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Ultimate Africa travel and wildlife news archive

January 2002

Botswana Rates Higher than Australia!, January 6 2002

The best performing economy in terms of investor perception in Africa was Botswana, which had a B rating and a country risk score of 25 according to the latest ratings by the influential Economist Intelligent Unit (EIU). Botswana even outperformed several developed countries such as Australia, which scored 26 and also had a B rating.

Duba Plains December Update, January 6 2002

The wildlife viewing in Botswana's Okavango Delta during the November to April period is as good as the rest of the year - if not better! The reason for this is that the annual floodwaters subside and there is so much more savannah / open plains to traverse. Duba Plains boasts the highest concentration of lion in Africa. In late December guests were seeing over 20 different lions each day without even trying to cover lots of the territory to see the other 40 or so lion in the area.

For December the weather was fantastic with an average maximum temperature of 34C and a minimum of 22C. Only seven rainy days were experienced with a total of 79mm.

After the rains at the end of November, many of the elephants moved out for two weeks. However after one week of no rain, the elephants returned in full force with herds of up to 200 being seen. Herds of 50+ elephants are now seen regularly on every drive. After the early rains, the grass is a beautiful, vivid and bright green - and in some plains is fairly high - in others it is only a couple of inches. December again proved to be the best month for leopard viewing at Duba, with many great sightings of leopards out in the floodplains. With the water levels at the lowest since the flood arrived back in April, cheetah made a welcome return. Generally guests do not see cheetah at Duba Plains due to the huge number of lions and hyenas, and the lack of impala. However, the first cheetah sighting was spectacular, an adult male was seen swimming through some channels and then chasing down a young lechwe right out in the open. Since then a female cheetah has been seen on a couple of occasions. The buffalo herd started dropping their young, only to loose them all to lions and hyenas. They have put the calving on hold with no new babies born, but there are still many heavily pregnant buffalo in the herd.

Lion viewing has again been fantastic, with sightings every day of the month, averaging 16 lions per day and a total of 71 pride sightings over the month. The highlight of the month has to be the arrival of the Pantry pride cubs. All five lionesses of this pride are lactating, but only one female has shown guests her cubs, so far. Three cubs of +/- 6 weeks were seen on December 14, and regularly since then. They have settled down really well and keep everyone well entertained playing with the mother and each other. The Pantry pride has rarely been seen together as the lionesses individually tend to their cubs. Duba guides expect them to re-group mid January as the lionesses introduce their cubs to the rest of the pride. Some lucky guests were treated with the lions strolling past the front of camp while enjoying an outside shower. Most however chose not to finish their showers.

Life has not been as good for the Tsaro pride (14) as the buffalo herd seems to have worked out there territory boundaries, and have subsequently been spending more time in the Pantry prides territory. With 14 big lions in the pride, a lot of food is required, with buffalo making up the majority of their diet. This has resulted in some fine viewing as the pride has to spend more time hunting the small game such as warthog. They have also been pushing into neighboring pride territories in search of the buffalo. One clash saw the Tsaro pride and Pantry pride battle it out in front of camp. Most of the interaction involved roaring, with the 28 month old Tsaro males doing most of the chasing. Fortunately no serious injuries occurred. However the two Duba Boys (who control the whole area) arrived and picked on the Tsaro pride. A few of the young males got a hiding and one young female had her tail broken. All ended well as the Tsaro pride were chased back. Since then they are making do with warthogs within their territory.

The Duba Boys continue to be completely dominant with few challengers showing up. They have been chasing the two 4-5 year old Skimmer pride males around, resulting in the Skimmer pride moving north of Paradise pan. Most sightings have seen them sitting on the edge of the water looking across the channel at us. They did venture across once to catch some buffalo and chase the Tsaro pride out of their territory. Another reason for their shift in territory could be the last of the three females to have cubs is lactating. She was seen swimming back across the channel, so hopefully her cubs are out of harms way on the other side of the channel.

Still no sign of the two Skinny Tau or the Old Vumbura pride. If the water continues to dry up, Duba guides expect these lions to make an appearance. Other wildlife seen included tsessebe, lechwe and warthog with babies, genets, springhares hyena, African wild cats and others. Birding continues to be fantastic, with two rarities for the area thrown in : Black-tailed Godwit and Ruddy Turnstones.

