Are you an educator, student, or just love to travel and enjoy meeting the people?

You have wanted to travel in Africa but it seemed too daunting or costly?

Touch and Feel Africa is an approximate 30 day adventure through Africa. It is a unique way to travel. Most of it done with local transport including buses, trains, vans and taxis. A bicycle might even be used at one of the border crossings.

Our focus is in addition to “seeing” Africa, you also get to “touch” and “feel” the country. We do this by creating and focusing on completing a project where we work with the local people.

During this time you will also have an opportunity to “vacation” at some of the most extraordinary places in the world like Zanzibar, or you may opt to take a week to see the African animals on a Safari in the Serengeti in Tanzania, or canoe with the crocodiles and hippos in Malawi or you might choose to take an extra 2 weeks to climb Kilimanjaro .

You will also experience “traveling” in Africa as we visit different villages, towns and cities en route to our planned destinations. Our mode of transportation will usually be with the “locals” in buses and vans.

Although a complete itinerary of our travels is done before we embark on our adventure, this is not a rigid organized tour. You will be accompanied and/or in touch with your travel advisor, but you may often have the option of traveling ahead, staying a little longer in some places, getting up with the sun at 5:30 to explore or taking it easy and sleeping in.

Touch and Feel Africa is a combination of the best ways of travel. Some in the group may wish to stay a couple of nights in higher end hotels while others, perhaps with a more limited budget or a desire to be more accessible to the locals may opt for accommodation backpackers style. Our travel style allows those on a limited budget to travel and see Africa, and those who have the means can often experience the incredible 1st class options which traveling in Africa can provide.

Though we have worked to create flexibility in our travels, our common goal is to experience the people of Africa, personally meet them and enjoy our visit with them. We will be spending approximately 1 week in Nkhata Bay, Malawi. During this time we will spend approximately 3-4 days embarked upon projects which not only help the local schools and students, but also give you the opportunity to meet and learn about the culture and how people here live and are educated.

Possible itinerary 2: South Africa/Malawi

Day 1 arrive Johannesburg
Day 2-3 experience Johannesburg
Day 4-5 travel by bus to Lilongwe, Malawi, overnight in Lilongwe
Day 6 travel by bus to Nkhata Bay
Day 7 rest up and experience Nkhata Bay
Day 8 take a boat ride to feed the fish eagles and go snorkeling
Day 9 coordinate our projects/explore Nkhata Bay
Day 10 Project
Day 11 Project
Day 12 Project
Day 13 Personal Day
Day 14 Option Travel Week/10 days

Liwonde National Park – canoe with Rhinos, Crocodiles
Return to Dar and on to Zanzibar for 5 days

(people on a 21 day travel schedule fly home)

Day 24 Optional Travel Week 2/10 days

Visit Kruger National Park, South Africa
for 5 days

Combine Kruger with a 2nd week in Cape Town

Day 31 Fly home

Possible itinerary 3: South Africa/Botswana/Malawi

Day 1 arrive Johannesburg
Day 2-3 experience Johannesburg
Day 4-5 travel by bus to Lilongwe, Malawi, overnight in Lilongwe
Day 6 travel by bus to Nkhata Bay
Day 7 rest up and experience Nkhata Bay
Day 8 take a boat ride to feed the fish eagles and go snorkeling
Day 9 coordinate our projects/explore Nkhata Bay
Day 10 Project
Day 11 Project
Day 12 Project
Day 13 Personal Day
Day 14 Option Travel Week/10 days

Liwonde National Park – canoe with Rhinos, Crocodiles

(people on a 21 day travel schedule fly home)

Day 24 Optional Travel Week 2/10 days

Return to South Africa via Victoria Falls
for 2 days and on to an animal safari in Moremi Game Reserve

and/or

a visit to the Okavanga Delta,

then back to Johannesburg

Day 31 Fly home

The projects may be anything from buying paint and painting classrooms and teacher's residences, helping to set up computers, replacing ceiling tiles and distributing portable lights to students.  Be prepared to get to your project in the back of a pickup truck. There may be a little hike ahead of you to get to our destination.  Also be prepared to meet some of the most friendly, warm and outgoing people in the world.