South Africa: Sylvester, the lion, will be relocated to Addo Elephant National Park!

update (30 May 2016): Sylvester was successfully relocated from Karoo National Park just outside Beaufort West to Addo Elephant National Park's Kuzuko contractual area about two hours outside Port Elizabeth.  He’ll be calling a boma within an existing 200ha enclosure (which houses two nearly two-year-old lionesses) home for the next few months. The hope is that over time, the three will bond and form their own pride, led by Sylvester.

South African National Parks (SANParks) has announced that Sylvester, the lion which escaped from Karoo National Park at the end of March 2016, will be relocated to Addo Elephant National Park. The young lion (3 years) will be moved into a boma within an existing 200ha enclosure in the Kuzuko contractual section of Addo for him to become bonded with the two (2) young females who are currently in the enclosure. The lions will then be released into Addo Elephant National Park to be free-ranging. The fence between the Kuzuko contractual section and the neighbouring Darlington section of the park is due to be dropped soon which will then provide the three lions with 60 000ha over which to roam.

Latam to launch flights between São Paulo <> Johannesburg!

The Latam Airlines Group, formed through the association of LAN (Chile) and TAM (Brazil), has announced the launch of three weekly flights between São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU) in São Paulo (Brazil) and OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg. Latam will start its first service into Africa on 02 October 2016. Bookings will be open in May 2016.

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Video: A culinary journey through the Western Cape!

Discover Cape Town & Western Cape (Discoverctwc), which forms part of Wesgro (the official Tourism, Trade & Investment Promotion Agency for Cape Town & Western Cape), just released a new image film on youtube. The short film is titled "Discover food & wine journey through CT & WC" and invites us to a culinary journey through Cape Town, the Cape West Coast, the Garden Route & Klein Karoo, Cape Overberg, the Cape Winelands and the Cape Karoo. Foodies, it is time to update your bucket lists! Enjoy!

Supermarket prices in South Africa!

To give you an idea on the supermarket prices in South Africa, we have set up a list of what we think are the most typical items travellers usually buy. It hopefully helps planning your holidays in South Africa. Safe travels! [exchange rates in the daily news update]

• bread - from R8.70/loaf (600g)
• Rama Margarine - from R8.00/125g
• eggs (large, free range) - from R17.60/6ea
• mixed fruit jam - from R10.50/290g
• peanut butter - from R16.00/250g
• Nutella - from R34.00/180g
• Bovril - from R23.50/125g
• Marmite - from R25.00/125g
• baked beans - from R7.00/can (410g)
• bacon - from R26.00/200g
• milk - from R12.00/1l
• muesli - from R31.00/500g
• porridge oats - from R17.00/500g
• yoghurt (plain) - from R6.50/175g
• cheese - from R--.--/200g (sliced gouda/cheddar)
• potatoes - from R17.00/kg
• tomatoes - from R12.50 (750g)
• onions - from R8.00/kg
• mushrooms - from R18.00/250g (white mushrooms)
• cucumber - from R7.50 (local english cucumber) 
• lettuce - from R11.50 (crisp lettuce)
• avocado - from R18.00 (Avocado Bachelor)
• pasta - from R14.00/500g (macaroni)
• pasta sauce - from R24.00/405g
• instant soup - from R10.00 (Cup-A-Snack e.g. Chicken & Mushroom Noodle Soup)
• biscuits - from R8.00/200g
• rusks - from R27.00/500g
• chewing gum - from 11.30/pack (Dentyne)
• boerewors - from R68.00/kg
• steak - from R89.00/kg (T-bone)
• chakalaka - from R13.00/can (410g)
• chutney - from R23.50/bottle (Mrs H.S.Ball's Hot Chutney 470g)
• hot sauce - from R17.00/bottle (250g)
• potato chips - from R5.70/30g
• bottled water (still) - from R4.00/500ml 
• Coke - from R9.50/500ml
• orange juice - from R9.50/500ml
• beer - from R9.50/330ml (Hansa)
• beer - from R10.00/330ml (Castle/Tafel Lager)
• beer - from R12.00/330ml (Windhoek Lager)
• cider - from R13.00/330ml (Hunters Dry)
• cider - from R14.00/330ml (Savanna Dry)
• wine - from R25.00/750ml or R70.00/3l box (white)

The list above is probably missing some items. Let us know what you think is missing & we will add it!

Etihad Airways to temporarily increase fligths Abu Dhabi <> Johannesburg!

The flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates, Etihad Airways, will introduce three additional flights per week between Abu Dhabi's Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) and OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg during July 2016 to September 2016.

July 2016 (Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays):

• Abu Dhabi (AUH) 01:45 > 08:15 Johannesburg (JNB)
• Johannesburg (JNB) 09:45 > 20:15 Abu Dhabi (AUH)

August - September 2016 (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays):

• Abu Dhabi (AUH) 01:45 > 08:15 Johannesburg (JNB)
• Johannesburg (JNB) 09:45 > 20:15 Abu Dhabi (AUH)

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South Africa's most punctual domestic airlines in March 2016!

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 March 2016.
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 March 2016 (airport target 87%)

1. FlySafair - 91.36% (February 94.13%)
2. South African Airways - 88.37% (February 89.61%)
3. British Airways Domestic - 85.52% (February 86.60%) 
4. Mango - 85.52% (February 85.29%)
5. Airlink - 84.62% (February 88.07%)
6. Kulula.com - 80.86% (February 81.07%)
7. CemAir - 80.07% (February 86.31%)
8. Fly Blue Crane Aviation - 77.39% (February 88.46%)
9. SA Express - 72.33% (February 79.92%)  

Cape Town International Airport - 15 Min on Time Performance March 2016 (airport target 90%)

1. CemAir - 100.00% (February 91.67%)
2. FlySafair - 94.09% (February 95.74%)  
3. South African Airways - 90.80% (February 90.54%) 
4. Airlink - 89.65% (February 93.06%)
5. Mango - 89.14% (February 89.69%) 
6. SA Express - 89.06% (February 90.81%)  
7. British Airways Domestic - 88.61% (February 89.78%)
8. Kulula.com - 86.62% (February 91.07%)  
9. Fly Blue Crane Aviation - 70.34% (February 78.13%)

King Shaka International Airport, Durban - 15 Min on Time Performance March 2016 (airport target 91%)

1. FlySafair - 96.40% (February 98.08%)
2. South African Airways - 94.01% (February 92.72%)
3. Airlink - 93.64% (February 83.59%) 
4. Mango - 90.05% (February 91.62%)  
5. Kulula.com - 89.07% (February 88.10%) 
6. British Airways Domestic - 86.91% (February 85.25%) 
7. SA Express - 77.14% (February 85.35%)     

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Namibia: Time changes from UTC +2 to UTC +1!

Namibian time will change from UTC+2 to UTC+1 on 03 April 2016. The official time change takes place at 02:00am (from 02:00am to 01:00am). The time will change back to summer time on the first Sunday in September 2016 (4 September 2016). Time does not change in the Zambezi Region (until 2013 known as the Caprivi Region) in Namibia's north, as this area is not subject to summer and winter time changes.

• Saturday, 02 April 2016 - Sunrise 07:00 (am) | Sunset 18:50 (pm)
• Sunday, 03 April 2016 - Sunrise 06h00 (am) | Sunset 17:49 (pm)
  Sunrise and sunset times may vary from place to place depending on latitude and longitude.