New Years Eve saw us all sitting with the Pantry pride cubs at 12:00 AM, followed by champagne around a fire out in the middle of the bush at a hippo pool with the full moon above. A great way to end a wonderful year at Duba and to begin yet another.

Nkwali Camp Holiday Update, January 6 2002

The last week of December has been wonderful at Nkwali Camp in Zambia - very relaxed with great food and great company. Carols on the bridge on Christmas Eve were very lively with honking hippos joining the local choir singing! Zambian staff from each lodge sang a few traditional carols - their singing voices no match for anybody else's. Then a round of carol singing by all at sunset, glass of wine in one hand and a candle in the other - perfect! The weather was kind throughout!

Christmas Day saw lots of merriment from the moment the smoked salmon and bubbly came out mid-morning!! Lots of present giving and relaxation before a very long lunch commenced in the early afternoon. A huge table was set up under the bar roof and it was quickly covered by a mountain of food, glasses, wine, crackers and streamers, plus some amazing centerpiece decorations made of local flora materials. The afternoon became evening with everybody joining in with various games and enjoying a lightening show (as we did last year) in front of the camp - with another drink in hand!

The weather held out during the whole day and early evening. Then everyone was woken up in the middle of the night by an impressive thunderstorm and very heavy rain. The winds picked up, making the rain fall vertically as well as horizontally...about 3 inches falling in just 2 hours! Sunrise, and an early morning gamedrive was stopped in its tracks by a fallen tree...and then another.. and then another! It quickly became apparent that what seemed like a mini-tornado moved through the area around Robin's bridge. A trail of fallen trees in a neat line on both sides of the road was evidence of what could only have been SERIOUSLY strong winds! Grown trees were uprooted and had fallen flat on the ground, others were snapped off at the base of their huge trunks and many others bore the loss of enormous branches. It was quite bizarre as the damage was confined to only one area. Apart from that all the ground was a sea of water which hadn't yet seeped though the soil. Further away from camp a stream flowed across the road which brought a few baby crocodiles with it and I saw a freshwater crab with red colorings in a pond! It was a big surprise to see a crab in the bush!! Also a bright blue-headed tree agama (a lizard for those of us who don't know!) on a tree stump - a very rare thing to see!

With all this rain I can report that the river is rising. On Boxing Day it only took about two hours for the river to seep over some of the sandbank and connect with water on the other side! The river is now steadily flowing which is a great sight after all this time. In the space of three days the river has risen approximately three quarters of a meter and there is not much left of the sandbank in the middle!

Wildlife viewing has been excellent. Nkwali staff went on a picnic to Chichele plains recently and set up their picnic spot with a large group of elephant way off in the distance. Enroute they came across a lion kill - three lioness devouring what was left of a hippo with four lion cubs nearby. These are the same cubs that were spotted two weeks ago. They were now a bit larger and more inquisitive, spending part of their time suckling and the remainder playing. Whilst they were playing one of the adult females dozed near the carcass, keeping away the vultures who were keen to get their share of the feast. Yesterday the same pride were spotted on the road with a fifth (and much younger) cub. The younger cub didn't want to lose sight of its mother while the other four happily played on the road, rolling down a small slope and attempting to climb small trees with little success. Each one would get half way up the trunk and realize that they were stuck and plopped quickly to the ground again!

There were many other remarkable sightings in the park including a group of more than 15 Thornicrofts giraffe walking through the bush together! It is quite rare to see them in such large numbers and the sighting was very impressive. On coming across a couple of mating lions, suddenly right next to them appeared a monitor lizard killing a snake! We also came down a road to a stream, which was flowing over a concrete drift. Suddenly a number of large catfish jumped up onto the drift and wriggled across the concrete slab, against the current, and shot off the other side! It was a delight to watch! They are not like salmon moving upriver to spawn though - these catfish were most likely just delighted for the rain after having buried themselves into the ground for months!

So along with incredible bird spotting in a very lush and green South Luangwa, the year draws to a close.

Solar Eclipse Sparks Early Bookings, January 13 2002

Camps and lodges in the north of the Kruger National Park are, in many cases already fully booked ahead of an expected solar eclipse in the area during December 2002.

Kruger National Park spokesman William Mabasa reportedly said that strong international interest in the December 4 eclipse had resulted in overbooking for the Mopani and Shingwedzi camps, with only very limited accommodation available in nearby Letaba. However, the neighboring Sirheni, Boulders, Punda Maria and Shimuwini camps still have a reasonable amount of accommodation open but bookings are coming in fast.

