African travel and wildlife news for August 2002

Zimbabwe's Inn on Rupurara in Juliasdale (in the country's eastern highlands), has won the Association of Zimbabwe Travel Agents award for the best country or resort hotel for the second consecutive year.

The award is in recognition of the inn's efforts to create and maintain the highest standards of accommodation, service, cuisine and activities.

The inn is situated in a wooded valley not far from the main road to Nyanga from Mutare and Rusape and it is a sister inn to Pine Tree Inn in the same area.

"We are delighted to have won it and I am sure it is recognition of the effort made by management and staff at the inn to give our guests a memorable and enjoyable experience and acknowledgement of achievements in various areas of operation," said the general manager, Mr Martin Vaughan.

This year, the inn is celebrating its fifth anniversary following the official opening in 1997.

The inn offers the indigenous vegetation of the area, in contrast to exotic trees and vegetation found in other inns and hotels.

Wildlife population is growing rapidly at Inn on Rupurara with 28 eland and a number of sable, kudu, zebra and wildebeest.

South Africa's new found status as one of the world's safest destinations has lead to a rapid growth in tourist arrivals.

Major Airlines have been increasing their flights into South Africa. German Airliner Lufthansa has decided to almost double its flights to South Africa from 7 to 13 a week for the period between October and March next year.

South Africa's tourism industry will also receive a boost form the Earth Summit this year, cricket world cup next year and the relative good value for money due to the depreciating South Africa Rand.

Word is that a new 100 room luxury lodge will be built at the eastern entrance to Botswana's Chobe National Park, between Chobe Game Lodge and Chobe Chilwero Lodge. The new lodge will be named Debwana.

Jao Camp is located in Botswana's Okavango Delta. Here is the camp's July update:

It was a great month at Jao! There were bush brunches up at Handa with 5 hippo's entertaining us for the day, the bush dinners were amazing - as we were setting up one dinner the guests arrived with lion walking straight towards the dinner setting - we crouched down as they walked past us with the guests following!

Water levels in front of camp continue to drop. Boating trips to Hunda Island in the north-west will probably last for another two weeks before the water drops too low for the boats. Yet before this time the Hunda trips have been very successful. On one awesome trip we saw wild dogs, mating lion and three cheetah plus all the plains wildlife!

We've had elephants returning to the camp area at night for the palm nuts, and the hippo's are very active at night with their grunting and calling echoing across the floodplains. The wild dogs have been seen again after an absence of two weeks - the last sighting was up at Hunda which is great to see that they're still in the area. Leopard activity around the camp has been excellent with mating leopard been sighted in front of camp.

It is starting to get very warm .We have had a monthly average minimum temperature of 13 C and a maximum of 32 C. From around the 25th the temperatures have risen above the 30 C mark and with this we are encouraging all the guests to drink lots of water ,wear hats on all activities, and sunblock is to become a necessity. There has been no rainfall.

Kaparota Tented Camp is located in Botswana's Okavango Delta. Here is the camp's July report:

Wildlife sightings has been fantastic all through the month. The most exciting was when we spotted a leopard on an impala kill and a hyena chased it away. Then two wild dogs came but were afraid of the hyena eating. The wild dogs were then chased away from the kill by an angry elephant.

Another exciting sighting was a lioness riding on the back of a buffalo for about 70 meters as she couldn't bring it down. One morning when we were walking over the bridge to get to the parking area we heard a crunching noise and as we shone our flashlights there were six lions feeding on a kudu behind the vehicles!

There is not enough water for boating in motor boats at Kaparota Camp - but there is ample for mokoros. However, a few weeks back we hit a short lived snag as all our mokoroing areas were full of hippos. That has changed and we have a new mokoroing area.

Due to low water levels Duba Plains Tented Camp in Botswana will not be able to offer mekoro excursions this year.

Conservation Corporation's Maji Moto Camp at Lake Manyara in Tanzania will close as of September 30, 2002. The camp will be replace by the new Lake Manyara Tree Lodge.

Building of CC Africa's newest project will commence in October this year and is set to open on December 16th 2002. Situated deep in the heart of a mahogany forest, the new lodge will also be located in Lake Manyara's remote south-western region.

After extensive consultation with the Tanzanian National Parks Authority (TANAPA) and local conservationists, it was agreed that the new location was infinitely more preferable because it was less environmentally sensitive and therefore more in line with CC Africa's core values. For example, the current site lies directly in the elephant's migratory path and has more visual impact on park visitors than the new location.

"Located in northern Tanzania below the eastern wall of the Great Rift Valley escarpment, ten spacious tree-houses with open-air showers and bathrooms will be raised on stilts and cradled in the mahogany boughs. The décor will be a combination of bleached wood and woven makuti (palm fronds) in natural tones and textures," says Tanzanian Operation's Director Debra Fox.

The new lodge will be situated about a kilometer from the lakeshore with easy access to the water and will offer guests intimacy, romance, privacy and cool surrounds. It's a completely new lodge in a new location with a new look and a new name. Characterized by CC Africa classic design chic, this exclusive lodge will remain the only one in the small but diverse 2,000 hectare Lake Manyara National Park - an essential part of the classic Tanzanian circuit.

