Innholdsfortegnelse for Edition 92 i Travel Africa

A few weeks ago, walking the dog across a flooded Oxfordshire field in the cold, I stopped to watch a heron flying across the water to settle in safety about 100 metres from us. For several minutes I stood enraptured, realising this was my first wildlife fix for a long time. I chastised myself for not having my binos with me, like I would if I was on safari. The streets, paths and fields we walk have become very familiar over the last year. I have noticed I have become increasingly conscious of nature’s passage through the seasons: autumnal leaves, the crunch of icy puddles, early spring growth. But my mind inevitably finds its way to Africa. Wintry sunsets remind me of firey skies over Cape Town or the Zambezi.…

AFRICA AT HOME If it’s difficult for us to get to Africa right now, perhaps we can bring it to us? Over the next 10 pages we offer a few suggestions for ways to incorporate our love of the continent into our everyday lives. A lockdown safari, if you will. I’s not the same, but it might be a bit of fun and make us feel connected. HUMMINGBIRDS ARE THE ONLY BIRDS THAT CAN FLY BACKWARDS…

01 Add tamarind to your dish. Indigenous to tropical Africa, the tamarind tree produces brown, pod-like fruits that contain a sweet, tangy pulp, which adds an acidity that complements most Kenyan dishes, whether sweet or savoury. 02 Recreate the bush concept by incorporating a fire, which provides a great outdoor ambience. Prepare something interactive, such as Beef Mishkaki – meat kebabs, seasoned with East African spices. 03 Get everyone involved with the cooking and enjoy your favourite tipple while watching the sun go down.…

RECOMMENDED READING Africa has long been a source of inspiration for writers, so we asked our contributors to recommend books that have meant something to them HOW TO USE YOUR CAMERA ON SAFARI BY JOHN SHERMAN “For a revealing look at how safaris and photography have changed over the years, we love Camera on Safari, published in 1960. Our dog-eared copy was found in Clarke’s Bookshop in Cape Town and includes such gems of advice as ‘a charging rhino may be turned by throwing a clod of earth at its nose.’” Steve and Ann Toon toonwildlife.com HOUSE OF HUNGER BY DAMBUDZO MARECHERA “I was in high school when I read this book. The personal and literary journey of Marechera inspired me to write. He was a rebel of sorts, and…

1 ALU PODCAST Starting a business? Launching your leadership journey? Demystify entrepreneurial leadership in Africa with this informative pod. 2 ANDBEYOND: LEAVE OUR WORLD A BETTER PLACE Find out about sustainable tourism and listen to stories from people who dedicate themselves to wildlife conservation. 3 NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY SECRETS If you are passionate about nature photography, this is the pod for you. Presented by Lou Coetzer and Julie Steelman. 4 CONSERVATION STORYTELLING Enlightening conversations about conservation, with a diverse range of field-based voices. 5 INSPIRING AFRICAN TRAVEL Entertaining, inspiring and passionate stories about conservation heroes, experiences of travelling in Africa and more. 6 TRACKING YOUR LIFE WITH BOYD VARTY Following a trauma, a chance encounter opened Boyd Varty’s eyes to the possibility of using his tracking skills to find his way…

Drawing animals How many lines make up an elephant’s skin? Just one. This principle applies to any animal you want to draw. In this example, I’m using my favourite – the elephant. Find a suitable photo, pick up a pencil and simply start scribbling… Never losing contact with the page, take your pencil for a walk. Let your line wander and scribble and scratch, let it follow the creases of the elephant’s wrinkles, finding those circular muscles, exploring the verticals and horizontals. Take it around the contours of that marvellous head, over the eyes, down into the dips and the valleys, lumps and bumps over the raised areas of the eyebrows – never fixing too hard to an outline edge but just allowing the animal to start to take life…

RAW BEAUTY LINDA CAMERON, UK Two special places for us are Matobo Hills in Zimbabwe and the Erongo Mountains in Namibia, both areas of great beauty and ancient magic. Camping on our own in the middle of the granite boulders and mountains, visits from baboons, thousands-of-years-old rock art and the silence draw us back, providing a retreat from a busy world, a time to pause and reconnect with the earth and ourselves. But it is to the Namibian desert that we return every year, a wilderness full of life and raw beauty, a place of survival. It strips away the trappings of everyday life and there is no place to hide. One special memory is of camping in the Namib Rand, the desert lit up by a full moon. A…

