You are cordially invited to participate in the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, to be held at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa, from Sunday, July 11, to Friday, July 16, 1999. The campus of Wits University is centrally situated within the city of Johannesburg, in the suburb of Braamfontein. The conference venue will be on the East Campus, which is conveniently located close to all conference accommodations: 500 meters from the University hostel accommodation, about 1.5 kilometers from the three-star Milpark Holiday Inn Garden Court Hotel, and about 3 kilometers from the five-star Westcliff Hotel. Registration and welcome reception on Sunday, July 11, 1999, will take place on the West Campus. In order to facilitate your stay in Johannesburg, and in the interest of personal security, the Organizing Committee will provide transportation for all conference participants between the conference hotels and the conference venue. Transportation will also be provided for all other social and scientific functions arranged during the course of this week. In addition, the organizers will assist with transportation arrangements between Johannesburg International Airport and local accommodations.

Johannesburg is southern Africa's largest and most vibrant city. It is the capital of Gauteng (Sotho, for "Place of Gold") Province, and, since the discovery of gold in the former Transvaal in 1886, has been the hub of Africa's largest economy. Johannesburg is in a central location in South Africa, providing easy access to the country's world-famous attractions. Johannesburg International Airport is served by most major airlines, connecting South Africa with all continents. South African Airways has been selected as the preferred conference carrier and is offering MetSoc '99 participants substantial benefits (see Transportation section). The weather during July will be typical Johannesburg winter weather [dry and sunny, with average daytime and nighttime temperatures of 20 degrees and 6 degrees C respectively (68 degrees and 43 degrees F)]. Daytime temperatures may be as high as 25 degrees C, but evenings are cool, and an occasional cold front cannot be excluded during this month.

The response to the first announcement has been tremendous, with more than 250 replies received, the vast majority of which indicate probable participation. Over 65 spouses might attend. Strong interest has also been expressed in all proposed field trips.

Oral sessions will be held from Monday (July 12, 1999) morning to Friday (July 16, 1999) afternoon, with the exception of Wednesday afternoon. The lecture theatres for the two planned parallel sessions are located on the ground floor and first floor (one directly above the other) of the Senate House, the main administrative and lecturing center of the East Campus of the University. Not only will this building host all scientific conference functions, but it also has a number of amenities such as a cafeteria, post office, gift shop, and banks. The Plenary Sessions (Opening Session and Medalist Lectures) will take place in the main university auditorium, the Great Hall, in the Central Block Building adjacent to Senate House.

There will be a formal poster session late Monday afternoon, in the Gertrude Posel Art Gallery on the first floor of the Senate House (less than 100 meters from the lecture theatres and next to the main concourse of the Senate House). Posters will remain on display throughout the entire conference. The maximum poster size that can be accommodated is about 1.15 x 1.15 meters (roughly 4 x 4 feet). The scientific sessions are expected to cover a wide range of topics, including Accretion and Differentiation of Primitive Materials; Chondrules; Micrometeorites and All Types of Meteorites; Impact Processes and Structures; Presolar and Interplanetary Dust; Mars and Other Planets; Extinction Events; Asteroids and Comets; and Solar System Isotopic Systematics and Chronology.

Projection equipment available for oral presentations will consist of two overhead projectors and two 35-mm slide projectors in each lecture room. Should video projection be required, please contact the Organizing Committee well in advance.

On Tuesday (July 13, 1999) evening, a public lecture will be presented by Dr. Carolyn Shoemaker in the SANLAM Auditorium of Rand Afrikaans University. Several keynote lectures will be scheduled throughout the scientific program.

The Working Group on Cosmic Mineralogy of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) and the Mineralogical Association of South Africa are sponsoring a special session of oral presentations and posters on Mineralogy of Impact-Related Phenomena.

A special session devoted to The Thermal History of Meteorites will be organized by the Working Group on Extraterrestrial Geochemistry of the IAGC (H. Palme, J. Ganguly, and G. Kurat). Comprehensive under-standing of the thermal evolution and nature of the meteorite parent bodies can be developed by integrating the results obtained from modeling the compositional zoning, exsolution textures, microstructures and cation-ordering states of minerals in meteorites with those obtained from the more traditional metallographic, isotopic and fission track techniques. In this session we want to bring together scientists who study the thermal history of terrestrial rocks with meteoriticists interested in the thermal evolution of asteroids. Depending on attendance, we will also organize a poster sesssion. The IAGC will provide support for the session.

