The Amber-Eyed Prince

In the Kalahari our eyes met and I melted. My knees would buckle if I wasn’t already sitting. For a second there, I thought he was about to jump into the car through the open window and tear me apart, but I didn’t care - he was just that beautiful.

Young, three-four month, maybe less, but by his amber eyes you could clearly see why he is up for the throne of the king in this desert.

... [Read more]

The Great Kalahari Desert

I’d walk the Kalahari Desert if they’d let me. Herds of springbok would race by, pronking in the insane and magnificent way they do, showing me how strong and healthy they are so I wouldn’t even attempt to catch and eat them. Oryx would watch me carefully, then run off, and turn back to see what I’m up to again and again. Hartebeest and wilderbeest would lie on the blonde grass in the shade of trees,... [Read more]

Living Desert

In a seemingly dead place, barren of any signs of life, only by reading the “Bushman’s newspaper” - tracks in the sand, he found them all and then showed to us on an outstretched hand.

I’ve learned to appreciate a good guide. One who seems more like a magician when he practices his craft - conjuring unearthly views or rare animals only by asking me to close my eyes for twenty seconds, or... [Read more]

Great White Diving

A rough boat ride from South Africa’s town of Kleinbaai brought me into stormy open sea next to a small island with a fur seal colony. Crammed into a steel cage like sardines in a can with a few other brave souls, I submerged to see great white sharks.

To my surprise, I wasn’t scared when the first shark showed up. There was no “TA-NA-NA-NA, TA-NA-NA-NA” playing in my head, nor was there... [Read more]

I’m in Africa!

Flat-top mountains, red with rocky Mohawks. Hills with boulder rims just below round bold tops that remind me of Catholic monks’ heads. Blond grass on burnt-sienna fields rich with iron. Brilliant blue skies with pinches of stark-white clouds. I am in Africa.

You’d think a twenty seven-hour flight, with a layover in Abu Dhabi, would suck me dry of excitement, but no. Falling asleep was made extremely... [Read more]

Volun-tourism with i-to-i (video podcast)

Maryl visits with Alexia of i-to-i Meaningful Travel at the Los Angeles Times Adventurers Travel Expo help on February 10-11. Alexia helps us understand more about the concept that connects travel and giving back to i-to-i communities in over 30 countries worldwide. This is one of the... [Read more]

Magical Crawfish

Bulungula. A place of mystery and laughter. Of beautiful water, soft sand and crabs that dance. A place filled with happiness and despair and beauty. A place that should remain hidden so it will not be destroyed.

Once I had arrived at the Bulungula Lodge,... [Read more]

Knowing Cape Town

Affectionately known as the Mother City, Cape Town is South Africa’s oldest city. Founded in 1652 by Jan van Riebeeck and his band of Dutch settlers, Cape Town is rated one of the most beautiful cities in the world - the backdrop of flat-topped Table Mountain juxtaposed by the sweep of the Atlantic Ocean in the foreground.
Cape Town has a relaxed atmosphere and offers visitors a host of outdoor leisure activities,... [Read more]

Johannesburg - the City of Gold

Known as the gateway to Africa, Johannesburg is a city literally built on gold. Established in 1886 when gold was struck, the city has been rebuilt four times in the past century - it started as a tent town, worked up to a tin-shack settlement, a four-storey Edwardian settlement and finally graduated as a modern city of glass and concrete skyscrapers. [Read... [Read more]