Maloti-Drakensberg Park

Maloti-Drakensberg Park UNESCO World Heritage Site, South Africa

From the World Heritage inscription: The Maloti-Drakensberg Park is a transboundary site composed of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg National Park in South Africa and the Sehlathebe National Park in Lesotho. The site has exceptional natural beauty in its soaring basaltic buttresses, incisive dramatic cutbacks, and golden sandstone ramparts as well as visually spectacular sculptured arches, caves, …

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Robben Island

Robben Island UNESCO World Heritage Site, South Africa

From the World Heritage inscription: Robben Island was used at various times between the 17th century and the 20th century as a prison, a hospital for socially unacceptable groups, and a military base. Its buildings, and in particular those of the late 20th-century maximum security prison for political prisoners, testify to the way in which …

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Day 6, West Africa Cruise – At Sea, Off the Coast of Northern Namibia

Latitude: 17° 46.8330’ S Longitude: 11° 31.5789’ E The next stop for the G Expedition is Angola, which is the first real country we visit which will require visas for everyone. Traveling to West Africa with a boat full of people from multiple countries is a giant immigration nightmare. Most of the countries we will …

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Day 8, West Africa Cruise – Lobito/Benguela, Angola

Latitude: 12° 19.6046’ S Longitude: 13° 34.6452’ E I wasn’t sure what to expect in Angola. Angola has a horrible reputation amongst travelers. It is one of the most difficult and expensive countries in the world for which to get a visa. Simple, non-luxury hotel rooms can run $500/night. Meals and other services for travelers …

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Out of Africa

The last 60 hours have been interesting to say the least. To tell the story will take a bit of time and is a great reminder of how things on the road are totally out of your control. The plan was to leave Luxor on Friday evening hoping to take a bus to Hurghada on …

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Visiting Erta Ale: The Hike to Hell and Back

Ethiopia is a wonderful country with pleasant temperatures and friendly people. I enjoyed the food, the people, and the sites I visited on my recent trip there. I’ll certainly be returning at some point in the future. However, every rule has an exception. The Danakil Depression, which is in the northeastern corner of the country …

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Day 28, West Africa Cruise – Dakhla, Western Sahara

Latitude: 23° 50.5338′ N Longitude: 15° 51.4997′ W No one knew what to expect in Western Sahara. Last year, the West Africa trip ended in Senegal, so even the staff didn’t know what to expect. It isn’t a place that most people even know about, and the name doesn’t really lend itself to much more …

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Day 31, West Africa Cruise – Agadir to Marrakech, Morocco

Latitude: 30° 25.2′ N Longitude: 9° 37.72′ W Our arrival in Morocco marks the last day of our trip. Most of the countries we visited on this tour had very low numbers of tourists. Morocco was one of the exceptions. Because of that, I assumed that going through customs and immigration for Morocco would be …

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Day 3, West Africa Cruise – At Sea, Off the Coast of Namibia

Latitude: 28° 30.4763’ S Longitude: 15° 34.7887’ E A day at sea for a passenger vessel is a challenge for the crew. You have a group of people who are stuck in a small space with nothing to do. There is no television. Internet and telephone connectivity is either non-existent or severely limited. On larger …

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