Based on the number of supportive responses to the first announcement, it will be possible to schedule a special session with talks on State-of-the-Art Analytical Techniques. As this session will be of broad interest, also to non-conference-registered colleagues, special provision will be made to allow widest possible attendance at these talks.

All three of these special sessions will be listed as topic choices on the abstract submission form. If you feel that your abstract is appropriate for one of these sessions, please check the appropriate topic when you submit your abstract.

Finally, the Organizing Committee wishes to thank several members of the Meteoritical Society for volunteering to participate in a lecture tour to the various regions of South Africa, as well as Gaberone in Botswana, to present public lectures aimed at stimulating interest in Science and Technology, especially among high school students.

Oral and poster contributions on any aspect of meteoritics and planetary science are invited. Abstracts with a maximum length of 650 words should be submitted electronically to the Lunar and Planetary Institute by April 16, 1999, 5.00 p.m. (CDT). Only ONE abstract per first author may be submitted for oral presentation, and only ONE figure or table is allowed per abstract. To assist the program committee, contributors are kindly asked to indicate which ONE of the following topics most closely encompasses their work (if your abstract is appropriate for one of the special sessions, you should pick that as your topic):

    accretion and differentiation of primitive materials
    asteroids and comets
    calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions
    carbonaceous chondrites
    differentiated meteorites
    early solar system chronology
    impact processes and structures
    isotopic anomalies
    martian meteorites
    Mars
    micrometeorites
    Moon
    ordinary chondrites
    other chondrites
    other planets
    presolar grains
    special session:  state-of-the art analytical techniques
    special session:   mineralogy of impact-related phenomena
    special session:   thermal histories of meteorites
    other

Due to generous sponsorship by the Barringer Crater Company, a number of travel grants will be available to selected graduate students and recent Ph.D.s who are members of the Meteoritical Society. In addition, the generous support of the Barringer Crater Company, the Meteoritical Society, and the South African Foundation for Research Development enables the Organizing Committee to offer a number of travel awards to deserving postgraduate students and young scientists from African and other developing countries. To qualify, a student or young researcher must be the first or sole author of a scientific paper to be presented at the meeting and must submit a travel grant application form, which will be available as part of the abstract submission form.

The Meteorite!-Brian Mason Travel Award of $500 will be presented again to a student or recent Ph.D. in meteoritics to enable them to attend the 1999 meeting of the Meteoritical Society. Candidates will need to submit an abstract of a paper of which they are the sole or senior author and must present the paper at the meeting. The Program Committee will select the awardee on the merits of the abstract. An article based on the awardee's research will be subsequently published in Meteorite!.

Registration will take place on Sunday, July 11, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the Conference Centre, known as The Barn, opposite the Wits Club (West Campus). A reception to welcome all delegates will follow at the Wits Club (5:00-8:00 p.m.), and this will include a light supper and traditional entertainment. Transportation from the conference hotels to and from this function will be available (details will be included in the final announcement). From Monday, July 12, through Friday, July 16, the registration desk and conference assistance will be located in the Senate House, in close proximity to the lecture theatres.

After the Official Opening of the conference (Monday, July 12), the Nier, Leonard, and Barringer medals will be awarded. This will take place in the Great Hall of the Central Block of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits).

On Monday evening, July 12, the Poster Session, together with a Cocktail Party, will be held in the Gertrude Posel Art Gallery (Senate House Building), less than 100 meters from the lecture theatres. Enjoy a special exhibition of South African art and cultural artifacts in the lower level of the Gallery.

On Tuesday evening, July 13, there will be a public lecture by Dr. Carolyn Shoemaker. Dr. Shoemaker has discovered more comets than any other living astronomer, and was co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which collided with Jupiter in July 1994. This lecture will be held at Rand Afrikaans University and will commence at 6:30 p.m. Transportation will be provided. The lecture is sponsored by The Planetary Society and the Mineralogical Association of South Africa.

