Kenya Airways Acquires 3 New Aircrafts
Comfort, relaxation and joy starts when you get a seat on any of Kenya airways aircrafts to Africa & the rest of the world. It’s awesome to fly with the world’s top 10 airline with the youngest air craft’s 41 in number flying to 52 destinations worldwide, 42 of which are in Africa and carries over three million passengers annually. The Business Airline of the Year in Africa, Kenya Airways will soon receive three more new Aircrafts to join its fleet in Nairobi a new incentive to forefront connections in Africa to the rest of the World at the new ultra-modern Terminal Jomo Kenyatta international Airport in Nairobi.
Kenya airways jubilate for its two ready brand new Dreamliners which will be released any time to join others in Nairobi. The third one will be due in November 2015 a final delivery of the last order for Boeing B737-800NG’s coming with the fancied Boeing Sky Interior, whose lighting effects have found praise from passengers around the world. The new aircrafts will sport the new economy and business class seats in line with previous deliveries of this order. It is understood that the B737-800NG will be flying in Sky Team livery with the Kenya Airways logo prominently displayed, promoting Africa’s only Sky Team member across the airline’s network from East to West and South to North Africa. No dates have been given for the ferry flights as of yet but the delivery is an added sign that the tide has turned and renewed confidence about the airline’s future addition into the market place.
East Africa has become the main hub for tourism and business oriented travelers recently meaning such additions further strengthen the travelers flexibility in connecting to other regional countries with ease coupled with other Airlines already operating. Travelers stream in to enjoy safari adventures such as gorilla safaris in Uganda and Rwanda, Primate/Chimpanzee treks in Uganda and Rwanda in their natural wild, Wildlife excursion and the big Five sighting in over 20 National parks in the region Uganda Murchison falls and Queen Elizabeth parks, Kenya Masai mara with the wildebeest migration July-October, Tanzania Seregenti Park being most prefered besides other holiday adventures such as Honeymoon getaways, beaches, city night life coupled with Live bands and clubs, Restaurants and a well developed hospitality industry to ensure travelers feel at home away from their Homes while in the region.
The Africa research show that Kenya airways books more tickets two or less days to the travel date for passengers compared to other counter parts in Europe and America. Sometimes flight seats get filled up which make passengers unpleased wondering why they didn’t book their tickets quite early. The new crafts will meet the demands of the missing passengers and keep the airline relationship strong and with its passengers. However, passengers stand a chance of getting good ticket deals by booking their travel ticket at least two months in advance for the domestic travels and six months in advance for the international travels.
Read MoreDirect Flights from Cape Town to Mozambique Now Possible
Take a flight from Cape Town to Mozambique and you can watch the sun go down over the Atlantic Ocean, whilst sipping a cocktail at a Camps Bay bar and then watch it come up over the Indian Ocean, whilst eating freshly caught prawns in Ponta do Ouro, Mozambique.
This is now all possible as I have just been informed that SA Express now flies direct from Cape Town to Mozambique. Return flights, including all taxes, are going for as little as ZAR 2,842 pp. Flights to Mozambique go on Mondays and Fridays.
All in all it sounds like a great deal to me, maybe I should drop my boyfriend a hint about being whisked away for an exotic long weekend?
Read MoreUganda Elephant Populations on Increase
According to a recent survey, there is a consistent increase in the numbers of elephant populations in Uganda’s national parks reported by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). The surveys were conducted by WCS and UWA with funding from Paul G. Allen and WCS, as part of the Great Elephant Census®. This report comes in a period where most elephant populations are declining across the rest of Africa.
Uganda’s protection efforts is bringing good news and hope that there is still a chance to save the elephant population across Africa. This is good news for the elephants, of course, and also good news for tourism in the Pearl of Africa hence growth a great boost to Uganda’s tourism industry that is largely based on wildlife. The elephant is one of most sought after animal in Africa and many tourists visit Africa to enjoy game viewing including the big five, which includes the grand elephants! Many tourists visiting Uganda enjoy wildlife safaris in national parks and elephants are among the animals that they look for while on safari.
The survey comes an encouragement for conservation efforts to see elephant numbers increasing in Uganda as a result of effective protection in different national parks, despite recent increased poaching and ivory trafficking across much of Africa.
