Pulling back the flap on the African continent

The excitement of travelling in Africa has never dulled for me. There’s a frisson of excitement. It always feels electric. I always feel alive when I’m in Africa.

We are, of course, all the children of Africa. Our deepest human roots are on this vast and varied continent. This is where we developed, and from where we started our journey across this remarkable planet.

+ The physical landscape of Africa is the most stable on the planet, as this has been the most stationary continent. Part of Africa has always been on the equator.

+ The political landscape is ever-changing, and we are ever vigilant to watch and understand these shifts and repositioning. Rwanda is one of the safest countries in Africa. Botswana is certainly one of its most consistently stable. I still approach South Africa with caution.

+ The tourism landscape reflects both, and is ever-changing, too. On December 7, 2025, Qantas reinstates its direct flight from Perth to Johannesburg. QF65 will fly from Perth on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, with a flight time of about 11 hours, 15 minutes. For East Africa and North Africa, flying through the Middle East will remain a good, or better, option.

There has been strong international interest in travel to Africa in 2025. While there is still that surge of “post-pandemic travel”, it also fits the big desire to be in less-visited destinations, and the interest in cultural and sustainable tourism.

Wildlife and culture remain the big drawcards.

Wildlife on this continent, which covers more than 20 per cent of the earth’s land area, is there in volume in east and southern Africa.

The mix of cultures is equally intense on this complex continent. There are 55 members of the African Union. Those countries and their cultures are diverse, just like the nations of Europe.

Africa has life, vibrancy, celebration and challenge, and I’m glad to be back here.

COUNTRIES

For this Travel Guide, we are concentrating on the countries of southern Africa, East Africa and North Africa in which I have had the best experiences, and in which I have the most confidence …

Southern Africa Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, Tanzania, Kenya (Maasai Mara, not northern Kenya), Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe (mainly Victoria Falls area). Then South Africa (Cape Town region, Blue Train, Kruger National Park), Ethiopia, Malawi, Lesotho.

North Africa Morocco, Egypt (what I call the “main tourist corridor” from Cairo down the Nile to Luxor and Aswan).

BOTSWANA

There are big herds of elephants, and there has been a strong commitment to conservation. About 45 per cent of Botswana is protected conservation land.

+ Chobe National Park has a lot of elephants and is also good for lions, leopards and cheetahs.

+ The Okavango Delta covers 15,000sqkm and is an amazing habitat. Look for bush camps on concessions, as guides are able to move more freely in these areas.

The good months are from March onwards. There should be clear skies and greenery in March, April and May. June to August are peak season for safaris, but warmer. It heats up in September, October and November. Rains usually come from December.

ZAMBIA

I head first to South Luangwa National Park, home to the oxbow lagoons of the Luangwa River. This is one of the most intact major river systems on the African continent. The Zambian government puts an emphasis on local employment in tourism. The rainy season is mainly from December to late February. It is usually dry and heating up until the end of August.

NAMIBIA

The country offers intense experiences in culture and landscape. The Namib Desert is raw and colourful. San Bushmen and Himba people are used to visitors, and Living Culture Foundation Namibia (lcfn.info) lists “living museums” to visit. It is dry all year, but from the end of March to May are the best months. It is cooler from June to August.

ZIMBABWE

Most come for Victoria Falls, where the Zambezi River drops more than 100m, creating a mist that the locals call “mosi-oa-tunya” … “the smoke that thunders”. By late March to May, the rain season has usually cleared. By June or July, it can be really cool at night. August and September are good months, and wildlife starts to gather around water. Canoe on the Zambezi with the hippos.

KENYA

Nairobi is a brief stop on the way to the Maasai Mara, where wildebeest and zebra migrating north across the Serengeti arrive in September. Expect clear skies and a cool climate as so much of the country is high. Safari camps are, in my experience, well-appointed, without exception. Wildlife is abundant.

TANZANIA

The key spots are Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater and Mount Kilimanjaro. And of those, my favourite is Ngorongoro Crater — the world’s biggest intact volcanic caldera, with about 25,000 animals living in the crater. Because Tanzania is so big (1220km from north to south and almost the same across), climate varies. The dry season is from June to October. June and July are good for the wildebeest migration, as the herds start to move north across the Serengeti. Rain usually comes in November and December.

SOUTH AFRICA

The icons are Kruger National Park and the Cape Region.

+ Kruger National Park has many more than 1000 lions, 1000 leopards, 100 cheetahs and at least 13,500 elephants. The best months for wildlife are from May to September, in the dry season.

+ There are day trips from Cape Town to Stellenbosch and Franschhoek winemaking regions and the Western Cape is on the end of the Garden Route along the south coast. The Cape is dry and sunny from November to March, while neighbouring regions might still be in wet season.

