The entire Namibian coastal area, stretching from the mouth of the Kunene River in the north to the mouth of the Orange River in the south, has been officially declared a conservation area.
With the declaration of the Dorob National Park on December 1, the last piece of the puzzle has finally been put in place, thus converting the total Namibian coast into the eighth largest protected area in the world and the largest park in Africa – called the Namib-Skeleton Coast National Park.
The fact that the government declared the last section of the Namibian coastline as a national park during 2010, being the International Year of Biodiversity, underlines the country’s role and commitment towards global, regional and national conservation and sustainable development.
The Namib-Skeleton Coast National Park stretches along the total length of the Namibian coastline 975 miles, covering an area of 26,575 million acres or 66,822 square miles. It comprises four main terrestrial management areas, the Sperrgebiet National Park in the south, the Namib-Naukluft Park, the Skeleton Coast Park and now the Dorob National Park (Dorob means dry land). The park will also not exist in isolation as it borders on the Richtersveld in South Africa, the Iona National Park in Angola and various communal conservancies inland.
According to the ministry, the proclamation of the protected area represents one of Namibia’s greatest conservation achievements since independence in 1990, and one of the most significant developments in the history of conservation in the country.
From Our Friends at Ultimate Safaris
The brochures often refer to the Victoria Falls Hotel as “the grand dame of the Falls”… Well in this case the hype is true. A grander queen doesn’t exist in Africa! And she has a new spring in her step after recent renovations which brought the hotel back to its original colonial era glory… with a few nods to contemporary comfort. The hotel has not lost charm of its classic ambiance, unlike almost all other refurbished hotels. And its just minutes away from the world famous Victoria Falls. You see the spray from the falls on the balcony at lunch, and hear its quiet thunder all night.
guests on the 1st of May, with a brand new look, after a major upgrade and refurbishment. Whilst the essential structure and design of the lodge remains the same considerable changes have been made to decor, furnishings, lighting and all facilities to give the lodge a whole new look.
A new curio shop has been created and reception, bar and dining areas have been remodeled. A new pizza oven/braii area has been installed. The main deck area has been refurbished and an outdoor lounge and dining area has been incorporated. The infinity swimming pool was re-lined and given a new look, and as an added benefit, solar “farms” have been erected to provide hot water in a more environmentally friendly way.
I must admit, life doesn’t get much better than relaxing and being pampered aboard a 5-star cruise boat… unless of course you are in the midst of Africa’s most beautiful ecosystem cruising the Chobe River. Bordered by Botswana and Namibia, the Chobe is home to the largest concentration of elephants on earth and a huge diversity of other wildlife from buffalo to lion, hyena, puku, impala, giraffe…the entire Ark! The brand new Zambezi Queen gives you luxury and wildlife all at once.
It offers 14 opulent cabins, a small outdoor plunge pool for cooling off in the hot months, a very chic bar with a classy/cool lounge area and wood-burning fireplace, an air-conditioned library filled with documentaries on African history and wildlife and meals created by qualified South African chefs.
THE GREAT MIGRATION
HOLIDAY TIME IN CAPE TOWN
If the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain doesn’t sound like a good time to you, how about the annual running of the sardines? This mass migration occurs from the beginning of May through the end of July.
EXPLORE would like to personally thank Zambezi Airlines, Courtyard Eastgate in Johannesburg and all other donors for their generous support of the Chiawa Mini World Cup in the Lower Zambezi. As we mentioned in a previous blog, Zambezi Airlines donated 4 airline tickets for the project and recently the Courtyard Eastgate in Johannesburg has supplied the hotel rooms that will afford 4 lucky Chiawa villagers the chance of a lifetime… going to Africa’s first World Cup! In addition to this, EXPLORE and Multi Choice Satellite TV are donating a TV, installation of a satellite dish and receiver, and one year of service to the local school at Chiawa. This way many of the village residents can enjoy the games and in the future have access to educational TV viewing (Discovery, History channel, BBC news, etc). Viewings will be carefully monitored by the Chiawa Headmaster. 
