Photo Tours

Thomson Family Adventures presents:

Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands & Andean Highlands:
A Photographic and Natural History Exploration

180 years ago this December, Charles Darwin set sail on the HMS Beagle for the journey that would ultimately change the course of biology and natural history. Follow in his footsteps with your family on this very special expedition, where you and your children will experience the rich culture and history of the Andes and the amazing natural history of the Galapagos. You will be led by renowned primatologist and Harvard professor Richard Wrangham and celebrated photographer Stewart Halperin, two longtime friends who launched their careers together in East Africa nearly forty years ago. Improve your photographic skills and learn more about animal behavior than you could ever imagine.

Venturing 600 miles west of mainland Ecuador, your journey begins in the enchanted Galapagos Islands, where you will board ship for a seven- day, six-night nature cruise. Teeming with wildlife, including blue-footed boobies, flightless cormorants, giant tortoises, and the only penguin species north of the Equator, the Galapagos Islands are one of the world’s great treasures, protected both as a wildlife sanctuary and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Disembark on a different island each day to explore, hike, swim, snorkel, and view the remarkable wildlife.

Return to the mainland and fly south into the Andean Highlands, to the area near the charming colonial town of Cuenca, where there will be plenty of time to soak in the breathtaking natural beauty. Once dotted with Inca villages, there are several opportunities to explore these centuries old stone buildings, and learn about a way of life long gone. Visit a local market as well as a small artisan village, encountering the area’s still-vibrant ancient culture and shopping for crafts in colorful markets. Also included is the opportunity for interested children to write to a pen pal ahead of time, and then meet his or her new friend while in Ecuador.

June 15-26, 2012

Friday, June 15: Depart U.S. / Arrive Guayaquil, Ecuador Upon arrival, you are met and transferred to your hotel. You will be greeted and welcomed by Richard and Stewart, then catch up on sleep after your long journey! Hilton Colon

Saturday, June 16: Galapagos Islands
Our seagoing home is the M/V Galapagos Explorer II, a 293-foot, first-class ocean- going cruise ship that carries 100 passengers. Comfortable cabins feature air-conditioning, private bathrooms and a small sitting area. Experienced naturalists will lead shore expeditions to seek out wildlife. When not exploring, enjoy the ship’s Jacuzzi, solarium and reading room without experiencing the motion of a smaller vessel. After checking in to your cabin and an orientation, venture out for your first island visit, to Sullivan Bay on Santiago Island.
M/V Galapagos Explorer II

Sunday, June 17 – Thursday, June 21: Galapagos Islands
Spend these five days exploring the remarkable varying landscapes of the Gala- pagos Islands and enjoying close-up encounters with the islands’ abundance of wildlife. A typical day has two shore excursions as well as one or two opportunities for snorkeling.
M/V Galapagos Explorer II

Friday, June 22: Galapagos Islands / Cuenca / Andean Highlands
Fly from the Galapagos to Guayaquil. Time permitting, enjoy lunch in Guayaquil and a short city tour, and then fly to Cuenca. Arrive at the comfortable Hosteria Uzhupud later this afternoon, our home for the next three nights located just outside of Cuenca. There is time for swimming in the pool or just relaxing before dinner. Hosteria Uzhupud

Saturday, June 23: Andean Highlands
Take a short drive to the village of Cojitambo, where you can explore one of the largest sites of Canari and Inca ruins. There are wonderful opportunities for walking and hiking here. After a picnic lunch, head to the rose plantation ALTA FLOR. Here you can observe the different varieties of roses being produced, and learn about the cultivation procedures, the harvesting, and the system of transportation to take the stems from the plantation to the packing room for quality control and stem size selection. Return to Uzhupud for a cooking lesson, where you can learn about traditional local cuisine. Kids can opt to make pizza!
Hosteria Uzhupud

Sunday, June 24: Andean Highlands
Today head to the forest of Aguarongo and enjoy an easy hike through a misty mountain forest. This forest is one of the few remaining Andean forests in the Azuay province in the southern Andes of Ecuador. The walk doesn’t include big changes in altitude, making it the perfect way to experience the plants and birds of this magical place.