Satara Rest Camp, Kruger National Park, 5.30am. I’m standing outside our two-person rondavel, surveying the evidence of last night’s drama. The verandah – including chairs, table and kitchen sink – is coated in a drift of what, in the dawn half-light, appears to be fine-grained sand. “Bloody hell,” says Will, emerging through the swing door and almost losing his footing. “There’s cement everywhere.” A first-timer in Africa, until two days ago Will was unfamiliar with ProNutro breakfast cereal and its quick-drying solidity. He was also unfamiliar with the ways of the honey badger – until 3am last night, that is, when pandemonium kicked off outside our window. Stumbling outside, I was just in time to catch the silver-caped marauder trotting off to ransack the next rondavel. Our locked, wall-mounted food…

1 A QUESTION OF PRIDE Calvet Nkomo | Head guide, Somalisa Camp, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe I never tire of showing clients the lion pride that lives on the Somalisa concession. Not only is it special to me, but this pride also has a rather famous father and grandfather: Cecil. Although Cecil’s fame came from an incredibly sad tale, his legacy provides an interesting and positive story. Nature always has a way of controlling itself and lions manage their pride and territory with fine detail. When the young males mature, the father chases them away to avoid inbreeding. When l first met Cecil in 2012 he was fighting rival males Bush and Bhubesi for territory. Supported by his son Zanda and the lionesses, he was able to stand his ground.…

You shouldn’t really generalise about a continent of 54 countries spanning 30.3 million sq km of land and lapped by four seas and oceans. But there’s undoubtedly a common thread that runs through the red sands, open plains and soaring escarpments of Africa; a cord that binds this diverse rainbow mosaic together as if it were one. From the baobab-studded grasslands of Zimbabwe to the infinite horizons of the Serengeti, there’s a magnetic lure that’s hard to resist. It’s a bug that keeps biting, an itch impossible to scratch. Like a sea turtle genetically programmed to find its way home, anyone who’s been will inevitably come back. I’ve been privileged and fortunate enough to spend a chunk of the last six months in Africa, travelling through Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe,…

When I started guiding 30 years ago, the river crossings had not yet been discovered by tourists. When the wildebeest went to the river, we would drive away: we wanted to see the vast herds; lions and cheetahs hunting during the day, and hyenas and leopards in the evening. Wildlife films brought welcome visitors, but also mass tourism, which was difficult to control, especially when people became powerful through social media. With tourists who book through true expert operators, we are able to properly brief them on what is expected in the wild. This way the guests enjoy their wildlife experience, and the animals do not feel harassed. Since the pandemic, we have noticed a few behavioural changes in the wildlife. Animals have been left to mate in peace, breeding…

Main attractions: Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Kilimanjaro Best for: Big Five, mountains, lakes Access: Kilimanjaro International Airport; Arusha (domestic flights) With its parks all within easy reach of Arusha, the Northern Circuit provides a popular introduction to safari. This circuit can become extremely busy at peak times, but careful planning can easily enable you to visit without the crowds. John Addison of Wild Frontiers suggests travelling in an anti-clockwise direction: “Most people do the Northern Circuit clockwise. Doing it the other way allows easier gate entries and less congestion. There is so much to offer… it’s not just savannah or Rift Valley lakes. The people are some of the nicest you will ever meet.” First up, there’s the Serengeti, famous for hosting the annual movement of two million animals. Even without…

Main attractions: Zanzibar, Saadani, Usambara Best for: Beaches, history and culture, relaxation Access: Julius Nyerere International Airport, Dar es Salaam; Zanzibar International Airport Combining a beach holiday with a safari is one of the best ways to experience Tanzania. After the heat, dust and excitement of your safari, reclining on isolated, white sand beaches renders time to relax. Yet, the east of Tanzania has enough attractions to warrant a circuit on its own. “The Eastern Circuit rewards you with insights and experiences that you will not find anywhere else,” says Johannes Soeder of Akwaba Travel. “It hosts some of the greatest archaeological sites on the Indian Ocean, as well as the chance to mix history with wildlife, hiking and the beach. The further south you go along the coast, the…

INCREASED BIOMASS The Namib Desert is a hyper-arid ecosystem receiving sparse and highly unpredictable rainfall – an average of just 19mm per year. Namibia’s flora and fauna relies more on the coastal fog as the most reliable source of water. Periodic rain is vital for the germination and establishment of dominant perennial species (such as Trianthema hereroensis and Stipagrostis sabulicola) that then use fog water for continual growth and reproduction. These plants contribute to the majority of the floral biomass, and many animals depend on them for survival. Small amounts of rain may be sufficient for plant germination, but not for the long-term sustenance of plants. Occasional seasons of abundant rain are thus critical, and when this happens there is a definite increase in biomass (plants, resultant detritus and invertebrates).…

