Innholdsfortegnelse for Edition 108, May-July 2025 i Travel Africa

Oh, the Seychelles, off the coast, 1000 miles from the mainland, with amazing coconuts, brilliant white sandy beaches and tropical fish that look like they come out of a cartoon. The Seychelles is my favourite. Then there is Kenya. The cats of the Mara, a mountain so very high, capped in snow and ice and rocky crags. Zebras with pinstripes or broad brushstrokes of black on white. Maasai, Samburu, Borana… so many friendly faces and welcoming arms! Kenya is my favourite. And what of Tanzania? Oh yes, the Serengeti with a blue sky that stretches to heaven. The remoteness of the great Ruaha. The vast wilderness of the Selous. And one of the deepest lakes on the planet. A coastal paradise awaits. Okay, so Tanzania is my favourite. Rwanda? A…

From Stonehenge and the Taj Mahal to the Great Barrier Reef and Iguazú Falls, UNESCO’s list of official World Heritage Sites features many of the planet’s most iconic attractions. Born in Africa, the programme dates back to 1959 when the governments of Egypt and Sudan requested international assistance in protecting a string of ancient monuments threatened by the construction of the Aswan Dam. The success of the resulting collaboration (including the painstaking relocation of the famous Abu Simbel temple to its own custom-built hill) led to further international conservation projects, followed ultimately by the signing of the World Heritage Convention in 1972. This officially came into force in 1975, with the first batch of 12 sites — ranging from Aachen Cathedral to the Galápagos Islands and Yellowstone National Park —…

UGANDA AND RWANDA: The Albertine Rift of western Uganda and Rwanda supports prolific forest biodiversity, including chimps. In Uganda: Kibale NP is the top chimp-trekking destination, with about 1500 individuals, including four habituated troops. Excellent sightings; hilly forest; many other primates. Budongo Forest, near Murchison Falls NP, has around 800 chimps, with one habituated troop. Cheaper than Kibale; flat terrain; superb birding. Kyambura Gorge, in Queen Elizabeth National Park, harbours one isolated community of habituated chimps. Toro-Semliki Wildlife Reserve, near Lake Albert, is home to semi-habituated, savannah-adapted chimps; sightings not guaranteed. In Rwanda, Nyungwe NP has 400-plus chimps, with one habituated troop. Scenic hill forest; canopy walkway; numerous other primates. TANZANIA: Tanzania’s locations lie far from its tourist hubs: Mahale Mountains NP, on the scenic eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika,…

“Tough, unsettling… but worth it.” That is how my teenage son Sam chose to reminisce about our overland expedition to the Chalbi, northern Kenya’s unforgiving desert. For a lad born and brought up in the confines (and comforts) of the capital, Nairobi, travelling to Chalbi could as well have been a journey to nowhere — “the end of the world”, as he termed it. It was Job, a family friend, who suggested we make the trip. He, his two sons and daughter have scaled some of the highest mountains in East Africa, including Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya. Sam and I had joined them on a ‘short’ hike — 10 kilometres — in the Aberdares earlier in the year. My son loved the company and I longed for a closer bond…

Home to Ethiopia’s biggest population of elephant, the rare and endangered Nubian giraffe and millions of antelope that arrive during the world’s largest mammal migration, Gambella National Park has become the latest member of conservation non-profit African Parks’ portfolio of protected areas. Spanning some 4500sq km of south-western Ethiopia, Gambella is the country’s largest national park, with expansive wetland habitats, fascinating biodiversity and a human population of some 400,000 on or near its boundaries. It also forms a vital part of the much larger Greater Boma-Gambella Landscape, with South Sudan’s Boma National Park lying to its south (also managed by African Parks) — and hence offers the potential to protect the Great Nile Migration of six million antelope at a transboundary level. Working in partnership with the Ethiopian government, the…

