Overview
Elephants grazing by Kilimanjaro, wildebeest stampeding across the Masai Mara, mountain gorillas hunkered in the rainforest…
For many visitors, Africa means one thing – safari – and the pursuit of such iconic wildlife encounters can easily become a lifelong passion. But there’s far more to the continent than the nature documentary view, and different African regions have their own particular appeal.
If you’ve got time on your hands, you can’t beat a top-to-bottom odyssey. Cairo to Cape Town is the classic overlanding route, which takes about 20 weeks, but there are all sorts of variations.
A month allows you to get a feel for the African way of life, and explore two or three countries – perhaps combine some wildlife viewing with trekking and coastal downtime. If time is really tight, focus your sights on one destination and don’t try to pack too much in: weather conditions, accessibility and laid-back attitudes can play havoc with gruelling schedules.
North Africa – Tunisia, Morocco and less-visited Libya and Algeria – is weekend break territory from Europe, offering an exotic blend of Arab cultures, Roman ruins, French colonial history, mountain hikes (notably in the Atlas mountains) and forays into the Sahara desert. Marrakesh is the best-known of many intoxicating cities.
West Africa has a troubled past, blighted by slavery and political unrest, but is slowly emerging as a destination for winter sun seekers (The Gambia, Cape Verde), world music aficionados (Mali, Senegal) and overlanders interested in tribal cultures and religions (Benin, Togo). Timbuktu in Mali was once the epitome of remoteness, and sadly remains a challenging destination thanks to terrorist activity in the area.
South of the Sahara desert is ‘safari Africa’ territory. Central Africa is the only place to go to see mountain gorillas, while to the East, Kenya and Tanzania are classic Africa first-timer destinations, packing in world class National Parks and reserves, palm-fringed beaches, Swahili towns, and a string of great treks led by Tanzania’s Mt Kilimanjaro.
Beyond them lie the great adventure destinations of southern Africa. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana are the countries of choice for many safari connoisseurs, while the extraordinary deserts, wildlife and wreck-strewn coastline of Namibia have inspired Wanderlust readers to frequently vote it their favourite country on earth. Offshore, the island of Madagascar is Africa’s Galapagos, stocked with unique species including the lemur, while the Seychelles and Mauritius are honeymoon destinations with conservation volunteering opportunities.
Finally, the continent comes to an end in South Africa, one of the best places to get a sense of a real and complex Africa beyond the safari brochure. Take a township tour, volunteer at a school, learn from native guides in a game reserve – this is a country and a continent that rewards travellers who give themselves to it wholeheartedly.
So what are you waiting for? Start planning your Africa adventure today…