This 85 hectare zoo of Pretoria is home to 126 species of mammals, 283 fish species, 90 species of reptiles and several other wildlife creatures. National Zoological Gardens is a best zoo where you can explore the unseen wild life species and give your children the opportunity to know about the wildlife nature which is filled with several undiscovered wild life creatures. This zoo was established in 1899 by J.W.B Gunning during the second Boer war and was later come to be known as National Zoological Gardens in 1916. Since its inception, National Zoological Gardens has taken a stride to conserve and safeguard the wildlife species and been continuing to protect wild life creatures from every hazard and calamity. This spacious zoo of Pretoria is abode to 3117 animals and is beautifully surrounded by several exotic trees.

A perfect destination for camping, National Zoological Gardens is the only zoo where you can see the rare white tiger and the white rhino during your holiday stay at Pretoria. The world’s first white rhino was born at this place in Pretoria and National Zoological Gardens considers it a privilege to preserved and shelter the first white rhino. You can extend your support to the wild life species by participating in “adopt an animal scheme” which is focused to take care of the animal in every aspect concerned to food and health for a year. By participating in this initiative, you also get the privilege to meet the wild life creature you have adopted. The inland marine aquarium at National Zoological gardens is the largest aquarium where you can see several sea creatures. Especially children enjoy visiting the reptile park which is filled with several species of reptile.

There are several rest rooms at National Zoological Gardens where you can relax and stay during your trip at Pretoria.  This zoo also has a restaurant and kiosk where you can conveniently relish on light meals, snacks and refreshing beverages. The security staff at National Zoological Gardens is always ready to help visitors 24×7 so that visitors don’t face any inconvenience during their trip. Surrounded by Bon Accord Dam and Leeukral Dam, the Apies River at National Zoological Gardens is a serene river and a rejuvenating destination to visit. National Zoological Gardens has also a shop where you can buy some items and gifts for your family and these gifts will always make you remember the rejuvenating visit to National Zoological Garden. This place is best destinations to enjoy a picnic and capture the panoramic views of Apies River in your camera. You can even enjoy a joyful ride in the Zoo Choo-Choo Tractor Train and explore all the places around the zoo. The night tours at this zoo will give you an opportunity to see elephants, owls and red pandas.

National Zoological Gardens at Pretoria, South Africa is not only a rejuvenating destination, but also a place which gives you opportunity to discover the unseen wild life creatures.

However, there is one more reason why Drakensberg has been declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO, and that is its enormous collection of creative genius in the form of more than thirty five thousand Bushman rock art images.

Bushmen lived in the Drakensberg region for several thousands of years. Their mode of life was simple and they were hunter gatherers. They hunted game, especially Eland, and collected berries, honey and roots. The antelope was a prominent feature in the religious belief of the Bushmen besides providing meat. It symbolized all that was good.

Bushmen paintings are recognized as extremely significant all over the world. The skilled Bushmen artists were usually spiritual leaders or shamans. They used lime, blood, ochre and charcoal along with binding agents to paint on the cave walls. They rendered trance dance rituals, human animal hybrids, hunting scenes, battles and many more on the walls of their cave homes.

The Bushmen succumbed to the pressure of modern civilization and are less in number. The artifacts and more than thirty thousand paintings are the only mediums that remain to relate the story of the Bushmen.

This is the biggest concentration of Stone Age rock art in the entire world. The artistic skills of the Bushmen were honed by their oneness with the environment. They expressed their life and experiences in the paintings at the overhangs of the mountains and the caves. The drawings are marked by superb detail, meaning, movement and most of all, a large amount of sensitivity.

The best destinations where you can see art work by Bushmen in Drakensberg are the Battle Cave at Injasuti, Main Cave at Giant’s Castle and the Game Pass Shelter in Kamberg. There are guided tours on offer at these places. There are a plethora of other locations with Bushmen paintings, but these are the main. To explore the others, you need to hike quite a bit.

The exposed sandstone layers under the basalt caves are being weathered naturally. Many paintings are deteriorating due to this. The government has recognized the need to protect these. It is not allowed to touch any of these.

It will take you through some of the best sights in Egypt, both the historically significant as well as beautiful nature. There are so many reasons why people refuse to see Egypt any other way, and you will be able to connect with these once you step on board.

