Death is the price that the world's biggest land mammals are paying for their tusks, which have a lucrative international market. Is Zimbabwe's parks authority sufficiently equipped to effectively curb poaching activities, especially given the fact that poachers are coming into the country with far more sophisticated weapons than the rangers' archaic looking Russian-made AK47 rifles?

Gonarezhou National Park, which is situated in the south eastern part of the country, is part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park which incorporates Gaza National Park of Mozambique and Kruger National Park of South Africa. Covering 5 053 square kilometers, this makes it a mammoth task for the few rangers deployed in the park to eradicate poaching activities, which are on the increase worldwide.

Due to the growth experienced in the ivory export business in the 1970s and 1980s, the total elephant population of Africa decreased by half. Up to one million elephants were killed for their tusks to the point where the endangered animal appeared to be on the verge of extinction. In fact there is evidence of elephant tusk size reduction. A rapid evolution due to the gene pool of the largest tuskers being hunted first.

Despite the resource constraints, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA), has made commendable strides in protecting the country's elephant herd and managed to reduce poaching activities by 32 percent last year. Authority would never eradicate poaching completely as it is part of wildlife management but it was critical that it is kept within acceptable levels. A representative said "We are dealing with a well resourced powerful syndicate operating in the region but we are, however, on top of the game as we have noted a decrease in poaching nationwide. We are working with security agents in the country, the Attorney General's Office, the police and the courts to address this issue, Poaching is not new in Africa but we have deployed trained men to the park. Our major challenge is that the rangers cannot cover the whole park"

In 1989 the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife Fauna and Flora banned trade in ivory hoping to protect elephants from poachers. Some Western nations have also provided assistance to African countries in order to help crack down on poachers. Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia have in the past decades accumulated huge stockpiles of ivory through culling, which is meant to keep the elephant herd within manageable levels.

Although the country is bound by a moratorium on ivory trade for nine years it is continuously arguing that if allowed to sell its ivory stockpiles the issue of poaching could be managed better. Zimbabwe, which is sitting on a 34 tonne stockpile of ivory worth US$5.1billion, can only reapply for permission to trade in its ivory in 2017.

More reading:
- For more on the Ivory auction debate see our previous post here.
- More on South African National Parks Elephant Management policy here.
- For an amazing experience with Elephant conservation see this post here. You can get involved with Elephant conservation on your trip to southern Africa by actually collaring an elephant. more on that here.

.....Or just search our blog (top left corner) for "elephant"

Just in from Gorongosa....

Ian Michler, renowned specialist guide and photojournalist will lead a 7 night trip in Gorongosa in October this year! Ian is going to be exploring Gorongosa National Park (from the Explore Gorongosa base) for the first time. He is so excited. And there are still some places available on the trip! The trip not to be missed. Ian is an awesome guide and we can't wait to see what he finds in Gorongosa.

He will be taking guests fly camping, to Mount Gorongosa birding and hiking and of course all around the park - even to some of the further reaches of the park.

Answers to a few questions that you might be thinking...

Who is Ian?
A stockbroker by profession, Ian left the world of finance in 1989 to go and live a dream in the Okavango Delta. He has 14 years of guiding experience in Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe conducting big game, birding, adventure and photographic safaris. Ian is also an accomplished photographer (Agfa Wildlife category winner in 1998) and writer of two coffee table books to his credit. He is presently working on a third, which will be on Botswana. He writes and photographs for various wildlife and travel magazines, Africa Geographic and Africa Birds and Birding in particular.

What is fly camping?
Fly camping is real safari the way it used to be. You'll go out from the more permanent Explorers Camp to camp in the wilderness in a mobile smaller camp. It's real camping but you are well looked after all the way. It's not backpacking. The food is great, the drinks are cold and the adventure can't be beaten. In the amusing words of our friends at Gorongosa:
"Although the trend these days is for safari camps to provide seventeen imported Mongolian cotton facecloths per person, delicately soaked in endangered highland yak milk and served chilled with a skinny moccachino presented in Italian marble coffee cups with gold inlay... we at Explore Gorongosa like to think it is more the experience that counts and that, like the wrapper around a yummy Swiss chocolate, the camp is simply the outer layer which keeps the whole thing together."

When this year? 18-25 October 2010

Where will I be staying?
You will be hosted by the only private camp in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique - Explore Gorongosa. Rob & Jos Janisch will organise your stay including all the fly camping, mountain trips, swinging from hammocks. And anything else you may want to get up to!
More on Gorongosa on our website here and on the blog here.