Acting KNP director Joep Stevens said the scheduled completion of a 30 million Rand luxury tented camp at Lower Sabie, renovations at the popular Pretoriuskop camp and a new day visitors center with swimming pools just outside Skukuza at the end of the month would further boost the park's capacity during the run-up to the solar eclipse.

New African Elephant Species Overlooked, January 13 2002 Scientists admit that they have overlooked an entire African elephant species, a discovery with far-reaching implications for conservation efforts. "Molecular evidence reveals that forest and savanna dwelling elephants, now lumped together to form a single species called Loxodonta africana, are in fact two separate species.

These findings come from a study of the genetic variations in 195 animals in 21 different populations by Dr Stephan O'Brien of the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, USA, and Dr Nicholas Georgiadis of the Mpala Research Centre in Kenya. Instead of assuming that 500 000 elephants exist in Africa, it now seems that there are many fewer of each kind, and "they are both much more endangered than we presumed," Dr Georgiadis said.

Pilansberg Airport Gains International Status, January 13 2002

Tourism in South Africa's North West Province has been given a major boost following the restoration of the Pilansberg Airport as an international entry point from this year. The status was temporarily acceded to the Mafikeng Airport until the Pilansberg facility was upgraded to meet international standards. The Mafikeng Airport was accorded international status in 1994.

As a result of an increased influx of tourists in the Pilansberg-Sun City region, the provincial government decided to transfer international status to the Pilansberg airport. The North West province attracts about 400,000 domestic and international tourists every year. According to the North West transport department spokesperson James Moche, the Pilansberg Airport will start operating in the next few months. "The airport start was expected to create economic spin offs and increase the number of tourists visiting the province," said Mr. Moche.

Durban to Battle "Porn Nappers" for Tourism Website, January 13 2002

Tourism authorities in Durban, South Africa are still smarting about the "porn napping" of their internet website. The site, www.durbanexperience.com, was taken over by pornographers on Monday and it may take legal action to get it back, said Jenny Muil, managing director of ePages, the company that designed the site.

Most South African internet providers have already adjusted their servers to transfer visitors from the offending site to the tourist page. The address is one Durban's premier tourism sites. Web surfers to the offending site are now greeted by raunchy images of "Tina, a 19-year-old student from New York", instead of being linked to promotional information about Durban.

Muil said the pornographers took over the site after its domain name expired. "The term 'hacking' has been used to describe what happened -- which is technically incorrect," she told Sapa. "Hacking occurs when someone gains unauthorized access to a server and physically changes pages on a website. In this case, the website has not been hacked and there has been no breach of security." said Muil.

"We are incensed that these people can be allowed to take high profile domains and use them to peddle pornography. We have taken all of the necessary steps to restore control of the domain to Durban."At the request of ePages, Wayne Lurie of Garlicke & Bousfield, one of the country's leading authorities on e-business law, has offered to take on the case on behalf of the City of Durban. "Getting a domain back can be a drawn out process," said Lurie. "Firstly we will contact the people responsible for taking the domain and request that they relinquish it to its rightful owners within seven days. If this does not succeed, we will contact the dot com domain authority, ICANN, explain the situation and request that they rule on the case. This procedure typically takes 60 days," he said.

The Durban Experience site has a number of domains registered, the primary domain being www.durban.org.za. Anyone who accesses the page using the www.durban.org.za or the www.durbanexperience.co.za address will see the correct site. "The only domain affected is the durbanexperience.com domain, one of the minor domains pointing to the site," Muil said. "We have removed all references we can find to the durbanexperience.com domain and have contacted international sites using this name as a hyperlink to request that they change it."

Muil said tourists and religious sites were frequently targeted by pornographers because of their popularity. While not strictly illegal "porn napping" is considered unethical.

"Noah's Ark" to Translocate 200 Elephants to Angola, January 13 2002

Wildlife experts plan to ship 200 elephants and 100 other wild animals from southern Africa to Angola to help restock the country's war-ravaged game parks as part of the ongoing "Noah's Ark" operation.

Kissama Foundation spokesman Professor Wouter van Hoven said the new operation would use cargo ships and amphibious landing craft instead of giant cargo planes to keep costs down and increase the numbers of animals moved. The elephants will come from Botswana, while giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and ostriches, amongst others, will come from South Africa.

