Africa

There’s nowhere like it on the planet for wildlife, wild lands and rich traditions that endure. Prepare to fall in love.

MBEYA & GREAT RIFT VALLEY

Mbeya is Tanzania’s vibrant “Green City,” nestled in the country’s southwestern highlands at an altitude of 1,700 metres. Known for its lush mountain scenery and cool climate, it serves as a major agricultural powerhouse and an important transit hub linking Tanzania with Zambia and Malawi...

DRIVE TO MBEYA

After visiting Isimila Stone Age Site, we parked for the night at The Old Farm House, about 35 kilometres from Iringa. It is supposedly a great stopover with a farm shop and an excellent restaurant. Perhaps that was true before Covid, but today it feels like little more than an overpriced...

ISIMILA STONE AGE

We started very early in the morning from Arusha to reach Iringa by evening. Covering 681 kilometres in 12.5 hours, we found the road to Dodoma to be excellent tarmac. Beyond Dodoma, however, the journey became more challenging, with narrower roads winding through Tanzania’s southern...

NOSY NATO

Just a five-minute pirogue ride (5,000 MGA) across the narrow channel from the southwestern tip of Sainte-Marie, near the airport, brought us to one of Madagascar’s true tropical gems, Nosy Nato, better known as Île aux Nattes. Famous for its complete absence of cars and motorbikes, the...

NOSY BORAHA

At the end of our stay in Madagascar, we flew to Nosy Boraha — better known as Sainte-Marie — a long, lush tropical island drifting off Madagascar’s northeastern coast. Fringed by protected coral reefs and lined with dense forests, mangroves, and sleepy fishing villages, the island feels...

DRIVE TO ANTANANARIVO

The scenic 664-kilometre journey back to the capital took us two days. On the first day, we drove from Morondava to Antsirabe via Miandrivazo in around 11 hours — roughly one hour faster than on our outbound trip. The following day, the drive to Antananarivo took about seven hours, slowed...