The largest waterfalls on the planet. Located seemingly in the centre of Southern Africa, the falls stretches between two countries. It spans 1,700 meters (5,600 feet) between Zimbabwe and Zambia and is simply one of the most stunning things to see in Africa.  This is a place we have all visited many times and it never disappoints. In this episode we’re going to explore some of the insider tips to help you get the most from your visit while exploring some of the things we love about this...

After you listen to this episode you will surely be pumped up to go and explore our beloved KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). It’s absolutely jam packed with tips of places to go, what to do there and how to make the most of your time in KZN so scroll down the notes for as many of the links we could gather from the tips we brought you. Our guest for this episode is KZN expert travel writer & photographer Melanie Van Zyl. She live in sunny Pietermaritzburg at the start of the KZN midlands and has...

You often hear of gems in the travel world but Chumbe Island really and truly is. This podcast will follow our trips to this remarkable place. An affordable yet still exclusive tiny island off the coast of Zanzibar. Staying here is exactly like you imagined a tropical island when you were a child. Rustic bungalows nestled in the lush forests. Turquoise ocean, whites sandy bays and the world’s largest and most elusive crab! Over the last 30-years Chumbe has turned this island into an award...

If you enjoy the active outdoors in Africa then this episode is for you. James recalls his experience trekking up Mt. Kilimanjaro. We invite Ake Lindstrom from Summits Africa to share his wealth of guiding & mountaineering knowledge to help inspire you and provide tips to get the most out of your Kili trek.  Ake (pronounced Orca) has summited Kili over 80 times and so he’s fairly qualified to give us his tips. However, we wanted to use the lure of summiting Africa’s highest point (and...

There is a place in Botswana called Makgadikgadi. Home to the largest collection of salt pans on the planet. A vast open, desolate place in what is already a vast, open desolate region - the Kalahari Desert.  In this episode we’re going to transport you to one of our favourite lodges, Leroo La Tau, and talk you through an experience of spending a night out sleeping in the middle of one of these ginormous salt pans. A place where you will witness a blanket of stars unlike anything you could...

Everyone tends to talk about “Gorilla Trekking” as one of those bucket list things to do in Africa. In this episode we share our tips from Uganda and Rwanda where we went on Chimpanzee, Golden Monkey and Gorilla treks. While gorilla trekking is a profound experience we’re here today to share insight as to why there is so much more than just the gorilla trekking. We interview a specialist ranger from Uganda and we hope to bring you lots of useful information and the usual quality banter from...

For the next few months we’re going to be exploring some of the inspiring African destination and experience that we’ve had and share our tips with you. Coming up in episode 1 we'll be taking you to Uganda & Rwanda to discover Chimp trekking and other primate experiences. Then later in the series we'll bring you hidden gems off the coast of Zanzibar, how to climb Kilimanjaro, Sleeping out on the epic salt pans of Botswana, discovering Kwa-Zulu Natal and much, much more.

We’ve reached the final episode of the series which features Katie McDonough our friend from Explore Inc in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Katie is an African Expert and sends hundreds of high-end travellers across to Africa every year. As we’re celebrating 2022 the Year of Travelling to Africa it was great to chat to Katie fresh off the plane from her trip to Tanzania. Her first trip back since the pandemic. Enjoy our chat about her experiences on the ground and as usual some good tips in...

Are the UK travellers ready to come to Africa?  It was time to move the interview studio to a pub in the UK and James found a willing interviewee in the form of Chris Fortescue from Africa Collection. Chris and his business partner James, have been operating Africa Collection for over 20-years and shared his thoughts on the travel sector and the challenges and opportunities for the coming years.  As always a quick catch up with Stuart and James and another week goes by with the skies...

In this episode we decided to compare notes with our friends on the other side of the Indian Ocean. Speaking to two real life Australians we find out how their COVID pandemic journey in the travel industry has affected them as individuals and not just the outbound market to Africa.. but their own domestic and international industry. Rhett Lego from TCMG in Germany has been marketing Australia as well as other regions since the naughties and comes with some fascinating insight into the...

For our second episode of celebrating - 2022 The Year of Travelling to Africa - we’ve gathered snippets to bring you from all over Botswana and Zimbabwe. Africa’s Eden launched the first in-destination travel show post-pandemic which took place this month in Victoria Falls. So we used the opportunity of having everybody together… in person… and caught up with lodge managers, guides and tour operators from around the region as well as the event’s organisers. In this episode share the buzz...

Welcome to series 4 of Inspiring African Travel.  We have decided to dedicate this series to celebrating 2022 as the year of travelling to Africa. Yip we’ve called it!  Travel to Southern and East Africa is WELL underway and bookings for the upcoming season are exploding by the day!  For this series, every few  weeks we’ll catch up and talk about what's happening in the travel sector.  What's new from the people operating on the ground in destinations across the continent and also...

We chat to Skinner Ndlovu – possibly the most experienced guide in the Zambezi River region of Zimbabwe. He has been guiding the thrilling rapids of the Zambezi for over 20-years and represented his country in rafting tournaments around the world. Skinner explains why the Zambezi is the safest but also the most thrilling white water rafting destination in the world and some of the different trips you can do through his company Wild Horizons. To find out more from this energetic and passionate...

Welcome to Inspiring African Travel…! Today’s episode is Part 2 so if you haven’t listed to Part 1 where we introduce you to Grant Reed and the African Guide Academy then please jump back to the previous episode. In this second and final part of the interview we’ll discover more about how you can come to Botswana and spend anything from 7-days to a full month immersed in the Okavango Delta learning the art of guiding… but we’ll also dig a bit deeper into how you can give back and...

Introducing you to inspiring wilderness connoisseur and professional guide trainer, Grant Reed.  For just under 20-years Grant and his family have dedicated their careers to establishing a world class training school – The African Guide Academy. We talk to Grant about the school and how international visitors can take part in compact (7-day) or thorough (1-month) guide training courses and why it is one of the most rewarding and truly immersive wilderness experiences any traveller can have...

Welcome to episode number 4 of GUIDE STORIES. This episode we’re going to explore an area of Botswana that is a little less known to many visitors to this country. Amongst thousands and thousands of square km’s of flat Kalahari desert you will find two Unesco World Heritage sites. The iconic Okavango Delta and the Tsodilo Hills. We spent the day with a local guide by the name of Lopang Mojanga. His family were descendants of the river bushman who settled in the area thousands of years ago...

In episode 3 of local guides in Africa we talk to a guide with a difference. A scuba diving guide and instructor from Tanzania called Frank Mollel.  He’s a proud Masai from the mountains near Arusha and discovered an absolute passion for diving 15-years ago and never looked back.  His passion has led him on a crusade to help teach the local communities of Zanzibar to swim, dive and care for the ocean through understanding more about the environment.   Frank instructed Julia to become...

For the next 20 minutes we’re going to transport you with legendary desert guide. Super Sande to the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans in Northern Botswana – the worlds most expansive salt pans. In early June, James and Jules we were so lucky to go and stay at the renowned Jacks Camp. The completely newly built camp is one of a kind in Botswana. Originally an Uncharted Africa property the Jacks Camp Falls under the Natural Selection group of wonderful wilderness properties located in Namibia, South...

In episode 1 of series 3 we interview professional guide Bihelang Kasale – known to most as “Dutch”. African Bush Camps generously invited us to their stunning new Khwai Leadwood camp in the Khwai Concession of the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Just a few months old on a beautiful floodplain we spent time with this lovely man and learnt about his total love for Spotted Hyenas!