Graham Boynton Associates: Feature Writing

The fearless fossil hunter who saved Africa's living treasures: TV star, ladies' man...

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and a swashbuckling adventurer who lost his legs in a plane crash. Richard Leakey - who has died at 77 - was like a real-life Wilbur Smith hero. World-renowned palaeoanthropologist

Why you're wrong about Nashville, the liberal city making more than just music

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The Tennessee capital is full of surprises from its culinary stars and progressive thinkers to its collaborative village feel.

Back to the bush: Safaris are open again - and the elephants in Kenya are among the biggest on earth. Best of all, this lodge doesn't need a jumbo wallet

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Covid all but obliterated international safari tourism more than 18 months ago. Kenya lost almost a billion dollars in lost tourist revenue in 2020 but the lodges stayed open and

The New York City I used to love has disappeared

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The city bears little resemblance to the one I lived in through the 1990s

Old Souls

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A committed team of winemakers is preserving South Africa' s heritage vines saving them from destruction and showcasing their subtle sophistication to appreciative connoisseurs

The Ladies' Man Vanishes

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Peter Beard the world-famous photographer adventurer and playboy goes missing in the Hamptons

Cape of No Hope

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Corruption and crime have killed Nelson Mandela's dream and doomed the country's future

Ban on importing wildlife trophies would be a mistake

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One item in this week's Queen's Speech that many will have considered irrelevant in these Brexit times was the announcement that the government plans to ban the importation

The true story of why this single mother was beaten to death in her South African home

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In South Africa's remote Limpopo province white farmers feel under attack from incendiary politicians of the Black First Land First movement (BLF) and the militant party EFF.

The disastrous rule of Robert Mugabe

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Mugabe led Zimbabwe from the the breadbasket of southern Africa to an economic basket case

San Jose, showing everyone the way: A tour of Silicon Valley's capital as it turns itself into the "Athens of the modern world"

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San Jose is the capital of Silicon Valley and is close to where the two Steves - Jobs and Wozniak - started Apple Last week British Airways began the first daily service between the UK

Culture, coffee and fine cuisine: Dublin is now the heart of high style - but don't worry, you can still get a great pint of Guinness

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New film Sing Street set in 80s Dublin - what was a bleak city landscape Today it's cosmopolitan with a serious culinary centre and culture spots Stop for Guinness at one of its

An oasis of culture: Forget sun and sand, Abu Dhabi is all about fine food and fantastic art

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Abu Dhabi wants to rebrand itself as the Gulf's capital for cuisine and culture The Louvre Abu Dhabi art gallery has recently opened at a cost of £3billion It charts the

Revelling in the majesty of William's Africa: The stunning swathe of Kenya that's moulded our future Monarch

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The Mail on Sunday's Graham Boynton explored The Northern Rangelands in the remote reaches of Kenya The Duke of Cambridge first visited the Craig-family owned Lewa Safari in

Is Zimbabwe the Next Hot Safari Destination?

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After decades of political instability Zimbabwe is poised for a comeback with luxurious new lodges some of the continent's best guides and-despite the poachers and hunters-a glorious

Manta rays and mermaids along Australia`s Ningaloo Reef

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It is the second dive on the second day aboard the Shore Thing that does it for me. A small group of us are snorkelling along Ningaloo Reef when we spot an enormous manta ray circling beneath

Fighting the elephant ivory poachers of Kenya

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With the slaughter of elephants showing no sign of slowing in Kenya Dr Paula Kahumbu is a conservationist who is taking the fight to the poachers

The luxury Botswana safari on a (relative) budget

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At Meno A Kwena a remote bush camp on the western edge of Botswana`s Makgadikgadi Pans National Park a group of San people are leading some European tourists through a stretch of bushveld

South Africa: Raise a glass to Cape cuisine

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South Africa`s Western Cape is barely Africa. It is more like a mix of California and the Mediterranean than the southern end of a turbulent continent. The region is physically cut

How Billionaire Analjit Singh is Transforming South Africa`s Franschhoek Region

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A trip to the popular weekend escape offered a foreign-born billionaire a surprising second career.

