Innholdsfortegnelse for January-March 2018 i Travel Africa

OUR LATEST STORIES, GALLERIES, IDEAS, BLOGS AND INTERVIEWS ONLINE NOW We are constantly inundated with amazing stories that we simply can’t fit into a quarterly print magazine. So last year we launched Travel Africa Extra, a monthly online mini-magazine packed with exciting articles, image galleries, interviews, blogs and opinion columns. Subscribe to our mailing list on travelafricamag.com to receive Travel Africa Extra in your inbox at the end of every month. EXPLORE THE URBAN JUNGLE Mike Brogden explains how to make the most of the ‘urban’ aspect of the tourism market, encouraging visitors to spend time meeting the local people and understanding their culture, as well as going on safari. THE GATES ARE OPEN After the resignation of Robert Mugabe, there is no better time to visit Zimbabwe. E-magazine Travel…

MALE BEAUTY PAGEANT Each year, at the end of the rainy season in September, thousands of Wodaabe — a subgroup of the nomadic Fulani people — gather to participate in the Gerewol Festival at a location that is only revealed days before. This is the most important date in the Wodaabe calendar, where clans and families congregate for a week-long get-together of socialising, dancing, courtship, horse races, trade... and courtship. At its heart is the male beauty pageant. The Wodaabe are unashamedly vain. Tall, slim, white teeth, white eyes, long and an aquiline nose are considered desirable traits by Wodaabe women. Young men are up at daybreak, armed with pocket mirrors, with family members helping to ensure they are perfectly groomed. This involves a lengthy process of shaving hairlines, plaiting…

1 MALAWI IMPACT MARATHON 21-27 May 2018, Lake Malawi, Malawi Based on the shores of the serene Lake of Stars, this marathon is a great example of the positive impact that these events can have on the environment and the community. Participants are able to witness where their fundraising goes and spend a week living with the locals, volunteering at projects and relaxing at night. This is not about winning; it’s about forming bonds with the fellow racers and the people of Malawi. Distances Full marathon (42km); halfmarathon (21km); and 10km. 2 KILIMANJARO MARATHON 4 March 2018, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania Unlike the other races on this list, the Kilimanjaro Marathon is about having a party. Local bands play alongside the starting line and crowds of locals cheer the runners on. Many of…

I pick up my satellite phone and ring my family. Our daily calls normally go off without a hitch, but now it was hard to hear them over the collective honking of more than 500 black crowned cranes. Once I had returned to Camp Nomade, I telephoned back. “What on earth was that noise?” my wife said. I have travelled to Africa more than 30 times and visited some of the best parks, but Zakouma is different. At one point, I was standing under countless redbilled queleas roosting in the forest for the night, the noise and temperature escalating past breaking point. The animals assaulted the senses as different species mingled. A herd of more than a thousand tiang (right) grazed a stone’s throw from a flock of 300 spur-winged…

WHY VISIT? Remote and wild, Ruaha National Park is packed with game and an abundance of birdlife. Diverse vegetation meets a dramatic topographical backdrop: endless rolling hills, vast open plains, secret groves of ancient baobabs and the Great Ruaha River. The park — the largest in Tanzania at around 20,000 sq km — supports one of Africa’s largest elephant populations. It offers superb, crowd-free wildlife viewing and is particularly good for spotting predators, including lion and the endangered wild dog. WHAT TO SEE? Scenery The main feature of the park is the Great Ruaha River, on its southern border, which attracts hordes of animals in the dry season. Wildlife As well as an estimated 15,000 elephant, there are plentiful large prides of lion and Ruaha is one of the very…

Octopus RAINER SCHIMPF, SOUTH AFRICA “Deep in the underwater recesses of the Tsitsikamma Marine Protected Area, one finds an exquisite catalogue of hidden and secret marine life. This environment and its inhabitants deserve the ultimate protection by South Africa’s conservation institutions. The entire ecology of the area is fragile and the elements living within it are frequently the target of poachers and marine strippers who have little regard or conscience for the permanent damage they do to nature’s strategies of survival and procreation.” Canon EOS 5D MkII, 8-15mm f/4 @ 15mm, ISO 400, aperture f/6.3, shutter speed 1/250s, EV -0.3 Angry bat HENDRIK LOUW, SOUTH AFRICA “One afternoon, I was scanning through the bushes of Richards Bay to look for some macro subjects. To my amazement, I found a little…

