Piquing Your Interests

Piquing Your Interests

Whilst safari and game viewing might grab all the headlines for those planning to visit Africa, the continent is also able to accommodate those with a whole host of special interests.

Birdwatching

With over one third of the world’s species, Africa is a superb birdwatching destination. Standout spots include Uganda & Kenya, both of which have birding lists of over 1000 species, but keen twitchers should also consider flying south to Zimbabwe, Zambia or Namibia.

Food & Wine

If food and wine is your draw, then head to South Africa’s Western Cape where innovative chefs, exciting dining and some of the world’s finest and most picturesque wine estates are all located. Private wine-tastings with the vintners themselves and classes with Cape Malay cooks can also be arranged.

Golf

Golfers are well catered for, with the courses of Mauritius and South Africa leading the way. Africa Travel are able to secure tee-off times on some wildly different courses – think the Big Five on the fairway, and grapevines by the greens – all at a fraction of the cost back home. The intrepid can also up their game on stunning courses in destinations such as Zimbabwe, Kenya & the Seychelles.

Horticulture

Fans of all things floral should time their visit to the Cape to coincide with the remarkable wildflower season. The team at Africa Travel have years of experience creating wonderful bespoke itineraries featuring the region’s most magnificent gardens, and we regularly make use of some of South Africa’s foremost horticultural and botanical guides.

Photography

Happy snappers are welcomed in Africa, with all of the major destinations offering specialist photographic safaris and guides, with some lodges going even further. Botswana’s Zarafa Camp, for example, even provide guests with the complimentary use of a professional camera body and lens kit, downloading their resulting photos onto a memory stick for them to take home.

Wellness

These days any half-decent hotel or safari lodge has a spa offering massages and beauty treatments, but serious spa-goers should be aiming for South Africa’s famed wine region where both the Sante Wellness Retreat & Spa and Sterrekopje Healing Farm offer world class wellness. Our colleagues at Healing Holidays are the go-to experts for all things spa.

History

History-lovers, both ancient and modern, can learn some spectacular lessons in Africa. Remains of the first humans to walk the planet were discovered in the Serengeti at the Olduvai Gorge, whilst the Cradle of Humankind is an important World Heritage Paleoanthropological Site close to Johannesburg. War historians will be blown away by the Boer & Zulu Battlefields of KwaZulu Natal, and more up-to-date events can be remembered at Rwanda’s Genocide Memorial in Kigali, and on Robben Island, the prison home for many years of Nelson Mandela.

Sports

Lastly, sports fans should have South Africa on their radars, where Africa Travel are able to arrange tickets for the many events which the country hosts. The Cape Argus Cycle Tour is one of the world’s most challenging cycle races open to the public, whilst Formula E has found a new home in Cape Town. The city is also an annual host of the Rugby World Cup Sevens, and when England’s cricketers coming calling, we are always able to secure the very best hospitality.