Category: Blog

Cape Town is one of the most scenic place in Africa.  Known as the quintessential melting pot: Cape Town is a city alive with creativity, colour, sounds and tastes. Many travelers who have visited South Africa have fallen in love with the city’s natural beauty, creative freedom and incredible spirit. When visiting this second most populous city in South Africa, be prepared for the unexpected; a surprising experience that you will never forget.

Here are the top 10 attractions you can’t miss when visiting Cape Town;

1. Table Mountain

Table Mountain is arguably the most iconic image of Cape Town. Standing at the top should top everyone’s list of ‘things to do before you die’. Take the leisurely route in the slowly revolving cable car, or alternately hike to the top. Either way you won’t regret it when you get to enjoy the sight of Cape Town and surrounds from the Table top!

2. V & A Waterfront

Situated at the Cape Town Harbour basin, the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront is the most popular venue in Cape Town. With a wide variety of shops, numerous restaurants and cafes, wine bars, sites of historical and cultural interest and local craft workshops, you’ll never have a dull moment here, day or night.

3. Wine Farms

From the farms of Constantia in the southern suburbs to the expansive estates of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franshoek, the Cape boasts some of the most beautiful wine farms in the world. And it’s a well known fact that they produce some of the finest wines in the world too! A visit to Cape Town is incomplete without at least one day spent on the wine route, sampling fine wines, learning about the history and methodology of wine making from the experts, enjoying a sumptuous lunch along the way and coming back laden with some great purchases for the cellar back home.

4. Robben Island

Site of former president Nelson Mandela’s prison cell where he was confined for many years prior to his historical release, Robben Island has a very special atmosphere. Take a ferry from the Waterfront and learn from the guided tours about the other men who shared the Island with Madiba, and about the incredible man himself.

5. Cape Point

Who wouldn’t want to say they have stood at the tip of the great African continent? Once inside the reserve you can make your way to the main parking area and stroll up the wide paths to the top lookout point. From here the view is breathtaking – sheer cliffs drop to the crashing waves far below while azure waters spread out as far as the eye can see to a hazy horizon. On a clear day, you really can see forever! Enjoy lunch at the excellent restaurant or drive to one of the sheltered beaches for a picnic.

6. Boulder’s Beach Penguin Colony

Home of a colony of so-called ‘Jackass’ Penguins (so named for the donkey-like braying sound they make) Boulder’s Beach is situated just past Simon’s Town. Apart from great penguin viewing, the beach is picturesque and great for families with its sheltered bay.

7. Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

These beautiful gardens at the foot of Table Mountain were established in 1913. The gardens only grow indigenous South African plants, and cover an area of 528 hectares. Picnic on the green lawns next to bubbling streams, or take advantage of a guided tour.

8. Top Stones Gemstone Factory and Scratch Patch

Visit one of the Top Stone Gemstone Factories at Glen Cairn or the Waterfront, for a sparkling and enchanting experience. At the Glen Cairn factory you can view the stones being washed polished and crafted into curios or jewelry. Trawl through the walk-in Scratch Patch ‘caves’ and select your own treasures to take home.

9. Two Oceans Aquarium

Located at the V&A Waterfront, this is South Africa’s largest aquarium. It has great exhibitions and a strong educational component. The shark feeding times are always popular with visitors who love to get a close up view of these awesome creatures without getting wet!

10. District Six Museum

Back in the 1960’s the apartheid government demolished the District Six neighborhoods, displacing the residents. Of all the museums to see in Cape Town, this memorial to the glory days and tragic history of District Six is one of the most interesting and colourful.

UNESCO is aggressively advocating for its preservation because it is outstanding in many ways and yes, it is worth travelling over thousand miles to watch. Abatimbo is its name, a traditional drumming and dancing musical culture that the people of Burundi Kingdom used to grove in exaltation of their kings.

It was exclusively for members of the royal family. However when the kingdom was abolished 1966 by Prime Minister, Michel Micombero, it moved out of the palace into the public domain. Many were amazed by it. Overtime, this masculine dance has to spread out of like a virus and infected countless music lovers with its energetic perfomance. As you read this, it is trending among the most sought after dances in Africa.

How it unfolds

In most cultural dances across the continent, instruments are used to back up vocals but in this case, the reverse is true. Singing backs up drumming.

