ARTICLES SELECTED FROM THE CATEGORY: "Rwanda"

New wildlife documentaries featuring African destinations keep on coming, a sure sign of the interest in this vast and spectacular continent from tourists from around the world.

Luangwa Valley
The spectacular Luangwa Valley in Zambia recently warranted its own three part ITV documentary “Lion Country”, which showcases perfectly the beauty and sense of timeless Africa that you get in this raw and compelling wilderness. Safari Club have sent many guests to this exciting destination and look forward to sending many more. If you would like to visit the Luangwa Valley take a look at our 2017 “Land of the Big Cats” itinerary.

Zambia
Zambia is an increasingly popular wildlife destination and now that the government is taking tourism seriously we have noticed an increased level of interest in areas outside the usual circuit of South Luangwa, Lower Zambezi and Victoria Falls. Other attractions include North Luangwa which is only accessible for four months of the year and is the ultimate walking destination with just two small camps. Liuwa Plain which is getting its first permanent safari camp this year and is one of the best places to see cheetah and hyena in Zambia as well as huge herds of assorted plains game. Perhaps most importantly of all the vast Kafue National Park, real rising star on the safari circuit. Following previous articles on this park we have been asked for an idea of an itinerary and costing so please take a look at “Spirit of the Kafue”.

Ready to visit Serengeti?

Africa’s best known reserve is never a cheap place to visit but remains at the top of many bucket lists. If you are able to travel within six weeks we have a special offer that lets you get right into the heart of the Serengeti at around half the normal price. This is a flexible, flying safari staying in top quality camps on an all-inclusive basis which can be extended to visit other reserves. The final itinerary and price will depend on availability at camps so all you need to do is to provide us with dates and we will prepare a tailor made itinerary to suit. This special remains available throughout 2017 and is priced on a Kilimanjaro to Kilimanjaro basis.
7nts US$3834  per person sharing; 10nts US$5547 per person sharing.

Zimbabwe Magic
Zimbabwe remains one of the finest safari destinations in Africa with some excellent National Parks teeming with wild game not to mention the iconic Victoria Falls. The country is safe and peaceful and the local Zimbabwean people are friendly and very welcoming. In terms of value for money Zimbabwe is very attractive as well. If you fancy visiting, see our “Victoria Falls to Kariba” safari visiting Victoria Falls, Hwange National Park, Lake Kariba and Matusadona or contact us for a detailed itinerary. 
9nts US$3666 pp 12nts from US$5711 pp.

Maasai Mara to Victoria Falls and Zimbabwe?

Yes really! It is now possible to visit these diverse and iconic African destinations using the latest Kenya Airways flights. If you would like to visit these area’s staying in the excellent Governors and Wilderness Safaris camps please take a look at this “Iconic Africa”.
9nts from US$4531 to US$4863 (Excludes International Flights)

Ever seen African Wild Dogs?
For many safari enthusiasts seeing the endangered African wild dog, also known as the painted dog, is the highlight of an African safari. We can arrange a trip for you to the Painted Dog Conservancy adjacent to the Hwange National Park, where tracking these fascinating creatures with the specialist researchers is possible and sightings highly probable. See “Alison Dewar’s recent blog” on her trip to the dogs. Why not add a visit to our “Victoria Falls to Kariba” safari.

Baby Boom – Gorillas
Mountain gorillas have been regularly featuring in TV news bulletins in recent weeks. The reason for this is that buy acyclovir walmart there has been a baby boom, particularly in Uganda where a new baby is being born in most months. This is fantastic news for a species which reproduces slowly and remains highly endangered Much of this success derives from increased conservation efforts largely funded by wildlife tourism. If you can get to Rwanda or Uganda possibly taking advantage of the new direct flights from London Gatwick, then do go! you will enjoy a very special experience whilst helping to conserve one of our closest relatives.

Chimpanzee habitation
If you go to Uganda to meet the gorillas, you could also visit the chimpanzees in Kibale or Budongo and possibly go out with the researchers for a whole day as they go about habituating a group of wild chimpanzees to human presence.