GETTING THERE: Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park straddles the South Africa-Botswana border, but most people access via the South Africa side. The main entrance at Twee Rivieren is 250km north of Upington in South Africa’s Northern Cape, on what these days is excellent tar. You can fly to Upington and rent a vehicle or drive 850km from either Johannesburg or Cape Town. It’s also possible to rent a vehicle in Namibia and enter the park via the Mata Mata gate (a full day’s drive from Windhoek). Accessing the park from Botswana is possible, but you’ll need a camping-equipped 4x4 and plenty of time. ACCOMMODATION: South African National Parks (sanparks.org) operates three fenced main camps: Twee Rivieren, Nossob and Mata Mata. All have fuel, basic shops, small plunge pools, camp grounds with ablution…

The recently published State of the Wildlife Economy in Africa report by the ALU School of Wildlife Conservation shows, for the first time, how the continent’s wildlife contributes to local, national and regional economies. It estimates that Africa’s wildlife-related activities raised between US$12.4bn (direct) and US$42.9bn (total) (2020). That’s a sector that generates almost the total GDP of Botswana and represents over five times the value of the illegal wildlife trade. Although commissioned pre-Covid, the timing of the report’s release could not be more crucial. Dr Sue Snyman, head of Research at the Rwanda-based school, said: “This study will help governments and organisations make strategic decisions to reform policy and practice to unlock the potential of the wildlife economy and to invest in safeguarding Africa’s wild places and resources.” In…

Over the almost 20 years I’ve worked in community-led conservation, I have seen the significant benefits that sustainable tourism can generate for communities who are managing their natural resources – and the resulting positive impacts on nature. But even before Covid, vulnerabilities were evident in this tourism-based income model. Movements in the global north – the main source market for African tourism – can have serious repercussions. For example: increasingly vocal opposition to sustainable use of wildlife; the growing awareness of climate change and the emergence of ‘flight shaming’; and a looming possibility of another global economic crash. Diversity is key to resilience. Many initiatives to create new models for communities were already underway – such as Wildlife Credits in Namibia, forest carbon initiatives in Zambia, Kenya and Tanzania, and…

The layout of every camp or lodge is unique, largely influenced by its environment and location, but most follow a similar structure: guest rooms are spread apart to ensure privacy, there is a central, spacious living and dining area, and staff quarters and service amenities are discretely situated a short distance away. With buckets of space, guests are naturally socially distanced and, as most properties are relatively small, even when they are busy you never feel crowded. Waterberry Lodge, upstream from the Victoria Falls on the Zambian bank of the Zambezi, has been developed from former farm accommodation. In addition to its main guest lodge, it has converted the original farmhouse for exclusive use, and established The Woodlands, a small tented camp overlooking a dam. Three distinct facilities – but none intruding…

1 Vulture Rehabilitation This initiative allows visitors to gain a unique insight into this endangered bird (seven of Africa’s 11 vulture species are on the edge of extinction) and ride with a researcher to visit and identify nest sites. 2 Mara Predator Project Experience An opportunity for guests to enjoy a half-day drive with researchers and gain an in-depth understanding of the Mara’s predators. 3 Learning with Female Rangers Guests can join the only all-female ranger unit in the Mara on their daily activities: patrolling, de-snaring, game counting and liaising with the Maasai. 4 Medicinal Walk & Talk Taking a guided walk with Letilet, an Il Torobo hunter-gatherer, helps to compile a list of the local flora and their medicinal uses. 5 Full Circle Safari Experience Combining four camps, the…

1 WILL YOUR CONSULTANT WORK WITH YOU THROUGH THE WHOLE PROCESS? A personal connection makes all the difference. Ideally, you should be able to speak to the same consultant throughout, from your initial enquiry to a catch-up on your return. 2 DO THEY REALLY KNOW THE PLACES YOU HOPE TO VISIT? Good operators retain staff for many years and invest in their training, with frequent familiarisation trips to Africa. Ask your consultant if she (or he) has visited the camps on your shortlist recently, which ones she likes best, and where she’s had the best sightings of your favourite wildlife. 3 WHEN DOES IT RAIN? Climate change is having serious impacts on Africa, with increasingly random weather events and unpredictable rainy seasons. Your consultant should know that weather charts are…

Many people will have spent more time than usual looking at travel insurance offers and websites over the last year. In the majority of cases, you’ll only get a clear picture of what is being covered by speaking on the phone to a consultant. First, some basics: 1) travel insurance is driven by volume, and the cost of being insured is down to the risks involved, with the vast majority of claims being for theft and medical treatment; 2) Europe is considered relatively low risk, the rest of the world – including Africa – a relatively high risk, and the USA and Canada are in an even higher risk category; 3) travel insurers are interested in your age and medical history, the countries you are visiting and the activities you…

