To take up the challenge Your Bucket List - 150 Must-Do Experiences in Southern Africa presents, I suggest that before you even begin to read this magic carpet ride you turn to page 190 and tick off you own "been-there-done-thats" to see how many of the 186 activities and places of interest he has listed you have personally experienced.
That's when you take on the challenge, when you commence reading and planning your own next "trips and ticks". I like the condensed, concise style of Cruywagen's writing. He doesn't ramble on with flowery descriptions and concentrates on facts, devoting one entire page per destination or activity.
The booklet contains numerous photographs plus a detailed map showing the exact location of each of the places and activities. His brief summaries contain many interesting facts, plenty of background information, snippets of history and some useful tips and suggestions. Simple and enticing it makes you want to saddle up and head for the horizon.
To make it easy for travellers the book is divided into countries - South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Madagascar, Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya.
Well researched and presented, Your Bucket List is destined to find permanent homes in the cubbyholes, backpacks, travel bags and bookshelves of all of us born with itchy feet and a love for Africa.
The book is available from Map Studios and is on sale until the end of May at the launch price of R150.
