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We’ve all head the saying “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.” When enjoying safaris in Africa, loads of tourists around the globe have done their best to conserve nature and celebrate Africa’s beautiful destination.
This family are doing it wrong…
And THATS how you bring safaris in Africa home. I’d just buy a curio.
Experience the Big Five on a safari to Africa!
“This massive Black Mamba was spotted close to some graves near a sugarcane plantation in Richards Bay in South Africa. Its estimated to be about 6 and half meters long and 45 years old, born around 1960! This snake has enough venom to kill 400 men!” – Facebook User
*Gulp*
Thanks go to Mark E Willis for sharing this photo on Facebook.
*Post Update*
Seeing as this photo and information is sourced by content shared on Facebook, additional facts and verification that this Black Mamba exists would be much appreciated. Below are a few more pictures of Black Mambas big enough to make your skin crawl.
Photo by Snake Pics
Black Mamba in Etosha National Park
Weather in Africa is a mysterious thing, making the question “What is the best time to visit Africa?” a tough one to answer. African climates range from hot dry deserts to cold, windy and wet coasts. It is safe to say that weather in Africa is as diverse as the continent itself.
If you’re going to pay good money to go on a safari, you’re going to want to go during the best season. Because you’re clever like that. So, what is the best time to visit Africa?
East Africa is best visited during the dry seasons: July through to October and December through to March.
Photo by Thomas van den Berg
Just before the wet season is usually the best weather to experience game viewing in Africa. This time of year the grass is at its lowest and wildlife don’t wander too far from permanent water holes.
Malaria is also at its lowest level just before the rains. The rainy seasons move northbound in a band across continental Africa, so travelling in a southbound direction means you will only be within the rain band for just over a week.
Southern Africa is best visited from April through to October for the same reasons as East Africa: low grass, better game viewing and a lower malaria risk.
During May, June and July you will experience relatively cool temperatures during the day and in the evenings, temperatures drop during winter, but you will only need a jersey or jacket at most to keep comfortable and warm. Its Africa, not Alaska.
Some say that November through to March is not a good time to travel in Southern Africa. Ask anybody who lives in Southern Africa whether they agree with this fact and you’ll be pressed to find someone who agrees! This time of year is Southern Africa’s summer… the weather is gorgeous!
Photo by Nick Holdstock
Sure, January in the Namib desert can be a scorcher, but November to March include many pleasant months to travel throughout most of Southern Africa! Those are the months that we Capetonians enjoy our precious city most in. Apart from the gaggles of tourists which swarm the Mother City streets in December and the winds that blow in October around the Peninsula, a slice of Southern Africa between November and March is utter bliss.
There is no such thing as a good or a bad time to travel in Africa. Period. If you travel in the wet season, everything is fresh and green. Nature is at its best, making for stunning photos, however its tougher to spot wildlife because the bush is so thick.
If you travel to Africa in the dry season, its dusty and nature is dry, but it is much easier to spot wildlife. Traveling in the rainy season does affect your travel, rains in most areas in East and Southern Africa come fast and furious. This means that you experience intense downpours, but then the sun comes out again and all is well. You don’t have to worry about spending 3 weeks on an overland safari and not seeing the sun once. The sun will come out, but if all else fails, a spray-on suntan seems to work wonders too.
Book your African safari today!
There are only 7 northern white rhino left in the world and conservationists are worried about the future reproduction of the world’s rarest large mammal.
The reason for the decline in the population is attributed to hunting, poaching, and loss of habitat.
Graph Above: In 1960 the northern rhino population was over 2000. In the 1970s and 1980s the population dropped from 500 to 15 because of poaching. Managing to recover slightly, the population climbed to 25 in 1997 and went on to reach a peak of 32 in 2003. After 2003, poaching shot up and in 2009 the population dwindled to 8 northern white rhinos left in the world. 2011 has seen the population reach an all-time low when one of the 8 last northern white rhino’s left, died of old age.
Until 2009, the last eight northern white rhinos lived in two zoos in Europe and the USA. On December 20, 2009, four of the last eight were moved from Dvur Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic to Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya.
“They are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and are thought to be extinct in the wild. Moving them now is a last bid effort to save them and their gene pool from total extinction.” Said Dr Rob Brett, Africa Regional Director at Fauna & Flora International, and member of the IUCN African Rhino Specialist group.
Above: The northern white rhino is categorised as ‘critically endangered’ by IUCN Red List.
While in captivity, the survival rate of northern white rhinos are good, but reproduction rates are extremely low. The four rhinos were relocated back into the wild in hope of bringing about successful mating. Many said that the operation would put the animals at risk because they had spent so long in protected conditions and they would not be used to the harsh African environment.
Members of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria stated that they didn’t think that “any significant conservation benefits will happen,” from the placement of the rhino back in the wild and in March 2011, they were almost correct. Just over 15 months of being released into the central Kenyan highlands and the northern white rhino’s began ‘mating’ activities. This behavioral change served to confirm that the four rhino had shed their non-procreational coexistence that they adopted while living in captivity and had now returned to the way nature intended it. Although the rhinos have been mating since in Africa, there have not been any offspring which have resulted from intercourse.
With reproduction of northern white rhinos coming to a halt, inter-crossing of the northern and southern species is planned by conservationists in order to ensure that the genes of the northern white rhino do not die with the last of their species.
However, with recent technology, it seems that all hope is not dead in losing the rare strain of the rhino’s gene. With the use of stem cell development it may be possible to produce the northern white rhino from a test tube.
Director of Genetics at San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research, Dr. Oliver Ryder says: “The greatest contribution this technology might make is to prevent extinction by using stem cells to assist with rescuing the genetic variation in increasing the reproduction of a critically endangered species.”
The video below outlines the possibility of using science effectively to save the northern white rhino:
The following organisations have invested time, money, effort and have proved highly dedicated to restoring the northern white rhino:
Dvur Králové Zoo
Kenya Wildlife Service
Fauna & flora International
Ol Pejeta Conservancy
Back to Africa
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
It seems that a combination of conservation effort, anti-poaching legislation and scientific brilliance, the world will never have to lose one of its precious species’ again. Quagga, we miss you.
Be one of the few to see the the remaining seven northern white rhino, with a trip to Kenya.
Reference Sources:
Wikipedia – Northern White Rhinoceros
Northern White Rhino Last Chance
International Fund for Animal Welfare
Original Article source: Discover Africa.com
Although taking lions and tigers to Gabon from South Africa is not on everyone’s holiday to do list, someone had to do it and that someone was me. Bright eyed and bushy tailed I arrived at the client, ready to start darting at 23:00. I needed to finish at 00:30 with 6 animals loaded and on the road to O.R Tambo International, leaving on a charter for Gabon at the crack of dawn.
Everything was going according to plan. The last to be loaded was a big Bengal tiger with a fierce attitude in his night quarters.
Photo by Sias van Schalkwyk
Lift-off was at 06:00 the next morning. The exhausting flight of 10.5 hours in one of the smaller Antonov 32b went fairly well. Anyone who tours in Africa will know, it gets super hot in most parts. The cats behaved themselves but seemed to be overheating in their crates so we turned the air temperature way down.
With the final touch-down in Libreville, we were met by some friendly Gabonese folks. After examining the holding enclosures available, I decided I wasn’t happy with them, and we would have to construct new ones from scratch. Seeing that the cats overheated in the crates, 30 degrees with 70% humidity that day in Gabon was far from ideal. They needed to get out ASAP.
I had four days, which eventually turned into seven, to construct holding pens we were happy with for one of Africa’s top predator and an angry Bengal. Their crates are not suitable for staying in more than 24 to 48 hours but we simply could not let them loose while we built the new holding pens.
I decided that we needed three big containers to put these cats in to give us time to build bigger and more permanent pens. Construction started and the Gabonese seemed to be very resourceful with the little they had. By midnight three containers arrived and were being reconstructed into what was called “short term holding facilities”. A plan was drawn up and a civil engineer did the final calculations, making sure all material was sourceable.
Photo by Zdaffern
In the next few days the permanent structure was being built by the local people working in two 12 hour shifts and completed on day six. The local vet and I darted and moved the cats to their permanent enclosures. They were all happy and calm except big old Bengal that wanted to kill anyone just peaking from a distance. This was a dead giveaway that the poor soul had some serious stage fright.
