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From the shores of the Mediterranean to the snows of Kilimanjaro; from mountain gorillas to whale sharks, and from rafting to pony trekking, we've sifted the highlights of this extraordinarily rich and diverse continent to bring you the best of the best.
And if that wasn't enough of a challenge, we've also graded them, from No. 50 to No. 1. Controversial? We hope so. Part of the magic of Africa is that it stirs such strong emotions - so let us know what your No. 1 is. Are we way off the mark? What's on your African dream list?
Here follows the Top 50-41 50. Marvel at Leptis MagnaThe idyllic ruins of Leptis Magna more than compensate for the hot and sticky shared taxi ride from Tripoli on a Libyan summer's morning. This is a place of vanished Roman splendour, complete with grandiose forum, baths, theatre and amphitheatre. Well-worn steps take you down to ancient street level, into a city built in the third century ad to rival Rome.
On visits to Leptis, I wander and clamber. Redstarts flit on secret missions between recesses in the honey-stone walls; gorgon heads keep watch. There is always a hawk hunting the reed beds where the galleys once moored. When you have dwelt enough on the Roman builders' precision and imperial hubris, head to the lighthouse for a swim - an Odyssean moment jumping off rocks into the wine-dark sea. Justin McGuinness 49. Spot a rare shoebillAt a small fishing village on the southern shore of Uganda's Lake Albert, a crowd has gathered to watch us launch our skiff. Children run barefoot through drifts of silver fish scales, clambering onto wooden dugouts for a better view.
In a few minutes, we are afloat and nosing through rafts of floating hyacinth towards a quiet corner of the lake. In the space of an hour we spot not one, but two shoebills (imagine a cross between a dodo and a heron) - steely blue against a curtain of shoreline papyrus. It's more of a 'clog' than a 'shoe'; an enormous beak that makes short work of the African lungfish (by no means a tiddler itself). We paddle slowly to within a dozen yards of one of the birds - a beautiful, elegant creature despite its massive conk. Neither of the shoebills do much, but then animals as rare as this don't have to. It's enough just to glimpse them, to savour the memory of a privileged encounter. - William Gray 48. Take a bush showerSafari is a dirty business. Some trips coat you in fine powdered earth; on others, desert grit scours every inch of your skin. So I savour a G&T in the sunset, doze while a spring hare proves to be the star of the night drive and finally, with relief, reach camp.
Dinner looms, but I escape for the most invigorating elixir of the day. I peel off my khaki and step outside into the shower. Hot water steams in the cool evening air. Warming rivulets soap away the remains of the day, layer by layer. This is bliss. It's very cathartic. Moonlit bats flit between clear stars and leafy outlines of nearby trees. I don't want to leave. Nothing can tempt me out. Then, without warning, the torrent wanes. It splutters, reducing to a dribble. My skin prickles in the cool night air as reality dawns: the bucket is empty. - Chris McIntyre 47. Eyeball a Great WhiteI hit the cold Cape sea and suck hard on the regulator, searching the water around the cage, feeling like 'Andrew and chips' on the lunch menu. Turning around, I suddenly find myself eye-to-black eye with a great white shark. It's studying me. The sheer beauty and power of this apex predator leave me momentarily breathless.
When more sharks arrive, I marvel at their social interaction. These misunderstood denizens of the deep seem sensitive and curios around humans - the one species that has been responsible for their demise. So, get to the Cape, get on a boat, pocket your fear, get in the water and you'll emerge feeling like a new person. A little colder, perhaps, but definitely revitalised. - Andrew Woodburn 46. Watch dawn break from Mt SinaiAfrica is renowned for stunning sunsets, but this is a place for 'sunuppers'- not sundowners. It is a place where an African dawn is nothing short of magical. Camel owners wait along the path to offer their services to pilgrims and travellers alike, to help them up the switchback trail to the summit of Mt Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments.
It is a small mountain, 2285m high, crowned with an unimposing chapel. I have spent many a night atop this mountain. It is cold until the morning sun picks out the range of peaks. The rocks, poking up from a cotton-wool carpet of cloud below, glow with orange and golden hues. Long shadows are cast before me and long spiritual thoughts are cast into the recesses of my mind. - Guy Marks | 
