ile du Cayenne Diable – Devil’s Island – the infamous ‘green hell’, once feared as the worst place on earth. Two 08/11/2021 Cayenne – Kourou (BLD) thousand prisoners endured a living death dubbed the ‘Dry Guillotine’. Escape was almost impossible Cayenne is an eclectic mix of cultures as South because of the penitentiary’s two mighty guardians America and Europe meet the Caribbean. The city’s – the sea and the jungle. Today the tangled roots of narrow streets are lined with colonial wrought-iron trees and dense foliage have softened the complex, balconies with louvered shutters painted in tropical yet the imposing features still remain. Indeed this is pinks, yellows and turquoise. The marketplace is the the very place that inspired Henri Charriere’s melting pot of the city as Brazilians, Chinese and acclaimed classic, ‘Papillon’. French sell their exotic wares. Following our city tour we leave Cayenne and drive to Kourou visiting the 10/11/2021 Kourou – Paramaribo (Suriname) (BLD) Ariane Space Centre en route. In 1964, the French decided to look for an alternative spaceport fromThis morning we drive to St Laurent Du Maroni, the their existing one in the Sahara. After studiesborder town between French Guiana and Suriname. conducted in all French Colonies, they settled onBefore crossing we visit the infamous ‘Camp De La their jungle clad colony of French Guiana and theTransportation’, once the largest prison in French

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Guiana. Here, boat loads of convicts arrived after arich in timber, bauxite, gold and diamonds. In three week crossing of the Atlantic. In one of theaddition, the land was supported by vast sugar cane cells, which once held Henri Charrière, his nickname plantations and as a result, the Spanish, Dutch, – ‘Papillon’ – is inscribed on the wall. After our tour French and English all fought to possess it. Today we cross the border into Suriname and continue on Georgetown has an almost fairy tale appearance, to its capital, Paramaribo. with canals, tree-lined avenues and quaint Dutch colonial and Victorian architecture, stemming from Royal Toraica Hotel its days as Dutch and English colonies. On our arrival we embark on a city tour. Paramaribo Cara Lodge 11/11/2021 Paramaribo (BLD) Georgetown In 1613 two Dutchmen built a small trade company near the Indian village of Paramaribo. This settlement 14/11/2021 Georgetown – Kaieteur Falls – Iwokrama at the west bank of the Suriname River and 23km(BLD) from the Atlantic Ocean, was the basis for the current Paramaribo. Today we commence a walking This morning we board our charter flight for the one- tour of the city starting at the main square and the hour flight to Kaieteur Falls. On arrival we take a walk presidential palace. We continue to the Garden ofthrough the rainforest, strolling through a paradise Palms and the old fort Zeelandia. We then head toof pristine and untouched jungle to reach the falls. the waterfront and the city markets with their heavy This natural wonder, which is five times the height of African and Indian influences. Niagara Falls, sends more than 136,000 litres of water per second crashing 251 metres to the bottom 12/11/2021 Paramaribo – Maroon Cultural Village – of the rocky gorge. Following a tour of the falls, we Paramaribo (BLD) re-board our charter plane for the short flight to Iwokrama, which is located three hours from the Today we head out to a small village uniquelyremote Guyana/Brazil border. In the grounds of the situated in the middle of the savanna forest, one and Iwokrama Lodge, capybara and agouti roam around half hours from the bustling centre of Paramaribo.and red and green macaws fly overhead. Here we Here we learn more about the Maroon culture from may also see South America’s distinctive orange the people themselves and have a chancebird, to the cock-of-the rock. participate in their cultural presentation. Iwokrama River Lodge 13/11/2021 Paramaribo – Georgetown (Guyana) (BLD) Iwokrama This morning we transfer to the airport for our flight to Georgetown, Guyana. 15/11/2021 Iwokrama – Turtle Mountain – Iwokrama (BLD) Depart Paramaribo Surinam Air PY 421, 09.00 Arrive Georgetown 08.45 After breakfast we take a boat to the foot of Turtle Mountain. Climbing 290 metres to the summit we see The location of Georgetown on the mouth of thebreathtaking views of the rainforest canopy, hazy Demerara River and ocean, provided an ideal port for mountain ranges, dense emerald jungle and the a European base on the Atlantic Ocean. Originallymighty Essequibo River. On our way to the top of the known as Stabroek, Georgetown and Guyana were

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16/11/2021 Iwokrama – Sloth Island – Georgetown 18/11/2021 Port of Spain (BLD) (BLD) Today we make a full tour of the capital and explore After breakfast we leave Iwokrama and boardthe a myriad of influences as we stroll through the charter flight to Bartica where we transfer by boatbotanical gardens, Independence Square and the across the Essequibo River to Sloth Island. ApartBrian Lara Promenade. Driving east, we see houses from sloths, the island is noted for its birdlife. It issurrounded by fragments of colored cloth fluttering home to more than188 species of birds, includingon long bamboo poles. These Hindu prayer flags are parakeets, tiger heron, green ibis, swallow tailed kite, put up for major occasions like births, graduations red and green macaw, red fan parrot, white-necked and weddings. At times it is possible to forget that jacobin, and a variety of honeycreepers. After ourwe are on a Caribbean island, as we see people visit here we return to Georgetown by charter flight. harvesting sugar cane with machetes and water buffalo slowly ploughing their way through teak Cara Lodge forests and rice paddies – more reminiscent of India.