Malawi is a small country that punches well above its weight as a birdwatching destination. Part of the reason is the sheer, delightful practicality: distances are manageable, there is some excellent accommodation, the people are famously friendly, it is very safe and, above all, it has eclectic birdlife. The country is like a supermarket. While many of the species are well-known brands, throughout the store are a range of very rare and localised specials that are as easily available as the more routine fare. The specials are found in all the main habitats, but particularly the evergreen forest in the far north and south. With more than 650 species found in a country half the size of the UK, the possibilities for birding are many. However, here are the best…

Some of South Luangwa’s leopards are bold enough to hunt by day — stealing through the thick cover of the park’s riverine forest, pausing to fix you with a nonchalant stare that instantly sears your memory Thirty years have past since my first visit to Zambia. Bouncing around the country in the back of a bright yellow overland truck, it fuelled my love of African wildlife. Three decades later, I still have sketchy memories of a fat python stretched out on the floodplains of Lochinvar, freshly gorged on a lechwe fawn; a leopard slinking along a dry river gully in the Luangwa Valley; and herds of elephant, easily spooked, drifting like grey smoke through the mopane forest of Kafue National Park. Back then, Zambia felt raw, untrammelled. And it still…

Sitting in a cold Oxfordshire office, it was thrilling to watch the scenes from Harare and Bulawayo as the recent ‘transition’ of power in Zimbabwe unfolded. It was a deeply emotional time; Zimbabwe is where my soul and roots lie. Above all, I was struck by a feeling that, for the first time in so long, we were witnessing Zimbabweans expressing themselves freely, with abandon and sincerity. The open-armed embrace across cultural, racial and religious divides gave testimony to the reality that Zimbabweans are good people, honourable, dignified, respectful and very welcoming. There is a reason why visitors consistently talk about the friendliness and warmth of her people. It was wonderful to see this released so freely for the world to see. I sincerely hope that travellers will now embrace…

How can a land with great rivers, huge lakes and more moorland than any other African country be a land of perpetual drought? Well, it isn’t! The perception of Ethiopia as drought-ridden was mainly created by the media attention that highlighted the dreadful famine over 30 years ago. Famines on a massive scale occur when there is a fatal combination of drought and extraordinary events, such as war and rinderpest. The media was right to bring it to the notice of the world but it has left an inaccurate image of Ethiopia. Some of the arid parts are susceptible to drought if the annual rains fail, as has happened over the past two years in the remote south-east of Ethiopia and other East African countries. But can this be applied…

ZIMBABWE Chundu Island Lodge, Chundu Island The wildlife put on a show as the highly anticipated Chundu Island private island lodge opened its doors to casual guests and intrepid explorers. The new property consists of six ordinary and two family suites, each with private decks overlooking the majestic upper Zambezi River. The island offers 1.4km of natural beauty with a sandy beach on the westernmost tip. Operated by the trusted Seolo Africa, there are options for a 4WD safari in Zambezi National Park, a sunset cruise along the river or a day trip to Victoria Falls, which is 20km away. Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, Victoria Falls The Victoria Falls Safari Lodge has been voted the Best Resort Hotel by the Association of Zimbabwe Travel Agents for 21 years in a…

Anita Powell, of Small World Marketing, reassures parents that a South African safari is a good choice for their children The grandparents tutted when I declared I was taking my seven-, five- and three-year-olds on safari. “Is it safe?” “What about malaria?” “Can’t you go to Longleat?” I was warned that my kids would be too young to appreciate the experience, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. I struggled to find somewhere in South Africa that would accept children as young as ours, as most lodges have policies of only accepting kids over six. I discovered Hopewell Private Game Reserve after much research and liked the fact that it was a small, exclusive-use lodge and, therefore, had no stipulations on age restrictions. As we were the sole…