It starts and ends on a high note, with a queue of about 10 performers’ clad in green, red and white robes—kicking their way into the dance arena–while balancing long drums on their heads and thrashing it aloud. The name of their drums is Karyenda. As their right hand concentrates on hammering its head, the left focuses on its sides in a tap-tap rhythm. The perfomance is soon fired up with jubilant yells. The result of this drama is a thunderous mix that captures the crowd’s attention, triggering a deep desire to see the full drama as it unfolds. The dancers then form an arc facing the crowd and start to lower down their drums one at a time. In a bit, the leader of the troupe gently steps into the center of the arc with a similar drum painted in the colours of the Burundi flag.

In turns, the dancers come into the arena to showcase how a spirited Burundi warrior fights at a battle front. One could summer-assault or run around the drum while ringing his neck with the drumstick to demonstrate how he would behead an enemy. The other could spring off the ground while hurling his hands in the air to demonstrate his ability to fire at the enemy with might. This goes on for about six minutes with each dancer showcasing a move that leaves the crowd screaming in excitement. Whenever he is through with his part, he steps back and joins the other drummers who by this time are uniformly shoving their feet left and right.

As the last dancer sums his stunt, the drumming heats up this time round with much of the concentration being on top of the drum. In a bit,things takes a new twist and as the drumming takes a faster pace that is more dance-able. Moved by the performance, many in the crowd step up to the challenge and start to groove along as the dancers.

Its energy demand

The energy which the dance is done is unbelievable. This explains why the drum is only made of tough skins and trunks of hard trees. It is an energy consuming dance, and that’s why it is mostly performed by well-built men. By the time they finish, their clothes are usually socked with sweat.

Unique point

One impressive thing I like about this dance is how it has been preserved from generation to generation with minimal incorporation of external influences. The only thing that has changed about it is the costume. In the past, dancers mostly used to wear cow skin as it typical of most cattle keeping tribes. However, they now adorn robs across their chests and clip at their shoulders. The one thing that the new and the old costume shares in common is that they are light and thus allow easy movement of the dancers.

One of the places in East Africa that exhibits this dance every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday is Ndere center, an outdoor music theatre in Kampala, Uganda.

Africa is the land where many great and wild animals live. Many people from Africa are used to seeing different kinds of animals that those of us who live in the city only see on TV. Because people are so used to wild animals in Africa, they even adopt some of them as pets. These animals are so rare and unusual that you won’t even consider having them as a pet of your own.

Hyena
Why is the hyena different from other wild animals? Why is it one of the most dangerous animals in the world? The hyena is very different from other wild animals and is also one of the most dangerous animals in the world. It’s the only animal that dares to chase a lion off from its own prey. Hyenas come from the hyaenidae family which is divided into 4 groups. First is the striped hyena or the Hyaena Hyaena, the laughing spotted hyenas or crocuta crocuta which are found in most African regions, the brown hyena or parahyaena brunnea and the aardwolf Proteles cristatus. The hyenas are still part of the world’s great life cycle as well as the forests, deserts and plains. They clean up all that’s left by other animals from their kill making the environment cleaner.

African Rock Phyton
This is a native in the sub Saharan part of Africa and is one of the seven python species. These snakes are non venomous making it safer for them to be pets but they are also the largest snake found in Africa. It’s called phyton sebae which was derived from the Greek mythology as reference for a huge serpent. Elephants are often in contact with these wild snakes but lions are scared of them. The African Rock Phyton is classified into two sub species. The first one was identified by a German naturalist named Johann Friedrich Gmelin on 1788 and the other one was identified by Sir Andrew Smith, the father of South African Zoology on 1833.

Kudu
The kudu is one of the most dangerous animals in Africa with its big horns and massive body. They inhabit the Maasai Steppe and are great animals that blend with nature and stealth that conceal their movements along the bushes, thickets and forests. It’s also one of the greatest animals with a high survival rate compared to impalas or gazelles that have speed but are brought down easily by other animals.

Lions
This is th most dangerous animal in Africa but is also the most photographed ones by tourists who goes to African Safaris. Hunting comes naturally for these animals and they do not let a prey go that easily. They are full of pride and their roar is enough to give anyone the chills. Despite of them being scary, these lions are also very beautiful creatures that grace us with their wonderful mane and beautiful body structure. They are also loving to their families and you will often see them with their lioness or playing with their cubs. Vacuums for pet cats may be useful but still, it’s not enough when you’re taking care of this large cat.

Can’t get Blue Monday out of your head? Then let TripAfrica fill your grey matter with a handful of blue things that really aren’t that ‘blue’ at all. Shiny, jewels of happiness to remind you than dull January is very nearly over, the daffodils will soon be bursting through and St Valentines Day is just around the corner! Spring is very nearly here, but before it’s sprung, here’s our handful of happiness:

1, Blue Wildebeest  – The great migration is in full swing in the southern Serengeti right NOW, and, taking advantage of the lush green grasses, the migrant wildebeest population are beginning to calve, littering the plains with lots of little, lanky bundles of joy, ready to gambol their way back north with a trot, skip and a jump. Ahhhhhh.

