General Policies and Travel Ethics
Learn about Culturally Responsible Eco-Tourism
Who We Are
Dudley Parkinson, owner/founder
Up and running since January 1999, DreamWeaver Travel may be relatively new, but owner Dudley Parkinson's more than 12 years of experience in the region as a Peace Corps volunteer and staff member well qualify him to be a tour operator. "West Africa really hasn't been discovered by Americans," says Dudley, who thus far has seen mostly Europeans traveling there. Realizing that he could share his passion for the region's rich culture, art, wildlife and terrain with other travelers in a way that "does no harm" to the local communities or environment, Dudley founded DreamWeaver Travel Company.
excerpt from AdventureSeek article
Contact Information
DREAMWEAVER TRAVEL COMPANY1185 River Drive, River Falls, WI, 54022 USA
email: dudley@dreamweavertravel.net
Phone: 715.425.1037
Fax: 715.426.0829
Correct camel riding form,
northern Niger |
DreamWeaver Travel is a small adventure travel company specializing in ecologically and culturally appropriate travel to West Africa and South America. We are committed to offering outstanding travel destinations which result in positive experiences for both travelers and host communities.
DreamWeaver Travel specializes in cultural and adventure travel to West Africa and South America. We currently offer trips to Niger, Togo, and Cameroun in West Africa and Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and Guyana in South America. Most of our groups are small, as we believe that this ensures a better quality experience for the traveler and minimizes negative impact on local communities visited while maximizing interaction between local people and travelers. Activities vary from 5-day whale-watching/beach trips in Togo to 2-week camel treks among the Tuareg people of sub-Saharan Niger to expeditions down the remote Rio Napo from Ecuador to Peru.
DreamWeavers has several ready-made trips to offer, but we feel we do our best at customizing travel to meet individual needs. From rigorous camel treks in the Sahara Desert to southeastern Cameroon's equatorial rainforest and Baka Pygmies, we can design a trip to meet almost anyones's wildest dreams; from northern Cameroon's arid moonscape and nomadic culture to high Andean community visits, we can help to provide an experience you'll never forget! In the Spring of 2002 we began offering some great expeditions and destinations in Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Guyana and now we're about to offer Chile and Venezuela!. Check out our South America Trips page!
We pride ourselves in working closely with our travelers to assure the best possible experience. From a little advice to all-inclusive predesigned packages, we offer every level of assistance for every sort of travel need.
Petroglyphs, Air Massif, northern
Niger |
DreamWeaver Travel is committed to respectful environmentally and culturally
appropriate behavior on the part of our travelers, our guides, and ourselves.
We try very hard to "walk our talk" by recycling, minimizing waste, exhibiting
modest consumption behavior, choosing appropriate lodging and transportation
resources, and avoiding goods and services which have negative ecological
or cultural impacts.
Happy Travelers Say:
Choquequirao trip - PERU
Oct/Nov, 2005
Thank you for the amazing trip trekking in the backcountry of Peru. It was my first time traveling in a developing country and I am grateful for the expertise and guidance you provided. It was reassuring for a novice traveler like myself to experience and interact with the local people and their culture in a respectful and non-exploitive manner. The country was stunning and the local guide service you connected us with was excellent. I am deeply appreciative of the unique route we trekked and the opportunity to see Inca ruins normally not visited by foreigners. I am looking forward to using your travel service on my next trip to South America. Thanks for the wonderful experience!
Don Martin
Stillwater, MN
USA
Choquequirao Trip
PERU, 2005
I wanted to say thanks for making it possible for me to go on this trip with you folks. It was fantastic beyond words. A place I've wanted to go for more years than I can remember and it turned out even better than I could have imagined. It was great traveling with you, renewing our unwavering friendship, As with all travels, the traveler returns a changed person, exposed to and influenced by the sights, people and experiences of the trip. I, too am changed. Even now tears come to my eyes as I remember the intensity of the beauty of the trip. I am humbled and in awe, hungering for more.