A River Nile cruise is exceedingly comfortable as well as convenient. The way to look at it is this, if you are traveling by road, you will have to stop at a different resort or hotel every night, and most will vary with respect to quality as well as space. Plus the packing and unpacking chores, and one has to make an effort to keep up with the tour schedule.

A cruise is a world apart, your hotel travels with you, and you can do whatever you want on the cruise. These cruises are extremely flexible, and you can explore the ports of call to your hearts content, or if you are in a lazy mood, you can just lounge on one of the deck chairs, or watch a quality performance.

The entire Nile cruise will take 7 to 8 days. It is also possible to take a short trip from Luxor to Aswan. You will come across some quaint villages, cities, ancient temples and other Egyptian attractions.

The entertainment provided on board the Nile River cruises is also a great experience. You can enjoy performances from belly dancers, magicians and other performers. There are also movies and other traditional forms of entertainment.

The region that houses the temples of Abu Simbel is called Nubia. This site was said to be called Meha in ancient times.

Pharaoh Ramses:

In the year 1257 BC, the Pharaoh, Pharaoh Ramses II commissioned for two temples to be carved out of solid rock. At a time much before Ramses even came, this site had been considered sacred according to Hathor of Absek. These temples built by Ramses, however, were said to be dedicated to Amon-Re and Re-Horakhte, the sun gods.

Given the fact that these temples were built at quite a remote location, their existence wasn’t known of until much recently. They were first rediscovered in the year 1813.

The Sacred Area :

The sacred area is known to occupy a place that is between cliffs of sandstone and the river. This area has been marked out by brick walls. The temple built by Ramses was cut into the face of a cliff; and therefore, there is a rock cut terrace before you reach the main temple area.

The rock cut façade of the temple, which is perhaps the most popularly photographed part of the temples, depicts Ramses in the form of four colossal figurines seated. This façade is said to measure up to about 119 feet wide and about 100 feet high.

Depicting Baboons:

There are rows of baboons that have been carved out at the temple. These baboons are depicted as having their hands raised in reverence of the sun. According to the Egyptians, baboons were said to have a significant role in worshiping the rising sun. This is why they were depicted at the temples of Abu Simbel.

The Interiors of the Temple:

The interior of the temple is said to be inside that of a cliff. This is almost like a man made cave that has been cut out of living rock. There are halls and rooms that get inter-connected with each other. The complete extension of the temple and all its halls and rooms are said to measure up to a good 185 feet from the main entrance.

The first hall is pretty long and is known to measure up to about 54 feet in width and about 58 feet in depth. There are two rows of statues of Ramses; and each of them is about 30 feet high.

There are three doors seen on the west end of this main hall. The side doors will take you to lateral chambers; whereas the central door will take you to a room that has four square shaped pillars. This room will lead you to a vestibule. This is what will lead you to the innermost shrine that is seated with the statues of the gods Amun-Ra, Ptah, Re-Horakhte and deified Ramses.

The Striking Feature:

The most amazing feature of this temple and its site is that it is oriented in such a way that on the 22nd of February and 22nd of October, every single year, the first rays of the morning sun can actually make their way down the entire length of this temple cave and they can illuminate the back wall of even the innermost shrine. This is where the statues of four gods are seated.

Spending a vacation at this city will make you completely refreshed and will also entice you. The city is a visitor’s paradise with plenty of spectacular viewpoints and beautiful hills that makes every visitor to ask for more. To enter the city you there are some of the airlines that operate from the airports throughout the country. You can visit here through Brussels in Belgium, Nairobi, and some other places. Even though, the city is bustling with amazing sights for the tourists, some of its places are also affected by famine as well as refugee problems that is outcome of civil war. However, the city has regained its charm and much of its pleasing air.

When you are in a new place, do not miss to try your hand in shopping. The city of Kigali offers great shopping options, and the main shopping and commercial area could be found around the Hotel Mille Collines. It is situated with the government district that lies on the neighboring Kaciyiru hill. Few of the main places of interest where you can visit and get fascinated are the markets, the Muslim quarter, the handicrafts, and a new genocide memorial that was built in Gisozi. Besides this, the city has 4 international class hotels that are built as part of the bid to boost tourism in the country and to better support the business travelers.

