Yellow Fever Update for Zambia!

YELLOW FEVER VACCINATION REQUIRED FOR PASSENGERS TRAVELLING TO AND FROM ZAMBIA (including Livingstone)

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has revised the Yellow Fever vaccination recommendations for Africa. The South African Department of Health has subsequently issued a statement that all travellers from South Africa to Zambia and travellers from Zambia to South Africa will now require proof of yellow fever vaccination. Previously, this was not required. All in-transit passengers between the two destinations, irrespective of the time period in transit, will also require proof of yellow fever vaccination.

The information that we have received indicates that owing to the short notice of the implementation, there will be a grace period until 01 July to accommodate travelling passengers, however we do encourage the requirement to be passed on to future travellers immediately.

Classic Africa Safaris Uganda Exploratory Trip

Join Classic Africa Safaris and Lyndsay Harshman of the Kusini Collection on an in-depth exploratory trip visiting Uganda's many treasures including Murchison Falls, Kibale Forest and Kyambura Gorge for chimp trekking, Queen Elizabeth NP, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and tracking the mountain gorillas and Lake Mburo NP. This exploratory trip has been carefully designed for North American safari outfitters and Africa experts who are looking to develop an outstanding Uganda program or supplement and diversify an existing program. Classic Africa Safaris seeks to establish long-term working relationships with its North American partners and is eager to forge new partnerships with travel companies interested in sending clients to Uganda and Rwanda.

Classic Africa Safaris has a decade of experience operating safaris in Uganda and Rwanda, and the owners nearly 75 years combined experience in the field operating African safaris. CAS is the only safari company in Uganda to be 100% carbon neutral, as well as the only company to operate its own vehicle fabrication shop in Uganda, working to ensure that all CAS vehicles are in the best possible operating condition for your client's safari. CAS employs some of the best local Ugandan guides, making for an authentic quality experience for your travelers.

Due to our long-standing and positive relationship with lodges in the region, CAS is able to offer a highly discounted rate for participants on this trip. Space is very limited and participation will only be confirmed after approval by CAS. Please contact the Kusini Collection for more information or to reserve your space: lyndsay@kusinicollection.com.

Uganda Exploratory Trip Itinerary

Day 01 – Nov 1: Arrive EBB, airport transfer and overnight at the Lake Victoria Hotel.

Day 02 – Nov 2: Hotel inspections in EBB/Kampala, drive to Murchison Falls NP, overnight at Paraa Lodge.

Day 03 – Nov 3: Game drive, boat trip, tour top of the Falls, overnight at Nile Safari Lodge.

Day 04 – Nov 4: Drive to Kibale Forest, overnight at Kyaninga Lodge.

Day 05 – Nov 5: Chimp walk, site inspections at Primate Lodge and Ndali Lodge, drive to Queen Elizabeth NP, overnight at Kyambura Lodge.

Day 06 – Nov 6: Site/boat inspections, boat tour Kasinga Channel, overnight Jacana Lodge.

Day 07 – Nov 7: To Buhoma via Ishasha Camp, overnight Gorilla Forest Camp.

Day 08 – Nov 8: Site inspections and/or trek gorillas, overnight Buhoma Lodge.

Day 09 – Nov 9: Drive to Lake Mburo NP, overnight Mihingo Lodge.

Day 10 – Nov 10: Drive to EBB for flights onward.

Land Price: $980 pp/sharing; optional add-ons: $150 pp chimp permit (as of 07/01/11), $500 pp (possibly $350) gorilla permit, $18 pp Kasinga Channel boat ride, $25 pp (approx) Nile boat ride. Rates subject to final confirmation.

Easy to Book Small Group Departures

As safari outfitters and Africa experts, you know the value of a great guide and the lasting impression a carefully crafted itinerary can leave on a traveler. New Frontiers Tours is pleased to offer a handful of unique small group departures led by an expert South African guide. Each tour is limited to a maximum of 8-10 travelers (many groups are smaller) and has been designed with a well-traveled, interested client in mind. While the majority of what we do is FIT and private tours, we've designed these itineraries to match our exacting standard of FITs, but offer the small group experience that many travelers seek.

Each of our guides has a story and a passion for their home country of South Africa. Ananda, one of our guides on the Wildlife and Warriors Tour was a journalist by training and has fascinating stories about life during the Apartheid era and her experience covering stories in the townships. Ananda brings the contemporary culture of South Africa to life as travelers explore Zululand, Swaziland and the wildlife areas of Kruger and the iSimangaliso Wetlands.

On our Garden Route Classic tour, travelers can sit back, relax and enjoy the majestic scenery as their expert local guide escorts them along the Garden Route. Many travelers do chose to self drive in this region, but for those looking to relax and simply enjoy coastal South Africa, our guided Garden Route Classic is hard to beat!

Throughout our escorted tours, the top in boutique accommodations have been selected and depending on the group size appropriate vehicles are used (comfortable sedans, small 4x4s or luxury mini vans - these aren't large bus tours!). Additionally, to add to the comfort level, expert guiding and thoughtfully designed itineraries, New Frontiers Tours is offering a special buy one, get one 50% off on select departure dates. Our small group departures are one of the best values out there! Please contact New Frontiers or the Kusini Collection for more details.

