It conjures up thoughts of a child’s worst fright, but there are no people to scare in this skier’s delight

Any guesses?

Matt is (of course) referring to the sand ski haven of the Skeleton Coast in Namibia. The skeleton coast is aptly named as shipwrecks and animal skeletons dot the desert landscape. Only the tough survive out here!

Along with the shipwrecks, the area is famed for it’s distinctive Welwitschia plants (considered living fossils) which are indigenous to the region. These hardy plants thrive in the harshest of conditions and some individuals may be as many as 2000 years old!

The fascinating Welwitchia plant.

Colonies of Cape Fur seals are found all along the coast whilst inland one can expect to see animals as diverse as elephants and crocodiles to a myriad of bird life.

The skeleton coast provides adventurous types with a real ‘off the beaten track’ feel, and one cannot but marvel at the fascinating landscape which all sorts of weird and wonderful fauna and flora call home.

The Skeleton Coast is famed for it's many shipwrecks.

Speak to African Safari Consultants to arrange your Skeleton Coast experience.

We were particularly cognizant of the value of having someone in NY and in Cape Town looking out for us when, in the middle of our trip, a Chilean volcano eruption caused the cancellation of one of our flights.  Liesl quickly got us rebooked and all of our downline transfers re-organized so that we were able to rejoin our intended itinerary as soon as the skies cleared.  This had the potential to be a nightmare, but ended up being a small blip on our radar screens thanks to the excellent in-country support of ASC.

Our expectations were high, but our trip far surpassed them.  Every part of the trip was just as advertised by the folks at ASC.  There were no unpleasant surprises, and we would HIGHLY recommend them to anyone planning a trip to Africa.

We would be happy to answer any questions you might have about our experience with ASC.”

Jill & John Pollock, Houston, TX

With Irene causing havoc along the coast of the USA it is a good time to remind you of why you should visit our beautiful continent Africa!  I have also covered some good tips on how to choose your Safari in previous blog posts (so go back and have a look) which just adds substance to the above!

The main difficultly I have with this subject is actually where to start!  There is so much here to indulge in.  You are also spoilt for type of holiday – from adventure, to romance, viby cities to desolate wilderness, vacations for retired folks as well as vacations for families!  Maybe the easy way to do this is to list some of my favorites and hopefully that sparks off a desire in you to get away from the first world havoc and come and see what Africa is all about!

Having grown up in South Africa I have been privileged enough to regularly enjoy areas like the Kruger National Park, Garden Route, Kwa-Zulu Natal, and even the Malaria free areas of the Eastern Cape and Madikwe.  I can speak endlessly about the sea, mountains, wildlife, people and just awesome beauty that South Africa holds.   It honestly is one of the most beautiful countries I have been too – and I have traveled fairly extensively!  If you want variety – South Africa is it!

My favorite for game experiences has to be Zambia and the South Luangwa National Park.  I don’t think I have ever seen so many lion and the hippos – wow!  But the other awesome thing about South Luangwa is the walking.  If you’ve had a few safari experiences in your life and are looking for something a little different, than walking safaris are the way to go!  It is super thrilling and you really have the opportunity to get very close to nature and wildlife.

I also relish the opportunity to get away from it all, leave the rat race behind.  I love going to places where I don’t see many people, have amazing views, can see millions of stars at night (this is quite common throughout Africa actually!) and have experiences that are just totally different to everyday life.  One country that gave me all of this was Namibia.  The baron vast endlessness……..and honestly, it is impossible to take a bad photo (unless of course you stupidly have your camera on the wrong settings)!  Namibia delivers on so many levels.

My final thoughts for today are with the Makgadikgadi Pans in Botswana.  A truly magical place that not many people have the opportunity of experiencing!  The desert adapted wildlife throws a whole new perspective on how remarkable nature is.  Whether you travel in the wet season or the dry season this place puts the world into perspective and reminds you of what is actually important.

Don’t forget to contact us if you want any advice on the above!  Or please let me know your favorite places?

Last week I promised a few more tips on how to choose the right safari.  Last week I covered:

1.  When do you want to go?
2. Winter vs Summer?
3. Malaria Free Safaris?
4. Your budget?

With these 4 questions covered we can look at getting a little more specific about your experience.

Once you have covered the above the next thing that I would ask is what kind of vacation or safari are you looking for and who are you traveling with?
There are options out there that are more suited to families, older generations, honeymooners, adventurers, 1st time safari goers and those looking to volunteer and give something back.  So believe it or not, this is an important consideration and really helps your consultant provide you with the product best suited to you.

