6 of the Best of Africa

THIS IS AFRICA

The things we fall in love with

Winners’ gallery

At Travel Africa, we are proud to partner with the prestigious Nature’s Best Photography Africa competition, which celebrates the continent’s natural heritage and beauty. In this stunning online portfolio, we display the winning images

Seize the day

“If we look straight and deep into a chimpanzee’s eyes,

STORYTELLERS

OUR CONTRIBUTORS SHARE TALES FROM THEIR TRAVELS

Featured book

AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY BY JONATHAN SCOTT Photographer, author and front man

Reader review

GREEN LAND, BROWN LAND, BLACK LAND: AN ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY OF

Seven recent releases

This book is the memoir of distinguished elephant conservationist Sarah

Sands of time

This portfolio of captivating images explores the mystical ghost town of Kolmanskop, displaying it from every angle. This haunting place, half-buried in the Namib Desert, offers a singular glimpse into colonial times and demonstrates the supreme power that nature holds over such a volatile landscape

Indaba

A place to share your experiences

Perspective

The map that tells a story

Characters

Explorer, writer and award-winning filmmaker Dereck Joubert tells Phil Clisby about his life, career and conservation efforts

Bucket List

The places we long to visit

Calendar

What's happening in Africa this quarter

Letter from Africa: Peace on the plateau

On a weekend away from the Nigerian capital Abuja, Clementine Wallop finds serenity and strawberries in the north

Taste Africa in London

Emily Dehn picks the best places to eat out in the British capital

What’s cooking?

We ask Shayne Hlungwane of Pafuri Camp in South Africa’s Northern Kruger to give us an insight into life in the lodge kitchen

Foreign invasion

There was a time when investors in tourism wouldn’t touch South Africa with a bargepole. But now you can’t keep them out, says Graham Boynton

African by design

‘Maker’ Hugo Boys of BOSCO London tells us about his handcrafted lighting and his conservation efforts

Journal: Adventure with a purpose

Earlier this year Liz Dillarstone, Head of Community Action at Oundle School, and her colleague Nicola Guise embarked on a three-week trip from Kenya to South Africa to visit aid projects supported by the school

Journal: The cost question

First, let me tell you how much I enjoy Travel

Journal: Rebirth in the Cape

Wildlife once roamed South Africa’s Western Cape, but over the years, conflict with humans, loss of habitat and poaching have been detrimental to the region’s fauna. The Cape mountain lion was hunted to extinction, and elephant and rhino all fell victim to the hunter’s bullet some 250 years ago. But Searl Derman, owner of Aquila Private Game Reserve, two hours from Cape Town, has set about changing all this by reintroducing four of the Big Five species:

Journal: Photo school

“After years of trying, I finally got my dream shot

Glorious Guassa

Thirteen-year-old Nouria Saleban, our youngest contributor to date, tells us about geladas, wolves and touching the stars in the Ethiopian highlands

Affordable SA

Jack Southan tells us why now is the best time to go to this diverse country, as well as revealing all the tips you need on how to travel without breaking the bank

A rough diamond

The remote Ruaha National Park, in central Tanzania, offers an outstanding opportunity to see carnivores, in a beautiful and diverse landscape of grasslands, mountains, rivers and swamps. Geoffrey Dean explores this vast wilderness

50 Shades of blue

It’s Africa’s largest inland body of water — and the world’s largest man-made reservoir. Lake Kariba is immense, scenically outstanding and incredibly rich in wildlife, and what better way to explore it than on a houseboat, waking to a different vista each morning, feeling the shift of the elements around you, drifting off to the rock of the boat and a hyena’s distant whoop?

Exploring Middle-Earth

Not so dissimilar from JRR Tolkien’s magical world in The Hobbit, Malawi’s picturesque Liwonde National Park, with the Shire River snaking through it, bursts with life, says Sue Watt

A watery wonderland

On an adventure in Zambia’s Bangweulu Wetlands, Sue Watt is blown away by the beauty and diverse wildlife of the country’s answer to the Okavango Delta

A day in the life of a chimp

On the edge of the Rwenzoris lies a mystical land of volcanic lakes, majestic peaks and dense jungle. Laura Griffith-Jones sets off to western Uganda to see the chimpanzees of Kibale

Keepers of the wild

Lauren Jarvis visits Kenya’s Nairobi National Park, the Masai Mara, Amboseli and Shimba Hills, and discovers the crucial role the nation’s people are playing in protecting its animals

Delicious Mauritius

The island’s two most popular drinks are rum and tea. Eugene Yiga learns how these classic brews are made and uses them to wash down the excellent local food

Picture-Perfect

The wild, often-forgotten Northern Tuli Game Reserve, or Notugre, is a photographers’ heaven. Shutterbugs should go now

Looking for lemurs

The rarely visited south-eastern corner of Madagascar is a hidden utopia for wildlife lovers. With more of the world’s rarest species than you can shake a stick at, fascinating culture and a spectacular Indian Ocean coastline, there is much to discover

No lack of life

Animals don’t usually come to mind when you think of Ethiopia. But the country is home to an incredible diversity of species. Graeme Green explores the Simien and Bale mountains to find out more

Into the Okavango

Using the skills of the local Bayei people, Steve Boyes and his team embarked on an astonishing expedition from Angola to the Delta by mokoro. Here he tells Maria Airey about their experiences and achievements

Conservation

Understanding and protecting our natural heritage

No more turtle soup

South Africa’s Maputaland is a place of incredible biodiversity. It’s also a great place to watch, awestruck, as these endangered marine reptiles brave the beaches to nest, says David Bristow

A world apart

Few people know that lemurs, endemic to Madagascar, are not monkeys. Rather, they’re a diverse primate group, united by their extraordinary sense of smell and agility in the treetops, says Mike Unwin

Know your lemurs

Lemur classification is contentious. The number of recognised species has shot up since the 1990s, a result both of new discoveries and advances in genetic taxonomy. Today the total stands at some 103, although this remains a work in progress. All lemurs belong to one of the following five families:

AWF: Making elephants matter

Uganda’s protected area authorities were deeply committed to conservation, but needed extra help in getting communities to care

Time travel

St Helena Island has just completed its first airport. To experience it before the arrival of package tours, Justin Fox boarded one of the world’s last Royal Mail ships in Cape Town for a voyage to the land that time forgot

View with a room

Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge, Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, South Africa

Accommodation news

Newmark Hotels has added another African property to its portfolio

Thorntree

Jeremy and Emma Borg of Painted Wolf Wines have launched

Ask the trade

Your questions answered by those who really know

The trade view

Nigel Vere Nicoll is Chief Executive of Atta, The African

How safe is Sierra Leone?

Fourteen years after the official end of the civil war, our security expert Daniel Wheeler assesses the threat to tourists

The inside track on... The Gambia

The Gambia is the closest thing in sub-Saharan Africa to

Dawn king

Is there anything better than lying in your bed deep