On Wednesday, July 14, after plenary presentations by the Leonard and Barringer Medal Awardees, all delegates have the opportunity to enjoy a free day tour to the Pretoria Saltpan (Tswaing) meteorite crater. The 220,000-year-old Tswaing Crater is one of the world's best preserved bowl-shaped impact craters. Once mined for soda-ash and salt, the crater is now the center of a 2000-hectare conservation area, currently being developed by the National Cultural History Museum in Pretoria, in partnership with other museums, university departments, educators, and the local communities, as one of only a few meteorite crater museums, and the first in Africa! After a two-hour drive from Johannesburg, passing through Pretoria (voted in 1997 as the Garden City of the World), delegates will arrive at Tswaing. After an introduction to the development project, a traditional African lunch will be served, accompanied by choral, dance, and jazz performances by local artists. This will be followed by a guided tour of the crater, during which the more energetic can descend on foot to the crater floor (100 meters below the rim crest). Delegates are urged to wear walking shoes, a hat, and sunglasses. Return to Johannesburg will take place late in the afternoon.

No event is planned for Wednesday evening. A list of recommended restaurants will be circulated at a later date.

On Thursday evening, July 15, the Annual Conference Banquet will be held in the Ballroom of the Wanderers Club in northern Johannesburg. This is one of the oldest clubs in the city, and is also the site of one of the best-known international cricket stadiums in the world. The banquet will be a traditional sit-down dinner affair. Semi-formal to formal dress (jacket and tie) would be appreciated.

On Friday, July 16, there will be a Farewell Function at the University of the Witwatersrand. For those interested, there will be an opportunity for tasting a range of South African wines (purchases and delivery can be arranged).

Further and more comprehensive details of all functions will be made available, in the final announcement, on this Web site, and at registration.

Note:  All events in this section are not part of the official itinerary and are not covered by the conference registration fee, but are optional for all guests and conference participants, and are for delegates accounts. All prices are in $US. Participation in these tours is limited to 22 persons, so register early in order to reserve your places. Should significant overbooking occur, arrangements for a second tour may be possible.

Sunday, July 11, 1999

Option A:  Diamond Mine Visit
You will be collected from your hotel to depart for Premier Diamond Mine, located some 50 kilometers northeast of Pretoria (110 kilometers from Johannesburg). This mine has been world famous since 1905 when the world's biggest diamond was found there - the 3106-carat Cullinan Diamond. Enjoy a two-hour tour of the mine and learn more about this famous diamond. You will observe the Big Hole (40 hectares in extent and 500 meters deep), and you will see both uncut diamonds and replicas of the world's most famous diamonds on display. Sorry - no children under 10 years allowed on this tour.
Cost:  $55.00 (includes transportation, snack, and tour guide)

Please Note:  Diamond purchasing can be arranged - by appointment only! - during the conference week. Should you be interested, please indicate on the registration form.

Option B: Rosebank Rooftop Flea Market
You will be collected from your hotel and taken to the Rosebank Rooftop Flea Market, about 5 kilometers from the conference hotels. This is a vibrant and multicultural market where traditional as well as other exciting wares can be purchased. Live minstrels add to an enchanting and bustling atmosphere. Return to the hotel in the early afternoon.
Cost:  $15.00 (includes transportation and tour guide)

Monday, July 12, 1999

Option A:  Lesedi Cultural Village
After the opening session, depart from Wits for the Lesedi Cultural Village located about 40 kilometers north of Johannesburg. On arrival, guests will be met by members of various cultural groups of South Africa, including Northern Pedi, Zulu, Southern Sotho, and Xhosa. Through the variety of cultures, the guests will experience some of the Rainbow Nation that is South Africa today. A traditional African lunch will be served.
Cost:  $55.00 (includes transportation, lunch, and tour guide)

Option B:  De Wildt Cheetah and Research Centre
Depart from Wits after the opening session for a tour of the De Wildt Cheetah and Research Centre, located in the beautiful Magaliesberg Mountain Range about 1 hour north of Johannesburg. The Research Centre is renowned for its breeding success of rare and endangered species such as cheetahs (including the very rare King cheetah), wild dogs, brown hyenas, blue duikers, and vultures and owls. Lunch will be in the vicinity of the Centre at a local restaurant. Return to your hotel in the afternoon.
Cost: $55.00 (includes transportation, lunch, and tour guide)

