5/14/2008 at 3:15 PM
Tags: Summer-Vacations-With-An-Edge, Africa Travel, Active Travel, Adventure Travel (all tags)
We're all about supporting the underdog. In tourism terms these days, that'd be Kenya. But last week European travel agencies publicly endorsed the recently troubled country as a recommended and safe summer safari destination. Sweet!
This summer we're backing an awesome Kenyan adventure from UK-based Exodus Holidays called the Classic Kenya Safari and Kili Climb. A word to the weary: It's not your grandmother's safari.
The 14-day excursion takes you from Nairobi to stunning Lake Nakuru National Park, then on to the Masai Mara Reserve where big time animal migrations start in July. After sleeping in a bush camp and comparing battle stories with local Masai warriors, it's off to Tanzania where it's man versus mountain. You'll spend the next six days climbing Kilimanjaro's Rongai Route until reaching the summit where you'll do that tribal victory dance your Masai friends taught you.
The safari departs from Nairobi on Aug 10 and costs £1,399 ($2,717), not including flight.
Related Stories:
· Exodus Holidays [Official Site]
· Summer Vacations with An Edge [Jaunted]
· Africa Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Steve Taylor]
by CourtScott
1/10/2008 at 9:05 AM
Tags: Chocolate, Green Travel, Africa Travel (all tags)
Our parents always threatened to send us away to Timbuktu when we were naughty as youngsters, so it took us a long time to accept this African town as a genuine tourism destination. But we're still not sure if we can believe that two British men recently drove from England to Timbuktu in a truck powered by chocolate.
Yet apparently it's true. Two Brits in their 30s recently drove the 2,600 mile trip to Mali in a Ford truck and a Land Cruiser, vehicles which they would then donate to a charity in Africa. They used a special form of biodiesel that was made from waste chocolate.
Waste chocolate? We thought all chocolate was good, but if it can be used to power cars, it's probably not what we want to eat. The two crazy Brits who made the chocolate-powered Timbuktu trip calculated they saved 15 tons of carbon emissions, and they've set themselves a new challenge: flying to China in an airplane fueled by garbage. When are these intrepid travelers going to get a real job?
Related Stories:
· Choc-Powered Trip to Timbuktu [Ananova]
· New 7 Wonders: Timbuktu Nominated [Jaunted]
· Africa Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: phxpma]
by amandak
12/20/2007 at 9:00 AM
Tags: Africa Travel (all tags)
Pop quiz time: what's the capital city of Uganda? To tell the truth, we failed too, but after reading this week's UK Times report on a trip to the city of Kampala, it's a name we'd like to remember for a future trip.
Kampala may not be a rich city, but it's got the largest mosque in East Africa, a huge set of markets named Owino and even an extensive and apparently interesting Uganda Museum. But what sounds most captivating about Kampala is the chaos. There's no public transport to speak of, so travelers simply hail motorbikes to get where they're going.
The Times reporter did leave us a warning, though, to be careful about giving out your cell phone number (half the city started calling him to offer him taxi rides) and to keep an eye on your personal belongings--he was robbed when he took his eyes off his wallet for just a minute. We'll add our own warning--beware of the elephants.
Related Stories:
· Uganda's Bustling Capital [UK Times]
· Elephants on the Offensive [Jaunted]
· Exotic Luxury in Uganda [HotelChatter]
[Photo: Stefan Gara]
by amandak
11/27/2007 at 9:00 AM
Tags: Sex Travel, Africa Travel (all tags)
A word of warning: don't think about a middle-aged or elderly woman you know while you read this story. It'll put you off your lunch.
A bunch of middle-aged women have started a dubious new trend in Africa travel: Ladies in their 50s and 60s are heading to Kenya for a holiday and picking up handsome men in their 20s to have a good time in exchange for expensive gifts.
Locals don't like it, and try to discourage it--for example, if a woman wants to change her hotel room from a single to a double, some places will say no--but they estimate that as many as one in five single women visiting from richer countries are there for sex. In exchange they buy their companions new clothes, expensive sunglasses and a few nights in a hotel. This is sex tourism as we've never imagined it before--and it's disgusting.
