Hi,
My husband and two children, 12 and 9 plan a trip to Africa for 3-4 weeks. The purpose is to see a whole lot of great wildlife and maybe also get close to authentic African living. I don’t know where to start regarding which country to travel in. Looked at overland trips, but don’t want to travel in too big a group. Does anyone have any suggestions on a route and good/not expensive travel agencies?
Thanks
Not sure what you mean by “authentic African living” Africa is a huge continent of 57 different countries and well over a billion people. All the following are “authentic” in that they are the day to day lifestyles of some of us people living in Africa.
The shopping malls and designer shops of Johannesburg.
The teeming slums of Cairo.
The nomadic desert tribes of the Sahara
Miners living and working in the townships in the Rand mining area of South Africa
The remote fishing villages of West Africa.
The vibrant huge cities such as Lagos or Kinshasa
The laid back style of the Cape Winelands growing world class wines and with wonderful restaurants
Life in remote villages three days trek from the nearest town and with customs unchanged for centuries
The souks of Marrakesh, Tunis or Tripoli
Surviving day to day in the war torn areas of Somalia, Mauritania or Sierra Leone and the starving millions in Dafur
The Mediterranean Beach lifestyle of Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard
The remote jungles of central Madagascar or the Congo
The self sufficient desert existence of the San Bushmen peoples in the Kalahari Desert of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.
Surviving under the harsh agricultural conditions following years of drought, in many central African countries.
And many more!
Many of these African countries provide great wildlife experiences. From living on your own in the bush - to millionaire game lodges frequented by the celebrity Jet-set. Where every whim is taken care of - at Jet-set prices! Maybe you could narrow down a bit what you really want to see and do, and I am sure you will get some help on this forum or one of the many other African Country forums. You can plan and do it all yourself or use a tour company or agent – again your choice. Although I am sure you will get a lot of agents falling over themselves to help you!
Since you have posted on the South African Forum I would assume that you mean wildlife and authentic african life in SA. Look at Kwazulu Natal in South Africa, home of the zulu and the abundance of game parks are in the heart of zululand with it;s rich sub tropical vegetation and wonderful beaches on the doorstep. The Isimangaliso St Lucia wetlands area is rich in wildlife and hippos and crocs can be seen in the wild from boat cruises. The private game parks in the area offer some very exclusive to some less exclusive and the national game parks also offer an abundance of wild life. turtle tracking and whale watching,snorkelling and diving can all be done in this part of the world.
sa-venues.com/game-reserves/kzn_lakestlucia.…
The Zulu culture can be found all over this province and area and close to the Mozambique border you will find the Tsonga people who are avid fishermen.
ps look at EuroZulu they come highly recommended on this forum.
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