Tim Hawkins
Fairbanks, AK
USA
Thank you for the calendar and lovely note. We did have a wonderful, wonderful trip to Cameroun with your help! Don't think that I would change too much of the itinerary, except to encourage people to add on more days, so that it doesn't seem so rushed. As I stated earlier, that was our choice, and we realize after the fact that the expense and less time spent in Europe should have been a secondary consideration. I think that I can speak for everyone and say that we would definitely recommend this trip to our adventurous friends. We found all of the accommodations very good. Laurent was an excellent guide! He was attentive, on-time and very knowledgeable! Lisa was particularly interested in his animist way of life and how it related to her avocation of dream interpretation. We had some very interesting conversations in the car!! All in all, we had a truly unforgettable experience seeing the beautiful landscape of Cameroun and meeting the warm, welcoming people of the country. Thank you again for your help with this trip.
Ruth Okubo
Cameroon, 2005/2006
The trip was quite wonderful! Despite the unforeseeable problems encountered in traveling in Cameroon (stops by the police for New Year's Eve bonuses, hours spent in the airport) Laurent was with us every step of the way. He is an excellent and caring guide, and I would not hesitate to travel with him again. Amado, Laurent's driver to the northern part of the country, was especially considerate as well. He is an excellent driver and I felt safe with him behind the wheel. So, thank-you for putting together a wonderful tour for us! And I can't thank Laurent enough for staying hours with us at Douala airport as we waited in line & checked in and paid our fees. He was a godsend.
Lisa and Ron Rigge
Cameroon, 2005/2006
Alpaca Roots Expedition, PERU, 2003
It was a fantastic trip and a really fun group.
Would I go on another Alpaca Roots expedition.....? You bet! And if you haven't been to Peru yet, I think Dudley is planning to organize another trip to Peru for the next Alpaca Fiesta in 2006.
Barb Neussle
Cape May, NJ
USA
Alpaca Roots Expedition, PERU, 2003
"As someone once said, all good things have to come to an end. It was time to pack our bags and try to find places for all the lovely things bought on the way. A last goodbye to ...... 'Señor Dudely,' who organized these 'happy trails' for us and became a friend. Thanks Dudley!"
Christa Cushman
Dolores, CO
USA
GUYANA, 2002:
Dear Dudley,
The trip was fantastic,.... Surama was wonderful, and my guide Gary, although only 19, was brilliant; he taught me so much about the rainforest and it's inhabitants....
It felt like arriving home.... Diane was as usual the perfect host, my time spent with the otters was magical. The high point of the stay at Surama was Caraha Landing. The trips on the river every day at Karanambu come a very close second.
Many thanks,
Celia
Celia Whelham
Wales, Great Britain
CAMEROON, 2001:
Dear Dudley,
Our trip to Cameroon was superb! Laurent's management skills are remarkable in an environment where everything is subject to change or breakdown or delay. He was organized and thorough in making realistic arrangements that usually worked out, and was quick to come up with alternative plans on the few occasions when something unforseen occurred.
We did stay overnight with the Manfo family near Dschang, and consider it to be one of the best parts of our trip to Cameroon. They welcomed us warmly, tried hard to make us comfortable, gave us a tour of the village, and prepared a feast to share with us and the many neighbors and relatives who came to greet us.
Waza Park was another highlight of our time in Cameroon. Given the season, we had limited expectations for viewing big animals, but hoped to at least see two or three. Instead, we saw several groups of giraffe, some warthogs, domilesque, and after 2 hours of cross-country tracking, caught up to a herd of over 200 elephants! Our video of the elephants is breathtaking.
South of Bandjoun, we stopped at the compound of the chief of the region (a spur-of-the-moment choice by Laurent), and it happened to be the day that the massive straw roof of the assembly hall was being replaced, an event that most members of the community would witness only once or possibly twice in their lifetime. Meeting the king and visiting the museum were background events to the thrill of watching teams of men hoist bundles of straw to the heights of the roof and work them into place, and hearing them burst into deep cadances of song echoing between the men on the roof and those on the ground.
.... you and Laurent did a great job of planning according to the information I shared with you about our interests in nature and culture. We are happy to recommend DreamWeaver to anyone wanting to travel to West Africa, and we hope you will stay in touch and let us know how your business is developing.
