10 Fun Africa Travel Facts

• When you visit Eritrea's capital Asmara, you can sip a perfect macchiato in an outdoor cafe and enjoy some lovely 1930's, Italian architecture.

• Sudan has more Pyramids than Egypt. The 223 pyramids are smaller and steeper than their Egyptian counter parts, but the Nubians were obviously very busy people around 4 BC - 3 AD.

• It's possible to take a hot air balloon ride over Luxor and the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.

• Lake Malawi is the cheapest place in the world to get your open-water diving certification; enjoy more than 500 varieties of tropical fish while you're learning.

• You don't have to be in a safari vehicle to enjoy Africa's wildlife, you can ride alongside wildebeest and zebra on the back of a horse, camel or elephant.

• The original Star Wars movie sets in the deserts of Tunisia (a.k.a. planet Tatooine) are very well preserved and you can even stay in Luke Skywalker's home.

• Penguins at Boulder Beach in Cape Town, South Africa will literally sit on your beach towel and swim along side you given half a chance.

• The Ethiopian calendar is 7.5 years behind the Gregorian calendar (which most of you reading probably use).

• Skiing in Morocco is not just a bad joke, it does actually happen.

• Affectionately known as "the longest train in the world" the Nouadhibu to Zouerate train in Mauritania is 1.8 miles long (3 km). The trip takes 12 hours, covers about 430 miles (700 km) and passenger cars have finally been added to the freight cars, so you no longer have to sit on the roof or inside the iron ore carriages.

_{Photo of Mos Espa (Luke Skywalker's home) in Tunisia by Tore Kjeilen/LexicOrient. Used with kind permission from Adventures of Tunisia}