​Africa is the world’s second-largest continent, covering six percent of the Earth’s total surface area and more than 20 percent of the total land area. With over one billion people, it accounts for more than 15% of the world’s human population, speaking over 3000 languages in 54 fully recognised sovereign states or countries. Africa also holds the title as the cradle of humankind and many a visitor here claims some sort of familiarity on arrival. Indeed, this vast continent is also home to more than 2300 bird species and 1100 mammal species, some of which are our closest living relatives.  Africa boasts the iconic snow-capped mountain of Kilimanjaro, the great Congo River drains her interior with the Nile and Zambezi. Battered by the stormy waters of the Atlantic Ocean on her west coast, she is warmed by the tropical airs blowing off the Indian Ocean to her east. Crowned by the Sahara Desert and great Atlas Mountains, her heartland is the steamy vastness of the Central African Rainforest. Further south she hides treasures untold - the giant oasis that is the Okavango Delta, the "smoke that thunders"; the Victoria Falls and the endless, beautiful wastes of the Namib Desert. Steeped in mystery and still with many miles of land untouched, Africa remains a continent of discovery and adventure.