Latest Africa Headlines

Nothing is wasted in East Africa. But at Nairobi’s Masai Market Amy Shaw finds recycling taken to new artistic levels by an inspired Kenyan jeweller working with cutlery.

Davison Matanga heads to Hout Bay in search of whales. What he finds instead are the finest fish and chips in Africa. Delicious, but so delicious they bring his explorations of the Western Cape to a sudden halt.

It’s not necessary to book an expensive safari to see Africa’s iconic ‘King of the Animals’. On a slow day in South Africa’s greatest city Davison Matanga drives over to Johannesburg’s Lion Park.

David Jenkins doesn’t find any wildlife on his safari south of Maputo. But he does find great beaches, fantastic people and a fascinating history.

Chinguetti is Mauritania’s number one tourist attraction, an ancient city that thrived in the era of caravanserais. David Jenkins, however, finds he’s the only tourist in a rising sea of sand.

Jemilla Russell-Clough finds Durban a challenging, exciting place. Even when she heads out of town in a borrowed bucky (think ute, pickup)and then, in a remote part of rural KwaZulu-Natal, find it leaks petrol faster than she can fill it.

David Jenkins tries – and fails – to find excitement in Mauritania’s sandy capital. Too late now to tell him that had he asked a taxi driver to take him to a ‘Zaire Consulate’ alcohol could have been found.

Southwest Africa’s wildlife has enough problems. The place is a desert and rain rarely falls. But David Marcus finds a new rash of hunting permits poses a new and deadly threat.

Donal Conlon takes a break from his work in Mozambique to hitch a lift down a Madagascan river. A local boat proceeds at a very local pace.

A lot of travellers go to Casablanca by mistake. They’ve seen the movie and are surprised to find it’s a modern city with little period charm. Eric Whitehead takes things further. He’s surprised it’s full of Arabs.

Most visitors to the Seychelles stay on the two largest islands, Mahé and Praslin. David Jenkins, on the other hand, slips back a gear on the tiny sleepy third island, of La Digue.

On his bike through the DRC, Charlie Walker drops in to an emotional church service in Lubumbashi. Religious ecstasy rules but the ministers carefully shepherd their payment.

There were never many tourists in West Africa – and since Ebola there are almost none. Scott Masson, however, is little deterred and says the chances of catching the killer virus are, for most travellers, low.

Charlie Walker finds his cycle through the Democratic Republic of the Congo sometimes helped – but often hindered – by the rarity of foreigners in one of the world’s most troubled states.

Tom Allen escapes his military escort in Yemen’s southern deserts but soon meets a group of refugees, fresh from a boat from Somalia. And when they ask for his help he has little to offer.

Tom Allen is woefully unprepared for his cycle ride out of Aden, passing as it does some of the world’s most dangerous insurgent areas. So when the army comes to his help it seems natural to accept a lift.

Round-the-world cyclist Tom Allen finds shelter for the night in a lonely outpost just north of Cairo. With time on his hands he reflects on his life on the road.

Mauritius is the poster child of the holiday industry. But Michelle Thew points out that this Indian Ocean paradise is also at the heart of the research monkey trade.

Kelly West was born in Zimbabwe but moved, at 16, to Australia. A return to her homeland proves a joyous – but also troubling – experience.

Dakar is Senegal’s capital and a very scary place. When David Jenkins’ trousers are torn from his legs he realises that, until then, he hasn’t really understood what it meant to be ‘ripped off’.

The grueling Marathon des Sables crosses 150 miles of the Sahara desert, a run few of us would survive. Mark Roe’s vivid account of a day on the piste let’s us taste the sand, heat and effort, all without leaving home.

With an almost reckless abandon, Tom Allen entrusts his cherished bicycle, with all its rtw equipment, to a penniless harbour tout in a dodgy port in East Africa – and finds it’s all kept safe.

On his endless round-the-world cycle marathon Charlie Walker passes through Namibia. There’s plenty of wildlife but also the peace of his surroundings.

On safari in Africa David Marcus is brought face-to-face with an elephant in must. It’s a situation fraught with danger but his driver’s calm reaction saves the day.

Spielberg and Dan Brown have built thrillers on the search for Christianity’s greatest relic. But Benjamin Mack finds the Ark of the Covenant easily, in a university museum in Zimbabwe’s rundown capital. Sad to report, however, it doesn’t really change his life.

Amhara might be one of the world’s most spectacular landscapes, but long-distance cyclist Tom Allan finds his journey plagued by children – who aren’t at all easy to ignore.

The road south of Kasane isn’t just bad: it’s like a badly-made cake. David Fletcher’s Brian makes heavy weather of Botstwana’s very poor driving surface, but then arrives at Planet Baobab – which serves beer.

On his cycle-ride down Sudan Tom Allen steps well off the beaten trail when he crosses the Nile. According to the map – and most of the people he asks – there’s nothing there.

A 60-mile stretch of road was closed to all traffic, except for army convoys that sped through once a day, bristling with guns. But Charlie Walker, on his bicycle, is just waved through. Gulp.

Andy McGinlay has an eventful journey heading south down Africa, crashing into dunes in Egypt and finding the last train left for Karthoum two years before. But in the small town of Karima he finds peace amongst ancient Kushite pyramids.

Travelling along the arrow-straight roads of Namibia’s teutonic planners, David Fletcher reflects on the history that gave birth to such a strangely-shaped country.

Sudan is a country best known for conflict and death. But when round-the-world cyclist Tom Allen finds his health fails on a long pedal south he finds peace and tranquility amongst the kindness of strangers.

The highlands of East Africa contain the world’s greatest concentration of game, roaming unchecked in a spectacular wilderness. Paul Woollacombe has some tips for making the most of your journey.

Charlie Walker’s epic cycle ride runs into soft sand (of the beachy kind) on the shores of Lake Malawi. An overdue chance for some R & R.

Kenya’s Masai Mara puts on it’s usual day of wildlife drama for Pippa Strong, treating her to a pretty gruesome murder scene before sending her back to school for an insight into everyday life for the locals.

As South Africa loses its fight against poachers, a leading conservation charity has relocated six rhino to much safer Botswana. Les Carlisle recounts how the new arrivals brusquely shunned their welcoming committee.

By car, Tanzania’s best know for serious, random speed bumps spread along the tarmac. On a bicycle Charlie Walker has a different set of problems – mainly ants and tsetse flies – as as he powers his way down East Africa along a long stretch of mud.

The Africa presented on safari, to clients tiered on the open backs of converted Landrovers, is very different to today’s reality and the historic truth. Shirley Brooks examines the romanticisation of a landscape.