August Updates from the Island Safari Team

Hi Guys,

Just some quick updates for August.I implore the blog readers out there, to please email me at: david@island-safari.com, if there are any questions.Here follows the updates:

Update 1:

Country: Seychelles

Update: New Properties

Info: IFA Hotels and Resorts, in partnership with Indian Ocean Resorts, plans to develop a luxury hotel, residence and village marina resort on the Seychelles island of Sainte Anne.

The R3,2bn mixed-use development, Zilwa, will feature a five-star hotel, serviced residences and luxury facilities and amenities. Zilwa will be located in the Sainte Anne Marine National Park. It will include a marina that has a number of pools, a spa and beach club.

The Round Island Resort is being built in the Sainte Anne National Park. Expected to open in th third quarter of 2008, the resort will have 10 individual de luxe private chalets with private pools, outdoor decking and gazebo with beach access. The resort will also have a spa on the premises.

The second property, the Waterfront, should open in 2010 on the Roche Caiman Waterfront on Mahé. It will comprise 40 de luxe rooms, suites and serviced apartments, a private marina, a lifestyle spa, conference facilities, boutiques, art galleries and other retail outlets.Both properties will be part of the new Seychelles brand, ‘Enchanted’.

Did You Know?

Country: Seychelles

Resort: Lemuria

Info: Did you know that two species of endangered sea turtles nest on the beaches of Lemuria Resort? These are the Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas).Hawksbill Turtles are classified as a "critically endangered" species by the IUCN. Although the species is very rare in most places, Seychelles hosts one of the largest remaining nesting populations in the world today. The Seychelles hawksbills are unusual because they nest during the day. Elsewhere they nest at night, as do most other species of turtles including the 'endangered' Green Turtle.

Where: The most likely beaches to see turtles nesting are on Grande Anse Kerlan and at Anse Georgette

When: The peak nesting season is from October through January. These are the most likely months to see female turtles up on the beach. Sea turtle eggs take about two months to hatch. Peak hatching season is from December through March.

What: Adult Hawksbills weigh about 60 - 70 kgs and lay about 150 - 250 eggs in each nest. Green Turtles can weigh 200 kilos, but they lay fewer eggs. Newly hatched baby turtles only weigh about 40 grams.

It is our pleasure to announce that with effective from 6th September 2007 Nigel Hoareau will be the Turtle Manager for Constance Lemuria Resort. Nigel has been working with the Marine Parks Authority and thus his knowledge of environment and marine life will be of great benefitto Lemuria Resort and most importantly to our Guests. His duties will include – turtle monitoring during the nesting season, tracking number of turtlescoming to the beach, ensuring that guests receive relevant communication during the turtle season, training Lemuria Beach staff, liaising with the environment representatives with regards to the beaches, turtles etc.

Update 2:

Country: Botswana

Update: Lodges of Botswana

Info: I'm writing this from Delta Camp again, and it's that time of year – the camp full of elephant, shaking the palm trees night and day, and wandering around lik sheep. The guests are agog. Yesterday during lunch elephant, giraffe and four magnificent kudu bulls all visible from the table, and a family of otters porpoising down the channel. Leopard with up to three cubs on the island, unusual number, and Fowler x 5 saw two lions feeding on a young giraffe they killed last night, on their morning walk. Hippo grunting, wattled cranes croaking, fish eagles fish eagling, the rattle of pots and pans........business as usual.

The weather has turned perfect, cool nights, a little chilly in the morning but soo warming to blissful days.Clear skies still, very few fires this year (so far), and non of that noisome August wind we sometimes suffer, and long may that last. A fantastic display of shooting stars the night before last as we pass through, according to one of our guests, the tail of a passing comet.

Lena taking a well-earned break, relieved by Shex, who was Binky's assistant manager in the dark ages, and yours truly, so brace yourselves for complaints. I'll try not to call anyone a bitch, my instincts notwithstanding.

