Is that your Final Answer?

   I knew that I was going to be traveling weeks in advance but there I was twelve hours before boarding my flight out of LAX and I hadn't started to pack.  This was a work trip: was I going to blog? tweet? send back pics? Can I manage with just my iphone or do I have to bring my laptop?  I was going to be escorting a small fam group.  Did I leave enough room in my bags for extra travel bags (for en route acquisitions), extra luggage tags, etc.....
  So I get dropped off at LAX and I check in for my flight. The counter personnel asks "What's your final destination?" I answer "Nairobi" without giving it much thought.  Fast forward 12 hours and I have collected everyone's baggage off the carousel in Dubai - except mine.  I go the luggage handling office and am advised that my bags are being held inside customs as they had been tagged all the way through to Nairobi.  Duh!  And then the pieces fell into place.  I understood what had occurred but ask myself "What would one of my clients do if it had happened to them?".  Why don't they just ask, "Where am I tagging your bags today?"  Well, it takes a few minutes and a return trip to the airport three hours later but I get my bags.
  Fast forward 48 hours and we are checking out of our Nairobi hotel and somehow or other, the room charges are mucked up.  I takes me about twenty minutes to get everyone's bills sorted.  Again, what if this happened to one of my clients?

  Again, fast forward 7 days to the end of our trip and we are driving up a hardpack road to out lodging in Karatu (outside the Ngorongoro Crater) and we get stuck in the mud.  Thankfully, an emergency vehicle passes within 10 minutes and helps pull us out.  Fast forward 24 hours, same road after a full day in the crater and after we successfully make our way past the mud pit we all cheer.  Not more than 300 yards further along the same road, we get a puncture.  

Okay, everybody out and I help the driver change the flat. Am I feeling hexed? No, not at all; this is Africa and there is always the possibility for the unexpected.  The group and I all put things in the proper perspective and have a better handle of how to prepare our clients.

  And to close with something humorous - well, at least to us anyway.  We were seated at dinner and the lighting was atmospheric. The server presented a plate of assorted greens, to which one of the group asked "What's in the salad?"  I mean, I am from LA, is it endive? escarole? arugula? The question seemed perfectly sensible. However the server had a perplexed look on his face and after what seemed like about 15 - 20 seconds, replied with confidence, "Salad."  Well, after we looked at each other and stifled the urge to burst out in laughter, I just couldn't contain myself and uttered "Is that your final answer?"  Well, maybe it's only humorous if you were there. 

Note: The names have been changed to protect the innocent. We all really had a GREAT time and future entries will cover more of the relevant details!  Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed it!

- Richard

Naibor is the place to be in the Masai Mara

There has been lots BIG CAT ACTION around Naibor Camp this month:
CHEETAH! – no fewer than eight individuals have been “spotted” already by mid-July, including the three brothers on a Wildebeest kill, a mother with two mature cubs and two adult males including a “grizzly” one new to the Mara, probably from the Serengeti.
LION! – a mother with three tiny cubs have been the centre of the Lion activity and up to three separate prides have been recorded daily, including one with three big-maned males.
LEOPARD! – always a favourite with Naibor guests, our resident Leopardess Binti was seen close to camp a few days ago and appears to be pregnant, which is her first time. Meanwhile, Olive and her two half-grown cubs have been showing superbly between the camp and the airstrip. A male and a transient female, also with two cubs, have also been seen in July so far.
SERVAL! – one seen in short grass close to Naibor was hunting rodents. Our guests watched this elusive creature for over an hour at close range!
And of coarse, the migration is still in full swing. Being sited on the Talek River, your are close to all of the major WILDEBEEST crossing points.
 

"Kenya's Migration: Mara Wonders" is African Travel's 7night program spends 6 nights in the Masai Mara and 3 of those nights are spent at Naibor.  Land starts at $5,195 per person for travel now through October.

Update on the Situation in Kampala, Uganda - courtesy of Volcanoes Safaris

There have been media reports relating to explosions at public places in Kampala, the capital of Uganda on Sunday 11 July, where a number of people are reported to have died.

The government is investigating this incident and will release further information as and when a clearer picture emerges. Preliminary indications are that this was a one-off terrorist incident organized by a militia group from a neighbouring country. After this sad incident, life in Kampala has returned to normal and is proceeding as usual. Travel to and from the city continues normally. All areas of the country remain stable and clients are proceeding with safaris as planned. Most Volcanoes Safaris clients do not generally visit Kampala on their way to tourist attractions. There is no cause for alarm. The government has reinforced security and reassured everyone that measures are in place to safeguard public safety.

African Travel, Inc. has contacted travelers who are currently traveling to or in Uganda and we are closely monitoring the situation.

Zambia Reduces Visa Fees for World Cup Ticket Holders

The Zambia Government has with immediate effect reduced the Visa Fees from US$50 to US$25 for single entry Wold Cup bound tourists. The reduced fee will apply to those entering the country with a valid ticket for any of the World Cup matches.