"We hope the close ties CC Africa has developed with the local Mayorka community will continue to flourish," adds Fox, "and that the community development projects we initiated will continue to prosper and grow. We look forward to ongoing support from the trade which will result in more revenue being ploughed back into the Park. Lake Manyara National Park has made a remarkable recovery post El Nino and offers excellent, diverse game and bird viewing with all roads now in good repair."

Robin and Jo Pope run several of Zambia's leading safari camps. Here is their weekly update;

The forces of nature are rather confusing at the moment! Whilst temperatures are slowly on the rise it looks like autumn outside! A good indication of the impending rise in mercury levels is the mass dumping of leaves by the beloved sausage trees. It is as though it is a constant drizzle of sausage tree leaves, and as soon as they hit the ground they dry out. Thick layers of crunchy leaves lie around the back of Nkwali! Last season's sausages are also falling (a good time to watch your head!) along with the tree's beautiful velvety crimson flowers that are starting to bloom. Along with flowers from the sausage trees and the Natal mahoganies there is much color around with the flame creepers in bloom. So it is just a riot of color at the moment - lots of dusty browns & grays dotted with greens and reds! At night we can hear the hippos hot footing it across the crunchy leaves, the fallen sausages being their target! Hippos LOVE sausages. As the dry season becomes hotter and available ground fodder diminishes this offering from the heavens comes at just the right time!

Along with the leaves falling the August winds have arrived with vengeance! These easterlies come in bursts during the day and night, whipping up everything that has dried out over the past few months - sand, dust, twigs, leaves and dried flowers. It is quite refreshing but it is difficult to keep those candles alight at the dinner table at night. It is also difficult to keep those idle pieces of paper in the office from flying across the room.

And now another lion story - The bedroom attendant staff at Nkwali were witness to this and nobody else (the guests were all out on afternoon drives at the time). Two female lions were seen chasing a herd of impala along the opposite riverbank. The scene was taking place directly across from the Nkwali bar. Two of the impala suddenly leapt for their lives down the riverbank and into the river. A crocodile was at the right place at the right time...it looked as though one of the impala leapt directly into the croc's mouth! The reptile made short work of the fleeing antelope and they quickly disappeared under the water. It wasn't all bad - the other impala deserves a medal for making it all the way to the other side of the river without any crocodiles getting in the way. It came up over the riverbank right next to the Nkwali bar and ran off to live another day.

A report by Daudi and Ross from Tena Tena - elephants have been moving in large numbers lately - a single herd of at least 90 were seen. It seems that they enjoy blocking the road from the river crossing every time a transfer is being taken! From the camp they have been watched crossing the river on a regular basis. Daudi had an interesting morning tea stop during a game drive...watching a mother elephant pushing her baby us the steep bank. It took some time but mission accomplished after lots of noise and support from the rest of the family!

Here is an update from Star of Africa, a new operation in Zambia which looks to be very promising:

At Sussi and Chuma at Victoria Falls the Zambezi River has been dropping rapidly. There have been a number of new islands to explore and to have picnics on. One resident elephant, Kris, has found the drive in restaurant very enticing as it has an array of palms and potted plants on the menu. This needless to say has been making the camp manager, Mark, very irate as he is having to replace these palms at a rate of about 2 a day. He has also been most accommodating about posing to give the photographic enthusiasts excellent opportunities of close up shots.

A pair of black-collared barbets have confidently made a their home in one of the posts on the walk ways.

At Lechwe Plains Tented Camp in Lochinvar - Following on from Star Of Africa's original agreement signed last year in August, this month saw the successful signing of the agreement between Star of Africa, the World Wide Fund and the Zambian Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) for an effective 50 years. Star Of Africa, who are the only operation in this park, are now committed in partnership with ZAWA and WWF to further develop the infrastructure of Lochinvar National Park. This includes roads, a new airstrip, park boundaries, visitors center as well as facilities for research.

Clients have had the opportunity to view the shy and timid water monitor who has laid her eggs in front of room number 3. It will be a long wait till the young emerge as these eggs will only hatch in about a years time. We have also had an influx of hundreds of pygmy geese to the lagoon in front of the camp.

The Crane Foundation of South Africa recently hosted their field trip at Lechwe Plains. They were welcomed by a flock of 28 wattled cranes and considering there are approximately 200 of these cranes in the whole of South Africa, this was quite a reception!

At Moshi Tented Camp in the Kafue National Park the airstrip is now ready having been cleared by civil aviation.

Star Of Africa are pleased to have Migration Air providing services to enable clients to fly to any of their lodges without the delay of waiting for scheduled flights. They have a number of single and twin engined aircraft and now have an office at the Livingstone Airport.

Pom Pom Tented Camp is located in Botswana's Okavango Delta and offers guests both water and land activities. For July the minimum temperature was 6 degrees Celsius and the maximum was 29. It does, however, get much colder than this in the open plains at night. The days were beautifully warm, with clear skies.

The flood level rose to 100cm in front of the lodge, but is now slowly dropping and is presently at 96cm. The crossing between the airstrip and the camp now has water in it, but is easily forded. The gathering of the birds into the reedbeds in front of camp at sunset is awesome. The noise of all those birds chatting about the days events and settling down for the evening is quite incredible.

The Pom Pom lion pride move in and out of the concession and the two Pom Pom Brothers seem to be coming back as they were seen on the 25th at the airstrip and again by Map Ives and guests, while they were on a walk, near Richards Folly.

