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The Kogelberg Biosphere and Nature Reserve is my playground. When we’re not kayaking here, we are hiking its many routes. Kogelberg is the jewel in the crown of the Cape’s floral kingdom protected areas that make up the World Heritage Site.

The Cape of Good Hope Trail starts at the main gate to the Cape Point section of the Table Mountain National Park, and ends there 33.5km and two days later.

Walking on a wilderness trail is the only way to feel the pulse of the African “bush”. That is what I believe anyway. I have experienced my fair share of the African safari concept: vehicle-based photographic safaris, game drives and stays in high-end and exotic game lodges, and even canoe safaris down the wild Lower [...]

Limpopo National Park, Mozambique: September 2007 Circles in the Bush (With apologies to Dalene Matthee…) Machampane Wilderness Camp shares the western bank of the Machampane River with tall fever trees at a pool called Xisivene – which apparently means “deep pool”. The wilderness trail experience that runs out of the camp is similarly structured to [...]

A 153km walking safari following the courses of the Tsavo and Galana rivers through Tsavo National Park, Kenya: June 2007

Fernkloof is a gem of a botanical reserve above the coastal town of Hermanus. Barely 1800 ha in area, it harbours upwards of 1474 botanical species. There are many paths and spectacular lookouts for all manner of fitness levels. The sensory returns are high for relatively little physical effort.

Plettenberg Bay: 17 & 19 December 2006: The Robberg peninsula is a nature reserve and marine protected area at the southern extremity of Plettenberg Bay,

400kms, 17 days, 6 mountain ranges, many rivers, numerous veld types: 11 – 27 August 2006 The first time I saw the phrase “Eden to Addo” it spoke to me. Then when I saw it juxtaposed with “mega-hike” the synapses fired in my brain. The concept was so evocative I had to go.

7-12 July 2005 This post is a photo journey down the Whale Trail. It was the second time that I walked this wonderful trail.

Eastern Kruger Park: 13 to 16 July 2003 The Sweni is one of the most sought-after wilderness trails in Kruger, primarily because of the likelihood of running into the Sweni lions. According to James, the trails ranger, Sweni has the highest concentration of lion per sq km in Africa (i.e. the world). So when I [...]

Franschhoek: 29 June 2003 Here’s a very short walk for great returns.

17 …err… 18 – 21 July, 2002 Booking the Whale Trail is hard to do – it has become massively popular. So when I got a booking for the 17th, it looked perfect for the last 5 days of the school holidays. The dates would enable my daughters, wife, friends who are schoolteachers, etc. to [...]

Eastern Kruger Park: 3 to 6 July 2002 Metsi-Metsi trails camp – it apparently means “water water” in Sotho – is located 6 km from the Mozambique border in rhyolite bushveld on the eastern aspect of N’wamuriwa mountain.

Tamarind Canoe Safari, Lower Zambezi, Chirundu to Mana Pools: 9 – 12 July 2001 Having eaten and drunk our way across Botswana and Zimbabwe, never having to lift a finger, we were quite keen to do something physical. The famous Lower Zambezi canoe safari (with Canoeing Safaris of Kariba) had been something I had wanted [...]

“To Hell and back”: 12 to 13 May 2001 Well, not really. It was more like paradise. A perfect autumn weekend in the Cape mountains above Tulbagh and Porterville.

Southern Kruger Park: 25 to 28 March 2001 Once again Marion and I were privileged to participate in a wilderness trail (FAQ), this time the Napi Trail midway between Pretoriuskop and Skukuza. Napi was the newest of Kruger’s seven wilderness trails and its location at the confluence of the Napi and Mbiyamiti rivers was surely [...]

November 2000 Once again Peter and I headed off into the mountains above Algeria to find silence and isolation, accompanied by a lone Finnish traveller. But this time the weather stayed cool, and on the Sunday became even windy and rainy.

The Oorlogskloof River flows into the Doring River from the north, draining the Nieuwoudtville plateau. The 5-day Rock Pigeon Route winds through spectacular canyon-land and has been designed to take the hiker up chimneys, behind waterfalls and over great boulders. Negotiating these obstacles with a heavy pack can be quite strenuous. Water is scarce in [...]

Many people from all over the globe email me about what to expect on a “wilderness trail” in the context of Kruger National Park (note that in this context I am not referring to a wilderness hike in a wilderness area such as Cederberg). So here’s a collection of responses to these questions. I am [...]

Southern Kruger Park: 1 to 4 March 2000 The “wilderness trail” is a concept unique to Africa in that it has evolved to imply a walk in the company of a game ranger or conservation officer, usually armed, through big game country. Aspects of the ecology of the area, environmental management and ethics are also [...]