How many African countries have you visited? and which was your favourite?

That's not a fair question!
I have been to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Rwanda and loved each for different reasons....
SA for the fantastic fun we had with our guide at Honeyguide and beautiful Capetown.
Zimbabwe for those amazing falls and the Ellies crossing the Zambezi River while we did a sunset cruise.
Kenya for the Cheetah Mom plus 5 babies, the wildebeest migration and our first leopard.
Rwanda for the people and those magnificent Gorillas.
They were all completely different and I don't think I could pick one over the other.

Imelda

South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia. Like Imelda, I loved them all! SA because it was our home for a while (a too short while), and because Kruger was my first wildlife experience in that continent; Lesotho and Swaziland because of the culture; Zim for the falls; Botswana for being in the midst of a herd of more than 100 elephants (among other memorable experiences); Namibia for the incredible wonder of Etosha and for the unequalled scenery.

Wow, do I miss it! Can't wait to go back in 2008.

Morocco (Tangier only), Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Zambia.

Favorite has been Zambia for wildlife and South Africa for non-wildlife.

I will be in Botswana in just 2 months!

Imelda - didn't you visit Burundi also?!!

Am still waiting for my first African experience (SA May2007) yay!! In the meantime I'm 'living the dream' through all the wonderful trip reports on Fodors!

mancfi, of course - you are correct.... how could I have forgotten Burundi ?!!!

Burundi was, well.... Burundi was a running visit

Imelda

Hahaha, Burundi was a good one. =D>=D>=D>

Does living in Africa 30 years ago count? If so, Kenya, Tanzania and Egypt. Never been back as a grown up but next year....>-

My favorite... well, I'm obliged to answer Kenya where I lived for 4 wonderful years. By the way, anyone read Tick Bite Fever by David Bennum? It's a hilarious book about growing up in Africa in the 70's. His father was a white, jewish ANC excile South-African. David was my playmate in Nairobi.

Some of these were quite a few years ago some within the past few years but... Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso,Burindi, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Egypt, Mali, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Tanzania, Togo, Zaire, Zambia & Zimbabwe.
A favorite? Oh there are so so so many. In Zaire I really felt like I was in the heart of Africa and loved that.

What about you Fuzzy?

Yeah, don't forget Burundi, Imelda. You will never live that one down! Nor will anyone likely top that!

8 countries, most at least twice--all favorites in their own right.

I want to add Gabon.

Hmmmm...

Morocco
Kenya
Tanzania
Botswana
Namibia
South Africa
Swaziland

As to which is my favourite, that's almost impossible to answer as I love different aspects of each one!

Morocco is great for a sense of the exotic, for colour and spices and incredible medinas/ souks! It's all about people and architecture and a crazy hubbub of experiences!

Kenya and Tanzania both share the Mara/ Serengeti - that wide open savannah is a magical place and one that resonates with any of us who grew up on films about Africa. It's the stereotypical safari landscape of flat grassy plains, umbrella trees and the masaai in their colourful costumes. And of course both countries have much more than that with their wonderful range of parks and landscapes.

How can I even begin to describe what draws me to Botswana without stating the obvious? The Okavango Delta is, of course, the life source and the heart of the country for a wildlife lover. The beauty of the water ways themselves, lined with papyrus and dotted with islands is surely a glimpse into heaven? And that's before even talking about the desert. Our stay in Jack's Camp a couple of years back was one of the biggest highlights of a 9 week trip that had many highlights and there was truly a sensation of being back where it all began for our species, even if that's not entirely accurate.

Namibia is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. I think many of you here know how much I love the Namib Rand desert. Pete and I went back there to renew our wedding vows and I have even (somewhat morbidly) informed my loved ones that I'd like my ashes to be scattered there when I die, perhaps in the very fairly circle we adopted. And it's not just the Namib Rand that draws me to Namibia - the entire country has a special feeling of vastness about it. The big blue sky itself seems more open and alluring. Oh and what about those night skies?!

South Africa is a country that has more bounties than any one country has a right to. And perhaps that's it's due having been through such a difficult modern history in the last century. It has one of my favourite cities in the world in Cape Town. It has winelands to compete with any in the world. The safari destinations are so very varied and well-maintained too. And then there are the beaches, the lakes and those fabulous mountains! Throughout our 5 weeks there I often shook my head at the sheer natural bounty that this one single nation possesses!

Swaziland, I'm afraid, I can't comment on as we spent only a few hours here passing through. Certainly we noticed that it's infrastructure was poorer than the neighbour that surrounds it. Since we didn't stop in any towns nor game reserves I don't know about that aspect.

So I don't think I could easily choose one single favourite.

If I was forced to limit myself to visiting only one single African country for the rest of my life, I suspect I'd opt for South Africa, simply because it does have such an abundance of different options but... I'm sure glad I don't have to make that choice for real!

Thx all for your thoughts. And sorry for the delay in responding.

Yes it was a daft question. Don't understand comments about Burundi - must be some kind of "in" joke. This is a very "In joke" sort of board.

Me, Jules? The answer to my own question is a fair few. Some for longer than others.

I am struck, though, by how few posters have anything to say about West Africa.

My favourite countries would be Ghana, Uganda, Malawi - in the sense of how much I just enjoyed being there. And the ones I want to go back to are Mali and Ethiopia, oh, and Kenya. There are different reasons why I want to revisit each of these.

Countries I have not seen that I would like to, one day - in order of preference. Madagascar, Senegal, Mauretania, Chad, Tunisia.

Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia (just the falls)

If i have to pick one, would be Botswana.

Hari

Fuzzylogic, you'll have to read Imelda's trip report to "get" the Burundi reference...really funny!

I've been to Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. I think that Tanzania and Botswana are my favorites...Tanzania for the prolific wildlife and special people and Botswana for the wild, magical Okavango Delta.

Fuzzy,
Shay is right, you should read the trip report but basically, let's day I ended up in Burundi by 'mistake'!!!! Funny now but not so funny at the time ... certianly something that I won't forget in a hurry!

Imelda

Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Swaziland, Ghana, Nigeria, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mozambique, Ivory Coast.

Favorites for natural beauty: Uganda and Tanzania.
Atmosphere and experience with locals: Ghana and Ethiopia.

Daniel