27th
We received this update from ATTA and thought you might be interested to see it:
“FOLLOWING A STATEMENT ISSUED ON SATURDAY EVENING BUT STILL OFICIALLY UNCONFIRMED IT APPEARS THAT THE TANZANIAN GOVERNMENT MAY HAVE PARTLY BACKED DOWN IN THE FACE OF GROWING GLOBAL CRITICISM AND OPPOSITION TO THEIR PLANS TO CONSTRUCT A HIGHWAY ACROSS THE SERENGETI.
THE TANZANIAN GOVERNMENT HASAPPARENTLY ASSURED THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE CENTER IN PARIS THAT THEY WILL SEEK AN ALTERNATIVE SOUTHERN ROUTE AROUND THE SERENGETI TO BRING ROAD ACCESS TO RURAL COMMUNITIES AND LEAVE THE SERENGETI PARK ROADS UNDER THE ADMINISTRATION OF TANAPA AND FOR TOURISM PURPOSES ONLY.
The proposed highway would have linked remote under-developed communities to larger hubs, cutting through the park into which giant herds of wildebeest migrate between Tnazaani’s Serengeti and Kenya’s Masai Mara. But following strong world wide criticism of the project, and a recent visit from US Secretary, Hilary Clinton, it appears that the Tanzanian government has informed the United Nations’ cultural organisation UNESCO that it had been dropped.
“The World Heritage Committee has received assurance on the part of the Tanzanian government that the highway project is abandoned .The committee has therefore decided not to list the site on its list of endangered World Heritage Sites because the threat has disappeared,” said a WHC spokesman.
Tanzania’s government had backed the road plan by saying that the country should start caring for its people as much as it did for its wildlife. But critics said it would destroy what scientists consider to be the “largest remaining migratory system on Earth” and lobbied hard against the project.
Serengeti Watch, urge caution, this organisation committed to preserving the Serengeti’s ecosystem, said it feared the highway plan could still re-emerge at a later date.
“We do not consider this the final word in the Serengeti Highway saga by any means,” the group said
The Serengeti Highway was intended to link Musoma, on the banks of Lake Victoria, to Arusha.
The project’s critics argued the road would achieve the opposite of what it set out to do by destroying a key tourist attraction and thus stripping local communities of their jobs.
Serengeti Watch said the government was now considering a highway that would wrap around the southern tip of the protected areas. It quoted a letter it said had been written by Tanzania’s Natural Resources and Tourism Minister Ezekiel Maige.
Instead of cutting through the park towards Arusha, this new road would run “south of Ngorongoro Conservation area and Serengeti National Park,”"
11th
This has just been issued – it appears to suggest that the road through the Serengeti will go ahead, but not be tarmaced. I think everyone agrees that the road is vital to the communities, but there does seem to be a perfectly good option going south around the park. my understanding is that this route is no more expensive. Whether the road is tarmaced or not is not the issue. Let us know your thoughts on this.
DIRECTORATE OF PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA
PRESIDENT’S OFFICE, THE STATE HOUSE, DAR ES SALAAM.
PRESS RELEASE
The Government has reassured the international community that Tanzania will never do anything to hurt or take any decision that may irresponsibly destroy the Serengeti National Park such as building a tarmac road through the Park.
However, the Government has reiterated its commitment to meet its responsibilities of supporting development efforts of poorer communities living around the park including building a tarmac road on the northern tip of the park to ease the severe transport challenges facing those communities.
“The Serengeti is a jewel of our nation as well as for the international community. We want to give you our assurances that we cannot be irresponsible by destroying the Serengeti. We will do nothing to hurt the Serengeti and we would like the international community to know this,” President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete told Mr. John McIntire, World Bank Country Director today, Wednesday, February 9, 2011 during a courtesy call on the President at the State House in Dar es Salaam.The Dar es Salaam-based Mr. McIntire also represents the Bank in Uganda and Burundi.
