Following heavy rains, South African National Parks (SANParks) has issued an urgent warning about flooding in the Kruger National Park.
A number of entrance gates have been closed including Crocodile Bridge, and the road between Letaba and Olifants is not accessible…Letaba camp is without electricity, and a number of smaller bush camps are currently closed.
The Tinga Private Lodge has been evacuated, and it seems likely that more private lodges both in Kruger and the neighbouring private reserves will evacuate over the next few hours.
From Friday 6th January to Friday 30th March, viewers in the UK will be able to get a behind the scenes look as 32 vet students from the UK attend one of the toughest vet schools in the world.
The students are at the Amakhala Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape of South Africa to learn valuable wildlife skills under the guidance of Chief Vet, Dr Will Fowlds.
It should be very interesting to see how students trained to deal with domestic cats get on with lions, elephants, rhinos etc!
Safari Vet School is on ITV 1@ 8pm from Friday 6th January to Friday 30th March.
Prince Charles and Camilla, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, were recently hosted by &Beyond and Phinda Private Game Reserve, during their recent South African tour. The Royal couple paid an afternoon visit to Phinda as part of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) initiative showcasing conservation projects in KwaZulu-Natal.
After an interpretive game drive, Prince Charles and his team then went on to visit the nearby Mduku community. They were greeted by 100 community members dressed in traditional Zulu attire, who sang to them as they were escorted to the community centre and the Mduku Clinic. Isaac Tembe, the Africa Foundation Development Officer, gave an inspirational speech about the wonderful work the Foundation is doing with the communities.
Before the Royal couple visited Phinda, they met with King Goodwill Zwelithini and Premier Zweli Mkize in Ulundi. This is the first time a member of the Royal family has visited the area and met with the Zulu King since the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879.
Prince Charles commended the success of the Foundation and applauded the community projects for not only making a meaningful difference in people’s lives, but also for being an inspiration to people around the world.
Table Mountain has made it onto the first shortlist for the new 7 Wonders of Nature.
It is possible that there will be changes between the currentprovisional winners and the eventual finally confirmed winners, but the confirmed winners will be announced early 2012.
The World Heritage Site of Table Mountain rises over 1,000m above Cape Town, and can be seen from 150 km out to sea. Its flattened peak makes it one of the most recognisable mountains in the world, and you simply can’t visit Cape Town without making a trip to the top.
One of 2 cable cars, each capable of holding up to 65 passengers, whisks you up the mountain to the top in less than 5 minutes. The 360 degree rotating floor adds to the excitement, giving everyone on board the opportunity to look out over the spectacular scenery, including the neighbouring Devil’s Peak, Lions Head and Signal Hill (whose name is taken from when flags were flown to warn ofapproaching ships, and from where the Noon Day Gun is fired at midday every day apart from Sundays), as well as views along the jagged peaks of the Twelve Apostles mountain range, and Robben Island out in the bay.
Many trails wind across the rocky flattened ‘tabletop’ summit, each leading to different viewpoints.
Picture the scene – you are participating in the Albert Falls Dam mountain bike race, and you are cycling fast through the African bush, not a care in the world apart from focussing on winning the race … and then suddenly a red hartebeest lands on top of you…
Cape Town, who previously really didn’t have any form of public transport service, have recently introduced the MyCiTi rapid public transport service, which has just seen the 200 new buses being added to the ‘fleet’ this week.
This will certainly make it easier for tourists to get around this beautiful city without the need to hire a car for their entire stay here. The service has already grown from transporting 200 to 9000 people daily.
The current routes include :
* Cape Town International Airport (4.20 am until 9.50 pm) to the City
* Table View – to be extended as far as Melkbosstrand
* Gardens – Civic Centre – V&A Waterfront (6 am until 8 pm). This is an interim service to be replaced by n9 new permanent central city routes by next year. These will include services to the Bo Kaap, Tamboerskloof, Oranjezicht, Vredehoek, the Atlantic Seabord, the V&A Waterfront, Walmer Estate, Woodstock, Salt River and Hout Bay.
Not for the faint-hearted, true, but if you have always entertained a burning desire to swim close to the edge of the Victoria Falls, then you need to make a trip to Devil’s Pool, a naturally formed pool accessed via Livingstone Island in Zambia.
Only attempt this when the river flow is at a safe level, however – which is RIGHT NOW ! The pool ‘opened for business’ a few days ago due to low water levels in the Zambezi River.
There is a natural rock wall just below the water and at the very edge of the Falls that stops anyone from swimming right over the edge and tumbling down into the gorge … although please .. do still be careful !!!
Stay for 4 nights at any Phinda lodge and get a complimentary rhino tracking adventure on foot, accompanied by a dedicated rhino monitoring team. Maximum of 8 guests per day. Rhino tracking adventure can only be booked on arrival at your Phinda lodge. Participants in the rhino tracking adventure must be 16 years or older.
For people wanting to combine Vic Falls with a Kruger safari, there is a service run by SAA that operates directly from Kruger Mpumalanga / Nelspruit (airport code MQP) to Livingstone, which currently operates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It has just been announced, however, that a new flight is being planned for Saturdays (commencing March 10 2012) and eventually on Tuesdays (from August 7 2012).
These direct flights avoid any need for safari goers to stay overnight or connect in Johannesburg prior to flying to Livingstone. The opportunity is then for travellers to enjoy a game drive and breakfast at their bush lodge before travelling to Livingstone and enjoying, on the same day, an evening sunset cruise on the Zambezi. For people travelling from Livingstone to Kruger, they can enjoy a walk to the Falls in the morning, then breakfast and mid-morning activities before travelling to Kruger to enjoy dinner and the first night in the bush.
The SAA flights depart Nelspruit Kruger at just before midday, and takes just over 2 hours to arrive at Livingstone. The return flight will depart Livingstone at early afternoon, arriving in Nelspruit Kruger just before 5 pm. Please note these times are subject to change.
Following unnecessary confusion throughout the tourism industry The South African Department of Health have finally informed the South African Society of Travel Medicine (www.sastm.org) as of October 1, all travellers from Zambia will be required to show proof of yellow fever vaccination (unless in possession of a valid waiver certificate).
Travellers transiting airports in countries with risk of yellow fever transmission will also be required to show proof of yellow fever vaccination, regardless of the amount of time spent at the airport.
All travellers from yellow fever risk countries who are unable to produce a valid yellow fever vaccination certificate at the port of entry will either be refused entry or quarantined until their certificate becomes valid, or for a period of not more than six days.
Those with an exemption certificate due to medical reasons will be allowed entry and required to report any fever or other symptoms to the health authorities and be placed under surveillance.
