The urge to travel is universal. Sometimes a mere change of scenery isn’t enough — you need a real adventure. And for a truly extraordinary travel experience, you’ll need to head away from the crowds. These trips around Africa all include beautiful landscapes and a story that you will remember for the rest of your life. The bonus? It’s a story that your friends will never have heard before.
1.Botswana horse-riding
The magnificent thing about a horseback safari — apart from the feeling of cantering over the glittering salt pans of the Kalahari — is that it gets you that much closer to the wildlife. The Okavango delta is a hotbed of migratory animals, and the herds of zebra, wildebeest and hartebeest are much less suspicious of a herd of horses than they would be a game vehicle.
2. Walking safari in Rwanda
There is so much more to Rwanda than gorillas. This lush, fertile country is home to incredible wetlands, mountain ranges, and a deeply connected social fabric, and a walking tour of the Akagera National Park is one of the best ways to experience it up close. You’ll be sleeping under the stars, trekking 60kms through montane forests, and, at the end of your trip, if you feel like you haven’t had enough wilderness — you can visit the gorillas too.
3. Kitesurfing in Zanzibar
A lot of Zanzibar isn’t exactly off the beaten track — with over 300,000 tourists visiting in 2019, parts of the island can feel downright crowded. But far from the maze of Stonetown, and the clustered hotels in the north, the East Coast is a relative haven of quiet. The shallow, crystal-clear water stretches out for a kilometer, with a reliable north-south wind creating great conditions for kite-surfing. And when the wind drops, you’ll also find it’s the perfect location for hanging out in a hammock with a beer.
4. Bikamino, Namaqualand
Namaqualand, sometimes referred to as the “outback” of South Africa, isn’t an inviting landscape. It’s arid, hot, and sparsely populated. But that’s what makes it perfect for a soul-searching, challenging journey like a Camino. Based on the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrims’ trail in Spain that is now walked by thousands of people every year, this is an opportunity to get deeply invested in a challenging landscape without the crowds. You’ll cycle past quiver trees, quirky little towns, and the wild crashing of the Atlantic ocean, and come out the other side a new person — with much stronger legs.
5. Trekking Atlas Mountains, Morocco
The Atlas Mountains are a place of legend. High up above the deserts of the Sahara, this towering mountain range fluctuates between bright green shrublands and snowy peaks. The air is fresher here, and you can walk between some of the most remote villages in North Africa, which have functioned essentially the same way for hundreds of years.
6. Wild dogs conservation safari, South Africa
Graceful, intensely social wild dogs are some of Africa’s most efficient hunters. Less appreciated than the lions and leopards that often steal their kills, they’re also highly endangered, with only some 1400 animals left in the wild. If you’re lucky, you’ll see them on a safari — but if you’re even luckier, you’ll get to work with them in real life. Darting, tracking, and contributing to the conservation of this rare species is only open to a select few, but this special privilege is something that you’ll carry with you for life.
7. Bike, hike, kayak Malawi
From diving to canoeing, there are a million ways to have an adventure in Lake Malawi alone. But despite the allure of this massive freshwater lake, it’s only the beginning of the exploration possible in the “Warm Heart of Africa”. There are also misty tea and coffee plantations, remote parks where the Big Five roam, and chances for game-fishing on the banks of the lower Zambezi. Why should you have to choose one?
8. Overlanding / camping Namibia
The light in Namibia is something else. Whether it’s falling through the windows of a ghost town that’s been taken over by sand, lighting up the rocky undulations of the Fish River Canyon, or spotlighting the harsh beauty of Sossusvlei, it’s well worth travelling for. A trip like this, through the deserts of Namibia, can be an excellent first choice for someone travelling alone. Being able to travel within the structure of a group makes it easier to keep your focus on marveling at the towering red dunes, as it should be. Ask about our Namibia Photographic Safaris.
9. Kenya walking safari
If you want to see the best of Kenya, are you sure you’ll get the best opportunity from the back of a 4×4? Rather than jostling with other people in perfectly pressed khakis, a walking safari requires getting dirty. But when you’re walking through the wide plains, sometimes riding camels led by Samburu tribesmen, you’ll be rewarded with sights and experiences you just can’t reach with anything on four wheels.
10. Photographic safaris
No matter your destination is, a photographic safari is a smart way of getting off the beaten track. That’s partly because of how you need to look at your surroundings when you’re approaching them through a camera lens; it’s also because the kinds of places that lend themselves to photographic safaris tend to be wilder, rougher, and further from the popular route. If you’d like to find out more about our award-winning photographic safaris in Africa, get in touch — TribalTourist can create a unique itinerary just for you.
