Cultural Tour activities in Africa
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Salt Caravans
Like a vestige from another age, Salt Caravans still travel between Timbuktu and Taoudenni. The return trip takes between 36 and 40 days. Trucks also make the journey - a fact which is lengthening the expedition for those who travel by camel, as the trucks sometimes exhaust salt supplies at the mines for a few days. But with fuel costs high and camels costing very little, it is extremely unlikely that the camels will be replaced by four-wheeled transport any time soon.
These are commercial operations and trips are extremely gruelling; they're not to be taken lightly - there's no escape if you find you can't hack it or get sick. Expect to spend between 15 and 18 hours a…
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Maroa Tours
Rakoto, an English-speaking Angap guide and 'fixer', does excursions by pirogue to villages upriver from Maroantsetra (for groups of two or more), along with visits to Nosy Mangabe and the Masoala Peninsula. The tours include visits to a vanilla and cinnamon farm and village weaving workshops. The best time to see vanilla is between October and June. Rakoto can also organised guided treks to Mananara.
The vanilla plant was introduced to Madagascar from Mexico by French plantation owners, who named it vanille (lavanila in Malagasy), from the Spanish vainilla or 'little pod'. It is a type of climbing orchid, Vanila planifolia, which attaches itself to trees. The vanilla…
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Freddie Mercury Tours
One of Zanzibar's most famous sons is Queen lead vocalist Freddie Mercury, born Faroukh Bulsara in 1946 in Stone Town to Parsee parents. He lived on the island until he was about eight years old, when he was sent off to India to boarding school. His family left Zanzibar in the wake of the 1964 revolution, never to return. There's no agreement as to which house or houses Freddie - he acquired the name while at school in India - and his family actually occupied, and several make the claim.
For anyone wanting to make a Mercury pilgrimage, two good places to start are the Zanzibar Gallery, with a gold plaque on the outside memorialising Mercury, and the popular Mercury's…
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Carthage Tours
Tours of Tunis can easily be arranged at the coastal resorts, but are difficult to set up within the city. However, if you want to go on a tour encompassing the medina, Bardo Museum, Carthage and Sidi Bou Saïd (a daunting amount for one day so you might want to choose just two of these), contact Carthage Tours, which can arrange a private car with guide for four people. It also arranges a three-day tour to the Sahara, but be warned that this will entail a long drive there and back.
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Essendilène Voyages
This outfit organises trips all over southern Algeria and down into the Ténéré and Aïr regions of Niger. If asked well in advance it can also organise a number of specialised trips into the desert including yoga and trekking, art therapy and family trips for children over the age of two or three. They are also involved in projects that help the local community benefit from tourism.
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Charly's Desert Tours
Most of Swakopmund's day-touring companies charge around the following for standard tours: sundowner on the dunes, Cape Cross seal colony ,Rössing Mine gem tours,Welwitschia Drive ,Walvis Bay Lagoon and the Namib Desert. The most popular operators include Charly's Desert Tours .
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People to People Tourism
For an introduction to the world of jua kali, Kenya's open-air manufacturing industry, People to People Tourism combines tours of the usual tourist sights with visits to jua kali workshops producing crafts and other goods.
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Red Sea Desert Adventures
This extremely professional safari outfit is run by Dutch geologist Karin van Opstal and her Austrian partner, and offers tailor-made walking, camel and jeep safaris throughout Eastern Desert.
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Myxo Mdluli
For a taste of rural Swazi life, a good contact is local, French-speaking Myxo Mdluli , based near Manzini.
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Museum Tours
Mohamed Anwar's specialised Museum Tours have a good reputation.
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Calabash Tours
Runs local tours, including trips to Addo Elephant National Park (R750) and several cross-cultural township tours (from R350), including stops at squatter camps and shebeens (unlicensed drinking establishments). The guides are locals who are proud of the Port Elizabeth townships’ part in the anti-apartheid struggle, and they highlight places of historical and political interest along the way.
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