Even More Fun Africa Travel Facts ...

My first stab at 10 Fun Africa Travel Facts was so much fun, here are 10 more ...

Did You Know ...

• Fetish markets in West Africa are popular tourist attractions. In Lome, Togo's capital, you can visit the Akodessewa fetish market and purchase love potions, dried owls, monkey skulls, crocodile skins, wart hogs teeth, and dried bats. Voodoo dolls and cast iron penises "for sexual performance improvement" are also readily available.

• Taking a freighter to Africa is actually more luxurious than many cruise ships and a lot cheaper. Cabins are more spacious, you always get to eat with the captain and you don't have to jostle with fellow cruisers for some space to sunbathe.

• If you want to see one of the best preserved Roman cities in the world today, you'll have to head for Libya. Chances are that you'll get to marvel at Leptis Magna with just a few other tourists, making the experience that much better.

• There's a luxury steam train with wood-paneled coaches which chugs through South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania just once a year (in July). This unique 2 week trip includes Kruger National Park, the Victoria Falls and Tanzania's wild Selous Game Reserve.

• Sand boarders in Namibia reach average speeds of 50 mph (80kmh). Namibia has some of the tallest (and most beautiful) sand dunes in the world and sand boarding is well organized with 4x4's helping get you back up to the top. You can also sand board in Algeria (bring your own gear and rent your own camel), Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Niger and South Africa.

• If you can't afford to enter the Dakar Rally, there's an alternative race for you called the Plymouth-Dakar challenge where competitors race for 3000 miles across the Sahara desert in cars worth less than $150. The Lada is the vehicle of choice.

• You can white-water raft your way in to the remote Omo River Region in Ethiopia and spend some time with tribes that look like the Karo lady pictured above.

• The nomadic Tuareg or "blue men of Africa" still traverse some of the harshest parts of the Sahara desert to mine huge blocks of salt which are then strapped on to the backs of their camels. Some of these salt caravans include as many as 8000 camels. This practice has been going on unchanged for more than 2000 years, and better yet, you can follow along the 700 mile route if you have a month or so to spare.

• The Himba of Namibia smear their skin with a mixture of rancid butter, ash and ochre to protect them from the harsh desert climate. The paste (Otjize) is often mixed with the aromatic resin of the Omuzumba shrub to make it somewhat bearable to give each other a hug.

• You can volunteer to be a game ranger at several major wildlife reserves in Africa.

Image of a Karo Woman of the Omor River Region, Ethiopia -- © Angela Fairbank