According to an interview with the WCS Senior Conservationist Dr. Paul Elkan, the major reasons contributing to this increase is the strong Ugandan Government leadership, targeted investment in field based anti-poaching and anti-trafficking action, and transboundary elephant protection efforts, are the most important bases for sustaining efforts and addressing the poaching problems in Queen Elizabeth national park one of the Uganda’s national parks with high numbers of elephant population in uganda.
During the early 1970’s – 1980’s, Uganda had been facing decrease in her elephant numbers due to the rampant poaching and limited resources for the then Uganda National Parks. Elephants became confined to protected areas due to poaching pressures from human population looking at trading ivory hence a dropped as low as 700-800 elephants the country. Uganda was labeled by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) in 2012 as one of the eight countries of primary concern in the ivory trade because of the volume of illegal ivory that had passed through Uganda.
With improved protection since the 1990s and the creation of UWA, together with support from Government, donors, and conservation partners, elephant numbers have now increased to over 5,000 individuals today.
In June 2014 the WCS and UWA staff conducted several aerial surveys where the current elephant numbers in the different national parks was established. Murchison Falls National Park – 1,330 elephants, 2,913 in Queen Elizabeth National Park and 656 in the Kidepo Valley National Park and neighboring Karenga Community Wildlife Management area. Elephant numbers in Queen Elizabeth Park have reached levels similar to those in the 1960s before heavy poaching hit the Park. For Murchison falls, the numbers are steadily increasing a former elephant stronghold, which means UWA’s protection efforts are yielding positive results for many wildlife species in Kidepo Valley and Karenga.
A number of recent elephant poaching incidents were recorded in Queen Elizabeth demonstrating the critical need for reinforcing anti-poaching and surveillance efforts in the Park both within Uganda and along its border with neighboring Virunga National Park in Democratic Republic of Congo. No recent elephant poaching incidents were observed in Murchison or Kidepo Park/Karenga during the survey, which is a notable improvement in security for those areas.
According to the survey, its was establish that, its very important to establish transboundary conservation programs with Kidepo Wildlife Reserve in South Sudan and adjacent areas in Kenya so as to conserve wildlife that keeps moving to and fro each country.
In conclusion, while it is encouraging that elephant numbers are increasing, poaching remains a big challenge in Uganda and there is a need to remain vigilant from the government and community surrounding national parks. Recently for example, illegally killed elephants were discovered in Queen Elizabeth Park which means, Uganda is still not completely secure from poaching.
Read More2015 Annual Kwita Izina
The dates for the 11th annual Kwita Izina, a gorilla naming ceremony have been realeased by the Rwanda Development Board as Rwanda Continues with its Efforts to protect the mountain gorillas in Africa.
The land of a thousand hills is getting filled with excitement as the celebrations of the 11th annual Kwita Izina – Gorilla Naming Ceremony draw close. The famous Kwita Izina is a Rwandan celebration of naming newborn baby gorilla which have been born with the same year period. This ceremony come up as an ancestral cultural baby naming ceremony that happens in the African societies after the birth of a newborn child which is a very important experience that calls for partying and celebrations.
The main reason for this occasion is to catch the attention of the whole world, about the need to protect these endangered mountain gorillas through monitoring each individual infant gorilla and their groups in their natural habitat. Today, the Kwita Izina has caught the attention of both locales and international audience about the importance of protecting the mountain gorillas and their habitats in the Virunga Mountains – the Volcanoes national park located in the north of the country.
This year the annual baby gorilla naming ceremony, Kwita Izina, according to officials from the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) Tourism and conservation department will be held on September 5th, unlike in previous years when the Kwita Izina was held in July, due to the need form the country to ensure compliancy with the Northern corridor tourism events calendar – a three-some tourism promotion initiative established under a tripartite agreement between Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda, each member country set a period to focus on a flagship tourism event.
Looking back on last year’s ceremony, a total 16 babies mountain gorillas at the Volcanoes National Park were given names. Each year a focus theme is set, by the head of Tourism and Conservation at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). Last year’s theme was ‘Conserving – Empowering – Growing’, set to reflect and celebrate the efforts of all those that have contributed to the sustainable regional and national conservation of the mountain gorilla and other wildlife in general.