Home Affairs Minister, Mkhondo Lungu, announced this measure to allow visa processing at the port of entry instead of prior to travel in a bid to help those who have travelled for the World Cup in South Africa have easy access to Zambia.

This measure will be in force until July 31, 2010.

Entries are now closed...

Were you one of the agents who answered the call and is eligible to win a free trip to South Africa?

The booking window just closed on our Spectacular Safari Giveaway. Terms of entry were quite simple and the grand prize is truly spectacular.

Catch the video to learn about the grand prize.



In order to find out if you are the lucky winner, become a fan of African Travel's fan page on Facebook. The winner will be announced sometime before May 1, 2010.

Thanks to all travel agents who booked South Africa ... and thank you to all participating suppliers, Singita Game Reserves, Cape Grace Hotel, Westcliff Orient Express, Sun International, The Blue Train, South African Airways and South African Tourism for your generous contributions to create this incredible trip.

African Travel supports a variety of projects in Africa, Action for Cheetas in Kenya being one of them. We thought we would share this poem with you, it was written by Prince Sam, a beekeeper in Kenya:

"Sometime it is not a dream. i just wake up and the night is still young but no sleep. so yesterday it happened again but this time i decided that i must sent to you what i wrote down during that sleepless hour on my precious atom."

Thank you Bonnie
for i will get the honey
maybe it is about money
so she be my bee.
I learned the trick
and am ready to tent and treat.
I'll clean your house
and keep off the mouse
i'll toil like a boy learning to swim
because i need to future my dream.
I smelling the smoke
and thirsty for coke.
Oh please, give me wax,
can't see you to waste.
Give me propolis so i kick asthmatic
stinking with sweat tired.
And if you give me you venom,
i free of rheumatism.
SOOTH my thirst with your honey.
But don't sting me too many
because i know you won't.
For more information on Action for Cheetahs click here.

BUSHMANS KLOOF ON CONDÉ NAST – AGAIN

BUSHMANS KLOOF ON CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER USA GOLD LIST – AGAIN!

Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve & Wellness Retreat in the Cederberg (Western Cape, South Africa) has been selected, for the second year in a row, as one of the very few South African destinations to appear on the prestigious Condé Nast Traveler USA Annual Gold List 2010.

Sharing this distinction on the coveted ‘roll of honour’ is sister hotel, The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa, in Cape Town. Both are members of the Red Carnation Hotel Collection, along with The Milestone Hotel, which achieved top spot on the Gold List this year in the London city hotels category.

This exclusive international accolade follows hot on the heels of Bushmans Kloof being voted one of only three winners in the ‘Best Hotels for Food in Africa, Middle East and the Indian Ocean’ category of the 2010 Condé Nast Traveller UK Gold List, sharing the title with Le Quartier Francais in Franschhoek, and all-villa resort, Maia, in the Seychelles. 
 
The Condé Nast Traveler USA Gold List, a readers’ poll of the ‘Best Places to Stay in The World’, is the most highly regarded list of its kind. Widely used by American travellers, it is recognised as ‘a compendium of properties as reliable as bullion itself’. Approximately 25,000 readers of the magazine give their impressions in the annual Readers’ Choice Survey. Each year’s Gold List score represents the percentage of those who rated a property ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ on specific criteria.

This year respondents cited the Bushmans Kloof experience as ‘deeply enriching’ and ‘beyond all expectations’ with hotel rooms ‘fusing modern and African design’, and service ‘impeccable on all levels’. The afternoon tea at Makana, its spectacular open-air dining venue, was described as being ‘in a class all of its own – pure confection’.

Bushmans Kloof is the ideal getaway, offering an exhilarating combination of wellness, tranquility, restoration, conservation and heritage. It is the ultimate haven to rest the mind and spirit, in the heart of the wilderness and surrounded by the wonders of nature. The highly acclaimed Relais & Châteaux lodge has 16 spectacular guest rooms and suites, combining beautiful finishes with an eclectic combination of ethnic and South African-colonial art and furnishings. Just 270kms from Cape Town, this ecological oasis of open plains, rock pools and waterfalls set amongst landscapes of staggering rock formations, has a spirit and mystical beauty that gently soothes and rejuvenates, leaving one feeling at peace and restored.

Bushmans Kloof has consistently received world-wide recognition for its exceptional dedication to preserving the natural beauty of the 7500 hectare reserve that provides a predator and malaria-free sanctuary to many endangered species of flora and fauna. With over 130 ancient Bushman rock art sites in the reserve it is also a South African Natural Heritage Site, renowned as one of the world’s largest open air rock art galleries. 

An inspiring holistic healing and wellness focus has been introduced, with additional facilities and spa/wellness programmes to enhance this special experience, allowing guests to make their stay one of discovery, enrichment and indulgence.

Having personally had the pleasure of spending three days at Bushmans Kloof recently, I wholeheartedly support the all above accolades and offer my own congratulations.

Richard Haas-Winkelman