LIFE THROUGH THE LENS

Travel photographer, writer and editor Anton Crone has many years of exploring Africa's backroads under his belt. Christi Nortier asks him what makes a place one-of-a-kind.

- Christi Nortier

It took three months in the Alaskan and Canadian wilderness for Anton Crone to realise that advertising wasn't for him anymore. He'd worked in New York and Oslo, but returned to South Africa to begin what would become a colourful career as a photographer, writer and editor for Africa Geographic, Getaway and now BirdLife.

His work (and curiosity) has taken him on journeys throughout Africa and he isn't afraid to step off the beaten tourist track. His favourite way to travel? On public transport, preferably with no plan at all. His bucket-list destination? A road leading somewhere new. What about Anton's wackiest overnight stop? The high slope of an Alaskan mountain, with a bear lurking in the dark and only dazzling stars for company. But that's a story for another day...

You've seen things many people never get to see. Can you share a few of them?

One of the best places I've been to is Bakkrans Private Wilderness Concession. It's a small private reserve in the very north of the Cederberg. You stay in old shepherds' huts that have hardly been changed. The original stone walls are still intact, and all they've done is patch up the thatch roof, put in Elizabethan-style beds with beautiful linen, and set up a small shower outside. Otherwise, there's just a jug of water on a table, a mirror and a paraffin lamp. It's out of this world.