Armed with an illustration of a map of northern Tanzania, President Kikwete told Mr. McIntire: “There has been so much unnecessary confusion about this issue. Let me give you my assurances that we will keep the Serengeti intact. We will not build a tarmac road through the Serengeti National Park. We will only build a road around the park to ease very serious transport challenges facing the poorer communities around the park.”
Under the plan, the Government wants to decongest traffic inside the park that currently crosses the Serengeti daily on a 220-kilometer road which passes right through the park. Instead, a planned road will only cross the Serengeti for only 54 kilometers which will remain unpaved.
In recent months, a global network of environmental activists and conservators has mounted a completely misinformed campaign claiming that the Government of Tanzania intends to destroy the Serengeti by building tarmac road through the park, which will seriously hurt the famous migration of wildlife.
“No tarmac road will be built through the Serengeti. As you know well, Tanzania is the most conservatory country in the world. This has been our policy and position since our independence and you can have my assurances that this position will remain unchanged,” said President Kikwete
“While we will continue protecting our Serengeti seriously, we will also make sure that, as Government, we meet our responsibilities to our people. These people living in the northern side of the park were removed from inside the park itself as part of our conservation efforts. It takes about eight hours of very rough travel to reach their area from Mto wa Mbu town, and it is only 170 kilometers stretch. They have no road. They have no water. They have no power. We will be doing huge injustice if we do not move to correct these imbalances. If they perceive that we don’t care about them, they will easily become enemies of the park and that will harder to deal with.”
“We will continue with our serious efforts of conservation, but we cannot deny these people living on the northern side of the Serengeti border a road. There is neither justification nor explanation for not building this important road.”
The President thanked Mr. McIntire for his suggestion that the World Bank would be willing to fund processes leading to building a tarmac road on the southern side of Serengeti National Park but insisted that the road to the south would not solve transport challenges of communities living on the northern side of the park.
Ends.
26th
I have traveled and lived in Namibia over the last 10 years and have never seen the desert with this tinge of gree
Chris (my zoologist husband now working with W.W.F here in Windhoek) and I have spent the most wonderful weekend in Sossusvlei! It was a slow start from Windhoek, we had to hire a 4×4, and my card didn’t work, so lots of phone calls, presumably to India… eventually we were on our way.
Unusually for this time of year, Namibia has had a lot of rain, and as we journeyed down, many of the dry riverbeds were in full flow. So much so, that we wondered if we were going to be washed down river… but we got there.
Mountain Homestead Lodge, in the Namib desert, is an extra-ordinary place. The jagged Nabib mountain range rises to the east and the huge expanse of red desert resembles some sort of weird moonscape. We had an amazing room with picture windows overlooking the vast desert. Because of the recent rain, everywhere we looked, a tinge of green was emerging and flowers were opening up.
Chris was on a mission to find the Jameson Red Rock Rabbit, which is specific to this area and find him he did… nibbling on the fresh shoots. Such a handsome animal, large, reddish brown with long sticking up ears and a little fluffy black tail.
Chris was also thrilled to find the tiny Dassie rat, or Rock rat, which are squirrel-like without the fluffy tail. Weighing in at only 9oz, they have padded soles, noticeably flattened heads and flexible ribs which enable them to squeeze into extremely narrow crevices. The Dassie rat has an unusually slow reproductive rate; they only produce a pair of off spring once a year during the hot summer months.
Normally you would be compelled to get up at some un-Godly hour 4.30-ish to drive to the entrance gate to the Sossuslvei dunes, but we decided to take it easy… we were the only ones at the lodge, as this is the low season, and we were just as happy immersing ourselves in the stillness and silence of this captivating place.
When we did set off, the 60 km drive to Sossusvlei and Deadvlei was a wonder! You can never get enough of the beauty; a constant play of light and shadow from the clouds on the shifting sands. The stark majesty of the dunes piled one on top of the other until it seems they reach half way to heaven.