Although your budget might decide where you can go – it would be good for you to have an idea about this too?  There are plenty of choices out there – somewhere like East Africa with Kenya and Tanzania and of course the Gorillas in Uganda and Rwanda – has been on the safari circuit for decades.  They are awesome destinations for game viewing and they can be busy and expensive.  Botswana is going to give you an exclusive wilderness experience.  I think it has been said that there are more beds in the Cape Town Waterfront, then in the whole of Botswana!  Because of this exclusivity there is a premium cost attached to staying in this beautiful country.
South Africa has marketed itself well over the years and certainly is a destination that has something for everyone.  So if you are looking for other experiences to include with your Safari, then perhaps South Africa is the right place for you.   Of course – if you like Deserts……nothing compares to dunes and ancient paths in Namibia.

The last thing I would consider when making my safari choice is how much support these establishments are providing to the local communities and how much they are giving back to wildlife.  This is actually something that you do find often now and I think it is an important consideration.  You want to know that you are also giving back to the local people and wildlife you are seeing.

In this way we all play a small part in preserving our Earth’s amazing treasures.  I hope this has been useful.  I always value any comments or thoughts so please feel free to add yours!

A newsletter popped into my inbox yesterday from a lodge in the KwaZulu Natal province of South Africa.  At the bottom they added some really interesting facts about Cheetahs which I didn’t know.  So I thought I would do a little research and see what else I could learn for myself.

Here are the facts in the newsletter from Nambiti Hills:

-  A cheetah’s body temperature at rest is around 39ºC (102.2F).  When the cheetah hunts, her body temperature gets up to 242.5ºC (468.5F)!
-  A cheetah can eat 14 kg of meat in a sitting. That’s close to one third of her body weight
-  A cheetah’s heart, liver and lungs are nearly three times the size of those of a lioness. That’s because they need to get as much oxygen into their system as they can

Using a few resources I found a few other things about the Cheetah that I don’t think are common known facts:

-  A cheetah can go from 0 to 60 miles (96 kilometers) an hour in only three seconds
-  The cheetah hunts by vision rather than by scent. Prey is stalked to within 10–30 m (33–98 ft), then chased. This is usually over in less than a minute, and if the cheetah fails to make a catch quickly, it will give up. The cheetah has an average hunting success rate of around 50%
-  When cheetahs run fast they use their tales to steer.  Their tails work like a rudder of a boat to help them turn the direction they want to go
-  Cheetahs do not roar like lions, but purr just like a domestic cat. They also chirp like a bird, hiss, whine, growl in anger or fright and moan in distress
-  The cheetah has a small head with high-set eyes. Black “tear marks”, which run from the corner of its eyes down the sides of the nose to its mouth, keep the sun out of its eyes and make it one of the most deadly hunters
-  It is the only felid with non-retractable claws and pads that, by their scope, disallow gripping (therefore cheetah cannot climb vertical trees, although they are generally capable of reaching easily accessible branches).

Most wild cheetahs are found in Eastern and South Western Africa. Perhaps only 7,000 to 10,000 of them remain, and those are under pressure as the wide-open grasslands they favor are disappearing at the hands of human settlers.  The average life cycle for a Cheetah is up to 12 years in the wild, but most survive around 8 years and in captivity they can live up to 20 years.

If you looking to see these animals in action then chat to us about a vacation to Phinda, the Eastern Cape, Namibia or Tanzania and we can tailor make the perfect itinerary for you!  I have only seen these beautiful mammals a couple of times in my life and always hold my breath.  I find them magic!

And in case you have missed it – don’t forget to go and see The Last of the Lions, a National Geographic movie!

There was a bit of focus on the Hippo last week – with Lise’s visit to Hippo Hollow and then also finding out about the almost human hippo, Jessica.  I thought it might be worthwhile to delve a bit into these huge animals and see what interesting things I could find out about them.

As much as I love the Big 5 – I always enjoy looking for hippo when out on safari.  I find them pretty awesome creatures!  They are fairly common throughout Southern Africa’s National Parks, obviously in those parks where there is water…..so you not going to find hippos in Botswana’s Makgadikgadi Pans or Namibia’s Etosha!
If you are looking for abundant numbers of hippo then my advice is the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia, particularly at the end of the dry season!  I have never seen such dense populations, literally hundreds and hundreds in huge pods.  The reason you get to see such numbers is because the wet season ends around March / April so by the time the rains arrive after the dry season, usually early November – there is very limited water in the normally water logged Luangwa River.  So the hippos are reduced to very specific areas of the river, that still have some water.

