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Quad bike across African plains

Botswana is so well known for the Okavango Delta that its other astonishing landscapes are often overlooked. See another side of the country on a trip to the otherworldly Makgadikgadi Salt Pan. Start your expedition in ultra luxury at Jack’s Camp, then don your desert boots, swing onto the seat of a quad bike and zoom off towards Kubu Island, 120 kilometres away.

Discover a unique landscape of dry granite rock, visit the end of the Great Rift Valley, a 120-metre escarpment formed by parting tectonic plates, and find semi-precious stones hiding among water-worn pebbles at the extinct mouth of the Zambezi River. At night you’ll sleep under a star-studded sky but that’s not to say you’ll bid opulence goodbye. A roaming drinks cabinet comes with you too, and meals are served atop damask table linen with bone-handled silver and fancy glassware.

Witness the Serengeti’s Great Migration

Photographing Africa’s abundant wildlife doesn’t get much better than when witnessing the Great Migration. Guided by an expert photographer and naturalist, this safari heads to the secluded Namiri Plains, which is open to visitors for the first time in 20 years. Camp among towering acacia trees on the savanna and learn from local zoologists and researchers about the big cats that roam here. Upon reaching the southern Serengeti plains to view the big event, take full advantage of the open-topped 4WD and capture up-close shots as wildebeests and zebra numbering more than a million strong – and predatory lions, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, jackets and vultures stalking them – make their journey en masse. This wildlife encounter is one you’ll talk about for years to come.

Disconnect in this African lodge

Stop, sit and breathe. Notice how quiet it is? That’s because the nearest lodge is a hundred kilometres away and the desert, pocked with prehistoric rock formations, flows past the Brandberg Massif – Namibia’s highest mountain – and out to meet the horizon. There’s no wi-fi, phone reception or worries at Sorris Sorris. Perfect. Nine bright and luxurious suites – think walls of stone and rammed earth, pale wood interiors and creative lighting – sit among a dramatic pile of balanced granite boulders. A lounge rises above the rocks and the pool offers respite from the heat. Desert-adapted elephants romp in the dusty bed of the Ugab River system nearby, and you’ll have the chance to watch them search for underground water – if you’ve managed to tear yourself away from the resort, that is.

Domed suite living in the wilderness

Listen carefully when you’ve settled on the deck outside your domed suite. What you hear is the sound of nature. That’s the attraction of Naries Namakwa, located on 600 hectares almost 30 kilometres outside the town of Springbok. When you’ve toured Cape Town and safari’d to your heart’s content, it’s the perfect spot to reconnect with yourself and the wilderness.

There’s a restored farmhouse and cottages, as well as three mountain suites created from rock and thatch and wedged between boulders. You can go hiking, loll about the pool or head out to explore the area. Namaqualand is a barren landscape on South Africa’s west coast, best known for copper mining and the spectacular profusion of wildflowers that blankets the red earth after the winter rains between August and October. It’s a sight you’ll never forget.

Beachside stroll with elephants

In 2002, Gabon’s superbly monikered president Omar Bongo Ondimba set aside 10 per cent of the country as natural reserves. One of them was Loango National Park – 1550 square kilometres of savanna, forest, lagoon, mangroves and pristine beach, and one of the true gems of Africa’s west coast. But what really makes this beach one of the most distinctive on earth is its four-legged residents.

Elephants and buffaloes stroll along the shoreline and hippos take to the surf like grommits on thrusters. It’s not the easiest place in the world to get to – most people organise accommodation and transfers through a specialty operator – but it’s certainly one for the bucket list.

The Sands at Chale Island

There is an islet in Kenya so private and romantic that even Cupid couldn’t have dreamed of it. The Suite on the Rocks, a thatch-roof natural beauty exuding tranquility, is connected to the Sands at Chale Island resort by a stone bridge.

The centre of the room will have you lost for words. There’s a walled garden beneath an open roof that lets rain trickle in to create an atmosphere resembling that of an indoor rainforest. Spend your days watching fishermen in dhows sailing by as you sprawl on the sun terrace. Then, as the evening arrives, pop the champagne and immerse into your hot tub on the cliff face.

The Skeleton’s Solitude

It may be one of the most uninhabitable places on the planet. Following the publication of John Henry Marsh’s 1944 book on the shipwreck of the Dunedin Star, it’s been called the Skeleton Coast, but the Bushmen of Namibia refer to this part of the world as the land God made in anger.

Moody, isolated and strangely beautiful, the 500-kilometre-long Skeleton Coast National Park stretches along the Atlantic Coast from Kunene River in the north to the Ugab River in the south, showcasing plains, mountains and shifting dunes.

