Historically, African safaris are among the most expensive trips that we plan. Since the price tag can be eye-watering, it’s worth looking at what makes up that cost, and at what you’re actually getting for your money. One of the most important parts of planning a safari is the conversation about cost. Price boils down […]
I sprained my ankle. Day one, in Tarangire National Park. Not exactly the safari story I had imagined. If I was going to be taken down in the Tanzanian wilderness, I had pictured something more dramatic. A lion, ideally. A particularly ambitious cackle of hyenas perhaps. Maybe a crocodile if things really went badly. Instead, […]
Research is one of the principles which separates Trufflepig from other companies. Our owners are firm believers in the relationship between first hand experience and expertise. As a happy result I’ve been traveling to Africa for work since 2013 – and prior to that for fun since 1999. And since my first trip through the […]
I arrived in Madagascar not really knowing what to expect. I’d read all the stories about coups and corruption and environmental degradation and then seen stunning photography that showcased the beauty of the country that seemed at odds with the doom and gloom I had been reading about. As with most things, the truth lies […]
When Madagascar broke free from the continental landmass of Africa 90 million years ago, all of its wildlife was marooned on board, passengers on a boat floating out in the Indian Ocean. As a result about 90% of its wildlife evolved nowhere else on earth. It’s most famous inhabitants – the lemurs – proliferated and […]
In these times of uncertainty, of information overload, of constant connectivity and shrinking attention span, many speak of the need for a digital detox, a cleanse. Some may find relief in putting away the mobile phone, or forest bathing, or yoga. For me, it’s clear that when you need to empty the cache on your […]
I think what I like about a desert is the contrast. On the one hand there’s the fundamental hostility of the environment, never more apparent than at midday when the heat of day hits like an anvil. On the other, there is the supreme stillness and spectacular beauty at the day’s margins. Nowhere have I […]
My parents are African but I grew up in Canada, at times dreaming of far away places but mostly just grateful for summers spent paddling lakes, winters skiing ice, and weekends in hockey arenas all over Ontario. The travel bug bit me hard in my late teens, and by 20 I was working in the […]
Every year around this time, I pinch myself and remember how lucky I am, as I take stock of the places I’ve been over the past 12 months. Field research is one of the core principles at Trufflepig and in every region we plan, planners like me spend huge amounts of time trying to better […]
Last summer I returned to a place from my childhood; a remote beach three hours north of Maputo, Mozambique. On one of the first nights, we had a huge spread of food on the counter. We had just finished shallow frying some shrimp beignets, Rissóis de Camarāo, and as I took my first bite, I […]
Do you remember playing Cowboys and Indians, or Confederate vs Union Soldiers? Yeah, neither do I. But those role play games of my youth are what springs to mind as the closest comparison to the phenomenon of the Moroccan fantasia, although I much prefer to use the local term in Arabic, the T’bourida. We’re on […]
Rwanda remains as impactful a place as ever. The contrast between the country’s dark history and the prosperity evident today is nothing short of remarkable, and whatever your opinions on the country’s politics, there’s no denying that Rwanda is fantastic success story. Most of our travellers come just for a few days to visit the […]
There’s something relentlessly compelling to me about harsh environments. I find the way that they focus my mind to only the most immediate concerns very calming. It’s like having the volume turned down on your stream of consciousness. In that way, Namibia is something of a revelation. The entire country is functionally a pretty harsh […]
2012 to 2024 RIP My Hiking Boots. “Strong, durable, and comfortable on any trail,” declared MEC. And for once, the marketing department didn’t lie. After a 12-year career of loyal service, These Boots took their final step in the cobbled streets of Casco Viejo, Panama City. Succumbing not to time, but to the cruel inevitability […]
It’s 6:30pm in Rabat. The sun descends below the horizon. A cannon blast ricochets across the city, followed by the rising chorus of a hundred voices from a hundred minarets calling out the sunset prayer reverberating in the streets which magically have become bereft of cars and people. The call to prayer dies down and […]
Most people know Kenya for the Masai Mara and the famed river crossings of the Great Migration. Yet to me, that’s almost the least exciting part. I find Kenya to be utterly compelling in far broader ways. It’s a place that remains in my imagination, a frontier, a place where an older type of less […]