How do I get more information? Email us- click here

The early settlers, in response to street width taxation in Holland, built expansive wide fronted homes when settling in the Cape in the 1700’s. Houses in this style have a distinctive and recognisable design, with a prominent feature being the grand, ornately rounded gables, reminiscent of features in townhouses of Amsterdam built in the Dutch style. The houses are also usually H-shaped, with the front section of the house usually being flanked by two wings running perpendicular to it. Furthermore, walls are whitewashed, and the roofs are thatched.

Generally they are wide fronted homes with small window panes; it is interesting to note that all glass was imported by ship. Front verandas were laid out to use the tiles from passenger ships ballasts. To provide shade vines were sometimes planted to cover the trellis over the veranda.
Readily available local hard woods were used to make shutters. These shutters, apart from being a decorative feature of Cape Dutch houses, were closed at night to keep the family protected from both man and beast. Reeds (Restio sedges) were used as thatching. The Gables that were built at the end of the roof could be either straight, triangular or holbol. The front gable became the signature of each home.

Front doors were designed by the owner in collaboration with Malay artisans who were brought to the Cape by the Dutch East India Company. Homes were large with high ceilings. Floors and ceilings were made of local hard woods like yellow wood (Podocarpus spp). These homes usually comprised an entrance hall, lounge, dining room, kitchen and one main bedroom down stairs. Children’s rooms and attics were generally upstairs. As the family grew a ‘neck’ was build from the entrance hall and two more rooms built at the back of the house making the classical H shape with four gables.

Fortunately many homes remain. Famous historical Cape Dutch homes can be seen on the following wine estates:
Boschendal, Vergelegen, Morgenster, la Motte or Zorgvleit

Cape Dutch architecture is a beautiful and distinctive feature of the South African winelands. For more on visiting the winelands, click here. Or for further references contact Roar Africa.

First time visitors to southern Africa seldom visit the Kalahari. They are typically more focused on Cape Town, the Winelands and a Safari in greater Kruger area. But the Kalahari is a spectacularly beautiful part of Africa with huge skies, few people and abundant wildlife.

The Kalahari is a semi-desert covering 900,000 Square kilometers (350,000 square miles) in the South West of Africa. It covers parts of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. The desert is characterized by recent windblown red (iron) sands over white calcite deposited salts of thousands of millions of years ago and as with all deserts there is no surface water.

Amazingly large predators, antelope, birds and insects exist – all waiting for the annual rain which creates windows of survival or death. During August/September winter slowly regresses from the bone dry land and temperatures start to rise. This is when the small carnivores start their breeding activity.

A magnificent Black-maned Kalahari Lion photographed on my last trip to the Kalahari

More on the lions here

By the end of August the Sociable Weaver chicks are hatching and clambering for food in the large family nests, each nest can accommodate more than 100 families. As it is still too cold for reptiles such as snakes these chicks survive well, even when wind and dust storms blow over the trees and nests. By September the harvester ants can been seen collecting grass cuttings to take down into their mounds. The insect eaters are feathered and furred and ant bears have a time of plenty.

Unfortunately the antelope suffer their most at this time as feed value is almost nil, temperatures are rising and there is no available water, in light of this they lose weight and many die. This is when the predators and scavengers have their time of plenty.
The acacia trees start flowering – insects and animals utilize these flowers to their full extent. All is tinder dry and large clouds with lightning bolts occur. At this time fires are devastating to the animals and limited grass cover, often bird, insect and reptile homes in trees are burnt.

Short swift localized cloud bursts occur and the intensity of a sudden deluge can be devastating especially near river beds where the clay beds are impervious. The little creatures are drowned and the river floods the river bank areas with plant and debris being washed away. Water drips down from the trees and water may even flow in the river beds for a short while.

Millipedes and beetles emerge to take advantage of soft soil on the riverside. Trees and grasses burst into life providing the time of plenty for the antelope which are now calving. Insects appear by the millions and set about breeding. The rains are brief and short lived. Temperatures soar into November, December and January. The grasses and Tsama melon sustain life until the next rains……

Famous inhabitants of the Kalahari are the San or Bushmen people who have lived in the Kalahari for 20,000 years as hunter-gatherers. Today there are more luxurious options for accommodation. For example Tswalu Kalahari in South Africa.

You'll find more on this beautiful lodge on our website here

One last thing- the night sky has more stars than you can possibly imagine. Period!

