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Follow on Google News |  New Bradt guide to world’s newest country: visit South Sudan with Secret Compass in 2014By: Secret Compass New Bradt guide to world’s newest country: visit South Sudan with Secret Compass in 2014 This month saw the publication of a new Bradt travel guide to the world’s newest country, South Sudan – and in February 2014 an intrepid team of adventurers will begin their exploration of this fascinating country on the Secret Compass ‘Lost Heart of Africa’ expedition. Secret Compass pioneered adventure travel to South Sudan in 2012 with a world-first ascent of its highest mountain. It remains the only operator to offer expeditions of this nature. Glen Downton, a former expedition team member, said, “We could have been the only tourists in the entire country.” Levison Wood FRGS, co-founder of Secret Compass, worked with Bradt on their first-edition guide, which features his astonishing photography. Wood said, "South Sudan is like the wild west of Africa. The capital Juba is a microcosm of a continent in flux – the old, tribal Africa versus modernism at its most vibrant. Mobile phone masts are springing up giving a population access to 21st-century technology in a place that still has less then 100km of paved roads in a country the size of Germany. “Outside the booming capital, a life unchanged in centuries persists. You’ll see tribal scarification, spear-wielding villagers out to hunt impala and fishermen in dugout canoes. Capturing this on camera is an utter delight. It’s a place where only a handful of tourists have ever been and nothing is put on for show. Everything is authentic, from the Dinka wrestling, to the ash-covered faces in a cattle camp, to the floating villages that inhabit the Sudd swamps. “There’s wildlife too: the world’s biggest migration of mammals on the planet, and the snake-like Nile that is the lifeblood of the country and is full of crocodiles, hippos and the mammoth Nile Perch. This is one of the last wildernesses in Africa and is well worth a visit, but it’s not for the faint-hearted." Journalist Celia Topping described her experiences as part of the first ever team to summit South Sudan’s highest mountain. “At a mere 3,187m, we were barely half as high as Kilimanjaro. However, it wasn’t the height of Mount Kinyeti that was cause for celebration, but its location. We were the first commercial expedition team to climb the highest mountain in the newest country in the world.” The 2014 South Sudan trek with Secret Compass begins in the capital, Juba. It combines an exploratory trek into the Imatong Mountains – only visited a handful of times in the last 30 years – with a river journey down the least explored stretch of the White Nile. A trip to Nimule National Park (home to big game including antelope, elephant and hippos) completes a unique African experience. Highlights of the 2014 Lost Heart of Africa adventure to South Sudan · Summit Mount Kinyeti, Sudan’s highest mountain in the Imatong Ranges. · Trek remote jungle paths – former transit routes to Uganda in the civil war. · Five-day river expedition on the White Nile, with crocodiles and hippos. · Meet rural South Sudanese villagers in a world where tourism is unknown. Secret Compass’s marketing manager, Kerry O’Neill, added, “There is a certain kind of traveller who thrives on going there first. On taking the risk, trusting the journey, and forging new frontiers. “Our South Sudan expedition is composed of these people; intrepid individuals who see past the propaganda and want to meet the real South Sudan head on – the people, the lands, the stories. This is adventure travel at its best. “We’re thrilled that Lev’s imagery in the new Bradt guidebook looks set to inspire more visits to this fascinating country. They could help kick-start a vital tourism economy, encouraging others to visit this starkly beautiful country whose reputation is so often mired in tales of political unrest.” South Sudan fact box · Bradt Travel Guide: The first edition of this guide came out this month. · Newest country: South Sudan is the world’s newest country and was formed on 9th July 2011 following over two decades of civil war with what is now Sudan, to the north. 99% of the population of South Sudan voted in favour of the separation. · Largest migration on earth: South Sudan hosts the largest ever mammal migration on earth. Over two million White Eared Kob antelope migrate across the country in February, searching for pastures greener in dense columns stretching for kilometres. · Religion: While Sudan is mainly Muslim, the South Sudanese generally follow traditional religions, with a minority Christian population. For information about Secret Compass’s 2014 ‘Lost Heart of Africa’ expedition to South Sudan, contact Kerry@secretcompass.com or call 00 44 7815 896 533. Visit our South Sudan Expedition page (with image gallery) (http://secretcompass.com/ ------- ends ------- NOTES TO EDITORS Secret Compass is a pioneering expedition company creating world-first experiences for teams of like-minded adventurers. Through group and bespoke adventures, Secret Compass helps each team member achieve the extraordinary in the world’s wildest places. Founded by ex-British Army Parachute Regiment officers, its expeditions reach the planet’s most remote regions in the spirit of exploration’ Specialist Film and TV services Secret Compass also takes film crews, journalists and photographers to remote and previously inaccessible areas thanks to its unrivalled location management expertise. Clients to date include the BBC, National Geographic, Animal Planet and Channel 4, in countries from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan. www.secretcompass.com press@secretcompass.com Press enquiries: 0203 2398 038 www.facebook.com/ www.twitter.com/ End
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