By Justin Fox
Africa’s islands offer extraordinary landscapes, fascinating histories and remarkable cultural diversity. In Treasured Islands, acclaimed travel writer and explorer Justin Fox takes readers on an unforgettable journey across the continent’s most captivating island destinations.
Through an exciting collection of voyages, Fox explores these remote territories using floatplanes, catamarans, dhows, helicopters and sailing vessels. His adventures also include a century-old schooner and a Renaissance caravel. Each journey reveals the distinctive character of islands shaped by geography, history and human experience.
Discovering Africa’s island treasures
Inspired by a lifetime of reading and exploration, Fox examines the connections that unite these destinations. He also highlights the characteristics that make each island unique. From tropical palm-fringed beaches to rugged granite landscapes, the book captures an extraordinary range of environments. It explores former prison settlements, romantic retreats and fascinating natural laboratories of evolution.
The journey spans the Atlantic, southern Africa, and the Indian Ocean. Readers discover São Tomé, Cape Verde and Ascension, alongside Robben Island, Dassen Island and Ilha de Moçambique. Further east, Fox explores Réunion, Mafia Island and Lamu. He also visits historical destinations such as St Helena, Mauritius and Zanzibar. Meanwhile, Mnemba, Bazaruto and the Seychelles showcase the enduring appeal of island paradises.
Beyond their scenic beauty, these destinations reveal complex stories of colonialism, imprisonment, plantation economies, cultural exchange and ecological evolution. Consequently, Treasured Islands offers more than an adventurous travel narrative. It encourages readers to appreciate the historical and environmental significance of Africa’s island heritage.
Richly illustrated through compelling storytelling and exploration, Treasured Islands is an engaging read for travel enthusiasts, history lovers and nature admirers. Fox combines adventure with cultural and ecological insight. Ultimately, this fascinating book celebrates the diversity, mystery and enduring allure of Africa’s island treasures.
About the author
Justin Fox is an accomplished travel writer and photographer. He previously edited Getaway International magazine and studied at Oxford. He later joined the University of Cape Town as a research fellow, where he now teaches part-time.
His writing and photography have appeared in publications worldwide. He has also authored 12 non-fiction books. Fox lives and works in Cape Town.
- PUBLISHER | Penguin Random House SA |
- ISBN | 9781415211434 |
- Recommended Retail Price | R380.00 |
- Classification | Travel & Heritage |