This does result in some super aggressive behavior, and we were witness to some spectacular duels in the week we were in the Luangwa Valley.  That said – a hippo will rarely kill another.  They will generally stop fighting when it becomes clear that one is stronger than the other.  However to humans, they are incredibly dangerous and are one of the biggest killers in Africa.

Abundant hippo pods in the South Luangwa River

Here are a few facts I thought I would share about the hippo:

1. After the elephant the hippo is the second largest land animal, but the third largest by weight behind the white rhinoceros
2. During the day they remain in or close to water and mud, this helps protect them from sunburn.  At dusk they come onto the land to graze, sometimes traveling as far as 8km (5miles)
3. They are herbivores.  Their digestive system has not adapted to eat meat
4. They can outrun a human on land – with speeds up to 30km/h (for short distances)
5. They can run along the bottom of a river due to their specific gravity
6. Adult hippos will surface to breathe every 3 – 5 minutes.  This is an “automated” process and will happen even if the hippo is sleeping.  It will raise to breathe without waking itself

This is usually what you are looking for

Even today I read an article that the Masai Mara – one of the most famous National Parks in the world – has lost more than two thirds of its wildlife over the last three decades – that is all in my life time!  Are we able to do something?

It can be tough to be forward thinking.  To wonder what it would be like not have wildlife reserves.  To think about our kids and grandkids and what they might not see.  There are so few fighting for the rights of our animals and protecting them.  The odds against these individuals and organizations are huge….yet they are passionate and committed!

The big threats out there are drought, population pressure, tourism overdevelopment and political mismanagement.  These are all huge topics.  Africa is a continent that has been torn by war, natural disasters like flooding, famine, drought, minimal education and in many cases, wildlife that knows no borders and boundaries.

I don’t really know what the answers are.  I guess, the more we talk about things and the more we expose – made easier these days by the internet – the more people will join together in preserving our wildlife.  We have to keep remembering that every little bit counts, it doesn’t matter how insignificant we think it might be.  We have some of the most awesome wildlife attractions in the world and there are positive results that do keep shining through as the war on Rhino poaching shows:  decreased from 40 Rhinos poached in March 2011 to only 2 poached in June! So please lets all make an effort!

We need to protect and preserve!

Lion Cubs Drinking

There has been a fair focus on Lions this week with the release of “The Last Lions” movie trailor featuring Ma di Tau.

They are also one of the huge reasons people travel to Africa, to see these amazing creatures in their wild, natural habitat.  Part of the Big 5 (Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo & Rhino) group of animals that has made South Africa and the Kruger National Park famous, you can also see plenty of Lion in the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia, Etosha National Park in Namibia as well as in Botswana and of course lets not forget Tanzania and Kenya!

The interesting thing that I learnt this week about Lion Cubs – is that only about 20% of them survive to reach adulthood! I was quite stunned by that figure…..

The Hatted Hippo

This fabulous image has been around since 1979 and was taken by Paul Dutton.  Shot with a pre-digital 35mm Pentax camera, the hippo in question, tried on a good 35 “hats” before finding the perfect fit.  With almost the entire film dedicated to this particular hippo, it was a once-off photo shoot with famous results for Paul!

It was taken while carrying out field work in the Urema Floodplain in the Gorgongosa National Park.  The floral hat in question is an invasive aquatic weed called “water hyacinth”, first introduced into Africa’s wetland system from South America.   Although a serious pest for impeding water flow and causing excessive oxygen up-take to the detriment of fauna and fish, it was fantastic fodder for the hippo, who has the capacity to consume 50kgs of herbage a day!

The image has appeared on the cover of the Wildlife Society of South Africa magazine, as well as being printed into large posters and used to advertise conservation areas in Southern Africa.  The original slide came back from the printers damaged, and only the digital era has managed to “repair” the damage and return the image to its original format.

The civil war that plagued Mozambique destroyed the population of hippos in the Gorongosa National Park.  The numbers declined from around 6,000 before the war to a staggering less than 20 in 1994.  The ivory and meat supplied by these huge animals helped sustain the war.  With the Carr Foundation now involved in Gorongosa National Park, massive rehabilitation efforts are returning the animal populations back to their original numbers!