This month Deborah Calmeyer of ROAR AFRICA features on the cover of Business Traveler Magazine. The first in their "Woman in Business" series. Jeff Heilman reveals some of her challenges and triumphs from growing up with a lioness to launching and running the company in New York. You can read it here at Business Traveler online (page 38) OR below (click to enlarge).

I was very proud to read The Huffington Post article by Shari Cohen; "South Africa Rolls Out the Ubuntu in Abundance". It's wonderful to see the spirit of South Africa appreciated and having such a deep impact on a self-described cynic. It's also reassuring to know that we can teach the world something. Please read the full post on their website here. I have copied a few touching quotes below.

"To say that I have been blown away at the hospitality South Africa has shown the rest of the world would be an understatement."

"The questions and conversations are in earnest. They are honest. And they are had with enthusiasm and a thirst to know more. South Africans are drinking deeply from the cup of humanity that has been brought to their doorstep."

"I'm a little teary just writing this because I leave for home next weekend and I will be leaving a little piece of myself here in South Africa. I just hope I have learned enough to bring back a little piece of Ubuntu to my homeland."

"Thank you South Africa, for giving me this unexpected gift. I am humbled. "

*****

There many good reasons to tell you about Singita's Gourmet Safari. Here are just a few:

1. Singita is one of our favorite partners; owners of beautiful lodges - wonderful venues for just about anything!
2. Sweni Lodge (the precise venue) is an intimate lodge accommodating just 12 guests. It is in a concession within the world famous Kruger Park and is spectacular. More about Sweni on our website here .
3. Singita has an inspiring Cooking School community project. Read about it on our website here and on our blog, here. We love the work Singita does for the community and that the cooking school is where this gourmet safari takes place.
4. We are all about specialized trips and offer a Flavors of South Africa journey. It's a hands-on gourmet trip in Cape Town and the Winelands. We can easily include that or part of that with this Gourmet Safari at Singita (read more about it Flavours of South Africa here)

So here are some details on Singita's Gourmet Safari (online):

Exclusive to Singita Sweni Lodge, Chef Bruce’s delightful Gourmet Safaris are unique to the African continent, a culinary first. A five day and four night experience filled with intrigue, warmth and laughter at the edge of the boma fire.

Set Departure Dates:

• 06 - 10 June 2011
• 21 - 25 November 2011

(But talk to us about other options or putting a group together)

Singita Sweni Lodge

EMMY-nominated TravelScope: "When you think of Africa you hardly think of a beautiful beach, but in Mozambique, Africa that’s exactly what you should be thinking about. Joseph traveled to Mozambique for one of two shows on Africa that will be featured in Travelscope TV Season IV – which begins airing in June 2010. After the long flight from the U.S. aboard South African Airways, Joseph joined Geoff Calmeyer of Roar Africa on a sun-soaked, white-sand beach in Mozambique. "
Click here to listen to the interview.

To all of our avid Africa fans,

One of our partners, Londolozi - owned and run by the Varty family, is a unique and special place in the Sabi Sands, South Africa. Much of the preservation today in southern Africa and beyond is a result of Dave Varty's tremendous insight and efforts in conservation. Still there is great risk...

• The population of the African elephant, has declined by more than 99% since the 1930s, when as many as 10 million of the great creatures roamed free there.
• Only 10,000 Rhinos exist around the world, down 85 percent since just 1970.
• The continent’s lion population has fallen off by half since the early 1950s when there were an estimated 40,000 “kings of the jungle”.

"Londolozi’ means Protector of all living things. True to our values, we present to you our conservation event for 2010. Five individuals from Londolozi have come together with a mission to raise R500 000 for an endangered species and for literacy. Ultimately, for us, Africa is about the fusion of people and animals and about reconnecting the human spirit back to the wilderness." Londolozi

...and so Shan, Bronwyn & Boyd (Varty), Rich Laburn and Brett Roux are embarking on a grueling challenge to raise funds and continue this relentless endeavor; a 7-day 330km bicycle ride through the northern Namibian desert. Donations will go to Save the Rhino and The Good Work Foundation.

Any donation would be greatly appreciated and anyone who can

donate $600 or more stands a chance to win a 2 night stay at Londolozi’s Private Granite Suites worth $40,000!

To Donate, click here and scroll down:

http://www.marthabeck.com/LEAP/

Please refence your donation with 'C4AC' and then 'your name'.

