Archive | Africa RSS feed for this archive

Where to travel in Africa

The dunes at Dead Vlei in the Namib Desert, Namibia

The Thunderous Roar of Deafening Silence — Sounds From the World’s Oldest Desert

I hadn’t heard such a silence as far back as I could remember, so thunderous that the pressure of it weighed upon my ears with the same tonnage as I imagine a scuba diver must feel diving at the bottom of a deep dark sea. It hurt my head. Three of us sat alone in […]

Continue Reading
Hadza warriors of East Africa

A Tale of Three Tribes: the Maasai, the Hadza Warriors and the Totoga “Tree People” of East Africa

As a child, I favored field trips to lesson plans. As a high school graduate, instead of heading off to a dorm room, I put it all in a bag and moved to a city where I could explore anonymously. I worked hard through my twenties as a digital nomad and beyond that function, traveled […]

Continue Reading

Soweto, South Africa & Forward Acts of Peace

Sometimes, you accidentally hire a guide who turns out to be the best guide that you could possibly hire — the one with the inside scoop. He or she knows exactly where on the back roads to take you, and whom to take you to, as well. We hired that guide at midnight the night before our outing […]

Continue Reading
Desert elephant on the horizon at sunset in Namibia

Better than 10 Birthdays: African Safari

One day on safari is better than 10 birthdays anywhere else. Imagine, instead of waking to an alarm clock being greeted by a ‘safari massage’ — the rumbling of bumpy roads untamed, even by the best ATV shock-absorbers. Imagine that instead of splashing cold water on your face in your own bathroom, your face being cleansed by […]

Continue Reading
Giraffe against sunset in Namibia

11 Reasons Why Namibia is One of Africa’s Most Awesome Countries

There was good reason that the 2013 Adventure Travel World Summit was held in Namibia this year — it is a prime off-beat destination for desert adventure travel and sport. But this African jewel is emerging as a progressive leader in many other areas as well, under larger umbrellas, balancing tourism opportunities, conservation efforts and community development.  I loved […]

Continue Reading
Isolation cells at Johannesburg's Constitution Hill in South Africa.

Johannesburg, South Africa: Making the Most of a Bogus Mistake

I fell asleep and missed my overnight flight to America… Off to the airport hotel I went for eight hours of sleep and eight hours to kill the next day before my flight. Not wanting to make the mistake twice, I dialed the eight hours to kill back to three to allow myself plenty of […]

Continue Reading

Tanzania’s Colorful Maasai — Image Gallery

We passed through the Serengeti plains into the Maasai camps of northern Tanzania to meet Ole Durup — an elder with four wives, hoards of kids, and one very active cell phone. Always working, Durup brings money into the camps giving families currency to buy goats and cattle for milk (but not for meat)—stock that is vital […]

Continue Reading
Hadza Bushmen in Tanzania (Image credit: Stefanie Payne)

Hadzabe Bushmen of Tanzania — Image Gallery

Continue Reading
Beautiful beaches in Cape Town, South Africa

What to do in Cape Town, South Africa, in Three Days

Cape Town is chic and exciting, historic, sophisticated and endearing. There is plenty to do to keep you occupied for weeks or forever, but if you only have three days—here’s what to check out: Points of Interest Table Top Mountain.  To outsiders, it is just a hill, but to Capetonians it is a sacred mountain.  This […]

Continue Reading