Roxanne Reid's Blog, page 6

Gannaga Lodge at the top of Gannaga Pass, Tankwa Karoo

By Roxanne Reid
Clouds of dust whirl across a brown and khaki landscape, the air sucked dry of moisture. This is the Tankwa Karoo National Park in the grips of a four-and-a-half-year drought. We’re here to stay at Gannaga Lodge at the top of Gannaga Pass, Tankwa Karoo, to explore this stony desert-like vastness on the way to nowhere. Gemsbok stride across the landscape, their tails flicking. Springbok and Cape mountain zebras nuzzle at the parched grass in search of nourishment. A clutch o...

Makgadikgadi pans: San experience at Jack’s Camp Botswana

By Roxanne Reid
When you visit the Makgadikgadi pans and Jack’s Camp Botswana, you can tag along on a San experience to learn from the Zu/’hoansi Bushmen about their culture and way of doing things. The Makgadikgadi pans area of Botswana is an intriguing landscape of dry savanna and featureless salt flats that are among the largest in the world. Here you can go on game drives into the Makgadikgadi National Park to see wildlife like lions, eland, zebras and gemsbok, as well as Makgadikgadi...

5 campsites in Namibia: the southwest

By Roxanne Reid
Southern Namibia is dominated by the Kalahari in the east and the Namib Desert in the west. Here scenery has a lunar tinge, mountains and plains go on forever and sand is your constant companion. When visiting the Fish River Canyon, Sossusvlei, the wild horses and the ghost town of Kolmanskop, you might enjoy camping at these 5 campsites in Namibia.  Ai-Ais Resort, Fish River Canyon The Ai-Ais Resort at the southern edge of the Fish River Canyon is where the four- to...

10 unique stays and quirky accommodation in Southern Africa

By Roxanne Reid
There are thousands of wonderful places to stay in Southern Africa, but many are variations on the same theme - hotel, safari lodge, etc. But sometimes they offer something different and intriguing, whether it’s a boat, a train, notable architecture or historic value. Here, in random order, are 10 unique stays and quirky accommodation in Southern Africa I’ve enjoyed over the years.  1. Stuurmansfontein corbelled house, Northern Cape, South Africa Perhaps one of the mo...

10 unique stays in Southern Africa

By Roxanne Reid
There are thousands of wonderful places to stay in Southern Africa, but many are variations on the same theme - hotel, safari lodge, etc. But sometimes they offer something different and intriguing, whether it’s a boat, a train, quirky architecture or historic value. Here, in random order, is my pick of 10 unique stays in Southern Africa I’ve enjoyed over the years.  1. Stuurmansfontein corbelled house, Northern Cape, South Africa Perhaps one of the most unique stays...

48 hours at Augrabies waterfalls in South Africa

By Roxanne Reid
Augrabies Falls is about 120km west of Upington in the Northern Cape. Although the average water flow is about 40-60 cubic metres per second, during the January 2011 floods some 4 800 cubic metres of water raced over the falls every second. It’s a place of unusual landscapes and quiver trees. Here’s what to do with 48 hours at Augrabies waterfalls in South Africa. First afternoon: view sites
Not far from the entrance and main camp is Moon Rock, a massive rounded granite moun...

Sesriem Campsite: Sossusvlei the slow travel way

By Roxanne Reid
It’s frustrating to be locked out of the fun to be had at Sossusvlei in Namibia. But that’s what happens if you stay at campsites or lodges outside the gates into the Namib-Naukluft National Park. It was 20 years since we camped inside the gates to gain extra time before the external gate opened; it was time to go back to experience Sesriem Campsite and Sossusvlei the slow travel way. If you enjoy slow travel, not rushing like a lunatic, this is an important distinction: th...

10 reasons to visit the Serengeti in Tanzania on safari

By Roxanne Reid
The famous Serengeti National Park is one of Africa’s most classic safari destinations and it’s no surprise why; it’s home to the Big Five, about 500 bird species and Africa’s most well-known great migration. Here are 10 reasons to visit the Serengeti in Tanzania on safari. 1. Great wildebeest migration Perhaps one of the most popular reasons to visit the Serengeti in Tanzania on safari is the Great Migration, when about a million wildebeest migrate from southern Tanz...

Stadsaal Caves and San rock paintings in the Cederberg

By Roxanne Reid
The Cederberg Wilderness Area just 200km north of Cape Town is a place to feel the fresh mountain air on your face, hear the call of birds and enjoy views of mountains and intriguing rock formations. Don’t miss the Stadsaal Caves and San rock paintings of elephants that were painted at least 1000 years ago.  Rocky overhangs and caves with rock art are scattered throughout the Cederberg, but the elephant paintings near the Stadsaal Caves are some of the most famous and well...

Visit the wild horses of Aus in Namibia

Photo: Beate Schippert By Roxanne Reid
In South Africa there are wild horses at Kleinmond in the Cape and Kaapschehoop in Mpumalanga. But it’s those in the Namib Desert that are the wildest and most romantic of all Southern Africa’s feral horses. The first time we went to visit the wild horses of Aus in southern Namibia, we had a number of questions. Where did the horses come from? How do they survive in this harsh environment?  We were staying at Eagle’s Nest at Klein Aus Vista. Johann Swi...