The Nxabega Pride was seen a on a few occasions on the northern island. On the 22nd four females were seen feeding on a large male kudu near the old Mekoro Station. A male and female were seen pairing near Brian's Bath.

We had one group of guests who were lucky enough to see 6 lionesses and 2 subadult lions walking along the edge of one of the islands, from their mekoros.

Leopards were seen on 9 days this month. Six of these sightings were of the camp female (Sexy Suzie) in the vicinity of the camp and staff village. On the 19th she was witnessed feeding on a baboon very close to one of the manager's tents. On the 1st a male was seen lying, quite relaxed, on a termite heap near the staff village.

This was a great month for wild dog sightings. 4 dogs were seen regularly in the area between the 6th and the 12th. On the 8th they were seen chasing an impala into the lagoon in front of camp, where a crocodile made a rush at it. Luckily for the impala it escaped. On the 12th two of the dogs were seen regurgitating meat to the other 2 (subadults?)

Other interesting sightings include 2 sightings of honey badger, 5 sightings of serval, 1 sighting of caracal, 2 sightings of otter (one in front of the camp) and 4 sightings of side-striped jackal. An Aardwolf seems to be denning near the Pontoon Plains and was seen regularly.

Mombo Camp is located within Botswana's renowned Moremi Reserve. Here is the camp's July report:

We felt the first cool breeze of the approaching evening as we sat watching two magnificent male lions stretching out on the side of a termite mound surveying their land before them. In their view on the flood plain were at least 500 buffalo, red lechwe, zebra, tsessebe, giraffe, wildebeest, impala and a lone elephant bull. A genet, warming up for the evenings activities scurried through the grass. The busy honey badger noticed the lions for the first time and decided discretion was the better part of valor and waddled off out of sight. What we could see that the lions could not were two male cheetah warily lying up in the shade of the tree on the other side of the flood plane. The land was pulsating with life. So this was Mombo.

July is fast fading and along with it winter. The first signs of the approaching summer, namely shorts and light shirts have been spotted appearing first thing in the morning. The wildlife has been as magical as ever, in fact the above account was witnessed on a evening game drive. The first zebra foals have started to appear and as the land starts to dry out and the savannah to thin, many female mammals are swelling with their pregnancies. Two of the Ngonyama female cheetah's cubs have managed to survive the attentions of the ever present lions and hyenas and continue to present awesome viewing and hunting. Several sub adult male lions have been "culled" by the increasing aggression of the local dominant male lions, making way for the growth of the new batch of cubs in the Moporota and Mathata Prides.

Along with the abundant wildlife come the abundant guests of July. Mombo continues to be busy but more importantly continues to amaze our visiting guests. Comments such as "This is better than the wildlife documentaries" are commonly heard. And hopefully comments such as "this is a lifetimes' dream fulfilled" will continue to be heard.

Duma Tau Tented Camp is located in a 125,000 hectare private wildlife viewing concession adjoining Chobe National Park in northern Botswana. Here is the camp's July report:

Guests coming from the Delta up to the Linyanti must think that they have entered a whole new world..and in fact they have. The contrasts are part of what make the Linyanti a special place to be. The harshness of the environment in this area contrast deeply with the watery green of the Okavango camps. With higher temperatures, the little grass that there was close to the river has dried and the animals are moving into the area for water and grazing. The general game concentrations around the Linyanti River and the Zibadianja Lagoon area have been very high.

The elephants themselves are a stressed due to the dry conditions.This is normal for the time of year. So far we have avoided any serious encounters with them (touch wood). Our guides are very aware of their mood, and, according to our guests have handled close encounters with great calm and skill. We have seen that as long as they are given the space they need and we watch their behavior carefully, they are fine. Recent guests were treated to the wonderful sight of an elephant being born into this dusty world..its first fall into life from a bit of a height...landing on his head!!

The hides in the reserve have been fantastic for viewing in the midday heat with scores of animals coming to drink, as well as some great birding and up to 20 odd hippos lying in heaps in the sand. It seems we have our own border disputes up here, what with lots of gory hippo fights- the noises sometimes keeping guests awake through the night!

The Zib pack of wild dog have denned, apparently with eleven puppies...but with many a day's red setting sun we have been fortunate enough to see the pack hunting. One group of guests even saw them attempting to hunt a hippo calf. Needless to say they realized quite quickly the mother was somewhat out of their league, and they ran off after the more realistic target of kudu. On another occasion guests managed to capture on film the sequence of dogs chasing a large lechwe ram into the lagoon, where it swam into the waiting jaws of an even larger crocodile...much to the consternation of the dogs pacing up and down the shore!

There is also a den in the Savuti camp area, with two puppies which guests managed to view once, out in the open, but not again. History was made this month when guests left Mombo Camp early to come over to us for our dogs!!!!

Life at Duma Tau continues to be enchanting in many ways - it is a camp that calms the soul and excites the nerve endings, never failing to amaze us all with her hidden secrets and animal wonders.

Linyanti Tented Camp is located in the same 125,000 hectare private wildlife viewing concession adjoining Chobe National Park as Duma Tau. Here is the camp's July report:

With the incredibly large number of elephants it is a good place to be. The afternoon boat trips are proving to be very popular with all the ele activity and seldom do we get further than 1 km from camp. All the animals are still looking in good condition but I expect them to start showing signs of wear and tear as the vegetation gets eaten.

