Discovering Africa: The Beginners Guide to Traveling Through Africa

I first went to Africa when I was six years old, my parents were missionary's and so they went there to set up orphanages and to help the people. They were originally just going to visit and maybe stay for a year, but they ended up staying there for over twelve years.

Now my father was a pioneer and he'd often go into war torn country's leaving my youngest brother and sister with my mom, and taking me and my brother with him. We traveled from country to country, seeing the sites and helping people along the way. Following is a list of some of the places I've been in Africa.

In Alphabetical order: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote D'lvoire,

Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Well that's around it I might have missed a few but that's the majority, now you may think just cause I'm a missionary that I never went on safari or had some fun in Africa, well your quite wrong. I've done things people have only dreamed of doing, but I don't want to keep all the fun to myself I want to share it, which is why I'm going to be giving you a first hand account of Africa. I'll take you on a step by step guide through it, explaining to you how best to travel, how not to get yourself eaten by cannibals, and how to enjoy yourself.

To get started I'm going to explain about the different countries in Africa, about the one's that are safe and welcome tourists, and the one's that you stay clear of unless you want danger with your travels.

We'll start with the safe countries. Africa is a continent built on bloodshed from the little African tribes that roam the jungles and fight other tribes for more area or for slaves, to the giant Civil wars that tear the countries apart. But not all of Africa has wars going on, and here are some of the safer area's in Africa and the one's more attuned for tourism.

Southern Africa is probably the best area in Africa for tourism, a lot of the countries there thrive on it. For those of you that want to experience African culture without putting yourself in harms way, I would advise Southern Africa as your place to go.

You could start off in South Africa, where you could climb Table Mountain, and perhaps you would care for a swim in the ocean or to surf some of the best spots in the world. However there are some dangerous areas in South Africa so just be careful were you go.

Next you could work your way up to Botswana, which is a dusty and dry country but it does have a lot of wildlife and they have quite a few lodge's situated in game reserves Ext.

From there you should go to Zambia, however it's very expensive for Americans and other nationalities to get into, and you might have to bribe a few of the officials there. A word to the wise try to stay clear of Zimbabwe, the country is still on the rocks and things there cost a fortune. In Zambia however you might like to take a stop at Victoria Falls, in Livingstone, and enjoy one of the largest water falls in the world.

From there you could drive up to Tanzania, which is probably the best place for wildlife tourism in Africa. There you encounter people that are friendly and helpful, but be warned you should always have a bit of lose change on your person to give to these people. I lived a year in Tanzania, and let me tell you a more beautiful place in Africa I have yet to see. First on your stop I would suggest the Serengeti, and then the Ngorongoro Crater, after that maybe Mt. Kilimanjaro or its less famous little brother Mt. Meru. There are also a lot of other wildlife parks to chose from and you should purchase maybe a few trinkets from the local vendors, as the people there are experts at their craft and charge much less then in other parts of the world.

From their you have a few choices you can either head down to Mozambique, which sadly I'm not to familiar with but have heard wonderful things about it, or head up to Kenya or Uganda. You also have the choice of going into Rwanda or Burundi, but That I wouldn't advise unless you're out looking for danger, cause there are still many rebels there and they don't take kindly to foreigners.

Now on the off chance you decided to go up to Kenya, then there's some different things you should know. Kenya is the next most industrialized country, South Africa being the first. Its City's look European in a way, although crime there is high, it's still a pleasant enough country with a nice culture and friendly people,

After Kenya you could either go into Ethiopia or through Uganda and then back down through Tanzania. I'm quite sad that I can't say I've been to Ethiopia I've met different people who have been there and they said the culture, and the people are wonderful, not forgetting they make the most amazing coffee.

But lets say you go into Uganda well then I say welcome, I lived 2 years in Uganda in the capital Kampala, and let me say It's a unique Country and does have some tourism not as much however as other countries in Africa. If you've ever seen "The Last King of Scotland" then you will have seen a little of what Uganda is like, It used to have a very large Indian population but since Idi Amin up and kicked them all out their numbers were severely lowered, but that was a long time ago and they have slowly trickled back in.

Now for North Africa, I'm afraid I'm not to familiar with it, but I wont leave you empty handed following are a number of web sites which will give you insight to North Africa, http://lexicorient.com, http://www.tourism.egnet.net, http://www.egypt.travel, http://www.libyan-tourism.org, http://www.visitmorocco.org, Ext....

Well now that I've covered the southern area, eastern area, and northern area, Lets talk about the south west, the west, and north west.

I'm sad to say that now I'll have to be discussing dangerous area's and for those of you that just want a safe journey with maybe the possibility of an occasional robbery then you should stay with southern Africa, cause it's the wild West out here and anything could happen.

