Here, cash is king and the USD is an acceptable currency in many countries. On one hand, Africa can be very cheap, on the other hand, it can be exorbitantly expensive. It is not your Southeast Asia or Europe experience.

This wonderful continent in which I live has so much to offer anyone interested to come. Depending where you are from, Africa may be a picture of pitifully hungry and starving children on dirt streets.

Media has assisted the perception. It is not inaccurate, but the sheer magnitude of all suffering is a slice of the picture. Granted, it is true to say that sadly it may be a large slice. Corruption and poverty exist, tribal and territorial wars continue and it seems that Africa is the dark continent that my father was warned of before he emigrated to Zimbabwe from England.

A word to the wise..

Dad once said to me, that before he was leaving the UK, his friends and co-workers gathered around him and warned him that his decision to go to the then Rhodesia was a folly. “In Africa, life is cheap” they warned. The warning can still ring true to this day.

Truly, poverty is so rife in parts that you could easily become the victim of desperate or merciless criminals. However, they are the minority. The African people, whichever part they are from in Africa, are a very warm and welcoming population. Even through their scant existence, they have a genuine love that shines through.

Look, I say it to guests that travel with me on rivers in Europe and I tell foreign friends, Africa is beautiful and will just mesmerize you with its dusty charm. To not see it would be a terrible loss. To see it, then consider and plan carefully. Many parts of Africa have issues, either with war or crime.

But these are regions and areas. Stability exists and some places are as safe as Europe. However, the uneducated adventurer could well stumble into trouble if they venture off the beaten path.

How safe is traveling Africa?

I have friends who have traveled the length and breadth of the continent with only harmless fun tales and misadventures to tell. They took a risk but their rewards were enormous – life changing values and insights. I have not personally known, but I have read reports of others who were not so lucky. They never returned to tell their stories. 

The moral of the story here is that you can be as safe as you choose to be. If you are on a guided tour with a reputable company, your safety can never be assured but certainly you have slimmed down the chances substantially of not running into harms way.

If you are an adventurer and backpacker than you must really do good research and pay attention to daily developments in the regions you are planning to travel.

Backpacking through Africa would not be something I would choose to do – and I am an African, born and bred. However, there are those who cannot ignore their calling and I say ‘respect”. Just be smart.