I was not responsible for where I came from, but I am responsible for where I am going My life could have been very different. Being born into abject poverty in rural Uganda, it can be hard to break the cycle. It is important to have a passion and a dream, not just for business but all aspects of life. A good dose of luck and chance opportunities help too. 1 MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY When I was 10, I was chosen by The Salvation Army to be one of two boys from my village that they sent to school. I had never been to school before and was taken to live in the city. I was not the best student; in fact, I was nearly written off…

Hwange is a prime wildlife reserve at the heart of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA), south of Victoria Falls. Forestry areas form a contiguous buffer zone on the northern and western flanks, extending the range for wildlife movement, providing greater protection of the ecosystem and reducing the risk of human-wildlife conflict. There are 32 photographic camps located in and around the park, ensuring there is something for everyone. We hope our inside track will help you to identify the options most suitable for you. FORESTRY RESERVES The Sikumi and Ngamo forestry areas comprise primarily teak, acacia and mopane woodlands which can be as productive as the national park for wildlife sightings. Tourism concession holders have exclusive use of this land but also venture into the park. ELEPHANT’S EYE No.1…

If you’re enjoying reading Travel Africa, and you like to explore Africa in depth, in your own time, why not subscribe and we’ll deliver a lot more of the world’s most exciting continent directly to you, four times a year. Each issue tends to be at least 144 pages, packed with features to inspire your future safaris and give you greater insight to the wildlife, places and people that draw you there. PRINT + DIGITAL To subscribe to the print magazine, visit travelafricamag.com/subscribe or call +44 (0)1844 278883 service@travelafricamag.com DIGITAL ONLY Travel Africa is available for your tablet, smartphone or desktop from zinio.com, pocketmags.com or your App Store (all platforms) travelafricamag.com…

PASTRY PETE “The first time I stepped into a kitchen was 18 years ago,” says Pete Chuwa, a pastry chef trainer at Asilia’s Jabali Ridge in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. “I had no intention to have a career in the culinary world but life never quite turns out as planned.” Pastry Pete, as he is affectionately known, had dreams of following in his father’s footsteps and joining the army. But when his dad discouraged him from this course, Pete ran away to live with his grandfather close to Grumeti Reserve. “In Grumeti there was a new lodge opening: Singita. They were hiring people to help to clear the bush, so I got a job there. One day the head chef asked me to join his team, and I started washing…

TiP 01 Add some bright colour A lot of traditional African cultures make use of bright colours in their dress and décor. Get yourself an oversized Bori Bori beanbag. Hang ribbons in colourful stripes in children’s rooms for a playful African touch. Invest in some gorgeous throw pillows and rugs in ethnic patterns and stripes. TiP 02 PERFECT PALETTE Introduce earthy tones and textures into your space. Use heavily textured textiles or warm matt leathers. Introduce accent pieces with ethnic patterns, like throw pillows or mud cloth wall hangings. Look at shades of rust, tan, brown, caramel and off-white. TiP 03 INTRODUCE STATEMENT CANDLE HOLDERS Woven grass sleeves add a subtle texture to small candlelights. Place small candles on beautiful trays with stripes or ethnic patterns. Oversized totem pole-style candle…

Think of your favourite spot and find a few photos you have taken. Grab some paints and start mixing to find a colour palette that matches the scene. This exercise allows you to stay in the abstract, or to go into a full painting if you want to later. But for now, it is simply about playing with colour, making you look hard, assess and engage your senses, helping you to feel as if you were back in that wonderful spot. Draw a bookmark shape down your page and map each colour area in horizontal stripes, mixing the colours accurately on the palette by blending two or three together. African tones rarely come straight from the box. Label each block as a reminder of what it was – for example,…

When most people think travel in Africa, they think of a safari in the Serengeti or the Kruger National Park, and tropical beaches. I don’t blame them – this is pretty much all that is marketed by our tourism boards. But I think people, beer and food. You see, for Africans, feeding you is our biggest and most favourite love language. This is how we welcome you. This is how you will be shown love and care. For once you are fed, we would like to get to know you. When I left my corporate job in October 2014 to backpack solo from Cape to Cairo using public transport, I had been pescatarian for 12 years. Outside of South Africa, most people I encountered didn’t seem to understand this lifestyle…

Apart of me is missing. I feel bereft, drifting, unconnected from my surroundings. That void is Africa. Those of you who have fallen under her spell will understand. She becomes part of your soul and when you are not there, although you don’t realise it, you grieve for her absence. Whenever I return, I religiously take the time to renew my connection. My ritual involves facing the sun, the warm glow bathing my face, my eyes closed and my bare feet in contact with Mother Earth. It is a full body experience, starting as a welling in my stomach and travelling through my whole body until it feels free, connected. No doubt next time there will be tears too. I associate Africa with sound and smell, rather than what I…

DEDICATION Years ago, I drove into Duba Plains Camp, which we didn’t own then, to fix something on my vehicle and was surprised when a young assistant mechanic called Kops asked if I had any bird books he could borrow, because “one day I will be a guide”. I gave him mine, as well as others on trees, grasses and butterflies. Much later, we were able to buy the camp and today Kops – Ipolokeng Mokopi – is the head guide in the Duba concession. EMPATHY I once watched as a guest got off a vehicle and caught his sleeve on something. Obie, the guide from Zarafa, leaned in behind him and unhooked the errant sleeve without a show or asking for thanks. Oaks, from Selinda Explorers, came across a…

For more than thirty years, Will Burrard-Lucas dreamt of seeing a black panther, the mystical beast he first set eyes upon in The Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling’s classic adventure. In his new book, The Black Leopard, his own tale of adventure, Burrard-Lucas charts his journey from a five-year-old living in Tanzania, where he first fell in love with leopards; through to a teenage holiday where the first click of a camera shutter changed his life; to becoming a full-time wildlife photographer; to developing a remote-control camera on wheels that captured never-before-seen perspectives of wildlife, gaining him worldwide recognition; and to rumours of a black leopard sighting in Kenya that, finally, was to fulfil his lifelong quest… With extracts from the black leopard, Will Burrard-Lucas recalls key moments in his journey.…

At Travel Africa, we’ve long been fans of the slow safari, and it seems that more and more of us want to focus our future trips on taking time to relax, reconnect with nature and give ourselves a well-earned mental and physical break. Inevitably, this will mean including fewer places in our itineraries, minimising internal travel and allocating more days in each location. Of course, this is easier said than done – when you’re investing in a long-haul holiday to a continent bulging with so many attractions and things to do, the temptation is to pack a load in. The trick is to be clear on what you want to get out of your trip – is it simply to see wildlife, spend time on a beach, do certain activities…

Main attractions: Nyerere (Selous), Ruaha, Udzungwa Best for: Remote adventure, fly camping, wild dogs Access: Julius Nyerere International Airport, Dar es Salaam; then light aircraft or self-drive to the parks While less well-known and not as easily accessible as their northern cousins, the Southern Circuit parks are much wilder and far less crowded – but equally rewarding. “The Southern Circuit is blessed with fabulous wildlife and landscapes and made all the better by its relative obscurity, meaning game-viewing can be at your own pace, unpressured by other vehicles,” says Jane Fox of Foxes Safari Camps. Once 55,000 sq km of wilderness, the Tanzanian government recently split the Selous Game Reserve in two, as part of its intention to widen the protected area of the park and to build a hydropower…

Is it safe?” It’s the same question every time. Having just climbed into a stranger’s car whilst getting a lift (back in the days before we all wore face masks), I was explaining why driving yourself in Africa was, for me, the best way of going on safari. “Yes, yes, yes, it’s as safe as you make it”, I glibly said. “But what about the wild animals, or being held up by bandits, or getting lost or breaking down… and how are you going to find the wildlife?” His deep-seated fears and prejudices had surfaced. “Anyway, I don’t like camping and I want a guide to show me the way. And it’s supposed to be my holiday, so I don’t want to be bothered with thinking about all that.” Finally,…

LOST IN A dusty, dry, distant red planet, as enigmatic and alien as Mars, the Kalahari had us hooked the first time we pitched camp under its brittle-boned camelthorn trees. It began as an impromptu side trip on a tour of South Africa, many moons ago. Lured by the remoteness of the destination and the romance of Mark and Delia Owens’ true-life wilderness tale Cry of the Kalahari, we filled up our tiny hire car with tins and a two-man tent and hit the road. Heading out that morning in the burning sunshine, we had no inkling the 250km road north out of Upington – the last frontier of civilisation before arriving at what today is known as the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP) – was to become our regular route…

This is not a place for standing on ceremony and corporate hospitality, but for getting out there and being a part of it. In 1987, on an end-of-term break from teaching in Zimbabwe’s cotton country, I walked across the border from Victoria Falls to Livingstone. It was my first venture into Zambia: just a casual afternoon jaunt with friends. But my first impressions were not great: the Hotel Intercontinental offered three, equally vibrant, flavours of locally-produced TipTop but little else. So, after our lurid, poolside drinks, we left the empty hotel and happily retreated to our campsite in Zimbabwe. It was eight years and a great deal of other African adventure before I ventured back to Zambia. But in 1995, commissioned to write the first Bradt Travel Guide to the…

