
THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW OUT OF AFRICA
- Pliny the Elder
A small touristy village in the far north of Zanzibar on the west coast. Kendwa offers beautiful beaches, warm water and some premium hotels.
Called Mji Mkongwe in Swahili, Stone Town is a district of the larger Zanzibar City, Stone Town has been the capital of the spice trade and the East African slave trade up until the 20th Century.
First listed as a preserve in 1921, 25,000 animals make it their home, including 62 (as of 2001) Lions who suffer inbreeding issues due to the crater’s isolation. Many campsites and hotels dot the rim of the crater, given spectacular views of the inside.
Established in 1952, the Serengeti National Park is synonymous with Safari. Famed the world over, even those who are unaware it is in Tanzania know the name. It is home to the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth - the great migration of wildebeest and zebra and covers almost 15,000 square kilometres.
Offering incredible views over the rift valley escarpment and with two thirds of its area covered by water, the Lake Manyara National Park is something amazing.
Directly translated, Mto Wa Mbu means ‘The River of Mosquitos’. This town is often used as a base for Safari tours. Staying overnight in a campsite, it then gives easy access to various nearby National Parks.
Despite its population of half a million, tourists would be forgiven to thinking Arusha is more of a staging ground for tours than a thriving city in its own right. Our time there was brief but we made the effort to at least leave the walled compound of our hotel and find a local sports bar.
Turning 42 on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, I hiked the Machame route from Machame Gate to Uhuru Peak, and down to Mweke Gate.
The capital of the Kilimanjaro region, Moshi is named for the smoke that used to come from the volcanic Kilimanjaro. It is one of the main tourist hubs of Tanzania with a variety of hotels and lodges catering for toursits coming for Kilimanjaro, safaris or both.
We decided, as part of our trip to visit Rabat, the capital city of Morocco and see somewhere off the main trail of tourist spots.
On Wednesday when we got to the hotel, it was fairly late, but we'd not eaten so we went up to the hotel restaurant for dinner and we got a bit of a show from a belly dancer who was working that evening.
In 2014, I packed up my 5D Mark III and a selection of lenses and headed off to Marrakech to see this ancient North African city of bazaars, mosques and modernity.
Jinja camp overlooks the Nile and is focused on an adventure; offering rafting, quad biking, horseback riding, paragliding and more. It was a shame that we only had one full day at Jinja, as it meant we could only do one activity and I’d have loved to take the quad bikes out on the back roads of Uganda.
We had another early morning and had to remember how to take down our tents, as it had been a few days. It was a few hour’s drive to Lake Mburo, but on arrival, we were welcomed by a monkey at the gate watching us whilst lounging on a tree limb.
We only had a one and a half hour hike to reach the Gorilla family, but it was steep and very muddy and very humid. All my carefully prepared gear came off, and even the shirt I was wearing became unbuttoned and dripped with sweat.
After setup, we all went down to the dock for a swim. Lake Bunyoni is one of the deepest lakes in Africa, 6000 feet deep, which is a sizeable, though upside-down, mountain.
Another 6am departure to start the day, we collected up the other sixteen people who were joining our group and had a sausage based breakfast before I curled up on the truck, using my beanbag tripod for a pillow for an extra couple of hours sleep to get over the Safari induced hangover from the night before….
We set off at 6am, having gotten up at 5, glad that the beer intake had been limited. As the clothes hadn’t dried fully the evening before, some of us strung up our clothes inside the van using a long spool of string and they were still drying in the morning, leaving the van to look something like a launderette.
We were up at about 6:30 am, not realizing this was going to be considered a lie-in on this trip. Typically, I don’t remember my dreams, but for some reason, when camping, they are vivid and stick with me. Perhaps all this implies is my home needs better ventilation.
It was an early start but I managed to fit in a big breakfast as I was unsure what the food would be like on the trek. Entertainingly, it was clear that the rest of the people in the restaurant were also on the tour, but we didn’t know each other at this point and so didn’t talk.
A final moment of African homesickness hit on my final beer when a power-cut plunged us all into darkness.
The city has been southern Egypt's strategic and commercial gateway since antiquity. It carries a distinctly African vibe, its lively souks and streets dotted with distinctive Nubian villages and splendid mud-brick houses, awash with colour and pattern.
Edfu, a city on the west bank of the Nile in Egypt, is the home to the incredible Temple of Horus, one of the best-preserved ancient monuments in Egypt. This grand temple, dedicated to the falcon god Horus, is a spectacle of ancient Egyptian architecture.
Luxor was our embarkation point for a week long cruise down the Nile to Aswan and back. We had time to go to the museum in Luxor before boarding our small twenty cabin boat and settling in. Luxor is incredible, aside from its bustling nature as a city it is a hub for history.
Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, is a city that beautifully blends the old and the new. The city's heart, the Medina, is a UNESCO World Heritage site, a labyrinth of narrow alleyways filled with colourful markets, or souks, selling everything from spices to traditional crafts.
When I was 19, I ended up in Accra, Ghana, working as an IT consultant due to my experience in a similar situation in Lagos. My memories of the city are shrouded in darkness, not because of any sinister undertones, but simply because I arrived late in the evening.
My trip to Douala, Cameroon, when I was just 20, was a blend of leisure and work - well, work for my father, at least. I was there for the ride, soaking up the experience. The city was a whirlwind of sights and sounds,
Cotonou, the beating heart of Benin, is a place where the hum of French conversation fills the air, a testament to its colonial past, and a stark difference to the English-speaking countries of West Africa.
For about three years, I spent my summer and winter breaks from university with my father in Lagos, Nigeria. We lived in the port city of Apapa, rather than Victoria Island where most other ex-pats made their home.
When I think back to my childhood trip to Agadir, the memories are filled with the warmth and charm of this coastal Moroccan city. Our beach holiday was nothing short of magical in the way only early childhood memories can be, with endless days spent on the golden sands, where the sun was always hot and the sky, a brilliant blue.
DISCOVER 54 COUNTRIES WITH THE LONGEST RIVER, THE HOTTEST LOCATION, AND THE LARGEST LAND ANIMALS IN THE WORLD.
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Benin
I dream of a Benin that smiles and that's why I invite us to turn resolutely toward a clear future.
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Cameroon
Cameroon is stronger because it’s a country of conquerors, of winners.
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Egypt
Egypt is full of dreams, mysteries, memories.
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Ghana
Ghana is a Huge Grindstone, and depending on what you are made of, can Grind you down or Polish you up.
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Kenya
Kenya is an immense land with a capacity for healing.
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Morocco
In Morocco, it’s possible to see the Atlantic and the Mediterranean at the same time.
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Nigeria
Nigeria will shine again if we reason together as Nigerians
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Tanzania
In Tanzania, it was more than one hundred tribal units which lost their freedom; it was one nation that regained it.
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Uganda
Uganda is the most diverse country in the world.
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Tunisia
Tunisia is always ready to turn the page.
READ THE LATEST POSTS ABOUT Africa.
Ngorongoro Crater
First listed as a preserve in 1921, 25,000 animals make it their home, including 62 (as of 2001) Lions who suffer inbreeding issues due to the crater’s isolation. Many campsites and hotels dot the rim of the crater, given spectacular views of the inside.