Africa Travel Guides

Archive for the ‘Adventure Travel’ Category

KwaZulu-Natal is one of South Africa’s smallest provinces encompassing the territory known as Zululand towards the north. Near Eshowe visitors can stay in typical Zulu villages (with beehive shaped, thatched huts). In this region area number of important wildlife conservation areas, including award-winning Hluhluwe/ Umfolozi public game reserve, where the white rhino was saved from extinction, and the coral reefs and water wonderland of the St Lucia ‘estuary and Lake St. Lucia.

To the west are the soaring peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains, with protected public parks from which the magnificent scenery can be enjoyed. This region is famed for its proliferation of ancient rock paintings by the San (Bushmen), South Africa’s original inhabitants. Read the rest of this entry »

How do you capture the essence of Africa on paper without using up every cliché in the book? No other continent comes close to it for scale, variety and pure, raw impact. Africa offers a travel experience a thousand kilometres from the well-backpacked, air-conditioned tourist trails of Southeast Asia or the cash-cow theme parks of Australia or Europe.

Africa’s natural history alone would make a dozen visits worthwhile – where else on earth can you fall asleep to the sound of lions roaring, or watch a million flamingos take off from the waters of a remote soda lake? Parts of Africa boast scenery so spectacular they’ll damn near blow your mind, but the essence of this incredible continent isn’t in any desert, mountain or lake. It’s the spirit of the people – pushing, shoving, sweating, dancing, singing and laughing – that infects so many visitors with a travel bug so powerful they’ll never stop coming back, sometimes against all sense or reason. Read the rest of this entry »

For years, South Africa has been proud to be home to the “Big Five” – lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo. Now the country is starting to boast about the “Big Six”, the addition to the list being a creature somewhat larger then even the elephant – the whale. The Western Cape Tourism Board, together with the local Hermanus Publicity Association, recently established a Cape Whale Route, to guide visitors to the best spots for observing these leviathans of the deep as they swim close to the shoreline – so close in fact that it is not unusual for observers to be soaked from their spray!

Whaling along the Cape coastline dates back to the 1770s but was discontinued many decades ago. Little remains of the whaling stations, but implements from this era can still be seen at the South African Museum in Cape Town and at the Residency Museum in Simon’s Town. The whales themselves, though, are very much in evidence from June to September. Read the rest of this entry »

Large areas of South Africa’s vast tracts of diverse scenery are not accessible by vehicles. That’s why increasing numbers of visitors are voting with their feet and turning to hiking. Not only does hiking provide the opportunity of getting close to the natural environment, it is also an inexpensive way of exploring the country. There are self-guided as well as guided off-the-road hiking trails. The self-guided trails are ideal for groups of family and friends and are well marked, with sleeping huts for overnight stays on the longer routes. Be sure to take enough food, water and bedding, if necessary, for the trip. Guided trails in nature reserves could span a few days and are less demanding as the hike is usually led by a trained, armed and experienced game ranger, who provides information about ecology, plants and animals. There are more than 300 trails to choose from and for those backpackers on a budget (the great majority!) there are nearly 50 hostels featured by the HISA (Hosteling International – South Africa), which is recognised by the International Youth Hostel Federation.
Here is a brief, region by region description of some of the best know trails. Read the rest of this entry »

?????????How many times we say we want to get to know Africa? How many times have we dreamed of a safari, or to be near the “king of the jungle”? I imagine that many times. And no wonder if there in those African lands, you can experience the “savagery” of nature.

Today I propose that it ceases to be a yearning, a wish or something imaginary, and we begin to see as real. That is why I commend you find cheap travel to Africa to enter the Kruger National Park, the largest park in Africa testifies to his nature.

To give you an idea of its size, I tell you that the Kruger National Park covers an area of 18,989 square km, which is equivalent to Wales. With this extension, the park extends over two provinces, the province of Mpumalanga and Limpopo, offering many ways to go. Read the rest of this entry »

Ultimately, for a whole day spent in the park, it is ultimately very little in terms of animals recorded in the park, which houses the “Bigs Five” (lion, elephant, rhino, leopard – Buffalo). According to official figures, there are lions in 2000, 7700 elephants, rhino 2200, 1000 and 22,000 buffalos leopards which must be added, among others, 102 000 impala, 32,000 zebras, 14,000 wildebeest, giraffes and 200 5000 C cheetahs’ Therefore, it would be desirable to spend several days, especially as some breeds do not coexist very well together and therefore do not find anywhere in the park.

Wildlife is protected since 1898, at the initiative of Paul Kruger, then president of the former Republic of South Africa (Transvaal). His name has been given 31 May 1926 and the park’s centennial was celebrated in 1998 by Nelson Mandela .. The number of visitors is increasing, in 6000, 1935, 100 000 1955 300 000 1968 and more than one million today. Read the rest of this entry »

Another tip, if you travel with a tour operator, take the supplement 4X4 proposed before departure because buses are not allowed to leave the paved roads, which still limit the possibilities for research in some animals.

Do not forget to properly cover yourself (it’s cool in the morning and evening) and take with you a pair of binoculars that can be very useful for observing birds in particular, very difficult to approach and whose number of species exceeds 500! This advice is given, Safari can now begin.

I may be repeating myself a little but I definitely want to make clear what a safari in Kruger Park: It is absolutely not what we imagine when you are a neophyte in this area or if the we have already explored reserves in East Africa … The first surprise came from the paved roads that remove a little charm but ultimately prove to be useful because they serve as firebreaks during fire summer c is in any case what I saw .. I do not think that was their rationale but it is so good and I would say. Read the rest of this entry »

Any trip to Africa is usually accompanied by a visit to the famous Kruger Park, the richest reserves of the entire African continent. Perhaps a bit ironic, but it is not in this park you will see more animals and that there are several reasons. First considered in relation to Kenya and Tanzania the kingdoms of the Savannah, South Africa, you are in the bush and the difference is huge: if the first countries I mentioned, we can identify animals further and possibly leave the tracks to approach it, it is not the same here where the vegetation is much denser.

Discover an animal in the Kruger Park and it deserves to be in luck. This preamble said, Safari is even more exciting especially for those like me, have already seen wild animals in their natural environment . This may be disappointing for others who rely on tourist brochures are not always totally objective.

In my program runs, there was a day devoted to the Kruger Park, part of the park should I say it is so great. To find in its entirety would be ideal to spend a week, say … a few figures to give a clear idea of what it represents: its area is 20,000 km2 is the equivalent of three French departments means! About 1,000 km of paved roads and 1,500 km of tracks! No fewer than eight Read the rest of this entry »