Georgetown 19/11/2021 Port of Spain – Tobago – Port of Spain (BLD) 17/11/2021 Georgetown – Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago) (BLD) Tobago is the beautiful little sister island of Trinidad, located only 30km from Venezuela and 250km to the This morning we return to Georgetown airport for our south of Barbados. It is renowned for its white sand onward flight to the beautiful Caribbean islands ofbeaches, idyllic bays, crystal clear waters, unspoiled Trinidad and Tobago. coral reefs, unique undersea world, waving palms and tropical rainforest. We spend the day exploring Depart Georgetown Caribbean Airlines BW 527, 09.05 the 41km wide island as we delve into small villages Arrive Port of Spain 10.15 framed by mountains, cocoa plantations and forests before returning to Trinidad in the late afternoon. Trinidad and Tobago were discovered in 1498 by Christopher Columbus, who claimed the islands for 20/11/2021 Port of Spain – Puerto Ordaz – Canaima Spain. Three hundred years later, in 1798, the British (Venezuela) (BLD) seized the territory and immediately abolished slavery. To make up for the resulting labour shortage, This morning we return to the airport for our charter the British encouraged immigration from Portugal,flight to Venezuela. On arrival in Puerto Ordaz we France, Germany, China and India, and in the earlyclear customs and continue onto Canaima. Here we 1900s, the country invited thousands of blackboard a boat to the beautiful Canaima Lagoon, and, immigrants from the Caribbean, Venezuela andskirting the jungle we see the world’s most ancient Colombia. Today Trinidad is the most developedrock formations, the ‘tepuys’. nation in the Caribbean and the island is a cultural melting pot renowned for its pulsating beat of steel Waku Lodge drums and calypso music. Canaima

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21/11/2021 Canaima – Angel Falls – Canaima (BLD) historic relevance: Caracas Cathedral, , the City Hall, the Yellow House and the Before the mid-1950s Angel Falls was unknown toCapitol (Congress of Venezuela). Simón Bolívar’s the outside world. Even the indigenous tribes whobirthplace is near here in a colonial house, now lived in the valley beside Auyán-tepu Mountainenriched by the paintings of Tito Salas, who captured stayed away, believing that the area harbouredimportant moments in Bolivar’s amazing life. Later malign spirits. However, in 1933 an American goldwe visit El Capitolio, where the golden keys to Simon prospector, Jimmie Angel, discovered the falls as he Bolivar’s mausoleum are kept. We then take a cable flew over the mountain in his light plane. Returning car to the top of the Ávila Mountain Range from in1937, he landed his plane successfully on Auyán- where we have breathtaking views of Caracas and tepu’s table-topped summit, although the plane’sthe Caribbean Sea. This afternoon we transfer to the wheels became submerged in mud, and the aircraft airport for our flight to the Colombian capital, remained marooned on top of the mountain untilBogota. 1970. When the aviator died in 1962, his ashes were scattered across the top of the falls. Today we take a Depart Caracas Avianca 9V 142, 18.20 boat upriver before we start our hike to Angel Falls, Arrive Bogota 19.10 the world’s highest uninterrupted waterfall. Located in Canaima National Park, the waterfall tumbles from On arrival we transfer to the hotel. a cleft near the summit of Auyán-tepu into what is known as Devil’s Canyon, 979 metres below. The falls Hotel Holiday Inn Express are a tributary of the Carrao River, which is part of Venezuela’s Orinoco River system. Angel Falls Bogotais regarded as a dazzling highlight in world travel. 25/11/2021 Bogota (BLD) 22/11/2021 Canaima (BLD) Bogotá is the beating heart of Colombia and the Today we enjoy a walk through Canaima village and most significant city in the ‘Top End’. This morning then spend the afternoon relaxing at the beautifulwe visit the icon of Bogota, Cerro de Monserrate, a Waku Lodge. mountain of 3,160m, which we ascend by cable car. The view from the top to the city and beyond to the 23/11/2020 Canaima – Puerto Ordaz – Caracas (BLD) Andes is simply astonishing. This afternoon we visit the city’s cultural epicentre, La Candelaria. We start Today we transfer to the airport for our charter flight with a visit to the world-famous ‘gold museum’ back to Puerto Ordaz and Caracas. before strolling around the cobbled historic downtown of old Bogota. Neat rows of houses, in a Marriot Hotel colour palette of pinks, ochres, yellows, reds and greens, line the side streets of the neighbourhood. Caracas Cartoon eyes stare down from wooden shutters and wrought-iron balconies, as smoke puffs from 24/11/2021 Caracas – Bogota (BLD) chimneys protruding from orange-tile rooftops. La Candelaria is a cauldron of preciously preserved The historical centre of Caracas is Plaza Bolivar. The colonial buildings comprising 300-year-old homes, square was originally called Plaza de Armas but was churches and convents. renamed on the 100th birthday of Simon Bolivar in 1883.The plaza is surrounded by buildings of huge

