Jambo!

 It's already June! The days have become quite hot we can finally say it really is summer. Are you planning on a vacation leaving Korea to avoid the heat?

 If so, what about travelling to Africa?

 What do you mean, you say, summering in Africa where the sun is blazing, and the people sweating like it's raining? Although Africa is a continent that crosses the equator, there are places in Africa that won't seem as hot as in Korea. Many Koreans were surprised to hear an African living in Korea say that Korea's hotter, but it's true!

 The only African country you can go to on a direct flight from Korea is Ethiopia, which takes 11 hours and 45 minutes. Travelling to Africa has become much easier compared to before because of this direct flight, but it takes courage and passion to decide to travel to this unfamiliar continent.

 Visiting the U.S., where many Koreans go for the summer, takes longer than going to Africa. So, a vacation in Africa is worth the travel as long as you want to try!

 This column recommends Top 3 vacation destinations in the charming African continent that will awaken your travel instincts.

 Now, fasten your seatbelt and let's travel to the other side of the Earth, the world of unknown that Hemingway fell in love with!

 Victoria Falls is a travel destination that became well known in Korea when it was introduced in the TV program Africa episode. Victoria Falls, which ranks among the world's top 3 spectacular waterfalls with Niagara Falls and Iguazu Falls, was first discovered by the Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone, who was the first European to view the falls in 1855 and named it after British Queen Victoria. There are two names to this waterfall, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of which is Mosi-oa-Tunya named by the locals. This name means 'The Smoke Which Thunders', which is appropriate considering that you can view 'smoke-like' spray that rises 400m above the falls and the beautiful rainbow in the midst of the 'smoke' even from a few kilometers away. Victoria Falls stretches 1.7km wide and you can view the front of the waterfall from Zimbabwe and a section of the falls from Zambia. The two countries grant UniVisa to allow tourists to enjoy the falls from both Zimbabwe and Zambia. So, don't worry about where to see Victoria Falls from and go to both countries!

 Victoria Falls looks like the entire volume of water being sucked into this vast crack in the land, unlike the common scenery of a waterfall where it looks like water falling to down below. So, they say Victoria Falls is perfect for a helicopter tour where you can watch from the sky the massive amount of water plummeting in a vertical drop from the carved waters of the Zambezi River! Livingstone who discovered Victoria Falls also recorded, "but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight." Much like this quote, it is best to enjoy the wonder of Victoria Falls from up above in the sky.

 For those of you who wish to take the courage to try a completely new experience since you're in Africa, I recommend bungee jumping off the Victoria Falls Bridge, rafting along the Zambezi River or taking a swim in the Devil's Pool! The Devil's Pool is for the most courageous among us and is open during the drier months of the year from August to January. This natural infinity pool is situated at the center along the falls (the blue arrow in the photo below), which can only be reached from Livingstone Island on the Zambia side and you can enter only with a lifeguard present.

 And as you lie face down in the Devil's Pool, you can experience the extreme thrill of the stream of water flowing across your back quickly and dropping to 100m below. This is the place you can experience the greatness of Mother Nature not just through your eyes, but with your own skin!

 One of the most common questions I get when I introduce myself is "wow, then you must have seen lots of lions and giraffes?" It's natural that many ask this question because when we think of Africa, we remember lions running across vast plains or crocodiles hunting their prey we saw on TV. But because most national parks are places designated to preserve nature and protect both humans and animals, most are situated in places quite far from cities where people live. The Masai Mara National Reserve is a land located 6 hours away by car from Kenya's capital city, Nairobi.

 The Masai Mara National Reserve is named in honor of the Maasai people (the ancestral inhabitants of the area) and "Mara", which means in their language 'spotted' (describing the spots of trees or scrubs across the savannah). Masai Mara stretches into the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, which is where the lead protagonist Chowon in the Korean film Marathon (2005) longed for. Here, you can witness the amazing spectacle, the Great Migration, during July and October when wildebeests, zebras, and Thomson's gazelles among other herbivores move towards better grazing areas into other national parks. They say July is the best time to visit Masai Mara if you want to catch Africa's Great Migration, which is listed as one of the Seven Natural Wonders!

