Photograph by Frans Lanting

FROM NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC:

While on assignment in Namibia for National Geographic magazine, Frans Lanting captured this surreal landscape image in a location called Dead Vlei.   Read more…

I recently went on the “Wild Africa: Botswana and Zambia” tour in Sept 2011.  I am retired, have traveled quite a bit, and do occasional contract work to help pay for extra special trips.  This was my first Road Scholar trip.  (I had so much fun that I’m about to sign up for another Road Scholar adventure.)  The blog was started in response to requests from my friends to describe my travels because they wanted to experience my adventures vicariously.  With that in mind, I try to provide a more experiential description than just a dry itinerary.  Please bear in mind, that anything I post on my blog is strictly my own thoughts, which do not necessarily reflect the experience of other travelers.  All my entries about the safari are posted in Sept and Oct 2011.

Enjoy,
Ronya
http://www.willworkforairfare.blogspot.com/

Link for more information on the Wild Africa Road Scholar program or to enroll

Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Wellness Retreat is an extraordinary haven nestled at the foothills of the Cederberg mountains near Cape Town.  Malaria and predator free, the reserve is a natural playground with wide open plains, mystical rock formations, crystal clear water falls, and an abundance of flora and fauna. The warm, caring service and hospitality, delicious organic cuisine, breathtaking dining venues, superb facilities and accommodation have repeatedly won Bushmans Kloof international recognition and awards and provided the boys with an experience that was well beyond their wildest dreams.

Mary Miyata, founder of CAAP, said “the boys were over the moon with excitement!”  CAAP has made a marked difference to the plight of countless AIDS-afflicted orphans.  Founded in 2005 by Mary, the first CAAP art school was successfully opened in 2009 at the Baphumelele Children’s Home in the township of Khayelista, South Africa.  The children are regularly taken out for exciting excursions on the weekends giving them opportunities to encounter new experiences, such as art lessons and exhibitions, exposing them to everyday life and practices that would otherwise have remained unknown to them.]

Bushmans Kloof

Zambia has proven that democracy thrives in Africa with the recent election of President Michael Sata. I was most fortunate to have the experience of being in Lusaka during the elections. The lack of violence, smooth transition and gracious handing over of power by incumbent Rupiah Banda proves that not only is the democratic process alive and well in Africa’s Southern region, but brings Zambia to the forefront as an example of stability to the region. 

Over the weeks before the election Attny Musa Mwenya, President of the Law Society of Zambia, played a strong role in ensuring that the election was entirely above board and that the law regarding voting prodecures was followed exactingly. When the new President was announced on September 23, there was dancing and celebration in the streets, and a new democratic government was born. 

President Sata’s new government promises to ensure that Zambia’s economy and resources are managed wisely with increasing focus on sustainable development, improving labor conditions and creating opportunity for local people. 

If you are interested in the Patriotic Front’s Manifesto and plans for Zambia, please click here.  Better yet, come to Zambia and experience some of the best Africa has to offer while supporting a democratic, stable country which thrives with wildlife and is home to a friendly, welcoming people!

~Cherri

Jim Steinberg is a noted nature photographer, particularly for his images of wildflowers.  Here is a link to Jim Steinberg’s blog from his recent trip to South Africa.  He was there researching sites and scenes for two upcoming photography workshops that will be held in 2012.  The two workshops will focus on different interests – one with a clear wildflower focus and one for food and wine enthusiasts.  Stay tuned for more details to be posted on the EXPLORE website…

Photos courtesy of Jim Steinberg

 

Here is an update from one of our Egyptian operators….

“As you know we had several groups in Cairo at the time the revolution began and while the uncertainty of the situation made their tours slightly stressful it certainly didn’t affect what they were able to see and do. I’m also certain if you asked the tour members they would say that the absence of almost any other tourists made for a great experience.

