Innholdsfortegnelse for Edition 98 i Travel Africa

When our first issue came off the press in September 1997, we had no preconceived notion of building something for the long term. We were young and naïve, thankful for being given an opportunity to pursue a dream by a hugely supportive family. Seven years later, the mission was boosted further when Iain and Gillian Wallace invested; subscribers who wanted to help to advance the project. Now, as we mark Travel Africa’s 25th anniversary, we have an overwhelming sense of gratitude. With all the changes in the world over this time — the ubiquity of the internet and the emergence of the information age, in particular — we have to pinch ourselves that the print magazine is still so popular and feeling more relevant than perhaps it ever has. There…

One for the BUCKET LIST The opportunity for you to enjoy one of the world’s great, but little-witnessed, wildlife migrations has just improved dramatically, following the news that African Parks has taken over the management of Boma and Badingilo National Parks in South Sudan. The reserves are one of the planet’s most significant landscapes, a three-million hectare swathe of biodiverse floodplains home to an estimated one million antelope, including white-eared kob and tiang, which migrate into Gambella National Park in Ethiopia each year. In partnering with African Parks for the next 10 years, the South Sudan government is showing its commitment to protecting and reviving this extraordinary, and little-visited, part of the world. Time to update your safari wish-list, and keep an eye on www.africanparks.org for news.…

I was seemingly caught between two worlds — out the window to my right was a moving desert landscape under a blazing sun, and out to my left was a dense, impenetrable fog worthy of a damp London morning. My seat for this spectacle? A wooden bench in the back of an adapted Land Rover called Mr Harry. Two new-found friends of mine and I were navigating our way through the Sahara in western Chad towards Mali, and the sand was quite unlike anything I’d experienced before. More like talcum powder, both in colour and texture, it was so fine that the low-pressure zone in the air to the left of Mr Harry (caused by wind coming from the right), was creating this perpetually moving cloud from the sand stirred…

1 MEMORIES OF A GAME RANGER BY HARRY WOLHUTER (COLLINS/FONTANA, LONDON, 1948/1971) Wolhuter was the first ranger appointed by the Kruger National Park’s first warden, Col James Stevenson-Hamilton. Three times in his life this tough-as-biltong ranger was declared dead (twice during the Anglo-Boer War and once after his fateful and legendary lion attack). His son became a Kruger ranger, as did his: maverick wildlife filmmaker Kim Wolhuter. 2 NO PICNIC ON MOUNT KENYA BY FELICE BENUTTI (WILLIAM KIMBER, LONDON, 1952) In 1943 Benuzzi, a mountaineer from Trieste, found himself in a POW camp at Nunyuki, in sight of Mount Kenya. Cobbling together what they could from the sparse camp materials, he and two others made good their escape with the intention of climbing the then still virgin ice-covered peak (or…

1 Which southern African people have nothing but contempt for sheep, believing that if one of the Dlamini (the dominant Royal clan) eats a black sheep he will go insane? 2 With a greenish-olive or silvery-grey body and a white band on its forehead, what two-worded creature lives in woodland, savannah and high bush, and has leopards, eagles and humans as predators? 3 Afar and Bench are languages in Ethiopia, but in which country are Logo, Ewe and Poke spoken? 4 In Central Congo, which plant’s leaves are used as a protection against evil spirits (as well as to cure cuts and bruises)? 5 Which animal, with just over 100,000 examples left in Africa, can survive for 2-3 days without water and can reach speeds of 60kph? 6 In many…

Lizzie Williams first wrote for Travel Africa in the late 1990s, when we were all living in Harare. She has been a regular contributor since. ● www.write-travel.com 01 Kakamega Forest: Tangled vines, intermingled branches and a chorus of screeches and mutterings from a host of creatures, Kakamega is one of the last remaining tropical rainforests of East Africa. It’s a valuable source of fruits and vegetables for local people and for visitors the trails are fascinating, thanks to great guides. 02 Saiwa Swamp National Park: The smallest national park in Kenya (3sq-km). Come to see the rare swamp-dwelling sitatunga antelope and De Brazza’s monkey from the boardwalks over the marshy vegetation. 03 Kerio Valley: Near Iten, between the Tugen Hills and Elgeyo Escarpment, and around an elevation of 1,000m in the…

