Mint tea in Morocco is everywhere: every visitor is bound to get an offer of tea, whether from a rug dealer or in a local’s home, and it would be rude to refuse. All business transactions, receptions, ceremonies, and celebrations involve tea in Morocco; it’s the sign of hospitality as much as it is the […]
Much like the natural hierarchy among Africa’s wild animals, there has always been an order of things in terms of safari destination rankings. Botswana has long been the lion, while Zambia’s role could be likened to scrappy meerkat. But roles evolve, and if there has ever been a challenger for the pride of Botswana, this […]
I’m a big fan of delayed gratification; a little hard work beforehand makes the reward that much sweeter. For example, when eating lobster (my favourite meal), I’ll start with the legs and the little flanges at the tip of the tail, twisting and tweezing out even the smallest fibre of meat until I can barely […]
When my mom texts me, she refers to me as “Nomad”. It started as a typo that her phone autocorrected, and stuck due to my longstanding travel addiction. When I rode a camel into the Sahara Desert to meet some real nomads this summer, she found it highly amusing. Traditionally, the nomadic Berbers in Morocco […]
Remember that Sounder article a while back about our silly sailor friend Phil, the Austrian guy who sailed from Cape Town to Rio and back? I sort of figured a journey like that would drain the crazy from his boat. Nope. On January 3rd I got an email from Phil with the news that he was going […]
Every campfire conversation in Africa promises a lifetime of embellishment, exaggeration and sweeping generalization. Having sat around many a campfire myself, you’ll have to forgive me the indulgence. I’ve heard many a Kenyan take pot shots at Southern African safaris, and Southern Africans are no less opinionated, so I’ll try here to present a balanced […]
Every November, for the past years, we’ve attended a remarkable travel show in Marrakech—PURE Life Experiences. It’s where we go to take the pulse of the travel industry (oh no, did I just use that word?), meet with some of the hotels and people we work with, and sniff around for new and noteworthy places. […]
There’s something to be said about being an original. Nearly a decade ago, Singita set the tone and claimed the style and design throne of South African safari lodges with the opening of Singita Lebombo. It remains the yardstick against which any lodge claiming to the best is measured against. Year after year Lebombo continues to […]
We all want to see lions, giraffes and elephants – these exotic animals have captured our imaginations from a very young age. For most tourists, a trip to Africa means a trip to see the lions, giraffes and elephants, but moving past this simple declaration they become quickly paralyzed by all the choice. This is […]
Ever taken a yoga class? How about a tennis lesson? What about sailing instruction? Ever learn how to sail a 62-foot yacht from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro? And back? No, it’s not something many have done. Hardly anyone, in fact. But Trufflepig’s friend, Phil Haemmerle, he has. So when we found out Phil […]
Okay, so you haven’t quite gotten around to planning that late December holiday getaway. You don’t need more guilt heaped on your work-weary shoulders. But you do need some help. The Christmas to New Year’s travel window is a busy one, so there’s no more time to waste. Here’s a rundown of of what could […]
If you woke up this morning and said to yourself, “You know what I’d like to do today? Jump into a small pool right at the edge of a massive waterfall and then hang off the edge of said waterfall over a 108m vertical drop”, then by jove you’ve come to the right place. I’ll […]
At 6′ 5″ our Africa trip planner, Dan Achber, is a giant among men. But it’s his prowess as a planner of safaris and journeys in sub-Saharan Africa that really measures large. We’ve held him in high regard for years and were thrilled to learn yesterday that Travel & Leisure magazine now does too. In the upcoming […]
I was designed for the great plains of Africa – its more than just my job. I am reminded every time I land on the airstrip, any airstrip, and take my first breath. Every pore suddenly achieves full aperture, every muscle settles back into comfortable repose. It is like removing a pesky pebble from your sandal after tolerating […]
Lodge-to-lodge trekking out of the Kasbah du Toubkal gives you access to some of the most beautiful parts of the Atlas, remote rural communities, and sweeping other-worldly landscapes. The well-known Kasbah du Toubkal has been doing up lodges, scattered in the hills and valleys around Imlil, which the lodge uses to put together multi-day treks beginning and […]
Special offers, particularly where travel is concerned, are imperfect for the most part. They’re either too restrictive, not really what you want, or more of a compromise than you would like. But then there are the rare gems you need to take a closer look at. For the second year in a row Wilderness Safaris is offering […]