Some of the points of interest are:

• The Mille Collines that is in Kiyovu area and was a hotel that is now transformed into a refugee centre in genocide.
• The Top Tower Hotel Kigali lies in the Kacyiru area and was built in the year 2008. This hotel is famous for its Crystal View Lounge Bar that is on the eighth floor, offering an open full wall windows along with the panoramic views over the city.
• In Kacyiru area, you will get the Novotel Umubano that was earlier a Le Meridien hotel, but was later recognized as Le Meridian Umubano.
• The Kigali Serena Hotel that was initially known as the InterContinental Kigali is also a point of interest in the city.

The city has Parc National des Volcans, which is the most renowned mountain gorilla sanctuary and is also the home to 5 dead volcanoes. Apart from this, Lake Ngezi is also a fascinating as well a worth visiting place that offer breathtaking landscapes. While exploring the city, you should also enjoy the must do activity that is to visit the incredible bamboo as well as hagenia woodlands, which is the home to among 4 gorilla groups that are adapted specially for tourism.

Exploring various sites on foot or by safari is very common. So just to make my trip memorable, I felt to explore the region of Zagora by enjoying the camel treks with my friends. Well for this, it becomes very important to know that the camel treks starts from Zagora that lies at a distance of 220 miles towards the southeast of Marakech. Camel trekking is the best activity that you could enjoy while exploring the desert areas. Zagora lies between the region of gaping canyons and the sand dune desert that could be found towards the southern side of Morocco in Africa. It is the land of swiftly changing landscape and the rocky outcrops ravines of the powerful dunes, Cheggaga, and Djebel Saghro hide the oasis of this region.

You need to know the exact way to travel at this region and that could be done by traveling on the back of any of the ships of the desert. Well, the ships are of course the camels that make your journey easy as well as give you power to beat the scorching sun in the desert. Camels carry tents and goods from oasis to oasis and are guided by those people who travel to this region for generations. This made us comfortable to explore the area by traveling on camel and listening to the story about the place. The best time we enjoyed at this place is during night when we all was lying down under the shed of traditional tents and was watching the sparkling stars on the sky and listening to the traditional stories speaking by our guides.

The moment was simply breathtaking and cannot be explained in words. The romantic experience at Zagora will be great and will be a lifetime achievement for everyone whether it is an adventurer, the romantic traveller, or the people who are fanatic of exploring such places. By developing gradually, this region has gained too much of popularity and now welcomes crowds of tourist from around Africa. To make the place more attractive and serve the needs of the people coming to spend their time, the nearby local towns have been beautifully adorned with red stoned buildings. The buildings have fascinating designs in ornate styles and you have plenty of traditional activities to enjoy like visiting the palmery, exploring the local pottery factory, and others.

However, it is the fact that most of the people feel uncomfortable on camels and prefer explore the place in four-wheel drives now a day. In fact, people prefer cars to explore the place in short span of time instead of wasting much time on camels and bearing the sun for long. Still, as I experienced, you should try out once by traveling on camel and enjoying the best time between the blue sky and the desert that cannot be achieved from other modes of traveling.

The caldera is even today confined by a round and unbroken high rim of 2,000 foot that comprises almost everything that are essential for the wildlife of Africa to live and flourish. The site is located at the northern safari circuit of Tanzania in Africa and welcomes huge flock of visitors from all over the world and from every corner of the country. Visiting at this site does not mean that you can only see the wildlife at the area or the 2 million years ago volcanic area, but the site offers amazing and spectacular views of living as well as natural attractions.

As Ngorongoro is a world renowned place that receives huge amount of visitors, you will get lodges around the crater to stay and rest. The best thing at the site is the game viewing. So just take a game viewing vehicle and go down the steep crater wall at morning. With this, you should spend a magnificent day on the grass plains that are packed with various animals. Well, the day time is safer as well as offers good views, whereas, night belongs to the animals and you cannot see anything at night. As per the rule, all the vehicles have to leave the crater floor before it gets dusk.

The new world for animals that is Ngorongoro was the home to pigs, who was same as the size of hippopotamus, three-toed horses, and the sheep-like beasts who have 6-foot horns. However, today, the place is packed with some 30,000 animals, out of which half of the population are of zebra and wildebeest. Those who love animals or die to see the game viewing must head to this place, as here you can see a perfect situation for the predators and the spotted hyenas and of course, lions. The area also home to some of the leopards, cheetahs, as well as three species of jackals. The few remained black rhino of Tanzania could be found wandering at the site of crater and also you can see large herds of buffalo.

