DESTINATION AFRICA
Africa is an immense continent. In fact it ranks second in the planet, after Asia, in both surface area and population with over 30 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) and 1.3 billion people. It contains 54 countries, eight territories and two de facto independent states.
Africa, particularly Eastern Africa, is widely accepted as the place of origin of humans, the “cradle of mankind”. The earliest hominids and their ancestors have been dated to around 7 million years ago, including Sahelanthropus tchadensis, Australopithecus africanus, A. afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster. Earliest fossils of modern humans Homo sapiens (350,000-260,000 years BP) have been found in Ethiopia, Morocco and South Africa.
One can find in Africa the world’s largest density and diversity of free-range wild animal populations: large carnivores (such as lions, hyenas, and cheetahs) and herbivores (such as buffalo, elephants, camels, giraffes and antelopes), a variety of forest-dwelling animals like snakes and primates (apes and lemurs) and aquatic life such as fresh-water fish, crocodiles and amphibians. In addition, Africa has the largest number of megafauna species, as it was least affected by the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna.
Africa contains numerous climate areas, as it spans from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones.
Our current trips to Africa center on Eastern and Southern Africa: Ethiopia, Tanzania and Madagascar; Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa (Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya are coming soon).