Thanks again, and all best,
Nancy Fleisher
Nashville, TN
USA
CAMEROON, 2000:
Dear DreamWeaver Travel,
"I am highly impressed by Laurent's professionalism and thoroughness in organising every aspect of my travel in Cameroon so efficiently. He had thought of and planned for every aspect of my visit extremely well. I rate Laurent right up there among the very best tour leaders I have spent time with on trips I have made to East and southern Africa, and I recommend him highly to any other prospective visitor to Cameroon.
To be honest, I was slightly concerned myself that when I arrived in Douala things might not work out quite as planned - as you say, one never knows in Africa - but Laurent was there to meet me on schedule and he facilitated all of the arrangements to make my trip a truly memorable one. I was truly impressed at how he had thought of everything. ------------------------------------------
Best regards, Rod
Dr. Rod East
Deputy Chief Executive (Operations)
NIWA (National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research)
Hamilton, New Zealand
CAMEROON, 1999:
Dear Dudley,
I've been very pleased with DreamWeaver Travel's service and would highly recommend it to other Africa bound travelers. Dudley Parkinson took a personal interest in helping me accomplish my travel plans and did his utmost to make my trip a safe and memorable adventure. His attention to detail made it possible for me to experience much of the beauty and wonder of Cameroon.
best regards,
Greg
Greg Culp
California
USA
RWANDA/UGANDA
We had a GREAT time. We had incredible gorilla viewing--also yellow tailed monkeys, tree lions, elephants, warthogs, a hippo in our back yard and more.
We did have a WONDERFUL trip both in Africa and in the Cotswalds. Thank you for your help in connecting us with such a wonderful experience.
Sue Brickey
Rwanda/Uganda - July, 2007
GABON
I had a great time and everything went extremely well. Gaston was very friendly and helpful. I was given vouchers, plane and train tickets and a train timetable with all my trips highlighted; the latter proving to be very useful. Everywhere I was supposed to be met I was met and people were generally very friendly and helpful. The accommodation and food were very good in all locations and, considering I was the only guest in most places I stayed, the hospitality was extraordinary. I was taken out every day with, normally, two guides and activities were very much my choice, even in Loango, where I had 3 days but only one a half days of activities booked, I went out every day without additional cost; including a trip to the Akaka camp which is a day trip and definitely worth it. I saw a lot of elephants and variety primates including a large troup(?) of gorillas at Langouie Bai and a lone gorilla in the forest at Mikongo. Although Lekedi was a long way to go (very few people I met along the way had heard of it) and the game park itself is a little odd; most of the animals are south african, it was worth the effort to see the mandrills and for the train journey back. I did not see mandrills anywhere else and the 11hour daytime train journey traversed some beautiful countryside. I thoroughly enjoyed my train journeys, and would recommend travel by train. The trains were comfortable, comparable with Australian standards, and I only had one train that was significantly, more than one hour, late. Now I just have to save for another trip. Many thanks for all your help. Cath
Catherine Sanders
Mali - June/July, 2007
NIGER
DreamWeaver Travel made it possible for our family to visit our son, a Peace Corps volunteer, in his remote village in the Dosso region in Niger. With the arrangements made by DreamWeaver and their partners in Niger, we saw wildlife in Parc W, traveled on the Niger River by pirogue, stayed in encampments along the way, and then made our way up the laterite road to the village of Tonkossare for a specially prepared "fete" in our honor. Our guides, drivers, and cook kept us happy, healthy, and culturally sensitive as we traveled where tourists are not expected to be. It was the trip of a lifetime. We were awed by what we experienced. The friendliness, warmth, dignity, competence, and flexibility of those who traveled with us and those who welcomed us are the story we tell now that we are back home.
The Greenberg Family, Hastings on Hudson, NY
Niger - March, 2007
National Geographic Television Documentary
In addition to individual and group adventure tours, DreamWeaver Travel is also happy to assist organizations and businesses to achieve their goals in West Africa or South America (as long as they correspond with DreamWeaver Travel's own philosophy of respect, cultural exchange, environmental responsibility, aid to local communities, and mutual education. For example, in August 2000, we served as expedition "fixer" for a National Geographic Television documentary film crew on assignment in northern Niger. We provided guides, drivers, food, vehicles, lodging, and all logistical support for a six-person crew making a documentary film of a dinosaur dig that was aired in June, 2001. The expedition was a great success and the crew was extremely happy with the professionalism, knowledge, and good humor shown by our guides and support staff.