While exploring the area, you will be amazed by watching plenty of hippos at one place that is in the lake on the crater floor. To see plenty of hippos together, you can also visit the Ngoitokitok swamps. The hippos during the daytime mostly submerge in water and during night, they come out to graze on the grass. One thing you must know is that the Ngorongoro Conservation Area differs in height from 3,315 to 11,628 feet above the sea level, and is a malarial area.

The specialities of Ngorongoro are:

• Black rhino

• Dark manned lions
• Plains teeming with the grazing animals
• Clans of spotted hyena

The rim of the crater lies at a height of 333 feet, which is above the sea level and is too cool at the top as compared to the temperature down on the floor of the crater. Well, the crater floor remains extremely hot. November through December is the months when short rains appear and the long rains could be experienced from March to May. Typically, June to October is the months when dry season takes its place and the rim of the crater remains quite cooler. So exploring such a magnificent place will offer you almost every thing right from the natural settings to various species wandering around the crater.

The Kalahari Desert is home to some animals as well as plants, as most of it is not now a true desert. No doubt, the summer temperature of the desert is very high and the desert receives small amounts of rainfall. As the desert is a part of the huge sand basin that reaches from the Orange River up to Angola, which is at the western side towards Namibia and is also at the eastern side towards Zimbabwe. The erosion of soft stone formations formed the sand masses of this desert. It is the wind that shaped the edges of the sand by making it’s landscape so distinctive in Kalahari.

It was only in the recent geological history that is of 10,000 to 20,000 years ago, when the dunes became steady through the help of vegetation. Due to this, the area is recognized and should be called as a dry savannah. This desert is very different from the Namib Desert, as the Kalahari Desert is stable and do not wanders. The desert is administered by many South African National Parks and flourishes a large number of wildlife. While exploring the desert area, you will be surprised to see huge flock of animal species like Cheetahs, Leopards, Black-maned Lions, giraffes, and mongoose. These are some of the indigenous animals who live in this desert. Besides this, the desert also boasts 280 different species of bird.

Most of the people think what to visit and explore a desert. How ever, the most of the amazing things to see is what the desert offers. Those who love to see endangered species, or game viewing, the Kalahari Desert is the one that is waiting for you. In fact, the desert is home to the most productive diamond mines in the world and the major example of it is the De Beers Company. People who lived at this region were the ancestors of the Bushmen, who live at the desert today and are known for their distinctive language of tongue clicks that is commonly called as Khoisan. The ancient relatives have left something for these people as a gift and that is the rock art.

The rock art documents the history of these people in a very personal way and the most remarkable is in Tsodilo, which is in Botswana. It is believed to be a get-together place for the spirits of generations past. Well, while in Kalahari, no wonder, you will get to see many game reserves that are simply fascinating and also you will feel yourself lucky enough to see the famous meerkat in the region.

This event can safely be dubbed as the world’s largest sporting event after the Summer Olympics. This is the first time that an African nation will stand as host to the event; and this has in itself has added to the hype of this otherwise publicized event.

The organizers of the event haven’t pinched any pennies when it’s come to improving the infrastructure of the nation; so that there could be state-of-the-art stadiums available for the best players from every nation to play in.

With ten host cities, beautiful sceneries, innumerable attractions coupled with lovely football action and 101 days of pure unadulterated fun; the adrenaline levels will definitely threaten to touch the sky.

Before you jump onto that flight and get awed by all the vibrant colors that Africa has to offer, we recommend you have a look at these tips and tricks that will help you enjoy the experience of World Cup 2010… Like they say, ‘A stitch in time saves nine’!!!

•    GET COVERED

Make sure your insurance papers are in place. It would also help to know beforehand whether your travel insurance would cover you in case of a theft.

•    GET COSY

It would be advisable to bundle up on those warm clothes. Weather reports suggest that winter has hit the African lands. Temperatures at Johannesburg are known to dip well below the freezing point during this time. Cape Town threatens to let out ‘showers of blessings’ in the form of rain during winters. So carrying an umbrella or a raincoat might help.

