In light of a sprawlingly fascinating conversation with yacht consultant and captain Sean Meagher, Will Jones shares three water-based experiences, from a stripped-back, spartan-like trip to Eritrea’s Dahlak Archipelago to commissioning a traditional dhow off the coast of Lamu to chartering a 162-foot yacht into eastern Africa’s Indian Ocean.
As you’d expect, much of what we do by way of designing trips is land-based. The terrains we operate in range from the deserts of Chad or Namibia to the savannas of eastern and southern Africa to the highlands and mountains of northern Ethiopia and South Sudan to the rainforests of the Republic of Congo. Water, of course, is vital to all of these; their rains, rivers, and lakes their lifeblood, the complexity of local and global weather systems the paint brushes, so to speak, that create, give rhythm to, and maintain them. Whether fishing for goliath tigerfish on the Chinko River in the Central African Republic, swimming in Lake Tanganyika off Mahale Mountains, relaxing in an Infinity pool, viewing the interaction between predator and prey around a dry season water source, or enjoying any number of activities in Walker Bay along the coast from Cape Town, water is significant to the experience of travelling to Africa. However, it is not generally the experience, which is why I thought we’d flip the switch three times in the name of all you water-lovers out there. Let’s go.
