31 March 2022

Kruger National Park Calendar - May!

Weather:

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

Temperatures:

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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30 March 2022

Covid-19: eSwatini eases entry requirements for fully vaccinated travellers!

The Government of eSwatini has amended the entry requirements for travellers intending to visit the country. According to the Covid-19 operation guidance at the Points of Entry in the Kingdom of eSwatini, issued by the country's Ministry of Health, all travellers arriving at eSwatini's Ports of Entry who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 must upon arrival at the Port of Entry produce a valid vaccination certificate (hard or electronic). Travellers who are unvaccinated against Covid-19 must upon arrival at the Port of Entry provide a valid certificate of a negative Covid-19 test, recognised by the WHO (World Health Organisation), which was obtained not more than 72 hours before the date of travel.

  • "Fully vaccinated" means complete doses of a vaccine, i.e. two doses for a two-dose vaccine, and one dose for a one-dose vaccine.
  • Vaccination cards are not allowed at eSwatini's Ports of Entry; only the Vaccination Certificates are allowed.
  • Outbound travellers from eSwatini must also comply with requirements of the airlines and the country of transit and destination.
  • Children under 12 years are exempted from the above measures.
  • In addition, all travellers, upon arrival at eSwatini's Ports of Entry will be subject to being screened for the following:
    • Symptoms of Covid-19
    • Temperature checks
    • Health declaration form
  • Travellers may be required to undergo a quarantine not exceeding 14 days or isolation as advised by the Port Health Officers.

Covid-19: Zimbabwe eases entry requirements for fully vaccinated travellers!

According to a tweet by the Zimbabwean Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, the Cabinet of Zimbabwe has resolved that returning residents and visitors are no longer required to present a negative Covid-19 PCR certificate on arrival at Zimbabwe's Ports of Entry. Only a valid vaccination certificate showing that they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 with any vaccine approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) will suffice. A negative PCR certificate will only be a requirement if the returning resident or visitor is not fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

29 March 2022

South Africa: Intercity bus service Greyhound resumes operations! [update]

update (02 April 2022): Greyhound will resume operations on 13 April 2022. The following routes are available:

  • Johannesburg to Durban (direct)
  • Johannesburg to Cape Town (via Bloemfontein)
  • Pretoria to Cape Town (via Kimberly)
  • Cape Town to Mthatha (via Garden Route)
  • Mthatha to Cape Town (via Garden Route)
  • Pretoria to Durban (via Empangeni)
  • Cape Town to Durban (via Bloemfontein)
  • Johannesburg to East London (direct)
  • East London to Cape Town (via Queenstown)

South African intercity bus service Greyhound, which ceased operations in early 2021, has announced on its social media channels the resumption of services in South Africa. According to recent postings, services will resume "soon", but no more details have been published so far. Greyhound closed operations after 37 years in service in February 2021 due to declining passenger numbers and declining regulatory compliance in the bus passenger industry as well as the Covid-19 regulations in South Africa which brought domestic and regional travel to a temporary standstill.
Greyhound offered an scheduled intercity bus service covering all major cities in South Africa as well as passenger transport operations between South Africa and Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Both Greyhound and Citiliner, a division of Greyhound, went on auction in September 2021. According to a comment by Greyhound's social media team on Facebook, Citiliner is no longer part of Greyhound. We'll keep you posted!


24 March 2022

Covid-19: Zambia eases entry requirements for fully vaccinated international travellers!

According to the Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI), Zambia has amended the entry requirements for international travellers. The revised guidelines will apply to all international travellers entering the Points of Entry to Zambia effective 28 March 2022.

Travellers who are fully vaccinated for Covid-19

  • Travellers who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 do not require any form of Covid-19 test results but shall be required to provide proof of a full vaccination status.

Travellers who are not fully vaccinated for Covid-19

  • Travellers who are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19 must show proof of a Covid-19 PCR test for a sample collected within 72 hours before departure from the country of origin.
  • Re-testing at own cost will be applied for travellers who do not meet the above stipulation
  • In case of a positive result, self-quarantine at owner's cost will be mandatory; following local Zambian protocols.

