Travel Africa

On safari, every day ends around the campfire. The sun goes down. The logs are lit: cedarwood in northern Kenya, mopane in southern Africa, attracting visitors from all over the world. Like moths to the flame they come, drawn together by a shared lov

Here’s to 2021! After everything we have all had to endure in 2020, wouldn’t it be good if we could start doing ‘normal’ things once again: hugging each other, going out for dinner with friends, watching live sport, going to the theatre, working alon

With 3800 images submitted, Wilderness Safaris’ 2020 photography competition again produced some magical images that capture the essence of Africa we all love. Funds raised by the initiative were donated to the company’s Covid-Relief Conservation Her

An inspiring initiative in the Matobo Hills, in Zimbabwe, is having a dynamic impact on local villages and attracting attention from tourism. Every year after harvesting, the women decorate their huts with intricate designs using charcoal, ash, water

Now and again a book comes along that breaks the mould and sets new standards for avid naturalists. This is not a field guide. Instead it is something infinitely more ambitious – the whole of Africa’s avian diversity distilled into 544 pages of encyc

Maintaining a healthy distance from each other is a priority for people all over the world nowadays, but how far should you keep from wildlife when on a walking safari? Calvet Nkomo, head guide at Somalisa Camp in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, has

Readers witness the dramatic fight for survival in the African bush Nick – a Maasai guide from Rekero Camp – and I had headed down to the Mara River to see how high it had risen as there had been a lot of rain. To our astonishment, zebra numbers were

On a game drive In Kwandwe Private Game Reserve, South Africa, we came across a young lion and his father stalking a family of warthog. Unable to keep up with his prey, the ag.eing dad gave up the chase. Suddenly, we heard a high-pitched squeal, and

The events of Sunday 12 August 2007 come frequently to mind: it was the day I came face to face with a poacher. Most people visit the Bangweulu Wetlands hoping to glimpse the elusive Shoebill. But I had other ideas. I wanted to see the area's endemic

It was the day before Xmas Eve and I was in my campervan, travelling west about 100km away from Pofadder, in South Africa’s Northern Cape, when I noticed angry, cumulonimbus clouds creeping along the horizon. I thought a huge storm was developing. As

“When I want to get away from it all and leave behind the screens, the noise, the crowds and the urban grit, my mind drifts to some of my favourite African escapes and activities. A special place to enjoy a braai (barbeque) while camping on the edge

With a price tag ranging from a few hundred dollars to well over US$1500 per person per night, African lodge safaris are often considered once-in-a-lifetime bucket-list trips. Are these experiences worth the price tag? And what sets them apart from a

Where: Okavango Delta, Botswana Cost per night: From US$1995 Beds: Five double/twin tents, plus a private family suite for up to four people Staff: 49 Size of concession: 33,000-hectare private reserve Activities: Morning and night game drives, fishi

On an afternoon drive, our open Land Cruiser bounced between sightings. We stopped to admire a lion. His scarred face and blunt teeth implied years of struggle for dominance in Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park. This old cat would have witnessed m

One of the few plants I can easily identify is the curiously named ‘banana shrimp’ variety of the heather Erica coccinea. The shrub’s tiny yellow flowers droop like mini bananas — or indeed shrimps. The surreal moniker helps with recall, but much of

For the longest time tourism has been about travellers visiting places for entertainment, adventure and an exotic experience. It has been about certain groups of people carrying the responsibility for entertaining others; animals being peeled from th

Named the “coolest neighbourhood in Johannesburg” by Vogue and considered one of the world’s most successful urban-renewal projects, it’s remarkable to think that Maboneng was nothing like this just 15 years ago. Bheki Dube grew up nearby and got int

Beauty smiles brightly, beaming with pride as she shows me around my room. This is no ordinary room — it’s one she’s hand-built with fellow camp assistants Eunice and Margaret, beautifully decorated and made of mud-brick walls, reed and thatch. But m

It’s easy to miss the Anja Community Reserve. Cresting a ridge on the RN7 highway, my gaze was immediately drawn to smooth-domed granite mountains rearing across the valley. Reaching nearly 1,500m in height, the Three Sisters glowed ochre-red in late

There are few more remarkable wildlife conservation stories than that taking place in Kenya’s northern frontiers, home to the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), an initiative embraced by 39 community conservancies covering an area of some 42,000 sq km