Little Vumbura Tented Camp is located in Botswana's Okavango Delta. Here is the camp's July report:

Yet another month has flown by. We were a little concerned that the weather would be freezing and thus would restrict certain activities. However we have only had one or two cold mornings - but nothing too unbearable and of course the most gorgeous days. Even on those cold days, we still succeeded in continuing with bush breakfasts and also our wonderful star deck dinners. The winter has actually been quite mild.

The wildlife has been awesome this month with one of the top ranking sightings - among the guests - being the leopard taking a sable calf down right in front of them - they saw the whole thing from start to finish. These particular guests also saw 3 different prides of lion in one morning. Two other extraordinary sightings were the honey badgers spotted on two different occasions.

The wildlife in camp has also been plentiful almost to the point of being scary. One or two elephants have taken refuge in the camp during the day and night. As you can imagine this causes serious "route-to-the-tent" planning etc. Today a lone buffalo also decided to pull into camp.

Gametrackers Botswana has been renamed Orient-Express Safaris, with the purpose of placing far more emphasis on individual camps - Eagle Island Camp, Khwai River Lodge and Savute Elephant Camp.

South Africa Leads World Tourism, August 18 2002

South Africa

is the best performing tourist destination globally, based on figures for the first five months of the year, says South African Environment Affairs and Tourism Minister Valli Moosa.

Moosa said the figures were particularly pleasing when other countries were having difficulty attracting visitors and fewer people were flying since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

For 2003 Wilderness Safaris will be introducing the “Xigera Mokoro Trail” in

Botswana

’s Okavango Delta. This will be a two night excursion for guests who want a genuine camping experience. There will be guaranteed departures, two or three times a week from May 1 to October 31 each year. There will be a maximum of eight guests per departure. Groups of five or more can book the trail exclusively at no extra charge. The trip will depart from Xigera Camp and guests will camp wild in small tents on remote islands in the Okavango with an experienced guide. Meals will be prepared around a fire. The trip will head in the direction of Mombo so the wildlife experience and walks should be good.

The wildlife viewing in

Botswana

this year has truly been the best we can remember for a long, long time. The combination of these wonderful private areas and slightly lower than average rainfall has meant that guest's wildlife viewing experience has been just superb all year. Mike Myers has just completed a 3 week safari through

Namibia

Botswana

and

Zimbabwe

and shot something like 4,000 different photo images, as there was so much to see. The Linyanti right now probably has our best wildlife viewing of all. Kings Pool, Duma Tau, Savuti and Linyanti Tented Camp are full of animals - lots of predators and thousands of elephants. We are big into "hides" these days and have a number of hides in the Linyanti area that have made wildlife viewing that much more exciting. At Kings Pool we have our new underground hide just meters from a busy waterhole that is proving to be a real winner - especially for people who like to be active in their "siesta" time. Savuti has a new "woodpile" hide that is located right next to the camp's waterhole and adventuresome guests are able to lie in the hide right next to the drinking elephants - often getting dribbled on by the elephants!

Chitabe and Chitabe Trails re-opened again on 1st August after the fire and according to Helene, Chitabe is looking and functioning even better than the old Chitabe. We were able to fix old design faults in the new layout of Chitabe's lounge and dining area. Chitabe also has a bigger and sexier honeymoon tent. With all the old, tall grass in the plains burnt off in the fire - and with lots of green shoots everywhere, the wildlife has pulled into the area in large quantities.

Namibia is having a record year this year. The combination of peace in Angola, more small classy camps - plus having about 12 flights daily from Johannesburg and Cape Town into Windhoek has helped. The country is flourishing!

Tubu Tree Camp is a new property located in Botswana’s 60,000 hectare Jao Concession in the Okavango Delta.

Temperatures slowly crept up towards the end of the month, with the average minimum for the month at 10 degrees and maximum at 28 degrees.

Wildlife has been good, with some particularly great sightings of wild dogs, which have been swimming the channels between Hunda Island and Kwetsani. Also a rare sighting of three leopards all together - a male and a female leopard with a cub close to camp. Many of the guests have been continuing their wildlife drives after dinner, giving them a chance to get close to some of the nocturnal animals including aardvark on a couple of occasions. A pangolin was also sighted here during a night drive on one occasion.

Activities this month have included wildlife viewing drives, walks and mokoros. Guests have been impressed by the amount of wildlife that can be seen whilst on our mokoro trips. We also did a couple of day trips on the boat, with a picnic on a small island.

Telephone numbers in Maun, Botswana are about to change. All Maun numbers will have an extra 8 inserted between the two 6’s.

Ndutu is now well into the dry season. For me this is a favorite time of year because of the clear cool nights and the dry season colors of yellow ochre, brown and gold. Water is a scarce commodity in these months and the animals tend to be seen by the water sources at the Marshes or Lake Masek. The lodge birdbath attracts hundreds of brightly colored lovebirds each morning as well as myriad of doves and this morning a Gabar goshawk came for a wash which was quite painful to watch as it took him a full ten minutes to actually get in. The small rocky depression in front of the lodge loved by the birds for the small amount of water we put out each morning is also much appreciated by the hyenas who drink whatever remains at night.

