Expert Reviews
Not to be missed!
I’d heard such amazing reports about Murchison Falls “the world’s heaviest waterfall” that I was worried whether the famous waterfalls would live up to expectations. Spoiler alert: they did. The light spray from the waterfalls and the force of the River Nile pounding the hard rock beneath...
Go for the Gorillas, Stay for the Forest
Seeing Bwindi for the first time was an emotional moment: there it was, the fabled rainforest. Everyone told me I’d love the gorillas, but no-one mentioned it was the forest that I would fall for. Disclaimer: gorillas were never top of my travel bucket list. In fact, I’d ended up in Bwindi by...
Forest Birding Mecca!
Kakamega is Kenya’s last remnant of equatorial tropical rainforest. It is stunningly beautiful with huge trees draped in creepers and butterfly filled glades, ringing with birdsong and the crash of monkeys leaping through the canopy. Kakamega attracts birders from around the world – it is a...
One of Africa’s giants
At nearly 20,000 square kilometers, Kruger is a behemoth of a wildlife reserve. Add to that, the adjacent Limpopo Transfrontier Park in Mozambique, Gonarezhou in Zimbabwe, and the numerous unfenced private game reserves that line its borders, and what you end up with is a conservation area so vast...
Don your hiking boots
If, like me, you love to ramble through magnificent mountain scenery, then the Golden Gate Highlands National Park is the place for you. I last went there in winter, which was flippin’ freezing. But trekking through frosty grasslands with snowcapped cliffs all around made me feel alone, and free,...
Head for the ‘Wilder’ Side of the South African Giant
I’d often heard it said that this huge park (half the size of Switzerland!) is a tame option. Sure, there are huge camps with every amenity you can imagine (Skukuza Rest Camp even has a nail bar!) and there are tarmac roads that run like a thread – beaded with fuel stations – the length of the...
Scenery To Die For
Having a sleepless night next to my campfire in the middle of an ostensibly lifeless desert because I’m afraid of a freshwater crocodile sneaking up on me may seem a little hysterical, but Namibia’s Kaokoland region, despite generally being as dry as a fossil, is full of surprises, not least of...
An Abundance of Life
The enormous 22,270km2 Etosha National Park typifies the stark yet scenic nature of Namibia’s arid environments. The grasslands and mopani woodlands that comprise the majority of the region are often dry and dusty, and I always find myself sneezing on game drives there. One could easily assume...
That Postcard…
The instantly recognizable snowcapped peak of Kilimanjaro rises iconically above a scene of emerald greenery in which elephants munch contentedly on flat-topped acacia trees. We’ve all seen the postcards… But in reality, although Kili does indeed form a backdrop to the Amboseli National Park,...
Dancing Sifakas & Ragged Ringtails
Berenty is a very small wildlife reserve set in a monoculture sea of spiny sisal plantations. It is only about 2.5km2 in size but incorporates a lovely patch of evergreen gallery forest alongside the Mandrare River. The small island-like nature of this reserve means that the wildlife is very...
Big Monkeys on the Roof of Africa
Hiking in the Unesco World Heritage Simien Mountains is an experience I’ll never forget, especially since I suffer from vertigo. But despite the thin air up there at 4,000m-plus, I rarely found myself struggling to breathe. Most trails start and end on a fairly flat plateau with the magnificent...
Abundant Wildlife & a Vast Salt Pan
With its arid scrublands, the searing, barren expanses of Etosha Pan and rather impersonal rest camps, it’s easy to underestimate Etosha. Yet, allow some time to get to know the park and its appeal is guaranteed to grow. One of the main draws is convenient access to a truly impressive array of...
Dusty Red Elephants
Tsavo East is huge with vast open landscapes. There are far fewer tourists here than in the other more popular reserves in Kenya, so it feels far wilder. Tsavo East is famous for its big herds of dusty red elephants, which make for iconic photographs, especially at dawn and dusk. Lodges tend to...
Elephants!
Amboseli is the location for those classic images of herds of elephants below Mt Kilimanjaro. Having said that, it is surprisingly difficult to get that iconic shot of a cloud-free mountaintop with elephants nicely spaced out in the foreground. Some of Africa’s last big tusker elephants roam...
Birding in the Kafue Flats
Lochinvar National Park is a highly rated birding destination. It protects a section of the Kafue Flats, a massive seasonal floodplain of the Kafue River. As there is nowhere to stay inside the park, we based ourselves at Moorings Campsite, about 50km from the entrance. Once inside the park, you...
Dry scrub and lush wetlands
Lochinvar is a national park of two halves: the dusty, scrubby bit to the south, and the wet bit to the north. Coming by road from Monze (a junction town about 30 minutes’ drive from the entrance gate), you’ll drive for about 40km through a tract of dry grassland and miombo woodlands that is...
Malaria-free, Big Five safari
Madikwe is a malaria-free reserve about five hours’ drive from Johannesburg. I’ve had incredible rhino viewing here – both white and black varieties. The rest of the Big Five is present, too. Leopards are hit and miss – I’ve seen one, but apparently that was lucky. Wild dogs are frequently...