I decided to take the first available flight back to SA. There was another flight two days later which was only four hours long, but no, I needed to get back as I missed my wife terribly. So 18 hours (Ethiopia, then Kenya and finally SA) with two stops for me. In total I “visited” five counties outside SA (Namibia and Congo for refuelling on the way). I was exhausted but very pleased to be back.
In hindsight this was a wonderful learning experience and I am looking forward to going back. The people are very friendly and helpful. The city is old, and yes, the airport is smaller than Lanseria, but this is a very beautiful country with many untouched areas and so much is being set aside for conservation. Gabon is definitely something to explore when looking into tours in Africa.
Update: My local client has gone to Gabon and expanded the enclosure considerably. More training has been done. And via correspondence I have helped the local vet sort some minor issues.
*Aliases
From budget safaris, camping safaris and Africa travel tours, overlanding in Africa is an amazing experience that everybody should bear witness to. This short video will give you an idea of the good times to be had when travelling on an overland truck with like-minded people who all share a common interest, to discover Africa in all its beauty and glory.
If this short teaser has got you itching to go on a Safari into Africa, don’t hesitate to contact us for free advice from members in the tourism industry with 40+ years of combined overland experience. We will be glad to help you plan your next African adventure holiday.
The beginning of 2011 saw an eruption of protests in Egypt as revolutionaries took to the street in demand for a world call for change. They sought equality and equal distribution of resources as well as rights to political participation, and so Egypt was launched into the world’s spotlight.
We all sat with bated breathe, glued to our television sets, internet forums and social networks, in wait for the latest breakthrough in the Egypt revolution – crossing our fingers for the common ordinary people, seeking freedom for all!
Of course, as with all revolutions, unrest is the norm; and accordingly Egypt saw a time of civil unrest as the state of the nation became increasingly unstable, leading many to predict a civil war break out.
Fortunately for all parties involved these predictions did not come to pass. However, the question stands some 4 months later: What did the revolution in Egypt actually manage to achieve? Are the people of Egypt in line for a shift in government policies and regimes? Is there a way forward? What is the status of Egypt at present?
Mubarak and his regime held a very tight fisted reign over Egypt and did so for well over 30 years. It was this stifling controlling factor that led the ordinary Egyptian to stand up and break the mould that Mubarak had shaped for himself and the state.
The revolutionaries are of the mindset that the state and the government are to exist as a consequence of the will of the people, and not the other way round. Thus the Egypt revolution quintessentially attempted to show that the power lies in the hands of its people.
As time went on the protests led to a massive change in mindset for many Egyptians “bringing the Berlin Wall inside people’s minds crashing down”.
Photo By shehabsecond
Ultimately, Mubarak was forced to resign, which he did on the 12 February 2011, relinquishing his powers to the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF).
According to an interview with Jadaliyya Co-Editor, Mohamed Waked, SCAF is merely attempting to ‘recreate the old regime’.
He says the post-revolution months have seen thousands of ordinary Egyptians being tried by military courts (run by SCAF), who cite various ridiculous reasons including the crime of ‘baltaga’ (hooliganism). The sentences passed on these types of ‘crimes of the state’ are extreme – 3-5 years of imprisonment – a rather harsh sentencing for someone trying to practice their freedom of speech I would say.
Waked states that this kind of over-the-top discipline is the main reason so much tension exists between the Supreme Council and the citizens of Egypt.
It seems the general impression so far is, that although not an entire waste of time, the revolution in Egypt has not changed much in the way of the lives’ of the ordinary citizens.
The fact that the revolution was needed, to create a place of solidarity for the ordinary working-class Egyptian, is of course priceless. However it is yet to be determined what the long term affects of the revolution will be.
One thing can definitely be learnt from the Egypt revolution – In unity there is power, and when the people have had enough of struggling and putting up with the dregs left to them by their ‘leaders’, the people will revolt and affect a radical change.
Long Live Freedom!
The overland season has officially started , and in celebration of , Overlanding Africa has decided to gift you with an array of discounted overland trips to choose from.
Check out our specials page for more information.
For tailor made trips, you simple need contact us at Overlanding Africa, we are here to assist you in any possible way.
Happy Overlanding!
