Fully surrounded by South Africa, Lesotho is one of just a handful of monarchies in Africa. The only independent state that lies entirely above 1,000 metres, it’s sometimes called the ‘kingdom in the sky’. Although Lesotho is primarily known for its cultural attractions, linked to the Basotho majority, the country… Continue reading
Imagine a clenched fist (thumb tucked in) with the first finger pointing to the right. You have the basic shape of Namibia down to a tee. The pointing finger is the Caprivi Strip, a narrow ribbon of land. It extends 250 miles (400 km) towards (but never quite reaching) Zimbabwe…. Continue reading
When it comes to obvious tourist destinations, few would put the west African nation of Liberia high on the list. The brutal but long-ended civil war of the 1990s still casts a dark shadow over the country. Internationally, it’s difficult for anyone to forget the images they witnessed. Within the… Continue reading
Is it safe to travel to Africa? Should you even contemplate a trip there? Watch the news headlines and you might think the answer is a firm no. Perhaps it’s just not worth the risk? But as someone who has travelled right across the continent on trips totalling almost two… Continue reading
Rwanda marks the transition between the vast rainforests of central Africa and the plains of typical safari country in the east. So while one of Africa’s smallest nations, there’s a veritable Noah’s Ark of species to look out for in the best national parks in Rwanda. No introduction to the… Continue reading
So good the Sultan of Oman swapped his homeland for it, Zanzibar is perhaps the original Indian Ocean escape. Long before the Seychelles or Mauritius had even been visited by outsiders, Zanzibar was shaping the world with its trade in spices. Today this archipelago off the coast of Tanzania has… Continue reading
Located between Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Chad and the Central African Republic, it would be easy to ask, is Cameroon safe? After all, none of these west and central African states have particularly good track records. Here I separate fact from fiction, having travelled across Cameroon from north to south and… Continue reading
South Africa is one of the top countries for first time visits to mainland Africa. Even I find it hard to resist the continued allure of the country. Its range of attractions is massive. There are city sights of Cape Town and Gqeberha, the legacy of Nelson Mandela to explore,… Continue reading
If you’re a long-time follower of mine, you may well know that I won’t be taking a job with the Djibouti tourist board any time soon. However, even I can’t deny the extraordinary – almost otherworldly – beauty of the country. While it may not be the easiest of destinations,… Continue reading
Ghost towns are always beguiling places. They seem to call to our sense of what it means to be human. There are some very well-known ghost towns round the world, not least Chernobyl in modern-day Ukraine and Oradour-sur-Glane in France. Given its size, it’s hardly surprising Africa has its fair… Continue reading