During lockdown, The Bushcamp Company in South Luangwa, Zambia, celebrated 25 years of conservation and community involvement. But where have your donations gone over this time? US$6m raised for conservation and community projects Over 6000 trees planted 140 boreholes drilled, providing 42,000 people with access to clean water each day Built for schools: 34 classrooms, 4 ablution blocks, 4 dormitories, 4 teachers’ houses, 2 halls, 2 kitchens and 1 library Educated over 1000 students through sponsorship programmes 2900 school meals provided each day 1 aeroplane donate to Conservation South Luangwa WILDERNESS SAFARIS’ COVID RELIEF INCLUDED: Delivering over 10,000 food parcels, positively impacting 47,000 people in 25 communities across 6 countries (Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe). In 2020, Imvelo Safari Lodges (Zimbabwe) achieved: IN 2020, VICTORIA FALLS WILDLIFE TRUST… Removed…

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There are a host of things accommodation providers need to do to ensure a trouble-free guest experience. But getting it perfect in wild and remote locations comes with its challenges. When you’re on your morning game drive, there’s a whole lot going on back at camp. Elephants may have dug up the water pipes, baboons may have raided the vegie patch and monkeys eaten the sugar from the morning coffee tray. Rooms are being cleaned and laundry washed (typically by hand). Food is being prepared. If you don’t notice how much effort has gone into it, they’ve done their job well. Having visited 250 lodges as a former Star Grading Assessor and Fresh Eyes inspector, I’ve noticed a few consistent challenges: WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT BUGS IN THE BEDROOM?…

Could this be the ideal way to travel in a post-pandemic world? SkySafari has launched the first-ever East Africa private plane safari. Using a dedicated executive Cessna Caravan, top-class guides and stays in Elewana Collection camps and lodges, the 13-day itinerary takes in Amboseli NP, Loisaba Conservancy and the Maasai Mara in Kenya, and the Serengeti NP, Lake Manyara NP and Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. Existing SkySafari programmes have also relaunched, many with extended itineraries.…

They say it’s who you know. I say it’s rather what and who they know. For my trip to Zakouma National Park in Chad, I chose Zambezi after establishing that the company’s managing director, John Berry, and his righthand lady, Amanda DeSimone, had both visited the reserve. When I left the UK on 14 March 2020, Covid-19 had barely raised its head at airports, and the only time I had my temperature taken was in N’Djamena. But, after two days on the road to reach Zakouma, Tinga Camp’s managers, Claire and Max, greeted me with the words: “Have you heard the news?” I hadn’t. N’Djamena airport was closing because of Covid, and the last Air France flight was leaving the following night. There was no alternative. I asked my driver to take…

March marked the one-year anniversary of lockdown being imposed in the UK, and few of us expected to still be under similar restrictions, which have largely prevented our businesses from functioning in this time. While African nations’ borders are now mostly open, visitor numbers remain low due to the restrictions that remain in source market countries around the world and a drop in the frequency of flights servicing the continent. Hotels and lodges across Africa have turned to the local market to support their businesses. In many cases, these domestic travellers might have traditionally taken an ‘overseas’ trip, but have now had the opportunity to explore their own backyard. It is my hope that they will become fantastic advocates for their countries when they start travelling internationally again. However, once…

A pack of wild dogs walk into the light at Londolozi Game Reserve, Sabi Sands, Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa. There are times when a calm descends on nature and everything seems in balance. There’s no conflict, no tension. Every gentle sound is in its right place. The light is soft. The air is still. It’s a release, a restorative release. These moments may last for just a few minutes, but they linger long. LONDOLOZI IMAGES / ROBERTHARDING.COM…

It’s no coincidence that some of the world’s best coffee comes from Africa: its deep volcanic soils and high, mist-covered mountains consistently harvest rich, chocolatey beans with smooth, bold flavours. Political upheaval in the last 30 years took a heavy toll on many coffee-producing countries. Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are trying to rebuild their specialty coffee industries. About 80 per cent of the world’s coffee is grown on small family farms, which is why it’s so important to support them. Many of these communities are embracing sustainable farming and crop diversification techniques that protect the land and encourage wildlife. For example, Edelweiss Estate Coffee, on the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, maintain bushland areas for wild elephants and antelope to wander through the coffee bushes.…

1 SERENGETI SAFARI TV For this new series, the team finds themselves in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Expect the great migration, snippets of safari life, wildlife knowledge, photo tips and some terrible jokes. WWW.SERENGETISAFARI.TV 2 THE AFRICA HUB An easy-to-use resource that brings Africa travel experts and specialists together to offer invaluable insight and practical information. WWW.THEAFRICAHUB.CO.UK 3 LCA SPARK TALKS Leadership for Conservation in Africa’s Spark Talks invite an array of speakers to share their love for nature and conservation. HTTPS://LCAFRICA.ORG/SPARKTALKS/ 4 SOUTH AFRICA: AN EXPLORER’S PARADISE Take an online tour of South Africa’s vast and varied lands, cities, mountainscapes and more. HTTPS://ARTSANDCULTURE.GOOGLE.COM/PROJECT/SHARE-SOUTH-AFRICA…