Rwanda Gorilla Permits to double
The Rwanda Development board has announced that the price of a gorilla tracking permit will double from US$750 to US$1500 with immediate effect. Safari Club guests already booked to go to Rwanda have no need to worry as all permits are already secured! Permits for Uganda remain at US$600 at the time of writing making Uganda a very attractive option for guests wanting to see mountain gorillas! Read more

Elephant translocation breeding success
You may have read our blog from last year regarding the translocation of 500 elephants to Nkhotahota National Park from the overcrowded Liwonde and Majete National Parks. Nkhotakota was once home to more than 1,500 elephants. Lack of protection coupled with the insatiable demand for ivory reduced the population to just 100 individuals. Between July and August in 2016, 261 elephants were successfully moved from Liwonde to a sanctuary within Nkhotakota. The new arrivals are thriving! Recently rangers on patrol have sighted some very young elephants that have been born in Nkhotakota in the last six months. While we have yet to confirm numbers, given gestation is 22 months for elephants, these calves were conceived before making the journey to their new home. These elephants will soon be joined by 240 others, coming from Liwonde and Majete Wildlife Reserve between June and August 2017. Would you like to visit Nkhotahota and see some of these animals in their new and very beautiful home? Time it right and you could witness the arrival of the next batch of elephants. A safari here would combine very nicely with a trip to Zambia’s spectacular South Luangwa National Park and a few days relaxing on Lake Malawi.
Contact us if you would like to visit Malawi or read more about the translocation.
9nts from US$4531 to US$4863 (Excludes International Flights)

Botswana summer- Perfect Bargain
Past newsletters have featured “Green Season” safaris in Botswana between December and March. The cost of a safari in Botswana is around half the cost of a visit in the peak season. Green season game viewing remains excellent, with the bush green and fresh, birds in full mating plumage, many animals choosing to have their young in this time of plenty and the light is perfect for photography. Take a look at our “Sightings report” for March 2017 for taste of what could be in store.

Polish up your photography skills in Botswana
Would you like to improve your photography skills whilst enjoying a fabulous safari holiday in Botswana visiting the fabulous Selinda Reserve and the Okavango Delta? Our “Wild Studio” photography tour includes free tuition and advice and is suitable for beginners as well as experienced photographers. Accompanying partners are very welcome and will enjoy normal guided game drives.  The rates offered for the Wild Studio” are the same as normal seasonal lodge rates with no extra expense for specialist wildlife photographer/guide tuition. We recommend starting with three days on the “Wild Studio workshop” and then continuing with a regular safari to other areas of Botswana to practice your new-found skills.

Kigali, 6 May 2017 – The Rwanda Development Board today announced an increase in the price of Gorilla Permits from US$ 750 to US $1,500 for all vnew permits issued from today.

A new exclusive package for tourists who wish to book an entire family of gorillas was also introduced at US$ 15,000, and will receive exclusive personalized tour guide services. How this will work in practice is unclear.

Tourists who visit other national parks (Nyungwe and Akagera) for a minimum of three days, in addition to gorilla trekking will receive a discount of 30%.

The rate hike coincides with the opening of some very expensive, high end lodges in Volcanoes and Akegera National Parks in line with Rwanda’s high-end tourism strategy, the price increase aims to strengthen conservation efforts and contribute more to the development of communities living around the Volcanoes National Park.

Also last week 15 black rhino were introduced into Akegera, a savanna type game reserve on Rwanda’s Eastern border with Tanzania making Akagera the first “Big Five” reserve in Rwanda.

Most visitors to Rwanda at present visit the gorillas and then move on the neighbouring Tanzania and Kenya for a general safari. The new moves appear to be an attempt to keep tourists in the country for longer and spending more mone, following the Botswana model of low impact buy aciclovir tablets online uk high value tourim.

We imagine that guests on a tight budget who wish to see the mountain gorillas will now choose to do so in Uganda, where, at present the cost of a permit remains at US$600. The effect of this is likely to make it difficult for the many low cost lodges and hotels in Rwanda that have sprung up to cater for gorilla tourism to attract their traditional backpacker and overlander tourists on which they have relied in the past.

The new tariff will enable the tourism revenue sharing rate for communities adjacent to the park, to be increased from 5% to 10%, which will quadruple the absolute revenues received by communities. Over the last 12 years, more than 400 community projects have been completed including hospitals, schools, business development centers and water supply systems to facilitate access to clean water. These projects directly benefit the people living around the parks.

Ms. Clare Akamanzi, the Chief Executive Officer at Rwanda Development Board said:

“Gorilla trekking is a highly unique experience. We have raised the price of permits in order to ensure sustainability of conservation initiatives and enhance visitors’ experience. We also want to make sure that the communities living near the park area receive a bigger share of tourism revenues to fund development projects and empower them economically.”

We have been collecting together lots of photographs that have been provided either by some of our clients on safari or by ourselves on our familiarisation trips.

For example Martin Taylor and family did a self-drive holiday in the Western Cape on a trip to South Africa, staying in Knysna, buy aciclovir uk Hermanus, Franschhoek and Cape Town. They then flew to Timbavati Reserve (Kruger area) and stayed at Hamiltons and Chitwa Chitwa Camps.

Links to our photo galleries will appear on the destination pages to which they apply but all the galleries currently available can also be seen here:

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