L'île de Nosy Be | Madagascar | The unexplored island of the Indian Ocean

There are some places in the world which not even the well travelled know about.

Madagascar has long been recognised for its diverse wildlife and stunning scenery - but to really experience it, there is nothing like going there. We all know the movie - and the TV show i watch at 6:30 every morning with my 5 month old daughter....

Madagascar still remains poorly visited in terms of its location - it has South Africa close by to compete with as well as the world renowned holiday island of Mauritius. Reunion Island is close by, however not yet the international tourist hot spot that the IRT wants it to be. The islands of the Seychelles, not as close as Mauritius, to the north  also offer stiff competition for tourists.

We are sending more and more Australian's each year through our Indian Ocean travel company Above and Beyond Holidays.

Now that Air Austral fly from Sydney directly to Reunion Island, Australians have a 1 stop trip to get to Madagascar. Throw in a few days in Reunion Island exploring the cirques and a few days in luxury in Mauritius and you have a fantastic holiday with a bit of everything.

There are all the normal tourist travel options available in Madagascar. There are 5 star international hotels with gorgeous beaches, great food and stunning settings. There are overland touring otions of every flavour for every guest - if its animals, nature or beaches you are into, there is bound to be something that suits.

Expedition cruise ships explore the outer islands from Nosy Be, travelling in some cases as far as the outlying islands of the Comores and Mayotte. Jenman Safaris have some fantastic adventure trips : why not spend a week hopping around the white sand beaches on one of their Dhow Safaris.

Check out this stunning collection of images from French travel company Hemis.Fr

For great travel options ex Australia | Check out Reunion and Beyond Holidays ebrochure
If you're looking for airfares with Air Austral | Click here

Jenman Safaris NEW 4x4 | Khwai Bedouin Camp, Botswana

This brand-new addition to the Jenman Safaris vehicle fleet was exhibited during last month’s INDABA in Durban and caught people’s attention.

Jenman's new vehicle (the first in Southern Africa) has already been to Namibia and around South Africa. Two Jenman staff have had the opportunity to test the vehicle on a recent safari through South Africa and the reviews were great.

The 12-seater 4×4 comes equipped with 2 refrigerators, air-con, a pop-up roof, game viewing windows, comfortable seats and more… And according to rumours floating around there will be even more ‘adaptations’ to make Jenmans leading vehicle even better.

Introducing Jenman Safaris' Khwai Bedouin Camp!

This new tented camp is easily one of the best ways to experience Botswana's finest game viewing area. Jenman's new Bedouin-style bush camp consists of seven comfortable tents with ensuite bathrooms. Located under large Acacia trees, the layout and feel of the camp is designed so guests can relax in privacy while enjoying the sights and sounds of the amazing Botswana bush.

Situated in the Khwai River area, outside the northern gate of the Moremi Game Reserve, this camp is one of a kind.
Moremi is regularly described by those who know as one of the most stunning reserves in Africa. The reserve is made up of mopane woodland with thick acacia forests, intertwined with vast floodplains and lagoons.

South Africa | Indaba - SA Toursims biggest roadshow | The Sabi Sand

My product team and i have just returned from our recent product trip to South Africa for the largest inbound tourism roadshow that South Africa holds : Indaba. Afterwards we were lucky enough to stay at some great game lodges - Makalali Private Game Lodge | Leopard Hills | Singita Boulders Lodge

We are hastily putting together a new dedicated 64 page Africa program for our Above and Beyond Holidays - Indian Ocean focused, holiday program.

We visited some amazing places - Clarens, just outside of the Golden Gate National park is a fantastic little place. Like a tiny little town in Australia's southern highlands or Blue mountains. Located in a little valley just on the outskirts of the Golden Gate National Park.
Clarens is definately worth a visit.

The Golden Gate National Park is stunning - a drive through a stunning rift valley clearly created by immense force. The landscape is a series of sheer cliffs of bright orange with grassy plains.

A few points : Travel in South Africa isn't that complicated - from our perspective as tour operators in Australia, we feel that the place itself isnt done justice. There are many many options of things to see and do - yet Australians only do the same thing over and over- Kruger, Cape Town and maybe the garden route.

Self driving is a good experience - we drove from J'Burg to Clarens to Durban. We then flew Durban to Nelspruit and picked up a 4WD for our adventure into the game reserves.

We then drove ourselves North to Makalali passing through some regional little towns. We stopped in the little towns to get supplies for lunch - never once did we feel unsafe.

Marius Coetzee from Leopard Hills - soon to be leading photography tours worldwide was an amazing guide. To view his work and blog - www.mariuscoetzeeafricanphotography.blogspot.com Be quick and visit Leopard Hills before he leaves !!

View my walkthrough of my villa at Singita | Boulders Lodge



View my walkthrough of my villa at Makalali



Next post to contain some great footage of some of the game we saw !!