Zambia

At the peak of the flood season, the two kilometre-wide, frothing, hissing Zambezi River launches over the cliff edge, falling with a deafening roar into the gorge far below, which replies with a blast of spray visible for miles. This is 'the smoke that thunders' - Victoria Falls, one of Africa's most thrilling spectacles.

Zambia, despite being a land of awe-inspiring sights, is not as well-known as many of its neighbours, which is good for anyone who wants to experience 'the real Africa'.

A kidney-shaped country tucked between Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, the DRC, and Angola, it curls from its spoonful of Lake Tanganyika in the north to the Zambezi Valley in the southwest, with no fewer than 19 wildlife parks along the way.

The Luangwa Valley boasts one of the best game reserves in existence, South Luangwa National Park, which counts plenty of giraffe, elephants, leopards, crocs, buffaloes and lions amongst its sizeable animal population. Kafue National Park, the world's second largest, is immensely rich in wildlife too - one of many highlights being the vast Busanga Plains, which becomes a crowded swimming party for hippos when it floods every year. In the remote Great Bangweulu Swamps, the expanse of wetlands attracts a huge variety of birds, many rare, in teeming flocks.

Pitted against such natural marvels, the sprawling capital of Lusaka can't compete, but it does offer decent dining and nightlife, as well as some excellent local art. Livingstone, Zambia's oldest city, is your gateway to Vic Falls, and it's also where you can sign up for various adrenalin-pumping pursuits as river boarding (the rapids), kayaking (the rapids), jet boating (the rapids) and bungee jumping (off the 111m-high Victoria Falls Bridge). Don't forget your travel insurance.