Mary Fitzpatrick

 Mary first glimpsed the Johannesburg skyline over a decade ago. Since then, South Africa's beauty, turmoil and indomitable spirit have lured her back dozens of times. In between, she's made numerous forays into Lesotho and Swaziland. Her most cherished moments include witnessing South Africa's first multiracial elections; being driven from the Cape of Good Hope in a police paddy wagon on Christmas Eve; trying to make a can of tuna last for more than one meal while hiking in Lesotho; and gazing over rolling-hill panoramas in northwestern Swaziland. Mary works as a full-time travel writer from her home base in Cairo, on the northern end of the African continent.