Airlink launched daily flights to Skukuza in the Kruger National Park

South African airline Airlink has launched scheduled flights between Johannesburg and Skukuza as well as between Cape Town and Skukuza. The airline's morning Johannesburg - Skukuza flight departs OR Tambo International at 10:00 and arrives in Skukuza at 10:50. The flight has been specifically timed to connect with the morning international arriving flight wave banks, as well as other connecting domestic and regional flights. The return Skukuza - Johannesburg flight departs Skukuza at 13:30 and arrives in Johannesburg at 14:35. A second afternoon Johannesburg – Skukuza flight, will commence from 01 August 2014, departing OR Tambo international at 13:20 and returning from Skukuza at 14:50. The Cape Town – Skukuza flight departs at 10:35 arriving Skukuza at 13:05, while the return flight departs Skukuza at 11:20 and arrives Cape Town International Airport at 13:55.
Skukuza is the main camp and the largest rest camp of the Kruger National Park. It is located on the southern bank of the Sabie River in the southern part of South Africa's largest National Park.

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Botswana/Zambia: The construction of the Kazungula Bridge set to start in June 2014

update (19 August 2014): According to the online edition of the Lusaka Voice, Japan, one of the main sponsors of the Kazungula Bridge construction project, has pulled out of the project following an alleged tender dispute. The construction of the new bridge, which was first expected to start in June 2014 and then in July 2014, has still not started.

According to Zambia's Road Development Agency (RDA) chief executive officer Bernard Chiwala, the construction of the new Kazungula Bridge is expected to start in June 2014. The bridge will replace the famous Kazungula Ferry, a pontoon ferry across the 400-metre-wide Zambezi River between Zambia and Botswana. The project is expected to be completed in 2018 and will cost approximately US$259 million.



The new Kazungula Bridge will be located some 75 km from Livingstone in Zambia and about 10km from Kasane in Botswana. The town of Kazungula lies just 2 km from the road between Livingstone and Sesheke which connects to the Katima Mulilo Bridge linking Zambia and Namibia.

Kruger National Park Calendar - July

Weather:

• warm to cool days
• cold nights & chilly mornings
• occasional winds
• occasional patches of hot weather
• almost no rain

Temperatures:

• between 9°C - 26°C (Fahrenheit: e.g. 28°C = [(28x9)]/5 + 32 = 82.4°F)
• visit our webcam page for live footage from Kruger National Park!

Landscape:

• Water becomes scarce throughout the park
• bush is very dry; almost no leaf cover
• strange-smelling "potato bush" begins flowering

Animal Activity:

• Game increasingly concentrated around water
• game spotting usually very good in the South of the park
• north of the park dominated by elephants
• resident raptors breeding
• many weaker aninmals taken by predators

 Kruger National Park tours >>
Kruger National Park info guide >>

accommodation in the Kruger NP area >>
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TAZARA: Train operations in Tanzania to resume after strike action!

The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) has informed the public that, following the decision of the Labour Division of the High Court of Tanzania on 26 May 2014 to declare the strike by the Tanzanian employees of TAZARA as illegal, passenger cross-border operations between Zambia and Tanzania resume today (30 May 2014). Freight operations between the two countries have already commenced.
The unionised workers of TAZARA in Tanzania withdrew their labour on 12 May 2014, demanding unpaid salaries for February (in some cases) and for March and April 2014. As a consequence, the railway suspended both freight and passenger operations between Dar es Salaam and Tunduma.

South Africa: 419 rhinos killed by poachers so far in 2014

According to the latest statistics released by the Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africa has lost 419 rhinos to illegal poaching since the beginning of 2014. Of the rhinos poached, 272 rhinos were killed in the Kruger National Park, 48 in Limpopo, 41 in KwaZulu Natal, 26 in the North West, 14 in Mpumalanga, 10 in the Eastern Cape, 4 in the Free State, 3 in Gauteng and 1 in the Western Cape.
A total of 119 people have been arrested for rhino poaching-related offences in South Africa since January this year.

Latest rhino poaching figures (as of 28 May 2014)

• Kruger National Park (SANParks) - 272 rhinos poached
• Marakele National Park (SANParks) - 0 rhino poached
• Gauteng -  3 rhino poached
• Limpopo - 48 rhino poached
• Mpumalanga - 14 rhino poached
• North-West Province - 26 rhino poached
• Eastern Cape - 10 rhino poached
• Free State - 4 rhino poached
• KwaZulu Natal - 41 rhinos poached
• Western Cape - 1 rhino poached
• Northern Cape - 0 rhino poached

The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) is urging members of the public to report incidents of rhino poaching or any tip-offs to the anonymous tip-off lines 0800 205 005, 08600 10111 or Crime-Line on 32211.

Namibia/Botswana: The longest terrestrial large mammal migration in Africa

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), researchers have discovered the longest-known terrestrial migration of wildlife in Africa. They observed a previously unknown multi-country migration of Burchell’s zebra (Equus quagga) taking place entirely within the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) – the world’s largest multi-country conservation area. Over two consecutive years the researchers tracked the movement of zebras back and forth by using GPS collars. The data show that the mammals are making a 500km round-trip between the Chobe River in Namibia and the Nxai Pan National Park in Botswana. Continued long-term research will be needed to confirm that this is an annual and fixed migration, and whether this is genetically coded or passed behaviorally from mothers to offspring. The distance covered by the Burchell’s zebra in the KAZA is greater than that covered by wildebeest (connochaetes taurinus) during their well-known seasonal journey in the Serengeti ecosystem, which is located in north Tanzania and south-western Kenya.

Video guide: Braamfontein in Johannesburg

Braamfontein, located north of Johannesburg's city centre, is one of the top must see spots in South Africa's largest city. The suburb, which used to be a thriving business district until the late 1980's, experienced urban decay during the 1990's and was only regenerated through a massive investment by the city in the early 2000's. The Braamfontein of today is a commercially and culturally diverse business district, which compromises a mix of office blocks, student accommodation, restaurants, retail outlets, colleges, theatres and hotels. Protein, an international advertising agency, recently published a video guide of Braamfontein, that will definitely put "Brammies" on your bucket list for South Africa. Kudos Protein!

Protein Guide: Braamfontein from Protein® Mainframe on Vimeo.

The following restaurants/markets/cafes/shops are featured in the video:

• Post Breakfast Lunch (70 Juta Street)
• Neighbourgoods Food Market (73 Juta Street)
• Daleah's Eatery (6 de Beer Street)
• Father Coffee (73 Juta Street)
• Hei Cafe (87 de Korte Street)
• Hunter Cycles (70 Juta Street)