2, Blue Crane – The National Bird of South Africa, the blue crane is elegant, smooth, refined and since breeding season is between Oct & March, they are most likely having a wondrous & welcoming January. Pairs form at the beginning of the breeding season by selecting one another through a serious of complicated dance moves & flinging objects at one another… Once the flinging and winging has ceased they care for their eggs throughout incubation, welcoming their waterproof little fluff balls just 30 days later… Bluetiful.

3, Blue Duiker – One of the continents smallest antelopes, the diminutive blue duiker is found throughout Central and Southern Africa. These teeny forest dwellers, breed throughout the year and rarely leave the sanctity of the deeper bush. Those lucky enough to catch a glimpse may well be rewarded with a swift ‘dive’ into the undergrowth followed by a whistle & ‘sneeze’ of indignation!

And finally…. Balls to Blue Monday – The widely abundant Vervet monkey, a balcony diver, veranda marauder, kitchen invader and general, but jovially enjoyable, nuisance, has but one thing to say to the Winter Blues… And they won’t be shy about it either!

Many people visiting Kenya wonder how to choose a Kenya safari company. With so many options and new Kenya tour operators popping up every year, it can be intimidating.

In order to choose a Kenya safari company that is best for you, follow these important steps:

1. Make sure their prices are competitive when compared with other Kenya safari companies

2. If you do not get immediate responses to your e-mails or phone calls, or if your questions are not adequately answered, look elsewhere

3. Look for a Kenya safari company that has a good attitude and personalized services

4. Make sure the company you choose has experienced guides and drivers that speak English

5. Check online reviews and websites to read about others’ experiences before you choose a Kenya safari company

1, GET FIT

What better way to burn off the calories than to swim, swim, swim… and we have the perfect solution! A week swimming off the coast of Mozambique, Island hopping with Ibo Island Dhow Safaris…. a fresh new beach every night, sailing the high seas in style and fly-camping on barely trodden golden shores. Book before the end of Jan 16 & you’ll receive an additional £100pp OFF the full cost…. Starting at £2,300pp plus International flights to Mozambique.

2, TAKE UP SOMETHING NEW

Try your hand at the ‘sport of kings’ and learn to play, or improve your, polo. TripAfrica can offer polo centered holidays ranging throughout the continent, from South African through to Kenya. The Nduruma Polo Club, Arusha, Tanzania offers, possibly, one of the most scenic grounds around the world with the two boarded pitches book-ended by the towering, mesmerising, Mt’s Meru & Kilimanjaro. With year-round play this is the perfect spot to hone your skills and why not finish the week with a ‘Big5′ safari on horseback with Kaskazi Safaris or a week on a Zanzibari beach? Contact us for more information and suggestions!

3, EAT MORE HEALTHILY

There are plenty of  holidays where you’ll learn new culinary skills in the kitchen, returning with a renewed passion for cooking and a fabulous new repertoire to impress your guests… but here at TripAfrica we like to mix it up a bit, so we thought perhaps Italian food in Kenya might just do the job! Spending 10 nights at Riccardo Orizio’s stunning safari camps, Saruni Mara and Saruni Samburu will fill you to the brim with simply sumptuous Italian inspired meals, interspersed with game drives and walks in some of the worlds most wildlife rich regions…. or is it game drives & walks interspersed with sumptuous meals – either way, you’ll be spoiled with locally grown fruit & veg and a fusion of Kenyan and Italian cuisine….. Perfecto! A ‘week of Sarunity’ starts from around £4,400 per person, plus international flights.

The best airport for Kilimanjaro trips is Kilimanjaro International Airport, whose airport code is JRO or HTKJ.

Kilimanjaro International Airport is ideally located for those that want to climb Mt Kilimanjaro or visit Arusha or Moshi, the closest major cities.

For a list of airlines that fly to Kilimanjaro International Airport, click here.

Trains from Nairobi to Mombasa are operated by Kenya Railways Corporation.

Trains from Nairobi to Mombasa usually operate overnight. The train time from Nairobi to Mombasa is officially 13 to 14 hours, but can be much longer. Make sure to book a couchette in a sleeping car in advance of your train journey.

Depending on what class you travel in, there are dining cars that serve meals during the train trip.

NB: Trains from Nairobi to Mombasa are unreliable and break down frequently. Make sure to be prepared for a long journey if you choose to take the train to Mombasa.