We always put in our travel guide for travelers to “bring a good camera and/or video equipment which you have tested beforehand and are comfortable using. The African bush is no place to learn what all those buttons really mean.”  Well I found that out very quickly as I’m bumbling trying to get pictures of a cheetah kill, lion mating and giraffe sparing (at the correct aperture, speed, etc.)  I hadn’t even had my sundowner drink yet at sunset one evening when I turned to the camp manager and asked if he could possibly help me since nothing was showing through the viewfinder.  He said, “Well, let’s take off the lens cap and see …”  Ooooopsy – the ol’ lens cap was still on – was I ever embarrassed!  I did manage to get some fabulous photos and my fellow travelers were quite impressed (these pictures are my favorites) – especially with the zoom (turns out it’s a 600mm but I didn’t know that then).  So off to a photo class I go this spring!

Moral of the story:  Definitely learn to use your equipment before you go!

More on my East Africa trip to follow…

-Elizabeth

Working together to help African Elephants in the Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya

March 2011~

“We’ve had 7 poached elephants in the last month which has been devastating – so much poaching happening now and it all seems to be around the access route of this new road. Wilson is now riding transects up and down the road three times a week recording all the dead animals being killed on the road and he is now our chief informer for what is going on with poaching and bush meat incidents.”
Dr Lucy King, MSc, DPhil.
Chief Operations Officer
Save the Elephants

Historic Opening of the Selinda / Zarafa Waterway in Botswana |
A channel now links two Great Plains Camps to the Zibidianja Lagoon

The Selinda Reserve is situated in the Linyanti Region of Northern Botswana and forms a vital conservation link between the Okavango Delta in the North West and Savuti / Chobe areas in the East. A river channel, known as the Selinda Spillway, ribbons through the reserve flowing eastward from the Okavango Delta into the Zibidianja lagoon before splitting into the the Linyanti and Chobe rivers to feed the Savute Channel.

Up until two years ago the Selinda Spillway was not a complete waterway. Through increased rainfall levels in Angola, and theories of substrata seismic activity in 2008, the spillway now runs freely from the Okavango through to the Zibidianja Lagoon.

This incredible change has already had a marked impact on the activities of the Selinda Reserve. The most substantial is the four day/three night Selinda Canoe Trail down the spillway, ending close to Selinda Camp during May to October. Fishing and boat cruises are expanded on the spillway and guests can arrive in camp by boat from the airstrip.

Between Selinda Camp and the Zibidianja lagoon lies a 4 kilometre stretch of the channel, previously blocked by floating reed beds. Now the reeds are cleared there is a channel from the Okavango Delta to the mouth of the Savuti Channel, eliminating the two hour drive between the camps. Guests can now find themselves in either the north or southern parts of the reserve in less than thirty minutes.

The newly expansive channel between Selinda and Zarafa camps is a stunning, deep waterway surrounded by high reeds. This untainted part of the spillway hides many rare birds and a Black Crowned Night Heronry.

Great Plains Conservation will move the Selinda Camp canoes further along the new channel. Opening up walking areas on the islands between the channels linking to a Selinda Hide. On the Zarafa side it opens up the Zibidianja Lagoon to the Selinda Spillway. HMS Zibidianja, a large platform boat for guests, has a new water system to explore.

Game viewing without boundaries will have a profound impact on both camps in the Selinda Reserve. At Great Plains we like to explore new boundaries and provide adventure for our guests. This breakthrough will certainly provide that.

Click to find the latest news of the newly opened waterway between Zarafa and Selinda camps.

Moments like these are so special that Abdul, the head guide at Sanctuary Olonana in the Masai Mara, just had to share this story…

“One unforgettable incident was where a mother wildebeest and her calf struggled across the river. With the strong current the mother got separated from her calf and watched helplessly as her baby was swept away. A female hippo was watching nearby, and to everyone’s amazement, she came to the calf’s rescue and pushed it gently to the river bank. The young gnu was reunited with its mother, who was waiting anxiously at the bank.  Maternal love can be so strong it even surpasses species boundaries!”

Infant Wildebeest Rescued by a Hippo!