Africa & Indian Ocean

A place of eternal sunshine

Where Flintstone-like boulders spill from volcanic hills and flawless atolls skirt busy island towns, the Seychelles are an archipelago of opposites. Mid-hike mountain vistas overlook waters of aquamarine on Mahé, where diving divulges the secrets hiding below the surface. Meanwhile, in the cosmopolitan capital, fresh produce and handcrafted trinkets exchange hands at the bustling Sir Selwyn-Clarke Market. Across the water, the prettily petite La Digue island embodies the serenity of slow life. Beaches of sugar-fine sand frame pink-tinged granite on an islet lavished by luscious vegetation, ideal for housing the giant tortoise and welcoming sea turtles ashore. Better still, snorkelling in shallow waters reveals coral reefs teeming with tropical fish.

On the wild side

Unspoilt and uncrowded, Madagascar is the land of the ‘blue safari’ – where snorkelling, diving and sailing in warm turquoise waters are paused only to look for the red-tailed tropicbird or to hear the call of the black lemur echoing among the trees. A microcosmos of native wildlife, here is an island where much of the flourishing flora and fauna thrive like nowhere else on earth. Take Toliara, for instance, where the sweet-smelling perfumery of Antsokay Arboretum botanical gardens are well worth a visit; paired, of course, with the museum of Mahafaly Ethnology for a bountiful blend of history and horticulture.

Wonder round every corner

Colourful diversity and the sheer joy of surprises beckon voyagers this far south. In South Africa, cameras rarely do justice to the beauty blossoming in the West Coast National Park’s famed flower season; in the ‘Mother City’, a cable car climbing Table Mountain provides the perfect vantage point above art-filled city streets, sublime beaches and the historic Robben Island. Flamingos flock on the coastline of neighbouring Namibia, where German art nouveau architecture stands out on rocky-shored Lüderitz. While just inland, Kolmanskop casts a spooky spell over the sands. Once a diamond-mining hotspot, a tour through this ghost town takes a trip through the sands of time.