But for an elephant it’s only one slurp, thankfully for the birds though, they seem to be drinking from the pool at Big Marsh at the moment. However we did have one elephant visit the lodge recently, a particularly truculent bull (our old favorite DT) stood on the path to the staff quarters early one morning, refusing to let the staff come down to work. I could hear the commotion from the far end of the lodge. I’m not sure who enjoyed it the most, the elephant or the guys, who had to run a rather large circle around him, amongst much trumpeting before arriving to work.

The month of July is when all the staff are here to renew contracts, have meetings, play sports such as football, volleyball, darts and table tennis. It’s also a time when we give prizes for the elected worker of the year. The flying medical service also flies in for one of the twice-yearly health checks, where we all get a check up. As August comes some staff go off on leave, which means we’ll not be all together again until the high season just before Christmas. While we are all together we have monster pilau evenings when huge quantities of pilau rice (a favorite with the guys and myself) are cooked up, drinks are handed out, speeches are made, and funny stories regaled. Such as the recent experience of our mason and his mate. While retiling a bathroom in one of the rooms they were followed in by a rather large cobra. Pandemonium broke out as it chased them round the room. I think they were both as frightened as each other. To cut a long story short they locked themselves in the bathroom and wouldn’t come out. The rest of the staff thought this was hilarious, doubling up with laughter and offering no sympathy. The masons left by crawling through the bathroom window a feat I still cannot get over as my ample girth would never go through. As for the snake, we just left the door open all night and it was gone by morning. The next day they worked with the door closed!

Interesting sightings this month have been the large groups of eland seen on the plains, some of which are over 300 strong. 112 buffalo were seen at Lake Masek, which is very special, as we don’t often see buffalo in these numbers. Six lions walked past the lodge while everyone was having breakfast yesterday much to everyone’s delight. Three cheetahs also wandered in front of the lodge this week, the second time this month.

An interesting and eerie thing happened recently when a family group of elephants passed by the bones of a bull elephant that had died 4 months previously. They stopped to pick the bones up and then carried them off short distances. I’ve heard of this sort of behavior but never actually seen it. Well, to be honest, I didn’t actually see it as they had just moved off when I passed the bones. But the fresh elephant tracks, dung, the elephants themselves which were still nearby and the scattered bones bore evidence to something quite strange. The skull had been turned over and some bones had been carried off and laid in the long grass, leaving the imprints of the original resting place in the dust. It seems death has a special meaning for elephants. I’ve never heard of them moving or picking up the bones of other animals. The privilege of seeing these fine animals in the wild is always very moving. Elephants have been persecuted for thousands of years and only studied for decades so I’m sure we still have so much more to learn from these magnificent beasts.

Zimbabwe Elephant Conservation comes at High Cost, August 25 2002

Johannes Miyozi, a wildlife scout in the Nyaminyami Rural District in Zimbabwe, is no stranger to wildlife because daily he contends with the threat posed by a large wild animal population jostling with humans for limited living space.

He has spent his entire 33 years in the Nyaminyami, a remote area in the northwest of

Zimbabwe

, in a community that has learned to co-exist with wildlife, thanks to the Communal Areas Management Program for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE), which encourages sustainable use of natural resources in rural areas.

But for Miyozi's village, co-existence with the area's wildlife population has come at a high price. Twenty-one people living adjacent to Matusadona National Park were killed by elephants last year alone, he says.

The community is one of several rallying behind Zimbabwe's fight to have its ballooning elephant population remain on appendix two of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which allows hunting and limited trade in ivory and other elephant products.

Although

Zimbabwe

's elephants are presently on CITES' appendix two, the country is not allowed to trade in ivory and has accumulated significant stocks.

Zimbabwe

has 89,000 elephants, twice its environmental carrying capacity which is leading to widespread environmental destruction and desertification. But

Zimbabwe

will still face demands to upgrade the animals to appendix one, which outlaws trade in elephant products, at the next CITES meeting in Santiago,

Chile

, in November.

"What the people are saying is that hunting quotas should be increased and the communities should be allowed to benefit from legal ivory exports because the ivory is from natural mortality and not from poaching," Miyozi told reporters during a tour of the area two weeks ago.

Communities near the huge Hwange National Park are also calling for an increase in elephant hunting quotas, saying the present allocations are too small compared to the destruction that is wreaked by elephants in the area.

Michael Mathe, a councilor for Hwange rural district council noted: "The quota is too little for the community to benefit compared to the destruction we are enduring. What the people are saying is that the government should cull more of these animals so that the pressure we are facing may be reduced. We are not saying the animals should be killed at will, but we have more than we can manage."

Hwange National Park has 49,000 elephants which roam freely in nearby communal areas, destroying crops in the fields. In the 2001/2002 agricultural season, which has been hard hit by drought, elephants destroyed more than 90% of villagers' crops but communities were only permitted an annual hunting quota of six elephants.

"Those people who are against us trading in ivory should come and stay with us for only 30 days if they are serious about this," Mathe said. "Then I think from there they can appreciate why we are saying the hunting quotas should be increased and why we want to trade in ivory."

Zimbabwe

's proposal, which will be considered at the CITES meeting, involves the one-off sale of 10 tons of ivory and a subsequent annual quota of not more than five tons.