The impact of African plants in world horticulture has been tremendous, not only for warm temperate gardens but also as house plants. Two of the most common house plants used worldwide are from South Africa: the various Pelargonium cultivars and the spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum). Pelargoniums were introduced to Europe by Francis Masson, the first horticulturist sent to the Cape in the late 1700s by the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. Other African plants still widely grown and bred include the Barberton daisy (Gerbera jamesonii), bush lily (Clivia miniata) and forest lily (Veltheimia bracteata). The fiddle-leaf fig (Ficus lyrata) and the snake plant or ‘mother-in-law’s tongue’ (Sansevieria trifaciata) from West Africa are popular around the world, especially the latter, which can grow in low light and is drought tolerant. The Zanzibar…

For more than a year, the vast majority of us have been unable to visit our beloved Africa. Talking to readers, contributors and advertisers alike, it is clear we have all felt its pull more strongly than usual. Over the next 21 pages we explore what is it that we yearn for. What is the so-called ‘Africa bug’? What is it about being in the bush that makes us so happy? And what are we most looking forward to seeing, to feeling and to doing once we return? CHECK US OUT ON FACEBOOK/TA.MAGAZINES…

We have been recording Africa’s natural sounds for over 20 years. What started out as a side interest quickly developed into an absorbing passion that saw us taking every opportunity to capture memories of special places and animals. We now have a vast audio library ranging from ants to elephants as well as our favourite recordings – extended wild natural soundscapes that soothe the soul and take you right back to that scene. The sounds of nature are so evocative. Think of the wind rustling leaves, a stream bubbling over rocks, a storm brewing, and of course myriad wildlife calls. One of our favourites is the ‘dawn chorus’ – this is one of those grounding moments when the bush comes alive at daybreak. It is a glorious natural choir and…

Sammy Lemiruni Guide and lodge manager, Saruni Rhino, Kenya GALAGOS These small nocturnal primates acquired the name ‘bushbaby’ because their call resembles a small baby crying. They feed on grasshoppers and sometimes bird’s eggs. To mark their territory, they urinate on their hands and jump from tree to tree. WILD DOGS Living in packs of 10-30, usually dominated by a monogamous breeding pair, wild dogs are successful hunters, chasing their prey over long distances, and are very social, sharing food or regurgitating it for others. LEOPARDS You never tire of seeing leopards. Even if you come across two or three, you will still see different behaviour. They are powerful, opportunistic hunters who will feed on anything they come across, from lizards to antelopes. TERMITE MOUNDS Built by termites using saliva,…

Robert Redford put his boots on the conference table and whispered: “Cheetah, fastest land mammal.” He had come to our New York office to screen a rough cut of Year of the Wildebeest. As the publicist for this documentary by Alan and Joan Root, I wore out the sprockets of this 16mm film. That was in 1974. A few years later, in the same screening room, as the dusty migration commenced in East Africa – hooves pounding, gnus lowing, cheetah stalking – I thought: Why am I here when I could be there? Over 100 safaris later, including trips to Botswana, Namibia and walking around the edge of the Serengeti, I still find that it is this spectacular parade of nature – ‘the great migration’ – that suggests all is…

“Everybody talks about responsible travel, about immersion, about really feeling, but nobody gives it the time. If someone gives you a week just to walk, nothing else, you come out of that space with a changed mentality.” “Tanzania’s real attraction is its big spaces,” says Alex Walker. You can go fly camping and within half-an-hour’s walk, you’re off-piste, miles from anybody else and any other influences; it’s raw nature – and there’s stacks of it.” Growing up in southern Tanzania, Walker spent his childhood on safari, and it was only natural that he continued in that vein when it came to a career. After serving his apprenticeship as a private guide, a desire to “find beautiful places, settle a little deeper and learn more about them” led him to found…

Main attractions: Katavi, Lake Tanganyika, Mahale Best for: Wild lands, chimpanzees, diving Access: Kilimanjaro International Airport; Julius Nyerere International Airport, Dar es Salaam; Arusha (domestic flights); charter flight or boat from Kigoma The Western Circuit is often overlooked because of its remoteness, which is a shame as it includes some big-hitting experiences for those looking for the ultimate adventure. “While it is harder to reach this remote part of Tanzania, the reward is the pure wilderness that you have all to yourself,” says Ted Archdale of Tanzania Odyssey. “And, at certain times of the year, the wildlife concentrations in Katavi can be higher than the Serengeti. “The pristine white sand on the shores of Lake Tanganyika give you a ‘beach’ experience while being on safari. Chimp trek in the morning,…

