A fire has been raging in the Zuurberg Mountain area of the Addo Elephant National Park since Sunday afternoon, August 10.

The blaze, which is still burning, has destroyed an estimated 7,000 hectares of fynbos and grassland vegetation in the mountainous areas of the park.

However, South African National Parks (SANParks) affirms that the region’s tourist accommodation and infrastructure have not been affected. This includes the Addo Rest Camp, main game area and Camp Matyholweni. Visitors were evacuated from Narina Bush Camp yesterday afternoon as a safety precaution, although the fire has not reached the area in which the camp is located. The situation is being monitored.

The Zuurberg Mountain Village, which is a private resort located on the borders of the park, has sustained considerable damage. Owner, Henri Alant, confirms: “The chapel and function venue have been destroyed and 29 rooms burnt out. We estimate the damage to be around R20m to repair. As a result, the property will be closed until December 15.”

Park rangers, assisted by Cacadu District and Working for Fire teams, continue to battle the wildfire as extremely dry conditions and strong winds hamper efforts to contain the blaze.

SANParks asserts that visitors to the National Park would not be affected, apart from being able to participate in the hiking trails and guided horse trails in the Zuurberg Mountains.

The fire has affected smaller animals in the area but as of yet there have been no reports of deaths of large animals such as eland, kudu and red hartebeest.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

THE Riverdene Lodge in the Shamwari Game Reserve has been newly renovated to accommodate adults and children, and now has a children’s programme for families. 

The newly renovated accommodation at Riverdene Lodge features 2 supervised playrooms for children’s activities and supervised lawns with a jungle gym; a sports and social programme which incorporates soccer, cricket, treasure hunts and swimming. A special children’s menu is available, and child minders are available at all times.

Upon arrival, each child will automatically receive a Born Free Foundation certificate and a fluffy toy. Daily game drives for children and their parents will be organised with trips to the Born Free Centres and the Shamwari Film Studio. 

Children will be introduced to the Shamwari Game Reserve and Born Free Foundation’s challenge to promote the conservation of species and the protection of habitats whilst maintaining a compassionate approach to the welfare of animals.     

At the Shamwari Film Studio, children will be shown where the popular international Unearthed 2 series was filmed, produced and edited. Children will also be exposed to the filming of the new wildlife series entitled Shamwari: A Wild Life, which will be launched in September 2008.

Lastly, children staying at the Riverdene Lodge will be invited to take part in the special education programme at the Shamwari Animal Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre.

We have just been passed details of a very good deal at Amakhosi Safari Lodge which runs to the end of August.

Guests booking now to stay between now and the end of next month will get to enjoy this lovely reserve for three nights for the price of two. All game drives, bush walks, meals and local beverages are included, and you can read more about this offer here.

We have just been informed that there is quite a lot of availability throughout the Sun City Resort between 17 August 2008 to 22 August 2008.

Only a 2 hour drive from Johannesburg, Sun City is an endless world of entertainment, leisure, sport and recreation.

There is a choice of 25 restaurants, spectacular theatrical shows, cinemas, bars, nightclubs, live music venues, a world-class casino and a games arcade. There is a fully equipped health club, 11 tennis courts, bowls greens and squash courts, plus horse riding, mountain biking, archery, clay pigeon shooting and quad biking. Golfers will be in their element as Sun City offers two 18 hole championship golf courses.

The neighbouring Pilanesberg National Park is a malaria free area, and home to the Big 5 of the African bush. Guests can explore the Park in their own car, or on day and night guided game drives, by hot air balloon, or even by elephant back!

The Palace of the Lost City and The Cascades Hotel both offer the highest standards in 5* luxury , and the 4* Sun City Hotel and 3* Cabanas Hotel complete the hotel offering - meaning that this combination of all 4 hotels will appeal to all budgets.

We would be delighted to discuss any short notice enquiries over this period - please contact one of our consultants to ask us to check availability and send you a quotation.

Day visitors to the Kruger National Park will again be able to book ahead of time to secure their entrance to South Africa’s most well known National Park.