15th
Sometimes a trip develops a theme; situation jokes, particularly notable incidents that are re-visited again and again along the way. The common thread that seems to tie one place to the next on this particular journey through Namibia is wildlife in a frenzy of pheromones. It’s the start of the rains (known as “emerald” or “green” season) and everywhere you look the wildlife is getting frisky. While it sometimes makes me blush to watch an impala ram in action or a diminutive male tortoise high-tailing it after the sizeable rump of his lady-love (they like big girls), some of the things we’ve seen, have been especially unusual and (dare I say it) captivating. Fortunately no one is likely to arrest me for spending half an hour watching the action through binoculars…
Comical tortoise lurve aside, there have been many impressive attempts of the boys out there to win even an appreciative glance from the object of their infatuation. Firstly, they literally put on their Sunday best to go a’courtin’. The ostriches develop rather bizarre red stripes down their shins…not quite sure that would do it for me, personally. The shaft-tailed whydah birds transform themselves from drab LBJs (Little Brown Jobs) into resplendent tail-coated studs with feathers 8” long. The male agama (or rainbow) lizard dons a dazzling combination of cobalt blue and orange and stands with his head bobbing and toes raised on the hot rock.
Then the boys put all their energy into showing off. Sunshine-yellow weaver birds spend days painstakingly knitting beautifully crafted nests which need to meet Madam’s approval (she will reject many potential homes heartlessly by nipping the grass that binds them to the branch, sending them tumbling to the ground). The northern black korhaan (a sort of pheasant-size bird with beautiful black and tawny markings and a bright red bill) flies high into the air and plummets to earth with break-neck speed. The large cory bustard puffs out the feathers of his throat, sticks his black crest in the air and fans out his tail. Ensuring that the ladies are paying attention, he then struts back and forth in almost military fashion. It’s worth braving the odd rainstorm for all this.
The variety and ingenuity of all these creatures in displaying their manly prowess is seriously impressive and one does wonder where we went wrong with our own species…although our lads donning high-heels and blue eye-shadow? Perhaps not.
10th
Suddenly the dead kudu got to its feet and, in one impressive leap, cleared the five foot bank of the sandy lugga. The two cheetah, lying panting just thirty yards away from where we stood, were just as astonished but gathered themselves and took off in hot pursuit. We set out to see if the cheetah managed to regain control of their wayward breakfast. No doubt there were muttered accusations as to who had failed to finish the kudu off properly.
Okonjima is a private conservancy located in Namibia’s central highlands. It has long been home to the Africat Foundation which attempts to offer a safe haven to cheetah that have clashed with surrounding commercial cattle farms. Cheetah are physiologically closer to dogs than cats and unlike lion or leopard, are not instinctive hunters. Much of their first 18 months is spent learning the techniques of survival from their mother. Many cheetah come to the centre having been orphaned by farmers poisoning or shooting the adults, which are seen as a threat to young livestock.
The foundation is engaged in long-term research and rehabilitation projects to re-introduce the animals back into wilderness areas where they will not come into conflict with people. It is a long process and a steep learning curve as they experiment with different methods. Animals are collared and monitored constantly. As a guest at Okonjima you can head out with the guides to track the animals and see how they are getting on.
Charlie and Trish are brother and sister and have recently been re-released into the 16,000ha conservancy where they are attempting to survive without the human handouts. Their ambitious attempt at a large kudu unfortunately failed but hopefully they were able to put it down to experience and would have better luck next time.
Seeing predators in this context is very different from seeing them in the wild but it does provide exciting opportunities for close encounters with otherwise elusive creatures. The guides here are possessed of an in-depth understanding of the animals and it is interesting to gain a deeper insight into the controversial issue of conservation vis-a-vis human livelihoods.
Find out more about visiting Okonjima by clicking here.
