Botswana: finally! a good news story

Posted by Mark / in Africa, Blog, Featured Posts, frontpage, Horse Riding Holidays, Tavistock Travel Agents /

During these dark times we can still dream, and there is good news around: Botswana’s famous inland Delta is renowned for being Africa’s best wildlife spot. The Delta’s ecosystem depends on the annual flood and for the last five years it’s been weak. This year it’s outstanding! Good news for wildlife, birds and the whole ecosystem. Whether you ride, drive or walk a safari to Botswana is as good as it gets.

Rainfall in the mountains of Angola determines the water level in the Delta which is measured at the village of Rundu in Namibia’s Caprivi Strip. This morning (St George’s Day) it reads 6.6m compared to the five-year average of 5.38, so it’s going to be an outstanding flood.

We can’t travel to Botswana at the moment, and my heart goes out to all those remote, specialist lodges that make a Delta safari so life-changingly special. But one day it will come back. And perversely, the absence of human traffic and activity is really good news for the animals, great and small. It’s a funny old world.

For all you technical people, here’s the Rundu report

Namibia: long distance riding

Posted by Mark / in Africa, Blog, Featured Posts, frontpage, Horse Riding Holidays, Tavistock Travel Agents, Traveller's Tales /

From prototype to perfection
It’s been several years in the making, but new for 2020 is the ultimate safari saddle.

 

 

It will be used on all the Namibia safaris and is fully adjustable to both horse and rider. A specially designed woollen girth with lots of built-in padding, will be much appreciated (by horse) on those long desert days. The handy water-bottle holders have been moved to behind the rider’s leg so no longer knocking on your knee! And there’s a little pocket for small things like camera, lip balm and sunblock which will be much appreciated (by rider).

Excellent leather, plenty of air-flow along the spine – it’s a work of art!!

Kilimanjaro: light aircraft, helicopters and porters.

Posted by Mark / in Africa, Blog, Featured Posts, frontpage, Tavistock Travel Agents, Traveller's Tales /

Scenic flights around Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru, Tanzania

There is now a light aircraft stationed at Arusha Airport that takes guests on a scenic flight above and around mounts Meru and Kilimanjaro, an ideal way to either end, or begin a visit to the highest free-standing mountain in the world.

The one-hour flight takes off from Arusha Airport at 06:45 am and heads east soaring above Arusha city, Arusha National Park, West Kilimanjaro then across the Shira Plateau, the Arrow glacier, Reusch Crater, Mawenzi Peak (Kili’s neighbour) before turning west over Mt. Meru and landing back at Arusha at 07:45 am. Be sure to bring your camera!

A concern when climbing Meru and Kili is to acclimatise properly. This flight goes much higher than the summit of Kili and the aircraft is not pressurised, therefore oxygen masks and oxygen is provided in-flight.

Max Occupancy: 9 window seats only
Aircraft details: Cessna Grand Caravan operated by Northern Air
Fare: £475
Days of operation: Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun. Weather dependant.

While on the subject of Kilimanjaro …..

A word about emergence evacuation while trekking.
It’s now possible for the resident helicopter to reach the following places on Kilimanjaro to effect an emergency evacuation:-

Machame route: Machame Hut, Shira Cave, Lava Junction, Barranco, Karanga, Barafu, Kosovo, Millennium and Mweka Hut.

Lemosho Glades route: Shira One, Shira Two, Moir Hut, Lava Junction, Barranco, Karanga, Barafu, Kosovo, Millennium and Mweka Hut.

Rongai route: Second Cave, Kikelelwa, Mawenzi Turn Hut and Kibo Hut.

Marangu route: Horombo, Last Waters and Kibo Hut.

Shira route: Simba/Sekimba, Shira Two, Lava Junction, Barranco, Karanga, Barafu, Millennium and Mweka Hut.

Northern route: Shira One, Shira Two, Lava Junction, Moir, Buffalo (Pofu), Third Cave and Skull Hut.
Umbwe route: Barranco, Karanga, Barafu, Millennium and Mweka Hut.

And finally, a word about porters:-

The exploitation and mistreatment of porters can be a troubling challenge in the trekking industry. By contracting with a qualified KPAP Partner you can be assured that porters are well cared for. We provide a fair salary to our porters, paying salaries on time, issue fair load weights, provide 3 meals a day on the mountain as well as proper shelter and equipment, policies to care for sick or injured porters on duty to ensure a happy, healthy and great support team for your trek.