Samburu’s lesser-known neighbor
Located in the foothills of Mount Kenya, Buffalo Springs National Reserve takes its name from an oasis found in its western region. The springs attract thirsty elephants and are full of big crocodiles, but it is the Ewaso Nyiro River, with its distinctive tall doum palms, that offers the main source...
Elephants, elephants and more elephants
This 165km²/64mi2 reserve – located a mere 345km/214mi from Nairobi in the southeast corner of Samburu District – is co-located with Buffalo Springs National Reserve. Indeed, it would be almost impossible to visit one of these reserves without exploring the other. Separated by the scenic Ewaso...
Impressive wildlife in exclusive surrounds
While Mkhaya is definitely Eswatini’s top wildlife destination, the park is very small and animals are kept in large enclosures to keep them safe. If you’ve been privileged to visit some of Africa’s great wild parks protecting sustainable ecosystems, this may jar a little, but less-experienced...
Where the buffalo and nyala roam
There is nothing earth-shattering about this park, but if you’re looking for pleasant midrange accommodation and the ability to self-drive, this affordable place might just work for you. There is plenty of wildlife around the lodge, but it gets more scarce as you drive further away. The roads are...
Wild Adventures in a Land of Giants
Mana Pools, a pristine wilderness larger than Surrey, became a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1988. The mile-wide Zambezi runs along its northern border, forming a natural barrier between Zimbabwe and Zambia. Back in camp at the end of the day you can sit with a sundowner and watch the sky change...
Unique Refuge by Lake Kariba
Matusadona is home to four of the Big Five (black rhinos are absent), and while lion numbers have declined of late, elephant and buffalo are common. The park’s remote situation between Lake Kariba and the Matuzviadonha Hills is stunning. The closer you get to the 700m summits, the wilder and...
A story of success
Majete, in southern Malawi, is beautiful with its gentle rolling hills, lush miombo woodlands and majestic Shire River forging its way to the Zambezi. But if you’d have visited 15 years ago, you’d have seen very little wildlife – it had almost been poached out. Now, thanks to the efforts of...
Super-accessible elephant and hippo viewing
A contender for Malawi’s best-kept game-viewing secret, this underpublicised reserve holds more appeal to backpackers than to upmarket safari-goers. For independent travellers on a budget, its game viewing centrepiece is Lake Kazuni. Not only easy to reach on public transport and serviced by a...
A Resurgent Gem
When I first visited Akagera in 2000, it was barely functional, suffered badly from encroachment and poaching, and seemed destined to become one of those forgotten African parks that exist only on maps and in the statute books. The situation deteriorated over the next few years, but was reversed in...
Malawi’s Big Five reserve
An easy 70km drive from the southern city of Blantyre, Majete is Malawi’s only Big Five reserve, having seen its fortunes turned around and over 2500 animals reintroduced since African Parks took over in 2003. Indeed, the elephant population grew to well over 400 by 2017, allowing the NGO to move...
Safari activities extravaganza
Proclaimed in 1960, Mlilwane means ‘little fire’ and is a reference to the numerous fires started by lightning strikes in the area. At 4560 hectares, this relatively small wildlife refuge was originally established as a stronghold to save the last of Eswatini’s vanishing wildlife. Nowadays,...
A sanctuary offering fun bush adventures and the smaller species of game
At the end of the Ezulwini Valley (‘Valley of Heaven’), 45-sq-km Mlilwane is Eswatini’s (formerly Swaziland) oldest protected area, founded by the Reilly family in 1961. The terrain is mainly grasslands and open floodplains stretching up to the striking granite peak of Nyonyane Mountain...
Flamingo heaven
The hordes of flamingos that once inhabited the shallow waters of Lake Nakuru NP left sometime ago for another nearby lake – Lake Bogoria. I was stunned by the sheer numbers of these beautiful creatures wading delicately in the shallows of the picturesque lake, itself dwarfed by some humongous...
Samburu: cattle versus wild animals
Samburu National Reserve is arid country, gnarled and broken trees, thorny acacia, roads crying out to be graded, a parched landscape crying out for rain. The reserve has a reputation for great wildlife watching. Unfortunately, while I was there, pastoralists from the local area had brought their...
A huge region that proves traditional pastoralists, commercial farmers and wildlife can all co-exist.
The Laikipia region stretches from the western flank of Mount Kenya into Kenya’s little-visited northern territory and has a landscape that includes open grassy plains, semi-desert acacia bush, high altitude plateaus and forested valleys. It isn’t a national park or reserve, but is divided into...
Pilanesberg: Busy & Beautiful
Pilanesberg is so easily reached that my first experience of the park was the antithesis of everything I love about the African wild – paved roads, traffic jams, and tour guides with loud microphones. The fact that there were rhinos, both black and white, in numbers, lions, elephants, and rumours...