Visitors who wish to use this facility should be advised that advanced bookings can be made no less than one day prior to date of arrival at the Kruger National Park and that using this facility will come at a minimal and non-refundable cost per person of R20 per adult and R10 per child entering the Park. This fee will be payable (in advance) by all who wish to make a day visitor booking in advance. Guests with day visitor bookings will also be expected to arrive at the booked gate by not later than 1 pm on the date of booking, after which time the booking lapses. Advanced day-visitor bookings will only constitute 60% of the gate’s day visitor quota, with 40% being kept open for visitors to enter on a first-come first-served basis. The gate quotas are limits per gate on the number of day visitors that the area and infrastructure adjacent to each gate is able to support to ensure a good visitor experience.

At the recent Good Safari Guide Awards ceremony, which took place in Durban on May 8th 2008, the prestigious Singita Boulders Lodge walked away with the Best Safari Property in Africa award, and Notten’s Bush Camp won the Runner Up Best Safari Property in Africa award.

 The Good Safari Guide is an independent directory of the top safari lodges, hotels and camps in Africa.  It is the travel professional’s definitive selection of the most professionally run, independently selected and vetted safari properties.

Amied at travel professionals globally, the guide cuts through the clutter of the many thousands of safari products, focusing on those that are established and managed by the most professional ’safari’ hoteliers.

The independent Awards honour the best in the safari industry.  Nominations in the 13 categories are accepted only from qualified travel professionals, with a panel of distinguished industry judges making the final tough decisions.

Thanda Private Game Reserve in northern KwaZulu-Natal has won two prestigious awards at this year’s World Travel Awards: South Africa’s leading safari lodge, and Africa’s leading luxury lodge which it won for the 2nd consecutive year.

The news comes just 6 months after Thanda was voted ‘luxury individual hotel, lodge or resort offering best overall product and service’ in the Selling Long Haul awards for 2007 by readers of the trade publication. Thanda, which means ‘love’ in Zulu, won the Leading Safari in South Africa award in 2006 and Africa’s Leading Luxury Lodge in 2007.  

The only private game reserve in the world to hold exclusive membership with the prestigious Leading Hotels of the World, Thanda’s world-class facilities include the opulent main lodge, authentic safari-style tented camp and award-winning wellness centre.

Following the success of the short notice offer that we ran with Lion Sands in April, we are delighted to be able to confirm a new Lion Sands Sort Notice Offer for May, June, and July 2008.

Vistors travelling in the next 3 months can save 25% vs the published price, and stay at this outstanding lodge for only R2650 per person per night.

There are no minimum stay requirements for this offer, however this special rate cannot be combined with the Lion Sands and Cape Town Special Offer.

As our current photo competition begins to draw to a close (last day for entries is 31st May), we have been looking through the entries and began to think about the difficult task of judging the winners of the cases of wine supplied by SA Wines Online.

There are a number of outstanding photos taken from many different parts of the region, and as you might expect there are many fantastic photos of wildlife taken in different areas.  One of the questions we are most frequently asked is “what will we see on safari?”, and whilst it is impossible to guarantee any sightings (these are wild animals after all) the links below will take you through to some of the guest photos we have received from visitors to two of the most popular game reserves:

Sabi Sand Reserve (Greater Kruger)
Shamwari Game Reserve (Eastern Cape)

We are delighted to offer the following Special Offer at Kariega Game Reserve:

3 nights for the price of 2 for stays at Main Lodge, River Lodge, or Ukhosi when you travel between May and September 2008.

The 3 lodges all offer a fully inclusive African safari including accommodation, all meals and 2 activities per day.  Activities include game drives, river cruises, hiking trails, fishing, bird watching, canoeing, mountain biking, and horse riding.

The three lodges each have their own distinctive style, with Main Lodge’s family accommodation in 2,3,and 4 bedroom chalets, and River Lodges’ stunning setting being particularly popular with guests.

You can read more about the three lodges and the special offer online here.