A low wall of dark volcanic rocks in the near distance was the signal: our short, gentle walk past fields of daisies, beans and potatoes was drawing to a close, and we were about to enter Volcanoes National Park. Rising steeply into the middle distan

• Over 100,000 indigenous tree seedlings have been germinated each year, with more than 40,000 trees nurtured to independence. In 2018 Bisate partnered with African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) and Rwanda Development Board (RDB) to reforest an expanded

“Imagine travelling in a car as it gradually accelerates, speeding up from 30mph (48kmh) through to 60mph,” says Dr Sarah Durant of the Range Wide Conservation Program for Cheetah and Wild Dog. “Now picture a cheetah running alongside you. It is like

The finest encounters with the daddy of the ape world are to be found in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda, and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda (12 groups, 400 gorillas), which also offers a four-hour experience with a semihabituated group. Note: Fo

VICKI JAURON, TAKEN IN THE MAASAI MARA, KENYA ■

We have spent thousands of hours over more than a decade photographing some of the most remote and spectacular wilderness areas of southern Africa from the air. We have left our hearts in so many places, but one of our most profound experiences has b

EXCLUSIVELY FOR TRAVEL AFRICA, MANA MEADOWS SHARES HER EXPERIENCE Within the first twenty minutes of The Walk (in my mind it was always capitalised), most of my fears had already surfaced – weakness, injury, wildlife encounters… and needing my husban

When: 17 days from 27 July to 13 August, 2020 Distance: 350km Where: From North Luangwa National Park to Sungani, the southernmost camp in South Luangwa National Park. The Walk traversed three national parks and four Game Management Areas (GMAs). It

Following the successful rehabilitation of Akagera National Park, the Rwanda Development Board has partnered with African Parks for the management of Nyungwe National Park. This montane forest, interspersed with marshland, is home to exceptional faun

Founder of South Rift Association of Land Owners (SORALO), Kenya WINNER: THE TUSK AWARD FOR CONSERVATION IN AFRICA, SPONSORED BY LAND ROVER John Kamanga lives in two worlds. One is that of the traditional Maasai, into which he was born and bred. The

How much is a lion worth? Or a gorilla, an elephant, a whale shark? It might seem an odd question, especially to those of us who love Africa’s wildlife for its own sake. A picture might be worth a thousand words, but a photo of a cheetah atop a termi

The Botswana government says the cause of death for hundreds of elephants in the Okavango Delta region was cyanobacteria, a microorganism that occurs naturally in slow-moving and stagnant water. Sadly, the country has lost over 300 elephants since Ma

Before African alpine bamboo grows into the tall, verdant stands clustered across high mountain forests, providing food for gorillas, golden monkeys and other species, it is a fragile shoot from a seed so tiny it’s invisible to the naked eye. The you

In this Covid-19 world we now live in, Africa’s safari lodges and camps have adopted stringent protocols, in line with government and health organisation guidelines, to help ensure your health and safety during your stay. As a general rule: • Receive

Having analysed what measures airlines and airports around the world have implemented in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) has declared that any risks to passengers are “very low”. Speaking to livestream.travel, Dr

Within the vast NamibRand Nature Reserve, Natural Selection’s Kwessi Dunes appears like an oasis, in the middle of nowhere. The lodge overlooks an undulating landscape that only ends when it meets the mountains, far in the distance. This is one of th

Rebuilt to “pay homage to its former self”, Ker & Downey’s Shinde – one of the first camps built in Botswana – has reopened its tent flaps. Located on the edge of the Shinde Lagoon in the northern Okavango Delta, the camp is in an area teeming with w

Xigera (pronounced ‘Kee-jera’ and named after the pied kingfisher) has joined the Great Plains Collection. The redesigned Red Carnation-owned safari lodge resides on the western side of the Moremi Game Reserve in the heart of the Okavango Delta and a

Hideaways has added Mogotlho Lodge to its stable, providing a seamless link between northern Botswana and its sister lodge, Elephant’s Eye, in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park. Mogotlho has recently undergone an extensive ecoconscious refurbishment, t

Overlooking Lake Itezhi-Tezhi and the Musa River in southern Kafue National Park, Zambia, the three-tent Nanzhila Plains Lake Camp has opened up a new view on the water (during seasonal flooding). The only camp on this side of the lake, it is in a pr

Even this mountain gorilla – photographed by Marcus Westberg in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Uganda – seemed to feel the pressure in what was a really challenging year for us all. The image was a finalist entry in the Comedy Wildlife Photograp