 If you drive along the Masai Mara savannah, so vast that you cannot see the ends of the earth, there are more than 470 species of birds and countless deer. There are so many different types of deer that learning the names of deer named after different shapes of faces, antlers or size is another beauty of the Masai Mara safari. There are five animals, the 'Big Five', you must see to be able to say that you've been on an African safari – the lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhinoceros. The Masai Mara National Reserve is home to not only the Big Five, but also many other animals, including the hippopotamus, crocodile, and hyena, so you can see all the animals you want.

 For those of you who wish to have a special experience on top of seeing many wild animals run across the savannah, I recommend you stay a night at the Giraffe Manor near Nairobi. The Giraffe Manor is a manor house that protects giraffes and sends them back into the wild. Here, you can enjoy a very special experience where you can wake up in the morning to see giraffes greeting you outside your window and eat with them too. But be careful not to lose your morning fruit to them!

 I personally think it is best to avoid the heat of the sun in the ocean! You instantly feel cooler just watching the deep blue sea and waves crashing onto the cool sunny beach! So, the next destination I want to recommend is a vacation spot in East Africa. The name 'Zanzibar' is another name for Unguja, the main island among the many islands that form the Zanzibar archipelago. Let me introduce to you the tourist attractions on this island.

 Historically, Zanzibar was a trade hub since the 8th century thanks to its location. The island grew quickly as a base for merchants from Persia, India and Arab travelling to the Middle East, India or Africa when it was the vibrant core of trade for ivory, slaves, and gold. Zanzibar was then influenced by many different cultures as it was ruled by Portugal, Arab countries and the British Empire. And it merged into the current Tanzania, becoming a semi-autonomous region. The longstanding history and culture are preserved in Stone Town, which was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. The island is famous for its Anglican church built mostly of coral stone as well as Persian style baths, night markets, and the Sultan's Palace. It unfortunately did not preserve or rebuild its historic sites as well as Europe did, but you can experience the uniqueness it has where several cultures exist together.

 The Kizimkazi fishing village, located south of the Zanzibar Island is home to several schools of bottle-nosed dolphins and Humpback dolphins and you can enjoy a dolphin tour. Ride a boat out a few meters into the ocean and watch dolphins swim right in front of your eyes, or if the weather is good, swim and snorkel with them. You can have an amazing experience of swimming with the dolphins right in front of your eyes although you shouldn't touch them or do anything that will stress them as they are wild dolphins!

 I also recommend the Nungwi Beach, located in the north of the Zanzibar Island, as a place to relax and enjoy after your day filled with various tours and activities. It is a vacation spot that is not well known yet to tourists as much as Southeast Asia, so here, you can enjoy nature itself – the clear blue sea and the fine soft sands of the coral beach. You can also ride on camels on the island left behind by Arab merchants or enjoy the beautiful sunset on a local sailing boat, Dhow.

 Africa is definitely a place that is unfamiliar and new to many, but also a curious place. It may be a place that seems so far away from us that it is not easy to plan a vacation on this continent even if you truly wanted to, so much so that you would consider it an option if there is someone you know who's been there! I hope that today's column made you feel and understand the charm and beauty of Africa a bit more.

 There are so many travel destinations I want to recommend to manias out there other than the above popular tourist spots I introduced. There are many amazing places where one can encounter and experience completely mind boggling culture and way of life at a place where you can't use your phone, where you have to walk endlessly on an unpaved road that cars can't access, and where your face changes color to orange because of strong dust storms. I'm sad it's impossible to list all those places in one column. But if today's column made you curious about Africa, how about planning this year's summer vacation in Africa?

  Hakuna Matata☺