Africa Travel Information

A Kenya Airways boeing plane taking off

Air transport is obviously the most convenient and fastest way to travel to Africa and also within the continent. You therefore need some information about African airlines before you embark on your next safari or beach holiday. I hope you’ll find this post on Africa airlines adequately helpful for your Africa travel plans.

The Top Four National Airlines in Africa
Several African countries have national airlines that operate regional flights within Africa as well as international flights to and from other world destinations. The top among these are South African Airways, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, and Egypt Air.

• South Africa Airways (SAA)
SAA is the national carrier of South Africa. The airline’s headquarters and main hub is at the OR Tambo International Airport in Gauteng, near Johannesburg. Besides domestic flights in South Africa, the airline operates regional flights to several cities in Southern, Eastern, Central, and Western Africa. These include Nairobi, Victoria falls, Dar es Salaam, and Mauritius.

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Young African Elephant Bull

Two African countries, Zambia and Tanzania have requested for a “one-off” sale of their ivory stock piles. Their case will be heard this weekend (March 13).

When CITES imposed a ban on ivory trading about 20 years ago, it was because of the rampant poaching that had almost wiped out the African elephant population in many countries. The ban saved the elephant from extinction.

In November 2008, some Southern Africa countries successfully lobbied for a one-off sale similar to the one Tanzania and Zambia want. For obvious reasons, this created a loophole for poachers to “legally” sell their ivory. Since then, cases of elephant poaching have risen in many countries, reversing the gains made when the ban was imposed.

On this issue therefore, I side with the Africa wildlife conservationists in opposing the request by Tanzania and Zambia.

Surprisingly, this week alone, I have received e-mails from several safari operators and adventure camps in Tanzania, requesting me to sign a petition to voice my opposition to the one-off sale. Which raises the question: in whose interests is the Tanzania government acting, if most stakeholders in the Tanzania tourism business are opposed to the sale?

If you agree with my opinion, you can also sign the save the elephant petition here.

More information:

http://www.bloodyivory.org

http://www.kws.go.ke/info/promotions/detail/Road_to_Dhoha.html

Update 1
Thankfully, participants in the CITES meeting in Doha rejected Tanzania’s and Zambia’s proposal. Read details here.

NB: I originally posted the article below in qondio, a content website where people share lots of “intel” on various topics. I post as africantraveler at qondio.

The True Gems in Africa Travel

Maletsunyane falls near Semonkong in of Lesotho

In a previous post on Africa travel, I mentioned some of the most preferred Africa holiday destinations, among them Kenya, South Africa and Egypt. While these countries may be the favorite destinations among many travelers, their attractions are not necessarily superior to those in other less-traveled African countries. In fact, in my opinion, there are some countries that offer a more satisfying African safari experience, often with the added advantage of being less crowded. These include: Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, and Mozambique

Lesotho
This landlocked country is neighbored on all sides by South Africa. One of the things that make Lesotho a unique travel destination is its beautiful mountainous scenery. The entire country lies at over 1000 meters above sea level, and has arguably some of the best hiking trails in Africa. The traditional way of life of the Basotho is, to say the least, very fascinating. The best way to enjoy a holiday in this country is on horse back.
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Elephants in Amboseli National Park. Mt Kilimanjaro is in the background. Image by Disdero in Wikimedia commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elephants_Kili_2.jpg

I read a very interesting report in the Daily Nation today. The Kenya wildlife service (KWS) plans to trans-locate about 7,000 herbivores, mostly zebras and wildebeest, from some private ranches and game reserves in Kenya to the Amboseli national park. Apparently, following last year’s drought in Amboseli, the herbivore/carnivore balance in the park was severely disrupted. The predators are now attacking the livestock of the neighboring Maasai people. You can read full details of the story here.

Looking at it from a different perspective, the KWS action raises a number of questions. Is it fair to the game reserves from which the zebras and wildebeest will be taken? What will happen to the predator/prey balance in these ranches? I know, KWS may rightly argue that in these reserves, that “balance” was largely skewed in favour of the herbivores. After all, species trans-location is an acceptable and proven animal conservation strategy. There have been several animal translocations in Kenya in the past, though not on such a large scale. One past translocation that comes close in scale was the fairly successful translocation of 228 elephants from Shimba hills national park to Tsavo East (see story).

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The great white shark: a member of the "Big 7"

For the next few months, South Africa is obviously going to receive a lot of attention thanks to the forthcoming FIFA 2010 World cup in June. Without any doubt, the soccer tournament is in itself a great boost to South Africa tourism, and is expected to inject over 20 billion rand to the economy. But perhaps more importantly, it will help raise awareness of South Africa as a great African safari  destination.

In a previous post on South Africa, I mentioned wildlife as one of the greatest tourist attractions in South Africa. The country takes great pride in being the only African destination where you can see the big seven -the big five plus whales and sharks (more so the great white shark and the southern right whale). In addition to wildlife safaris, South Africa will always remain for a great travel destination for the following reasons:

• Adventure travel at its best: Whether you are a fan of extreme activities, or you are into more moderate adventures, you will surely have lots of fun in South Africa. Some of the activities you can engage in include abseiling off Table mountain, scuba diving at Sodwana Bay, shark cage diving at Dyer Island, rock climbing in Montagu and other places, trekking expeditions along the Garden Route, white water rafting, skydiving,  surfing, bungee jumping, etc. To put it simply, the range of adventures available to you in South Africa is arguably the best in Africa. Read the rest of this entry »

Happy new year! First, to all readers of this African safari blog, my apologies for the prolonged absence and silence. I had several issues in my personal life to attend to, and they took longer than I thought they would. Nothing like the Tiger Woods story though .  (Despite his “mistake” I still think Woods is a great man, and I hope he will bounce back as an even better person).

A northern white rhino. Image from the rhino resource center http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/

While I was away, a lot has taken place in the Africa travel scene. Bill Gates once again visited Kenya on a philanthropic mission and a safari.

Also in Kenya, four of the eight remaining  northern white rhinos were introduced to ol-Pejeta conservancy in Laikipia to give them a chance to breed.  This is definitely good news to animal  conservationists if the plan succeeds. Not so the request by Tanzania and Zambia to be allowed a one-off sale of their ivory stockpiles, a move opposed by Kenya and Rwanda.

Other Africa travel news that have made headlines include the crash of an Ethiopian Airline plane near Beirut, the trampling to death of two tourists by an elephant in Mt Kenya national park, and the closure of False bay beach in South Africa following a fatal shark  attack on a tourist from Zimbabwe.

Now that I am back to work, I hope to be able to regularly update this blog to be a meaningful information resource for your Africa travel plans. Alongside the usual informational travel articles, I will be covering events that I think you, my readers, may want to know about. The forthcoming Sauti za busara cultural festival in Zanzibar, the 2010 world cup in South Africa, are some examples of what I have in mind. Happy reading, and as always, I welcome your comments.