Destinations

The continent is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the east by the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and on the south by the mingling waters of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. The continent measures about 8,000 kilometres from north to south and about 7,400 kilometres from east to west. Paradoxically, the coastline of Africa — 30,500 kilometres in length — is shorter than that of Europe, because there are very few inlets and large bays or gulfs. Africa is cut almost equally in two by the Equator such that most of Africa lies within the tropical region, bounded on the north by the Tropic of Cancer and on the south by the Tropic of Capricorn.

Climatic and other factors have exerted considerable influence on the patterns of human settlement in Africa such that despite being the second largest continent, it contains only about ten percent of the world’s population. Africa contains an enormous wealth of mineral resources, including some of the world’s largest reserves of fossil fuels, metallic ores, gems and precious metals. This richness is matched by a great diversity of biological resources that includes the intensely lush equatorial rainforests of Central Africa and the world-renowned large populations of wildlife of the eastern and southern portions of the continent. It is within these game-rich areas of Southern and East Africa that we concentrate our safaris.

Southern Africa is an extremely diverse region, with a wide range of stunning natural landscapes, rich geology and varied climates. Much of the region is characterized by a central plateau over 1000 metres above sea level, where temperatures are moderate even during the summer months. A steep escarpment and a narrow coastal plain border this high plateau in the east. The western half of the subcontinent, bordering on the cold Atlantic Ocean, receives low annual rainfall — often well below 400mm per annum. This is where the Namib desert, the Kalahari and Karoo predominate. The climate in the eastern and northern parts is influenced by the warm Indian Ocean and is more moist with over 1000mm falling in places. In the extreme southwest in Cape Town, a Mediterranean climate prevails and this is the only area in southern Africa that receives its rainfall in the southern hemisphere’s winter from May to September. The subcontinent is rich in habitats including savannahs, floodplains, marshes, riverine forests, dunes, salt pans, deserts and rocky outcrops.

East Africa is equally dramatic and is the most topographically diverse region on the African continent containing snow-capped mountain peaks, lush valleys, savannahs, deserts, jungles, soda lakes, roaring rivers, coastal beaches and a host of other natural features. Much of the East African landscape is defined by the Great Rift Valley, which runs from Ethiopia down to Mozambique. The valley was created by the movement of two fault lines in the earth, and it is responsible for creating mountains, valleys and lakes found throughout this area. The highest point on the African continent is found in the Great Rift Valley — Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, which reaches 19,340 feet above sea level. The east African coastal region extends some 250 miles from the southern border where Kenya meets Tanzania, to the border with Somalia in the north.