All the animals are destined for Quicama National Park, near Angola's capital of Luanda. Relocating animals to Quicama has been under way for two years, but earlier shipments were limited to eight elephants per Ilyushin-76 cargo plane. Only 100 have been moved to the new park because of the expenses involved.

The Kissama Foundation was founded in 1996 by a group of South Africans and Angolans wanting to conserve Angola's natural resources.

Killer Hyenas in Malawi, January 13 2002

Man-eating hyenas have killed at least six people on the outskirts of Malawi's capital Blantyre since Christmas. Villagers say the hyenas in the area normally attack goats and chickens, but flee when people approach. However, these particular hyenas have no fear of people, even breaking down doors to attack people in their sleep.

Wildlife authorities have been instructed to kill the animals.

Hard Rain Triggers Flood Warning, January 13 2002

Floods could hit parts of southern Africa again this year as experts predict above normal rainfall in many areas until at least the end of February. "The latest that we have now is that a great many parts of the sub-region will experience quite substantial rainfall" said Bradwell Garanganga, climate expert with the Drought Monitoring Centre (DMC), a project of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). "The rainfall pattern is from normal to above normal rain" he said.

The variation in rainfall across the region, combined with various other factors, could lead to severe flooding in some areas, according to a recent report circulated by SADC's Regional Remote Sensing Unit (RRSU) and USAID's FEWS NET.

Zambia Wildlife Authority to Revamp National Parks, January 13 2002

The Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) is to embark on a five-year strategic plan to revamp the country's national parks and wildlife management areas.

ZAWA has appealed to donor organizations to help upgrade roads in the parks to enable access to lodges. The conservation body also intends to link Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park to the Kafue National Park.

The conservation authority is also set to strengthen law enforcement activities in all protected areas. The World Bank, NORAD, and Frankfurt Zoological Society are assisting in the rehabilitation of the national parks.

Zambia to Get Modern Airport Equipment, January 13 2002

Zambia's National Airports Corporation Limited (NACL) will this year receive modern airport equipment worth Euro 10 million. NACL managing director Chileshe Kapwepwe said the equipment, which is meant for international airports would improve passenger facilitation. "This will include new check-in counters, lifts and escalators, new passenger steps and baggage carts as well as fire and rescue equipment, all valued at Euro 10 million," she said.

Kapwepwe said renovations to the terminal building at Livingstone International Airport were successfully completed last year. "We are also shifting our attention to Ndola airport which requires a new terminal building to replace the old one and this way we can better respond to customer expectations," she said.

Kapwepwe said they would like to compete favorably with other airports in the region to boost the tourism industry. She said they undertook a customer care survey last year, which critically examined the level of services offered to passengers. "Our findings were that customer services were rated as good," Kapwepwe said. "Demands by our customers for seamless procedures which allow them to pass through our airports with minimum inconvenience are in line with the sophistication of our industry."

Zambia Inaugurates President, January 13 2002

It's the start of a new year and Zambia has a new President! The ruling party's candidate was returned to office, and The Hon. Mr. Levy P. Mwanawasa was recently inaugurated as President of the Republic of Zambia. Everyone is very pleased that the election is over and the nation can look forward to business as usual.

Chitabe Camp December Report, January 13 2002

Chitabe Camp is located in Botswana's Okavango Delta / Moremi region. Here is the camp's December 2001 summary:

The average daytime temperature of 36 degrees, with rainfall reaching 84mm for the month.Chitabe's wild dog pack returned in the middle of the month after not being seen for several weeks. Guides saw only 6 dogs and are not sure of the whereabouts of the other two. They are keeping their eyes and ears peeled! Recent guests had a great sundowner stop when they had the pack of wild dogs come and join them at the waterhole just as the sun was setting in a dramatic summer sky. Guests enjoyed several lovely cheetah sightings just before Christmas, with a mother and two sons posing on termite mounds in the morning light - a photographers' dream.

The breeding herds of elephant have started to move to other areas, but still made special appearances throughout the month. Lion sightings have been pretty erratic, with the dominant males still nurturing their bruised egos as they are making a valiant attempt to adjust to being usurped from their Chitabe thrones.

One of the lactating pride lionesses has chosen the Chitabe island as her refuge for her three cubs and roams the island for food rendering a family of bushbuck on a 24 hour alert!