There are varying opinions as to what is best to pack on an overland trip and throughout the years and after hundreds of overland trips one thing stays the same: everybody brings too much stuff!
You will not need all that ’stuff’, and you will be pleased to know that your overland truck does come fully stocked, kitchen sink and all…
Your best bet would be to follow the example set by more seasoned overlanders and who better than the Crew?
You will find most crew members agree that there are a few key essentials needed in every overlanders backpack.
Key Essentials:
- No suitcase allowed on the truck! Get a backpack instead. Be sure to have a day bag separate from your main bag.
- Sleeping bag! A must for those travellers wanting to doze off with a semblance of comfort.
- Towel: even the ‘Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ highlights the importance of your towel. Never go anywhere without it!
Though the above mentioned are sure to be found in any crew members backpack, I know you will find the following ‘must-haves’ included in said backpack as well.
Must-haves:
- Comfy shoes: 1x sandals (or any kind of open shoes – for the hot African days), 1x hiking shoes (for guided walks and hikes)
- A ‘scarfy’ (scarf) or sarong: perfect for the heat (when moistened it will keep you cool), perfect for the cold (simply wrap it around you, and be cold no more), perfect for dusty and windy conditions (use to shield eyes, ears and mouth against windy and dusty conditions), perfect when you lose your towel.
- A Sweater: a long sleeved sweater to shield against any cold weather. It will also shield against insects on the prowl for something tasty to bite into…
NB: don’t forget to bring along with you a mini first aid kit, just in case.
In Your Day Bag:
Your day bag should include all things that you will need with you during the day, as you may only have the chance to check your main bag in the mornings and evenings. Your day bag is likely to include the necessary to make your day as pleasant as possible, from sunscreen to sunglasses, a water bottle , and your current read.
What to wear?
When it comes to attire Overlanders need not worry about what they look like, no one will throw you dirty looks if you rock the same tee for the next day or two. Important to bring with you is a thick pair of socks, for those heavy duty walks that are almost guaranteed to crop up.
To prepare for the unpredictability of Africa’s weather it is recommended to pack at least one form of long trousers, and at least one form of short trousers, along with practical and easy to wash clothing.
The only ‘Cats’ you see have nothing to do with the catwalk, so forget fashion and opt for comfort instead.
The basics are really all you need to bring with you on your Overlanding Africa trip. In addition to the above mentioned essentials, don’t forget to pack your lust for adventure, an open mind and the willingness to muck-in.
Come prepared, and expect the unexpected – easy hey!
For all your overlanding requirements and advice, contact the team at OverlandingAfrica.com
Overlanders are a rare breed.
Being an adventurer that revels in trekking terrains off the beaten track, willingly signing up for weeks upon weeks of roughing it, all in the name of experiencing the wilds of Africa. Surely this is only something a mad man would do… right? Well, sanity is quite relative in this case.
True overlanders will be the first to tell you that an overlanding trip is anything but cushy; however, they keep coming back for more. It seems the rewards gained from living life for a few weeks as a nomad and traversing the lap of the land draws overlanders back like a moth to the flame.
Here’s a quick ‘health’ check to see if your heart drums to an overlanding Africa beat:
• You’re sick and tired of eating pasta
• The ’smell’ doesn’t bother you anymore
• Showers are a convenience
• A 7am start to the morning has you feeling like a sloth
• Going to bed at 11pm is late for you
• The burn marks in your clothes are evidence of nightly campfires
• You can’t tell which are your feet and which are your sandals
• Brushing your hair has become a distant memory
• You’ve got setting up camp and tents down to an art
• You keep wondering why the smoke from the campfire makes a beeline directly for you – always!
• You have adopted the “thirty second rule” (where any seat left vacant around the campfire for more than thirty seconds is up for the taking)
• The “five second rule” is your friend (any piece of food dropped on the floor is still edible if retrieved within 5 seconds)
• Night swimming in the nude is becoming the norm
If you have found yourself nodding fondly to any of the above mentioned checklist, then chances you’re an overlander at heart, and if instead you’re nodding your head in eager anticipation then you need to get yourself on an overlanding truck, pronto!
On the Overlanding Africa website, you will find all the information needed to transform the niggling urge into a very real and vivid adventure.
Explore the world and get to know yourself.