HIGHLIGHTS: SOUTH TO NORTH Lake Magadi The closest Rift Valley lake to Nairobi, Magadi isn’t so much a lake as a sludge-bed of blindingly white soda deposits, set at the terminus of a 110km asphalt cul-de-sac running south towards the Tanzanian border. Few tourists visit the only lakeshore settlement, the staff village of the Magadi Soda Company, which celebrated its centenary in 2011. As with the other Rift Valley lakes, Magadi holds much of interest to birders, and the austere scenery more than justifies the short drive from the capital. A compelling stop along the road between Nairobi and Magadi is Olorgesailie Prehistoric Site, which stands in a harshly beautiful part of the Rift Valley inhabited by traditional Maasai pastoralists. Overlooking what was once a huge shallow lake frequented by…

Dr. Jimmiel Mandima is responsible for AWF’s work with the public sector, which means developing and managing relationships with the agencies that in 2017 funded approximately 29 percent of our work. As director of program design and partner relations, Mandima also advocates for African wildlife conservation on Capitol Hill and to the White House and government agencies. An aquatic ecologist from Zimbabwe, Mandima began his AWF career in his home country, as Zambezi Heartland Director. Before that, he was a research fellow at the University of Zimbabwe Lake Kariba Research Station, where he focused on sustainable use of fisheries. He recently earned his Ph.D. in biological sciences from the University of Eastern Finland. Here, he discusses his work at AWF, what gives him hope for conservation and some differences between…

It’s easy to see why the Constantia Valley, nestled beneath Table Mountain National Park, is renowned for its food and drink. This idyllic suburb is the oldest wine-producing region in the Southern Hemisphere, home to eight award-winning wine estates: Groot Constantia, Steenberg Vineyards, Constantia Uitsig, Klein Constantia, Buitenverwachting, Eagles Nest, Constantia Glen and Silvermist Vineyards. And where there’s good wine, first-class cuisine usually follows. Whether you’re looking for fine dining or a touch of Cape Malay, you’ll be spoilt for choice. TABLE WITH A VIEW CHEFS WAREHOUSE AT BEAU CONSTANTIA Set high on a hill on the Beau Constantia boutique wine farm, this top-notch establishment serves phenomenal food with a picturesque vista of vineyards stretching out to the city beyond. This is the sister restaurant of the popular Chefs Warehouse…

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust rescues Kenya’s orphaned elephants and raises them before they are returned to the wild. Many visitors have seen the orphans being given milk and heard the circumstances of their arrival at the Nairobi-based orphanage on the edge of the national park, but only a few get to see their next step towards their reintegration to the wild. Elephant calves graduate from the orphanage to one of three sites around Kenya. Ithumba in the vast Tsavo East National Park is the biggest of these ‘secondary schools’. Within seconds of arriving at our accommodation, a cold beer was opened as we watched some elephants bathing. During the three days, hours were spent taking pictures and watching the antics of the teenage ellies. We learnt that they are…

PURSUING THE OPPORTUNITY For most of September the greatest concentration of wildebeest was in the central and southern part of the Greater Mara. We had heard of an unsual coalition of five male cheetahs operating together, knowing they would need to kill every day and would need to focus on larger prey than usual, such as wildebeest or topi calves. Even with the help of the Cheetah Research Group, we searched for them in vain on a few occasions. Then our luck turned. The five crossed the Talek River, going north. Now they were closer to our base and I planned the best route to get to them early in the morning, before they killed. Within five minutes of finding them, the hunt started. Three were laying flat behind a…

■ Getting there Mountain Zebra National Park (MZNP) is a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Port Elizabeth, which is served by several daily flights from Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. It’s a great self-drive destination and combines well with Addo Elephant National Park, Camdeboo National Park and even Golden Gate Highlands National Park. ■ Where to stay The pleasant main rest camp has a campsite and various one- and two-bedroom self-catering accommodation, including the new Rock Chalets. The restored Doornhoek Guest House sleeps six and is separate from the main camp. For a rustic experience, book one of the two mountain cottages, which are accessible only by 4WD. ■ Track a cheetah The experience starts just after sunrise and takes between three and four hours, depending on how amenable the cheetah are…