15th
There are some people to whom the idea of being liberally basted in coconut oil and being left to slow roast on a lounger with a good book comes in lower than a slow-painful-death on the to-do list of life. Nightmarish images of sensitive areas chafed by sand embedded in sticky bullet-proof sunscreen, hot-footing it across scorching ground to gain some respite in a tepid pool haunt their pre-holiday dreams. On the flip-side escaping to a desert island where no mobile phones have yet penetrated, to snorkel in crystal tropical oceans and encounter giant land-crabs is what other people look forward to all year.
The fact of the matter is that beach holidays in Africa are so varied that it is possible to find something that appeals to everyone if you plan carefully enough. It goes without saying that most places have a plethora of opportunities to indulge in the above-mentioned do-nothing activity.
Above and beyond this, though, are places like Lamu Island in Kenya, Zanzibar in Tanzania and Ibo Island in Mozambique where the culture is fascinating and you can spend hours wandering the narrow streets, encountering unique local craft and architecture, meeting the locals in colourful markets or watching the fisherman argue over the day’s catch.
For the sporty folk, some of the best diving and deep-sea fishing is to be had off the coasts of Tanzania and Mozambique. The coral reefs are abundant and accessible, with regular migrations of whale shark, humpbacks, dolphins and big game fish. Some places are particularly geared for young folk and offer water-skiing, dune boarding and sailing. For really little ones – well, they just see the world’s biggest sandpit.
If you are an intrepid sort, then sleeping under the stars on an uninhabited island off the coast of northern Mozambique and island-hopping by dhow or kayak might appeal? There are far flung islands that are little more than white piles of sand surrounded by improbably blue seas, like Vamizi or the remote Kiwayu.
To find out more about the kaleidoscope of beach getaways that you could be heading off to as winter approaches…click here.
* Image courtesy of Vamizi
25th
The Wildebeest Migration crossing the Mara River in the Northern Serengeti last month. Photo by Patty Spencer (to whom many thanks) while on safari and staying at Nomad’s Serengeti Safari Camp in Kogatende.
20th
Fourth week of August…
African wild dog (sometimes known as painted dog or Cape hunting dog) occupy an almost mythical status in many parts of Africa. Local people are fearful and superstitious, holding them responsible for livestock deaths which are often the work of hyena or lion. Their intriguing markings, each one unique as a fingerprint, and intimate social structure together with impressive hunting success rate makes them a fascinating creature to watch. Furthermore, they are amongst the most endangered carnivores in the world with fewer than 5,000 individuals remaining.
Highly intelligent and sociable, wild dog hunt in packs and communicate constantly through strange bird-like hoots and chirps. Since they often face the loss of hard-won kills to larger predators, they try to avoid attracting attention and dispatch their prey as quickly and quietly as possible. The speed with which they can consume an impala (bite-swallow-bite-swallow) would put happy hour at McDonalds in the shade. After the hunt, the pack will return to the den and regurgitate their kill for pups, old and injured pack members.
Seeing wild dog is infrequent enough to be special however you do it, but Mana Pools in Zimbabwe is one of the few places that you can do so on foot. Experienced guides who spend their office hours in this scenically beautiful and game-rich park, have got to know individual dogs in addition to the many elephant and lion that reside in the area. The thrill that comes with walking amongst wild animals is difficult to replicate but the opportunity to meet a pack of wild dog on their own terms, hear their calls and watch them interact is a truly once in a lifetime experience.
Check out safari ideas that include Mana Pools.
Read more about Mana Pools National Park.
Learn about painted dogs and conservation efforts in Zimbabwe.
Picture courtesy of Vundu Camp.
16th
It’s hard to conceive of a place where so many incongruities collide. The title of this article is infuriatingly over-simplistic and does little justice to the depth of interest of the Matobo Hills in south western Zimbabwe. So to put that right, here’s why you need to put this place on your bucket list.
