What is World Female Ranger Day?
Not to be confused with World Ranger Day celebrated on 31 July 2021, World Female Ranger Day celebrated on 23 June hopes to amplify the female presence protecting the wild. Field guides decode the wild for guests who go on safari. They are the people who lead game drives or walking safaris, translating the bush […]
The Kruger Shalati Hotel is putting community back on track with local style
The park was declared a conservation zone in 1920, but initial plans did not include sightseeing facilities. One hundred years ago, it seemed no civilised traveller would want to witness these unruly wilds. Or did they? Before campgrounds sprung up, a trip by train was the only way to visit this game reserve. Early tourists […]
How hot air ballooning over Sossusvlei marked the start of Namibia’s desert tourism
This is what it’s like to join a Namib Sky Balloon Safari. Where to stay for a hot air balloon ride in Namibia? 1. Little Kulala Lodge Little Kulala and its sister camp Kulala Desert […]
A culinary guide to Kenya’s land of trees and honey
An apiarist, Abbas was showing me around his farm, a smallholding between Watamu and Gede, and sharing his beekeeping story. We stood together in the shade of a mango tree that dripped with fruit. Above him, three beehives painted an equally mango shade of yellow were strung up in the boughs. “There are 400 beekeeping […]
Explore Angola’s vibrant Luanda – and venture beyond the capital – when travel resumes
Landing in the capital, João Garcia from Pure and Authentic Tourism met me at the airport. After a quick espresso, standing at the cafeteria counter (“The Angolan way”, enthused João), we launched straight into a sightseeing tour. “We have architecture from Cubans, Russians and, of course, the Portuguese. There is a crazy mix of influences […]
The life aquatic: mythbusting Botswana’s iconic mokoro
Tshepang Mikell Mogomotsi – known as “Mike” – is well-versed in this ancient art. Originally from Jao, a village in the heart of the Okavango Delta, he has poled since he was just 10 years old. Mike is my “Delta Decoder” and guide at Kwando Safaris Pom Pom Camp, an eco-friendly lodge west of the […]
In Photos: venture through Uganda’s riveting Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
On the 16 December 2019, Uganda’s Ministry of Tourism Wildlife and Antiquities and the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration revealed that the number of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in the 340 square-kilometre transboundary protected forest have increased to 459 from an estimated 400 in 2011. When you visit mountain gorillas in the wild, you’re […]
12 Enthralling African destinations to add to your wander-list for 2021
Every year, I eagerly anticipate the travel hotlists and destination round-ups released by the likes of Condé Nast and National Geographic, and each time am routinely disappointed by the conspicuous absence of alluring African countries. Our continent will forever be an eternal safari hotspot, but there are so many more reasons to plan a trip. […]
What’s so special about Baines’ Baobabs anyway?
The story of salt, a sea and lonely trees An ivory-coloured expanse, the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans encrust the northern reaches of the Kalahari Desert in an immensity so vast that it’s possible to see them from outer space. (Just ask Nasa astronaut Doug Hurley, who captured the landscape while floating above us in the International […]