South America: the Top End 5 November 2021 – 7 December 2021
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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 Caracas, we learn of the extraordinary hero, Simon Bolivar before heading south to one of the dazzling jewels on Earth – Angel Falls. From Venezuela 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 https://www.traveldirectors.com.au Itinerary subject to change without notice 1300 856 661 [email protected] Page 1 of 8 SOUTH AMERICA: THE TOP END 5 NOVEMBER 2021 – 7 DECEMBER 2021 TOUR MAP https://www.traveldirectors.com.au Itinerary subject to change without notice 1300 856 661 [email protected] Page 2 of 8 SOUTH AMERICA: THE TOP END 5 NOVEMBER 2021 – 7 DECEMBER 2021 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 https://www.traveldirectors.com.au Itinerary subject to change without notice 1300 856 661 [email protected] Page 3 of 8 SOUTH AMERICA: THE TOP END 5 NOVEMBER 2021 – 7 DECEMBER 2021 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 https://www.traveldirectors.com.au Itinerary subject to change without notice 1300 856 661 [email protected] Page 4 of 8 SOUTH AMERICA: THE TOP END 5 NOVEMBER 2021 – 7 DECEMBER 2021 mountain, we may see different species of monkey Radisson Hotel including the red howler and the wedge-capped capuchin. Port of Spain 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.