Edition 49: Winter 2009/10

Simon Reeve, adventurer, author and TV presenter

My first footstep in Africa... Mogadishu, Somalia (if you ignore an overnight stopover in Nairobi). We had a warm welcome in the world’s most dangerous city, but it was still terrifying.

My favourite footstep in Africa... ‘Extreme tracking’ of lions during a dawn safari in Limpopo National Park, Mozambique. It was a walk I’ll remember forever.

My fab five... The honey badger (pound for pound the toughest and most fearless creature in the world), the stately kudu, hippo, rhino and the mighty termite (they build entire eco-systems, don’t you know!)

I’m still hoping to see... A honey badger in the wild – I’ve seen them only in captivity. My eyes are always peeled!

... is at the top of my African travel wishlist - Mali, for the coolest sounds east of Cuba. Came close when filming Tropic of Cancer in Algeria, but no cigar. 

My best cultural experience in Africa... This has to be in Madagascar. Separated from the rest of the planet for an age, the locals have developed their own unique, slightly bizarre traditions.

My favourite activity in Africa... Doing anything anywhere during an early African morning. It’s the best time to see wildlife, and it feels like the dawn of time. I’m also fond of crossing Africa – I’m now filming my third lateral expedition for the BBC, this time along the Tropic of Cancer. 

Hilary Bradt, Founder of Bradt travel guides

My first footstep in Africa... Johannesburg airport, 1974. My feeling at the time was one of panic. Immigration wouldn’t let me in without a return ticket, and I hadn’t enough money to buy one...

My favourite footstep in Africa... Hard one, but the ones in Lalibela, Ethiopia would all be hot contenders.

My fab five... Dung beetle, streaked tenrec, mountain gorilla, meerkat and Jackson’s chameleon.

I’m still hoping to see... Pangolin

... is at the top of my African travel wishlist - Somaliland. NOT Somalia! I love the idea of a breakaway state that no one recognises, especially one that is peaceful and democratic despite having a violent neighbour..

My best cultural experience in Africa... Perhaps being the only white person at an arts festival in Kampala, when ‘The King of Scotland’ was in power. The majority of the performance was given over to Scottish dancing!

Ann Johnson, Travel Africa subscriber

My first footstep in Africa... Kenya in 1989. I felt overawed by the warmth and friendliness of the people. I fell instantly in love with the continent.

My favourite footstep in Africa... Taking my three-year-old daughter to Cameroon. I’ll always remember her playing in the dusty African villages with the beautiful local children.

My fab five... Lizards, warthog, honey badger, mongoose and monkeys.

I’m still hoping to see... Meerkats. Although I’d also love to see more of an aardvark than just its retreating hindquarters.

... is at the top of my African travel wishlist - Namibia, for the great sand dunes, the wide open spaces and the evocatively named Skeleton Coast. Oh, and let’s not forget the meerkats!

My best cultural experience in Africa... When I joined in with an informal and unplanned African dancing session by park staff in a wildlife sanctuary in Swaziland.