Tuesday, July 13, 1999

Option A:  Rhino and Lion Park/Sterkfontein Caves/Wondercave
Depart from Wits for the Sterkfontein area close to the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve, about half an hour from Johannesburg. This is a haven of peace and tranquillity where many game species (including white rhinos, lions, buffalos, wild dogs, hippos, cheetahs, and crocodiles) can be viewed. After enjoying the Nature Reserve continue to the Sterkfontein Caves situated on a dolomite hillock in the Isaac Edwin Stegman Nature Reserve. This site is famous for the fossil of "Mrs. Ples" (Plesianthropus Transvaalenis) and the recently discovered 3.2-million-year-old complete skeleton. The Wondercave boasts an enormous single chamber, which is entered by elevator, with walls decorated with beautiful cave formations up to 15 meters high. Lunch will be served at a restaurant in the area.
Cost: $50.00 (includes transportation, lunch, and tour guide)

Option B:  Full-day Tour of Soweto and Johannesburg
Depart from Wits for a morning tour of Soweto. This tour includes sights such as Baragwanath Hospital, Workshop for the Handicapped, Oppenheimer Park, and various residential areas. See a witchdoctor at one of Soweto's markets. Please note that should you wish the witch-doctor to throw the bones, etc., he/she may expect a donation. Enjoy lunch at Windies in the heart of Soweto.

In the afternoon, a Johannesburg City Tour is conducted, visiting downtown Johannesburg, the Stock Exchange and De Beers, George Harrison Park (where gold was first discovered), Bosmont (formerly a colored area), and the two Universities. Journey through the Northern Suburbs and return to your hotel via Hillbrow, the most densely populated area of the city.
Cost:  $45.00 (includes transportation, lunch, and tour guide)

Thursday, July 15, 1999

Option A:  Gold Reef City and Soweto
Depart from Wits and step into the days of the gold rush era. Gold Reef City is a reconstruction of Johannesburg as it was all those years ago. Built around a Gold Mine, this exciting destination offers many diversions, including a Victorian fun fair, miner's houses, old world shops, a brewery, pubs, restaurants, a hotel, tribal dancing, and even a Stock Exchange. Watch a gold pour and/or take a trip down a mine shaft. Enjoy lunch at Windies in the heart of Soweto. Despite much hardship and crowded and impoverished conditions, Soweto still has a sense of optimism. You will see historical sites such as Nelson Mandela's original four-room brick house on Vilikazi Street and the memorial to Hector Peterson, the first victim of the 1976 student riots. See Baragwanath Hospital, the largest medical facility in the Southern Hemisphere.
Cost:  $80.00 (includes transportation, lunch, entrance fees, and tour guides)

Option B:  Pretoria/De Wildt Cheetah and Wild Dog Research Centre
Depart from Wits for a morning visit to the De Wildt Cheetah and Research Centre. Transfer to Pretoria at midday for lunch at a local restaurant before continuing your afternoon City Tour. Visit all the historical sights such as the Voortrekker Monument, Kruger House, Church Square, City Hall, State Theatre/Opera House, and Union Buildings. Return to your hotel in the afternoon in time to prepare for the conference banquet.
Cost:  $60.00 (includes transportation, lunch, and tour guide)

Friday, July 16, 1999

Shopping
Depart from Wits to visit Eastgate Shopping Centre, one of Johannesburg's largest and best-known shopping meccas, for a morning of shopping at a variety of departmental, boutique and specialist shops. Return to your hotel in time for the farewell reception.
Cost:  $15.00 (includes transportation and tour guide)

Wits University Residence Accommodation
One hundred and thirty rooms have been reserved in Jubilee Hall, on the East Campus of Wits University, about 5 minutes walking distance from the conference venue. Jubilee Hall is a modern high-rise building. Breakfast will be served in the dining hall, and amenities include a telephone in each room for receiving calls, a laundry, two television lounges, a game room, and public telephones. Each room has a Sealy bed, a study desk and chair, a wash basin, and built-in cupboard. There are toilets and bathrooms (with two showers and three baths) in close proximity to every room. Most rooms provide single accommodation, but 40 rooms are reserved for double accommodation.
Cost:  $20.00 per night (breakfast included)

Holiday Inn Garden Court Milpark
Situated approximately 2 kilometers from the University of the Witwatersrand, this comfortable and modern three-star hotel boasts 251 double rooms and one suite for the disabled. At double occupation, one or two children under 18 years of age can be accommodated in the same room (2 adults and 2 children is the maximum per room) at no extra charge; however, no extra beds can be provided. Children under 18 years stay free. All suites have private bathrooms with shower, radio, telephone, color television with M-Net, individually controlled air-conditioning, and free tea- and coffee-making facilities.
Cost:  Single:  $65.00 per room/night; Double:  $75.00 per room/night ($37.50 per person sharing)
Note:  Breakfast charges are not included.

