Mozambique Channel Discovery & Zanzibar Nights

Nestled at the foot of Table Mountain and flanked by Devil’s Peak and Lion’s Head, Cape Town is known by South Africans simply as ‘the Cape,’ an acknowledgment of its uniqueness and its status as the Mother City. The first area to be settled by Europeans in the 17th century, it is today a major seaport and the legislative capital of South Africa. The feeling here is not African but cosmopolitan, and a sense of history remains.

The interests of the Portuguese in Africa were the earliest of any European power. And the independence of Africa’s Lusophone colonies was invariably the most bitterly disputed during the revolutions of the mid-20th century. As elsewhere, the departing colonials took much of the value and the skills with them when they fled. Maputo has been slowly rebuilding itself into a city worthy of its setting along the Indian Ocean coast, and you will be among only a few travelers to see the architectural treasures of its past and the spirit of its future.

Lying in the warm waters off the coast of Tanzania is the exotic island of Zanzibar. The mere mention of this spot conjures up images of intrigue and mystery. Zanzibar’s history is whispered on the tropical breezes that cool the island. They tell of the slave trade which flourished here, and of a building called the “House of Wonders.’ They tell of a time when Christian missionaries lived and worked under difficult conditions.

Lying in the warm waters off the coast of Tanzania is the exotic island of Zanzibar. The mere mention of this spot conjures up images of intrigue and mystery. Zanzibar’s history is whispered on the tropical breezes that cool the island. They tell of the slave trade which flourished here, and of a building called the “House of Wonders.’ They tell of a time when Christian missionaries lived and worked under difficult conditions.

Lying in the warm waters off the coast of Tanzania is the exotic island of Zanzibar. The mere mention of this spot conjures up images of intrigue and mystery. Zanzibar’s history is whispered on the tropical breezes that cool the island. They tell of the slave trade which flourished here, and of a building called the “House of Wonders.’ They tell of a time when Christian missionaries lived and worked under difficult conditions.

Dar es Salaam, a major city and commercial port on Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast, grew from a fishing village. The open-air Village Museum has re-created the traditional homes of local and other Tanzanian tribes and hosts tribal dancing. It’s part of the National Museum, which offers Tanzanian history exhibits, including the fossils of human ancestors found by anthropologist Louis Leakey.

Victoria, on Mahé Island, is the capital city of the Seychelles archipelago in the Indian Ocean. Seychelles National Botanical Gardens showcases endemic palms and orchids, as well as giant tortoises and fruit bats. The colorful Sir Selwyn Clarke Market sells spices, fruit, art and souvenirs. Near the Cathedral of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception is the imposing La Domus, built in 1934 to house Catholic missionaries.

Victoria, on Mahé Island, is the capital city of the Seychelles archipelago in the Indian Ocean. Seychelles National Botanical Gardens showcases endemic palms and orchids, as well as giant tortoises and fruit bats. The colorful Sir Selwyn Clarke Market sells spices, fruit, art and souvenirs. Near the Cathedral of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception is the imposing La Domus, built in 1934 to house Catholic missionaries.

Victoria, on Mahé Island, is the capital city of the Seychelles archipelago in the Indian Ocean. Seychelles National Botanical Gardens showcases endemic palms and orchids, as well as giant tortoises and fruit bats. The colorful Sir Selwyn Clarke Market sells spices, fruit, art and souvenirs. Near the Cathedral of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception is the imposing La Domus, built in 1934 to house Catholic missionaries.