From the Elbe to the Kalahari…

At the end of last year I was invited on a Peter Deilmann cruise which wended its way along one of Europe’s great rivers from Potsdam to Prague. I visited some fascinating historical towns such as Wittenberg (where Martin Luther changed the face of Christianity forever), Dresden and Meissen.

I ended up in Prague where a highlight was sitting in the 10th-century basilica of St George in Prague Castle listening to music by Mozart, Grieg and Sibelius. On the famous Charles Bridge more musicians played for the hundreds of passers-by, even an old organ grinder. Young men touted their tours and the town was packed with tourists, but still undeniably beautiful.

In March, 2008, I was in one of the most remote places on earth - the Kalahari desert. I went walking with the San/Bushmen and learned about medicinal plants and herbs, and drank brackish water from an ostrich egg container. I saw huge black-maned Kalahari lions, dozing cheetahs and uncountable herds of springbok. The rains have been good this year and the desert - usually barren and brown - was lush and green. The Kalaghadi Transfrontier Park which is in the far northwest of South Africa, bordered by Botswana and Namibia is one of the less-known national parks in southern Africa but one of its loveliest and most dramatic. Visit it if you can. www.sanparks.org