Marrakech and the Spitfire Pilot

Anyone who's read a Wilbur Smith novel (and most of you have judging by the size and quality of his personal wine cellar near Cape Town) will know that Africa is a continent of romance and high adventure. It is a fact that hardly anyone visits that particular continent only once. Nearly everybody returns. Ask anyone, it steals your heart.

I remember standing as a seventeen year old at Europa Point, Gibraltar gazing out across the choppy straits at the hazy, rugged Rif mountains of Morocco less than twenty kilometres away. There were adventures to be had beyond those arid mountains - the wild animals, the incredible variety of cultures, the scenery, the vast plains, the deserts, the mountains. I wanted to see it all, but where t0 start?

Well, Marrakech as it happens. I went with my mother on a chartered day trip organised for the families of Gibraltar's RAF personnel. We were to fly south across the Rif and Atlas mountain ranges in a creaky old Viscount piloted by a former (and equally creaky) world war two Spitfire pilot. He used to take great pleasure in alarming his passengers by announcing -
"We're about to make out first attempt at landing. Please fasten your seat belts" every time he made the final approach to Gibraltar's notoriously difficult and rather short runway. But that's another story.

Marrakech was hot, hazy and hectic - and very red. All the buildings are red, the earth is red. We spent most of the afternoon in the Djemma El Fna (The Meeting Place of the Dead.) Its a huge square brimming with food stalls, snake charmers, acrobats, boxing matches, water sellers in garish traditional outfits, donkey carts - their drivers yelling "Balek! Balek!" (Look out. Look out.) as they ploughed through the crowd.

Then there was the souk - a labyrinthine market spilling through dozens of snaking, narrow alleys, a thorough assault on the senses. More food stalls, carpet shops, aromatic sandalwood carvings and camel leather souvenirs cascading from shopfronts. The tannery - what a smell, they use sheep urine apparently.

Then finally back on the bus, my mother chased by a man brandishing a large, rather cross cobra insisting that she pay him for a sneaky photo she took while she though he wasn't looking. Back on the ancient Viscount and home - totally exhausted by the whole experience, but with an enhanced hunger for more African adventures.


INTREPID TOURS - COLOURS OF MOROCCO 15 DAYS FROM $1670 PER PERSON
Experience medieval Morocco in Fes, Discover the ruins of one sultan's Versailles dream in Meknes, Have a camping adventure on the sandy dunes of the Sahara, Have lunch with locals in a kasbah, Trek through the impressive Todra Gorge, Relax with mint tea in remote Imlil, Kick back in the stunning coastal town of Essaouira, Indulge your senses in the souqs of Marrakech, Explore the fortified city of Ait Benhaddou.
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Africa. You Simply Must Go!

Africa? Why would I want to go there?

I hear that all the time and I try not to take it personally. As an African travel specialist its my job to persuade them that they're not going to get mugged the second they step off the plane in Johannesburg, or eaten by a lion if they leave their Nairobi hotel.

The African continent is the second love of my life. I say that because my wife may read this blog. Actually we met on a steamy West African beach in 1985 and slogged across the Sahara to Tunis via Timbuktu in a Bedford truck. See, I'm still here - safe as houses. The only crime we encountered was perpetrated on an official level by the Algerian government who insisted that we changed 300 US dollars into Algerian dinars and spend it all in the 5 days we would take to cross the country. Believe me, it's very hard to spend 300 US dollars in 5 days in Algeria if you have no use for a second hand camel.

In 35 years of travel throughout Africa I have never so much as witnessed a single crime, let alone been the victim of one. What I'm trying to say is that a visit to most parts of Africa will not end in you being shot, robbed, eaten or trampled. It will result in memories of beautiful, kind people, stunning scenery and hundreds of photos of Africa's exciting wildlife. You're also likely to be planning your next trip before you get home. It's a fact that most visitors to Africa will return, so be prepared to fall in love - again and again.