As we drive down to the White Umfolozi River, a tower of giraffe ambles across the plains, accompanied by a trail of zebra and wildebeest. Seven lion lurk in wait. Hippo idle in the water, while the calls of secretary birds fill the air. Further on, cheetah roam free on a plateau, while elephant have found their home in another part of the park and rhino — both varieties — are a regular sighting. This isn’t your usual game drive. Once used and abused by both hunting and overgrazing, the rolling hills, mist-belt grasslands and forests of this 20,000-hectare (200sq km) reserve in the heart of Zululand — close to the historic Anglo-Zulu battlefields — are thriving. Some 3000 animals now make this area their home, thanks to the vision…

NEW RESIDENTS IN THE NGORONGORO CRATER In March, a pioneering initiative brought 18 southern white rhinos from South Africa to Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater, marking the first time this vulnerable species has had a presence in the area. They were donated by the Munywana Conservancy in KwaZulu-Natal, working in partnership with Tanzania’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA). Under a veil of secrecy, the complex operation was facilitated by andBeyond Phinda Private Game Reserve, which has been involved in rhino reintroductions for over 30 years. Indeed, the reserve played a critical role in the survival of the species when 26 individuals were reintroduced there in 1991, forming the founder population for myriad future translocations. While the Ngorongoro Crater lies outside the historic range for…

HAVING A BALL IN MOROCCO I’m planning to go to the Africa Cup of Nations, which takes place in Morocco across December and January. How do you suggest I maximise my two weeks in the country, while taking in as many games as possible? SOPHIE HEYES MARRAKECH GARDENS TRAVEL: With the games being held in six major cities — Agadir, Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech, Fes and Tangier — it will be easy to explore Morocco’s iconic sites on non-match days, such as the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, the Medina in Marrakech or the blue city of Chefchaouen, south of Tangier. Active-minded travellers should head to either the rocky Agafay Desert or the High Atlas Mountains, which are both around 1.5-hours’ drive from Marrakech. Be sure also to try the famous…

The safari experience is evolving. Lodges are moving beyond traditional game drives to meet demand for authenticity, purpose and personal growth. From slower travel and longer stays, guests can now choose immersive itineraries that balance adventure with impact. For example: 1 THE SOLO SAFARI There’s something beautifully grounding about venturing into the wild on your own. Far from being lonely, a solo safari opens space for reflection, spontaneity and self-discovery. Travelling outside peak seasons offers the chance to experience similar wildlife encounters and landscapes with more privacy and personalised attention. Destinations like Cheetah Plains in the Sabi Sands elevate solo travel with ultra-personalised guiding. 2 FEMALE-ONLY EXPEDITIONS Forget the stereotypes: today’s women are scaling mountains, sleeping under the stars and pushing the boundaries of adventure. Female-led and female-only safaris are on the…

“So many images today are over-saturated, over-processed and even AI-generated. A ‘less is more’ approach is often far more effective,” said Chris Coe, founder of Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY), speaking after judging the latest TPOTY competition. “It is therefore refreshing to judge images that demonstrate good camera craft and in-camera creativity. This year’s overall winner’s images are a good example. They were made with a camera converted to infrared (IR) — a technique that is not as straightforward as it sounds. The detail and atmosphere captured is both eye-catching and highly engaging.” American-born Piper Mackay — the overall winner of TPOTY 2024, whose images included exquisite portraits of African women and atmospheric shots of giraffe in the Maasai Mara — lives in Kenya and has been exploring the…

In the late ‘80s I arrived for the first time in the Maasai Mara. Nonsensically, despite its contiguousness with the Serengeti, it did not have the cachet of its Tanzanian cousin, but it bewitched me from the first moment. I like Norfolk and Namibia, I like open spaces — so those acacia-studded plains were a wilderness nirvana. Way before phones, social media and digital cameras, my medians were Fujichrome and a borrowed pair of Leicas. Those first impressions, captured through ancient optics, were seared on my mind indelibly. In March 2000 my friend and colleague Greg Monson called me in London: “Paul, you remember that small, simple camp we visited in September in the northern Maasai Mara? It’s up for sale. Got any money?” That day would change both of…