01 THE PITFALL THE ANTLION Neuroptera myrmeleontoidea Pause whilst walking across a patch of soft sand — and look. The surface may be indented with one or more perfectly rounded, inverted conical pits about 5cm across and up to 8cm deep. If so, get down and, with a thin piece of grass, gently tickle the slope mimicking an ant sliding down the side. With luck, as you near the bottom, sand will fly up and the end of the grass will be firmly grasped. A gentle pull and you may unearth the predatory larva of an antlion. The larva is a smart little chap. He builds his pit by wriggling backwards, circling a chosen spot. With great patience he loosens the sand with his abdomen and tosses it out with…

Ann and Steve Toon A prickle of cooling air on sunburned skin, a fine film of dust on the teeth, the sky a cocktail of blood orange and violet, hearts thumping enough to drown out the nightjars and the distant hoot of an owl. The race is on to find an exciting subject before sundown, somewhere out there on the margins of an African twilight (or dawn)… This is what we live for. The wild outdoors of Africa now considered our true home. Our ‘Africa time’ is still our most precious, after nearly 25 years of visiting on a regular basis for long periods. Wildlife photography, leading photo tours and travel-writing assignments are not ‘jobs’, but our way of life. To share these amazing experiences with others, whether in the…

Over the last 20 years photographing iconic destinations all over the world I’ve often been asked: “what is your favourite nature photography destination?” For me, ‘favourite’ does not necessarily equate to ‘greatest’. I apply a very specific formula to determine what is the most productive and photogenic destination. My innovation of an individual image-rating system (from 1–5-star) has evolved into rating the potential of a specific scene that is front of me. The formula places behaviour, action and interactive storytelling photographs at the top, and stationary portraits at the bottom. Nature cannot share it’s stories with us if we only photograph stationary portraits. The ROI (Return On Idea) of this rating system was that it became the cornerstone of the ‘Towards Synergy Corporate Leadership Programme’, which looks at wellness when…

The joy of being surrounded by Africa’s mesmerising sights and sounds cannot be compared. The colours are magical and, as the sun sets, the whole landscape becomes golden, pink, purple and red, like a painting. The music of Africa is bewitching and, particularly during the morning chorus and twilight symphony, everything hums with life: songbirds sing, hungry hippos honk, naughty baboons bark and cicadas chitter-chatter. The beauty, majesty and sense of space make you feel quite free. In Africa, the bedtime stories that we read together come to life. You will spy real Gerald the Giraffes, Nellie the Elephants and Matchstick Monkeys, without forgetting the smaller creatures, such as slithery snakes, Jiminy Crickets and Incy Wincy Spiders. There is so much we can learn from each and every one: compassion,…

Seeing my dad coming in after a morning in the bush, with his huge hands clasping his beloved 1st edition Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, was possibly my first real memory of any African book. But Laurens van Der Post’s A Story Like the Wind was possibly the most influential book in my early years, one I read and re-read, and which I still keep close to me — when I feel I am losing track, I dip into it for inspiration. It is a story about a young boy and his dog and their varied adventures in the Kalahari, both tragic and happy. Van der Post was a wizard with words and stories. His link to Botswana and the bushmen was something that connected me to the ancient prehistory…

What brings me back to Africa? It seems like a straightforward question. Over the last 35 years, I’ve been addicted to the place, ticking off a wish list that’s included everything from Cape Town to Kilimanjaro, mountain gorillas to the Great Migration. I’d return at the drop of a hat to witness any one of them again. But I’m sure I am not alone among Travel Africa readers in feeling something deeper — more instinctive — that draws me back to Africa again and again than simply to see its great iconic sights. It’s almost as if Africa has become embedded in my psyche; entwined with my senses. When I’m at home in the UK, it only takes the cooing of a humble collared dove to instantly transport me to…

What should I pack for my forthcoming trip to Algeria? I imagine I’ll roast amid its Saharan sands yet shiver at night when the heat ebbs from the Martian red dunes. Its Mediterranean coast, meanwhile, festooned with Roman remains, must be humidly sticky, yet I picture sundown ushering in balmy pleasantness as I sip cardamon-infused coffee along Algiers’ corniche. It’s the mental gymnastics of imagination that have long drawn me to seek Africa’s less-travelled paths. For Travel Africa alone, I’ve explored Mauritania, Liberia, Angola, Nigeria and shared my soft spot for Chad. Don’t mistake me, I enjoy the well-trodden comforts of a Kenyan safari or South Africa’s winelands as much as anyone; it’s just I’ve always sought a more complete picture of Africa’s heterogenous cultures and landscapes. Travelling to its…