“Zimbabwe has long been the safari darling of the tourism world, but the perceived political and economic crisis over the last decade or so kept people away. Now that there has been a change, people will be excited and start returning. The way in which the transition happened — how peaceful it was — is some of the best PR any country could wish for. It demonstrated the beautiful nature and resilience of our people. “I believe that tourists should visit Zimbabwe now, before the floodgates open. Be the pioneers of rediscovery! Zimbabweans are eager to share their passion and knowledge, and our prices are very competitive compared to many other countries. I believe that Zimbabwe offers one of the wildest, most remote, and truly authentic safari experiences. But it…

WHAT MADE YOU BECOME AN EXPLORER? From a young age I loved camping and walking around the Welsh mountains. As I grew older, I became more interested in exploring remoter parts of the world. WHY DID YOU CHANGE YOUR ORIGINAL START DATE? Sub-Saharan Africa in November is the beginning of the wet season and I didn’t take that into consideration. I planned to just head off and start walking but I soon realised the journey required more preparation. Changing the start date to 10 August allowed me to walk through the floodplains and other tricky sections when the river is at its lowest and these places become accessible. WHAT WAS YOUR ROUTE AND HOW FAR DID YOU TRAVEL? My route followed the Zambezi from its source to the Indian Ocean.…

Imagine: you’re cruising the placid waters off Mozambique’s Bazaruto Archipelago when, without warning, 35 tonnes of humpback whale (pictured) launches skyward beside your boat, crashing back down in an explosion of spray. Or, 5000km to the north, you’re finning with mask and snorkel through the warm Red Sea waters off Marsa Alam, Egypt, when a chorus of clicks announces a pod of spinner dolphins. The animals sweep past, twisting on lithe bodies to peer at your intrusion before vanishing into the blue. With a coastline stretching for more than 30,500km, it’s small wonder that Africa’s offshore waters harbour a wealth of cetaceans (whales and dolphins). Indeed, at least 50 species have been recorded around the continent, from the colossal 30m blue whale, the largest animal ever known, to the diminutive…

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EXPRESSION OF FREEDOM Robert Mugabe’s resignation sparked celebrations all over Zimbabwe as his 37-year rule came to an end. The voluntary submission comes a week after he was placed under military house arrest for sacking former vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa. Zimbabwe’s economy has plummeted under Mugabe and every election over the past 15 years has been met with suppressive violence. Fergal Keane, BBC Africa editor, said Zimbabweans who had “endured white minority” power and watched their “independence become tyranny” were now free. Chef is a flaming success Chef Luke Dale-Roberts’ restaurants in South Africa dominated at the Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards. The Test Kitchen finished first for an unprecedented sixth year in a row, while The Shortmarket Club, The Pot Luck Club and Luke Dale-Roberts X The Saxon finished in…

The latest conservation and project updates from acr With fewer than 1,000 mountain gorillas left in the world, the naming ceremony known as “Kwita Izina” has become one of the biggest conservation celebrations in Africa. In September, the 13th-ever Kwita Izina occurred at Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, and AWF board member and supermodel Veronica Varekova was among those invited to take part. Varekova noted that mountain gorillas are travelers — “global citizens” — who live in three countries: Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo. “It’s partly that freedom to move that has posed both a risk, but also ensured they have survived," Varekova said. Nineteen gorilla babies received names at the celebration, which stems from a traditional childnaming ceremony in Rwanda. In 2008, former AWF CEO Patrick Bergin had the honor…

When the buying stops, the killing can too. That’s the slogan of the successful “Stop the Demand” campaign aimed at ending the rhino horn trade. AWF and WildAid partnered with local Vietnamese nonprofit organization CHANGE to raise awareness and conduct surveys about beliefs and attitudes in Vietnam regarding the realities facing rhinos in Africa. Rhino populations have plummeted 95% in the last 40 years, primarily from poaching as result of the demand for rhino horns. Rhino horns are made of keratin, the same material as human fingernails, and have no medicinal or healing properties. However, horns are coveted as a status symbol, used in traditional medicine and carved into trinkets. BRUTAL TRUTH According to the 2017 AWF/WildAid survey of residents in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, only 9.4% of…