THE SOUTH

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It is Friday night at around 9pm and suddenly Nashville`s Ryman Auditorium has lit up. The audience of 3 000 is on its feet rocking singing and swaying. In minutes even seconds the whole

A toast to California`s next Napa

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El Dorado and Amador counties are emerging as compelling destinations for wine lovers

BAVARIA`S LANSERHOF MEDI-SPA: SOFT ON THE EYE, TOUGH ON DIGESTION

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I walk into Lanserhof with some trepidation. It has a reputation for fierce diet-and-detox programs and I am not in great shape. The staff members are all lean toned and radiating good

EXPLORING MYANMAR, EMERGING FROM HALF-CENTURY OF REPRESSION

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One year ago and for the first time in his life Min Min Kyaw voted. He was 38 years old.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS STILL ARE: NOW IS THE TIME TO VISIT ZIMBABWE

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For a brief moment this past summer the world's attention was focused on Zimbabwe. This was not a result of human rights abuses perpetrated by President Robert Mugabe`s security forces

WHAT IT`S LIKE TO FLY ONBOARD BA`S BUSINESS CLASS-ONLY PLANE

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British Airways (BA) last month celebrated the sixth anniversary of its business class-only service between London and New York. That may appear to be a rather underwhelming landmark

PRE-MED IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

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On dark midwinter days the Mediterranean can feel like a torment to Europeans yearning for the glistening waters off the coast of Corsica or Sicily or the fresh seafood grilled in beachside

HOW THE BIRTHPLACE OF APARTHEID BECAME A WINE WONDERLAND

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When I first visited the winelands of South Africa`s Cape region in the 1980s as a young liberal journalist it was a fortress of staid Afrikanerdom. Stellenbosch the university town

HOW THAILAND`S LUXURY HEALTH SPA CHIVA-SOM USES PAIN AND PLEASURE TO TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE

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I am pouring with sweat. Beside me is a Swedish woman in her late 20s who appears to be perfectly toned and a middle-aged Australian woman who seemingly is in very good shape too. Unlike

FAMED CAMBODIAN TEMPLES MEET MODERN, LUXURY ACCOMMODATIONS

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Ferrying me through the Cambodian temple of Angkor Wat my guide Nin Vo Leak-or "Leak " as he likes to be called-executes the perfect approach to avoiding the crowds. We enter

CELTIC TIGER STILL ROARS IN A COSMOPOLITAN DUBLIN

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It is the premiere of the 41-year-old Irish director John Carney`s autobiographical film Sing Street a musical set in Dublin in the mid-1980s that brings me to the Irish capital. Carney

SONOMA VINEYARDS ADDING TOUCH OF HOLLYWOOD TO CALIFORNIA WINERIES

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I have just arrived at Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma California. The plan is to sample some of the estate wines in the wood-paneled Press House Tasting Room and then wander around the

REASSESSING PAUL MCCARTNEY, THE DECENT - AND INSECURE - BEATLE

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When Philip Norman set out to write his new biography of Paul McCartney the last person he expected to cooperate was the ex-Beatle himself. In his 1981 best-selling book on the Beatles

Cape Winelands

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I have been visiting South Africa’s Western Cape since I was a schoolboy in what was then Rhodesia. I remember sitting on Cape Town’s Camps Bay Beach on my first trip here in the 1960s

CUBA

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“Thomas Hudson had been ashore about four days when he got really drunk. It had all started at noon at the Floridita ... He had drunk double frozen daiquiris the great ones that Constante

THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH

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America's Deep South is the source of all modern music. It started in the mountains and in the cotton fields and spread across the planet. Here Graham Boynton goes back to the source.

Zulu: Rorke’s Drift on 50th Anniversary of the Film Zulu. Express

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I AM standing on the side of Isandlwana a sphinx-like mountain in what is now KwaZulu Natal.

Africa’s Best Safari Guides

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Native Zimbabwean Graham Boynton spent 18 months traveling through the bush with guides in 6 countries to come up with this list of his 25 top safari guides.

Inside Mugabe's Zimbabwe

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As the tyrant totters towards decrepitude his country slides into famine...

A jazz-themed tour of New York

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The 80th anniversary of the Village Vanguard coincides with a resurgence in the city’s jazz scene

Kenya: the Maasai Mara faces a fight for survival'

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Terrorist attacks in Kenya are having a crippling effect on tourist numbers which could lead to the loss of 200 000 acres of a vital ecosystem writes Graham Boynton

Is This The End Of The Wild Rhino?

