This Week in Travel – ‘Africa’ Forever

#1 Airbnb wants to move you to Italy!

Take an Italian Sabbatical
photo: Airbnb

Where: Grottole, Italy

What: Airbnb has teamed up with NGO Wonder Grottole, offering four lucky individuals the chance to live in the quaint Italian village of Grottole is Southern Italy for three months. The role asks that you try to learn Italian, cook a little, help run a local vegetable garden, and act as an Airbnb co-host in the town.  All we can hear is three months of pasta, pasta, pasta and so much wine! Applications close 17 February.

Read also: Italy Travel Tips: 6 Things Travellers Should Consider

#2 This Turkish Town is Getting a Makeover

Kusadasi is getting a new coat of paint
photo: Marshall

Where: Tepe, Turkey

What: The village of Tepe along the Aegean coast is being transformed thanks to a massive job involving 50,000(!!!) litres of paint and 400 hilltop homes. The town, which is amongst the first you’ll see upon arriving at the major cruise ship port of Kusadasi, is expected to be fully colourfied by April this year.

#3 Toto’s Africa will Play for All Eternity in Namibia

Africa will forever play in the Namib desert
photo: maxsiedentopf

Where: Somewhere in the Namib Desert (let us know if you find it)

What: A true visionary/genius/hero, Namibian artist Max Siedentopf has installed six speakers with solar-powered batteries in a mysterious location within a 2,000 kilometre-long stretch of Namib desert.  These six magical speakers will forever (or until the sands of time erode them) play the classic 1982 Toto song, Africa.

So, if next time you’re in Namibia you hear “the drums echoing tonight”, it might not be a mirage at all!

#4 Fiji has a Plan to Save its Reefs

saving Fiji's coral reefs
photo: Corals for Conservation

Where: Fiji’s coral reefs

What: Due to the warming oceans, and human follies such as overfishing and dumping fertiliser in the reefs, the coral in Fiji and much of the world is dying.  Dr Austin Bowden-Kerby, the man known as “the coral gardener”, however, is on a mission to change that.  Working with Fijian resorts, Dr Bowden-Kerby has created a team of coral gardeners who are planting ‘super corals’ capable of withstanding multiple mass bleachings throughout the Fijian reef.  Through the planting of these corals and the educating of the locals, Fiji is hoping to keep its coral alive.

Now, how do we get this going in every other coral reef?

Read also: Everything you should know about eco-sustainable tourism

Elisabeth Forsman

Our predictably unpredictable adventure nomad, Elisabeth is the yogi who wants it fast, the ultra-runner who prefers taking a hike, and the swimmer with a fear of lap pools. A consummate lover of all things outdoors, she’s on a perpetual quest to get those around her outside and moving.

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