GRAND PRIZE WINNER African Lionesses Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya By Lakshitha Karunarathna “It was early morning in the Great Rift Valley as we were searching for a famous pride of lionesses with many subadults. Not even half an hour into the park, we spotted the pride next to the road. Since it was very cold, the females were piled on top of each other, forming three groups and staying close. This particular set grabbed my attention because they were staring glassy-eyed in different directions. I wanted to capture all possible details in the frame with a tight crop to make a striking black and white conversion.” AFRICAN WILDLIFE WINNER Reticulated Giraffes Samburu National Reserve, Kenya By Piper Mackay “While driving across the stunning African landscape, we came upon five…

WEB Gather your herd Elephants, rhinos, giraffes, great apes and so many more wild lives need our protection. If you want to help them or even just want to try your hand at fundraising, then by all means, start your own online “herdfunding” campaign to help ensure that wildlife and wild lands thrive in modern Africa. We make it very easy, with options to name your campaign, set your dollar goal, and choose the type of event you’re celebrating or marking. A campaign in lieu of a traditional present is a meaningful holiday gift and one that embodies the spirit of hope and compassion. Go ahead and put your hand out for Africa’s wildlife today! https://fundraise.awf.org VIDEO IF A RHINO COULD SPEAK, WOULD HE BEG THE WORLD TO STOP POACHING?…

1 Mark Eveleigh Uganda, page 138 “I first fell in love with beautiful Kidepo Valley National Park during a month-long safari, mapping Uganda’s national parks as a volunteer. The 13-hour drive to the northern frontier reminded me that travel here is always an adventure; this wild reserve is worth every minute of the trip.” Mark has written 700 travel features for titles that include BBC Wildlife, BBC Earth, Geographical and National Geographic Traveller. 2 Nick Dall South Africa, page 52 “Mountain Zebra Park is in the heart of Schreiner country. Once, I was treated to a moonrise torn straight from the pages of The Story of an African Farm. ‘The dry, sandy earth, with its coating of stunted karoo bushes...the milk-bushes with their long finger-like leaves, all were touched by…

New World Heritage Sites Earth is incredibly diverse, both in terms of cultural and environmental marvels. There are hundreds of different, complex and beautiful places that contribute to the rich tapestry of natural and human history — and Africa is no different. Indeed, the continent has no fewer than 135 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, with others whose status is currently pending. Here are some of the most recent and most interesting additions to this important list. MOROCCO RABAT DATE OF INSCRIPTION: 2012 THE COUNTRY’S CAPITAL CITY, AND ITS SECOND-LARGEST METROPOLIS, IS LESS TOURISTY THAN FAMOUS MARRAKECH. WITH A PRISTINE BEACH, AN EVOCATIVE KASBAH AND A BEAUTIFUL WALLED MEDINA, THE CITY OFFERS THE BEST OF OLD-MEETS-NEW CULTURE WITHOUT THE CROWDS. SENEGAL BASSARI COUNTRY DATE OF INSCRIPTION: 2012 THE REGION IS FILLED…

I’m sure that many of you will know what I’m talking about when I say that I can still recall the wonder I felt as a child when first hearing about the Roman town of Pompeii and how it was famously buried under volcanic ash clouds. Even back then, it was a place that I longed to visit one day. In my case it took many years until that chance came, but finally, early last autumn, as the first wisps of winter wrapped around southern Italy, I found myself in Pompeii. And yet, after all those years of waiting, Pompeii left me cold. It was just too sterile and, despite the murky winter weather, the thousands of other tourists I shared the site with gave me no chance for quiet…

In the Masai Mara, the stars seemed brighter than ever before and the sounds were amplified. We were on a night drive arranged by Il Ngwesi, and were on the lookout for owls. This took until the end of the evening but there were a few other compensations. We spotted a pack of roughly 15 wild dogs playing with sticks. Then a honey badger appeared, followed by both striped and spotted hyena. It was all very exciting and just one of the amazing experiences arranged by the lovely people here. Another is sleeping on a star bed (top). Il Ngwesi is a Maasai community venture. More than 20 years ago, the local elders decided to set aside a large part of their grazing land for wildlife and built a lodge…