Continue on to the remote countryside village of San Bartolomè, reaching our highest point at over 10,000 feet before descending to town. Here woman wear traditional dresses and panama hats, and you can get a taste of life in a Highlands village as well as view the wares for sale by these artisans.

Returning later to the hotel, there is time for swimming and games before dinner.
Hosteria Uzhupud

Monday, June 25: Andean Highlands / Cuenca / Guayaquil
After breakfast, drive to the beautiful colonial city of Cuenca. Here you can visit a ceramic workshop to learn how traditional ceramics are made. Then walk the cobblestone streets of this beautiful city. Be ready with your bartering skills at the Market 10 Agosto where you can buy everything from native-made trinkets to herbal cures for whatever ails you! Walk and visit San Francisco market, Flower
Plaza and the New Cathedral.

After lunch at a local restaurant, explore the Inca ruins at Pumapungo, where kids can find a treasure with map and clues! Later catch a flight back to Guayaquil, where you can enjoy a farewell dinner with your fellow travelers and guide.
Hosteria Uzhupud

Tuesday, June 26: Depart Guayaquil / Arrive U.S

October 12-13, 2011: Depart US / Amsterdam / Arrive Tanzania

Venture to Tanzania via Amsterdam, where you will catch a connecting flight to Kilimanjaro Airport; there, your trip leader Stewart Halperin will greet and welcome you to Tanzania. A transfer to your lodge in Arusha wil be provided.

• Overnight: Arusha Lodge

October 14-15: Private Nature Refuge

Take a short flight to the remote wilds of a 12,000 private nature refuge reserved exclusively for Thomson guests. Over two thrilling days, you will explore the pristine savannah and woodlands by vehicle and by foot. See zebra, impala, giraffe, and other animals as they go about their daily routines. You will also have unique opportunities to meet some of our Maasai neighbors and friends, such as a women’s collaborative, a storyteller, and dancers. This is the Africa you have been dreaming about.

• Overnights: Thomson East Serengeti Nyumba

October 16-18: Serengeti National Park

After a morning drive, enter the endless plains of the famed Serengeti, where you’ll have three days of wilderness ventures over a diverse landscape of acacia forests, rolling hills, grasslands, rivers, and kopjes. While in the Serengeti you will stay at two distinct Thomson sites, which are both ideally located for the best possible wildlife viewing opportunities. With luck, you may even encounter some of the Great Migration near the Mara River. Closer to the central part of the park you will explore the Seronera RIver Valley, which is home to numerous prides of lion.

• Overnights: Thomson Serengeti Nyumba

October 19-21: Ngorongoro Crater

You will drive from the Serengeti to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area this morning, stopping for lunch en route at Olduvai Gorge, where Louis and Mary Leakey discovered the 1.75-million-year-old skull of Australopithecus Boisei. From there, you’ll head to the Ngorongoro Crater, spending three nights at a camp perched on the crater rim. You’ll spend the following day on the crater floor, where over 30,000 large mammals live all of the Big 5: black rhino, leopard, lion, elephant, and buffalo.

• Overnights: Thomson Ngorongoro Nyumba

October 22: Ngorongoro Village

Take an early-morning drive down to Manyara Airstrip to catch a flight to Kigoma town in western Tanzania. Take a guided tour of Kigoma and an optionak visit to Ujiji, the site where Henry Stanlet found Dr. David Lingstone in 1871. In perparation for the next leg of your journey, Stewart Halperin will present a slideshow documenting his expeiences at Gombe Stream Nation Park.

