SPACE INVADER
Matobo Hills NP, Zimbabwe: A beautiful and sacred place, with over 3,500 rock art sites. There is beauty, mystery, magic and spirituality in the dramatic landscape and granite kopjes.
Kalahari Desert, Botswana: True wilderness. Open skies, endless horizons and a sense of connectedness to what really matters.
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa/Botswana: A stunning terrain, off-thebeaten-track, with over 170 species of birds and home to many main predators, including the Kalahari blackmaned lion.
LINDA CAMERON, UK
Mahale Mountains NP, Tanzania: Remoteness; beautiful nature; stunning encounters with chimpanzees; birdlife.
Ruaha NP, Tanzania: Fantastic during both wet and dry seasons; few tourists; diverse wildlife.
Tsavo West NP, Kenya: Picturesque landscapes and exceptional wildlife.
And, of course, Serengeti, Tanzania.
PER ERIKSSON, SWEDEN
RUAHA NP, TANZANIA
It is so beautiful. I dubbed it ‘the Peak District with mega fauna!’
MAASAI MARA, KENYA
There is excitement around every corner.
OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA
For its tranquillity.
ANN HILTON, UK
Wildlife treat
ADD VENTURE
Open any brochure about Africa and the country you are least likely to find mentioned is Madagascar. Long fascinated by its unique wildlife, I was keen to visit sooner rather than later, having been advised to "go now before it all disappears".
Madagascar's size requires making choices: we opted for the eastern region, with its forests, notably wetter climate and a variety of wildlife different to other areas. A domestic flight took us to Maroantsetra, and access to Nosy Mangabe and the protected Masoala National Park. This combination of mangrove, tropical and rainforest, as well as a marine reserve, appealed as it gave us excellent opportunities to see the elusive mouse lemur and bamboo lemur, the red ruffed lemur (native to the area), kingfishers, helmet vanga, different kinds of frogs, leaf-tailed geckos and tenrecs, as well as chameleons in all shapes and sizes.
We spent five days exploring the area around Ambodiforaha with two guides from the Masoala National Park office. Their knowledge of the ecosystem and the wildlife made the treks — early morning and late afternoon/early evening — extra special, and enabled us to see a variety of diurnal and noctural wildlife. Others who had visited here before Covid-19 felt that wildlife was definitely more difficult to find during our trip. Stories of lemurs being hunted for subsistence, and the difficulty we had spotting them, might support this theory.
For anyone wanting to go to Madagascar, be warned that the tourism infrastructure isn't good; it has suffered from extreme weather and a lack of investment. Travel can be slow. All roads