Explore this remote coast on a nine-day 4WD excursion with Karibu Safaris. Departing Windhoek, you’ll walk to hidden waterfalls, go wild camping on beaches, visit wrecks and old mines, and keep eyes peeled for desert elephants, herds of oryx and springboks, brown hyenas, black rhinos, fur seals and rare desert lions.

Cape Verde

Cape Verde isn’t your average island nation. Located in the Atlantic Ocean, it spans an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands off the coast of West Africa that has an amazing array of landscapes, shaped by winds off the sea and less rainfall than you’d typically expect. If you’re thinking tropical palm-fringed beaches, you will definitely be surprised.

The capital of Praia is on Santiago, the largest of the islands, fringed by beaches, sheltered harbours and resorts. The main town of Mindelo on the island of São Vicente is the nightlife capital, teeming with bars and nightclubs that heave with crowds every night of the week. If you look for it you’ll be able to find musicians playing some of the styles of music, like morna, that are unique to the islands. In August each year, the town of Baía das Gatas hosts a music festival that attracts local artists and musicians from around the world.

Santo Antão, with its sharp peaks and picturesque panoramas, is one for those seeking green valleys and opportunities to spot some of the endemic and migrating species of birds. This is the place to hike the day away. On the other end of the spectrum is Sal, with its lunar-like landscape and the lively beach town of Santa Maria

What you’re most likely to take away from a visit here, however, is the nation’s love affair with music. DNA from the various styles that have been brought here – fado from Portugal, bossa nova and samba from Brazil, merengue from the Caribbean, African drumming – have morphed to become the islands’ own while still providing a link to the old country. You’ll hear it everywhere you go, from a party on the street to a family gathering, and it will stay with you long after you leave.

Zambia

Basically, Zambia consists of two huge river basins: the Zambezi/Kafue, which covers about 75 per cent of the country, and the Congo in the north that covers the rest. It means this landlocked nation is a tapestry of thriving ecosystems, from grasslands to tropical forest. Despite all this, it’s not exactly a tourism hotspot and getting around can be something of a challenge. It’s worth taking though, because pockets of the country are home to some of the most amazing wildlife reserves anywhere in Africa.

Most visitors to Zambia will, at some point, head to Victoria Falls, where the Zambezi River thunders over a 100-metre drop. There’s a footbridge where you can walk to its edge, and plenty of blood-pumping activities – from bungee to white-water rafting – for the adventurer. Some of the hotels also run trips to Livingstone Island, where, at certain times of the year, people can swim in Devil’s Pool at the edge of the falls. The small Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park follows the river below the falls and is home to Angolan giraffes, hippopotamus, introduced rhinos, buffalo, zebra and other wildlife.

One of the best national parks in Africa is South Luangwa. There are a few lodges and camps, making it one of the most tourist-friendly spots, even if it is quite the trek to get there. High season sees an increase in the number of visitors, although it’s never nearly as crowded as the parks in South Africa. Those keen to spot herds of elephants, leopards and big birds, like ground hornbills, will want to hang around.

You’ll need to have your own 4WD for a trip into Zambia’s north, but it really is like another world – untamed, vast and virtually free of outsiders. It wasn’t always that way. The Nsumbu National Park on Lake Tanganyika was once one of the most popular parks in Africa and a haven for South Africa’s jetset, but was abandoned when lack of management meant poachers decimated the animal population and cutbacks to the national airline made it hard to access. Wildlife numbers are on the rise again, and the rugged landscape, including about a hundred kilometres of lake shore, make it a dream destination. Take a boat ride into the Kampasa rainforest, walk to waterfalls or do safaris by foot to see elephants, hippos, crocs, warthogs, zebras and antelope, as well as some amazing waterbird activity.

Tunisia

Tunisia is more than just a beautiful sand-fringed Mediterranean coastline boasting year-long sunshine and beaches that seemingly have no end. This small but full-of-life nation in Northern Africa boasts history and natural beauty like no other.

The capital of Tunis shows off the country’s heritage in its modern city, created during French rule, and World Heritage-listed, eighth century medina.

Head north for the deepest of green forests, Ichkeul Lake dotted with bright pink flamingos, and endless views of vibrant citrus and olive plantations on the way to Cape Angela, the northernmost point of Africa. Down south is the eastern end of the incredible Atlas Mountains, as well as the northern reaches of the mind-boggling Sahara, which stretches deep into Africa.

So go beyond the perfect sea-sand-surf ideals of the Mediterranean coast and explore the vast cultural landscapes, fresh cuisine and incredibly welcoming people for a taste of Africa like no other.

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region: Africa