Things to do in Africa
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FEATURED
Cape Town To Kenya
45 days (Cape Town)
by Intrepid
Hear the roar of the mighty Victoria Falls, Glide down the Okavango Delta in a canoe, Delight your senses in spice-filled Zanzibar, Keep up with the pace of…Not LP reviewed
from USD$5,730 - All things to do
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Chaouen Rural
Chaouen Rural is a local company sponsored by the government of Catalonia that is developing the rural tourism potential of the region. This well-run operation specialises in package trips into Talassemtane National Park that include staying in rural houses and interacting with the local culture. Prices are a very reasonable Dh150 to Dh180 per person per day, including transport, guide and half-board. The website is French/Spanish, but some English is spoken, and brochures are available in English.
reviewed
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Irma Stern Museum
The pioneering 20th-century artist Irma Stern (1894–1966) lived in this house for almost 40 years and her studio has been left virtually intact, as if she’d just stepped out into the verdant garden for a breath of fresh air. Her ethnographic art-and-craft collection from around the world is as fascinating as her own expressionist art, which has been compared favourably to Gauguin’s. To reach the museum from Rosebank station, walk a few minutes west to Main Rd, cross over and walk up Chapel St.
reviewed
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Spier
There’s something for everyone at this mega-estate, a major sponsor of the arts, which offers golf, horse riding, a cheetah-conservation project, a performing-arts centre, beautifully restored Cape Dutch buildings and several restaurants, including the spectacular if somewhat cheesy African-themed Moyo. Its wines have improved over the years, and in the tasting room you can try lots of other vineyards’ wines. There’s also a good hotel, the Village at Spier.
reviewed
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Felucca Rides
One of the most pleasant things to do on a warm day is to go out on a felucca, Egypt's ancient broad-sail boat, with a supply of beer and a small picnic just as sunset approaches. The best spot for hiring is the Dok Dok landing stage on the corniche in Garden City, across from the Four Seasons. Subject to haggling, a boat and captain should cost about around £E30 per hour irrespective of the number of people on board; your captain will appreciate additional baksheesh (possibly in liquid form).
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House on Fire
People visit this especially for the ever mutating cultural-site-cum-living-gallery and experimental-performance space. This mosaic- and sculpture-filled site is the hot place for cool locals and is popular among travellers as well. Part of the Malandela’s complex, the well-known venue hosts everything from African theatre, music and films, raves and other forms of entertainment. Since 2007, it has hosted the annual Bush Fire Festival. Held annually for three days over the last weekend of May, it features music, poetry, theatre and among other performances.
reviewed
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Alexandria National Museum
The excellent Alexandria National Museum sets new benchmarks for summing up Alexandria’s past. With a small, thoughtfully selected and well-labelled collection singled out from Alexandria’s other museums, it does a sterling job of relating the city’s history from antiquity until the modern period. Housed in a beautifully restored Italianate villa, it stocks several thousand years of Alexandrian history, arranged chronologically over three cryogenically air-conditioned floors.
reviewed
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Turbine Hall
Much of the area around Mary Fitzgerald Sq was once taken up by a giant power station. The huge Turbine Hall, next to SAB World of Beer, is one of the city’s more impressive buildings. The north boiler house was imploded in 2005 and now houses the impressive headquarters of AngloGold Ashanti, beautifully developed to blend in with existing architecture. The south boiler house remains empty but is used for some wonderfully creative events. The area is now known as Turbine Sq.
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uShaka Marine World
Divided into several areas (Sea World, Wet’n’Wild World and uShaka Beach), uShaka Marine World boasts one of the world’s largest aquariums, the biggest collection of sharks in the southern hemisphere, a seal stadium, a dolphinarium, marine animals and exhibits, a mock-up 1940s steamer wreck featuring two classy restaurants, a shopping centre, enough freshwater rides to make you seasick, and a beach featuring activities from surfing lessons to kayaking.
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Amadoda
Attempting to pull off a township braai (barbecue) and shebeen atmosphere à la Mzoli’s, but not quite matching the real thing, is this slickly decorated venue tucked away down a side road beside the railway tracks. The juke box is stacked with African, jazz and house music tracks and the butchery will provide whatever kind of meat you’d like to have grilled with your beer or rum and coke. Worth checking out late on a weekend evening.
reviewed
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Cradle Nature Reserve
About halfway between Pretoria and Johannesburg is the Cradle Nature Reserve, a more upmarket take on the wildlife experience, with wildlife walks and drives, and palaeontological tours. Home base here is the Cradle Restaurant, offering international cuisine, a cocktail bar, a log fire in winter and one of the best restaurant views in the country. Accommodation is offered in charming self-catering thatched cottages at the Forest Camp.
reviewed
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Safari Blue Menai Bay Dhow Tours
For something different, contact Safari Blue Menai Bay Dhow Tours, which organises day excursions on well-equipped dhows around Menai Bay. The excursions, which leave from Fumba, include a seafood and fruit lunch, plus snorkelling equipment, and time to relax on a sandbank. The dhows can also be privately chartered, for honeymoons or groups. Before booking, it's worth checking weather conditions, as some months - notably April/May and July/August - can get quite windy or rainy.
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Lotus Thai
The lotus-themed interior of this Thai restaurant is striking – black enamel walls are etched with white lotus motifs, there are large green-and-white lotus prints on the walls, and the black chairs have lotus-print cushions. In the centre of the restaurant is a large raised circular sushi bar with glass lily pads suspended above it. Outside you can dine in private pagodas. It’s not all about the flash design though; the food is fresh, authentic and delicious.