Westcliff Hotel
For those looking for five-star comfort, the Westcliff Hotel is the right option! It is situated about 3 kilometers from the University of the Witwatersrand. This hotel provides some of the most sought-after luxury accommodation in Johannesburg. All 106 spacious bedrooms are luxuriously appointed with en-suite bathrooms, digital safes, VCR players, dedicated computer and fax lines, and butler stations with mini bars. Most rooms have a beautiful view of Johannesburg's Zoological Gardens. Children under 12 stay free, and a 50% room tariff will be charged for children up to the age of 18. Should more than one child accompany you, accommodation in an connecting room can be arranged for an additional 50% of your original room rate.
Cost:  Executive Luxury Room $200.00/night (breakfast included)

Should you require accommodation prior to the conference (e.g., prior to departure to Kwa-Maritane for the Workshop on Extraterrestrial Materials from Hot and Cold Deserts) or after the conference (when returning from a field trip to Johannesburg), please indicate so on the registration form.

Day care facilities can be arranged on request. Please contact the organizers well in advance with your requirements. Both conference hotels provide evening babysitters.

Public transportation is available in and between major centers, but may be unreliable. As South Africa is geared toward private transportion, there is a well-maintained network of roads and motorways. Traffic travels on the left, and speed limits are 60 kilometers/hour in urban areas, 100 kilometers/hour on secondary roads, and 120 kilometers/hour on national highways.

South African Airways
South African Airways (SAA), the national carrier of South Africa, has been appointed as the preferred carrier for the conference. SAA services most major cities in Europe and has direct flights into North America (Miami and New York). The airline code-shares with seven of the largest international air carriers, including American Airlines and Lufthansa. The international delegates can contact their nearest SAA office and will qualify for the best market fares on the Intercontinental Services of South African Airways. They should quote the following reference number:  AIR/MX.C/1285/98. Participants from overseas can also ask about the African Explorer Fares for travel within South Africa (this works on the coupon-pass principle). Domestic delegates will receive 50% discounted tickets and can make their reservations by contacting the telephone numbers (+27 11) 978 2035/54/9899 and quoting the above reference number. Your travel agent or nearest SAA office can still issue the tickets.

Airports
All travelers arriving in Johannesburg will land at Johannesburg International Airport. South Africa's international airports are located in Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town. South African Airways, the appointed conference air carrier, and other domestic airlines fly to many local destinations, including all major and regional centers.

Taxis
A number of taxi services are available in Johannesburg. Please remember that taxis are not free-roaming and do not drive around looking for passengers. Taxis can be ordered by telephone, but can also be found at designated taxi-ranks, for example, at airports and railway stations. Hotel or restaurant staff will assist with arranging for taxi services.

Rental Cars
The easiest form of transportation for travel throughout the country comes in the form of rental cars. All major car rental companies are represented in South Africa. Foreign driver's licenses are valid as long as they carry the photograph and signature of the holder. If the license is not in English, a certificate of authenticity from an embassy written in English is required.

Avis Rent-A-Car and Hertz-Alisa Car Rental (PTY) Ltd., have offered conference delegates special discounted rates. If you are reserving a car through Avis, please quote Avis Worldwide Discount (AWD) reference number K031503. International rates are available through Avis Reservation Centers worldwide. Hertz-Alisa customers should quote reference number CDP904308 and should reserve rentals through their local agency. See the meeting Web site for details regarding makes, models, and rates (all rates in Rands).

Public Transportation
If required, local public transportation is available in major centers and is relatively inexpensive. There are a number of national bus services. Should information be needed, please contact the Organizing Committee for assistance.

As with most cities and towns around the world, please remember to be aware of personal safety at all times. To ensure that you enjoy your stay, be aware of the following tips:

    It is not advisable to walk through downtown Johannesburg and Braamfontein during the day.

    It is advisable to use taxis at night, and only those that have been booked through a reputable taxi company or arranged by hotels.

