The interim Chief Commercial Officer (COO) of South African Airways (SAA), Tebogo Tsimane, said on a recent Travel News video webcast that the airline is planning launch at least one international long-haul route before the end of the financial year (31 March 2023) and another one before the end of the calendar year 2023. According to Mr. Tsimane, South African Airways is looking at launching flights to São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) in São Paulo, Brazil, and Perth Airport (PER) in Perth, Australia.
The airline further aims to operate most of the routes the airline was operating before the Covid-19 pandemic, such as Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in Frankfurt, London (Heathrow Airport (LHR)?), Washington D.C. (Dulles International Airport (IAD)?) and New York City (John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)?). South African Airways is also planning to resume flights to destinations that were "in the pipeline" before the pandemic including Melbourne and Munich. (Mr. Tsimane: "It will take us a while"). We'll keep you posted!
update (14 March 2023): The road has been reopened!
update (07 March 2023): The R40 between Barberton in Mpumalanga and the Josefsdal/Bulembu Border Post between South Africa and eSwatini is still closed, but, according to the MTPA, construction is underway and the reopening is expected to be next week. We'll keep you posted!
The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) has announced that the R40 between Barberton in Mpumalanga and the Josefsdal/Bulembu Border Post between South Africa and eSwatini is currently closed until further notice. This is due to the damages caused by the recent heavy rains in the Ehlanzeni District Municipality. The closure of the R40 also affects the Barberton Makhonjwa Geotrail, which follows the road from Barberton to Josefsdal.
The Barberton Makhonjwa Geotrail is a 37km self-drive trail through the Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains World Heritage Site, displaying information about the area’s remarkable geology and it’s links to the plant diversity and history. The estimated time to drive the geotrail is 6 hours, if you want to stop at most of 11 roadside geosites located at stops and panoramic viewpoints along the route.
update (28 February 2023): According to a press release by the Botswana Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, the Botswana National Identity Card can be used a travel document to travel between Botswana and Namibia at the Mamuno/Trans-Kalahari border post with immediate effect.
The countries of Botswana and Namibia haved signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to permit the use of National Identity Cards for the two countries as travel documents to cross their borders. The signing of the MoA took place today (24 February 2023) at the Mamuno/Trans-Kalahari border post, which will be the first along the Botswana/Namibia border to commence the use of National Identity Card as a travel document. According to the Official Facebook Page of the Government of Botswana, the Kasane Immigration Office in Kasane (Botswana), the Mohembo border post as well as the Ngoma Bridge border post will follow suit and the Dobe border post upon completion of the infrastructure and installation of necessary system to be undertaken during the financial year 2023/24.
Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has announced that King Shaka International Airport (DUR) in Durban will be undertaking maintenance work on the canopy structure above the drop-off area (elevated roadway) from the 03 March 2023. The work, which is expected to be completed at the end of July 2023, entails the refurbishment of the canopy above the drop-off area and will be executed in phases. Paintwork on various elements of the structure will be undertaken in the current phase. The project will involve the closure of the inner and outer traffic lanes on an alternating basis as the work proceeds. The drop-off entrances will all remain operational. However, passengers and airport users are encouraged to take note of signage placed in strategic areas around the work area and to observe the flagman that will be managing traffic at the drop-off area. ACSA is advising passengers to consider these works in their travel plans, especially during peak periods. We'll keep you posted!
The Namibian Roads Authority (RA), whose core business is to construct and maintain Namibia's road sector, has informed the public that the DR 212 between Aussenkehr and Rosh Pinah is currently closed until further notice. Some sections of the road are flooded, which is caused by the high water levels in the Orange River due to recent heavy rains received in some parts of South Africa. The road was also closed due to flooding in November 2022. By that time, the RA was requesting all affected travelers to make use of the Keetmanshoop - Aus - Rosh Pinah road instead of DR 212 until the water levels have subsided and the road is deemed safe to motorists. We'll keep you posted!
Botswana has lost 138 rhinoceros to poachers since 2018, compared to only two poached from 2012 to 2017. This is according to Cabinet Minister Mabuse Pule, who answered a parliamentary question on behalf of Botswana's Minister of Environment and Tourism Philda Kereng on 19 February 2023. In addition to the 138 rhinoceroses that had been poached since 2018, 76 died of natural causes in the last five years. Mr Pule further announced that 33 rhino were killed by poachers in 2021, while Botswana lost only six rhinos to poaching in 2022.
nb. According to a Briefing Document for Delegates to CITES SC74 (Lyon, March 2022), titled "The Rise of Rhinoceros Poaching in Botswana", by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Botswana lost six rhinos to poaching from 2006 to 2017. 11 rhinos were killed by poachers in 2018, 30 in 2019 and 62 in 2020. This is according to government figures.
2018: 11 rhinos killed by poachers in Botswana 2019: 30 2020: 62 2021: 33 2022: 6 Total: 142
