South Africa: Great White Shark Cage Diving

Despite all discussions raging about whether cage diving is causing shark attacks to increase in frequency or not, Shark Cage Diving became one of the top tourist activities in the Western Cape of South Africa. Studies were made pro and con the diving and both side keep on declaring to be right with what they found out. Well, in the end it is your choice if you want to do it or not.

Great White Cage Diving, SA from George Pagliero on Vimeo.

 

Scuba Dive or Snorkel with Great White Sharks »
Location: Cape Town, South Africa - Duration: 11 hours (approx.)
Join this tour for the underwater experience of a lifetime as you scuba dive or snorkel with the Great White Sharks of South Africa! Take the opportunity during your stay in Cape Town to travel to the channels around Dyer Island and get up close and personal with the animal on top of the ocean's food chain.
Travel to Gansbaai and enjoy a light breakfast before proceeding to the channel by Dyer Island, a short boat trip of approximately 20 minutes. Named after Samson Dyer in the 19th century, Dyer Island is a breeding ground for marine birdlife, while nearby Geyser Rock is home to approximately 50,000 Cape Fur Seals. As a prime breeding site for these animals, the area is a natural magnet for the ocean's deadliest predator.
Check out the sharks with a surface view, before slipping into your wetsuit to join these misunderstood creatures in their natural habitat. Choose to snorkel, or scuba cage dive (must hold a valid scuba diving certificate) with the magnificent predators in their natural feeding ground. This is a rare opportunity to share the water with the top ocean predator, and feel the ultimate adrenaline rush as it looks you in the eye with curiosity and maybe a touch of menace!
If you don't want to enter the water, you can remain on the boat and enjoy the surface viewing. Being a surface feeder by nature the sharks swim close to the boat, therefore view onboard is superb and photo opportunities are lurking everywhere. If you are lucky, you may even get the opportunity to witness a spectacular breach as these huge creatures launch themselves clear of the water surface in the hunt for the next seal meal!

The Great White shark cage diving season can be divided into three periods:

• High season : May to October
• Intermediate : April, November, December, and January
• Low season : January, February and March

book the tour online >>

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some recent tourism news from Southern Africa

Orlando Towers: Bungee jumping in Soweto
Orlando Towers, already known for developing the disused Orlando cooling towers in Soweto into a vertical adventure facility and tourist attraction for Soweto, will introduce Soweto's first bungee jumping facility to the market. They are currently hoping to have the BUNGEE BRIDGE complete some time in July, and will have the BUNGEE JUMP open to the public in August 2009... so start practising... 3,2,1.... BUNGEEEEEEEEE!

www.orlandotowers.co.za >>
Johannesburg city guide >>
accommodation & tour booking >>

Tsitsikamma National Park: Dolphin Trail rebuild
Tsitsikamma's Dolphin Trail, a joint initiative with private parties adjacent the park, which got badly damaged during some storms and fires in 2008, has been rebuild. The semi-luxury hiking 17km trail follows the Tsitsikamma coastal belt, a narrow plateau between the Tsitsikamma Mountains and the Indian Ocean.

www.dolphintrail.co.za >>
Garden Route tours >>
accommodation booking >>

Open-top bus tour for Windhoek launched
Sense of Africa, a tour company based in has announced the launch of an open-top double-decker bus tour of Windhoek.
Du to the strong demand for cultural tours by visitors they have also set up a partnersip with a community-based operator in the Aabadi Bushman Village.

www.senseofafrica-namibia.com >>
Namibia country guide >>
accommodation & tour booking >>

Zimbabwe: New cars for Avis
Avis Rent-A-Car Zimbabwe is upgrading their vehicle fleet. Zimbabwe's government recently allowed tourism operators to import capital goods on a duty-free basis and hence Avis is investing in new vehicles. Looking at 2010 one managing director said that the delivery of four new Chevrolet Aveo vehicles is the first phase of a programme to bring its fleet up to date and beyond. Well, let us take it as a good sign for Zimbabwe.

online rental car booking >>
Zimbabwe country guide >>
Victoria Falls destination guide >>

Special Offer: Kenya Beach Resort on Manda Island

Manda Island, Lamu, Kenya

• Double Banda from £70/night (£35/person)
• family Banda from £80/night
• Treehouse accommodation £100/night
  Please note that we are closed for May and June.
  

special offer: From 1st September - 30th November:
6 nights for the price of 7.
-- booking --

View Larger Map

The lodge is located on the beachfront with amazing views of the open ocean, Lamu island, Shela village and dhows sailing past. It is the perfect place to come and relax for days or weeks, away from the stresses and strains of everyday life. Here we offer more of a rustic ‘Robinson Crusoe experience’; we work closely with the local Swahili people taking into account their culture and only using local methods and materials to create a refreshing, eco-friendly, alternative style holiday.
We have six beach huts called bandas, including one family size which sleeps 4-8. The others have a double bed downstairs and a single bed mounted in the roof, a front porch and en suite shower, sink and flush toilet. All banda’s are provided with bedding, mosquito nets and towels. All have electricity with British socket from 7pm till around 10pm after which paraffin lamps are provided.
Bed, Kenya beach resort on Manda IslandWe also have a treehouse to rent. It sleeps between two and six people, with wooden floors, branches coming through the walls and a large veranda on the first floor stretching right around the tree, where drinks can be brought to you. It is an amazing experience to be lying in bed in a baobab tree watching the colourful birds fly by with a view across the village over to the dunes of Lamu island.
The restaurant seating area is shaded from the sun with large palm thatched umbrellas, conveniently situated with a fantastic view of the Indian Ocean. Our two experienced chefs prepare a variety of dishes from traditional Swahili cuisine to more conventional western and vegetarian foods. [more info]

more info & booking >>
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Kenya - Order FREE Travel Brochure! >>
Click here for holidays in Kenya >>
more info about Manda Island >>

Kruger National Park: temporarily no Mountain Bike Tours

Due to an incident with a hippo (read the forum post on the sanparks forum) during a mountain bike tour starting at Olifants camp in the Kruger National Park all other cycling tours at Olifants are temporarily not available.

I'll keep you updated about further info about the tours!

update: just got an email from SANparks reservations desk saying "The mountain bike is closed until futher notice please contact Olifant on this number for more information (013)735-6606."

Win a trip to Borneo with Rough Guides

Rough Guides is celebrating the publication of Clean Breaks by offering you the chance to win a once in a lifetime trip to Borneo for two! Clean Breaks unearths 500 unique experiences and new ways to travel that make a real difference to the lives of local people and the planet.

Borneo View Larger Map

Simply fill out the webform on www.roughguides.com/cleanbreakswin and get the chance to win the trip (prize draw is open to UK residents only)...

Good luck!

Clean Breaks for £8.54 (instead of £18.99) amazon.co.uk >>
Indonesia - Order FREE Travel Brochure! >>
more info about Borneo >>

What to pack in your rucksack

Knowing what to take with you on holiday can be a little tricky. Aiming to travel light is a great plan but it’s very easy to get carried away and take everything but the kitchen sink. So we’ve had a think and come up with a selection of some of what we consider travel essentials to make it easier for you to pack for your next holiday.

Camera, Polaroid, batteries… check
It seems obvious but remember to take extra memory cards for your digital camera. You can easily get carried away with digital so be careful not to under estimate how many you will need. With 2 GB memory cards available for less than £10 its worth getting one or two to avoid missing the photo of a lifetime because your camera is full. If you’re a little more old school and still using 35mm then remember to pack extra rolls of film! If your camera takes AA or AAA then take lithium batteries rather than alkaline as they last a lot longer.
When taking spare batteries remember to take them out of the packing at home as disposing of plastic is a major problem in many countries. If you’re really organised why not take a charger and rechargeable batteries? Or why not be really green and get a solar charger? With some solar chargers you can charge your camera, phone, ipod and games console anywhere in the world. If you want to make an impression with the local people then take a Polaroid camera so you can share your photos with them. If you don’t have a Polaroid then why not take their addresses and post printed photos to them once you’ve returned home? Another idea is to take postcards of your home town to give to people. By showing people the skyline of your city or your chocolate box village you can really help with cross cultural understanding.