For more information:

Contact Boyd Varty:

Tel: +27 (0)13 735 5653

E-mail: boydatlondolozi@gmail.com

Links (click for more):

Londolozi
Londolozi Granite Suites
Save The Rhino

We came across this amusing letter by Peter Davies, the award winning presenter of SuperSport. Granted, it's a little condescending towards media, especially British media, but it's good fun. Hilarious in fact. It shares common perceptions and misconceptions. The full letter (below) is definitely worth a read. Here are some snippets to whet the appetite. Enjoy....

• As you emerge blinking from your luxury hotel room into our big blue winter skies, you will surely realise you are far more likely to be killed by kindness than by a stray bullet....
• The fact that England, the nation which safely delivered Wembley Stadium two years past its due date, is prepared to offer us South Africans advice on stadium-readiness should not be surprising.
• Trivia question: which country has hosted the most global sporting events over the past decade and a half? You don’t need me to answer that, do you?
• Bottomline. Get out there and breathe in great lusty lungfuls of this amazing nation.... You will be welcomed like a lost family member and looked after as if you are royalty...
• ....this country will change your life...It’s Africa’s time. Vacate your hotel room. Join the party. Waka waka eh eh.....

*** Full Letter ***

Dear World Cup visitors,

Now that you are safely in our country you are no doubt happily realising you are not in a war zone. This may be in stark contrast to what you have been bracing yourself for should you have listened to Uli Hoeness or are an avid reader of English tabloids, which as we all know are only good for wrapping fish ‘n chips and advancing the careers of large-chested teens on page three.

As you emerge blinking from your luxury hotel room into our big blue winter skies, you will surely realise you are far more likely to be killed by kindness than by a stray bullet. Remember that most of the media reports you have read, which have informed your views on South Africa, will have been penned by your colleagues. And you know what journos are like, what with their earnest two thousand word opuses on the op-ed pages designed to fix this country’s ills in a heartbeat. Based on exhaustive research over a three-day visit.

Funnily enough, we are well aware of the challenges we face as a nation and you will find that 95% of the population is singing from the same song-sheet in order to ensure we can live up to our own exacting expectations.

We are also here to look after you and show you a good time. Prepare to have your preconceived notions well and truly shattered.

For instance, you will find precious few rhinos loitering on street corners, we don’t know a guy in Cairo named Dave just because we live in Johannesburg, and our stadiums are magnificent, world-class works of art.

Which is obviously news to the Sky TV sports anchor who this week remarked that Soccer City looked ‘ a bit of a mess’. She didn’t realize the gaps in the calabash exterior are to allow in natural light and for illumination at night, and not the result of vandalism or negligence.

The fact that England, the nation which safely delivered Wembley Stadium two years past its due date, is prepared to offer us South Africans advice on stadium-readiness should not be surprising. The steadiest stream of World Cup misinformation has emanated from our mates the Brits over the past couple of years.

If it’s not man-eating snakes lurking in Rooney’s closet at the team’s (allegedly half-built) Royal Bafokeng training base, then it’s machete-wielding gangs roaming the suburbs in search of tattooed, overweight Dagenham dole-queuers to ransack and leave gurgling on the pavement.

In fact what you are entering is the world’s most fascinating country, in my opinion. I’m pretty sure you will find that it functions far more smoothly, is heaps more friendly and offers plenty more diversions than you could possibly have imagined.

In addition to which, the population actually acts like human beings, and not like they are being controlled by sinister forces from above which turns them into bureaucratically-manipulated robots.

Plus we have world’s most beautiful women. The best weather. Eight channels of SuperSport. Food and wine from the gods themselves. Wildlife galore. (Love the Dutch team’s bus slogan: “Don’t fear the Big 5; fear the Orange 11”).

Having said all that, Jo’burg is undoubtedly one of the world’s most dangerous cities. Just ask those Taiwanese tourists who got out of their hire car to take close-up snaps of tawny beasts at the Lion Park a few years back. Actually, ask what’s left of them. And did you know the chances of being felled by cardiac arrest from devouring a mountain of meat at one of our world class restaurants has been statistically proven to be 33.3% higher in Jozi than in any other major urban centre not built upon a significant waterway? It’s true. I swear. I read it in a British tabloid.

Having recently spent two years comfortably cocooned in small town America, I’m only too aware of how little much of the outside world knows about this country. The American channel I used to work for has a massive battalion of employees descending on World Cup country. It has also apparently issued a recommendation to its staff to stay in their hotels when not working.