The money generated from the proposed ivory sales would be used to enhance elephant conservation, assist dirt-poor communities co-existing with the elephants and manage the country's accumulating ivory stocks.

Zimbabwe

last made a one-off export of 19.8 tons of ivory worth US $79 million to

Japan

in 1998, of which 6.2 tons was from CAMPFIRE. Since then,

Zimbabwe

has accumulated 18 tons of ivory from natural mortality.

The Santiago meeting comes at a time when Zimbabwean officials in the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, are acknowledging the increased poaching on wildlife producing farms. They noted that the problem was not on a commercial scale and did not affect the endangered animals.

However, there are fears that the rampant poaching could hamper Zimbabwe's efforts to keep elephants on CITES' appendix two. One of the requirements for remaining on appendix two is the effective management of the anti-poaching program.

Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management deputy director Vitalis Chadenga said the CITES battle lines had been drawn, with Kenya and India teaming up to demand the listing of Zimbabwe's elephant population on appendix one.

Southern Africa, which has more than 200,000 elephants, is the only region in the world that has its elephant in appendix two.

For one reason or another is seems that more travelers are arriving at their destinations only to find their bags have not arrived. Ultimate Africa suggests that all travelers check their bags to their first destination in Africa – not their final destination. As an example, if you are arriving into Johannesburg and continuing to Windhoek, only check your bag to Johannesburg. Upon arrival claim your bag and check it onto to Windhoek.

Air Kenya have now been permitted to include Tanzanian departure tax on their fare Kilimanjaro - Nairobi (as is done on most US tickets). From September 2002 no traveler's on Air Kenya will be allowed to pay immigration directly for their departure tax.

Here is a recent letter received from Tim and Caroline from Trench Safaris in Kenya:

At some point on every safari our guests become intrigued with the children of Kenya. Frequently their interest is pricked well before their safari begins; what, they ask, should they bring for the kids they might see along the way.

What to bring and how to distribute it has always been a complicated question. People visiting the “third world” are always keen to make some sort of contribution, and in particular to help the most vulnerable, the children. An apparently easy solution is to hand out gifts to them on the side of the road – sweets and pens they have been told, either by friends who have been on safari before them, or by the jolly presenters of travel shows. Though well intentioned, rarely do such actions have the intended effect of bringing that little ray of sunshine into a difficult world, and the only benefit is usually the salving of ones own conscience. For rather than helping it invariably teaches the children of Africa the demeaning benefits of standing by the side of the road, palms out, begging.

This paradox has always bothered us. We always ask our guests not to hand gifts out indiscriminately, but to hang on to them until we can find a worthy circumstance during the safari – a village where we can give the gifts to the elders for sensible distribution, a school near one of our camps, or a staff member with children who would benefit. But we always feel this is an unsatisfactory state of affairs.

So when two of our guests asked to visit a school in March this year we decided to try a new approach. We had passed Kinanie Primary School many times while mountain biking around the area, so were aware of its existence. One afternoon we walked down to introduce ourselves, have a look around, and to see if the powers that be were receptive to overseas visitors and their potential support.

We were bowled over by the reception, and the enthusiasm and gratitude with which they received our proposal of support, however limited it was. They invited us to visit whenever we wanted, and explained that since the school really had nothing, anything that we could offer would be of huge benefit to the students – pens, paper, chalk, black board rubbers, a clock – anything really. Oh, and the cook wanted an apron.

When the day of our visit arrived we set off from our house at around 10 AM, expecting to hand over the supplies, have a quick look around, and be home within the hour. We couldn’t have been further off the mark. In spite of it being a Saturday in the middle of the school holidays, the entire teaching staff, at least 250 students, a healthy representation of parents, the Chairman, Board of Governors and the local government Development Officer were all waiting to welcome us and give us the grand tour. It was overwhelming.

Our visit began as we were greeted by dribs and drabs of kids eagerly awaiting us along the track to the school. By the time we reached the compound our excited escort trailed along beside and behind us, all talking at once and trying to attract our attentions. We were met by the delegation of teachers, parents, governors and officials, and after much hand shaking we were given an extensive tour of the schools meager facilities. Our guests were full of questions, and the welcoming party so proud to explain how they managed against such odds, that the tour must have taken at least an hour. Yet when we had finished, the children, who had carried benches and desks out onto an open area behind the main class block, were still sitting happily in the blazing sun waiting for us. They had set up a row of tables and their best chairs on a raised area, and like visiting dignitaries we were seated facing the expectant crowd. We were offered fizzy pop, and the speeches began.

For the next hour and a half we were given the most tremendous welcome. First the Chairman of the Board of Governors spoke at length. He explained to the children who we all were and where we had come from, how we had got here, and why we were visiting. He explained that though we felt we had brought very little, it would make a tremendous difference to the school and the lives of the children of the area, and for this they were very grateful.

The Chairman was followed by the Head Teacher and then the Community Development Officer, both of whom also had a great deal to say! Then, to our horror, it was our turn to offer a few words! Thankfully this turned out not to be too onerous a task, as all Kenyans love a speech, whatever its content, and we were all applauded enthusiastically. Finally the school choir, whose accompaniment was a plastic container hit with a stick, serenaded us, and we all danced (which, for some of us lacking the African wiggle, was far more stressful than the speech making!).

