South Africa: Two lions translocated from Marakele National Park to Karoo National Park

South African National Parks (SANParks) has translocated two lions from Marakele National Park in Limpopo to Karoo National Park in the Western Cape as part of its approach to managing lions in small parks. The two lions, a male and a female, are both four years old. They will join "Slyvester" (three years old), the lion who escaped from the Karoo National Park for 24 days in June 2015, in the holding boma he's been kept in since his recapture. SANParks hopes that while the three lions are in the boma, they'll bond and form their own pride before their release into the Park. The lion population of the Karoo National Park currently stands at 11 lions, while Marakele National Park currently has 24 resident lions including cubs.

South Africa's most punctual domestic airlines in September 2015

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 2015.
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 2015 (airport target 87%)

1. FlySafair - 96.27% (August 93.95%)
2. Airlink - 89.47% (August 89.65%) 
3. South African Airways - 88.77% (August 90.79%)
4. British Airways Domestic - 87.85% (August 79.58%) 
5. Mango - 85.22% (August 88.59%)
6. Kulula.com - 84.90% (August 83.94%)
7. SA Express - 76.14% (August 79.70%) 

Cape Town International Airport - 15 Min on Time Performance September 2015 (airport target 90%)

1. FlySafair - 95.41% (August 92.82%)  
2. SA Express - 94.00% (August 90.03%) 
3. Airlink - 93.29% (August 94.86%)
4. South African Airways - 90.44% (August 92.23%)   
5. Mango - 90.88% (August 87.82%)
6. British Airways Domestic - 89.65% (August 83.28%)
7. Kulula.com - 88.37% (August 84.05%)  

King Shaka International Airport, Durban - 15 Min on Time Performance September 2015 (airport target 91%)

1. Airlink - 94.53% (August 92.33%)  
2. South African Airways - 93.90% (August 95.62%)  
3. Kulula.com - 89.57% (August 77.04%)
4. Mango - 88.48% (August 90.91%)
5. SA Express - 87.63% (August 84.48%)
6. British Airways Domestic - 83.17% (August 91.42%)        

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South Africa: Airlink to launch flights between Cape Town <> Maun (Botswana)

South African carrier Airlink will launch direct flights between Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in Cape Town and Maun Airport (MUB) in Maun (Botswana) on 11 March 2016. Flights will depart Cape Town at 10:35 and will arrive Maun at 13:05; the return flight will depart Maun 13:35 and will arrive Cape Town at 16:10. Airlink will initially operate flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays on board one of its 18 Embraer ERJ 135, 37 seat regional jets. Capacity will in time be increased using one of the airline's 12 Avro RJ85 83 seat regional quad jets, in line with market demand.

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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]

Backpacker recipes: Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperonci (and olives)

• bread - from R8.00/loaf (700g)
• Rama Margarine - from R7.00/125g
• eggs (large, free range) - from R16.00/6ea
• mixed fruit jam - from R13.00/450g
• peanut butter - from R16.00/250g
• Nutella - from R29.00/180g
• Bovril - from R23.50/125g
• Marmite - from R23.50/125g
• baked beans - from R6.50/can (400g)
• bacon - from R24.00/200g
• milk - from R10.00/1l
• muesli - from R34.00/750g
• porridge oats - from R15.00/500g
• yoghurt (plain) - from R6.00/175g
• cheese - from R27.00/200g (sliced gouda/cheddar)
• potatoes - from R5.00/kg
• tomatoes - from R13.50 (750g)
• onions - from R8.00/kg
• mushrooms - from R21.00/250g (white mushrooms)
• cucumber - from R12.00 (english cucumber) 
• lettuce - from R11.50 (crisp lettuce)
• avocado - from R12.95 (Avocado Bachelor)
• pasta - from R9.00/500g (macaroni)
• pasta sauce - from R24.00/405g
• instant soup - from R10.00 (Cup-A-Snack e.g. Chicken & Mushroom Noodle Soup)
• biscuits - from R9.00/200g
• rusks - from R26.00/500g
• chewing gum - from 10.00/pack (Dentyne)
• boerewors - from R60.00/1kg
• steak - from R78.00/kg (T-bone)
• chakalaka - from R12.00/can (410g)
• chutney - from R23.00/bottle (Mrs H.S.Ball's Hot Chutney 470g)
• hot sauce - from R13.00/bottle (125g)
• potato chips - from R5.00/30g
• bottled water (still) - from R4.00/500ml 
• Coke - from R9.00/500ml
• orange juice - from R8.00/350ml
• beer - from R11.00/330ml or 340ml (Castle/Hansa)
• beer - from R100/330ml (Tafel Lager)
• beer - from R11.00/330ml (Windhoek Lager)
• cider - from R12.00/330ml (Hunters Dry)
• cider - from R13.00/330ml (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!

Videos: "The Love Cape Town Neighbourhood series"

update (22 March 2016): Cape Town Tourism has released three new videos featuring Constantia, Somerset West and Langa! Enjoy!

Cape Town Tourism has just launched the "The Love Cape Town Neighbourhood series" through which it wants to promote and highlight Cape Town's diverse suburbs. Following the current global trend of tourists wanting to visit and experience cities "like a local", the videos are made to uncover the true nature of each area, to discover what the locals love and what hidden gems lie beneath the surface. So far three videos about Kalk Bay, Cape Town CBD and Woodstock have been created; another three are planned to be published before the end of 2015. How do you like the videos? We will add the following three videos to the playlist below as soon as they are up on youtube!

Kruger National Park Calendar - November

Weather:

• early summer
• very hot days and warm evenings
• rain - rainfall usually double that of October

Temperatures:

• between 16°C - 32°C (Fahrenheit: e.g. 28°C = [(28x9)]/5 + 32 = 82.4°F)
• visit our webcam page for live footage from Kruger National Park!

 Landscape:

• lush vegetation
• many trees in flower
• new pans appear in drier areas
• river levels start rising

 Animal Activity:

• breeding season underway for most animals
• plains animals very aggressive in protecting their young as predator activity increases
• explosion in insect activity after the first good rains

 Kruger National Park tours >>
Kruger National Park info guide >>

accommodation in the Kruger NP area >>
online car hire >>

Video: Rise Above Cape Town!

The team behind Two Wheels Across, a full service production house based in the UAE, recently spent 6 weeks in Cape Town to film an aerial portrait of the Mother City. Sit back, put your headphones on, switch to full screen and enjoy the beauty of Cape Town summed up in a 2:37 minute video! Kudos Two Wheels Across!