• Overnights: Kigoma Hilltop Hotel

October 23-25: Gombe Stream National Park

Take a boat ride over the beautiful blue waters of Lake Tanganyika to Gombe Stream National Park. Over the course of the next three days, you will hike through the dense bamboo forests and mountainous terrain while you track Gombe's legendary chimpanzees. When you do finally come upon the chimps, whether they are playfully squabbling, grooming each other, or swinging through trees, the moment will be simply spectacular. When not trekking, you can also pursue other optional activities, such as bird-watching and even snorkeling in Lake Tanganyika.

• Overnights: Gombe Forest Lodge

October 26-28: Arusha / Depart Tanzania / Amsterdam / Arrive US

You will transfer from Gombe to Kigoma and then take an afternoon flight to Arusha. Spend the night at your hotel relaxing with friends. The following day you'll have time to prepare for your journey home. Enjoy special lunch together, do a bit of souvenir shopping, use the business center, take a swim, and repack before you are transferred to the airport to check in for your flight home.

• Overnight and Day Room: Arusha Lodge

Price

$11,900 per person, based on double occupancy

Deposit

$1,500

Booking

Call us at (800) 235-0289 to reserve your space. This once in a lifetime safari is exclusive, so please book early to ensure availability.

A $1,500 non-refundable, non-transferrable credit card deposit is required to reserve your space.

Cancellation Charge
From booking to 121 days before departure: 100% of the deposit

From 120 to 91 days before departure:
50% of trip price

From 90 to 61 days before departure:
65% of trip price

From 60 days or less before departure:
100% of trip price

Additional Terms
Itinerary and price is subject to change. Lodges in Arusha and Zanzibar will be determined prior to the final payment deadline.
This trip requires a minimum enrollment of 12 guests; should Thomson Safaris need to cancel the trip due to insuffient enrollment, your safari deposit would be refunded in full.

Trip Leader

Stewart Halperin, Photographer
With his keen eyes always alert and cameras ready, Stewart Halperin has journeyed to more than 80 countries while capturing an eclectic array of extraordinary color images over the past 40 years.

His collection includes some 120,000 color transparencies of fine art photographic prints and an expanding digital library, which ranges from stunning landscapes in New Zealand to dreamy abstracts in Italy, from wildlife in Key West to dramatic cultural displays in Brazil. The most formative moments of Halperin’s career came when he studied under the photography juggernaut, Ernst Haas.

Now based in Saint Louis, Halperin leads regular workshops and world tours, striving to instill his students with a sense of composition so they can discover and develop their own aesthetics.

He says his days as a graduate student with the chimps at Gombe gave him an entirely different sense of time, observation, and wonder.

"Before the Click" Workshop at Shaw Nature Reserve

“Before the Click” is an immersion into what makes good, great, and exceptional photographic images. It is part spiritual, part psychological, plus practical tips on how to spend more time behind the lens and less at the computer manipulating images. Participants should have working knowledge of their camera and must submit a disk prior to the workshop with 15-25 images on a single subject. Workshop includes a lecture and visual presentation of Stewart’s work, a critique of the group’s photos, and a brief presentation by computer guru Jeff Hirsch. More details sent upon registration. Accommodations dormitory style. Meals included. Adults only.

Saturday, November 5, 9 a.m. to

Sunday November 6, 1:30 p.m.

Stewart Halperin

Dana Brown Overnight Center

$250 member, $275 nonmember

Venetian Tour Guide – Luisella Romeo

We have been privileged to have Luisella Romeo (pictured, center) as our Venitian tour guide each year we have gone. Her unparalleled knowledge of the art, architecture, history, and culture of this storied city has been priceless and she is a vital part of our Venice experience.

Click here or on the image below for more information on her tour services and to see a gallery of Stewart's photos taken during previous Venice trips.

Digital Imaging Specialist - Jeff Hirsch

photo by Valerie J. Snyder

We are also fortunate to have photographer, tech guru, and photo-educator Jeff Hirsch along on our Venice trip this year to provide "after-the-click" expertise in managing the entire digital photography workflow — everything from capture to storage to print. His knowledge and skill in the field of digital imaging will be of great benefit to each and every member of the trip, no matter what their level of experience.