By Philip Briggs
Edition 32: Autumn 2005
For most, the choice of destination falls between these extremes. Of
Africa’s fifty-odd countries, at least half boast the combination of a
decent range of tourist attractions, reasonable facilities, and a
stable political climate. So where in this wonderfully varied continent
should the first-time visitor start?
Well, some personal factors come into play, many fairly
straightforward. Should you count yourself among that majority of souls
for whom reaching a ripe old age is a priority, you can forget about
the likes of Liberia or the DRC. If you don’t speak a word of French,
then
Francophone countries are probably best left out of the starting
equation. And if your primary interest is an animal-watching safari,
that eliminates the wildlife-depleted likes of The Gambia, Ethiopia or
Malawi.
Other decisions require a bit of advance research. Is traditionalist
Mali a better off-the-beaten-track primer than neo-modernist Malawi? Is
populist Kenya too geared to mass tourism to satisfy your yen to get
away from it all? Does elitist Botswana’s high-cost, low-impact ethos
render it too pricey for anybody who doesn’t keep a second Porsche? Is
South Africa’s well-organised (but, some might say, over-sanitised) tourist industry preferable to Ethiopia’s exhilarating
but exhausting authenticity? There are no answers to these questions,
just different perspectives.
For independent travellers with several months to spare, sub-Saharan Africa splits into three main circuits. The southern one is strong on beaches and wildlife, and its hyper-organised backpacker
industry makes it ideal for nervous novices, whilst tending to dull
individual initiative and to restrict opportunities for local
interaction. At the other extreme is West Africa: consistently
absorbing culturally, but poor for wildlife, and often rather tough
going. A compromise between the contrasting levels of comfort and
hassle of south and west is the eastern circuit centred on Kenya,
Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi and Rwanda.
Certain countries stand out for specific styles of independent travel.
Is South Africa preferable to Ethiopia? Well, the former, with its
world-class facilities and varied natural landscapes, is ideal for a
relatively unadventurous medium-budget self-drive holiday of anything
from a week to a month or two in duration. By contrast, nobody ever
used the word holiday to describe an extended journey through the
surreal cultural landscapes of Ethiopia, an ultra-affordable
destination whose in-your-face conditions have been known to test the
steeliest of travel constitutions.
On current form, however, my nod for the epithet ‘Africa for Beginners’ would probably go westward: to
Ghana. Easy to reach from Europe and pretty straightforward to get
around, this underrated Anglophone country is refreshingly unpackaged
in mood, with inexpensive yet reasonably comfortable facilities. What’s
more, its varied selection of cultural, scenic, historical and wildlife
sites form a virtual microcosm of all that is stimulating about Africa
today. |