Three hours after our arrival, having at last handed over the school supplies to the Head Mistress, the assembly broke up…and chaos ensued. For amongst the many goodies that our guests had brought with them, was a volleyball, and proceedings were brought to an abrupt end as the ball was “spiked” into the crowd. As 250 excited children (and quite a few adults), many of whose only experience of a “ball" had been a bundle of polythene bags tied together with string, lunged, one of the largest volleyball/rugby games ever played began.

So ended our day at the school, and as we wandered back across the river we were again accompanied by our trail of children, shouting and pulling the hairs on our legs, until one by one they drifted off down paths into the fields, and home. A day to remember.

Since our first visit to Kinanie we have continued to try and support the school as best we can. Though we sponsor one of the children, Rose, an orphan who could not otherwise attend, generally we prefer to assist more with equipment and infrastructural needs that will benefit all students. If you would like to lend a hand please send us a note and we will let you know the options. Or come and see for yourselves…

Robin and Jo Pope are two of Zambia’s leading tourism personalities. Here is their weekly update:

Animal behavior has been the focus of the week with some interesting and
unexpected performances delighting guests and staff alike. Daudi took some
Tena Tena troops on an early morning drive and as they drove under a tree noticed three sun squirrels on a branch alarm calling. The squirrels were all looking down which drew our attention to a slender mongoose sitting on a termite mound. Suddenly the three squirrels scurried down the tree and chased the slender mongoose up into the next tree! Quite unexpected! Later in camp a puku could be seen daring to cross the river channel. It made it half way across then leaped around and rushed back to where it had started, to the safety of dry ground. A crocodile could be seen at the spot where the puku did the about-face!

And an amusing tale from Jason Alfonsi at Nsefu. He had taken his guests, who had just completed a Mupamadzi walking safari, on an afternoon drive and they were at the Big Bend (upstream from Bucca). They were watching a group of elephant who had been at the river drinking and then looked as though they were going to pass through the ebony grove. Jason drove into the ebony grove and waited. Suddenly the baboons started alarm calling. Jason followed the calls, which led them all back to the river, but they couldn't find anything. Then the vervet monkeys started chatting downstream so the vehicle was maneuvered around a big bush to get a better view of what was going on but still there was nothing. By then it was decided that this was the spot for sundowners as the sunset blended well with the view of the elephants, who were now on the river sand below. As the essential gin and tonics were downed the eles moved up the bank and behind the big bush - quite close to the vehicle! Suddenly they heard a leopard growl and it shot out of the bush in front of the guests. It looked at them, growled, and with a rather embarrassed "well, what were you looking at" stare, walked off to lick its wounded pride! Poor thing.

Lots of other lovely sightings this week with Jason A and guests also spotting a purple heron at Zebra Pans and an alpine swift on the Nkwali pontoon. The alpine swift is a rare migrant passing through the South Luangwa on its way to South Africa. It stops for one or two days in this area before it is gone again! The Nkwali eles have also been having a wonderful time in the lagoon. One teenager was seen in a state of bliss lying flat in the mud, rolling around and completely smothering itself!

Orient Express Safaris (formerly Gametrackers Botswana) recently sent through their July report:

Water levels at Eagle Island Camp now stand at 124cm. Although the water has come up slightly this level is very close to what we can expect to be the peak for the year. The water in the main Boro channel continues to spill out over into the flood plains and Eagle Island is once again separated from the mainland.

At Khwai River Lodge the Khwai River is flowing fairly strongly and water levels have risen as a result. This source of permanent water ensures that game viewing in the region is nothing but superb.

As is typical for the winter months and more especially this time of the year, leaves on the majority of our trees are raining down. The grass is also taking a beating from the grazing animals especially in areas of close proximity to water. The sparse winter vegetation obviously has its benefits when it comes to game viewing, as it is easier to see certain of the shy animals the region has to offer.

All the camps have enjoyed some fantastic wildlife viewing over the past month. It has however been Khwai River Lodge that has been the pick of the three. The attraction of the permanent waters of the Khwai River have seen numerous species of plains game (buffalo, zebra, impala, giraffe, wildebeest, etc) and other herbivores (roan, sable, lechwe and elephant) congregating in the area. With a potential meal never very far away the predators have also been very prominent. Great sightings of lion, leopard, cheetah, cerval and African wildcat have been recorded. It also seems that the resident lion prides are in some sort of conflict, as our guests recently witnessed a territorial clash of the big cats. It seems that three males may be the cause of the savage contests that have been taking place.

At the other two camps good game viewing has also been reported. At Eagle Island huge herds of buffalo have been very prevalent. The herds have numbered as many as 1,000 head and on one occasion our guests on a motor boat activity were lucky to view the resident lion pride swimming across the Boro channel in order to track the huge bovid's dust cloud off in the distance.

As has now almost come to be the norm for the region, the birdlife throughout the camps is awesome. With the exception of the migrant birds it would almost be impossible to list all the birds seen in this report, some of the better sightings however have included; Pel's fishing owl, purple gallinule, crowned crane, wattled crane and Meyers parrots.

With the close predator activity, the avian garbage men have also been very hard at work. Numerous vulture species, marabou storks and some of the eagle species are never very far away riding the hot air thermals high up into the sky in search of a bite to eat. As soon as a potential food source is detected the birds literally drop out of the sky, kamikaze style. These daring dives are one of the signs the keen eyes of our guides search for, indicating some form of action on the ground.

