When I think of all the experiences I’ve enjoyed on my African safaris, a few iconic day trips really stand out. Places that were perhaps that little more remote, or where the scenery was something special even by African standards. Then there are the times when I got to enjoy a day out somewhere exciting in Africa and share the experience with someone special.
Two of my favourite day trips both begin in Cape Town: circumnavigating the Cape Peninsula and seeing its rugged coastal beauty, penguin antics and nautical history and going on a guided trip to wet your whistle in the Cape Winelands.
The empty spaces of Namibia also invite longer journeys of exploration, whether it’s scrambling up the ancient, ochre dunes of Sossusvlei for views over an ocean of sand, or heading to where the actual ocean meets the desert to spot seals and shipwrecks on the aptly named Skeleton Coast.
For a day trip with a difference – one that’s circumscribed by the rising tide – you can spend a few hours playing castaway on an idyllic sandbar in Mozambique. Don’t worry, a boat will return and collect you before your desert island slips beneath the sea! And let’s not forget catching tigers in Zambia.