Kili trekking

Posted by Mark / in Africa, Blog, Featured Posts, frontpage, Tavistock Travel Agents, Traveller's Tales /

Climbing Kili is a perennially popular reason to visit Africa and during 2019 our most popular two routes up Kili are the 8 day Lemosho Glades route and the slightly shorter Machame (6 days) route. Click here and scroll down the page to find the dates.

People have told us that they like to have the option of walking with others to create a small group; so new for 2020 we have some fixed date, guaranteed departures for Lemosho Glades and Machame.

Climbing Kili’s little sister, Mount Meru, is a great way to acclimatise before Kili and we have some fixed date for Meru too.

All our treks conform to the KPAP standard of porter welfare.

Mountain Rescue: since 2016 there has been a medi-copter on stand-by near Moshi which can carry out medical evacuation from Kilimanjaro (just make sure your travel insurance policy covers you for treks up to 6,000 m)

If Rhinos Could Fly …

Posted by Mark / in Africa, Blog, Featured Posts, frontpage, Tavistock Travel Agents, Traveller's Tales /

And the good news is that they can! African Parks has just announced that five Black Rhino will be taking a trip from the Safari Park Dvůr Králové in the Czech Republic to Akagera National Park in Rwanda.

All five were born in captivity and are particularly valuable because of the genetic vigour they bring to the very small resident gene-pool. Since 2010, when African Parks took over wildlife management at Akagera poaching has largely been eliminated allowing wildlife populations to surge. In 2017 eighteen black rhino were reintroduced to Akagera after the last one was poached in 2007.

Akagera National Park has experienced an economic revitalisation and this year welcomed more than 44,000 travellers, half of whom are Rwandan nationals, which is an unusual statistic in Africa where as often as not local people don’t frequent their own national parks.

To follow their journey visit www.rhinomove.org

Crossing Kenya by Train

Posted by Mark / in Africa, Blog, Featured Posts, frontpage, Tavistock Travel Agents, Traveller's Tales /

Taking the train across Kenya.

Take the train from Nairobi to Mombasa.

Travelling by train in Kenya used to be “unpredictable”. The colonial period narrow-gauge train that ran from Nairobi all the way to Mombasa on the coast was called the Lunatic Express and was a 15 hour overnight sleeper service.

Brand new for 2019
The brand new Chinese-built railway has reduced the travel time to 4 ½ hrs and is really reliable. It follows the same route as the Lunatic Express, so spotting big game while you travel makes this train journey unique.

The new service is called the Madaraka Express and can carry 1,200 passengers. The train departs Nairobi in the morning and you can be on the beach just after lunchtime. The Nairobi terminus is close to the international airport (6 Km from the city centre) so you could go direct from airport to beach. The Mombasa terminus is less than a Km from the airport, or about 15 mins from the Likoni Ferry which gives access to Diani and the southern Mombasa beaches (which are the best!).

Buying tickets: crossing kenya by train
Tickets are incredibly cheap (approx £10 second and £30 first class, each way) but can’t be bought on-line, only in person. Venture Co can obtain tickets via our partner in Nairobi (no fee charged). 2nd class is crowded, but perfectly comfy. 1st class has reclining, rotating seats, fold-out trays, power socket and air conditioning; and only first class has access to the buffet car. All the rolling stock is made in China.

Time to kill in Nairobi: here are some ideas.

Security
The safari business is incredibly important to the Kenya economy, and the nation is justifiably proud of their new train service, so security is really tight. You go through two separate screening processes: the point being, allow plenty of time to board the train.

The Lunatic Express Remembered
In 1898 the Brits began building the ‘Coast to Kampala’ railway line. Local Kenyans had no clue how to build such a thing, so the Brits imported several thousand labourers from India where railways were an established institution. Several canvas villages were established to accommodate the labourers in the area of Tsavo National Park through which the track runs. Then the mysteries began: labourers kept disappearing … at night. Lion attacks were identified and the horror spread through the workforce. The project leader was a military man and he decided to employ 20 experienced Sepoys to track the lions, which proved elusive. Weeks and months passed and the lion attacks continued, munching their way through 31 people. Eventually the first lion was shot and it was a huge, mane-less male which looked terrifying. The other lion was identified as another mane-less male of equal size but possessing more cunning. Night after night they tried to shoot it, but it transpired that the lion was stalking the guns, rather than vice versa. The second lion was eventually shot an incredible nine times before it died and they say it was crawling towards the guns and sank its teeth into a fallen branch in defiance, with its dying breath. The lions became known as “The Man-eaters of Tsavo” and the skins and skulls were sold to America and now reside in the Chicago museum.

