AFRICA & ANTARCTICA – the hardest ever trip to pack for

White Desert and Mantis have come together to offer two unique experiences on two different continents, creating the ultimate in adventure safaris. In both Africa and Antarctica, you will experience activities that have never been offered before.  View the itinerary

Highlights of the adventure 

Antarctica

• Have exclusive access to a 6,000 strong Emperor Penguin colony with their newly-hatched chicks.
• Fly into unexplored mountains and with our World Record breaking polar explorers guiding you every step of the way, summit a mountain no one has ever climbed before!
• Picnic over the 200ft ice cliff outside White Desert’s luxury safari camp with food from our award-winning chef.
• Become the first tourists to ever fly out to the ice barrier on the edge of Dronning Maud Land and witness thousands of iridescent icebergs.
• Choose from a wide variety of daily activities tailored to each individual client.
• All inclusive, luxury tented camp experience.

Africa

• Have exclusive, behind-the-scenes access to Sanbona Wildlife Reserve’s white lions. They are the only free-roaming, self-sustaining white lions on the planet and at this Mantis luxury safari lodge, you will be able to experience first-hand how they were reintroduced into their natural habitat. 
• Power cruise the Cape Town waters and look back on the sun setting over Table Mountain from The Princess Emma, an 85 foot luxury yacht, while getting to know the other guests. A sunset cruise aboard Princess Emma, moored at Africa’s most celebrated playground, the V&A Marina, is the perfect send off for your White Desert, White Lion adventure. 
• Ease the last of your Antarctic chills from your bones and indulge in a complimentary massage at one of Sanbona’s unique bush spas. 
• Two nights of luxury accommodation before and one night after the Antarctic part of the trip at The Mantis Group’s exclusive The Last Word properties in Cape Town. 
• Two nights at Mantis Group’s Sanbona Wildlife Reserve – a Big Five game experience with five-star facilities.

The cost of the White Desert-White Lion trip is €37,600 per person. Return flights to Cape Town are not included. Terms and conditions apply.

Reservations: +44 (0) 800 110 5930.  Email Reservations  

Itinerary 2010	(Day 1)
	Arrive in Cape Town, South Africa. Overnight at one of the Mantis Group’s intimate The Last Word properties. Intuitively hand-picked to provide savvy travellers with a unique adventure, these luxurious properties inspire the fascination and excitement of an oasis, a sanctuary offering unparalleled African peace, privacy, comfort and stunning views away from the crowds.
	(Day 2)
	Safety briefing at White Desert offices, followed by a cocktail cruise aboard the elegant Princess Emma. Overnight at one of The Last Word properties, whilst you prepare for the incredible flight south.
	(Day 3)
	With the official destination registered as “Unknown International Airport” we fly to Antarctica (5.5 hours) crossing the thousands of icebergs spread across the Southern Ocean. Halfway through the flight, we cross into the polar circle and into 24hrs continuous daylight. Landing on the specialist ice runway, you will be amongst the few to ever stand in the interior of the Antarctic continent.
	(Day 4)
	Settle into White Desert’s ‘Whichaway’ Camp and do as much or as little as you like each day. Activities range from gentle treks to the incredible ice waves, to kite-skiing, ice climbing and even abseiling into crevasses.
	(Day 5)
	We explore the ice waves beneath our camp, delving into the series of ice tunnels that are as surreal as they are beautiful. The day ends with a visit to the nearby Russian science base to learn more about their work, followed by a sauna.
	(Day 6)
	At camp, our guides will take you for a picnic in a location like nowhere else on earth. We set up tables at ‘The Balcony’ and have a BBQ overlooking what seems like the whole of Antarctica.
	(Day 7)
	We fly two hours across Antarctica, providing immense views of the high polar plateau before landing at the Emperor Penguin colony. You will be the only people to witness this incredible wildlife spectacle and able to get up close and personal to these real life stars of “March of the Penguins”.
	(Day 8)
	We drive in the 4X4s to a largely unexplored mountain range about 3 hrs from our camp. Amongst towering formations of rock and guided by our expert team of polar explorers, you can ski where no one has been before and even reach the summit of a previously unclimbed mountain.
	(Day 9)
	We drive about 90km to the edge of the ice and the beginning of open water. Here at the 200ft ice ‘barrier’ (as it was named by the early explorers), you will see surreal frozen icebergs and a completely different type of Antarctic landscape.
	(Day 10)
	The flight out of Antarctica will be the last of your unforgettable Antarctic memories before you delve back into the warmth of Africa. On arrival you will be transferred to one of The Last Word properties in Cape Town and given the chance to take a long bath and rest up ahead of your safari adventure.
	(Day 11)
	Arrive at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve (3.5 hour drive from Cape Town) and settle into one of Africa’s most exclusive lodges. Home to free-roaming Big Five, the sheer expanse and stark beauty of the 54,000 hectare Sanbona reserve gives one a sense of humbleness and the realization of the inconsequentialities of life. After a chance to rest and relax with our professional spa treatments, the game rangers will take you out on to the reserve for an afternoon game drive, giving you the chance to spot elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and buffalo.
	(Day 12)
	Out in the breathtaking reserve, you will spend the day in the company of one of the most unique and magnificent animals on earth, learning from the rangers the story of the white lions and their future. Guests will also be given the opportunity to take part in a behind-the-scenes conservation exercise.
	(Day 13)
	After breakfast and time to say goodbye, our vehicles will take you back to Cape Town for your flight home.

Reservations: +44 (0) 800 110 5930.  Email Reservations