South Africa: Skukuza Airport to close for maintenance

update (30 Oct 2013): The Skukuza Airport in the Kruger National Park will be closed from 04 Nov - 13 Dec 2013.

South African National Parks (SANParks) has just announced that the Skukuza Airport in the Kruger National Park will close for maintenance purposes from 04 November to 13 December 2013. There will be no flights allowed into the airport during this time. Alternative airports that can be used include Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport in Nelspruit and Phalaborwa Airport in Phalaborwa. South African airline Airlink will launch scheduled flights between Johannesburg and Skukuza Airport and between Cape Town and Skukuza Airport in June 2014.

SafariNow launches new feature to help travellers discover new destinations

Our partner SafariNow has launched a great new feature on its website. The "Destination Inspiration Finder" uses social search technology to give travellers some inspirational ideas based on their personal preferences or interests. The handy tool shows top destinations based on various interest themes as rated by SafariNow travellers who have actually been to the destinations. The top 11 categories, such as beach, art, spa, wildlife, surfing and golfing holidays, are presented on SafariNow's home page, but travellers can search over 200 categories for further inspiration – including the top destinations for star gazing, dolphins, shipwrecks, ziplining, ghost tours…and even fresh country air. In addition, the Top Weekend Getaways Near Me feature allows travellers to see top destinations based on where they are travelling from.

screenshot via SafariNow

SafariNow was launched in 1999 and is South Africa's largest online accommodation booking site. More than 19,000 establishments in 25,527 places in 52 countries are currently listed on the website.

Mapungubwe National Park: The architecture of the Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre

The Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre in the Mapungubwe National Park in South Africa might not have won one of this year' prestigous Aga Khan Awards for Architecture, but it was shortlisted as one of the possible winners and so the Aga Khan Development Network produced quite an interesting video about the architecture of the Interpretation Centre. Definitley worth watching! Enjoy!

Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre, Limpopo, South Africa from One Planet Pictures on Vimeo.

The Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre was officially opened 10 September 2012. It was build by Peter Rich Architects from Johannesburg and already won the 2009 World Building of the Year award.
The 28,000ha Mapungubwe National Park, located in Limpopo, is bordering Botswana and Zimbabwe. Together with the Northern Tuli Game Reserve in Botswana and the Tuli Safari Circle in Zimbabwe, it forms part of the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area.

South Africa: 725 rhinos killed by poachers so far in 2013

According to the latest statistics released by the Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africa has lost 725 rhinos to illegal poaching since the beginning of 2013. Of the rhinos poached, 444 rhinos were killed in the Kruger National Park, 80 in Limpopo, 75 in North West, 68 in KwaZulu-Natal, 50 in Mpumalanga, 4 in Gauteng and 2 in the Eastern Cape and in the Marakele National Park respectively.
To date 228 alleged rhino poachers have been arrested in South Africa since the start of 2013.

Latest rhino poaching figures (as of 03 October 2013):  

• Kruger National Park (SANParks) - 444 rhinos poached
• Marakele National Park (SANParks) - 2 rhinos poached
• Gauteng - 4 rhinos poached
• Limpopo - 80 rhinos poached
• Mpumalanga - 50 rhinos poached
• North-West Province - 75 rhinos poached
• Eastern Cape - 2 rhinos poached
• Free State - 0 rhino poached
• KwaZulu Natal - 68 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.

South Africa's most punctual domestic airlines in September 2013

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has published the on-time performance results of domestic airlines’ flying out of OR Tambo in Johannesburg, Cape Town International Airport, and Durban's King Shaka International Airport in September 2013.
On-Time Performance is measured by comparing the actual off-block time (when aircraft pushes back) against the airline schedule time for a departing flight. The measurement is done in accordance with the IATA (International Airlines Transport Association) universal standard benchmark with considers a 15 minute deviation from the scheduled time as an on-time departure.

OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg - 15 Min on Time Performance September 2013 (airport target 85%)

1. Mango - 93.98% (August 95.24%)
2. Airlink - 93.27% (August 92.87%)
3. South African Airways - 89.94% (August 90.97%) 
4. British Airways Domestic - 88.29% (August 88.40%) 
5. Kulula.com - 88.29% (August 85.40%)   
6. SA Express - 87.06% (August 83.78%)

Cape Town International Airport - 15 Min on Time Performance September 2013 (airport target 87%)

1. Airlink - 94.80% (August 93.79%)
2. Mango - 94.41% (August 93.87%) 
3. SA Express - 92.45% (August 90.95%) 
4. South African Airways - 89.55% (August 91.53%)
5. British Airways Domestic - 88.66% (August 90.70%)
6. Kulula.com - 87.53% (August 85.13%)

King Shaka International Airport, Durban - 15 Min on Time Performance September 2013 (airport target 89%)

1. South African Airways - 97.20% (August 95.54%) 
2. SA Express - 94.80% (August 94.48%)
3. Mango - 93.67% (August 95.90%)
4. British Airways Domestic - 92.69% (August 91.33%)
5. Airlink - 90.30% (August 96.48%) 
6. Kulula.com - 87.98% (August 89.85%)  

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South Africa: 704 rhinos killed by poachers so far in 2013

According to Reuters, South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) published the current rhino poaching statistics on Tuesday (01 Oct 2013). I could not find them on their website or on South African National Parks' website. Anyway, according to the data provided, 704 rhinos have been killed by poachers in South Africa since the beginning of 2013. We'll update the post as soon I get hold of the detailed stats.

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.

Cape Town: Free Wi-Fi at St Andrew's Square in Green Point

Visitors to the St Andrew's Square, a small urban park located on the corner of Buitengracht Street and Ribeek Street in Green Point (Cape Town), now have access to unlimited free Wi-Fi. The Green Point City Improvement District (GPCID), the City of Cape Town and some other entities have teamed up to introduce the service to the publc. To access this Wi-Fi, which is compatible with Wi-Fi enabled devices such as laptops, smartphones and tablets, simply select "GreenPointCID- FreeWi-Fi" from the list of available hotspots. No registration and no credit card details are required.

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