Blogs

Phil Clisby is drawn into Malawi’s football culture... I have a T-shirt from the 2010 World Cup, held in South Africa, that states: “Football is life”. For many people around the world this is certainly the case – and...

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Phil Clisby breaks new ground. There’s something about travel that encourages me to try new activities – the sort I’d never contemplate having a crack at stuck at home. Having exhausted snorkelling and kayaking and...

In this new series of 12 conversations in Malawi, Phil Clisby meets an Ethiopian on his flight to Lilongwe and discusses business (and the weather) As I buckle in for the flight that will take me from Addis Ababa...

Some people find it strange that I love my hometown of Windhoek so much. They say it is dry and drab, but I see it completely differently. It sits at 1700 metres above sea level (12th highest capital in...

I like contrasts. In nature, in photography and in my life in general. One of the most extreme examples in my home country of Namibia is Walvis Bay, where you have the contrast between the dry Namib Desert just outside...

Graham Boynton reports on the rise of experiential travel There was a time when the word ‘holiday’ meant we travelled to a foreign place, usually somewhere hot and sunny, and did not do very much at all. The accent...

When it comes to the bigger picture, Africa is just a small player in global tourism. But why is this, and what can be done to change it, asks Graham Boynton How well is African tourism performing in this age...

Recently, I remarked with some consternation: "35% increase, you must be joking!" Never before had the industry seen such a horrific increase in the cost of staying at safari lodges in one year, especially as it seemed to be...

I am fortunate to have been able to visit all the big game parks in Africa, but Etosha is still my favourite. My first memory of being in the bush was from this great place and most of my...

Safari for Real guide and author Lex Hes reflects on the changing nature of guiding I’ve now been in the African safari tourism industry for over 40 years and, with Travel Africa celebrating 20 years of publication this year...

The Okavango is one of the world’s largest deltas and often referred to as “the river that never finds the sea”. It is a peaceful and isolated oasis set in Botswana’s harsh Kalahari Desert. A visit to Botswana, without...

Zoos are not a 19th-century phenomenon. As far back as 3500 BC, the rulers of the Egyptian capital Hierakonpolis kept hippo, elephant and wildcats. By 1070, William the Conqueror was keeping lion at Woodstock Manor in Oxfordshire. London Zoo...

Most people picture the dry desolate desert when they think of Namibia. However, though it is quite an arid country, there is much more to it than the Namib desert. In much the same way, first time birders to...

At the 2018 We Are Africa Conservation Lab, some of the world’s top environmentalists, tour operators and journalists came together to find solutions for some of nature’s biggest challenges. Graham Boynton reports Does wildlife tourism have a significant role...

Safari for Real guide and author Lex Hes admires how nature copes with extreme climate shifts. For me, one of the real joys of working as a safari guide is the opportunity to observe nature at work. It is...

  2017 has been declared the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations. Graham Boynton reports on what this means for Africa Google ‘Sustainable Tourism Africa’ and you come up with 5,220,000 results. It’s big news...

Your questions answered by those who really know FAMILY I have young children and need to travel in the school holidays. Is there anywhere that you would recommend for around Easter time? Wouter Vergeer, SafariBookings South Africa is an...

There are many airports in the world that make you queue for your flight in great discomfort, but Graham Boynton finds South Africa’s OR Tambo International Airport particularly suffocating I recently spent so much time in the immigration hall...

Reflections on life on safari, from Safari for Real guide and author Lex Hes (Image copyright Lex Hes) For me, one of the best things about going off into the wilderness is the sense of peace and quiet that...

There was a time when investors in tourism wouldn’t touch South Africa with a bargepole. But now you can’t keep them out, says Graham Boynton Two major international investors in South Africa are the Indian healthcare billionaire Analjit Singh and...