Iceland holidays open up

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

While the UK government continues to prevaricate over vaccination certificates, here’s the news from Iceland:

“We are super excited to share the amazing news with you that the Icelandic government has announced that all travellers are welcome to visit Iceland, starting tomorrow(!), without being subject to border measures, such as testing and quarantine, if they can show either:

 

• A certificate of full vaccination against COVID-19
• A certificate of previous COVID-19 infection

 

Both Iceland’s Chief Epidemiologist and Minister of Tourism have stated their will to allow vaccinated individuals into the country regardless of where they are coming from:

“From the point of view of disease prevention, it does not matter where an individual is coming from if he has a certificate to the effect that he has been vaccinated.”

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!!

Machu Picchu Summer Solstice

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

The Incas and the Sun
Inca lore has it that the Sun God, Inti, rose from Lake Titicaca to control the heavens and the seasons. The Inca, the eponymous emperor of the Inca people, was believed to be a direct descendant of Inti.

Inti was anchored to the earth by The Intihuatana Stone, known as “The Hitching Post of the Sun” in English, which stands inside Machu Picchu. This remarkable stone is a precise indicator of the two equinoxes, spring and autumn, as well as other celestial events.

The name Intihuatana is derived from the local Quechua language and is rumoured to have been coined by Hiram Bingham. It comes from inti meaning “sun”; and wata which is the verb root “to tie or hitch” (huata- is simply a Spanish spelling). The Quechua -na suffix changes a verb into a noun for things like tools or places. Hence inti watana is literally an instrument or place to “tie up the sun”; in English that makes “The Hitching Post of the Sun”.

There is a similar, though totally unconnected, link with Ra, the Egyptian sun god. You could say that the dynasty of the pharaohs in Egypt and the much later dynasty of the Incas were each sun cults. And there’s nothing wrong with a bit of sun worship!

Machu Picchu and the Spring Equinox
Machu Picchu is south of the equator, just, so the spring equinox happens in September rather than March; March is the beginning of autumn here in Peru, whereas in the northern hemisphere, it’s t’other way around.

What is the Equinox?
The Earth is in ceaseless orbit around the sun and is tilted at 23.5° off the vertical which means the sun’s light and warmth swap between the two hemispheres twice per year, March and September. At equinox the sun is directly overhead at noon, as seen from the equator; night and day are of equal length. The name equinox comes from Latin aequus = equal and nox = night.

What is the ‘Solstice’?
A solstice occurs when the sun reaches the end of its tether, either in the extreme north, or south. There are two solstices: Summer on the 21st June and Winter on the 21st December. This year we have a very special opportunity to witness the Summer Solstice inside the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in the company of one of the foremost Inca specialists, Edwin Duñeas.

Details of Edwin’s 14-day trip are here.

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.

Winter Rides

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

Northern lights ride

Horse riding in Iceland during the winter months has real charm.

Venture Co offers a fantastic multi-day ride during winter where you have a good chance of seeing the northern lights, as well as exciting riding:-

The Northern Lights ride comes in a 6 days package and is also available in a 4-day format

And of course a little riding can be combined with some dog-sledding, whale watching or some quality time exploring Reykjavik’s Chocolate Cafe, Omnom!

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’.

The Amazon just got closer

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

Amazon Jungle, Peru.
Visiting the Amazon is a Bucket List event and one of the lodges we always recommend, and many clients have visited, is Tambopata in Peru. For birding and wildlife, this is the best. It began life as a research centre but has morphed into a comfy jungle lodge, with outstanding guides.

The bad news is that Tambopata Research Center (TRC) used to be a real mission to get to: 1 hr flight from Cusco, over the Andes and down into the hot, sweaty jungle; a road and canoe transfer and 8 hrs later you arrived. TRC just got closer thanks to a recently improved road, it now takes just 3 hrs to reach.

A 3 night stay is ideal for most people.

Timings are now:
Puerto Maldonado Airport to Rainforest Expeditions office – 5 mins by shuttle-bus
Office to Puerto Filadelfia – 1 hr by road
Puerto Filadelfia to TRC- 2hrs 30mins by boat. (This will come into effect from 1st November 2020.)