Dinah Hatch finds tribal culture, shipwrecks, history and pristine beaches in some of Africa’s less-explored holiday destinations
Away from the popular tourist destinations of North Africa and the safari hotspots of Kenya and South Africa, an amazing array of sights and experiences await the intrepid traveller.
Here are five options to suggest to clients looking to get off the beaten track.
Best for tribal Africa: Togo and Benin
Think colourful, exotic festivals, masked dances and dazzling art forms, add a touch of black magic and you’re heading in the right direction in understanding what a trip to Togo and Benin is like.
This unexplored corner of West Africa offers sparkling oceans and deserted beaches, unique African architecture and tribal villages, with all their unique customs and rituals.
A must is a visit to the Taberma people, who are famous for their amazing defensive architecture – fortified adobe castles made of clay that look like something out of a Disney film.
Clients should also spend time on the coast where they can visit voodoo doctors and witness the amazing power of this traditional religion over the local population.
Sample package: Explore offers a six-day Voodoo Villages group tour where clients stay in a stilted village and witness voodoo ceremonies from £1,099 per person.
Price includes flights from Gatwick, transfers, four nights’ accommodation, most meals and an Explore tour leader.
Best for shipwrecks: Skeleton Coast, Namibia
This tends to be a once-in-a-lifetime, quite expensive trip but you are pretty much guaranteed remoteness and the chance to explore some amazing landscapes.
This region on the northern part of Namibia’s Atlantic coast is named after the bones that littered the shoreline in the heydey of whaling.
The region is dotted with wrecks where ships have come to a sticky end on the rocks thanks to the thick fog that envelops the area for much of the year. Highlights include the Eduard Bohlen, the Otavi, Tong Taw and the Dunedin Star.
Sample package:Audley Travel offers an eight-night fly-in safari from £5,500 per person, based on two people travelling in January. The price includes flights from the UK, light aircraft transfers between locations, meals, drinks and activities.
Nights are spent at the Desert Homestead in Sossusvlei, on Schoemans Skeleton Coast Safari and at Onguma Tented Camp with game viewing activities in Etosha National Park.
Best for messing about on the river: Okavango Delta, Botswana
Described by the locals as the river that never reaches the sea, this unique wetland in the Kalahari Desert offers visitors a host of islands, lagoons and streams where hippos, warthogs and crocs wallow and hundreds of varieties of bird make their nests.
Elephants and red lechwe can be spotted as clients slide along the water in dug-out canoes (the only form of transport along these narrow waterways).
The region is also home to the Tsodilo Hills, four chunks of rock that loom up in stark contrast to the arid desert landscape behind and are known locally as the male rock (the largest), the female rock (the next one down), the baby rock (the smallest) and the male rock’s first wife (which lurks in the background).
Daubed with amazing paintings dating back to between 800 and 1300 AD, the hills are held sacred by the locals and have a serene aura to them – a perfect getaway.
Sample product:Bales Worldwide offers a 13-day tour of Botswana and Zambia including three nights in the Okavanga Delta for £5,375 per person departing February 1 2009. Price includes flights to Johannesburg, with British Airways, an English-speaking guide, game viewing programme and 10 days’ full-board accommodation.
Best for history: Ethiopia
This Orthodox Christian country is teeming with ancient historic sites. Clients with a desire to learn more about the continent’s deep cultural roots should take a trip to the ancient monastic centre of Debre Libanos, founded in the 13th century.
Axum, reputed to be the home of the Queen of Sheba and the Ark of the Covenant is also a must-see, with its tombs of King Kelab of Gebre Meskel, the Queen of Sheba’s swimming pool and palace and King Ezana’s Stone.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lalibela, hailed the New Jerusalem by King Lalibela, offers an amazing day trip, with its many ancient churches cut from the rock.
Sample package: Cox and Kings offers a 12-night Ethiopian Odyssey group tour which takes in Addis Ababa, Axum, the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, the monasteries of Bahar Dar, Gondar and the Simien Mountains from £1,995 per person, departing January 24 and February 7.
The price includes flights with Ethiopian Airlines, full-board accommodation, transfers and all excursions.
Best for beach bums: Mozambique coast
Those wishing to soak up the rays on deserted pristine coastlines should head for Mozambique. The country still suffers from an image problem due to past wars, but the south in particular is developing into a pleasant cluster of resorts.
Dolphin diving at Ponta Mamoli is an amazingly serene experience and Maputo, with its Portuguese influences, has a great atmosphere with plenty of relaxed cafes offering excellent traditional food and a lively nightlife scene.
Sample product:Acacia Africa offers six nights in Maputo, Catembe, Salamanga Bay, Maputo Elephant Reserve and Ponta Mamoli from £795 per person. The price includes two nights at a four-star hotel and four nights at a beach lodge with pool, transport and transfers, a driver and meals.
