Travel Africa Edition 108, May-July 2025

An apt theme emerged as this issue’s stories started coming together. It is always fun when one develops organically — perhaps an indication of a subconscious feeling shared by our writers, who usually have a pretty accurate sense of the mood of their fellow travellers. Most articles in these pages speak of making some sort of connection. The most prominent example is the exploration of Sir David Attenborough’s enduring relationship with Africa. I’m sure most of us will have been inspired by the great broadcaster’s fascination with the natural world — certainly his work resonated with us when we were thinking about how we could create a magazine that you might relate to. When Mike Unwin enjoys a rare chimp sighting in Uganda, he finds himself dwelling on our deeper…

“So many images today are over-saturated, over-processed and even AI-generated. A ‘less is more’ approach is often far more effective,” said Chris Coe, founder of Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY), speaking after judging the latest TPOTY competition. “It is therefore refreshing to judge images that demonstrate good camera craft and in-camera creativity. This year’s overall winner’s images are a good example. They were made with a camera converted to infrared (IR) — a technique that is not as straightforward as it sounds. The detail and atmosphere captured is both eye-catching and highly engaging.” American-born Piper Mackay — the overall winner of TPOTY 2024, whose images included exquisite portraits of African women and atmospheric shots of giraffe in the Maasai Mara — lives in Kenya and has been exploring the…

The shoebill is a ‘bucket list’ tick for ornithologists, but also an iconic bird for any safari enthusiast. Standing 1.5m tall with a 2.5m wingspan, its impressive stature and prehistoric look make sighting one a worthy quest. Their relative rarity (with a population of just 5000 over a huge range across central Africa) and preference for inaccessible habitats of marshland and lakeshore fringes, make it a challenge to see one — especially close enough for a decent photo opportunity. Much of their range is not a realistic option for most tourists: South Sudan, south-west Ethiopia, southern DRC and western Tanzania. More practical opportunities are Akagera National Park in Rwanda, Bangweulu Wetlands in Zambia and various sites in Uganda - most notably Mabamba Swamp on the northern shore of Lake Victoria,…

Oh, the Seychelles, off the coast, 1000 miles from the mainland, with amazing coconuts, brilliant white sandy beaches and tropical fish that look like they come out of a cartoon. The Seychelles is my favourite. Then there is Kenya. The cats of the Mara, a mountain so very high, capped in snow and ice and rocky crags. Zebras with pinstripes or broad brushstrokes of black on white. Maasai, Samburu, Borana… so many friendly faces and welcoming arms! Kenya is my favourite. And what of Tanzania? Oh yes, the Serengeti with a blue sky that stretches to heaven. The remoteness of the great Ruaha. The vast wilderness of the Selous. And one of the deepest lakes on the planet. A coastal paradise awaits. Okay, so Tanzania is my favourite. Rwanda? A…

In the late ‘80s I arrived for the first time in the Maasai Mara. Nonsensically, despite its contiguousness with the Serengeti, it did not have the cachet of its Tanzanian cousin, but it bewitched me from the first moment. I like Norfolk and Namibia, I like open spaces — so those acacia-studded plains were a wilderness nirvana. Way before phones, social media and digital cameras, my medians were Fujichrome and a borrowed pair of Leicas. Those first impressions, captured through ancient optics, were seared on my mind indelibly. In March 2000 my friend and colleague Greg Monson called me in London: “Paul, you remember that small, simple camp we visited in September in the northern Maasai Mara? It’s up for sale. Got any money?” That day would change both of…

Baked by a fierce Namibian sun, thick braids woven with goat hair and ochre paste cascaded from the lithe matriarch’s sculpted shoulders. In Himba culture, a woman’s hair is her power, a means of communicating social status. But as tourists armed with iPhones clustered around the living spectacle like sightseers at a major attraction, any majesty was swallowed by the surrounding sands. “Get your cameras ready,” our guide had instructed us, as we set off for a cultural village visit in Damaraland. Interacting with Himba communities is a highlight of a trip to Namibia. One of the continent’s last truly semi-nomadic ethnic groups, their way of life — so wildly different to our own — understandably sparks curiosity. Africa, after all, is about much more than a lion’s roar. But…