And so the Lunatic Express was born!

I remember the old train service, with three classes, as a mission in itself. You would leave Nairobi in the evening and chuff through Nairobi National Park before settling down for the night. 14 hours later you arrived in Mombasa, maybe. Break-downs were not unusual; big game on the tracks slowed things down and the whole thing was a bit of an adventure, but great fun. The rolling stock was all British and had that ‘Agatha Christie’ feel to it. Now it’s all Chinese and utterly reliable …. ‘plus ça change’.

Lady Gorilla-guides

Posted by Mark / in Africa, Blog, Featured Posts, frontpage, Tavistock Travel Agents, Traveller's Tales /

Many years ago while travelling in Uganda I met a guide with ambition: jog on through the decades to 2019 and Kazinga is a well-respected tour operator in Uganda with outstanding guides. It’s still run by that original founder/guide, Felex Musinguzi and Felex and his team look after all Venture Co clients visiting Uganda.

Our most popular trip (max 6 clients) is the 15 day Highlights of Uganda.

And to this day, we have never had a bad report.

Felex is a forward thinking chap and has been instrumental in establishing a formal guide qualification in Uganda, not dissimilar to the highly respected qualification that exists in South Africa, the Professional Filed Guide. He has gone one step further and pushed hard for more female guides so we can now guarantee a lady-guide.

If Rhinos could fly ….

Posted by Mark / in Africa, Blog, Featured Posts, frontpage, Tavistock Travel Agents, Traveller's Tales /

And the good news is that they can! African Parks has just announced that five Black Rhino will be taking a trip from the Safari Park Dvůr Králové in the Czech Republic to Akagera National Park in Rwanda.

All five were born in captivity and are particularly valuable because of the genetic vigour they bring to the very small resident gene-pool. Since 2010, when African Parks took over wildlife management at Akagera poaching has largely been eliminated allowing wildlife populations to surge. In 2017 eighteen black rhino were reintroduced to Akagera after the last one was poached in 2007.

Akagera National Park has experienced an economic revitalisation and today welcomes more than 44,000 tourists a year, half of whom are Rwandan nationals, which is an unusual statistic in Africa, where local people don’t often visit their own national parks.

Read the full press release and please visit rhino move to follow their journey.

Kilimanjaro cable car ….. ?

Posted by Mark / in Africa, Blog, Featured Posts, frontpage, Tavistock Travel Agents, Traveller's Tales /

A cable car for Kilimanjaro? Is it April 1st?

This week saw the tragic and insane shenanigans on Mount Everest with a queue from the Hilary Step to the summit, and 12 fatalities. Last month the Peruvian authorities announced their cunning plan to build an airport at Machu Picchu to boost tourist numbers. And now we have the Tanzanian offering: a cable car for Kilimanjaro. Check the report from Reuters

Beggars belief: apart from anything else, how can a human being go from Moshi town (altitude 950m) to Uhuru Peak (5,895m) in an hour or so?! I hope their plans make good provision for body bags.

There are about 50,000 Kili trekkers annually and no matter which route you take to ascend, it’s hard work. The altitude is a definite challenge. Trekkers who climb neighbouring Mount Meru first do themselves a huge favour because they allow the acclimatisation process to work more slowly, thus avoiding the headaches and nausea. Besides, I’m old-school and believe achieving a peak should be personally earned rather than being helicoptered in.

Shame on the Tanzanian authorities for suggesting this nonsense and shame on the Chinese construction firm bidding for the contract.

Sign the protest here:

Okavango Delta water level Apr 2019

Posted by Mark / in Africa, Blog, Featured Posts, frontpage, Horse Riding Holidays, Tavistock Travel Agents, Traveller's Tales /

Water level in the Okavango Delta. (17th April 2019)
Recent updates from Botswana suggest that it is likely to be a dry year. Rainfall levels have been lower than normal and flood levels are lower than previous years. This will limit water activities in areas without permanent water, such as rivers and lagoons. Water activities are expected to start later than normal in 2019, probably around August time. However, when water is scarce wildlife congregates around pools making the game viewing spectacular, particularly from the back of a horse. Riding and game drives have been good, as have walks. All transfers in and out of camps that we will be using in July will probably be by land / donkey, rather than by makoro.