Guests enjoyed very festive Christmas eve and day, with lots of singing, eating and being merry! There were quite a few repeat guests during December

Lioness Protects Oryx in Samburu, January 13 2002

A lioness has struck up friendship with an oryx calf, escorting and protecting it around a Kenyan wildlife reserve, in a spectacle, which has puzzled wildlife experts. The full grown lioness has been roaming Kenya's Samburu Game Reserve in the company of a Beisa Oryx calf, which it would ordinarily have killed for a meal. Tourists and game workers have watched in disbelief as the lioness and the frail brown baby oryx walk side by side and lie down to rest - with all the intimacy of a mother and calf - at the foot of Koitogor hills, near the Serena Samburu.

The lioness has been protecting the calf from other predators and at times walks watchfully behind it as it would with its own cubs. Game workers have witnessed the lioness frighten off a leopard which had been stalking the calf.

A newspaper team that followed the pair for two days saw the lioness lie down to rest in the hot afternoon sun and the oryx curl up casually beside it. At one point, the lioness went hunting and returned shortly afterwards to keep watch on the grazing calf.

"It's incredible. This is either an extraordinary case of maternal instinct or simply the eighth wonder of the world," remarked Serena Samburu's Herman Mwasaghua, one of the first to spot the unusual pair.

No two animals could be more different in behavior and feeding habits. Lions are voracious carnivores and commonly prey on browsers like antelopes, water bucks and zebras. The oryx is a gentle herbivore, which survives on grass and leaves and spends much of its time dodging predators such as big cats, mainly by its speed.

The lioness sleeps for up to 16 hours a day and is active for only eight while the oryx spends 65% of its time browsing. Lions rely largely on their sight while oryx survives by its sharp sense of smell.

Yet the Samburu pair have stuck together for close to 15 days, wandering in the wild in easy friendship. The lioness is said to have taken over the calf when it frightened off its mother at birth. The two animals appeared to be badly starved in the early days of their friendship but soon settled to their separate feeding routines. Serena nature expert Vincent Kapeen thinks the lioness spared the calf when its mother fled "because all animals have a special instinct to care for the young." It took a liking to to the calf, possibly because a baby oryx has the same brown color as a lion cub at the time of birth and just before maturity. "The lioness became fond of the calf, maybe because it had lost the company of its pride and was feeling lonely. What is baffling is why the relationship has lasted so long," said Mr. Kapeen. "We don't know what will happen when the oryx grows horns, if they will still stay together."

Samburu County Council rangers have ruled out separating the two, preferring to let nature take its course. Yesterday, a grown oryx watched apprehensively from a distance as the lioness and the baby oryx walked together.

The spectacle has attracted a growing stream of nature lovers, tourists and Samburu villagers.

The oryx is a big antelope with beautiful black and white marks on its head. There are two other varieties, the fringed eared oryx and the Gemsbok. Both sexes have long, almost straight horns, the females being more slender.

South African Airways Upgrades Continue, January 20 2002

Journalists that attended the viewing of South African Airways' (SAA) new lie-flat seats in Business class on board the airlines 747-400's have been passing favorable comments. "One can get used to this!" and "I am completely bowed over!" were some of the comments made by journalists who attended the viewing recently.

The impressive new seats on the Johannesburg to London route were installed on the 747-400's as part of the Millennium upgrade project and SAA's President/ CEO, Andre Viljoen s strategy of "Perfecting the Basics". The seats are offered on the first daily scheduled 747-400 flights between Johannesburg and London and London and Johannesburg.

Covered in a striking blue fabric, the seat reclines to an almost 180 degree angle , which is "as comfortable as one's own bed", with a headrest that can adjust to six different positions and lumber support.

The lie-flat seats are 27.5 inches wide over the shoulder and headrest areas and 21 inches between the armrests. To make space for these fly beds, it was necessary to remove 21 seats from the aircraft.

With individual reading lamps that have four different settings, a laptop connection and video on demand, passengers can choose their own audio listings to create a CD to listen to for the duration of the flight or a play selection of video games. All this and the passengers get 15 different movies and numerous shorts to watch on their own personal television.

Junior passengers are not also forgotten as they have their own special kiddies channels, " Just Plane Fun", with entertainment specially chosen for those long flights.