We took a wrong turn as we approached Rubona. Tired after a long day negotiating the glorious mountain roads of Rwanda, we simply forgot our own rule of always using both app and map, and so we followed the former’s suggested shortcut down a ridiculously rocky, steep and slightly perilous track to Lake Kivu, without checking the roadmap first. Yet that evening, sitting on the terrace at El Classico 1, a cold bottle of Mützig to hand, we were glad of the detour, remembering the excited band of kids who guided us down, inch by inch, us and them laughing all the way. Right then a swanky new Land Cruiser passed by, taking its guided tour occupants – partially obscured by smoked glass – to who knows where, but almost…

january In the valley we spy a cheetah with two youngsters, lying in the shade of a camelthorn. Dried blood on their muzzles attests to a recent meal and the youngsters are sprawled out, pancake flat. Mum watches intently when a small herd of springbok approach with their playful lambs. Suddenly she’s running, accelerating to top gear in the blink of an eye and rapidly closing on the nearest calf. The cheetah’s gaining fast, but as the racing cat stretches to trip her quarry, the baby springbok jinks left, avoiding her claws by a hair’s breadth. Today, with a full belly and plenty more easy prey on tap, the cheetah gives up the chase. july We’re awakened at 2am by a sound we don’t recognise. It’s several degrees below zero…

“You’re going where?” The curiosity in the question was amplified by a note of surprise and concern. As the years go by, one’s adult children develop increasing levels of caring when their ageing parents set off on yet another photographic adventure into the bush. They were accustomed to the thought of Etosha, the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater, the Maasai Mara, the Kgalagadi, Chobe, the Sabi Sands and a host of smaller parks. But I was now 81 and Samara had never appeared on our bucket list, or even on their own radars. “It’s in the Karoo,” I explained. “About a two-hour drive from Port Elizabeth. Some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world.” “The Karoo?” This time the incredulity was palpable. “Isn’t that all sheep and goats nibbling at…

The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) has recognised 100 young Africans for their work in conservation. The group, selected from 23 countries across the continent, have created a positive impact in a variety of areas, including sustainable agriculture and food security, forest and land restoration, ocean protection, wildlife conservation, waste management, clean energy access and research, education and awareness. Compiled in collaboration with the Africa Alliance of YMCAs, World Organisation of the Scout Movement and WWF, the first-ever Top 100 Young African Conservation Leaders list recognises that: “The youngest generations are not the future, but the present driver for change in Africa.” While some have established community-based organisations to build the capacity of local populations on conservation issues, others have pursued research on endangered species, tapped into their hobbies to create…

VIEW FINDER The protection of Kafue National Park has been boosted with an agreement between African Parks and The Government of Zambia, which will see US$3m invested in conservation and development of the park over the next 12 months. African Parks manages 17 protected areas in 11 countries. As a result of their involvement, US$6.3m has been paid to parks and communities from tourism receipts and US$493m has been generated from social enterprises. Kafue is Zambia’s largest wildlife sanctuary, covering 22,400 sq km of savannah and a network of water channels. It hosts significant populations of wildlife, including the highest diversity of antelope on the continent, and at least 515 bird species. Why not take in the view from the new starbed at Mukambi Safaris’ Busanga Plains Camp, overlooking the…

Everyone who has made the journey from Europe or the US has said they have never felt safer. Having jumped through the hoops of Covid testing to get here, the open plains and spacious ‘protocoled’ camps are a blessing and they have had the fertile bush largely to themselves. Many have been extremely generous, contributing to the precious Mara Conservancies. In October it was still permissible to travel from the UK, but a series of steadily increasing Orwellian decrees has made it harder. Fortunately, not every government is a nanny state and a few tourists desperate for their faunal fix have trickled into camp. Several guests extended, not once, but six or seven times, turning a week into five or six. To the conservancies this is critical, as these priceless…

We know that every traveller appreciates the work their tour operator invests in their trip, but it is rare that operators get publicly commended. So we were delighted when David Cartwright – owner of Namibian travel company ATI Holidays, and a long-term friend of Travel Africa – received the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list. The award recognised his – and his team’s – help with repatriating 48 British nationals stuck in Namibia following the Covid-19 lockdown. “Faced with some seemingly insurmountable odds, and bewildering bureaucracy, [we] managed to locate a 50-seater jet and pilots, and obtain permission from the police, military and numerous departments of State to allow the plane to fly to Botswana where an Ethiopian Airlines jet was waiting [for them],” explained Cartwright.…