Calgary Couple Launch African Queen Tours
Calgary – It was almost exactly ten years ago that an ordinary Calgary woman set off to do some extraordinary things. And for freelance writer Maureen Magee, extraordinary events have now become part of everyday life.
In 1999 Magee was writing a series of travel articles for the Calgary Herald. Then adventure beckoned in the form of a film-making friend, Doug Spencer.
Spencer had been filming a series of documentaries about “ordinary women doing extraordinary things” (OFF THE MAP, Gorica Productions). He had previously filmed Magee in the Canadian Arctic – now he was off to Ethiopia…it was an offer she couldn’t refuse.
“Ethiopia was just supposed to be another quickie adventure, and then I would come back home to Calgary,” says Magee (now Demissie). But the ‘quickie adventure’ turned into a life-altering affair. “I fell in love with Ethiopia. I fell in love with my guide Mageru and within two months, I said good bye to Calgary and moved to Addis Ababa. I knew immediately that this amazing country was the world’s biggest travel secret and I wanted to share it with others. As Mageru had years of guiding experience, it seemed only natural we would work together to form our own company.”
It only took them 9 years.
“Ethiopia just blew me away” Magee continues. “It is such a huge and happy surprise. It has the ancient history of a land 4000 years old that was never colonized, and for many centuries was forgotten by time. Travelers experience fabulous endemic bird life, lush green jungles, sparkling rivers, lakes, waterfalls and pristine alpine mountains. Ethiopians are sincerely friendly folks who are thrilled to introduce you to their culture. The travelling is safe; and you will encounter very few tourists. If you want to add some ‘extraordinary’ to your life, I suggest you come on over.”
African Queen Tour Operations is based in Calgary and offers personalized, small-group tours throughout Ethiopia.
Pangeans Safari
Pangeans Safari is an Ethiopian-based tour operation run by Liza Andreou and Christos Michailidis. Pangeans Safari presently has guided over land safari tours, for the adventurers or those seeking history and culture, of one of the worlds oldest civilizations Ethiopia and wonderful Djibouti. We cater to groups of no more than 12 travel bugs with all inclusive tour packages and English/Greek speaking guides.
Ethiopia’s sovereign history has left its very diverse and fertile lands filled with historical and cultural treasures, ranging from the ancient tombs, and obelisks of Axum to 17th-century castles, to fascinating animistic cultures of the southern peoples.
Dijibouti, despite being one of Africa’s smallest countries, offers an outer-world experience with its lunar like landscapes, and vast red dessert sands that are truly moving, along with French-influenced cuisine and pale sandy beaches Dijibouti is a travelers delight.
As a tour operator, East Africa is has given me an opportunity to witness social and environmental changes, some positive and some negative.
Pangeans Safari is willing to work with/cooperate with organizations who promote conservation of indigenous cultures and the preservation of wildlife and the environment in Ethiopia.
