Roxanne Reid's Blog, page 8

5 things I hate about the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

By Roxanne Reid
From any of my previous posts about the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park you’ll gather that this park that skips across the border between South Africa and Botswana has a special place in my heart.

But it’s not perfect.

Here are 5 things I hate about the Kgalagadi. 1. Roads, roads, roads. The sandy roads are infamous for corrugations that can devour even the hardiest of vehicles, rattling your rib cage and teeth, maybe even shaking your brains inside your head – depending on how...

12 of the best waterholes at Etosha National Park, Namibia

By Roxanne Reid
There are more than 40 waterholes at Etosha National Park, each with its own strengths. We’re so addicted to this park in northern Namibia that we’ve visited nearly 30 times and have got to know the waterholes well. For consistently good wildlife sightings over the years, here are 12 of the best.  Etosha National Park is probably one of the best wildlife parks in all of southern Africa. The best time to visit is between June and September when the waterholes around the salt...

Bloemhof-Karoo guesthouse near Richmond, Karoo

By Roxanne Reid
I hopped out of the car to open a gate and found sheep waiting to welcome us to their patch of Karoo. The wind whipped the sand across the gravel track. We turned a corner and the farmhouse appeared, a windmill standing near a giant pepper tree on the far side. We were at Bloemhof-Karoo guesthouse near Richmond in South Africa’s Northern Cape Karoo.  I went for the stoep like an alcoholic for gin. Wraparound Karoo stoeps are my thing; I can sit and watch the passing parade...

Top 5 favourite national parks in South Africa

By Roxanne Reid
Since the publication of my book  A Walk in the Park: travels in & around South Africa's national parks , people often ask which are my top 5 favourite national parks in South Africa. Picking my top three is easy; two I’ve visited time and again, never becoming bored, and I totally lost my heart to the third on my first visit. Choosing just two more from the other candidates is much harder. 1. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
The Kalahari is special for its rippling red dun...

San Ambroso chapel in the Knysna forest, Garden Route

By Roxanne Reid
Did you know there’s a pocket of Italian history tucked deep in the forests near Knysna? Take a road trip to the little San Ambroso chapel in the Knysna forest and discover a little known part of Garden Route history. Up in the cool Gouna Forest, about 10km along a gravel road, you’ll find a lush garden that’s pink with pelargoniums and bottlebrush. Here you’ll hear the call of peacocks and find the little chapel of San Ambroso.
History comes alive
The tiny church has...

Improve your writing or blogging by learning to self-edit

By Roxanne Reid
Do you wish you could improve your writing, your website or blog? Follow more than 40 tips in my new book, The Essential Guide to Self-Editing , and you can become “the Jedi of self-editing”. The guide is intended for bloggers, social media managers and business people, for students and post-grad academics – anyone who hasn’t trained to be a writer but finds themselves writing every day and would like to do it better.This is a little different from my usual posts about travel. I...

Which country is your secret Africa crush?

By Roxanne Reid
I’m a self-confessed Africa Addict. I love the wildlife, landscapes, food, people, culture and heritage of our continent. Anyone who knows Africa can’t help loving it. But have you ever wondered which country is your secret Africa crush? Which would make you happy and provide the best holiday experience?  For instance, do you love safari or are you more about beaches? Do you love the vibe of modern cities or is it the culture and heritage of a destination that speaks to you...

Samara Karoo: follow cheetah and aardvark on foot

By Roxanne Reid
Imagine tracking cheetahs and being able to sneak quietly closer on foot with your guide. Imagine being able to follow an aardvark in broad daylight, walking behind it as it forages for food. Being able to follow cheetah and aardvark on foot are just two of the thrills you can experience when you stay at Samara near Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape Karoo. Our cheetah experience started at 06:45, in the biting cold of a late August cold front. Our guide Jan Dunn bounced int...

Maasai Mara: a feast of wildlife sightings in Kenya

By Roxanne Reid
You’ve read the stories and seen the documentaries. Now you want to experience a safari in the renowned Maasai Mara for yourself, in real-life technicolour and surround-sound. If it’s a feast of wildlife sightings you’re looking for at Mara Plains Camp in the Mara, you’ve come to the right place. It’s impossible to come to the Mara and not see lots of buffaloes, zebras, giraffes and gazelles. Wildebeest too – even if you’re there before the migrating zebra and wildebeest he...

Safari thrills at Mara Expedition Camp, Maasai Mara

By Roxanne Reid
We woke in the dark to the sound of an elephant trumpeting and hyenas enjoying a pow-wow. We were at Mara Expedition Camp and we were getting ready for a full day of safari thrills in Kenya’s Maasai Mara. Our guide Nick Ratia had spoiled us with lions, leopard and cheetah the previous day. We hoped he was still on form. Not far from Mara Expedition Camp, while the moon was still up and the air cold, we found two bat-eared foxes near their den and watched them warming up in...