Drive along one of South Africa’s scenic strips and you will notice a landscape composed of a backdrop of wide open spaces, blue mountains and blood-red sunsets. These scenes abound, but given the nature of the culture in South Africa, your attention could swiftly switch to a small boy gallantly escorting herds of cattle, end to end, over a rainbow-like walkway crossing one of the largest and busiest highways in South Africa. Culture makes Africa special and aside from beautiful landscapes, this kind of exuberant and contrasting culture in South Africa is what you really should experience.

Imagine this scenario for a moment: You are hopelessly stranded deep inside the African interior, without a spare tyre and waiting for help. You prepare to flag down the first car that passes by. When will that be you think to yourself. Time wears on. You picture yourself dragging your dehydrated self over the many kilometres of parched semi-arid terrain towards the nearest town, while hordes of hungry vultures looming overhead contemplate you for lunch. (more…)

Tags: african, kruger park, elephant, lion, wild life, travel, rhino, hunting, resorts, safaris

Named after the great Limpopo River that flows along its northern border, this province is rich in wildlife, spectacular scenery and a wealth of historical and cultural treasures.

Known as the Great North, Limpopo province is home to ancient lands and pre-historic secrets. This is home to Modjadji, the fabled Rain Queen; The Stone Age and Iron age relics of Makapansgat Valley and the treasures of Mapungubwe that date back to time immemorial.

Straddling the northern Kruger Park, Limpopo province boasts wildlife safaris, nature trails untamed Africa at its finest. This is the land of wide-open bushveld, big-sky country, the ever-present thorn tree and the mystical baobab tree.

(more…)

Tags: lodges, lion, rhino, animals, travel, kruger park, adverture, african, south african, africa

When you have the urge to relieve yourself or litter in a nature reserve or wilderness area in the Western Cape, consider that:

Cape Nature Conservation manages most of the protected areas representing the Cape Floristic Region, the smallest and most threatened of the world’s six floral kingdoms. The Cape Floristic Region is one of the world’s “hottest biodiversity hotspots”: it contains 9 000 plant species, of which 6 000 are found nowhere else on earth. This plant kingdom is threatened by invasive plants, agriculture, urbanisation, pollution, poaching, soil erosion and unseasonal fires.

Large tracts of the Western Cape mountains, including privately-owned land, are proclaimed catchment areas. This means that they are managed as an important source of fresh water. Protected mountain catchments constitute only nine percent of the surface area of the Western Cape, yet they provide 60 percent of the water generated in the province.

(more…)

Tags: vacation, elephant, national parks, holiday, africa, safaris, lion, big five, holiday, rhino

Art is an important form of expression which can strongly portray the cultural traditions and lifestyles of a country, and African art is of no difference. Perhaps the most noteworthy form of African art is the mask, many of which can be traced back as far as the Stone Age and are still in production today.

The masks were and still are used during traditional ceremonies (such as weddings, births, funerals, crop harvests and in preparation for wars) where spirits are summoned and the tribes-people ask them to enlist their powers to help the community. The wearer can represent the spirit of an ancestor, mythological archetype, deity or animal and they often communicate through the masks to ancestors or deities by going into a meditative type trance during a ceremony. The significance of wearing a mask goes much deeper than aesthetics for an African native and the act of wearing a piece of art, the dance that is connected to it and the meaning that it carries are all incorporated into one significant premise.

(more…)

Tags: kruger park, africa, lodges, holiday, animal, rhino, safari, big five, vacation, travel

Safari is an East African tradition and means to travel or journey. An African safari is a popular trip that has been undertaken for centuries by both Africans and other nations visiting Africa. The most enduring image of safari is the British explorer in his white hat and shorts, hunting for big game in the wilds of Africa. Africa is a very popular destination due to beautiful terrain and varied wildlife.

African safari began centuries ago with Arabs and Swahilis making long voyages into mainland Africa to do trade with other markets. The word became synonymous with the caravans, hunting, and the sense of adventure. The traders brought ivory, supplies and slaves. Thankfully British control put an end to the slavery.

(more…)

Tags: south africa, africa, hunting, national parks, vacation, resorts, lodges, african, camping, holiday

Africa has always been known as one of the best destinations for wildlife photography, or nature photography in general. All serious professional wildlife photographers have quite a portion of their file filled with photos from Africa. Why is this It is because Africa presents you with opportunities for wildlife photography like no other place in the world.

Amazing photography
Good wildlife photography usually involves capturing some action in the golden light of dawn or dusk. As I explained above, if there is someplace to see wildlife in action, it is Africa.

Some of the species make such a brutal and captivating living, preying off other species that they get admired by every naturalist. Who would not like to see a lion kill Who does not dream about finding a leopard in a tree, with an impala ram that it has just taken down And cheetahs stalking gazelle in long grass Obviously you would like to experience these things, even capture it on film. Unfortunately it can happen only in Africa.

(more…)

Tags: vacation, elephant, animal, travel, lion, camping, adverture, safari, holiday, south african