EXCERPT AND IMAGES USED WITH PERMISSION. In this extract from her new book, A Cheetah’s Tale, Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent discusses how she learned to ‘read’ the calls of Tess, an orphaned cheetah cub In the wild, cheetah cubs can depend on their mother to hunt for them and to teach them to hunt from about six months old. But since Tess had no mother to teach her I was very surprised when, at 10 months old, she began chirruping to be let out at dawn. For the last two months she had shown signs of wanting to chase prey — mostly quite unsuitably large — but at least it showed she was keen to provide for herself. I began to record her vocalisations to play to…

GET OUT ON THE WATER Whether on a whitewater rafting thrill ride, a more gentle paddle or just lazily sipping sundowners on a boat cruise, there are many ways to enjoy the wonders of the Orange River. Rafting and canoe safaris offer one-to four-day expeditions, with all tastes covered — from mild to wild. You can even step into the depths for a spot of flyfishing on the lower Vaal and Riet rivers at Kimberley, which are renowned for yielding world-class catches of yellowfish in pristine surrounds. TAKE TO THE AIR Soar above the rugged landscape of the Northern Cape in a hot air balloon, taking in the magnificent Orange River and the Augrabies Falls — or wherever the wind may take you. Other air-bound activities include bridge swinging, abseiling,…

I’m breathless and starting to sweat, despite the Karoo morning chill. Two Austrian tourists and I have spent the last hour clambering up and down the steep, scrabbly slopes of Saltpeterskop in South Africa’s Mountain Zebra National Park (MZNP) in search of a collared cheetah. Up ahead — rifle in one hand, antenna in the other — field guide Dan van de Vyver is trying his damnedest to find her, but the topography is wreaking havoc with his radio signal. Every time the beeps seem to be getting stronger, they fade away just as quickly. Just when I’m starting to wonder whether we’ll ever find her, one of the Austrians spots her round ears poking out from behind some grass. We marvel at her from a distance of no more…

Look, behind you!” Still clutching my coffee, I swung around just in time to see an impala flash past. Swiftly followed by a blur of five African wild dogs, lithe bodies outstretched in hot pursuit — and less than a couple of metres from where I was standing. We jumped into the Land Cruiser and sped off in a dramatic swirl of dust. A few minutes later, we came across the wild dog celebration, yelping as they rubbed bloodstained muzzles, a head and spine all that remained of the luckless impala. Botswana is known for its wealth of wildlife. With a population of just over two million in an area the size of France, vast swathes of pristine wilderness have been given over to fence-free national parks and private game…

“An anecdote I often share from my fifth visit to Zimbabwe, back in 2013, sums up the wide gap in perception that exists about a country that, even during the ravages of the past decades, always remained safe and welcoming to travellers. I’d been staying at the wonderful Victoria Falls Hotel when a duty manager at the time told me Robert Mugabe had visited a while back. As his entourage entered the lobby, the disgraced leader stopped to chat with a woman and compliment her baby. She told him she was a British holidaymaker and he allegedly replied that she was most welcome as the British were his special friends. “I watched the fall of Mugabe recently with great satisfaction, although this was somewhat tempered by Mnangagwa’s accession. Can a…

SUPPORTED BY AFRICAN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION There are about 25,000 rhino in all of Africa today. This number becomes more meaningful – and painful – when you consider the rhino’s former strength on the continent: black rhino once numbered in the hundreds of thousands, perhaps up to 850,000, while southern white rhino were widespread in their range south of the Zambezi river until being almost driven to extinction in the late 1800s. Thankfully, in recent decades conservation efforts have reversed the trend toward extinction. But in 2008, demand for rhino horn, especially in China, Vietnam and other Asian countries, led to a dramatic poaching increase. While in 2007 poachers killed a total of 13 rhinos in South Africa – which is where most of Africa’s rhinos live today (more than 80…