Kruger: South Africa’s Most Prolific Park
Kruger belongs in the elite of African wildlife parks and experiences. At once a byword for abundance and hugely accessible, Kruger is a brilliant place for first-time safari-goers. The infrastructure of paved roads is classic South Africa, and there are numerous guided activities, and excellent...
Waterfalls and arid wilderness
Found in South Africa’s Northern Cape on the fringes of the Kalahari Desert, Augrabies Falls National Park is a starkly beautiful and desolate wilderness which centres around the impressive cataract that gives it its name. From the park’s main reception area, it’s an easy walk down to the...
Tsau //Khaeb: Forbidden Frontiers
This vast tract of sand-dune wilderness in Namibia’s south (formerly Sperrgebiet NP) is one of Southern Africa’s great unknowns. Closed for decades and under the control of secretive diamond-mining interests, the region is now a park, although a permit is still required. There are some real...
Waterberg: Wildlife & Walking
You wouldn’t come to Waterberg if you’re on your first safari with dreams of the Big Five. That’s because Waterberg is something of a niche experience, one that combines the chance to see some much-sought-after species (black and white rhino, as well as sable and roan antelope) with some of...
Worth a stop when road-tripping
Most people wouldn’t plan an itinerary around the Karoo National Park, but if you’re road-tripping from Johannesburg to Cape Town, the park makes for a magnificent way to break up the drive. You need a 4WD if you really want to explore, but there is a 45km gravel road that’s perfectly doable...
Small in size, big on heart
What it lacks in size, Moremi more than makes up for with its spectacular density and diversity of wildlife. Covering just under 5,000 square kilometres, the park hosts lion, cheetah, rhino, buffalo, elephant, wild dog and all manner of antelope as well as more than 500 bird species. We’d barely...
Joy and solitude
Shaba is perhaps best known as the park where Joy Adamson, of Born Free fame, met her demise at the hands of a disgruntled employee. The maverick conservationist, then working to reintroduce a hand-reared leopard, now gives her name to Joy’s Camp, an upmarket safari lodge. The park, which also...
A Neat Small Park Good for a Stopover on the Way to Primate Country
One of Uganda’s few savannah parks, Lake Mburo is easily accessible thanks to its central location off the main road that crosses between Kampala and the forested reserves and parks in the west. You can even reach it by public transport – combined with a boda-boda (motorbike), taxi or lodge...
Zebras and Cheetahs in the Karoo
This park in the deep Karoo, near the historic town of Cradock, is dedicated to conserving one of the world’s rarest mammals: the Cape mountain zebra. The 280 sq km park has over 1,000 of the diminutive, dark-striped zebras, having begun with a founder herd of just six. Other animals to look out...
Getting lost in Namibia’s wildest national park
Khaudum is certainly not for the faint-hearted. Most of the park’s “roads” are comprised of deep, soft sand and are tough going even for more seasoned 4x4 drivers, while the unfenced self-catering campsites have minimal amenities. Khaudum is also not an easy place to spot game, though...
A world of adventure and natural splendour
“The hooded vulture is a very good indicator of the near presence of predators,” My experienced bush-hiking guide told me as we observed several large birds descending into the thick brush ahead. We were in the beautiful game-rich South Luangwa National Park, on a multi-day on-foot camping...
Africa 101: Uganda's winning blend of nature, climate and people
When I moved to Uganda 15 years ago, the country seemed quite small. In my first year, I covered a lot of the country: I climbed Mount Elgon, I went on safari in Queen, I spent Easter on an island on Lake Bunyonyi, but was worried I would have quickly "done everything." Fast forward a few years and...
What You Lose in Wildlife You Gain (100 Times Over) in Culture
This was my first trip to Lesotho and, while I expected to like it, I didn’t expect to be so completely smitten. Even after almost a month on the road exploring most parts of this tiny country (which could fit into South Africa 40 times!) I still had a hankering to see more. For somebody who’s...
Kenya’s Ultimate Adventure
Let’s get some of the ‘boring’ factual stuff out the way first. Firstly, Lake Turkana per se isn’t a national park. However, there are three parks on or bordering the lake: these are Central Island National Park, South Island National Park and, on the northeastern shores of the lake, Siboli...
Walk with Giants
Hell’s Gate National Park is one of the more overlooked of Kenyan parks. On a standard two week safari it might, at best, be quickly tacked onto the end of a trip if time allows. This is a real shame because there are plenty of plains game (antelope, zebra, giraffe, buffalo, baboons and vervet...
Elephants and more elephants in Addo
Addo does exactly what it says on the tin: the park is absolutely teeming with elephants, more than 600 of them in total. But that’s not all that this sizeable national park has to offer: there are more than 400 buffalo, a growing rhino population and predators including leopard, lion and spotted...
Endless Vistas, Wildlife, Culture & Very Big Skies
Namibia is a land of grand vistas and big skies; a place where horizons seem farther away than in other countries because, in general, the scenery here is so uncluttered. With a surface area of around 825,000km2 and a human density of just three people per square kilometer, you’ll be hard-pressed...