    Try not to attract attention by overtly carrying cameras or wearing expensive jewelry; leave valuables with hotel security.

    If you have rented a car, always remember to keep your car doors locked. In cities, it is recommended that windows be kept closed, even while driving.

    Try not to carry large amounts of cash; instead use traveler's checks or credit cards.

As with all international travel, visitors to South Africa are required to be in possession of a valid passport. Travelers from certain countries also need a visa. Inquiries can be directed to South African diplomatic representatives abroad or the Department of Home Affairs in Pretoria, Private Bag X114, Pretoria, 0001 (phone:  +27 12 314 8911; fax:  +2712 314-8516), and the agencies of the South African Tourism Board (SATOUR) are located in many cities worldwide.

Visitors who intend to travel to South Africa's neighboring countries and back to South Africa are advised that they may need to apply for multiple reentry visas. In terms of existing arrangements, passport holders of certain countries are exempt from visa requirements.

A number of exciting field excursions have been planned, based on the interests expressed by members of the Society. The response to the first announcement is such that all advertised field excursions are still being offered subject to a minimum number of participants, as indicated below for certain excursions. Unless otherwise stated, the excursions will involve a minimum of strenuous activity. Participants are urged to bring sensible walking shoes. Although daytime temperatures may reach 25 degrees C (77 degrees F) in South Africa (more in Namibia and Zimbabwe) during July, the weather in winter may turn cold (10-15 degrees C; 50-60 degrees F) and nighttime temperatures can drop to freezing, so please bring warm clothing. Antimalarial prophylactics need to be taken for the Zimbabwe excursion. Where not otherwise stated, excursion costs include all ground transportation and meals.

Bushveld Complex
Preconference:  July 7-10; postconference: July 17-20
Excursion leaders:  Prof. Grant Cawthorn (Wits), Dr. Wolfgang Maier (University of Pretoria), Mr. Jochen Schweitzer (CSIR Mining Technology) - not necessarily all three on both excursions
Participants:  20-40 maximum
Accommodation:  Gethlane Lodge, Burgersfort (3 nights)
Cost:  $500

The Bushveld Complex is the largest known mafic-ultramafic layered intrusion in the world and hosts the largest reserves of platinum, chrome, and vanadium. The excursion will mainly examine the mafic and ultramafic intrusive rocks and their mineral deposits. Transportation will be by luxury coach and accommodation will be in the equivalent of a three-star country hotel. Most excursion stops do not require strenuous hiking, but one optional 3-hour hike will take place, during which you will be able to appreciate not only the excellent geology, but also the beautiful Bushveld landscape and vegetation.

Vredefort Dome
Preconference:  July 9-10; postconference:  July 17-18
Excursion leaders:  Dr. Roger Gibson, Prof. Uwe Reimold, Dr. Gary Stevens (all Wits)
Participants:  15-40 maximum
Accommodation:  Smilin Thru Resort, Parys (1 night)
Cost:  $180
This excursion through the central parts of the world's oldest and largest known impact structure will provide a unique insight into the deep levels of the central uplift structure and the Archean-Proterozoic geology of one of the world's oldest continental fragments (Kaapvaal Craton), including the Witwatersrand gold deposits. Features include shatter cones, pseudotachylitic and impact melt breccias, and a variety of metamorphic rocks whose history has helped unravel the impact origin of the dome. Transportation will be by bus. All exposures are easily reached without major hikes or climbs!

Barberton Mountain Land
Postconference:  July 17-20
Excursion leader:  Prof. Lew Ashwal (Rand Afrikaans University)
Participants:  36 maximum
Accommodation:  Avontuur Hotel, Badplaas (3 nights)
Cost:  $650
The excursion will investigate the stratigraphy of the world-famous Archean Barberton Greenstone Belt and the surrounding granitoid rocks, including the deformed and metamorphosed sediments such as the Archean "fossiliferous" cherts, komatiitic and pillow lavas, and spherule layers of debated origin. Transportation will be by minibus.