Children below the age of 12 years are exempt from these measures.
Travellers from Zambia must ensure that they observe the guidelies of the countries they wish to visit.


Air Belgium to launch flights to South Africa!

Belgian charter airline Air Belgium is set to launch flights to South Africa. Effective 14 September 2022, the airline will operate two weekly scheduled direct flights between Brussels Airport (BRU) in Brussels and OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg and two weekly scheduled flights between Brussels and Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in Cape Town. One of the two weekly Cape Town flights will be direct, while the other will be via Johannesburg. The service will be offered until 25 March 2023. All flights will be operated on board an Airbus A330neo.

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Namibia: Windhoek becomes Eurowing Discover's most frequently served destination! [update]

update (06 June 2022): Discover will increase the number of flights between Frankfurt and Windhoek to a total of ten weekly frequencies from 01 July 2022 to 06 November 2022. From then on, the airline will still offer seven weekly flights between the two destinations.

German leisure carrier Eurowings Discover, owned and operated by the Lufthansa Group, has announced that Windhoek in Namibia is set to become the most frequently served destination in its flight schedule. From 27 March 2022, the airline will increase its offer from five to seven weekly flights between Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in Frankfurt, Germany, and Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH) in Windhoek, operated as year-round service. The program will then be further expanded to a total of ten weekly flights during northern summer peak season, lasting from 02 July 2022 to 11 September 2022. The flights depart Windhoek every day in the early evening. The three additional services during summer are scheduled on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, departing the Namibian capital early in the morning.
From end of March 2022 to mid-November 2022, three weekly services will be
operated as tag legs with onward flights to Victoria Falls International Airport (VFA) in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The route is offered on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays with a short stopover in Windhoek. The regulatory approval has been granted to Eurowings Discover to also make their flights available for travellers from Namibia to fly to Victoria Falls from mid-April 2022.
Eurowings Discover is the only European airline currently offering direct flights
between Europe and Namibia and the first intercontinental airline ever to
operate scheduled services to Victoria Falls

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23 March 2022

Covid-19: South Africa eases entry requirements for fully vaccinated international travellers!

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday announced in an address to the nation the easing of several Covid-19 restrictions as part of Adjusted Alert Level 1. The amended restriction become effective today (23 March 2022). The country's Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has gazetted the amended Covid-19 Alert Level 1 Regulations in terms of 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002).

  • All international travellers arriving at South Africa's Ports of Entry who are
    • fully vaccinated against Covid-19 must upon arrival at the Port of Entry produce a valid vaccination certificate.
    • unvaccinated against Covid-19 must upon arrival at the Port of Entry provide a valid certificate of a negative Covid-19 test, recognised by the WHO (World Health Organisation), which was obtained not more than 72 hours before the date of travel.
  • Masks will no longer be required outdoors in South Africa but will continue to be required in public indoor spaces, including shops, malls, offices, factories, taxis, buses, trains or any other indoor public space.
  • All gatherings which are restricted to people who can produce a valid vaccination certificate or a valid certificate of a negative COVID-19 test are allowed at up to 50% of the venue capacity.
  • Gatherings that do not require proof of vaccination or valid vaccination certificate will be limited to 1000 people or less for indoor venues and 2000 people or less for outdoor venues. In this instance, if the venue is too small to hold the prescribed number of persons observing a distance of at least one metre from each other, then not more than 50% of the capacity of the venue may be used, subject to strict adherence to all health protocols and social distancing measures. 


22 March 2022

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park: Park shops to close during the day at the end of March 2022!

According to a posting by Regional Communications Manager: Arid Parks at South African National Parks (SANParks), Genevieve Maasdorp, in the SANParks - Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park facebook group, financial year end stocktaking needs to be performed at all shops in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The operating hours of the shops at Mata-Mata Rest Camp, Nossob Rest Camp and Twee Rivieren Rest Camp will therefore change between 28 March 2022 and 31 March 2022.

19 March 2022

Covid-19: Botswana has amended entry requirements for travellers!

