Rundown for the week of 8/1/98
South African Game Tour
Whether your notion of an African safari means roughing it in the bush
like Hemingway, or enjoying a civilized cup of tea on the verandah of
a 5-star game lodge, South Africa offers a wide selection of both
private and public game reserves to suit every taste and budget. The
Savvy Traveler's Tom Verde takes us along as he visits a range of game
reserves, from exclusive, top-of-the-line lodges to inexpensive
national parks.
Additional information about the game tours:
Honeyguide Tented Safari Camp
For reservations, call or
write: Lodges of Manyaleti, PO Box 786064, Sandton 2146, South Africa
Tel: 27-11-880-3912 Fax: 27-11-447-4326
e-mail: hguide@global.co.za
Mala Mala Game Reserve
Reservations: PO Box 2575,
Randberg 2125, South Africa
Tel: 27 11 789 2677 Fax: 27
11 886 4382
e-mail: jhb@malamala.com
www.malamala.com
Shamwari Game Reserve
Reservations: PO Box 32017,
Summerstrand, Port Elizabeth, 6019, South Africa
Tel: 27 42 203
1111 Fax: 27 42 235 1224
e-mail: shamwari@global.co.za
Kruger National Park
Reservations: South Africa National
Parks, PO Box 787, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
Tel: 27 12 343
1991 Fax: 27 12 343 0905
e-mail: reservations@parks-sa.co.za
Air Carriers:
South African Airways, in partnership with American
Airlines, has direct flights from the United States (New York and
Miami) to Johannesberg. Call 800-722-9675.
Other carriers to South Africa, via European cities,
include:
British Airways, Air France, SwissAir, KLM, Northwest
For more information on game reserves, safaris, and travel to South
Africa, call or write to The South African Tourism Board: 747 Third
Ave. 20th Fl.
New York, NY 10017
212-838-8841 or
800-822-5368
or
9841 Airport Blvd. Suite 1524
Los Angeles, CA
90045-5431
310-641-8444 or 800-782-9772
Q & A I -- Travel Scams
Sometimes it pays to look before you leap. This week, Rudy hears
listeners' stories about travel "deals" they've encountered that
were too good to be true.
John Lurie Interview
You may not have heard of John Lurie, but if you've ever seen those
mid-1980s Jim Jarmusch films Stranger Than Paradise and Down
By Law, you've seen Lurie. If you're a jazz fan, you might have
heard his band The Lounge Lizards, who've just released a new CD. Or
maybe you caught up with Lurie on his Independent Film Channel series,
Fishing with John, in which he travels to places like Jamaica
and Thailand with buddies like Tom Waits, Dennis Hopper, and Matt
Dillon to check out some of the world's best fishing holes. We
managed to catch up with John Lurie in between projects to find out,
in all his travels, which place has left the strongest impression on
him. Rudy talks with Lurie about the details of fishing with the
famous and samples a little music from the new CD.
Deal of the Week : London and Paris
To promote its new, non-stop service between Denver and London's
Gatwick Airport, British Air is offering tickets for $99 each
way for travel between September 1 and November 28. You have to buy
your ticket by August 2 and you have to stay over a Saturday night.
Travel mid-week on Air France
between November 1 and December
11 and you can fly round trip from New York for only $338; between
Chicago and Paris, it's only $428; LA or San Francisco and Paris costs
$518. Even when you add the ridiculous taxes of $70 or so a ticket,
it's still a bargain. You can also claim these prices between January
11 and March 24.
Two of the most popular destinations in the world on sale_that's the
Deal of the Week!
Q & A II -- General Questions
Rudy takes listeners' general questions about travel. He mentions:
Things to do in Chicago:
Visit the Art Institute, Museum of Science
and Industry, the John Hancock Center, and the Sears Tower. The
Chicago Architecture and Foundation Shop and Tour Center offers tours,
including boat tours, of the city: 312-922-8687.
Spirit of
Chicago is another lake tour operator: 312-836-7888.
Eats:
Carson's has six Chicago locations and specializes in BBQ baby
back ribs: 312-280-9200
www.ribs.com e-mail:info@ribs.com
Morton's is
famous for its steaks: 312-266-4820
www.mortons.com Night life: blues
at Andy's jazz bar, Rosa's, and the Blue Chicago; comedy at the Improv
and Second City; drama at the Steppenwolf Theater.
Tracing the trail of the Lewis and Clark expedition:
Lewis and Clark Heritage
Foundation: 406-454-1234
Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in
Great Falls, MT: 406-727-8733 Along the way, don't miss a canoe trip
to the White Chalk Cliffs:
Montana River Outfitters
800-800-8218
Montana River Expeditions 800-500-4538 Couriers
that fly between New York and Paris:
Halbart Express
718-656-8189
Now Voyager 212-431-1616 For students only:
Council Travel 800-226-8624
B& Bs in Annapolis, Maryland:
Flag House Inn B&B
800-437-4825
Chez Amis
888-224-6455 Annapolis restaurants:
Cafe Normandie
410-263-3382
Harry Browne's 410-263-2641
St. Michael's, Maryland: the Eastern Shore, home to longshoremen and
farmers who still till the soil to earn their keep. It's where James
Michener wrote Chesapeake. Rudy recommends eating at the Bistro
St. Michael: 410-745-9111.
Alaska Railway Postcard
A postcard from up north...where the transportation is
a bit more accommodating than most places in the world:
"You can
hail the iron mastodon most anywhere along the line and the beast will
actually halt and pick you up - the last flag-stop service in the
country. Way easier than getting a taxi in Manhattan."
Ride
the rails of Alaska with writer Geo Beach. Beach gets off the beaten
track in Sky magazine.
Alaska Railroad:
www.akrr.com
reservations@akrr.com
Railw
ay Brewing Co.:
www.railwaybrews.comrailway@alaska.net
Next Week on The Savvy Traveler
We take an impressionist's tour through Europe as we follow the
footsteps of Claude Monet through the places he traveled to paint:
"He literally builds his own world, a space in which ideas and
sensations and wonder exist, and he's able to translate those ideas
and sensations into paint." Chasing the wonder of Monet's world.
And we'll speak with another artist, travel author Pico Iyer about the
places that have inspired him to write: "I think the most
elevating, moving and purifying place I've ever been was Tibet, and
going there I really did feel as if I was leaving the world and the
self that I knew and stepping onto some kind of balcony of long
horizons; it was very transporting." The inspirational stories of
Pico Iyer, plus your calls about the places you've studied and always
longed to see...that and more in next week's voyage with the Savvy
Traveler. I hope you'll join us.
For tapes of the show...
If you want your very own copy of The Savvy Traveler, order an audio
cassette. It's easy. Just call 303-823-8000. The price is $15. As Rudy
says, it's a steal.