"The lie-flat seats in Business Class and the seating in the First Class compare well with the best in the world. If we do not stay competitive as far as our products offering goes, we will be the masters of our demise", says Executive Vice- President responsible for Global sales, Voyager and Network, Richard Meichtry. "These are the first steps towards perfecting the basics."

Zimbabwe Election Date Set, January 20 2002

Zimbabwe's Presidential election has been set to occur on March 9 and 10, 2002.

Kruger's Buffalo Population Recovering, January 20 2002

The buffalo population in the Kruger National Park, decimated by several seasons of drought, is on the road to recovery. According to scientist Dr. Ian Whyte, the buffalo population crashed from 30,000 animals in 1989 to about 15,000 in 1995 after successive droughts. The latest census results show that the population now stands at about 25,000.

1,255 Elephant Tusks Seized in Tanzania, January 20 2002

Alarm bells are once again ringing for the safety of Tanzania's elephant population, following last week's discovery of an ivory stash of more than 1,000 poached tusks in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's capital.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare said the find was a rude wake-up call to nations that believed the long-term stability of certain elephant populations was assured. "The discovery of these 1,255 tusks represents the death of hundreds of elephants - it should serve to shake many nations out of their complacent belief that Africa's elephants will ever be safe from indiscriminate slaughter," said Jason Bell, IFAW's Regional Director for Southern Africa. "As long as a market for ivory exists it will sustain poaching and illegal trade," Bell added.

Two Tanzanian nationals were arrested late last week following the seizure of the tusks from two homes in a suburb of Dar es Salaam, a busy Indian Ocean port. Hunting elephant is legal only under certain conditions in Tanzania, but is banned outright in neighboring Kenya and Uganda. "This incident once again supports our evidence that it is very difficult to properly monitor and control the cross-border trade in ivory and, more importantly, questions the ability of elephant range states to stop poaching of their elephant herds," said Bell.

A 1996 Tanzanian ivory bust found 4,600 kilograms (10,120 lbs.) of poached tusks buried in the north and south of the country.

Kenyan Government Pledges to Protect Environment, January 20 2002

The Kenyan government has appealed to civil society to help in rehabilitating the environment. Environment and Natural Resources Minister Joseph Kamotho, recently urged non-governmental organizations to stop being confrontational and seek to resolve conflicts amicably. He told a gathering of environmental NGOs that the government was aware that the environment had been destroyed and that there was a need to create greater awareness on the impacts of deforestation, pollution and dumping. The minister said "energy should be directed at restoring and preserving the environment."

New Chimpanzee Sanctuary for Uganda, January 20, 2002

The Jane Goodall Institute will this year establish another chimpanzee sanctuary on Nsadzi island on Lake Victoria, Uganda.

According to Cherie Montgomery, the education and outreach coordinator, 40 acres of land had been leased from Sudhir Ruparelia who owns three quarters of the island near Ngamba island.

Dr. Richard Ssuna of Ngamba Chimpanzee Sanctuary, which had provided a haven for chimpanzees rescued from smugglers since 1998, said the island had become full. He is quoted as saying that the island can accommodate only 30 chimpanzees. Ten adult chimpanzees on Ngamba island will be relocated to Nsadzi Island.

Chimpanzees are endangered animals listed on Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild species of flora and fauna (CITES).

The species of chimpanzees in Uganda used to be found in 25 African countries, but now only occur in 21 countries.

Namibia Reports Growth in Tourist Arrivals, January 20 2002

The number of tourists visiting Namibia has increased dramatically in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the US.

Many travelers cited the US attacks as reasons for making Namibia their destination. An American traveler noted "Normally we would have gone to Europe, but we prefer to come to Africa now."

It is reported that the number could have been higher but there were a shortage of more than 3,000 seats on planes flying to Namibia.

Tourists Attacked in Kenya, January 27, 2002

On January 22, 2002 armed gangsters carjacked a vehicle carrying French tourists from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi. This is the Kenya's main international airport that nearly all travelers use.

The gangsters stopped the vehicle along Uhuru Highway and commandeered it to Athi River. They robbed the six French tourists of their luggage and travel documents before abandoning them near Daystar University.

The Kenya Tourism Federation and the Kenya Tourist Board have expressed shock at the incident. KTF chairman, Mr Jake Grieves-Cook, said: "Incidents of this nature are extremely rare and we would like to re-assure visitors to Kenya that their safety and holiday enjoyment are of paramount importance.

