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.