Today the Kwita Izina has received thousands of regional, local as well as international audience very enthusiastic about travelling to the Virunga mountain ranges to visit the endangered mountain gorillas. So far, the Volcanoes national park mountain gorillas have been receiving substantial resources from international conservation organizations, donors and concerned people for the conservation efforts of the Mountain gorillas in Rwanda. The park is the prime spot for tourists looking for gorilla safaris in Africa given the improved accessibility to the park located in a distance f 3 hours drive from Kigali.
The Kwita Izina largely looks at protecting the remaining home range of the endangered mountain gorillas which for decades is the Virunga Massif – a chain of volcanic mountains comprising of Rwanda’s Volcanoes NP, DRC’s Virunga NP and Uganda’s Mgahinga NP. The Volcanoes national park actually covers two third of the Virunga Massif’s remaining endangered mountain gorillas.
Read MoreUganda Declared Top Birders’ Destination in Africa for 2013
Uganda has 34 key bird viewing points in wetlands, water bodies, wildlife reserves, national parks and forest reserves. Common bird species include shoebills, herons, eagles, blue throated rollers, red headed malimbe, scaly breaste illadopis, titi hylia, giant king fisher, scaly francolin among others.
If you are looking to a birding safari in Uganda, there are about 70 professional and well-equipped guides who can whistle and call birds at a given point, identify them and take you to their destination under their umbrella body Uganda Safari Guides Association (USGA)
Statistics from Minim show that Tourism contributed 9.0 percent of Uganda’s GDP, US$ 805 million foreign exchange earnings from 1.2million visitors in 2011. The tourism accolades never stop coming for Uganda. On top of being voted Best Tourist Destination for 2012, Uganda was declared Africa’s Preffered Birding Destination in October after Africa Bird Club voted two of Uganda’s birding sites among the top 10 birders’ destinations in Africa.
Bwindi Forest, the best place for gorilla safaris in Africa was, actually, voted the best birding site in Africa with Murchison coming in at no. 9 – and with over 1050 bird species within its borders, Uganda sits comfortably among the best birding
destinations in the whole world.
Birding is one of the most important tourist activities in the world garnering chunks of money for countries that have given it priority.
To ensure that Uganda stays in the international tourism limelight, the ministry of tourism and other stakeholders have declared 2013/2014 the “Year of Birding” in Uganda.
The minister of tourism, wildlife and antiquities Ms Maria Mutagamba did the declaration at Kasenge Resort Beach in Mukono on Saturday.
“As we begin our journey through our next 50 years of Independence allow me declare Uganda as the favourite birding destination for 2013/2014,” said an evidently joyful Mutagamba.
This declaration comes weeks after Birdlife International, a global program on conservation and protection of birds and their habitants, alongside Nature Uganda announced that there are 34 important bird areas in Uganda with diverse bird species that qualify Uganda to be the leading birding destination on the continent.
Mutagamba said that Uganda has been priding in recent accolades like the one of Lonely Planet which was influenced by the iconic Mountain Gorillas but birds will give Uganda even new dimensions and more options to shine on international tourism market.
The minister said the two accolades provide an important avenue and platform for showcasing Uganda’s rich bird diversity that shows the country’s endowment of having 1056 bird species that account for 10 percent of the globe’s total bird species and 50 percent of Africa’s bird species population.
Uganda Tourism Board Executive Director Cuthbert Baguma said that it’s now very important to start promoting the country as a major birders’ destination.
“This country is for all Ugandans that calls for patriotism by positively promoting the country in order not to kill the thriving tourism industry,” he said. He said they want to form a crisis management committee responsible for responding to all negative publicity that has smeared the country’s image, especially on the relentless Ebola and Marburg cases.
“There needs to be a committee which counters these negative and – most of the times – exaggerated stories and show people that things are under control,” added Baguma. “And they’re.”
Mr Hebert Byaruhanga, the chairman Uganda Safari Guides Association (USAGA) said that Uganda beats many African countries in having rare bird species that can bring in money but the business hasn’t been tapped into.
He said that despite being a land-locked country, Uganda has over 1000 bird species including migratory birds which normally flock ocean coasts.
He also emphasized the fact that birding needs as much promotion as gorilla tracking. “A tourist going on a gorilla trek may only spend 2 to 3 days leaving only US$500 for a gorilla permit and maybe some more little dollars but a tourist interested in birding will spend between 14 to 21 days and they spend over $5000 and that should be simple mathematics of what is more important,” he said.
The guides also said that usually tourists who come in for birding also do gorilla tracking yet those who come to see the primates are specific.
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