Insect repellent, sun cream, travel toiletries… check
No one likes to be bitten on holiday, so remember to pack insect repellent. If you’re travelling in the tropics in a malarial zone, it can also be worth taking a mosquito net and anti malarial tablets. Ask your doctor for more information about anti malarials and to check to see if there are any vaccinations that are specific for your destination. Even if you’re not leaving the UK and not expecting to get a tan, don’t forget your sun cream. Whilst on holiday people tend to stay outside for longer than they do when they’re at home so make sure that your skin is protected. You can save space in your rucksack with smaller bottles of your favourite toiletries. You can always refill the small bottles from bigger bottles for your next trip. A folding toothbrush is a great space saver and we think that tissues and wet wipes are always handy.

Hat, sunglasses, suitable clothing… check
Suitable clothing to packIt may seem obvious but tailoring your wardrobe the climate is a must. Taking lots of layers is a great way to keep the cold out, especially if you're gaining altitude when climbing or susceptible to changes in temperature. We love trousers with zip off legs which change into shorts; perfect for changeable weather. Don’t be tempted into buying a whole new wardrobe just for your holiday. Holidays usually aren’t cheap so why not save some money by buying clothes whilst you’re there? This way your hard earned cash is helping local businesses and your clothes can become souvenirs: you can remember your holiday every time you wear them! If you do need some extra things to take, make sure you buy good quality clothing that will last, organic cotton or fair-trade items? We love the range from People Tree.

Binoculars, torch, plasters… check
If you’re going on a wildlife watching holiday don’t forget to pack your binoculars. If you’re camping or travelling to a remote destination a torch can be useful for those late night toilet trips or returning from the pub on dark nights! If you're prone to blisters or have a brand new pair of boots then its advisable to pack some plasters as there’s nothing worse than knowing you still have a few miles trek ahead of you when you're in pain. For other essentials check out Itchy Feet and Natural Collection.

Travel diary, book, pens… check
We love the idea of keeping a travel diary so you can keep notes and sketches of your favourite places. This is a great way to remember where you’ve been and what you’ve experienced and can come in handy when you’re showing people your photos. For those quiet times a book is a good idea and why not choose a book that’s set in your holiday destination? This can help give you an insight into the local culture and a real feel for the location. As a responsible traveller it’s important to make sure that your holiday benefits the local community, which is why we recommenced that you take pens, books and educational material to donate to a local school or community projects. To find out exactly what to take and where you need to take it to check out Stuff Your Rucksack.

A travel pet… maybe
Travel petIt seems that many of us, inspired by the film Amelie, have taken a little furry friend away on holiday, especially if we’re travelling alone. This is a great way to take holiday snaps if you’re camera shy and a brilliant idea to introduce children to the thrill of travel. If taking a fluffy toy with you on holiday isn’t your thing, then not to worry, it’s not an essential but it is fun!

check the tours on Resposibletravel.com >>
packing list on TravelComments.com >>
travel insurance >>
online flight booking >>

Tour of the day: South Africa Coastal Experience

At each turn, the look and feel of the landscape and cultures of South Africa change as you make your way through a fantastically diverse and beautiful country. This is an ideal adventure for those looking to explore South Africa's rugged green coast, have some fantastic wildlife encounters, participate in numerous activities, and explore one of the world's impressive cities, Cape Town - What a trip!

What's Included: Entrance and Game Drive in Addo Elephant Park, Entrance and Visit to Cheetah Breeding Project , Wine Tasting in Stellenbosch.
Start Finish: Durban to Cape Town
Group Size: Max 18, Avg 12
Group Leader: Tour Leader, Driver, Local guides.
Accommodation: Hotel (8 nts), Chalet (3 nts).
Transport: Air-conditioned touring vehicle, Walking.
Meals Included: 5 Breakfasts, 1 Dinner.
Meal Budget: Allow USD300 for meals not included

Tour price
€680EUR per 1 Adult
+ 300 USD (Local Payment)
Last Minute Departure: Save 15% (Sun Oct. 4, 2009)

more info & booking >>
more tours around Southern Africa >>
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