If the minimum number of participants sign up, the following two outstanding field trips can be arranged:

Zimbabwe
Postconference:  July 17-24
Excursion leader:  Dr. Sharad Master (Wits)
Participants:  20 minimum, no upper limit.
Costs:  Per person sharing:  $1250; per person single:  $1350
For eight days and seven nights, this field trip will take in some of the most spectacular and awe-inspiring sights in Africa - the world-famous Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River and the 280-kilometer-long Lake Kariba, one of the wildest and most unspoiled wildlife paradises in the world. The field excursion also includes visits to two recently discovered meteorite impact structures (the 220-meter-diameter Cenozoic Sinamwenda crater and the 20-kilometer-wide, still undated Highbury Structure), as well as Harare, the beautiful capital of Zimbabwe

The trip starts and ends in Johannesburg, South Africa. The price includes air travel from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls, the boat trip from Victoria Falls to Kariba, and the return flight from Harare to Johannesburg, all ground transportation, accommodation, and meals. Accommodation will be in the luxury A'Zambezi Lodge situated along the Zambezi River upstream from the falls (2 nights), on a fully catered House Boat on Lake Kariba (3 nights), and in good hotels in Chinhoyi and Harare.

There will be many opportunities for game viewing at both Victoria Falls and on Lake Kariba. Field trip participants will have the chance to engage in scientific work on the remote and little studied Sinamwenda impact crater (near the shores of the lake), including geological and structural mapping, a gravity survey, an auger survey, and a search for iron meteorites (of which one possible example has already been found). The visit to the Highbury Structure will also include a game farm in the impact structure. The last leg of the excursion, en route to Harare, will incorporate stops to examine the Archean and Proterozoic geology of northern Zimbabwe, including the Great Dyke layered igneous complex.

The weather is expected to be mild and warm during the day and cool at night. No strenuous hikes are planned, and conditions should suit people of all ages. Antimalarial prophylactics must be taken before visits to the Zambezi basin. A minimum of 20 participants are required for this field trip to occur (indications of interest are such that this number should be easily reached!).

Namibia
Preconference:  July 3-11
Excursion Leader:  Dr. Roy McG. Miller (Windhoek)
Participants:  9 minimum, 18 maximum
Accommodation:  Hotels in Windhoek and Asab, Company Guest Houses in Rosh Pinah, camping at Roter Kamm
Cost:  $1200

This trip includes visits to the Gros Brukkaros carbonatite volcano and the Roter Kamm meteorite impact crater, and will pass the famous Fish River Canyon. There will be long distance traveling, and some hiking at Roter Kamm and Gros Brukkaros (optional) may be strenuous. Daytime temperatures may exceed 30 degrees C, whereas nighttime temperatures may be around freezing. The schedule is as follows:
July 3.  Arrive Windhoek (sleep Safari Hotel). An LTU flight arrives at 6:25 a.m. Various other airlines arrive from Johannesburg; it has been advised to avoid unreliable Air Namibia flights.
July 4.  Travel Windhoek-Asab, examine kimberlites at Gibeon and Mukerob, sleep at the Asab Hotel.
July 5.  Visit Brukkaros, a late Cretaceous carbonatitic-phreato-magmatic volcano with a vent diameter of 2 kilometers, which is located in the center of a 7.5-kilometer-wide, 400-meter-high dome in the surrounding Nama sedimentary rocks; satellite vents choked with carbonatite and country rock fragments will be seen.
July 6.  Drive from Asab to Rosh Pinah (720 kilometers over mostly gravel road). An early departure will allow time to examine the Fish River Canyon. Lodge at guest houses in Rosh Pinah.
July 7.  Travel from Rosh Pinah to Roter Kamm Crater through the fascinating Namib Desert. Camp in crater. The 3.7-million-year-old Roter Kamm meteorite impact crater formed in crystalline basement that was covered by a thin veneer of metasediments. It is largely covered by mobile, Tertiary dune sand, but the rim allows study of a large number of exposures. Pseudotachylitic breccias abound and ejecta may be found. An apron of mainly gneissic fragments was ejected onto the unconsolidated dune sand for a distance of up to 4 kilometers.
July 8.  Explore Roter Kamm and camp in crater.
July 9.  Travel from Roter Kamm to Rosh Pinah. Lodge in guest houses.
July 10.  Drive from Rosh Pinah to Windhoek (833 kilometers), lodge at the Safari Hotel.
July 11.  Depart Windhoek for Johannesburg (several flights during late morning).
Cost includes all travel, accommodation, and food for the duration of the trip, but does not include the air travel to and from Windhoek.