Mr. Cook noted that the Kenya Tourism Federation (KTF) was founded three years ago to represent all the private sector tourism stakeholders with the idea of addressing issues that needed serious attention. They highlighted security as a major issue after a number of violent crimes against tourists occurred in the late 1990's. The KTF Safety & Communications Center (KTF-SCC) was formed with the determination to transform the situation. This center is staffed 24 hours a day and they are in communication with all safari vehicles throughout Kenya which have HF radios and with the various camps and lodges. They have a security committee which includes the Kenyan Police and Kenya Wildlife Service. Over the last 3 years these efforts have made an enormous improvement with regards to visitor safety. 

Ultimate Africa would note that although great effort has been put forth by the Kenya Tourism Federation and the Kenya Tourism Board to reduce violent crimes against tourists, and these efforts have paid off to a large degree, this recent attack on tourists outside Kenya's main international airport highlights the fact that visitor safety in Kenya is still an issue.

Concern Over New Shark Viewing Permit, January 27 2002

The great white sharks in False Bay, South Africa, are internationally famous for their unique feeding behavior which involves breaching (leaping from the water) as they catch their prey, which mainly consist of Cape fur seals.

There are now fears that a new permit for a shark-watching operator in the area could cause the sharks to change their behavior and upset the local ecology - particularly if the operator is allowed to throw a concoction of blood and fish oil into the water to attract the sharks.

The concern has been expressed by Chris Fallows and Rob Lawrence, who until now have held the only permit from Marine and Coastal Management (MCM) for shark watching operations in the bay. But MCM has reportedly dismissed their concern, saying research conducted at Dyer Island, near Gansbaai, where there are five shark-watch operators using 10 boats, has shown that great whites appear not to be affected by the operators.

Wildebeest in Southern Serengeti, January 27 2002 The wildebeest are finally in the southern Serengeti! The herds are pouring over the horizon in their thousands. It's been a strange year for rain with the short rains as such almost completely failing. But there have been isolated showers, which has attracted tens of thousands of Thomson gazelle.

Never have we known so many cheetahs to be in the area, as there have been over the past month, and guests are seeing as many as 11 in a single wildlife viewing drive. One recent afternoon guests (who had seen 14 cheetahs in a few days) were to go out for sundowners in the woodlands, and as they had seen so many cats, they wanted to find some elephants. As luck would have it they bumped into a mother cheetah with 3 large cubs amongst the trees. Even more lucky, the mother started to stalk an impala right next to the Land Rover and she would have been successful if one of the cubs hadn't been so enthusiastic in his stalk and completely messed it up by giving their position away.

The first shaky long-legged wildebeest calves of the season have been seen hugging close to their mother's sides.

The spectacle of so many wildebeest is awe inspiring, a treat to the senses, and one of life's experiences that make you just so glad to be alive. If it keeps raining it'll only get better!

Also in the southern Serengeti guests have been seeing thousands of helmeted guinea fowl! One guest saw a flock of guinea fowl chase a cheetah from under the only shade tree on a plain. The sight of a large group of these noisy characters bearing down on the cheetah was just too much and he ran, whilst the birds happily took up his position in the shade.

On another January day guests came across a gathering of 92 ostrich and a group of chicks! So it's not just the wildebeest that are in big numbers!

North Island to Open Late 2002, January 27 2002

Wilderness Safaris of Southern Africa have been working on a groundbreaking conservation project on a small island in the Seychelles.

North Island is an oasis of outstanding beauty situated in a remote and secluded location, and surrounded by an azure sea of startling intensity. This is the stuff of dreams - a fantasy island reminiscent of barefoot castaways and romantic scenery.

The Seychelles is the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean, and is home to 2 world heritage sites. The Seychelles has been voted the safest place to travel - there are no tropical diseases, no malaria, no cyclones, virtually no poverty or crime and no dangerous or venomous creatures! It is politically safe and stable and is one of the few places on earth where giant tortoises outnumber the human population by two to one!

Guests will be accommodated in 10 air conditioned villas each with its own plunge pool. The lodge's main area will include a pool, sunset bar, dining area overlooking the ocean and a health space. North Island is uninhabited and is accessed by boat or helicopter. Activities include professionally guided walks and hikes, snorkeling and scuba diving (at extra cost), sea kayaking, fly fishing, and trips to Silhouette Island. North Island will open in late 2002.

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