Fascinating Vintage Color Snapshots From a Trip Through Africa in 1970

In 1970, British traveler and photographer Allan Hailstone took a trip from London to Africa that took in six cities and four countries. He traveled to Cape Town and back with stopovers in Cairo, Nairobi, Pretoria, Johannesburg and Salisbury in Rhodesia (now Harare in Zimbabwe).

“My arrival in Cairo was a culture shock, as it would be today, but I had experienced Morocco in 1960 and so I knew to some extent what sort of atmosphere to expect.” He told MailOnline Travel. “Rhodesia was fascinating because the country had declared itself independent of British rule in 1965, and the so-called Smith regime was regarded as illegal by the UK and one was advised not to visit. There were no UK consular links, and the only country friendly to it was South Africa. The only air link was from South Africa so I had to travel there from Johannesburg, then return to Johannesburg, rather than visiting it en route.

“South Africa existed under apartheid. I found the people intelligent and cultured. I remember that it was commonplace in Cape Town to see men playing chess in the street. The hotel where I stayed gives an example of the very cheap pricing. It was a luxury hotel, and I had a suite of rooms at £5 per night, which even then was ridiculously cheap. It had a closed-circuit TV in the lobby, which attracted much interest as ordinary TV did not exist.”

Take a look back at Africa in 1970 through these fascinating images. For more photographs, visit Hailstone's brilliant Flickr site.

Midan Tahrir (Liberation Square), Cairo

Cairo

Nile Hilton Hotel, Cairo

Cairo

Sunset over the Nile, Cairo

Near Nairobi, Kenya

Leyland bus, Nairobi, Kenya

Nairobi, Kenya

Probably near Nairobi, Kenya or Johannesburg, South Africa

Pretoria, South Africa

Pretoria, South Africa

Pretoria, South Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa

Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town, South Africa

Smuts statue, Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town and Table Mountain, South Africa

Apartheid on Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa

Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe)

Jameson Avenue, Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe)

Cecil Square from Meikles Hotel, Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe)

Cecil Square, Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe)

Cecil Square, Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe)

First Street, Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe)