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

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.

Congratulations to TravelScope, the documentary travel series for television that has just been nominated for an Emmy. ROAR AFRICA hosted TravelScope last year for the filming of two episodes of the new season which begins next month: South Africa - On Safari and Mozambique.The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) announced the nominees for the 37th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy® Awards on May 12th. Travelscope is nominated for an Emmy® in the Outstanding Special Class Series category.

You can read more about the filming of these two episodes on our BLOG: Safari & Mozambique or on Travelscope's website (see below).
Travelscope press release.
Episodes ROAR AFRICA hosted: South Africa - On Safari & Mozambique

Gorongosa is back in the headlines. This time it's coming to you in HD with the release on March 24th of the National Geographic documentary "Africa's Lost Eden".

Gorongosa was known as “the place where Noah left his Ark:” 4,000 square kilometers of wilderness covering floodplains, mountains and forests in central
Mozambique. It was packed with wild animals but 15 years of civil war took a heavy toll. Now conservationists are restoring the magnificent park and this has been captured on film. The world premier of "Africa's Lost Eden" will be in Washington DC on March 24th followed by a discussion moderated by Chris Matthews.

Film Trailer:


Bob Poole who shot the film over the past two years explains that it was challenging filming in the thick bush of Gorongosa. However, they captured amazing footage using a Phantom HD camera that shoots up to 1500 frames a second. You'll see fantastic super slow motion of eagles plucking fish out of the water and fighting mid air battles, waterfalls, elephants, and crocodiles hatching.

For the aerial shots they used a helicopter fitted with a Cineflex camera - the granddaddy of aerial cinematography with its long lens and a gyroscope stabilizer.

Here's a link to a short film on the making of "Africa's Lost Eden".
The making of Africa's Lost Eden

If you're interested in visiting Gorongosa, have a look at the Explore Gorongosa Tented Camp on our website or give us a call.

You might also be interested in the other posts on this BLOG including the 60 minutes documentary: click here

It's great to see the beautiful country of Mozambique getting the publicity it deserves.

Travel Scope Travels with ROAR AFRICA to Mozambique:

This is Part II of the trip we hosted the TravelScope documentary team on. (Read Part I here.)

We left Kruger National Park, in particular Camp Jabulani and Lion Sands Private Reserve and escorted Joseph and Julie Rosendo of Travel Scope to a very different eco system – namely the Bazaruto Archipelago off the east coast of Mozambique.

The archipelago is made up of five islands –

Magaruque Island which unfortunately was not visited.
Paradise Island (Santa Carolina) which is now a deserted military base. Not that long ago it was considered to be a gem of a holiday resort, now unfortunately the buildings are deserted. The snorkeling off the coral reefs is still outstanding.. (Read our more detailed post on Santa Carolina here.)

Bazaruto Island which is the largest boasts Indigo Bay, a resort of 100 beds. The highlight of our stay at Indigo Bay was being able to ride a horse up the 300 ft dunes – not for the faint hearted! This heart stopping feat was followed by swimming with the horses in the ocean. If this is not for you relaxing on extensive white beaches, fishing and snorkeling are also available. To finish a perfect day we recommend a sunset cruise in an original hand made Dhow.
Benguera Island is situated just south of Bazaruto and we were fortunate to stay at the ultra luxury Azura Lodge which is made up of 30 chalets – each leading directly onto the beach. As expected each chalet has all the quality amenities plus each boasts its own infinity pool. Between the pool and the waves is a relaxing palm frond thatched boma where it is heaven to relax on the reclining sofa.
Pansy Island is a tidal island so access is limited to low tide. Pansy Island offers the best snorkeling - guides lead swimmers on specific routes so that no damage is done to the coral reefs. We do not guarantee sightings but you have the chance of seeing turtles dolphins and dugongs. A Dugong is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia.

Bazaruto and Benguera Islands have populations of less than 2000 each. They have managed to retain their various indigenous languages, but the Portuguese way of life has been imprinted on them. They speak mostly Portuguese, cook and eat Portuguese style of food and follow Roman Catholicism. Schools and odd small ‘tuck shops’ exist on each island but lively hood is gained from employment at the tourist resorts or by fishing. The main shopping area is situated on the main land at the small town of Vilancoulos - about 45 min away by boat.

Apart form the day to day battle just to survive and feed their family the islanders have a word ‘kutakalia’ which means ‘lay back and relax’. This is there watch word for day to day living and this is how they exist successfully on these little isolated islands.

Anyone one wishing for a relaxing topical beach holiday far away from the madding crowds Mozambique is the definitely the place to go.

In October ROAR AFRICA hosted the well known Travel Scope show hosts, Joseph and Julie Rosendo, on a trip to southern Africa to film a new TV documentary. Sustainable conservation was the theme of our visit starting at Camp Jabulani in the greater Kruger National Park and ending on the Indian ocean island of Bazaruto.

Joseph on safari

We rose early to catch the sunrise over Africa before a game drive. After breakfast we took a walk with and interacted with sixteen wild (but rescued and trained) elephants. Read more about Camp Jabulani in my September post. Filming and touching five ton bull elephants out in the bush is a privilege of a life time. The focus here and at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre was wildlife conservation, but the important complement to this was what followed our animal adventure each day: visits to local Shangaan villages and schools to understand more about the native culture and discover how they coexist with and benefit from tourism.

Filming the documentary at Camp Jabulani

It is a challenge to educate all humans as to the value of wild life. It is the wild life that brings tourists so as to create employment and wealth. The goals are to conserve the ecology for mutual long term benefit of man, animals, birds, plants – each caring for the other – that is sustainable conservation. To do this effectively the private lodges and reserves we partner with are involved in community projects, for example, building schools. Lion Sands who hosted us in 6 star luxury, has helped build the Henna Pre-school. more about this and other projects on our website in the ROAR AFRICA Cares section- click here. Standards of living of staff working in hospitality are improving along with the education and futures of their children.

Field audio engineer David Stevens finds a ready assistant in the village.

From Lion Sands Private Reserve in South Africa we headed northeast to the Bazaruto archipelago in Mozambique. Here we were hosted by Indigo Bay Island Resort and Spa and Azura Resort. This is a true island paradise of sparkling turquoise waters and beautiful beaches. Most guests relax more than they ever thought possible here, but for us it was early starts and late finishes as we captured paradise on film. Horseriding, diving, sailing dhouws and sand-boarding down 300 foot high dunes amongst other activities . We'll have to go back for Kuta Katila which on Bazaruto means "roll your reed mat out on the sand, lay back and relax.”

More about the Mozambique portion of the trip in the next installment.

Stay tuned for the 2010 release of this series on television.

Joseph on a traditional dhouw in Mozambique.

More about the trip on the Travel Scope site here:

• TravelScope
• Joseph on safari
• Joseph on Bazaruto, Mozambique

This month ROAR AFRICA is hosting Joseph Rosendo's award winning travel documentary series, Travelscope. Geoff will be taking the Travelscope team on a safari around South Africa and Mozambique visiting some of our partner lodges and some of the conservation and community projects they are involved in.

The trip starts in Johannesburg today at The Peech hotel. From Johannesburg the team will travel to the Kruger Park area where they will enjoy some of the best safari experiences in South Africa as well as visit the rescued elephants at Camp Jabulani and the Henna Pre-School, a project supported by Lion Sands. From there it's off to the spectacular Bazaruto islands in Mozambique to both Indigo Bay and Azura Lodge.

Updates will be posted on the BLOG and on our Twitter feed and we'll update you with the TV schedule for the documentary.

People tend to think predominantly of the Cape Peninsula and Hermanus as the places to watch whales. There's good reason for that -they are incredible places to observe the Southern Right Whale between June and November. However there are other whale wathcing opportunities around South Africa and Mozambique.

The St Lucia tourism board are operating frequent excursions out to see to watch the Southern Right Whales traveling through St Lucia en route to the warmer Mozambiquan waters to give birth. The tours last two hours but will take three hours of your time because the trip out and back in are a half hour each.

So don't miss out on this lovely and rare opportunity to see these majestic creatures in their natural environment.

Venue: Meet in McKenzie Street, St Lucia
Date: Offer ends Monday, 30th of November, 2009 three trips a day, 06h00; 08h00 and 10h00
Cost: R770 per person

In May Roar Africa took a trip to Paradise Island. The tiny island where Bob Dylan composed his song Mozambique is one of five islands making up the Bazaruto Archipelago which at the time of writing you won't even find on GOOGLE maps. No, you'll have to switch to satellite view to see them, but they were very much on the map years ago and they will be again soon. They are glorious.

For Deborah and I it was a first visit to Paradise Island and for the Graham and Tish it was the first time back in 29 years. And that visit 29 years ago was also a first visit - they were the first intrepid "tourists" to arrive in 1980 after the Independence war (and still during the civil war).

Graham Keth tells the story:

Exploring Paradise Island.

Santa Carolina (Paradise Island), 2 miles by 0.3 miles in size, is a true rock island with deep channels, three beautiful beaches, and coral reefs close to the shore. In the 1950's Joaquim Alves, a flamboyant Portuguese businessman, controlled the coast line from Beira to Vilankulos (roughly 160 miles) and married a Mozambique local called Donna Anna. He gave her the first hotel in Vilankulos which was named after her and then focused his efforts on the tiny Santa Carolina where he built a grand 250 room hotel that was very popular with honeymooners and others for 20 years. This man was a legend in the area.

Before the air strip was built on Santa Carolina one would fly to Vilankulos and transfer to Santa Carolina by ferry - a distance of about 50 miles which took up to 4.5 hours (light Aircraft +/- 15minutes). After the air strip was built in the mid 60’s pilots would clear into the country at Beira or Lourenco Marques (Maputo) before continuing to the Island.

The very first of many trips to the island was round about 1959. The hotel was in its heyday and filled with people. However Mozambique was in the middle of an independence war and Joaquim Alves abandoned the hotel in 1973 towards the end of that war. Santa Carolina became a “no go area" occupied by FRELIMO - The Liberation Front of Mozambique. After independence in 1975 the Civil war ensued (1975 to 1992) but under the new government the FRELIMO personnel were moved to the main land. So it was that in 1980, shortly after Zimbabwe also gained independence, a colleague (also a pilot) and myself decided on a trip to the Island.

We flew from Zimbabwe in two aircraft for safety and were the first two aircraft to land on the island after Mozambique’s independence . We were unaware of the condition of the airstrip and landed after several low level inspection approaches. The friendly Mozambiquan staff, all dressed in their threadbare old uniforms, welcomed us to the island and gave us the best rooms available. Most of the rooms had been vandalised by the troops that occupied the island.

Exploring the old hotel.

Fortunately we brought our own essentials of tinned food, tea, milk and sugar. At our first meal we were offered fish which included Crayfish cooked over an open fire. Tish and I ordered one each and we could not believe their size, they weighed 11.7 lbs each! We were also given “Chicken casserole” which clearly was not a fowl at all and could only have been seagull, by the taste and the size and colour of the bones.

This is fishing paradise and so I hired one of the remaining old fishing boats (no life jackets and no radio communications) - we left at sunrise. As we were departing, I was aware of the captain’s assistant bailing water out of the boat with a 5 liter can. Initially I was not concerned as I thought it was water that had seeped in after standing overnight. We fished for about 3 hours on the high sea beyond Bazaruta island. All this time the chap never stopped bailing out water, however the fishing was good and after landing several barracuda, king fish and several sharks we returned. Other problems included blocked fuel filter stoppage of the engine and a horrible vibration of the prop shaft presumably from worn bearings or bent prop shaft.

On arrival I was met by a rather concerned Tish; unbeknown to me the other aircraft had left as one of their children had taken ill. Tish was concerned because although also the holder of a pilot's license she had no experience on the twin engine aircraft.

Another good memory of that trip was standing waist deep in the sea with a screw driver and eating oysters straight from the rocks. At the end of the trip we paid our bill with clothes and tackies (sneakers) as they insisted that money of any denomination was of no use.

The present hotel is still derelict, as is the Donna Anna in Vilankulos. The Paradise Island concession was previously owned by Ecco Delta Ltd. Rani Resorts has recently entered an agreement to purchase the concession and hopes to start building soon.

*****

Although the hotel on Santa Carolina is in ruins it makes a wonderful day trip from one of the neighboring islands where there are beautiful lodges to choose from. Our day trip to the island was taken with Indigo Bay (Rani Resorts) with wom we had a wonderful stay on the neighboring Bazaruto Island (More on that in a seperate post). Take a day trip for a picnic, snorkeling, exploration, or just for some private beach time. It's also happens to be great kiteboarding spot but I took my own kite and borrowed a board from a very accomodating Indigo Bay staff member. Until recently the piano which Bob Dylan apparently used was still in the hotel ruins. It is now safely on the neighboring island but I hear it will be returned when Rani Resorts rebuilds on the Santa Carolina.

Wind + private beach = Kiteboarding Paradise

We're proud to announce that Southern Africa (and the Indian Ocean islands), the home of Roar Africa, has 11 entries currently competing for inclusion in the New7Wonders of Nature. Of those 11 the Kalahari Desert (Botswana/Namibia/South Africa) is the current front runner. We have two coming in at number 7: Sossusvlei (Namibia) and Table Mountain (Cape Town, South Africa). Not bad!

Wonder, Country, Current Rank
Kalahari Desert, BOTSWANA/NAMIBIA/S.AFRICA, 1
Sossusvlei, NAMIBIA, 7 (group A)
Table Mountain, SOUTH AFRICA, 7 (group C)
Mount Karthala, COMOROS, 11
Okawango Delta, BOTSWANA, 18
Victoria Falls, ZAMBIA/ ZIMBABWE, 25
Aldabra Atoll, SEYCHELLES, 26
Malolotja Nature Reserve, SWAZILAND, 29
Mount Nyangani, ZIMBABWE, 30
Avenue of the Baobabs, MADAGASCAR, 35
Maletsunyane Falls, LESOTHO, 57

And we can think of far more than 11 reasons to visit southern Africa!

The New 7 Wonders of Nature will be determined by votes from the public.
Vote here.

Why elect the New7Wonders of Nature?
The campaign to choose The Offcial New7Wonders of the World was a resounding success, in which more than 100 million votes were cast and which took democracy to a new, global level. The New7Wonders of Nature campaign will raise awareness of the incredible variety and beauty of nature around us. “If we want to save anything, we first need to truly appreciate it!” This is something that is very important - more awareness and more tourism income means that these natural treasures can be better preserved for future generations.

The New7Wonders Foundation, which is behind the New7Wonders campaigns, has the express aim of undertaking documentation and conservation works of monuments worldwide under the motto: "OUR HERITAGE IS OUR FUTURE". The Foundation was established in 2001 by the Swiss-born Canadian filmmaker, author and adventurer Bernard Weber to contribute to the protection of the world’s human-built and natural heritage and to foster respect for the cultural diversity on our planet. Fifty percent of net revenue raised by the New7Wonders Project is to be used to fund monument documentation and conservation efforts worldwide.

We're proud to report that seventeen lodges from Africa have made the latest National Geographic Adventure World's Top 50 Ecolodges list and nine of these lodges are in Southern Africa and neighboring islands.


"A decade ago, you could count the number of true ecolodges in the world on two hands. But today we are witnessing one of the most significant transformations in the history of modern travel. And ecolodges are at the center of this movement. Once located exclusively in the African bush and Central American jungles, these retreats now span nearly every ecosystem and every budget—and their mission has never been more vital. "
National Geographic Adventure

Ecotourism is "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people" (Ecotourism Society). A good ecolodge should engage in responsible travel practices which can broadly be defined as:

1. Environment: travel that minimizes negative environmental impacts and, where possible, makes positive contributions to the conservation of biodiversity, wilderness, natural and human heritage.
2. Social/Cultural: travel that respects culture and traditions and fosters authentic interaction and greater understanding between travelers and hosts.
3. Economic: travel that has financial benefits for the host community and operates on the principles of fair trade.

The nine ecolodges in Southern Africa which have been recognized by National Geographic Adventure are Phinda Private Game Reserve (South Africa), Tswalu Kalahari Reserve (South Africa), Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve (South Africa), Desert Rhino Camp (Namibia), Wolwedans (Namibia), Vumbura Plains Camp (Botswana), Zibandianja Camp (Botswana), Vamizi Island (Mozambique) and North Island (Seychelles).

Congratulations from Roar Africa!

After decades of civil war Mozambique is on the road to recovery. In the 1960s and 70s Mozambique was a prime tourist destination. It's unique combination of Latin African culture, unspoilt tropical beaches and magnificent wildlife drew tourists from around the world. South Africans flooded to Southern Mozambique in particular. Hollywood stars such as Gregory Peck and John Wayne visited Mozambique and when they did they visited it's crown jewel, Gorongosa National Park.

1. Gorongosa "Yesterday"

Before the war of independence from Portugal and the civil war that followed it Gorongosa was home to elephant herds and buffalo herds exceeding those of the Serengeti and more predators than Kruger National Park. During the wars poaching to finance the war (ivory), feed soldiers, or just for local communities to survive, devastated the animal population. Estimates are that 95% of the large mammal population was lost. The human population was also devastated. By 1992 over 1 million Mozambicans had been killed and they continue to suffer from high rates of HIV and diseases such as Malaria. But things are finally looking up for Mozambique.

2. Gorongosa Today

Gorongosa National Park re-opened in 1995 and it's rehabilitation is benefiting both wildlife and local communities. Greg Carr, an American IT multi-millionaire turned philanthropist is helping to make this happen by partnering the The Carr Foundation, a U.S. not-for-profit organization, with the Government of Mozambique. The project is to protect and restore the ecosystem of Gorongosa National Park and to develop an ecotourism industry to benefit local communities.

Carr wanted a humanitarian aspect to his project and believes that a restored park will lift the region out of poverty. Communities surrounding the park need to benefit from tourism and, in Vinho village, a subsistence farming community where many of the park workers live the foundation has invested in infrastructure including a $100,000 school and a $200,000 clinic. Now the park boasts newly-built accommodation at Chitengo Camp with a good restaurant serving local and international dishes. Game drives are run twice daily and the park officials also lead hikes to the impressive Mount Gorongosa.

The park does not yet have the abundance of large mammal wildlife that some other parks have but it has spectacular scenery, great diversity of ecology and amazing birdlife. Importantly your visit may help local communities more than a visit elsewhere. Besides- who else do you know who can say they've been to Mozambique let alone Gorongosa!

3. The famous Casa des Leos, or the "House of Lions"

4. Vinho Village

Park Facts:
Location: The southern end of the Great Rift Valley. Central Mozambique. (About 100km/60m from Beira on the coast)
Size: 3,770 square kilometers/ 1,456 square miles
Ecology: Diverse. Gorongosa is an Eden of grassland, miombo forest, flood plains, waterways. In the outer reaches of the park granite outcrops rise majestically out of the bush. A spectacular limestone gorge with rain forests marks the southern end of the Great Rift Valley and Mount Gorongosa dominates the horizon.
Accommodations: Chitengo’s rondavels (traditional round cabins) have been restored and visitors have increased from less than 1,000 in 2005 to around 8,000 this year. The camp boasts a good restaurant serving local and international dishes.

5. Diverse landscapes

From Bush to Beach:
A visit to Mozambique would not be complete without a stay on it's magnificent coastline. Most well traveled is the southern coastline including Bazaruto Archipelago but The Quirimbas Archipelago – a string of remote tropical islands in the far north of the country is the newest draw. Over the past few years ever-more luxurious lodges have opened on the exclusive islands. Fortunately like at Gorongosa, there are also grass-roots initiatives taking place.

Get ahead of the curve: Visit Mozambique and contribute to the restoration of this beautiful country.

Photographs:
1. Gorongosa "Yesterday": Game viewing bus (Antonio Jorge), Pungwe River, Chitengo Safari Camp (Antonio Jorge), Elephants (Celestino Goncales)
2. Gorongosa Today: Chitengo Safari Camp Cabanas, Cabana (Antonio Jorge), Game viewing vehicle, Lion (Richard Baker)
3. The famous Casa des Leos, or the "House of Lions" once inhabited by a pride of lions (Celestino Goncales)
4. Vinho Village, benefiting from hard work and philanthropy
5. Diverse landscapes: Lake Urema (Jeff Barbee), Grassland, Mountain

Further Reading:
Gorongosa National Park
One Man's Plan To Save A Natural Treasure (CBS News, 60 Minutes)
Wanderlust Magazine Article
Carr Foundation

CBS 60 Minutes Feature:

[Shortened] Dear Deborah,

Our trip to South Africa and Mozambique was spectacular. South Africa ... was simply magnificent.

At Kruger, the game drives during the days and in the evenings were overwhelming .... It was incredible to fly from Maputo, Mozambique to the island of Bazaruto. I don’t think either of us has ever relaxed the way we did in Bazaruto. The scuba diving was fantastic, and the dive-master was the consummate professional. Diving in the Indian Ocean was really a treat.

We can’t leave out the food. .... And, Deborah, the “icing on the cake” was our guide Geoff. His grasp of the history, current and past, his passion, his insight into the political situation and his willingness to talk about all of these things with us, candidly, was simply wonderful. He is so articulate and bright, and the sharing of so much valuable information, .... We feel we have a new and extraordinary friend, and we can’t wait to go back and spend time with him in another part of Africa …. or welcome him with open arms when he is next in the states.

Kathryn and I have never taken a trip where we paid so little attention to the details, prior to the trip. ROAR Africa’s planning and execution were superb, and we thank you for that luxury.

Kathryn & Alan (North Carolina, October 2007)

For full and additional testimonials:
http://www.roarafrica.com/south-africa-safari-testimonials.html