Joanna Booth seeks out some lesser-known African destinations for adventurous travellers, including Rwanda, Ethiopia and Madagascar
While good-value old favourites such as South Africa and Morocco look set to surge in popularity in 2009, a hard core of Africa lovers and adventurers will be seeking new territories to tick off their lists.
Operators are offering new niche products and featuring countries for the first time to cater for this audience. Even more mainstream operators are branching out, with Thomas Cook featuring new tours in Namibia and Botswana, and Thomson Worldwide introducing Rwanda and Mozambique for 2009.
Africa as a whole seems to be holding up well to the recession, with many operators reporting reassuringly healthy sales. World Expeditions product manager Brad Atwal said: “Asian destinations have had security issues and South America is becoming increasingly expensive. Africa used to be the dark continent, but now its future is bright.”
Turn the page for our guide to the up-and-coming destinations to watch this year.
Rwanda
Fifteen years after the tragic events of Rwanda’s 100-day genocide shocked the world, the now peaceful country is starting to reap the rewards of tourism once again.
The major draw for many visitors are the mountain gorillas, found in only a few places in central Africa. This year is the year of the gorilla, and with prices rising in Uganda, Rwanda is the best option to see these handsome beasts. Visitors can track these gentle giants through vine-hung forests, spotting monkeys, buffalo and birds along the way.
The country’s increasing popularity is also down to luxury and internationally recognisable brands such as Governors’ Camp and Serena Hotels opening lodges and hotels. Kempinski is developing four properties due to open in the next couple of years.
Featured by the likes of Kuoni and Somak, as well as Exodus and World Expeditions, the country has even been selected this year by Thomson Worldwide as an add-on to the Kenya programme.
Africa product manager Beverley Pridmore said: “The wildlife has drawn people back, and it also featured in the TV show The Long Way Down, with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, which raised interest. It’s starting to sell.”
West Africa
West Africa is a popular choice at the moment, according to Explore Africa product manager Peter Eshelby and Intrepid Travel sales and marketing manager, Europe, Daniel Pawlyn. Both have noticed trips to the area really picking up, with visitors attracted by the tribal experiences on offer.
For something really off the wall, Explore runs voodoo tours in Benin and Togo, and launched Burkina Faso as a stand-alone destination last year. Intrepid has new trips in Mali, and Cox and Kings and World Expeditions report that it is selling well.
Mali’s world music festivals make it popular in January and February, but it is now attracting visitors throughout the year with its rugged, off-the-beaten track charms.
Travellers can interact with both the Dogon tribe, who live at the base of the sandstone cliffs of the Bandiagara Escarpment and whose lives are governed by magic and cosmology, and the Tuareg desert-dwellers. They can see the largest mud mosque in the world at Djenné, and the legendary city outpost of Timbuktu.
Ethiopia and Eritrea
Ethiopia had dropped off a little in recent years after an initial popularity surge, but seems to be making a comeback.
It’s the only Orthodox Christian country in Africa, and visitors with an interest in religion or history flock to Axum, where the Church claims to have the legendary Ark of the Covenant – the world’s most sacred and holy object – kept under guard.
There are also stupendous 13th century cave churches carved into the rock at Lalibela, and plenty of opportunities for trekking. Cox and Kings visitor numbers to Ethiopia doubled in 2008 and look set to do the same again this year.
Africa product manager Louise Stanion said: “The Ethiopian people are charming, interesting and interested. It’s really on the up.” Exodus, Explore and World Expeditions all feature the country, and Travel 2 is considering it as an option for the future.
Explore has also offered neighbouring Eritrea for the last three years. Peter Eshelby said: “It was a little-known destination we thought we’d try and it really worked.
The capital, Asmara, has beautiful art deco buildings from the Italian era and there’s a newly restored steam train that drops 2,000 metres over 75 miles through desert and mountains to the coast.”
Madagascar
Previously dominated by the French and Italian markets, an increase in airlift and greater access by UK operators will encourage Brits to visit the lush land of the lemur.
There are no direct flights, but Air Mauritius, South African Airways and Kenya Airways all fly there, in addition to connecting with the existing Air France flights out of Paris.
The island is newly featured by Travel 2 and walking specialist Ramblers Worldwide Holidays. Travel 2 Africa product manager Michael Creighton said: “Madagascar is an up-and-coming destination with lots to offer.
The flora and fauna are unique, and it’s also culturally fascinating, mixing a feel of Africa and Asia with the French influence from colonial times. You get paddy fields and beachside dhows, and in the capital there are cobbled streets, patisseries and Renaults.”
Exodus, World Expeditions and Cox and Kings have also seen promising growth in bookings to Madagascar. Stanion believes the appeal of the island is widening as visitors realise there is more to see than lemurs.
“The wildlife is amazing, but the culture is fascinating too, with many bizarre traditions part of inhabitants’ everyday life.” Situated on the trade route between the East Indies and Europe, the area was once plagued by pirates.
Divers are catered for by Travel 2, which features Princess Bora Lodge on the offshore island of Sainte-Marie, where they can see wrecked ships.
Madagascar isn’t a budget option, however, and because it is costed on the euro, it will suffer as the weak pound puts off some UK visitors.
Best of the rest
Forget the Maldives or the Seychelles, Mozambique is seen as the new beach destination. With more than 1,250 miles of pristine Indian Ocean coastline and plenty of luxury resorts, it’s an ideal choice for a beach holiday.
Thomson Worldwide has added a new island to its programme this year, and recommends twinning it with a safari in South Africa’s Kruger National Park for the perfect honeymoon.
For freshwater fun, try Malawi. Half of the country is a vast, island-filled lake, offering diving and snorkelling. It’s not a big five safari destination, but there are national parks with elephants, rhinos and birds, and it’s easy to twin with Zambia.
This year you can sell Travel 2 trips to Malawi for the first time. Creighton said: “It’s much less commercial and more remote than a lot of Africa. You can just relax by the lake, or there are volunteer tourism options for travellers who want to help the Malawian people. Madonna’s adoption of a Malawian boy drew attention to their plight.”
And for something a bit different for the really hard core, how about a camel trek across Sudan? Exodus’s 15-day journey takes in the Sahara Desert, the Nile Valley, the Nuba Mountains and the tropical swamps of the Sudd.
Exodus Africa regional manager Karen Findlay said: “It’s remote, so not cheap – from £3,329 per person – but it appeals to a certain type of adventurous person.”
Celebs take on Kilimanjaro for charity
This year, a group of celebrities including Chris Moyles, Gary Barlow and Cheryl Cole are climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief.
Intrepid Travel sales and marketing manager, Europe, Daniel Pawlyn, said: “There’ll be an even bigger rush than usual to book trips which feature Kilimanjaro, so advise clients to get in early.”
Sample product
Travel 2’s 11-day Highlights of Madagascar tour costs from £2,229 per person (0800 0224 302 or visit travel2.com)
Thomson Worldwide offers seven nights’ full-board at the three-star-plus Pestana Bazaruto Lodge in Mozambique from £2,340, including return flights from Heathrow and transfers (0871 664 0273 or visit the Thomson trade website)
Cox and Kings’ 14-day Ethiopian Odyssey costs from £1,999 per person including flights with Ethiopian Airlines from Heathrow. (020 7873 5000)
Explore’s nine-day Eritrean Highlights tour costs from $1,450 per person excluding flights (0845 013 1537)
World Expeditions features a five-day gorilla trek starting in Kigali from £1,520 (0800 0744 135)
