Mark Twain described the sea around Mauritius as "just about the divinist colour known to nature."

THE ancient tombs of many of Egypt's most famous rulers, with their treasure-troves of sculptures, paintings, hieroglyphics and carvings, are amazing enough in themselves, but the fact that they were ever discovered in the first place is nothing short of a miracle.

Hidden among rocky ravines in a sea of shifting sands on the edge of one of the world's most inhospitable regions, they were first found in the early 1700s in what has become known as the Valley of the Kings, one of Egypt’s major historical centres in a land that appears almost awash with significant temples, monuments and statues.

For those who have never been to Africa , the idea of a safari conjures up images of adventure and breathtaking scenery. One imagines sepia-drenched plains filled with lions and giraffes and all sorts of other exciting animal wildlife.

In just over a century, the capital city of Kenya has been transformed from an uninhabited highland swamp to its current evolution as a bustling metropolitan city which still recognises its wilderness roots.