PARADISE INC. There may be a cluster of Masai giraffes standing among acacia trees in the long grass of the Maasai Mara National Reserve on the cover, but don’t be mistaken by thinking Guillaume Bonn’s Paradise Inc. is a wildlife photography book. A photojournalist, whose hard-hitting photographic stories have appeared regularly in The New York Times and Vanity Fair, Bonn presents an elegiac, highly critical document of the decline of the great East African wilderness. It’s far more Paradise Lost than Paradise Found. “The days when wildlife freely roamed the open land are long gone and will never return again,” writes the Maasai elder Ezekiel Ole Katato, Founder and Executive Director of Across Maasai Land Initiative (AMLI), in the preface. “We, as the human species, need to accept this new…

“H“e doesn’t look very happy,” says Emmanuel, raising his hand. “Let’s wait.” We come to a halt. There are five of us — Emmanuel Euku, our guide, plus two rangers and two clients, of which I’m one — and we’re all lined up behind a 23-year-old alpha male chimpanzee named Mweya. We’ve been following him and his group as they knuckle-walk through the long grass. But now Mweya is standing upright, staring straight ahead. The coarse hair bristles across his powerful shoulders. Something isn’t right. I raise my binoculars to follow Mweya’s gaze. Some 200 metres in front of us, something is shaking the branches of a small stand of acacias. Something large and grey. “Elephants,” says Emmanuel. “A breeding herd. Looks like they’re coming this way. We need to…

It begins with a single mournful voice, a rising tone echoing through the forest canopy. Another joins; a tentative note at first, then a confident series, rising and falling. The call of the indri is a stop-and-listen song. Wildlife sightings fade from memory — perhaps that’s why we take so many photographs — but sounds have the power to instantly transport us to a moment in time. For me, the multi-tonal wail of this critically endangered lemur takes me back to Madagascar in 1998 and my first visit to Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. It’s a few hours’ drive from the capital, Antananarivo, via the country’s best road, and is the easiest place to find them. As with all of the country’s wildlife, to see the indri requires just a guide, a…

1 Lake Turkana -often called ‘the Jade Sea’ due to an abundance of green algae — is the largest desert lake in the world (with a surface area of 6405sq km) and Africa’s most saline. Lying in the Great Rift Valley, it was once part of a larger body of water that included Lake Baringo to the south and which drained into the Nile. However, earth movements during the Pleistocene epoch, between 2,600,000 and 11,700 years ago, are said to have created the present lake, with an independent inland drainage. It may be a relatively unwelcoming environment for humans today, but about two million years ago conditions were wetter and greener. Numerous human fossils have been found along Turkana’s shores, which were the subject of a long-running study by the…

The mighty Zambezi, Africa’s fourth-longest river, flows through six countries on its 2700km journey from northwest Zambia to the Indian Ocean, cascading over Victoria Falls and filling Lake Kariba along the way. But it’s perhaps the 120km stretch that borders Lower Zambezi National Park that casts the strongest spell. Here, as in Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park on the opposite bank, the river is both lifeblood and playground: its riverbanks host to thirsty wildlife, its channels alive with birds, its depths teeming with tigerfish — and all are yours to explore, thanks to superb boat and canoe trips. To stand barefoot on a sandbar in the middle of the Zambezi at sunset, its shimmering surface reflecting the apricot sky, the water rippling around your ankles and an icy G&T in…

Igamble on the wrong hippo. So when the cry comes — “Yawn at two o’clock! Shoot shoot shoot!” — my camera is pointing in the opposite direction. Like a child spinning a desk chair, I urgently swivel 180 degrees, narrowly avoiding concussing my neighbour with the barrel of my lens, and find the hippo on the upward arc of its display. Shutters clatter like train wheels as it throws back its head with a cascade of droplets, eyes aggressively fixed, stretching its jaw skyward. With no time to check my settings, I ‘spray and pray’, freezing every detail: the fringe of wiry moustache hairs on its snout, a ridged hard palate studded with brown molars, a glistening 20-inch tongue, and an intimidating pair of lower canines thrusting from its marshmallow-pink…