Angola one of the poorest countries in the world, yet it is blessed with natural resources above and beyond the average, sadly it's been in civil war for the last 27 years and just ended in 2002, but left the country riddled with land mines and cost the lives of 500,000 Angolans. I was there in 2000 while the war was still going and I praise God I'm still alive the things you see there would make the toughest heart soften. Children missing limbs, baby's without mothers, and even though the war has ended the country is still in constant need of aid and relief. When I was in Angola I stayed in the city of Luanda and let me just say I experienced a lot there. I was only ten but some of the sites I saw and people I met helped shape me, walking down the street and seeing a five year old girl without legs and hands pushing herself along the road on a piece of square wood with wheals on it, can really touch your heart and let me say it touched mine, but besides that there are quite a lot of things to see and do, the culture there was shaped by the Portuguese, but it broke from tradition and is now unique in its own sense. Since It was originally colonized by Portugal they adopted the language but since then its taken on a flavor of its own.

After that we have The Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country that is slightly smaller then one fourth the size of the United States. And one established through conflict, now the war has ended and things are a lot more peaceful, of course for foreigners to get in takes a lot of bribery, unless you're a miracle worker it should cost you a minimum of three hundred dollars to get in, mainly because you have to pay off everyone that you meet while crossing the boarder, so just be prepared for that. Besides all that there are some nice area's to Congo, of course its ill advised to drive along a lot of the roads in the north east, as there are still rebels fighting there and they would love to capture a foreigner. Lubumbashi is a relatively safe city with maybe a little crime, just be warned don't drive with your window down as the street kids often try to grab things from your car.

Next you could go through the Central African Republic, which is the 10^th poorest country in Africa. I'm afraid I can't tell you to much about it though as I've never been there, It Hasn't had as much war as other countries in Africa, and from what I hear it's generally safe, of course as in any country in Africa you should always watch you back.

Now could either go north into Chad or west to Cameroon, supposing you decide to go into Cameroon then I hope you enjoy yourself. Cameroon is a country that enjoys political stability and is more modern then most countries around it. There are quite a few beautiful sites to see and the culture is lively and original, they also pride themselves in their music and I would advise you to stop and listen.

From there you get into Nigeria, a country that is ripe with corruption and one that I lived five years in. But don't get me wrong Nigeria like any other country has its pluses. The richness and diversity of the Nigerian culture is a manifestation of the socio-cultural differences of the over two-hundred fifty ethnic groups that inhabit the land for ages. This coupled with over one-hundred ten million people, makes this country one of a kind. You could first travel to Abuja, Nigeria's capital and enjoy hospitality and refinement. Next travel to Lagos the second largest city in Africa with over eight million people, I lived there for three years and was shocked by all the sites and sounds you experience, some areas are filled with danger and intrigue and other's are safe and comfortable.

Next if you want some adventure take a flight to Cote D'Ivoire, which is still in a dangerous situation but hopefully getting better. There are quite a number of beaches to go to, and culture is as always diverse. You could also visit Abidjan the former capital and largest city in Cote D'Ivoire.

After that you should go to Liberia, a country that was colonized by freed African slaves, sadly it has been in two civil wars lasting till 2003 that have turned the country into uprising. I remember when I went there in 1998, and how we had an apartment in the capital Monrovia, and how once when the rebels came into the city we had to stay in the bathroom for two days and if we went out we had to crawl on the floor to avoid stray bullets. Or how once we were at a restaurant with a Lebanese friend and a bunch of rebels or in this case Naked soldiers (a term referred to the black rebels who would attack wearing no clothing believing themselves to be invincible) and we had to get into our friends car and crouch in the back seat while he sped down the street trying to get away, I still remember when he pulled out this big pistol and started firing from the car. But besides that there are a lot of beautiful places in Liberia and food and lodgings are inexpensive there.

From there go to Sierra Leone, which before it's civil war in 1991 was a tourist attraction and many cruse ships would dock there for the passengers to enjoy the beautiful white beaches and crystal clear water which is a wonderful place to go spear fishing in. The country side is also spectacular and since the civil war ended in 2000 the country has begun to grow and flourish, since 2000 almost 72,500 former combatants have given up their weapons to U.N. forces. I was there in 1999 and if you have ever scene the movie "Blood Diamond" then you'll know what happened. I advise this country for anyone who is willing to risk a little danger to see some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

Then you could go into Guinea although it's not in such good shape politically and violent outbreaks have been reported to be happening more frequent then ever.

From there you could continue up into the north with which I'm not so familiar or take a flight to South Africa or Somewhere else in the world.

So there I've explained a little about Africa and its tourist possibilities, now where you go and what you do is entirely up to you, and I just want to wish you the best cause Africa is not a continent for the faint of heart, but it is also a continent you don't want to miss.

So like so many people before you its your turn to pioneer Africa and turn the Dark Continent, Light.