Africa Travel Information

NB: I originally posted the article below in qondio, a content website where people share lots of “intel” on various topics. I post as africantraveler at qondio.

The True Gems in Africa Travel

Maletsunyane falls near Semonkong in of Lesotho

In a previous post on Africa travel, I mentioned some of the most preferred Africa holiday destinations, among them Kenya, South Africa and Egypt. While these countries may be the favorite destinations among many travelers, their attractions are not necessarily superior to those in other less-traveled African countries. In fact, in my opinion, there are some countries that offer a more satisfying African safari experience, often with the added advantage of being less crowded. These include: Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, and Mozambique

Lesotho
This landlocked country is neighbored on all sides by South Africa. One of the things that make Lesotho a unique travel destination is its beautiful mountainous scenery. The entire country lies at over 1000 meters above sea level, and has arguably some of the best hiking trails in Africa. The traditional way of life of the Basotho is, to say the least, very fascinating. The best way to enjoy a holiday in this country is on horse back.
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Elephants in Amboseli National Park. Mt Kilimanjaro is in the background. Image by Disdero in Wikimedia commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elephants_Kili_2.jpg

I read a very interesting report in the Daily Nation today. The Kenya wildlife service (KWS) plans to trans-locate about 7,000 herbivores, mostly zebras and wildebeest, from some private ranches and game reserves in Kenya to the Amboseli national park. Apparently, following last year’s drought in Amboseli, the herbivore/carnivore balance in the park was severely disrupted. The predators are now attacking the livestock of the neighboring Maasai people. You can read full details of the story here.

Looking at it from a different perspective, the KWS action raises a number of questions. Is it fair to the game reserves from which the zebras and wildebeest will be taken? What will happen to the predator/prey balance in these ranches? I know, KWS may rightly argue that in these reserves, that “balance” was largely skewed in favour of the herbivores. After all, species trans-location is an acceptable and proven animal conservation strategy. There have been several animal translocations in Kenya in the past, though not on such a large scale. One past translocation that comes close in scale was the fairly successful translocation of 228 elephants from Shimba hills national park to Tsavo East (see story).

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The great white shark: a member of the "Big 7"

For the next few months, South Africa is obviously going to receive a lot of attention thanks to the forthcoming FIFA 2010 World cup in June. Without any doubt, the soccer tournament is in itself a great boost to South Africa tourism, and is expected to inject over 20 billion rand to the economy. But perhaps more importantly, it will help raise awareness of South Africa as a great African safari  destination.

In a previous post on South Africa, I mentioned wildlife as one of the greatest tourist attractions in South Africa. The country takes great pride in being the only African destination where you can see the big seven -the big five plus whales and sharks (more so the great white shark and the southern right whale). In addition to wildlife safaris, South Africa will always remain for a great travel destination for the following reasons:

• Adventure travel at its best: Whether you are a fan of extreme activities, or you are into more moderate adventures, you will surely have lots of fun in South Africa. Some of the activities you can engage in include abseiling off Table mountain, scuba diving at Sodwana Bay, shark cage diving at Dyer Island, rock climbing in Montagu and other places, trekking expeditions along the Garden Route, white water rafting, skydiving,  surfing, bungee jumping, etc. To put it simply, the range of adventures available to you in South Africa is arguably the best in Africa. Read the rest of this entry »

Happy new year! First, to all readers of this African safari blog, my apologies for the prolonged absence and silence. I had several issues in my personal life to attend to, and they took longer than I thought they would. Nothing like the Tiger Woods story though .  (Despite his “mistake” I still think Woods is a great man, and I hope he will bounce back as an even better person).

A northern white rhino. Image from the rhino resource center http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/

While I was away, a lot has taken place in the Africa travel scene. Bill Gates once again visited Kenya on a philanthropic mission and a safari.

Also in Kenya, four of the eight remaining  northern white rhinos were introduced to ol-Pejeta conservancy in Laikipia to give them a chance to breed.  This is definitely good news to animal  conservationists if the plan succeeds. Not so the request by Tanzania and Zambia to be allowed a one-off sale of their ivory stockpiles, a move opposed by Kenya and Rwanda.

Other Africa travel news that have made headlines include the crash of an Ethiopian Airline plane near Beirut, the trampling to death of two tourists by an elephant in Mt Kenya national park, and the closure of False bay beach in South Africa following a fatal shark  attack on a tourist from Zimbabwe.

Now that I am back to work, I hope to be able to regularly update this blog to be a meaningful information resource for your Africa travel plans. Alongside the usual informational travel articles, I will be covering events that I think you, my readers, may want to know about. The forthcoming Sauti za busara cultural festival in Zanzibar, the 2010 world cup in South Africa, are some examples of what I have in mind. Happy reading, and as always, I welcome your comments.

Africa is home to some of the world’s most popular wildlife, including the famous “big five”. Since wildlife safaris are among the top Africa holiday activities, you may find it helpful to know some fun facts about these big five animals.

The big five consist of buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion and rhinoceros. They were given this name, not because of their massive sizes, but because of how difficult and dangerous it was to hunt them down. In the earlier days when there were less restrictions on hunting, big game hunters considered it a great achievement to capture or kill one of these animals.

African Cape Buffalo

The huge upcurving horns give the African buffalo a real dangerous look

The African cape buffalo is a big and very intimidating cow-like animal with a dark-skin almost black in color. These ill-tempered animals are reputed to have killed so many trophy hunters, more than other animals did, hence their inclusion in the big five. During your safari in Africa, you will see large herds of buffaloes (as many as 2000 members) in the top game reserves in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. Occasionally however, you may spot a solitary buffalo bull, an extremely dangerous and ill-tempered animal, especially if it is wounded.

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It is true that we all travel for different reasons, and our tastes and likes vary.  However, when coming for a holiday in Africa, I think there are some places you just have to visit, and some activities you must undertake to enjoy a complete African safari experience. I have compiled a list of what I consider the top ten holiday activities in Africa. You may not be able to do all of them during one visit, unless of course you have a lot of time. But with proper planning, you can cover aspects of all of them in at least two trips to Africa.

1. Wildlife safaris

An African lion: One of the most popular wild animal in Africa

If you have time for only one safari activity, then wildlife safaris are the obvious choice, especially if the closest you have ever come to an African wild animal is in a zoo. Among all African animals, the big five (lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino, and leopard) are the most popular, and perhaps most fascinating to observe. The experience of seeing them and other animals in their natural habitat is indeed very amazing. No wonder the word “African safari” is almost synonymous with wildlife safaris.

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