RWANDA

The jungles of Volcanoes National Park is the home to mountain gorillas, and just 80 people a day are allowed to trek in to spend an hour with one of 10 gorilla families. It is $US1500 ($2306) per person for a permit and part of that goes straight to the area’s communities, supporting gorilla conservation. Tourists can trek to mountain gorillas all year, but June to September and then December to February are the most popular times.

UGANDA

There are also mountain gorillas on the other side of the mountains, and in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The Uganda Wildlife Authority permit to trek to gorilla families is $US800 ($1230). Chimpanzee tracking is also popular, particularly in Kibale Forest. The best wildlife viewing is from June to August, then December to February. June to September is good for gorilla trekking.

ETHIOPIA

This year has seen tensions rising again in the north, and towns like Lalibela, with its rock-hewn churches, bear the scars of conflict. But I can’t write an Africa Guide without mentioning Ethiopia. It is a fascinating country to visit, with early roots of Christianity and remains one of the earliest known hominids. On July 3, 2025, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that Ethiopia had received the highest number of foreign tourist arrivals in its history — but 1.3 million were at more than 150 international conferences. Around 1.5 million people visited Addis Ababa landmarks like Unity Park, the Science Museum, Friendship Park and the National Palace in the last year.

MALAWI

Lake Malawi is the drawcard, with lodges in Lake Malawi National Park. Head to Majete Wildlife Reserve.

MOROCCO

The medinas of Marrakesh and Fez are intriguing labyrinths that draw visitors. The High Atlas Mountains and desert regions then entice them out of the cities. Morocco has contrast and intrigue. There are lots of tours in Morocco, and in Marrakesh, where they may stay in riads like Villa Makassar, Dar Al Assad and La Sultana. Short trips take guests to the Saharan Morocco, and there are overnight camps. Good seasons to aim for are spring, between mid March and May, and autumn, from September to October. Summer can be very hot, and winter surprisingly cold.

EGYPT

Egypt has been high on travellers’ lists, combining time in Cairo with what I call the “safe main visitor corridor” down the River Nile to Valley of the Kings, Luxor’s temples and tombs, and Giza’s pyramids. The biggest, Pyramid of Khufu, is 138m and was built about 4500 years ago. The Grand Egyptian Museum is open in Cairo, after a decade of planning and building. Peak season is in December and January but it is also good between October and April, when visitors can avoid the busiest times.

TWO AFRICAN EXPERIENCES

A DAY IN THE DELTA

I lie on my back in a huge bed in a safari tent at Machaba Bush Camp, in the Okavango Delta in Botswana, as a hippo honks in the river, a lion coughs, and an elephant shovels up green fodder, not far from my tent. The African night pulsates around me.

It’s after 11.10pm, and I am exhausted after a spectacular day, which began at a bend in a river, watching six lions from a pride of 11. Two were lying on fallen trees, lit by early light. Others tumbled in the grass. It ended with us driving back to camp in the dark, and a leopard lying in the middle of the barely discernible track, facing us. We stop and the leopard, lit by the vehicle’s headlight, walked elegantly past, just three metres from us suddenly and rather weirdly, turning red as it was illuminated by the vehicle’s stop lights.

FIREHOSED AT THE FALLS

With water falling hard from above, I cross the Knife Edge Bridge at Victoria Falls and turn to see my wife Virginia stand behind me, in the middle of an almost-complete, circular rainbow. It arcs around her. On this bridge, visitors walk alongside the world’s biggest sheet of falling water, feeling the natural forces of the planet. I snap with my phone camera and tuck it away in my waterproof waist bag just before a huge dump of “downward mist” pounds me. Victoria Falls is 108m high and 1708m wide and the Zambezi River pours over it at probably 500 million litres of water a minute. That’s 200 Olympic-sized swimming pools. A minute. And, yes, all this is worth seeing from “both sides” — Zambia and Zimbabwe.

+ In Zambia, I have been staying at The Royal Livingstone Hotel, in Livingstone, right on the banks of the river. There is an entry gate to the falls, with room keys giving free access. I watch a giraffe in the garden, drinking water from one of the first-floor gutters. Three zebras graze on the lawn.

+ In Zimbabwe, I stay at The Elephant Camp, with the Zambezi roaring in the distance as birds sing their dawn chorus in the mahogany and mopane trees. The Elephant Camp is an extraordinary place for its atmosphere, spirit and the local people who live and work here. My friend Presha Ncube, a guide at The Elephant Camp, tells me: “It is our motto to see the best in things. To be happy.”

PICTURE GALLERY