BLOWHOLE Modified nostrils through which a whale breathes air at the surface, located on top of the head, for ease of respiration. Toothed whales have a single opening; baleen whales have two. The form of a whale’s blowhole determines the shape of its spout, enabling many species to be identified at a distance. THROAT The ‘pleats’ beneath the throat of baleen whales allow them to expand their mouth to take in huge volumes of water, which they then expel with the tongue. EYES Whales have small eyes but reasonable eyesight. The eyes are placed on either side of the head and thus produce two separate fields of vision. INTERNAL ORGANS The lungs of a humpback whale can hold up to 5000 litres of air. The heart of a blue whale…

I really have no idea how old I am,” Mzee Mateus Yeya Acok tells me through a snaggletooth smile, “but I think I might even be 2000 years old.” Mateus is sitting, with his stork-thin legs tucked under him, outside his village high on the slopes of Morungole. His tribe, the Ik (numbering about 10,000 people), are known as one of the remotest and most culturally intact tribes in East Africa. Their recent history has been a dramatic and heart-rending cycle of famine and slaughter at the hands of more powerful tribes. It’s not surprising that old Mateus feels like he might have lived through two millennia. Philip Akorongimoe has been a guide with the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) for 17 years and, although a Dodoth tribesman, he’s become a…

ADVENTURE Q Where can I walk unaccompanied in wildlife reserves? JENNY BOWEN SENSE AFRICA Of course, we would never recommend walking unaccompanied in big game reserves. However, there are a host of smaller, more intimate reserves, where you can walk among zebra, wildebeest and giraffe to your heart’s content. All you need are your trainers or walking boots and a sense of adventure. The Kingdom of Swaziland is an ideal destination for this. You can get off the beaten track and explore the bush at your very own pace. Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, Malolotja Game Reserve, Mbuluzi Game Reserve and Mlawula Nature Reserve are wonderfully diverse, have well marked trails, are rich in flora and fauna and have stunning scenery. Get out on foot and on your own terms. ROMANTIC Q…

It may be less celebrated than the wildlife-rich plains of the Masai Mara and the idyllic beaches of the tropical coastline, but Kenya’s majestic Rift Valley surpasses both as the country’s most rewarding all-round destination for active travellers. Hemmed in by 1000m-high basaltic cliffs, the Rift Valley supports a classic East African landscape of open savannah punctuated by a string of seven absolutely gorgeous lakes of various shapes and sizes. Walking and game-viewing opportunities abound, but the region also offers scintillating birdwatching, some thrillingly tortured volcanic landscapes, and a scattering of paleontological sites littered with stones and bones documenting the hunter-gatherer lifestyles of our earliest hominin ancestors. Each of Kenya’s Rift Valley lakes is different in character. The welcoming freshwater expanses of Naivasha and Baringo rank among East Africa’s finest…

There are about 25,000 rhinos in all of Africa today. This number becomes more meaningful — and painful — when you consider rhinos’ former strength on the continent: Black rhinos once numbered in the hundreds of thousands, perhaps up to 850,000, while southern white rhinos were widespread in their range south of the Zambezi river until being almost driven to extinction in the late 1800s. Thankfully, in recent decades conservation efforts have reversed the trend toward extinction. But in 2008, demand for rhino horn, especially in China, Vietnam and other Asian countries, led to a dramatic poaching increase. While in 2007 poachers killed a total of 13 rhinos in South Africa — which is where most of Africa’s rhinos live today (more than 80 percent) — by the peak of…

Kate Johnson of Minneapolis, Minn., draws her life’s inspiration from two passions: the arts and nature. Perhaps, she muses, this is because both realms exemplify beauty. Kate has a master’s degree in art history and worked for 27 years at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. She also taught college-level art programs for seven years. A true renaissance woman, she loves gardening, birding, Cuban and African dance and music, visiting art museums and travel — especially to Africa! Kate’s interest in Africa developed in the 1990s. At first Africa had seemed too big, and travel too difficult to arrange. But then a forest-ranger friend from Ireland planned a “crazily inexpensive” tour for a small group, and she decided to take the plunge. She now considers travel to Africa “a piece of…