africa | regions In terms of big regional investments in infrastructure,


Ghana has a plan for a huge shoreline development in downtown Accra, a 241-acre site on the beach called Marina Drive that will have several large hotel brands. Tanzania, famous for its huge migrations across the Serengeti, is in the throes of changing its railway network to Standard Gauge, so that it can link to the neighboring countries of Rwanda and Uganda, famous for their gorilla populations. In South Africa, Durban is to open an MSC Cruises


terminal in 2020, as well as Southern Africa’s first Club Med, a $68m resort offering 350 rooms and 50 villas that’s being built at Tinley Town, relatively close to King Shaka International Airport in KwaZulu-Natal. Meanwhile KwaZulu-Natal’s near neighbour, formerly called Swaziland, has now been rebranded eSwatini, and enjoys the timely boost of being ranked fifth in the list of the best places to go in 2020 by travel publisher Lonely Planet. Up in the north, Tunisia has a new, very sophisticated


feather in its cap, thanks to the opening of the first Anantara resort, in the deserts of the south near the oasis of Tozeur, whose design is a contemporary interpretation of Tozeur’s 3000 BC-era medina architecture. Over in Morocco in 2020, Marrakesh is set to be the first ever African Capital of Culture, an Africa- generated initiative that aims to bring together the expertise and skills of the continent and its diaspora. And along the northern coast in Egypt, the much- heralded Egyptian Museum is set to open at last, after many years of delay, and will become a sure stopping point on every visitor’s itinerary. In wildlife terms, Malawi’s national parks, now


managed by South Africa’s African Parks organisation, are benefitting from restocking efforts — aimed at making the small country a fully-fledged safari destination. African Parks is also now consulting for the first time with the government of Zimbabwe to restore the country’s national park of Matusadonha, with its spectacular position on Lake Kariba, as a stronghold for critically endangered black rhino and other key species. In terms of safari lodges, there are plenty of eye-


catching new openings coming up. Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge will be one of the most notable, when it opens on the historically rich Selati Bridge above the Sabie River, in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. A former luxury train, historically styled, it will have 31 rooms, all with a magnificent river view. Equally innovative, and also due to open in mid 2020,


are the birds’ nest lodges in the Chisa Busanga Camp in the heart of the Busanga Plains, Kafue National Park, Zambia. Overlooking vast flood plains that teem with wildlife, four human sized ‘bird’s nests’ have been raised up into the treetops, blending into their surroundings and offering great views out over the flood plains. All game drives here will be ‘silent safaris’, operated with electric game drive vehicles to allow for more game sightings, closer birdlife interactions and more audible sounds.


Dromedary at the Ksar Ghilane oasis, Sahara Desert, Tunisia


There are plenty of other lodge initiatives to note. At


Chobe Game Lodge in Botswana, all the safari guides are female and are locally known as Chobe’s Angels. At Dunia Camp in Tanzania, 95 percent of staff are female, including the manager and guides. And South Africa has the Black Mambas, an impressive all-female anti- poaching team who help protect the local wildlife and fragile ecosystems. All of this is in response to travelers’ increasing


sensitivity to the environment in which they find themselves, says Kiersten Liedberg. “Travelers are concerned with how their investment in travel is impacting local communities and some lodges have responded by addressing cultural conservation. Members of local communities are becoming stake holders in local entrepreneurial projects creating access to sustainable career opportunities.” And Liedberg points out that travelers on safari


themselves have changed their approach, from one of observation to something more meaningful, often engaging in conservation efforts themselves as they “gain awareness of the massive efforts being made to protect wildlife and the enormous tracts of land they require. Safari camps have responded by helping guests to get involved with hands-on experiences alongside conservation experts and by expanding the traditional safari experience with walking safaris, canoeing or water safaris, birding and under the stars camp-out options”. It’s a wonderful planet, and we need to take


care of it. n Worldwide Destination Guide 2020 | ASTA | 71


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