Related Stories:
· Sex Tourists in Kenya [Reuters]
· Kenya Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Naddsy]
by amandak
10/17/2007 at 8:45 AM
Tags: Celeb Travel, Africa Travel, Paris Hilton (all tags)
George Clooney went to the Sudan. Angelina Jolie went to Cambodia. Now Paris Hilton is set to become the umpteenth celebrity to make a humanitarian trip--and, predictably, hers will be filmed. Paris is traveling to clinics and schools in Rwanda with Playing for Good, an organization that holds fundraising summits to benefit children's charities.
Don't get us wrong, it's great when people who are famous (for whatever reason) use that to draw attention to conflicts that might otherwise go under the radar. Still, this smells like "unhelpful publicity stunt" to us. Simple Life: Central Africa? We're not sold on it.
Related Stories:
· Paris Hilton coverage [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: The Superficial]
by egw
10/09/2007 at 9:00 AM
Tags: Celeb Travel, Africa Travel, Prince Harry (all tags)
The last time Namibia was in the news, it was because of the invasion of Super World Travelers Brangelina, who chose the country for Angelina Jolie to give birth to daughter Shiloh. Now England's Prince Harry has pulled the spotlight to the African country, although not with such positive results.
Maybe the prince can undo the damage done by the party photos of his friends and himself in Namibia once he's closer to the throne. Like any 23-year-old with no job, HRH spent his holiday drinking, attaching shot glasses to his nipples and getting what looks like a wicked sunburn. In response to his performance, Jenna and Barbara Bush released a statement titled, "See, We Did This In Argentina But At Least We Didn't Make a Video."
Related Storie:
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Africa Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Screenshots of the video: Faded Youth Blog]
by egw
9/25/2007 at 9:35 AM
Tags: Africa Travel, Green Travel (all tags)
Apart from a vague geographic awareness of Libya being on the top coast of Africa, the main thing we remember learning about Libya at school is that its plain, all-green flag has gotta be the easiest flag of the world to draw. And now it sounds kind of ironic that the drive behind a planned new tourist boom for Libya is green, too.
In fact it's Saif al-Islam, the son of Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi, who's promoting an eco-tourism venture for the country. He's trying to encourage tourists to visit the Green Mountain conservation area, the ancient Greek ruins of Cyrene and the Temple of Zeus. There is work to be done before the tourists start arriving--for example, the Cyrene site is still overrun by wild horses. Then again, maybe that just makes it all doubly green tourism.
Related Stories:
· Gaddafi's Green Vision [Guardian]
· Travel Stories in Libya [Jaunted]
[Photo: landon_noll]
by amandak
9/19/2007 at 9:30 AM
Tags: World's Worst Tourists, Tourists, Africa Travel, Animals (all tags)
Sometimes it's no particular nationality that makes our list of the World's Worst Tourists, but a whole bunch of idiots from all over the world who just have no idea how to behave. Like the case of the elephant harassers in southern Africa.
In bygone days, tourists who went on safari in Africa were more likely to be khaki-wearing, binocular-carrying scientific types with a keen sense of animal rights. Not anymore. The tourist minister in Namibia has had to issue warnings to tourists to behave more appropriately around elephants, after a number of tourists were killed by irritated, trunk-waving beasts. An experienced guide complained about situations like this one:
This big old bull (elephant) was drinking on the Kwando River, but he wasn't active enough for these tourists. So they started revving their engines, blowing the horn and banging the doors to attract his attention. Result? He charged them. Next time he sees a 4WD, he'll charge that, too, because these boys don't forget.
It's the self-drive tourists who reckon they don't need a guide that cause the most problems, so if you're traveling in southern Africa watch out for these elephant harassers.
Related Stories:
· Namibia Issues Elephant Warning [UK Times]
· Seeing the Dunes in Namibia [Jaunted]
· Where's My Elephant? [Jaunted]
[Photo: CharlesFred]
by amandak
1 Comment - Add Yours
