News Update on Island Safari Destinations and lodges.

Hallo fellow travelers,

Today I am posting some new updates on our destinations and lodges.Remember you can always email us at: info@island-safari.com, for any questions you might have.

Yesterday, was a great sunny day here in Cape Town, and I hope you guys are alsohaving an excellent time wherever you are traveling or reading this blog.
Well here follows the updates, so read and be informed:

Update 1:
Destination: Zambia

Property: Norman Carr

Info: THE Kapani camp was reopened on February 19, and on February 25 the Mchenja camp reopened its doors to guests as well. Both camps were closed due to the flooding of the Luangwa Valley in Zambia

Update 2:

Destination: Zambia

Property: Bush camp Company

Info:We are taking this opportunity to completely overhaul and upgrade our soft furnishings - linens, mattresses etc.

Mfuwe Lodge will be open for business from 15th March
Kapamba Bushcamp will be opening on 25th April
Bilimungwe and Kuyenda Bushcamps will be opening on 1st June Chindeni Bushcamp will be opening on 15th June
Chamilandu Bushcamp will be opening on 30th June.We regret to announce that our 2 new Hippo Pools Walking
Trails camps (Zungulilia and Gwala) will not be opening for the 2007 season.This has been a difficult decision to make,but we have realised that it will not be possible this season, due to the flooding.

Update 3:

Destination: Mozambique

Property: Azura - new lodge Bazaruto

Info: As you are no doubt all aware, on Thursday February 22nd, tropical Cyclone Favio hit the Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique.Thankfully there was no loss of life but the area has been badly damaged, particularly on the mainland town of Vilanculos.Azura on Benguerra Island has managed to survive the storm reasonably well given its intensity.The cyclone hit from the south and Azura’s location on the northern leeward side of the island meant that it was sheltered from the brunt of the storm.

Azura has only sustained 20-30% damage to the existing buildings due to the good build quality and the strength of the architect’s design.The main damage was to roofs and brickwork. Our new staff accommodation has survived in tact which is of vital importance given that many of our staff’s homes in Vilanculos have been completely destroyed.We are working closely with the local community to assist them in any way that we can in order to minimise the affect of this freak natural disaster.

We anticipate that the cyclone will create a delay of 2-3 months to Azura’s opening date of 1st July 2007; mainly due to the fact that Vilanculos was hit very badly, hence supply lines will be affected. We will update you next week with a more accurate opening date as soon as the inspection team have made a site visit.

Update 4:

Destination: Mozambique

Travel News: CYCLONE Favio, which hit Mozambique last week, has caused substantial destruction to Vilanculos and surrounding areas.

The Vilanculos airport was closed because of the cyclone, but reopened on Sunday.Although the airport is open, Swazi Express Airways has cancelled all flights to Vilanculos until further notice. Debbie Kirkbride, station manager of Swazi Express says this is because of the closure of numerous lodges in the region.Pelican Air has also changed its flight schedule. It is now operating only three flights to Vilanculos a week, from Johannesburg and Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport to Vilanculos on a Tuesday and Friday, and from Johannesburg to Vilanculos on a Sunday. These changes will be applicable for the whole of March, unless the airline receives special requests for additional flights.

LAM, Transairways and TravelMax flights are back on schedule and remain unchanged.Over the weekend, Rani Resorts sent a team to assess how much damage had been done to the Indigo Bay Resort.According to John McMillan,MD of Rani Resorts, the team found that the damage is quite severe. The central areas of the resort only have water damage, but the main problem lies with individual units which, according McMillan, have been between 10% and 100% damaged.

McMillan said the resort will be closed for at least the next three months after which they are confident the beach chalets will be up and running.The Bay View suites will also be reconstructed over the next three months, but will still need to receive interior repairs.“What is most important is that there was no loss of life. All the staff are safe and all our guest were evacuated before the cyclone hit,” said McMillan. He added that Rani Resorts had come to the aid of those living on the island by providing food and helping them rebuild their houses.

Dugong Beach Lodge, part of Legend Lodges, Hotels & Resorts, is closed until further notice for repairs and upgrades as a result of the damage caused by cyclone Favio. The lodge should be re-opened in time for the busy season. Barra Resorts’ Barra Lodge and Flamingo Bay are both operating as normal.Marketing manager for Barra Resorts, Tony Birkholtz, said that Pomene Lodge had some water damage, but that staff were in the process of cleaning up and getting the accommodation and services back to normal.

Benguerra Lodge, however, has also suffered significant damage.Assessors will be evaluating the extent of the damage this week, but in the meantime the lodge will be closed for March.

Paula Chaplin, marketing manager for Benguerra Lodge, said that the biggest loss was the devastation of the last indigenous forest, where the lodge was situated. She also expressed concern about the community, saying that they had suffered the most, losing their homes and everything they owned.

Update 5:

Destinations: Namibia

Topic: Leading Lodges

Info: We are very glad to say that the construction of Divava is going smoothly and according to schedule. It will be the most luxurious river getaway retreat on the Okavango. Also the close proximity to Mahango game reserve makes it a gate way to Victoria Falls and tours to Botswana. In addition we have acquired luxury river boats in which to do some Hippo spotting and sun downer tours to the Popa falls.Game fishing will also be a possibility for the guests who are interested in a more adventurous activity.


Well this is all the updates, we have for now.Until the next update, happy travels.

The Island Safari Team.