Go2Africa Partners with Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund to Provide Four Immersive Experiences to Aid Gorilla Conservation in 2022
Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Opens to Travelers February 2022
Credit: Mass Design Group
Cape Town, South Africa (January 12, 2022) Go2Africa, the award-winning safari operator, is excited to announce a new partnership with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (DFGF), the pioneer in mountain gorilla conservation, which will open its new educational Ellen Campus in Rwanda to the public in February 2022. Aimed at providing a more immersive experience for their travelers while raising funds for the non-profit, Go2Africa has developed four experiences that will take travelers on a deeper and richer gorilla trekking journey.
“We’re excited to have more experiences to offer our travelers in Rwanda. The new Campus is a great addition to our gorilla trekking itineraries, if just for a visit or one of our immersive experiences designed to educate and raise funds to support their work in Volcanoes National Park and local communities,” says Maija de Rijk-Uys, Managing Director of Go2Africa.
Opening this winter, the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund will become the new permanent home in Rwanda for their work, which has been dedicated to the conservation, protection, and study of gorillas and their habitats in Africa for the last 54 years. Open to the public, the Conservation Campus includes a public exhibit designed to educate students, community leaders, and tourists about gorillas, conservation, the region, and Dian Fossey. Visitors can explore the state-of-the-art experiences, including interactive virtual reality and 360° film screenings, snack or dine in the cafe, or take in the view of the six volcanoes from the second-floor overlook.
For travelers looking to learn even more, Go2Africa offers four additional experiences that provide access to the Campus and its researchers. All proceeds are donated back to the Fossey Fund's local children’s outreach program, which invites Rwandan schoolchildren to the campus to learn about gorilla conservation and biodiversity.
Dr. Tara Stoinski, CEO of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, shares, “The Ellen Campus was designed to help accelerate our scientific research, allowing us to protect endangered mountain gorillas and their habitat better. It will also serve as an entry point to conservation activism for the thousands of travelers who trek these parks. This partnership with Go2Africa will allow us to introduce passionate travelers to our important work while raising the necessary funds to keep the work going. We’re excited to engage with visitors at our new Campus this spring.”
1. Behind the Scenes Campus Tour
Get a 2-hour guided tour of the new Campus with a Fossey Fund researcher, with behind-the-scenes access to their new purpose-built scientific labs and centers.
Minimum Donation: $100 per person for guests over 15. A minimum donation of $800.
2. Gorilla Trek with DFGF Researcher
Have a Fossey Fund researcher join you on your gorilla trek. The Fossey Fund started as a scientific organization with Dian Fossey’s first campus based in the forest, studying the gorillas and understanding their habitat, which is important to their survival. The Fossey Fund continues to spend its time in the forests and can provide valuable knowledge and insights on mountain gorillas and their conservation work alongside you on your trek.
Minimum Donation: $500 per group (matched by Go2Africa), plus a $1,500 gorilla trekking fee
3. Private Gorilla Conservation Master Class
A great way to start or end your day of gorilla trekking, the Fossey Fund will meet up with travelers at lodges in the campus vicinity for a 2-hour master class in gorilla conservation, ready to answer questions or share their favorite trekking stories. The Fossey Fund wants visitors not only to learn but also to be inspired and engage with conservation, which these one-on-one conversations will facilitate.
Minimum Donation: $500 per group (matched by Go2Africa)
4. Silverback Sundowner
Enjoy an evening hour with breathtaking views and Fossey Fund staff! Guests are invited to tour the exhibit, followed by a private cocktail hour experience at the Virunga Overlook, where they can meet up with gorilla experts to share their experiences and answer questions. A selection of non-alcoholic drinks, wine, and light snacks are included. The silverback sundowner hour is from 5 pm to 6 pm. This option requires a pre-booking and donation.
A minimum donation of $500 for groups of less than five people, $100 donation per person
These four experiences can be booked in conjunction with any of Go2Africa’s Gorilla trekking tours in Rwanda. The Rwanda Encounter tour takes travelers into the heart of the area, first brought to the world’s attention by pioneering primatologist Dian Fossey. They are immersed in the majesty of Africa’s first gazetted national park, which dates back to 1925. The safety of the mountain gorillas is paramount, which is why Volcanoes National Park requires a negative PCR test 72 hours before your gorilla trekking commences and mask-wearing protocols.
For U.S. safari bookings and inquiries, contact: www.go2africa.com / contact@go2africa.com / 1-866-438-8677
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About Go2Africa:
Go2Africa is a multi-award-winning and B Corp certified tour operator based out of Cape Town that curates exceptional and personalized African holidays, specializing in safaris. Celebrating over 25 years, the team has been committed to building first-hand knowledge of every destination, lodge, and activity they recommend from their 3000+ partners. Working across 15 countries in Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, 100% of its revenues stay in Africa, supporting local communities and conservation projects through its Positive Impact Initiatives. With an entire team of African-born and raised specialists, including eleven named as Conde Nast Traveler’s Top Travel Safari Specialists in 2023, travelers are in expert hands. Go2Africa is part of the Nawiri Group, a corporate portfolio of responsible and pioneering travel brands in the safari industry.
About Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund:
Established in 1967 by famed primatologist Dian Fossey, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund works to protect and study wild gorillas and their habitats and to empower people who share the gorillas forest home. With a team of more than 240 staff working in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Fossey Fund is the world’s longest-running and largest organization dedicated entirely to gorilla conservation. At the time Fossey began her groundbreaking work, it was predicted that mountain gorillas would be extinct by the year 2000. Instead, they are recognized as one of the world’s few conservation stories, and recently were moved from ‘critically endangered’ to ‘endangered,’ one step further from extinction.
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