South Africa: 233 rhinos killed by poachers so far in 2014

According to the latest statistics released by the Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africa has lost 233 rhinos to illegal poaching since the beginning of 2014. Of the rhinos poached, 144 rhinos were killed in the Kruger National Park, 32 in the North West, 21 in Limpopo, 16 in KwaZulu Natal, 10 in Mpumalanga, 6 in the Eastern Cape and 4 in the Free State.
The total of 54 alleged poachers have been arrested in South Africa so far in 2014.

Latest rhino poaching figures (as of 28 March 2014):  

• Kruger National Park (SANParks) - 144 rhinos poached
• Marakele National Park (SANParks) - 0 rhino poached
• Gauteng -  0 rhino poached
• Limpopo - 21 rhino poached
• Mpumalanga - 10 rhino poached
• North-West Province - 32 rhino poached
• Eastern Cape - 6 rhino poached
• Free State - 4 rhino poached
• KwaZulu Natal - 16 rhinos poached
• Western Cape - 0 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.

Kruger National Park Calendar - May

Weather:

• autumn
• warm to hot days
• warm to rather cold evenings
• occasional rain only

Temperatures:

• between 13°C - 28°C (Fahrenheit: e.g. 28°C = [(28x9)]/5 + 32 = 82.4°F)
• visit our webcam page for live footage from Kruger National Park!

Landscape:

• the bush starts drying out
• landscape changes from green to yellow, orange and brown
• the waterholes in the mopaneveld are drying out first
• the baobab trees are dropping their last pods

Animal Activity:

• Elephants begin migration into northern Kruger
• game seeking for warmer areas
• impala rut continues
• wild dog breeding season

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Namibia: The greatest wildlife recovery story ever told (WWF)

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), an international non-governmental organisation working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, currently celebrates Namibia's achievements in wildlife management and has published three short films, which are telling the greatest wildlife recovery story ever told. The three films are explaning why Namibia's communities are committed to protecting wildlife, why the nation adresses habitat conservation and protection of natural resources in its constitution and what the future of responsible tourism in Namibia looks like. Enjoy! Kudos WWF & Namibia!

OR Tambo International Airport named Best Airport in Africa at the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2014

OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg has been acclaimed as Best Airport in Africa 2014 at the SKYTRAX World Airport Awards™, held at the Passenger Terminal EXPO 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. Cape Town International Airport in Cape Town was named second in the continental category, followed by King Shaka International Airport in Durban. East London Airport in East London was voted 6th, followed by Port Elizabeth International Airport (#7) in Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein Airport (#8) in Bloemfontein. Durban's King Shaka International Airport also won the award as Best Regional Airport in Africa 2014, while Cape Town International Airport was awarded having the Best Airport Staff in Africa 2014.

Best Airport in Africa 2014
1. OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg, South Africa
2. Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in Cape Town, South Africa  
3. King Shaka International Airport (DUR) in Durban, South Africa
4. Mauritius International Airport (MRU) in Port Louis, Mauritius
5. Cairo International Airport (CAI) in Cairo, Egypt
6. East London Airport (ELS) in East London, South Africa
7. Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) in Port Elizabeth, South Africa
8. Bloemfontein Airport (BFN) in Bloemfontein, South Africa
9. Addis Ababa Bole Int'l Airport (ADD) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
10. Marrakech Menara Int'l Airport (RAK) in Marrakech, Morocco

Best Regional Airport in Africa 2014
1. King Shaka International Airport (DUR) in Durban, South Africa
2. East London Airport (ELS) in East London, South Africa
3. Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) in Port Elizabeth, South Africa
4. Bloemfontein Airport (BFN) in Bloemfontein, South Africa

Best Airport Staff in Africa 2014
1. Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in Cape Town, South Africa
2. OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg, South Africa
3. King Shaka International Airport (DUR) in Durban, South Africa
4. Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ) in Port Elizabeth, South Africa
5. East London Airport (ELS) in East London, South Africa
...
8. Bloemfontein Airport (BFN) in Bloemfontein, South Africa

Best Airport Hotels in Africa 2014
1. InterContinental OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa
2. Garden Court OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa
...
4. Hotel Verde Cape Town Airport in Cape Town, South Africa

The SKYTRAX World Airport Awards™ are based on 12.85 million customer nominations across 110 nationalities of air travellers, and included 410 airports worldwide. The survey evaluates customer satisfaction across 39 key performance indicators for airport service and product - from check-in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security and immigration, through to departure at the gate.

Namibia: Galton Gate Route through Western Etosha finally open to all

Great news for all travellers planning to visit the Etosha National Park in Namibia. The Galton Gate Route between the Galton Gate and M'Bari in Western Etosha is now open for all tourist. The road was reclassified from a "Restricted Use" Tourism Zone to an "Open Access" Tourism Zone on 28 Feb 2014. Prior to the reclassification of the route the Western parts of the Etosha National Park were only accessible to a limited number of licensed tour operators and to overnight guests of the fairly new Dolomite Camp.


View Namibia: Galton Gate Route through Western Etosha finally open to all in a larger map

Namibia's Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) and Millennium Challenge Account Namibia hopes that through opening the Western part of the Etosha National Park to all tourists a number of new tourist routes, circuits, linkages and lodge opportunities both inside and outside the park will be created and that, due to Galton Gate's strategic location, the numerous conservancies and rural communities to the west and north of the Etosha National Park will experience an increase in socio-economic benefits.

Interesting features and attractions along the Galton Gate route are:

• Three distinct ecological types:
• quartzite & dolomite hills
• flat landscape dominated by shrub mopane vegetation
• flat landscape with mixed mopane tree savanna, steppe grasland & pan edge grasslands
• High concentrations of game around Renostervlei and Ozonjuitji-M'Bari waterholes - especially in the dry winter month (May - November)
• The co-existance of Hartman's Mountain Zebra (Equus equus hartmannae) and Burchell's Plains Zebra (Equus equus burchelli) - the only route in Etosha National Park where these two species can be viewed together. (Burchell's or plains zebra have a faint "shadow" stripe, which is absent in their cousin, the mountain zebra.)
• Lion and elephant are frequently seen at the waterholes along the route
• Some of Namibia's endemic birds including the White-tailed Shrike, Damaraland Hornbill, Carp's Tit and Rockrunner
• The globally threatened Lapped-faced Vultures - the largest and most dominant of the vultures - commonly seen at the waterholes (via press release by Millennium Challenge Account Namibia & Ministry of Environment and Tourism)

Malawi: Chileka International Airport in Blantyre resumes operations!

update (27 March 2014): South African Airways (SAA) on Wednesday (26 March 2014) reinstated flights to Chileka International Airport (IATA: BLZ) in Blantyre, Malawi.

Chileka International Airport (IATA: BLZ) in Blantyre, Malawi, has resumed operations on 23 March 2014. The airport was closed on 16 March 2014 because of runway maintenance works. According to a statement announced by Malawi's Department of Civil Aviation, which was quoted in the Nyasa Times (online edtion), "the level of safety has been restored to the required standards in line with International Civil Aviation Organisation [ICAO] Annex 14 provisions".
Malawian Airlines already resumed flights between Blantyre and OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg today (25 March 2014), while the airline's daily return flights between Blantyre and Lilongwe will only resume on 01 April 2014. We'll keep you posted regarding the other three airlines operating flights to Blantyre, Kenya Airways, South African Airways and Ethiopian Airlines!

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Namibia: Independence Memorial Museum in Windhoek officially inaugurated!

The Independence Memorial Museum in Windhoek was finally inaugurated by Namibia's President Hifikepunye Pohamba on the country's 24th Independence Day on 21 March 2014. The museum, situated right between the Alte Feste Museum and the Christus Kirche on Robert Mugabe Avenue in Windhoek, showcases Namibia’s long history of anti-colonial resistance and the national liberation struggle. We'll update this posting as soon as we can find any info about opening times, entrance fees etc..
Also on Independence Day, President Pohamba unveiled the new Sam Nujoma Statue, which stands on a pedestal on the hill where the Reiterdenkmal* stood for more than 102 years, and, few metres away to the south, the Genocide Memorial Statue. 




*The Reiterdenkmal was moved to the courtyard of the Alte Feste Museum on Christmas night 2013.

Fastjet ups flights between Dar es Salaam <> Mwanza

Tanzania-based low cost-airline Fastjet has announced that it will be adding one frequency per day between Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, located on the southern shores of Lake Victoria in northwestern Tanzania. From 30 March 2014 the airline will operate a new evening flight every day of the week at 18:20 EAT from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza, and 20:30 EAT from Mwanza to Dar es Salaam. Further frequencies will be added in June 2014. We'll keep you posted!

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Air Tanzania launched flights Dar es Salaam <> Mbeya

The flag carrier airline of Tanzania, Air Tanzania, has launched flights between Dar es Salaam and Mbeya in southwest Tanzania. The airline will operate four flights a week on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday between the two destinations using its newly acquired Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft.Air Tanzania is currently flying to six domestic destinations in Tanzania, namely Mtwara, Mwanza, Tabora, Kigoma, Dar es Salaam, Mbeya, as well as to Bujumbura in Burundi and Moroni in the Comoros.

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Malawi: The "Lake of Stars" is returning to the shores of Lake Malawi!

The famous, award-winning and simply awesome Lake of Stars festival will be returning to the shores of Lake Malawi in 2014. The arts & music festival will take place at the Sunbird Nkopola Lodge from 26 - 28 September 2014. The lodge is located right at Lake Malawi about 20 km north of the town of Mangochi in the southern region of Malawi. 
The Lake of Stars festival features artists from Malawi, Africa and the rest of the world and promotes tourism in Malawi, raises funds for charity and provides travellers and Malawians alike with the opportunity to enjoy incredible live music in an exotic and beautiful location.
In 2012, the organisers of Lake of Stars took a year off to develop new ways to enhance and promote the music, culture and tourism of Malawi, while in 2013 they hosted the "City of Stars" festival in Lilongwe, Malawi, to celebrate their 10th anniversary. Tickets for the Lake of Stars 2014 are already on sale!

The Top Gear Festival returns to Durban!

update (12 Nov 2014): The organisers of the Top Gear Festival in Durban just uploaded a highlights video of this year's event! Check it out!


The world's most widely watched factual television programme, the British TV show Top Gear, is returning to Durban in South Africa for the third time with the Top Gear Festival.
The festival will take place in the Moses Mabhida Stadium on the 21 & 22 June 2014. Tickets are on sale now from iTickets and range from the Basic Ticket at R260 to R1995 for a SuperSport Elite Village. 

Visitors can expect to experience all-new Stadium & Street Circuit Shows, a massive motoring expo showcasing exciting first-time features, music shows, a bike zone, a stunt school, as well as some of the most stylish, rare & expensive cars ever made, along with the latest gadgets, luxury goods, car accessories & motoring technology.  

btw - all three presenters, Jeremy Clarkson, James May & Richard Hammond as well as "The Stig", are going to be there!

Garden Route National Park: N2 leading to the Ebb & Flow Rest Camp temporarily closed!

South African National Parks (SANParks) just announced that the entrance road from the N2 leading to the Ebb & Flow Rest Camp in the Wilderness section of the Garden Route National Park will be temporarily closed for 12 - 16 weeks because of construction work. The main rest camp, the reception area and the Loerie Nest venue will remain fully operational during the period. Visitors to the Garden Route National Park are encouraged to use two alternative routes:

• Entry from the N2 via Hoekwil. This route leads to a dirt road of approx. 1.4km
• Entry through the town of Wilderness is about 3.5km

Map of the alternative routes (screenshot via sanparks.com)
click here to download (pdf)

According to SANParks, noise levels are expected to remain normal and visitors will still be able to enjoy the tranquillity of the Park. The parking space as well as the operating hours for the booking office and reception of the Garden Route National Park will also not be affected by any of the construction work.

Airlink: More flights between Cape Town & George

South African carrier Airlink will increase its service from Cape Town to George, located at South Africa's Garden Route. From 02 June 2014 the airline will add a fourth daily flight on weekdays between the two destinations. Airlink operates a Embraer 135 aircraft on the route.
Airlink is the largest independent regional airline in Southern Africa. It is currently servicing more than 30 destinations in Southern Africa, utilising a fleet of Jetstream 41 aircraft, Embraer 135 jet aircraft and BAe RJ85 aircraft.

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Malawi: Chileka International Airport (BLZ) in Blantyre closed due to runway maintenance works!

update (25 March 2014): Ethiopian Airlines also suspended its flights to/from Blantyre from 18 March 2014 until airport service resumes.

• Passengers affected may change travel date for tickets issued before 17 March 2014 and planned travel from 17 March to 01 April 2014 once free of charge.
• Those passengers canceling travel are entitled with a full refund.
• Partially used tickets will also be refunded for their unused value.

update (20 March 2014): South African Airways (SAA) informed the public on 19 March 2014 that the airline temporarily suspends flights to Chileka International Airport (IATA: BLZ) in Blantyre, Malawi. SAA customers will be offered one of three options going forward:

• Option 1: Those customers who do not wish to travel to Blantyre anymore will be fully refunded, with all penalties waived.
• Option 2: Customers wishing to travel to/from Lilongwe on SAA's service, and who elects to make their own way to/from Blantyre, can do so (at their own cost, between Lilongwe and  Blantyre)
• Option 3: Customers will be rebooked who wish to postpone their travel to/from Blantyre tyre until the airport is re-opened.

Chileka International Airport (IATA: BLZ) in Blantyre, Malawi, closed on 16 March 2014 for at least two weeks. Flights in and out the aiport have been suspended because of runway maintenance works. Kenya Airways announced earlier today in a press statement that all its guests flying to Blantyre will be rerouted though Lilongwe International Airport (IATA: LLW) in Lilongwe during the closure (until 29 March 2014). Malawian Airlines announced that flights to all of its destinations will also depart and terminate from Lilongwe International Airport (IATA: LLW) until the maintenance work is finished. The other two airlines operating flights to and from Chileka International Airport are South African Airways and Ethiopian Airlines. We'll keep you posted!
Chileka International Airport is located about 16km from Blantyre, the second largest city in the Republic of Malawi. Lilongwe is about 350km from Blantyre. Lilongwe International Airport (IATA: LLW) is also known as Kamuzu International Airport.

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