Botswana has amended entry requirements for travellers. Due to discordant periods for taking Covid-19 booster shots between Botswana and other countries, and for purposes of smoothening international travel, the definition of being fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in Botswana will no longer include a booster shot. Having completed the primary vaccine series will be considered sufficient for one to be allowed entry, without the need to present a negative PCR test result.
Partially vaccinated or not vaccinated travellers will be required to present a negative 72 hour PCR test result and in addition, undergo Covid-19 testing at port of entry, at own cost. If negative, they will be allowed to proceed into Botswana. If positive, they will be isolated in the district of the port of entry, at own cost and allowed to proceed into the country only after recovery.
These changes now allow partially vaccinated or unvaccinated people to enter Botswana, if they comply with the required testing requirements. It is only when one is not fully vaccinated and is also not willing to undergo Covid-19 testing at the port of entry, that they will be charged and fined or taken to a court of law.

According to a press release by Botswana's Ministry of Health and Wellness the removal of boosters from the equation does not mean that booster shots are no longer important. The ministry encourages all those eligible to take up boosters in order to keep their immunity against COVID-19 high.

17 March 2022

South Africa has renamed 17 locations in the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga!

South Africa's Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, has officially announced a number of name changes for a town, a village, two areas as well as 13 human settlements in the Eastern Cape and in Mpumalanga. The name changes are officially approved in terms of Section 10 (2) of the South African Geographical Names Council Act (Act No 118 of 1998).

  • Town: Mount Fletcher > Tlokoeng (Eastern Cape)
  • Village: St Augustine > Mahlubini (Eastern Cape)
  • Area: Driehoek > Uhlelo (Mpumalanga)
  • Area: Donkerhoek > eNtababusuku (Mpumalanga)
  • Settlement: Allmansdrift > Maphanga (Mpumalanga)

Click here (pdf) to download Government Gazette No. 46049 (16 March 2022), which includes the full list of name changes as approved by the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture.

South Africa: Comair suspension lifted, Kulula and British Airways flights to resume!

The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has uplifted the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) of Comair (Pty) Ltd. with immediate effect. This brings to an end a five-day long suspension of the AOC which was imposed by SACAA from 12 March 2022. The SACAA audited Comair (Pty) Ltd. following a spate of occurrences that posed safety risks by kulula and British Airways (operated by Comair in South Africa) airlines, which resulted in a temporary suspension of the AOC. British Airways (operated by Comair in South Africa) and kulula flights will start operating again from today (17 March 2022). The airline's schedules will be restored in a phased manner, and customers are advised to check the schedules on the British Airways' and kulula's websites before going to the airport. 

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15 March 2022

Covid-19: Namibia eases entry requirements for fully vaccinated travellers! [update]

update (25 March 2022): Namibia's Ministry of Health and Social Services has released a public notice on "Clarification of a "Fully vaccinated" status as an entry requirement into Namibia".


Namibia's President Dr. Hage G. Geingob announced on the occasion of the 41st Covid-19 briefing on the national response measures on 15 March 2022 that the following new Public Health Regulations will come into force from midnight, 16 March 2022, for a period of 30 days until 15 April 2022.

  • Wearing of masks in public places in Namibia is no longer mandatory. However, people who are in close settings, such as public transport, indoor public meetings are encouraged to wear masks. Physical distance of no less than 1 meter must be maintained between persons at all times.
  • With regards to the size of public gatherings, for the next dispensation, the size of public gatherings in Namibia will be adjusted from 500 to 1,000 people. This will be applicable to all social gatherings as defined in the regulations, including weddings, funerals, church services and sporting events;
  • Fully vaccinated travellers are no longer required to produce a negative PCR test result upon arrival at a Namibia's Points of Entry, but are instead required to present an authentic, valid vaccination card at Point of Entry.

According to President Geingob, economic data reveals that the volume of foreign tourist arrivals in Namibia remain at only one third of what they were in 2019. This means that the employment-intensive tourism sector which provides direct and indirect employment to approximately 150,000 Namibians, is still in recession. He further announced that as of 15 March 2022, nationally, only 21.4 percent of Namibia's eligible population is fully vaccinated.