Some Delta Air news - we will, within a week or so, have added a G8 Airvan to our fleet. The Airvan is the 'coming' bush plane, an Australian concoction that hasproved itself in this environment. It is a rather slow single but has the advantage of having 7 passenger seats, which will make scheduling easier and take the pressure off our existing fleet during this busy time. It has large windows and excellent visibility, so those passengers not concentrating on their air-sickness bags will have an excellent view of the (slowly) passing scenery.

Update 3:

Country: Zambia

Islands of Siankaba

Info: Firstly may I take this opportunity to let everyone know that we will be closing the lodge from the 14th January to the 14th February 2008 so that we can raise the height of our bridges to avoid the closure we had in March this year due to high river levels. Obviously we are attempting to avoid a repeat of the closure and hope you will all understand that this is for the long term betterment of the lodge. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience it may cause.

Update 4:

Country: Mozambique

Company: Pelican Air Services

Info: PELICAN Air Services will begin offering flights from OR Tambo International (ORTIA) and Kruger Mpumalanga International (KMIA) to Inhambane in Mozambique return, from September 4. Direct flights from ORTIA to Inhambane will depart Wednesdays and Sundays at 10h25, arriving at Inhambane at 12h45. The return flight will depart Inhambane at 14h45 and arrive at ORTIA at 17h20 the same day. On Tuesdays and Fridays the service will collect passengers at KMIA before continuing on to Inhambane. Flights will depart ORTIA at 10h25, stop at KMIA at 12h00 and arrive at Inhambane at 13h15. The return flight will depart Inhambane at 14h00, stop at KMIA at 15h15 and arrive at ORTIA at 17h10 the same day.A combination of the Beechcraft 1900 and ATR42 will be operated on the route.

Update 5:

Country: Namibia

Area Info: Twyfelfontein

Info: TWYFELFONTEIN in the north-west of Namibia is the first site in that country to be added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites. The site’s rock art was investigated by archaeological experts and found to be of ‘outstanding universal value’. It is one of the largest concentrations of rock carvings in Africa, comprising carvings of rhinos, elephants, ostriches and giraffes.

The property also has six painted rock shelters with motifs of human figures in red ochre. Objects like stone artefacts and ostrich eggshell beads dating back to the Late Stone Age have also been excavated from certain parts of the property.

Update 6:

Country: South Africa

Area of Interest: Table Mountain

Info: THE Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) has issued a warning for visitors planning to hike on the mountain.

This comes after two groups of tourists were attacked in separate incidents while hiking last week. Phumeza Mqxashe, communications manger for TMNP, said this was the seventh mugging incident to take place on Table Mountain this year and that the park received around 4,1m visits in a year.

Mgxashe advised that visitors hike in big groups, carry minimal valuables and alert the TMNP visitor safety rangers of any suspicious-looking characters.

TMNP has acquired kennels for the five dogs used in patrols in the northern section of the park. Its visitor safety team comprises 52 rangers and there are also 200 safety volunteers who patrol various parts of the mountain over weekends.

Company: Samara Private Game Reserve

Info: A NEW exclusive use accommodation option is to open in the Samara Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape on November 1.The Manor House will accommodate eight guests in four air-conditioned suites all comprising en-suite bathrooms and offering views over the Karoo landscape. The suites will include indoor and outdoor showers and free-standing baths.

The Manor House features an infinity pool, which descends into a natural water hole where game can be viewed, a Boma, veranda and dining and breakfast room. Guests will have access to their own ranger, chef and butler.Samara already offers accommodation in the Karoo Lodge, comprising three lodge suites and three Karoo suites.

Company: Peermont Global

Info: A NEW three-star hotel, The Metcourt, is being built at the Emperors Palace Hotel Casino and Convention Resort. The 248-room hotel, scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2008, will be located on the north-west boundary of the Emperors Palace complex on Jones Road. It is estimated to cost around R170m to develop and will feature a large ground floor reception area, business centre, boardroom, residents’ pool areas and buffet-style restaurant. There will also be large dedicated facilities for the arrival and check-in of tour groups.

The Metcourt will be managed by Peermont and is the fourth hotel at Emperors Palace.The existing hotels include the five-star D’oreale Grande, the three-star Mondior Concorde and the three-star Metcourt Laurel.