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Stephen Frink Photography – Zambia and Botswana Safari
Photographer Stephen Frink’s blog from his latest EXPLORE African Safari to Botswana and Zambia (http://stephenfrink.blogspot.com/2010/08/african-safari-zambia-and-botswana.html):
Click here to see the photographs of Stephen Frink’s daughter, Alexa (http://stephenfrink.blogspot.com/2010/07/alexa-shoots-africa.html):
I’ve recently come home from an extraordinarily productive photo tour, on safari in Southern Africa, Zambia and Botswana specifically. Organized by our friends at Explore Africa, http://www.exploreafrica.net, this tour began at Lion Camp in Zambia, and then went on to Selinda and Jao camps in Botswana.
Here is a brief photo diary of the trip and its many, many highlights:
Our first camp was Lion Camp in Zambia. We specifically chose that because the game viewing is so very good there. Elizabeth at Explore suggested it, knowing that we would likely get enough stellar images the first few days that part of our photo imperative might be satisfied. She was so right! The first night we witnessed a leopard killing an impala. Good for us and our photo-ops. Not so great for the impala. Of course, that was on top of all the other general game (in the bush and along the rivers) we shot during the day.
The second night we witnessed another leopard kill, and the third night a lion kill. This kind of trifecta of predation I’ve never seen anywhere else on safari, and this was the 8th safari we’ve conducted in both southern Africa and East Africa.
Leaving Lion Camp and Zambia we flew into Botswana, cleared customs and then were flown via private aircraft to Selinda Camp, a private game reserve and lodge owned and operated by renown wildlife photography and cinema team, Beverly and Dereck Joubert. We’d met on safari three years previously, when I was leading a tour to Mombo Camp in Botswana and the Jouberts had just to shoot some stock footage. Coincidentally, the same day we’d earlier seen a beautiful scenario of a young leopard cub and mother in a nearby den. Dereck began filming this cub as it grew, for over three years actually, an experience which eventually evolved into a film, Eye of the Leopard, for National Geographic.
I’ve always been impressed with the Joubert’s visions of Africa, so intimate and respectful of the wildlife, and I figured if they felt the game opportunities were motivation to run a camp here, I would confidently follow their lead. Selinda did not disappoint!
A brief tip of the hat to Explore again for the air arrangements. We had private aircraft for our group of 19 at each camp, and they operated on time with the utmost courtesy and professionalism. When you are far away and in remote locations, that is great comfort.
Selinda offered the opportunity for game viewing from vehicles or boats, and because there is so much water in the Delta where they operate, Derek has chosen vehicles equipped with snorkels so they operate in water deeper than the floorboards. From hippos in the river to lions prowling the high grasses, this was an very productive camp, that operates at the highest level of service.
The highlight of our Selinda experience was watching a pride of lions with their young leaving for a night’s hunt. We photographed them in the gorgeous late afternoon light and into the dark as the searched for game, and eventually rendezvoused with the dominant male lion.
Like Selinda, Jao Camp is one of the premier safari properties operated by Wilderness Safaris. I’ve come to expect nothing but the best from a Wilderness Safaris property, and since Jao offered both excellent game viewing and an upscale spa ambiance, this is where we chose as our final camp.
This was a year of exceptional rain in the Okavango Delta, not while we were there, as is was beautifully sunny the whole time. But earlier in the year they had their most rain in several decades, and it meant that some of the roads near camp that might normally offer game viewing were underwater. However, the best game opportunities are but a 45-minute boat ride away anyway, at Hunda Island. Here we saw vast plains of grasses with elephants, giraffe, zebra, and of course the cats, both leopard and lion.
Being a Delta camp, Jao delivers the water activities quite well, including stable boats large enough for 8-10 photographers, and less stable but more intimate merkoros (like narrow dug-out canoes, but made of fiberglass these days) to offer a water-level view of the the vegetation of the Okavango.
Thanks to Explore and Lion Camp, Selinda, and Jao. This was the greatest safari experience yet, and we look forward now to the next one, hopefully soon!
To see the amazing images our 17-year old daughter Alexa took on this same safari, please visit my earlier blog post from July, here at http://stephenfrink.blogspot.com/2010/07/alexa-shoots-africa.html. It is easier to simply scroll up to the “July” tab on this page, and click on “Alexa Shoots Africa”. Yeah, I know, she kicked my butt. I’d say “beginner’s luck” but she had a terrific shoot on our last safari too. She has a great eye for composition, very instinctive.
-Stephen Frink, Photographer, www.stephenfrink.com