South Africa has become one of the great african tourist destinations. It is a richly diverse country of incredible beauty, offering the traveller an abudance of exciting destinations and attractions. The country's well-developed infrastructure, excellent accommodation, good value for money and friendly people combine to provide the tourist with a superb and unforgettable safari experience. It is a country gifted with a pyramid of assets which include immense mineral riches, enormous agricultural wealth, a vibrant economy and a great variety of peoples, cultures and traditions.

Present-day Zimbabwe was the site of a large and complex African civilization in the 13th and 14th centuries. It was populated by descendants of the Bantu tribes, who had migrated from the north around the 10th century. Mainly pastoral, evidence of their lifestyle may still be seen in the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, near the present-day town of Masvingo.

The very thing that makes Nigeria so ornery and difficult to unite into a single peaceful republic is also its attraction. There are over 250 different peoples, languages, histories, and religions all rubbing shoulder to shoulder in this hectic, colourful and often volatile republic.

Travelers have marvelled at Egypt’s archaeological wonders for centuries, ever since the Ancient Greeks visited the pyramids. Today, the ancient wonders attract millions of tourists each year to the pyramids, temples, mosques and great monuments of the Nile Valley, as well as the stunning diving resorts of the Red Sea. In 430 BC, when Herodotos exclaimed in awe over the magnificent monuments in Egypt, many of them were already 2500 years old. Most, from the pyramids of Giza to the astonishingly beautiful temples of Karnak or Philae, or the painted tombs in the Valley of the Kings, can still be visited today. The sheer age of this great civilization is mind-blowing.

Excavations in Kenya suggest that the region is the cradle of humanity, the home some 3.25 million years ago of Homo habilis, from whom Homo sapiens descended. What is certain is that, in more recent times, Kenya was the settling place of a huge number of tribes from all over Africa, with a long history of migration, settlement and conflict. During the following centuries, the region became prosperous on the profits of trade, and also as an entrepôt for commerce from the Indian Ocean.

Morocco achieved independence from the French in 1956 and despite some progress, today two territorial disputes remain: in the Sahrawi region (previously known as Spanish Sahara), claimed by indigenous guerrilla movement, the Polisario Front and in the Spanish-occupied enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast.