Inspiring African Travel

Hundreds of runners tackle the hardest flat ultra in the world across Botswana's Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. Hear the incredible stories of transformation, community spirit, and what happens when you push human limits in one of the most extraordinary landscapes.

James talks to life coach Linda Jean about what makes transformative travel truly transformative. A must listen for travel professionals and travellers alike. They explore the process from multiple perspectives – the traveller the guide and crucially the travel planner’s role in facilitating life-changing moments. Linda shares insights from her own travel experiences and professional journey discu...

James joins Dave Carson, a professional safari guide and founder of Kazuma Trails & the Safari Insight podcast. They explore what makes the safari guide’s role so pivotal in making transformative travel moments, the importance of stripping back the layers to connect closer with Africa's wilderness, and the profound experiences Dave has witnessed with his travellers. From his camp in Hwange Nat...

James catches up with long-time podcast contributor Andrew Flatt for a “Hike with a Mic” across Dartmoor National Park, UK. This through-and-through Botswana boy shares his transformational experiences that led him to Cape Town the profound nothingness of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans and his life-changing involvement with Local Ocean Conservation in Watamu, Kenya. A great chat about what makes Afric...

What does transformative travel actually mean beyond the marketing jargon? Travel industry expert Lindsey Walter joins James to explore whether this trend is genuine substance or just another industry fad. From her first Kenya safari challenging assumptions about the future of the African travel industry to a deep dive into what businesses should be looking out for when it comes to selling experie...

Welcome to our new series exploring transformational travel in Africa! In our first episode, James catches up with Stuart as they drive across South Africa in a Tread Lite Jimny from Bonamanzi Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal to Wakkerstroom in Mpumalanga. During their journey through the South African countryside, they each share their three most profound transformational travel experiences in Afric...

In this special episode, we take a heartfelt journey through a year of incredible achievements dedicated to the memory of Julia, our beloved co-founder and champion of Africa. As the fundraising year draws to a close on 26th January, there's still time to contribute. Join us as we reflect on the impact we've had through three inspiring projects: Groundbreaking wildlife roadkill mitigation research...

In this episode of Untamed Routes, we take you to Lake Natron, an accessible yet very remote and breathtaking location in Tanzania. Far from the typical safari circuit, Lake Natron offers surreal landscapes and cultural experiences that make it a hidden gem for adventurous travellers. We share insights into the unique setting with the iconic Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano as the backdrop and our incredi...

Welcome back to Inspiring African Travel! You’re tuning in to Episode 3 of our series Untamed Routes. In this series, we dive into off-the-beaten-path adventures—those that take you beyond the typical bucket-list destinations. Untamed Routes is all about uncovering the second biggest, the oldest, the longest—whatever it might be—that offers a different kind of thrill and connection with Africa’s w...

Welcome back! This is episode 2 of our series, Untamed Routes. Today, we’re venturing into Tanzania to explore Mount Meru, the country’s second-highest peak, often overshadowed by its more famous neighbour, Kilimanjaro.  Untamed Routes is about seeking out destinations that aren’t necessarily on everyone’s radar. We’re drawn to places that might not be the highest, biggest, or most visited—but are...

Welcome back to Inspiring African Travel and the kickoff of our brand-new travel series! Hard to believe, but we’re now in Season 7—we’ve outstripped Breaking Bad and Ozark in terms of seasons! We’re feeling pretty pumped over here! This season, we’re excited to bring you Untamed Routes: Discovering Africa’s Hidden Treasures. Over the next two months, get ready for some incredible adventures as we...

Welcome back and we’re halfway through our fundraising year in memory of our beautiful co-founder Julia. So far, we’ve raised GBP 6,478.00! In this episode, we’ll be giving you an update on the three projects we are supporting and how your donations have made a difference. To give you a little sneak preview, we’ve been able to sponsor six children for a year through the Awutu Winton School in Ghan...

Welcome back to Inspiring African Travel! In this episode, we’re excited to introduce our third fundraising beneficiary for this fundraising year. We’re raising money for three wonderful grassroots projects in Africa in memory of Jules. Dr. Tempe Adams’ Wildlife & Community Co-Existence Initiative in Botswana Tempe is a long-time friend of both James and Julia’s. We had an insightful conversat...

Welcome back to our relaunch series and this is episode 4 dedicated to our co-founder, Julia, and launch of our fundraising year. We want to bring you a lovely episode recorded with Andrew Flatt from a tranquil channel in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Before we do that a quick update. Fundraising Update: We’ve kicked off our fundraising year in Julia’s memory and are thrilled to share that we’ve r...

Welcome to our fourth episode of the podcast relaunch where we’re now bringing you closer to the West African portion of the fundraiser beneficiaries. The Awutu Winton High School in Ghana.  A portion of the funds raised from the Inspiring African Travel fundraiser will be going towards this wonderful school and we can’t wait to share the work that’s been done as the year progresses.  James &...

Welcome back to Inspiring African Travel! In this episode, we bring you Episode 3 of our podcast relaunch, recorded in Zanzibar last year at the Divepoint Scuba Centre, situated at Sunshine Marine Lodge on the east coast of the island, directly opposite some of the best diving sites in the area. We had the pleasure of meeting up with Frank Mollel, also known as Frank the Masai Diver, who initiated...

Welcome, everyone, to Episode 2 of our relaunch series of Inspiring African Travel. Our main goal here is to honour the memory of our co-founder, my incredible wife, Julia. We're also thrilled to update you on our fundraising project for the three amazing grassroots projects we're supporting. First and foremost, a massive thank you to everyone who has donated thus far. Our target was to raise GBP...

In our official relaunch and opening episode to series 6, we are so thrilled to welcome you back to Inspiring African Travel. This episode is our heartfelt dedication to our beautiful co-founder, Julia Spry-Wilson, and a glimpse into our 2024 fundraising plans in her memory. With mixed emotions, we're excited to resume our podcast, sharing our enduring passion for African travel. However, our hear...

The largest waterfalls on the planet. Located seemingly in the centre of Southern Africa, the falls stretches between two countries. It spans 1,700 meters (5,600 feet) between Zimbabwe and Zambia and is simply one of the most stunning things to see in Africa.  This is a place we have all visited many times and it never disappoints. In this episode we’re going to explore some of the insider tips to...

After you listen to this episode you will surely be pumped up to go and explore our beloved KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). It’s absolutely jam packed with tips of places to go, what to do there and how to make the most of your time in KZN so scroll down the notes for as many of the links we could gather from the tips we brought you. Our guest for this episode is KZN expert travel writer & photographer M...

You often hear of gems in the travel world but Chumbe Island really and truly is. This podcast will follow our trips to this remarkable place. An affordable yet still exclusive tiny island off the coast of Zanzibar. Staying here is exactly like you imagined a tropical island when you were a child. Rustic bungalows nestled in the lush forests. Turquoise ocean, whites sandy bays and the world’s larg...

If you enjoy the active outdoors in Africa then this episode is for you. James recalls his experience trekking up Mt. Kilimanjaro. We invite Ake Lindstrom from Summits Africa to share his wealth of guiding & mountaineering knowledge to help inspire you and provide tips to get the most out of your Kili trek.  Ake (pronounced Orca) has summited Kili over 80 times and so he’s fairly qualified to...

There is a place in Botswana called Makgadikgadi. Home to the largest collection of salt pans on the planet. A vast open, desolate place in what is already a vast, open desolate region - the Kalahari Desert.  In this episode we’re going to transport you to one of our favourite lodges, Leroo La Tau, and talk you through an experience of spending a night out sleeping in the middle of one of these gi...

Everyone tends to talk about “Gorilla Trekking” as one of those bucket list things to do in Africa. In this episode we share our tips from Uganda and Rwanda where we went on Chimpanzee, Golden Monkey and Gorilla treks. While gorilla trekking is a profound experience we’re here today to share insight as to why there is so much more than just the gorilla trekking. We interview a specialist ranger fr...

For the next few months we’re going to be exploring some of the inspiring African destination and experience that we’ve had and share our tips with you. Coming up in episode 1 we'll be taking you to Uganda & Rwanda to discover Chimp trekking and other primate experiences. Then later in the series we'll bring you hidden gems off the coast of Zanzibar, how to climb Kilimanjaro, Sleeping out on t...