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Kommetjie Beaches
A focal point for surfing on the Cape, Kommetjie offers an assortment of reefs that hold a very big swell. Outer Kommetjie is a left point out from Slangkop Lighthouse at the southern end of the village. Inner Kommetjie is a more-protected, smaller left with lots of kelp (only at high tide). They both work best with a southeasterly or southwesterly wind. For breezy beach walks, it doesn't get much better than the aptly named Long Beach, accessed off Benning Dr.
reviewed
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Harare Gardens
Harare Gardens, the city's largest park, is a haven from the city bustle just a few blocks south, and a favourite spot for wedding photos and canoodling couples. Look for the island-like stand of rainforest with its miniature Victoria Falls and Zambezi Gorge.
Despite its peaceful atmosphere, Harare Gardens is notorious for crime, so always avoid short-cutting through the park at night and watch your belongings carefully by day. No cycling is allowed.
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Travelin' Lady
Companies offering two-, three- and five-hour boat cruises to check out whales and dolphins are set up at the end of Playa de Los Cristianos, near the port, and in Puerto Colón in Costa Adeje. Most trips include food, drink and a quick swim. Though all are basically the same, we recommend the smaller Playa de Los Cristianos-based companies. Travelin' Lady offers personal service, small boats, and lower prices than many other outfits in the area.
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Grande Provence
A beautifully revamped 18th-century manor house is home to a stylish restaurant and a splendid gallery showcasing the best local artists. In the tasting room you can try the very easy-drinking Angel Tears blends or the flagship Grande Provence red (tasting R50). The Jonkershuis lounge (used for meetings and conferences) is worth a look, and if you really want to push the boat out, the luxurious Owner’s Cottage is available to sleep in.
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Hector Pieterson Memorial
North of Vilakazi St is Soweto's showcase, Hector Pieterson Sq. Named after the 13-year-old who was shot dead in the run-up to the Soweto uprising , the square now features the poignant Hector Pieterson Memorial and the excellent Hector Pieterson Museum, which offers an insight into Sowetan life and the history of the independence struggle. From the square, a line of shrubs leads up Moema St to the site where he was shot outside the school.
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Mzoli’s
Tourists, TV stars and locals gather at this vibey butchery serving Cape Town’s tastiest grilled meat. It’s all DIY. First buy your meat, and make sure you get them to add their special sauce. Take it to the kitchen to be braaied (barbecued) and then find a table outside – it gets very busy at weekends. Beers and other drinks are available from vendors nearby. Bring plenty of napkins as cutlery is nonexistent.
reviewed
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Darajani Market
The dark, narrow passageways of the chaotic Darajani market assault the senses, with occasional whiffs of spices mixing with the stench of fish, the clamour of vendors hawking their wares, neat, brightly coloured piles of fruits and vegetables, and dozens of small shops selling everything from plastic tubs to auto spares. It's just off Creek Rd, and at its best in the morning before the heat and the crowds, when everything is still fresh.
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Mole National Park
It's not everywhere you can get up close and personal with bus-sized elephants. Face-to-face encounters with these beasts, plus roving gangs of baboons, warthogs, water bucks and antelopes - 90 species of mammals in total - are possibilities at this national park, Ghana's largest at 4660 sq km and best as far as wildlife viewing goes.
It consists for the most part of flat savanna, with gallery forests along the rivers and streams.
reviewed
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Dr Ragab’s Pharaonic Village
The theme park Dr Ragab’s Pharaonic Village is cheesy but offers a child-friendly glimpse of what life in ancient Egypt would have been like, with a boat trip past actors in Pharaonic costumes, a playground and an art centre where kids can make mini reed boats. Take a taxi (E£20 from Downtown), or walk the 800m from the Sakiat Mekki metro stop. Note that the price of admission varies according to your planned itinerary.
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Watamu Turtle Watch
Several species of marine turtle lay their eggs on the beaches around Watamu and Watamu Turtle Watch, part of the Local Ocean Trust, has set up a series of initiatives with local people to protect these threatened animals. Female turtles lay thousands of eggs here between January and April. Contact the trust's Marine Information Centre if you're interested in seeing this incredible natural spectacle or volunteering with local projects.
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Mohammed Ben El-Hair
Mt Everest is overrated; the most thrilling mountain to scale is the one of colourful Berber carpets in this tiny shop. Charming elderly proprietor Abu Mohammed ushers you in with a smile and mint tea, then waves towards the mountain with a single word of English: 'Democracy!' This is your invitation to clamber up, and start pulling down whatever carpets appeal to you. The prices are more than democratic; they're downright proletarian.
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Musée National
About 1km north of Le Plateau market is the Musée National . It has a very dusty collection of over 20,000 objects, including wooden statues and masks, pottery, ivory and bronze.
Just more than 1km (0,6mi) north of Le Plateau market is the Musée National. It has a collection of over 20,000 objects, including wooden statues and masks, pottery, ivory and bronze. Many of the buses heading for Adjamé pass nearby.
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Café Maure
Nestled in the ochre walls of the sqala, an 18th-century fortified bastion, this lovely restaurant is a tranquil escape from the city. Choose to sit in the rustic interior or the lovely garden surrounded by flower-draped trellises and enjoy the wonderfully relaxed atmosphere and friendly service. The menu favours seafood and salads, although meat dishes are also available, and the exotic fruit juices are simply sublime.
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