01 MAMMAL MANIACS Kenya can be a revelation to wildlife safari enthusiasts who haven’t previously visited: its megafauna is extraordinarily rich and diverse. Stay at a lodge on the outskirts of Nairobi and explore the city’s magnificent national park – with its eastern black and southern white rhinos – before driving to Amboseli, beneath towering Kilimanjaro, to watch hundreds of elephants at the swamps, and then on to Mzima Springs in Tsavo West for underwater hippo and crocodile action. Strike north, towards the equator, and meet the mountain bongos of Mount Kenya (pictured), then the last two northern white rhinos in Laikipia’s outstanding Ol Pejeta Conservancy. This is wild dog and black leopard country, too, and several conservancies offer good chances of seeing both. 02 SAFARI VIRGINS For a perfect first-time safari,…

“Welcome to the jungle,” says Kwizera Diogene as we climb over a wall of volcanic rocks into dense greenery. There’s rustling among the trees, the sound of animals moving through branches. We look around for signs of life. There is one animal that most people come from around the world to Volcanoes National Park to see: the mountain gorilla. But these are not them. The trees around us are alive instead with something smaller and nimbler: golden monkeys. We watch them move through the canopy, leaping from branch to branch, pausing to groom and feed. Their coats are bright tangerine and black, their faces grey, with puffed-out cheeks in which they store food as they eat. They occasionally look back at us with expressive orange eyes. The golden monkey is…

MONITORING MOVEMENT As part of lion research and human-wildlife conflict mitigation, the VFWT tracks collared lions, establishing an online ‘geo-fence’ to monitor potential conflict animals. ‘Community Guardians’ are alerted when a lion crosses a virtual boundary, and the animal is then chased away using loud vuvuzelas, teaching them to avoid areas with high risk. “When a lion is killed you create a space for another one to replace it, but by chasing them away you actually teach the animal to avoid areas with high risks,” explains Community Projects Manager Bongani Dlodlo. Community guardians also assist with chasing crop-raiding elephants away. “Guardians are selected by their chief and village heads. They work and live within the areas they come from and if the programme expands, more employment is created.” WWW.VICFALLSWILDLIFETRUST.ORG Founded…

Far from the tourist hordes, Ruaha is untamed Africa at its finest: an epic expanse of remote and rugged bush dotted with rocky kopjes and baobabs. The park is Tanzania’s second largest, but sees only a fraction of the visitors who descend on the Serengeti. Lodges are few and sometimes far between, making for genuinely intimate wildlife sightings and a true wilderness feel. Straddling the transition zone between Africa’s eastern and southern biomes, Ruaha features a varied landscape of forested hills, open plains, riverine forests, miombo woodland and granite peaks. Lifeblood of the park is the Great Ruaha River, which flows strongly during the rains but reduces to a trickle by the end of the dry, when it serves as a magnet for wildlife. The greater Ruaha region is home…

There’s an extra treat waiting those of you tting off on a chimp fari in Uganda. Next to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) offices in Kibale - the trekking start point - you'll find Cafe Kibale, a new venture from Great Lakes Safaris. Launched in July, the cafe aims to train hospitality staff and feed them into the country’s growing tourism industry - and serve some fine snacks and coffee in the process. The cafe - the first of its kind in Uganda - will put up to 20 trainees at a time through a rigorous six-month training programme under the expert guidance of manager Ali Ndyamuhaki. With the facility open from 7.30am to 4pm, students will mix on-the-job practical training with studying for their health and hygiene certificates, as…

The aim of all successful travel writing is to bring a place to life, transporting your readers there through your own experiences and encounters. Don’t be fooled into thinking it’s easy though. Writing is one of the most mentally arduous activities out there, whether you’re doing it for pleasure or potential publication. A common pitfall is the idea that exciting travel automatically makes exciting reading. You could spend a month cruising the Zambezi or scouting for gorillas in Rwanda, but it won’t guarantee that you’ll write a riveting report on it. Travel writing is as much about delving into the wonderful world of words as it is about exploring landscapes and wildlife. You have to love the written word, be as fascinated by sentence construction as you are by wildebeest…

“Pole pole” they’ll tell you on the Swahili Coast. Slowly-slowly. No need to rush. “If you want to travel far, travel with friends,” is the famous Maasai advice, “…but if you want to travel fast, travel alone.” One thing you’re rarely short of on the road in Africa is advice. It’s not often that you’ll hear people telling you to travel faster, however. Slow down, take it in and don’t rush is the standard suggestion. My first ever magazine assignment in Africa was a whirlwind five-week adventure from Kenya to Botswana. It’s possible to bite off more than you can chew, and such a huge chunk of the continent was sometimes hard to swallow. Looking back on that experience, what I recall most vividly are the sections where our rumbling…

The tears welled up as I watched Thuza and Kusasa stepping cautiously from their crates into the new Imvelo Ngamo Wildlife Sanctuary created especially for them. After four years of planning and pandemic-induced delays, culminating in an exhausting 500-mile overnight journey across Zimbabwe, these two white rhino bulls had finally come home. Excited schoolchildren lined their route to the sanctuary, waving banners and flags. VIPs, including the local chief of the Ndebele people, village headmen and district councillors, waited in hushed anticipation on platforms overlooking the boma to catch sight of the first white rhinos to set foot in the Hwange area for nearly two decades. “It’s always poignant when our rhinos move on, but this is a big moment — it’s really something special,” Mark Saunders told me quietly,…

LEOPARD AT NIGHT SABI SANDS, MPUMALANGA Leopards are the holy grail for many safari-goers and it’s no different for us. Their elusive nature and breathtaking beauty means every leopard encounter is super-exciting. The Sabi Sands is one of several places renowned for regular sightings. Leopards are often seen on game drives and a number have become habituated to vehicles. Off-road driving is permitted, so it’s often possible to follow them as they patrol, even after dark using spotlights. Done judiciously, and ethically, spotlighting affords the luxury of creating unusual and intriguing night-time images. The leopard here has been lit from behind revealing its signature outline and nothing more. We hope the rim-lighting helps underline the secretive nature of a species that loves to stay hidden in the blackness. TOP TIP Less…

Why do we travel? To experience different places and cultures, to see wildlife or to relax on a deserted white-sand beach, perhaps. These are all admirable reasons for choosing a holiday destination, of course — but do we ever really get to know a country when we visit? The simple answer is, no. We often barely scratch the surface. For me, the best way to get under the skin of a place is through its people. In Africa, while amazing animal encounters or mind-blowing natural wonders linger long in the memory, it’s the unexpected conversations along the way that I truly treasure. From market traders to lodge owners, from taxi drivers to safari guides and barmen to entrepreneurs, everyone has a story to tell… and some of them are quite…

What a heady time the 1970s were for anyone involved in the travel business. I didn’t know it then, but there could have been no better time for a journalist desperate to visit Africa to join the ranks of Fleet Street. When the decade began, Africa was still locked in a dream of the past, and ecotourism was in its infancy. Until then, safaris had been for the seriously rich — most of them hell-bent on trophy hunting. But already the winds of change were blowing as camera-toting visitors began to replace the hunters. According to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a living elephant is now worth more than US$1.6 million over its lifetime, largely because of its value as something to observe, admire and photograph That is how it was…

Africa’s population of over 1.4 billion people is the youngest in the world, with about 70 per cent of sub-Saharan Africans under the age of thirty. It is estimated our numbers will double by 2050, when 25 per cent of the world’s people will be African. The continent is blessed with wildlife, yet the continent’s youth are not engaged in conserving it. There are many reasons for this. In some countries, not enough schools offer wildlife conservation-related courses, and those that do don’t invest adequate resources. The high cost of visiting wildlife parks discourages youngsters from appreciating wildlife. Several countries have lax conservation policies, which lead to the depletion of wildlife and reduce the relevance of university courses, as you can’t conserve what is almost non-existent. Perhaps all this makes…

Waking up to feel the weight of the stocking, bulging with presents, draped over my legs is one of my clearest and fondest childhood memories of the festive season. As Yuletide tactile sensations go it would be hard to beat, I would have said. But on Christmas day last year I tickled a crocodile. This was just one surprise amongst many on a last-minute trip to The Gambia. It was a package deal, and we had little in the way of expectations except perhaps a little winter warmth, but with just a little effort we were able to get so much more from this than a suntan. For while there are aspects of The Gambia which seem more Benidorm than West Africa, take a short taxi ride from the tourist…

A major economic hub and one of the most populated cities in sub-Saharan Africa, Johannesburg is all about big, quick energy. You can feel the charge of ambition on the roads, where everyone drives as though they have somewhere critically important to be (five minutes ago). You can sense the electric vitality in the crackling afternoon summer storms that peak with the din of drum-like thunder and blinding flashes of lightning, only to diminish just as theatrically to reveal a breathtaking sunset. You can see it in the dynamic cultural hubs that pop up like fearless flowers through the cracks of corporate concrete. The vast metropolis can be daunting, require street smarts and come off as relentlessly frenetic, but Jo’burg is also disarmingly friendly. The City of Gold has welcomed…