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26/11/2021 Bogota (BLD) plantations. Entering a large gorge we cross the Rio Cauca and continue through to Medellin, arriving in Today we visit the number one wonder of Colombia, the late afternoon. the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira, an amazing underground Roman as well as the Hotel Poblado Plaza most famous Colombian architectural achievement. Medellin 27/11/2021 Bogota – Armenia – Salento (BLD) Depart Bogota, Avianca AV 9837, 09.12 30/11/2021 Medellin (BLD) Arrive Armenia 10.15 Medellin was once dubbed ‘The Most Dangerous City On our arrival into Armenia, we transfer to the nearby in the World’ by Time Magazine. In the last 20 years, town of Salento. Set amid verdant green mountains, however, it has completely reinvented itself at a this small town is the centre of coffee productionspeed that no other city in the world has matched. and trout farming. Founded in 1850, Salento is one of Situated in a narrow valley, the city’s skyline – which the oldest towns in Quindio Department. It isis reminiscenta of La Paz – reaches to the top of the sensation of colour and adorned with typical paisasurrounding peaks. Today we set out to explore ‘the architecture. Today we head out to a coffeeCity of Eternal Spring’, visiting the historic quarter, plantation and see the fascinating productionthe beautiful parks and plazas, and amazing urban process from beginning to end. We enjoy lunch in the development projects, including Colombia’s cable car charming Reserve el Cairo, a 100-year-old coffeesystem, built to service poorer neighborhoods house which is surrounded by amazing landscapes. located high on the mountainsides. In the afternoon we learn about Colombia’s notorious drug lord and Hotel Salento Real ‘Robin Hood’, Pablo Escobar, a man both loved and feared by millions of people. We see where his Salento extensive cocaine operation took place and where he was shot and killed in 1993. Our tour today also takes 28/11/2021 Salento (BLD) us to the Museo de Antioquia for an exhibition of the famous Colombian artist, Fernando Botero. Colombia is blessed with beautiful landscapes, and Valle de Cocora is one of its most striking. Here, in a 01/12/2021 Medellin – Guatapé – Medellin (BLD) broad green valley, flanked by jagged peaks, stand the palma de cera (wax palm), the largest palm in the Today we drive outside Medellín to Guatapé, an world that grows up to 60 metres tall. This morning eclectic town surrounded by green hills and fresh we walk through the valley starting in misty greenwater lakes. One of Colombia’s most picturesque hills before entering into dense cloud forest wheretowns, Guatapé is famous for the beautiful pastel- hummingbirds feed voraciously. In the afternoon we colored paintings found on the lower half of nearly explore the town of Salento. every building in the historic centre. We explore this delightful town on foot, strolling through its 29/11/2021 Salento – Medellin (BLD) cobblestone streets and local markets. We then head over to El Peñon rock, an enormous monolithic Today we begin our spectacular drive to Medellin,formation that stands majestically 2,100 metres zigzagging between the Cordillera Occidental andabove sea level. the Cordillera Central. We pass through precipitous agricultural terracing of coffee and banana

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02/12/2021 Medellin – Cartagena (BLD) time it was called Castillo de San Lazaro. Our tour Depart Medellin Avianca AV 9386, 09.42 continues on to the ‘Museo Historic de Cartagena de Arrive Cartagena 10.49 Indias’ located in the former Museo de la Inquisition. The afternoon is at leisure. In many ways Cartagena is the jewel in the crown of the Caribbean and one of the most compelling04/12/2021 Cartagena – Bogota – Paris (B) ‘pueblos’ in South America. Founded in 1533, the vast riches plundered by Spanish colonists turnedThis afternoon we transfer to the airport for our Cartagena into the most breathtaking city in the New flight to Bogota. World. Today this fairy-tale city is the epitome of superbly preserved beauty lying within an impressive Depart Cartagena Avianca AV 9757, 17.16 13km-long, centuries-old, colonial stone wall. Indeed, Arrive Bogota 18.44 Cartagena’s old town is a UNESCO World HeritageDepart Bogota Air France AF 429, 23.55 site. 05/12/2021 Arrive Paris Arrive Paris Charles de Gaulle 16.35 Sofitel Hotel On arrival in Paris we transfer to our hotel. Cartagena Ibis Hotel

03/12/2021 Cartagena (BLD) Charles de Gaulle

This morning we continue to explore the city as we 06/12/2021 Paris – Singapore head to the Castle of San Felipe de Barajas,Depart a Paris Singapore Airlines SQ 335, 11.00 building outside the walled city formerly used for07/12/2021 Singapore – Australia colonists’ military purposes when Cartagena was the Arrive Singapore 06.40 largest garrison in colonial South America. It was built in 1536 and modified in the year 1657, at which On arrival in Singapore connect with the flight to your chosen Australian capital city.

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