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Graham Boynton reports on the illegal rhino horn trade in South Africa and how rampant poaching is endangering the African rhino species.

Is This The Future Of International Aviation?

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Dubai International Airport has surpassed Heathrow as the world’s busiest global hub while three Gulf airlines—Emirates Qatar Airways and Etihad—are scooping up passengers.

Preserving Kenya's Masai Mara

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The Masai Mara offers some of the world’s best wildlife experiences – but for how long? Will human over-population destroy Kenya’s flagship reserve? Graham Boynton investigates

Richard Leakey: What does Angelina Jolie see in this man?

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A biopic of Richard Leakey will struggle to capture the essence of the controversial conservationist says Graham Boynton who has known him for 30 years

Richard Leakey Tries to Save the Elephants - Again

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Richard Leakey has returned to Kenya’s Maasai Mara game reserve and one of the first social calls he makes is to the local Maasai elders. He says it is traditional in African society

Australia's best restaurants and wineries

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From the cosmopolitan centres of Sydney and Melbourne to Mudgee and beyond Australia's lauded restaurants and vineyards are on course to rival the Old World's best

South Africa: sites that defined Nelson Mandela

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From the Archives: Following the death of Nelson Mandela Graham Boynton reflects on the moving sites and tours where visitors to South Africa can follow in his footsteps

The Last Wild Place: The Untouched Landscapes of Antarctica

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Does Africa seem tame to you with its conga lines of safari vehicles and camps with crystal chandeliers? Do you long for that frisson of the inﬁnite? Then Antarctica is the place for

Zimbabwe: is it time for British tourists to return?

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British tour operators are starting to feature Zimbabwe in their brochures again. Graham Boynton who grew up in Bulawayo considers whether it is right for tourists to return.

Will Jacob Zuma be the big loser after the World Cup whistle?

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When the South African president arrives at Buckingham Palace this week one wonders if the Queen will be aware of what an unusual guest she is hosting writes Graham Boynton.

London and New York's martini magicians

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From the Connaught Bar in London to Bemelmans in New York barmen are elevating the martini to an art form. On both sides of the Atlantic Graham Boynton finds the third golden age of cocktails

Safari: Are too many tourists killing Africa's wildlife?

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After an extensive study of Africa’s most famous reserves Graham Boynton says to save its great creatures we need a conservation revolution.

9/11 anniversary: photographer Mark Asnin recalls the Twin Towers attack

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When the World Trade Center’s North Tower began to collapse a firefighter yelled at Mark Asnin “Run!” and he turned and ran for his life.

9/11 anniversary: reminiscences 10 years on

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It is a week away from the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and I am standing on the corner of Harrison and Greenwich in SoHo staring wistfully at Mary Ann’s Mexican Restaurant.

Is Heathrow fit for purpose?

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As summer approaches Graham Boynton says that London’s crowded main airport once the world’s most popular transfer hub is being eclipsed by the rising aviation star of Dubai

Eugene Terreblanche: the man I knew

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For all the dramatic oratory and the thunderous delivery of his speeches in his brief heyday Eugene Terreblanche was to all intents and purposes a designer Boer whose significance

Mugabe's last throw of the dice

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After 32 years in power will Robert Mugabe try to fix one last election or stand down and give his party a five-year lifeline?

The Nature of the Beast

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The African elephant once under threat has recovered in greater numbers than some habitats can bear. Graham Boynton considers the future of these wondrously sentient creatures

Morgan Tsvangirai tells Britain's Zimbabwean exiles: It is time to come home

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Morgan Tsvangirai Zimbabwe’s prime minister has shown great dignity in working with Robert Mugabe the man who spent years trying to eradicate him. Now he tells Graham Boynton it

Shanghai finally salutes its past

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Bulldozed in the 1920s and constantly rebuilt 'so history doesn’t breathe through’ Shanghai has always looked forward. But in exploring its brash modernity Graham Boynton

Tim Rice's American pop odyssey

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The 'pop brain of the universe’ on his year-long quest to document the musical connections of America's states.

The last supper at El Bulli

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With just three weeks to go before the world’s greatest restaurant closes for ever a table at El Bulli is harder to secure than tickets to the Olympics. But Graham Boynton got lucky