FACT: XUT EATING, THOUGH NORMALLY THEY EAT RAGE OF 50 FULL MEALS A YEAR Lions seem unlikely in the hardscrabble terrain of Namibia’s Damaraland, along the quiet, rocky trails of the Palmwag Concession. There are areas here where it hasn’t rained in years. The land is the colour of sand and shade-giving trees are few. And although I have seen prey species here in the past — as well as hyena, elephant and rhino — I have not spotted a single animal in an entire day’s drive. I had been warned as much by Dr Paul Funston, Executive Director of African Lion Conservation and one of the world’s leading lion experts. Dr Funston has spent time among the big cats of Damaraland, filming and collaring them. And he was not…

Q Why should we care about our impact on holiday? When done well, tourism can do an enormous amount of good. And in a political and social climate dominated by division, it’s arguably more important than ever for people to connect with different places and cultures. However, when done badly, tourism can exploit local people and culture, extract more than it gives to nature, and contribute considerably to global carbon emissions (mostly through aviation and construction). In Africa, tourism plays an important role in nature restoration and employment. Approximately 60–80 per cent of Protected Areas’ revenue comes from tourism, and the sector employs 25 million people in the region. Meanwhile, Africa faces a disproportionate burden from the climate crisis, with a projection that up to 118 million people across the…

TANZANIA’S ‘NEW’ 3000-YEAR-OLD TREE Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains have been harbouring a tree species recently proclaimed new to science even though some individuals could be up to 3000 years old. First discovered in 2019, the species can have a huge buttressed trunk up to 2.7 metres in diameter and can grow to 40 metres tall, hence its scientific name Tessmannia princeps — the Latin word princeps appropriately meaning ‘the most eminent.’ Botanist Andrea Bianchi and a team of local plant experts came across the unknown trees in two forest reserves called Boma la Mzinga and Uluti. They counted around 100 individuals and took a sample of wood from a fallen specimen for analysis. The number of rings indicated that the girth of the trees grew by one centimetre over 15 years,…

The shoebill is a ‘bucket list’ tick for ornithologists, but also an iconic bird for any safari enthusiast. Standing 1.5m tall with a 2.5m wingspan, its impressive stature and prehistoric look make sighting one a worthy quest. Their relative rarity (with a population of just 5000 over a huge range across central Africa) and preference for inaccessible habitats of marshland and lakeshore fringes, make it a challenge to see one — especially close enough for a decent photo opportunity. Much of their range is not a realistic option for most tourists: South Sudan, south-west Ethiopia, southern DRC and western Tanzania. More practical opportunities are Akagera National Park in Rwanda, Bangweulu Wetlands in Zambia and various sites in Uganda - most notably Mabamba Swamp on the northern shore of Lake Victoria,…

Looking around the world for a romantic setting to propose to his girlfriend, the summit of Mount Kenya struck Thor Pedersen as the perfect location. But, although he did manage to put a ring on Le’s finger, the proposal didn’t go as smoothly as he had hoped - difficult terrain led to a few stumbles and falls, before a severe snowstorm enveloped the couple and their guides. As detailed in The Impossible Journey, this wasn’t the only time things didn’t go to plan during the Danish adventurer’s ambitious, decade-long quest to become the first person to visit every country in the world in one non-stop flight-free expedition. A troubled, shy young man who admired great explorers, Pedersen set off from Denmark in October 2013, aged 34, with three cardinal rules:…

Heavenly silence? And pigs can fly! This early morning, the coloured canopy of the miombo woodland teems with life, far from a place of monastic tranquillity. Soon after sunrise, nature starts its masterfully-composed symphony. The leafy vegetation on the hills along the Bua River acts as a stage for countless songbirds. While it’s easy enough to hear their performance, seeing them takes patience, a bit of luck — and a guide like Emmanuel Kandiero. He knows all the paths that lead into the enchanted forest. And also the winding track that will eventually bring us back home. Nkhotakota is almost unimaginably large: 1800 square kilometres of wilderness in northern Malawi, far away from the hustle and bustle of the world. Together with Emmanuel, I have set off from Tongole Wilderness…

