London, November 2023 // Leading luxury bespoke safari and holiday specialist, Explorations Company, is delighted to announce the addition of a new Patagonian air safari experience to its bow, further enhancing its Latin American offering. One for the adventure junkies and best enjoyed between the months of November to April, this is the perfect way to experience Patagonia in the raw.
Guests can soar to new heights, flying over volcanoes, ice caps, fjords and virgin forests of Chilean Patagonia in a Cessna piloted by the irrepressible Rodrigo Noriega. With more than 10,000 flying hours, gained mostly in the extreme Patagonian wilderness as the personal pilot for renowned conservationists Doug and Kris Tompkins, no one comes close to matching Rodrigo’s skills and knowledge in the beautiful but unforgiving environment he calls home.
A four-day charter in Northern Patagonia will see guests swoop down onto seemingly inaccessible mountain lakes, soar over snow-shrouded craters and cruise past vertiginous waterfalls. Those that wish to extend their air safari can do so; with a week or more to spare, clients can hop all of the way down the Ruta de los Parques from Puerto Monttt to Torres del Paine or even Cape Horn.
In keeping with the spirit of the early flying safaris, the journey is broken up into a series of short flights. Time on the ground is spent at some of the remotest private wilderness camps and lodges in Chile, where guests will receive comfortable, eco-friendly accommodation, exceptional food and wine, superb hospitality and expert guiding.
No airstrip or body of water is unknown to Rodrigo. If clients wish, they can interrupt their flying to join a marine conservation team for some yacht-based monitoring of the blue whales that frequent the waters of Tic Toc Bay. Or, make a first ascent of the Corcovado River by jet-boat to explore the virgin wilderness of newly gazetted Corcovado National Park.
Those keen to hone their eco credentials can learn about deep ecology, thanks to the opportunity to meet with key stakeholders of Tomkins Conservation. Activities include sailing among remote forested archipelagos with a consort of dolphins, or climbing up to high mountain ridges in search of critically endangered huemul deer. Clients can capture the remote wilderness from a different perspective with an aerial photography project, or try their hand at trout fishing in the lakes. Whatever one decides to do, this experience has the capacity to change one’s outlook on the world.
From GBP 8,765 per person for a 4-day air safari from Puerto Montt, visiting Pumalin National Park Futaleufu, the San Rafael Glacier, the Guitecas Islands and Corcovado National Park. This includes private flights in a Cessna 206 with Rodrigo Noriega, overnight accommodation, all meals and most activities. Prices based on two people travelling together. Visit www.explorationscompany.com