"mother and child" rock formation
Standing at Sir Cecil Rhode’s grave gazing over the “View of the World”, it’s easy to see why this driven, visionary (if controversial) pioneer wanted this to be his last resting place. The landscape is a stormy sea of granite boulders caste as far as the horizon in oddly familiar shapes of animals or people. The human history of Matobo rolls back over 13,000 years when the oldest example of rock art tells of the stone-age hunter-gatherers that once inhabited this place. Among the tens of thousands of bold and striking pieces of art still brightly evident (no faint scribbles, these) more recent ones chart the arrival of the colonial settlers in ox-wagons and pith helmets.
Matobo has been a key strategic area for the Matabele king, Mzilikazi, who, like Rhodes, still lies interred in his rocky tomb, and his son Lobengula. Overrun by Rhode’s troops, the hills werre subsequently the battle ground for the Matabele wars in the late 1800s. It has been the spiritual centre for the Mwali cult and remains a religiously significant place for the inhabitants of Matabeleland. A living museum, it is not over-dramatic to say that the hills are tangibly steeped in this melting pot of history, sacrifice and spirituality; it is deeply haunting.
Named a UNESCO Heritage Site in 2003, the Matobo Hills also possesses a great natural history; the highest known density of (elusive) leopard in the world, a valuable population of white and black rhino and the largest numbers of black eagles found in southern Africa. The game has taken a bit of a knock over the last troubled years in Zim but it’s still one of the best places to track rhino on foot and enjoy the varied birdlife. So interesting and scenic is the area that, provided you don’t come here expecting the big five, you won’t be disappointed if you don’t see a thing.
Matobo is a perfect addition to safaris that include Hwange National Park (for your animal fix), Mana Pools (for great canoeing, walking and big game), and the Victoria Falls. It’s important to choose a specialist guide to get the most out of the place and to allow sufficient time.
Look for trips that include Matobo Hills
Read our blogs about Matobo
See a map and places to stay in Matobo
13th
After my micro-light flight of yesterday, I packed a small backpack and crossed the Luangwa River in a large canoe to begin my trek on foot to my next destination. Batwell, the game scout accompanied me to make sure that I didn’t get flattened by any animals and they remained safe from any stupidity on my part. Impressively equipped with some very sturdy boots and a rifle, his calm demeanour and eagle eyes gave me confidence that he would live up to the task.
My guide, Isaac, is a 35 year veteran of the Luangwa Valley and his vintage makes him one of the most experienced here. Our little crocodile-formation was brought up by Justin the tea-bearer (they really are called that!) who was really the most important member of the group.
We set off a little later than usual and so walked through a fairly warm part of the day. Nevertheless, I was surprised and pleased by the amount we saw. Teak and mahogany lined riverbeds gave onto open vleis and thicker bush, the constantly changing habitats always providing something interesting to ponder on. The bush is quiet but never silent and bird calls, the sharp alarm of puku and honk of hippopotamus was audible all around. We picked our way along routes established by elephant and other animals…literally walking in their footsteps.
Walking is just such a pleasure and sights that may be banal from a vehicle take on a new substance when you’re on your own two pegs. Just off the boat, we came across an enormous monitor lizard with fresh injuries caused by a leopard. Later on we startled a small herd of zebra which abruptly fled in panic and suddenly our eyes, ears and noses were filled with pounding hooves, dust and a confusion of stripes as they galloped within a few metres of us. An aroused male puku almost ran us over, so intent was he on the shapely backside of the female he was pursuing, shying wide at the last minute. We had the pleasure of walking quietly onto a young bull elephant drinking in the shade, thrillingly unaware of our presence. Kingfishers, saddle-billed storks, wood-hoopoes, a martial eagle and spoonbills were amongst a true cocktail of birds.
With a stop-off for a welcome cup of tea, our walk to the Chikoko Bushcamp took around four hours. The walking is easy and the pace gentle so you don’t have to be a marathon-runner to enjoy it, just reasonably fit with comfortable shoes and a passion for the outdoors. It is a completely different experience from driving, as I am reminded every time I go bipedal, and the best calories ever spent!
Click here for a little video tour of my room at the Chikoko Bushcamp.
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