Inspiring African Travel Podcast

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 destination. 

Jess White who works with Wild Horizons in Zimbabwe is a Vic Falls local joined us for this episode and helps give us loads of insider tips and ideas. 

The falls drop just over 100 meters from top to bottom. Not the highest… but but when you consider that the mighty Zambezi river is one of Africa’s biggest rivers then you can just imagine what a spectacle this nearly 1.7km of waterfalls really is.

The spray that shoots up into the air from the thundering falls rises up about 800m of 2,600 feet into the air and so on a clear day you can see the falls mist from about 50km away! 

The locals called it MOSI OA TUNYA  – the Smoke that Thunders. 

Want to know what to do, where to eat, what else to see while you’re there and how we can help inspire you to get the most from your visit? If so listen in and as always here are the links to most of the places we mentioned. 

Wild Horizons are an incredible local resource and can help you plan everything from rafting the Zambezi to dining on the Zambezi. Accommodation and transfers you name it. We love these guys.

Dusty Road for an incredible local styled culinary experience in the Falls.  For more information on Bike Tours in the falls.

We spoke about the power of the Negative Ions in Victoria Falls. You can read more about that here in this blog from Wild Horizons.

The Lookout Cafe for a must do stop while in the falls. 

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 become an absolute fantastic of the region! 
Like all places there are just so many more things we didn’t have time to talk about so we focus on 5 topics and regions to get you more than going.

1. We start off with Durban the city – the hub of KZN and while we’re not big into cities on this podcast, Mel tries to persuade us otherwise!
2. The Drankensberg Mountain range. Superb hiking and Definitely South Africa’s most significant mountain range. 
3. Kosi Bay and the surrounding beaches & bays for remote, tropical wilderness experiences and incredible snorkelling and diving
4. The KZN Midlands – a region that starts an hour inland from Durban all the way to the Drakensberg. Its one of the most perfect road trip areas full of quaint places to stay and explore. Its foodie heaven and also full if nature trails and outdoor things to do.
5. The game-reserves & wildlife areas of KZN. Possibly overlooked because of the famous Kruger in South Africa.. we’ll take you through the best places in KZN that offer truly unique ecosystems and African wildlife experiences.

Thanks again to Melanie for agreeing to help us out it was lots of fun and you can find all her details in our notes on the site as well.

To know more about Melanie Van Zyl our guest on this podcast and expert on all things Kwa-Zulu Natal follow her website link or find her on Instagram, and Twitter.

The city life of Durban
Check out Summer Hill for Mel’s recommendation for a really fun Durban styled sustainable meal using local produce from local farmers (around 20-minutes from Durban).

The amazing South African Indian curry restaurant we recommend near Florida road in Durban is Malis – Fantastic homemade curry! Don’t let the looks deceive you. This place does an outstanding nosh!

The Kosi Bay Area of KZN
The incredible Isimangaliso Wetland Park. An extremely unique game reserve and ecosystem in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

Kosi Forest Lodge for the amazing Raphia Palm walks where you can find the rare Palm-nut vulture and enjoy massive wide-open deserted wild beaches.

Coral Divers – Mel’s recommendation for an amazing place to stay for diving, fishing and exploring. Chilled, relaxed vibe and inside the park.

The Drakensberg Mountains 
One of Mel’s favourite places for hiking, views and remoteness is the Mnweni Wilderness Area. You can find out more about this region and hikes here:

Womxn for Wild offer these guides hikes of the Drakensberg.

Mel’s recommendation for escorted guided hikes in the Drakensberg – Path Finder SA.

To get to the highest pub in Africa and enjoy the Sani Pass (although in Lesotho and not in KZN) you’ll get epic views of KZN – Sani Mountain Lodge (don’t forget your passport) and beware the road is very tricky if there is snow and you always need a 4WD.

The KZN Midlands 
A quaint area of KZN full of old “English” style pubs, crafts, arts, culture and incredible little wilderness areas. For information about the area visit the Midlands Meander. 

The incredible museum commemorating the life of Nelson Mandela located near Howick is a must do in the Midlands – The Capture Site. 

The Karkloof Conservation Area is a wonderful wilderness area doing great things with trails, biking, bird rehabilitation (for Cranes) and much more.

The quirky Old Mushroom Farm offers accommodation in the Karkloof Conservation Area. 

The Nottingham Road Brewing Company based in Rawdon’s is a popular brewery been around for many, many years.

Finally – if you want to go to one of the most unusual vineyards then this is the place to check out Abingdon Wine Estate.  

Mel’s tips – Always choose a place to stay in the Midlands with a fire place!

Game Reserves & Wildlife Areas in KZN 
Close to Durban in a new reworded Manyoni Game Reserve. 

Babanango Game Reserve – Our episode in series 2 covered this amazing new project creating a new massive game-reserve wildlife area.

Keep an eye out on The Homestead Lodge in Nambiti Private Game Reserve. 

These are epic wilderness areas in KZN getting you off the grid away from other people getting in touch with nature in this remarkable game reserve. Short 2-day hikes to longer 5-day adventures.

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 winning marine conservancy and community tourism project.

Enjoy this episode as we inspire you to visit one of our favourite places in Africa! Chumbe Island! 

https://chumbeisland.com

https://www.instagram.com/chumbeisland/

https://youtu.be/IO9IVhWHkYo

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 imagine. Where you can take in the seemingly never-ending horizons of the salty white surface that could only be matched by being on the moon. 

Links include: 

One of our favourite places in Botswana referred to as the base from which to experience the salt pans sleep out: https://desertdelta.com/camps/leroo-la-tau/ 

The book referred to with expert knowledge on the formation of the salt pans: https://www.nhbs.com/makgadikgadi-botswanas-dusty-wetlands-book 

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 and the arrivals into Africa climbing by the day! 

Please also check out the Africa Collection Facebook Page for regular Africa travel updates from the UK.

After recording the interview the PCR requirements we spoke about were all lifted

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 and excitement as travellers arrival numbers are on the up and the tourism industry is back in full flow!

Congratulations to Africa’s Eden for pulling off what promises to be a highlight on every calendar within the African Travel sector.

We’d like to thank Kumbi Chiweshe, Andrew Flatt, Jillian Blackbeard, Walter Smith, Alexandra Mucheik, Ernest Chaba and Florence Kagiso for taking the time to contribute to this episode and we hope you enjoy feeling the energy of our wonderful African Tourism industry back in full force as much as we do!

In terms of links please add the following.  

For more information about Africa’s Eden please check out https://africaseden.travel

We also feature The Victoria Falls DMC who can be found on https://www.victoriafallsdmc.com

To have a look at the beautiful new Pioneers Lodge in Victoria Falls which played host to the event https://www.pioneersvicfalls.com