With the exception of the ever-present Nile crocodiles on the banks of the Khwai river and Boro channel no other reptile sightings have been recorded.

Guests at Khwai River Lodge were recently treated to a once in a lifetime sighting. The two creatures in question were animals that are both renown for their very shy behavior, the leopard and the pangolin, and the result of their meeting ended in what simply put, could be termed a bush soccer match. All reports indicate that the leopard had every intention of eating the pangolin as it stalked the much smaller, almost prehistoric looking creature. It seems however that the pangolin had other ideas and as soon as the leopard pounced it simply rolled up into a ball, the armor-plated scales protecting it from the spotted felines assault. This seemed to signal the start of the game that lasted countless minutes as the leopard proceeded to kick the poor pangolin in all directions. Eventually the lager predator gave up and left its "toy" for greener pastures and a better chance of some dinner.

The Cape Pangolin (Manis temminckii) generally measures over a meter and weighs around 18kg. Pangolins eat mainly ants and termites and this tends to govern the animals distribution. The pangolin can be highly selective especially favoring formicid ants. The gestation of the animal is 135 days with a single youngster being born in July or August. A hissing sound is associated during mating. The pangolins most vulnerable part is its belly. The pangolins scales are very sought after for traditional medicines and magic and may ultimately lead to this animals demise. The pangolin is solitary, mainly active at night for between 4 and 6 hours at a time.

Responsible tourism might not be a useful marketing term, but it is a policy that the South African travel industry wants to see being taken seriously.

This week global tourism bodies meet in Cape Town to finalize a charter on responsible tourism, which will be showcased at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.

Tourism for development is a widely-touted argument, with tourism being one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the world, according to the United Nations. Indiscriminate development, however, has raised serious concerns because of the resultant ecological damage, and the destruction of the aesthetic appeal of the natural environment.

South Africa, one of the world's leading tourist destinations, has seen the benefits of tourism in terms of economic growth. The World Travel and Tourism Council has estimated that the sector would account for 3% of SA's gross domestic product this year.

In 2002 the tourism industry is estimated to employ 6.9% of South Africa's labor force, which will rise to 7.9% by 2012.

But nobody wants South Africa to follow the path of tourist trap destinations. The rapid growth of tourism in South Africa has spurred the local tourism industry to adopt guidelines to ensure the path of tourism development in the country is one that is sustainable and responsible.

Key elements of responsible tourism are using resources in a sustainable way, limiting damage to the environment and involving local communities in tourism development. Dr Mike Fabricius, head of the Western Cape Tourism Board, said the challenge was to put responsible tourism into practical terms to show tour operators and developers that it made economic sense to adopt a strategy of responsible tourism.

Fabricius said SA was competing against leading tourist destinations on the basis of a brand built around issues of environmental care and respect for cultural heritage.

It was important to manage that brand, through responsible tourism guidelines, to prevent it being overrun by commercial interests.

The Cape Town conference will consider practical ways in which tourism development can alleviate poverty, with international delegates being taken on visits around Cape Town to see how responsible tourism is being applied in the city.

"We want to encourage tour operators to interface with the community, to allow tourists, for example, to buy goods from the locals or eat in the community. This requires the community to become involved in the process too," said Fabricius.

Hotel development also has an element of responsible tourism, said Fabricius, in terms of its waste, energy and water resource management. "There is a new generation of travelers who have an awareness of the environmental and cultural issues of the places they visit. There is increasing pressure on tour operators to look at these issues and to bring local communities into the process," said Fabricius.

The on-site visits this week were devised to give tour operators the chance to see responsible tourism in operation, so they could introduce similar initiatives. "We need to get the market to sell it and the locals involved," said Fabricius.

Government is particularly keen on using booming tourism to develop black empowerment.

South Africa’s Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin said earlier this year his department would institute measures to support small businesses in a number of sectors, including tourism, by facilitating access to venture capital.

The 250 international delegates in Cape Town will publish a declaration on responsible tourism, which will be used by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) as its global tourism agenda for the next 10 years.

Dawid de Villiers, the deputy secretary-general of the WTO, said his group would emphasize the role tourism could play in alleviating poverty. A study conducted by the WTO revealed that in 49 of the least developed countries, tourism was a major economic activity.

"But in many cases, the tourism potential was not being realized because of a lack of infrastructure. We need international companies and financial institutions to bring in investment and infrastructure to these countries," said De Villiers.

The WTO will promote its initiative, called Step (Sustainable Tourism to Eliminate Poverty) at the summit next week.

But as with any set of guidelines, actions speak louder than words, and the challenge for the industry is to make those involved accountable to its ethical standards.

The winners and finalists in this year's Imvelo Responsible Tourism Awards in

South Africa

serve to illustrate that

South Africa

is taking a leadership role in promoting responsible tourism.

Finalists: Ufudu Fly Fishing Experience, Phinda Private Game Reserve, Malealea Lodge and Pony Trek Center, Sun City, Shangana Cultural Village.

Best contribution towards natural environment program: Phinda Private Game Reserve.

Finalists: Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, Ocean Blue Adventures, University of the Western Cape.

Finalists: Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, Lion Sands Private Game Reserve, Sun City

Finalists: Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, Phinda Private Game Reserve, Simonskloof Mountain Retreat.