Latest Africa Headlines

If you’d ever wondered what Sankar Chatterjee got up to on his daytrip into Africa from nearby Spain, fear not: he tells you here. Photos by Shelley Chatterjee.

A safari is not just for specialists. Charles Goodwin says they’re an appropriate celebration of any occasion, and can operate on a range of budgets. He shares some tips about planning the perfect African journey.

The main road through Zaire nearly proves much for the overlanding duo of Peter Peeters and Claire van Velsen. Then a truck arrives. The driver finds problems aplenty – but solves them all.

When Peter Peeters and Claire van Helsen drive their Landrover into a swamp in upcountry Zaire they merely think they’re stuck. They don’t discover the danger of their situation until the following day, when they’re lucky to have lived to tell their tale.

Few visitors make it to Ethiopia – and fewer still stray from the standard tourist routes. But Malee Oot has birds on her mind as she rents a Landrover to tour the Rift Valley lakes.

From a snug vantage-point in amiable Malawi, seasoned traveller Philip Perry runs over some dos and don’ts for visitors to sub-Saharan Africa. Don’t be put off, he says: the experience is unforgettable.

In Africa’s Luangwa Valley, George Bell reports on an eventful few days on a Zambian walking safari.

A trek in Ethiopia’s Simien Mountains takes Malee Oot to the top of the world – and a little-known region of remotest Africa.

The end of summer is citybreak time. Paul Woollacombe reviews four traditional favourites for the European market.

There’s plenty of bad news coming out of Africa, but Paul Woollacombe says there are many parts of the continent that remain perfectly safe, and outlines three great travel options.

South Africa’s first-world infrastructure opens up a whole range of options to see African wildlife at its best, says Paul Woolllacombe.

James Sinclair hires a 4×4 in Marrakech and crosses the Atlas to meet Saharan sands. Where, appropriately, he swaps his car for a camel.

A trip to Kenya’s Hell’s Gate National Park starts off smoothly for Amy Shaw. But then some monkeys take a liking to her lunch.

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.