Kenya Lion Research Safari

Lion conservation recently became an issue of international concern when statistics revealed that lion numbers in Africa have plummeted to between 16,000 and 45,000. The lion population has declined by 30%-50% in just over the past two decades, a reduction largely due to habitat loss and conflict with humans. The lions in the Samburu / Buffalo Springs / Shaba ecosystem of Kenya are in an extremely vulnerable situation as they live in or adjacent to areas inhabited by nomadic people. Lions and their predatory behaviour have caused great resentment among the increasing rural pastoralist populations, and this has led to increased persecution of lions - lions continue to be shot, poisoned and speared.

This unique 9 day safari will provide you with an authentic and close-up insight into lion research in some of Kenya's most stunning areas. Spend 6 days with lion expert Shivani Bhalla in the Shaba and Samburu areas with 2 nights at Joys Camp and 3 nights at Sasaab Camp and then the last 3 days at Porini Lion Camp in the famous Maasai Mara in an exclusive conservancy with several resident prides of lion. To book this safari for your travelers, or to design a custom safari that includes these camps, please contact Porini Camps and Gamewatchers Safaris.

You will have the opportunity to be involved in this crucial research and 5% of the total safari cost will be donated to the Ewaso lions project (www.ewasolions.org).

Your time will typically include early morning and evening game drives when the lions are most active, participating in monitoring and recording and can also include the following:

• Participate in Ewaso Lions tree project and Wildlife Cinema in West Gate. This involves visiting schools and also manyattas (Samburu homesteads) at night to show them wildlife films.
• Carnivore 'call-ins' at night playing a recorded carnivore call and using speakers to call in carnivores as a method to estimate their density.
• Engage with the community and complete questionnaires on conflict and perceptions of predators.
• Track radio-collared lions.
• Go on patrol with the Ewaso Lions scouts and help record data on predators and identify spoor tracks.
• Help record data in the core Conservation Area
• Investigate any conflict in the area, e.g. donkey killed by lion, etc...

About Shivani Bhalla: A Kenyan national working on her PhD through Oxford University, which focuses on the lions of the Ewaso ecosystem in Northern Kenya. Through this project, she is continuing and complementing the research she did for her Masters' degree (MSc) in 2003. She currently works in Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba National Reserves and the West Gate Community Conservancy with the objective to investigate factors influencing the lion population in the Ewaso ecosystem in Northern Kenya. The area of study includes the 3 National Reserves (Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba) and the West Gate Community Conservancy. This research will formulate strategies for the long-term conservation of lions by understanding the issues and threats facing their population, their movements in the wild and the extent of human-lion conflict. There is a huge knowledge gap in this area and it's her intention to address this.

New Jo'burg Experience - Gardens and Galleries Tour!

JOHANNESBURG: GARDENS AND GALLERIES

Monday - Friday

(Private Day Tour)

To book this private tour for your travelers visiting Johannesburg, please contact your travel consultant at New Frontiers Tours.

This delightful tour offers visitors a glimpse of Johannesburg not often associated with this buzzing metropolis. We set off this morning to Brenthurst Gardens where we’ll enjoy a private guided tour by special arrangement through sixteen hectares of woodland, informal and formal gardens and home to the elegant gabled house of the same name, built by Sir Herbert Baker.

The estate has been in the Oppenheimer family since 1922 (founders of De Beers Diamonds and owners of Tswalu Nature Reserve) and Strilli Oppenheimer still works closely with Head Gardener Dawid Klopper in creating more natural, endemic and indigenous gardens befitting the 21st century. The estate is also a remarkable encapsulation of the history of the Johannesburg landscape, once open veld and now the largest man-made forest in the world. The first trees were planted here in 1890 to meet the demand for the pit props in the mines as well as building material for the boom town sprung up in the treeless veld. Some of these still survive today.

We then head to the nearby suburb of Bramley, where we’ll visit Mark Valentine’s much loved African artworks shop – Amatuli Fine Art. You will have a chance to wander from room to room and into the gardens to view his collection of artwork which he has spent 18 years accumulating, some dating back to the 1930’s on his trips across the African continent. From carved crocodiles and snakes from Swaziland, to dug-out canoes from Central Africa,

you’ll be amazed at the variety of quality craftsmanship available.

We travel on to Rosebank, an artstrip that’s home to some of South Africa’s most famous contemporary and commercial art galleries – we’ll visit Warren Siebrits, the Goodman Gallery and Everard Read as well as some new kids on the block such as Resolution Gallery, promoting and selling digital media art from limited edition prints to interactive installations and mixed media artworks. A not-to-be-missed stop has to be the David Krut Arts and Bookstore, publishers of high-quality contemporary South African art and architecture books as well as Taxi Art Books, a series of monographs on contemporary South African artists.

Gorilla Permit Update!

An update on gorilla permits from Classic Africa Safaris. Permit availability in Uganda is becoming limited. Please note: There are no more permits left in Rwanda for July, August or September. Read more on Bwindi Forest and Gorilla Forest Camp here. There are currently two lifts available at Gorilla Forest Camp - these lifts are ideal for elderly travelers or those with mobility issues. The lifts make gorilla trekking an option for travelers who never thought they'd be able to trek to the gorillas in the wild!

Currently we can guarantee the following permits for the Buhoma region of Bwindi Forest. Gorilla Forest Camp is also confirmed for these dates.

August 2011:

17th & 18th August

20th & 21st August

26th & 27th August

September 2011:

3rd & 4th September

17th & 18th September

22nd & 23rd September

28th & 29th September

October 2011:

1st & 2nd October

Please keep these dates in mind when dealing with enquiries from your clients.