Given that said corporation is headquartered in a small town which many say is “best viewed through the rear-view mirror”, I find the recommendation, if it’s true, to be utterly astounding. In fact I don’t believe it is true. Contrary to the global stereotype, the best Americans are some of the sharpest people in the world. The fact they have bought most tickets in this World Cup proves the point.

Of course I have only lived in Johannesburg, city of terror and dread, virtually all my life, so don’t have the in-depth knowledge of say, an English broadsheet journalist who has been in the country for the weekend, but nevertheless I will share some of my observations gleaned over the years.

Any foreign tourist or media representative who is worried about his safety in South Africa should have a word with the Lions rugby fans from last year, or the Barmy Army cricket supporters (lilywhite hecklers by day, slurring, lager-fuelled lobsters by night). They managed just fine, just like the hundreds of thousands of fans who have streamed into the country over the past fifteen years for various World Cups, Super 14 matches, TriNations tests and other international events. Negligible crime incidents involving said fans over said period of time.

Trivia question: which country has hosted the most global sporting events over the past decade and a half? You don’t need me to answer that, do you?

In addition. Don’t fret when you see a gaggle of freelance salesmen converge on your car at the traffic lights (or robots as we like to call them) festooned with products. You are not about to be hijacked. Here in Mzansi (nickname for SA) we do a lot of our purchasing at robots. Here you can stock up on flags, coat hangers, batteries, roses for the wife you forgot to kiss goodbye this morning and a whole host of useful merchandise.

Similarly, that guy who runs up as you park the rental car outside the pub intends no malice. He’s your car guard. Give him a buck or two and your vehicle will be safe while you refuel for hours on our cheap, splendid beer. Unless someone breaks into it, of course.

We drive on the left in this country. Exercise caution when crossing the road at a jog-trot with 15 kilograms of camera gear on your back. Exercise common sense full stop. Nothing more. Nothing less. If you want to leave wads of cash in your hotel room like our Colombian friends, don’t be surprised if it grows wings.

Bottomline. Get out there and breathe in great lusty lungfuls of this amazing nation. Tuck into our world-class food and wines. Disprove the adage that white men can’t dance at our throbbing, vibrant night-clubs. Learn to say hello in all eleven official languages. Watch at least one game in a township. You will not be robbed and shot. You will be welcomed like a lost family member and looked after as if you are royalty. Ask those Bulls rugby fans who journeyed to Soweto recently.

With a dollop of the right attitude, this country will change your life.

It’s Africa’s time. Vacate your hotel room. Join the party.

Waka waka eh eh.

*****

Here's the original post on SuperSport.com

Excitement has reached fever pitch in South Africa. We're posting various pictures as we receive them into a Picasa Album. A slideshow will stream here. Click to go to the album itself.

Please email your photos to share to rob@roarafrica.com. Include your caption, name, date, time and location. They can be of the excitement on a beach in Mexico, a pub in England...anywhere as long as it's live World Cup FEVER!

Enjoy......

Marca.com has published an amazing World Cup Schedule online. It's a dial which allows you to click and view the match schedule by Date, Stadium, Group/Stage and Team - All on one screen.

To try it click here.

Source: www.marca.com

Slideshow from April trip: Karkloof Spa (South Africa), Natures Valley (South Africa), Okavango Delta (Mombo and Jao Camps) and Linyati (Kings Pool Camp).

For the full album click to visit Picasa web albums.

Winner of Shutterstock’s 2010 Photo Safari Contest!

"Congratulations to John Batdorff of Chicago, Illinois, for winning Shutterstock’s 2010 Photo Safari Contest, sponsored by B&H Photo and Zozi! Batdorff wins a safari for two in South Africa, including three nights on safari at the Lions Sands River Lodge and three nights exploring Cape Town courtesy of Roar Africa, plus $2,000 which can be used towards airfare."

South African Airways is advertising a last minute limited availability fare to get you to the World Cup. Click the advertisement to enlarge or click here for more. At ROAR AFRICA we are still managing to find people last minute accommodation for the World Cup.
It's still possible! Call us on +1 877 ROAR AFR.

*** flysaa special ***

Last Minute SUMMER FARES

World Cup flights from only $725 (each way).

Book now as we are days away from the WORLD coming to South Africa. We have reserved special fares with limited availability just for this monumental event. Let Africa's Most Awarded Airline take you there.
Flights from: New York or D.C. with great fares available from other select cities in the U.S.
Flights to: Johannesburg and Cape Town South Africa
We've gathered our lowest fares on select flights making booking a trip to South Africa this summer easier than even. BOOK NOW!

*****