•    PLUG EM UP

Vuvuzela is a blowing horn that is known to emit a monotone sound; and is very very (Did I say very?) loud. If you end up sitting next to a group of fans who are using one of these as a medium to cheer their team, chances are you might end up with some serious ear damage. Avoid the trouble by packing in some ear plugs.

•    I AM NOT A FRAUD

You wouldn’t want to be using this statement to convince your credit card company once they’ve blocked your card. Inform them about your trip to avoid blockage caused by anti-fraud reasons. Most importantly, never let that card leave your sight while your there; because it may just never come back to you.

•    PLAY IT SAFE

While driving around South Africa, make sure you have your local rules right. The roads are prone to being unpredictable. Plus, it’s better to drive with your windows rolled up. It would be advisable to travel in groups, and take licensed taxis whenever you want to travel around a bit. There will be a 24- hour multilingual hotline up and running; so that the visitors seeking police or medical help do not get stranded.

•    WILD WILD SAFARI

The Kruger National Park is one of the most famous wildlife reserves in this region of the world. There are a number of other game reserves that should be on your ‘must-see’ list. Winters are a better time to spot some species that might otherwise not be seen so commonly.

•    COUNTRY ROADS… TAKE ME HOME…

Well, you may not be in West Virginia, but that doesn’t make the country roads any less stunning. Wide arrays of green hills, intimidating mountains and savanna plains get interspersed with each other to create a vibrant canvas of natural beauty. Rent out a car (which you could book early on to avoid being disappointed later); and explore these regions in your in-between time.

The World Cup is that one time in your life that you get a chance to mingle with people from diverse cultures and communities. The South African World Cup Committee claims to have quite a few parties organized around this time. Make sure you attend one of these dos.

So here you go to explore, enjoy and make your trip one of the favorites in the list by visiting the South Luanga National Park. This park lies in the eastern Zambia and is one of the three southernmost national parks. The parks could be found in the valley of the Laungwa River, which is the world famous wildlife haven. The park supports huge number of populations that include Thorneycroft’s Giraffe, buffalo, and herds of elephant, whereas, the river supports rich number of crocodiles as well as hippopotamuses.

The South Luangwa National Park is among the best known national parks in the entire Africa that offers great walking safaris. The park was first founded as a game reserve in the year 1938 and then it became a national park in the year 1972, which today covers an area of 9,050 square kilometres. The park’s formation as the western or the northwestern boundary is all because of the Muchinga Escarpment that lies in the northern as well as Central Provinces. Until the river, it slopes down from the northwestern boundary and lies almost on the western bank of the river.

Besides this, the eastern bank of the river is located in the Eastern Province, which is the only access point to the park. The park offers two distinct eco-regions and both of them are of woodland savannah, which could be differentiated from the dominate tree like the Southern Miombo woodlands that covers the valley’s higher slopes and the Zambezian as well as the Mopane woodlands, covering the valley’s bottom. As the site offers larger patches of grassland, you could spot the grazers like zebra and also the leaf browsers like giraffe. The Luangwa valley that is stretched towards the west by the Lunsemfwa River valley includes few of the diversity of animals like Crawshay’s Zabra and Cookson’s wildebeest that are endemic to the valley.

To best animals, which you could see in this region are the hippos that are simply amazing. Initially, the park was also home to the black rhinos that were wiped out in the year 1987 and the population of elephant came under serious pressure over the time. The prime settlement of the park is exactly outside the eastern edge, which is at Mfuwe and is the home to an international airport. If you visit the site in the month of November, you could see herd of some ten elephants heading towards a specific mango grove, walking straight through the Mfuwe Lodge. Well, it is an annual ritual that could be experienced every year in the month of November.

The lodge was constructed on the traditional route of the elephants. However, nothing has been seen yet to stop them. During this event, many people enjoy observing such a great event and until now, no incidents have been reported at the site.

The park is the home of 60 various animal species as well as more than 400 species of bird. So you have wonderful choices as to how to spot them and enjoy the safaris. If you want to enjoy experiencing the bird species in the park, then visit here during the rainy season that remains between the months of November and April. However, to enjoy the game, you should visit the park during dry season, as during this time animals flock closer to the water source.