TRIVIA: HWANGE IS NAMED AFTER A LOCAL NHANZWA CHIEF AND WAS ONCE THE ROYAL HUNTING GROUND FOR NDEBELE KING MZILIKAZI I’ve not even reached my first camp but have started to realise the real thrill of a safari might just lie in everything I’m not looking for I’ve been in Hwange National Park for a matter of minutes when my guide, Andrew van den Broeck, gasps loudly and grabs my arm, scrambling for his binoculars as the jeep stops dead. I look around frantically, camera poised, excited for a glimpse of elephants or lions, but see nothing. Yet Andrew’s already rifling through a reference book of birds to show me what I’m looking for: an endangered bateleur, with a vivid red face, which spreads its enormous, striped wings and flies…

You don’t need to have explored too many big cities to know that Cape Town’s culinary scene is sensational. The city is a wonderland of restaurants, cafés, bars and food markets, where anything is possible, and where the quality of the food, the service and the whimsy is unparalleled. What do you want to eat? Authentic Mexican, traditional Xhosa, eight-course foraged indigenous tasting menus or jollof rice? We’ve got it. Black cod miso, ramen, mochi, foul mudamas, ice cream with scotch bonnet and egusi? No worries. What about learning to cook traditional food in the home of a Bokaap resident using recipes going back five generations, or learning to forage seaweed and molluscs from the Atlantic Ocean? Easily done. Everything — the whole world — is here. Cape Town is,…

With fly rod in hand, I hiked barefoot along the wild African coast. Stopping at a bluff overlooking the beach, I spotted turtles and longfin jacks swimming near the crashing waves, then walked on, following elephant and hippo tracks in the sand. My South African guide Mike Dames looked out over the great southern expanse of Gabon’s Loango National Park. “Almost no-one comes here over the course of a year,” he said. Further up the desolate coast, we had observed a strange sight: a barnacle-encrusted rope tied to a massive log, half buried in the sand — the remains of a poachers’ boat, explained Dames. They had been illegally fishing when a storm hit, and they capsized: “Two of them made it to shore, two were lost at sea. One…

THE PANGOLERT HOTLINE If you’re planning to visit Africa and want to help alleviate the plight of pangolins, put this WhatsApp number in your phone: +27 72 7264654. It’s the Pangolert Hotline, a vital tool for reporting pangolin sightings that is available to anyone, not just researchers, rangers or guides. Should you be fortunate enough to spot a pangolin on your safari, take a photograph and send it, with location details, to the WhatsApp number. Even photographs taken years ago help to build a picture of the pangolins’ whereabouts in the wild. The hotline was recently launched by Pangolin.Africa, a leading non-profit dedicated to the conservation of the species and supported by Pangolin Photo Safaris. The intention behind this simple initiative is to accumulate a database of sightings to better…

Want to learn how to take better video when on safari? Then try a filmmaking course in the heart of South Africa’s Greater Kruger. Too Wild Productions (www.toowild.co), based in the Timbavati Game Reserve, offers a first-of-its-kind, immersive wildlife filmmaking course. Designed to help build the next generation of wildlife filmmakers, it is open to local and international students. Not only do co-founders Lauren Archer and David Eastaugh share their two decades of knowledge working with all-comers, but they also sponsor a student from one of the local communities. Fabian Mdluli (23) hails from the small rural village of Acornhoek, which is surrounded by game reserves, yet he had never had the chance to experience the wildlife first-hand. A short course in wildlife photography sparked his desire to capture nature…

1 Nature therapy Enhance your physical and mental wellbeing with a back-to-nature safari. You’ll find you also gain a deeper understanding of, and connection to, Africa’s landscapes and wildlife, with experiences such as guided mindfulness, grounding practices and eco-therapeutic safaris, including the likes of forest bathing and even blindfolded guiding. 2 Roots tourism Rediscover your roots with a heritage tour in your ancestral homeland, or a country you have a connection to. Go beyond the traditional country highlights: get off-the-beaten track, visit local villages and truly immerse yourself in the culture, history and communities. 3 Multi-sensory safaris Such safaris transform the traditional game drive into fully immersive wildlife encounters. Beyond opening up the experience for those with visual impairments, they encourage all participants to engage all the senses to achieve a deeper connection…