Honour Way News
Good afternoon,
For those of you, with a little bit of time on your
hands to have a good
read, I suggest you print this newsletter, make a nice
cup or tea or
something stronger and take a quick 5 minute break –
HAPPY READING!!!
I just can’t believe how time is flying this
year. A minute ago I was starting Honour Way and now we
are already entering the second half of the year with
ITB and INDABA behind us… I have had some busy
months travelling around visiting Uganda and Zambia as
well as European road trips and conferences aplenty
marketing my wonderful properties but as they say no
rest for the wicked so much much more to do…
Uganda
After signing up The Uganda Safari Company and Wild
Places Africa, I was itching to get on a plane and
see this country I had heard such wonderful things
about. I finally set off for Kampala arriving on Easter
Sunday morning for a 10 day road trip taking in the best
of Uganda.
Immediately noticeable was how lushious and green
everywhere was. It was just so beautiful and now I
understand where terms such as the rolling hills of
Switzerland comes from. After 2 days of relaxing at the
Emin Pasha and being thoroughly spoiled, Zara and
I set off with Kitembo (one of the guides) on an
unforgettable road trip driving from Kampala to Bwindi
with various stops along the way. Here I was lucky
enough to go on my first ever gorilla track. Despite
putting my fitness levels to the test, everything paled
into insignificance once we found them and spent an hour
observing them. I am not sure whether any words could
describe this magical experience so I suggest you find
out for yourself.
Nkuringo – Bwindi – Clouds
Clouds is being built on the Nkuringo side and we
had a quick look at the site. The views over the rain
forest are spectacular and it is a 2 minute drive from
the lodge to the start of the track. Clouds will be the
only lodge on this side of Bwindi and is a community
endeavour with wild Places running the building and
management of the lodge and was set up to address the
problem threatening endangered mountain gorillas and the
survival of local poor residents of the remote area of
Nkuringo..
Opening in August 2008!!!
From Clouds we then drove to the Bahoma side to have a
taste of what other options there are for Guests and on
to Semliki via Queen Elizabeth National Park where we
had a very lucky sighting of some full bellied tree
climbing lions resting their heavy bellies…
Semliki Lodge was the perfect place to unwind and
rest my very stiff legs after the gorilla track. It has
a bit of everything. A visit to Lake Albert allowed us
to find the very rare shoebill which they described as a
cross between a dodo and a dinosaur. Normally they don’t
move around much but we did see this incredible bird in
flight. Semliki also offers game viewing, wild
chimpanzee tracking, (Chimps are tracked by
researchers in Semliki at dawn and dusk, as they tend to
disappear in the middle of the day. The Semliki Chimp
Project is jointly run by The Uganda Safari Company and
the University of Indiana) or just relax at the pool
area with views over the rain forest so even then we
still got to see a couple of primates in the distance.
Semliki pool - Shoebill
Mark and Kristen have been managing Semliki Lodge for
two years. They have extensive experience in Africa
having worked in Kenya, Burundi, Namibia and Sudan
before arriving in Uganda. Beyond the daily duties of
lodge management, they both are very involved in the
area: Mark holds a degree in Wildlife Conservation and
is very involved in conservation initiatives in Semliki.
Kristen, with her Masters in Public Health, has set up
several health projects with women’s groups from the
surrounding communities.
From Semliki we then flew up to Apoka Safari Lodge
in the Kidepo National Park – right in the North Eastern
Part of the Country. I could have stayed here forever. I
had the feeling that the lodge was totally alone in the
world and the perfect place to get away from it all.
Activities on offer include game drives, walks and
relaxation but even staying at the lodge offers some
amazing wildlife sightings so I almost felt torn what to
do. 24 hours before my arrival guests had seen a leopard
take his kill up a tree followed by a lion trying to
steal the kill of the leopard. They were lucky to
witness this several days running. During my time at
Apoka we saw a herd of 2000 buffalo, giraffe, zebra,
warthog, lion and so much more proving that Uganda in
itself offers so much in the way of safari and game
without just being an add on to other countries..
Apoka Safari Lodge
I have really had to shorten down my Uganda experience
and could literally write for hours in much more detail
but I know that I must keep this brief so I suggest if
you want more information you contact me and we can
either chat about it further over the phone or I can
come and visit you for a presentation.
The diversity in Uganda makes for a stunning destination
with so much to offer everyone. Flights in are easy
enough from London direct or via Nairobi or Dar es
Salam.
www.safariuganda.com
www.wildplacesafrica.com
Zambia
Following a final magnificent African flash rain storm
there is now slight nip in the air as the weather turns
to winter and everyone at Tongabezi are preparing for
the busy months ahead. The final touches were made to
The Nuthouse and our first guests have been and stayed
in this new masterpiece at the top of the cliff and some
even braved the cooler temperatures to have a swim in
the private plunge pool. The new lodge gardens and
vegetable crop are a source of visual and culinary
delight.
Tongabezi Nut House
Speaking of the kitchen – chef training continues and
food standards at the lodge are currently receiving high
praise. The menu’s are also slowly moving with the
season and the winter fare is now being served to help
take the chill from the deep winter months. Of course
winter in Africa can be much warmer (during the day)
than a Continental or American summer – but we will take
any excuse to have our annual Sticky Toffee pudding
treat (Risotto, Polenta and Lentils are also featured
this winter).
With the waters receding the Sanpan is back in place and
couples can once again enjoy their romantic dinners
while the choir float around them and their food gets
delivered by canoe. We have also used the Sanpan with
the breakfast grill – offering a fantastic new breakfast
venue!
Sindabezi Island has also benefited from a little
overall renovation. A brand new kitchen has been built
(from the ground up!) and the rooms have been painted
with gorgeous brass accessories installed in the
bathrooms…. Guests now cannot wait to get under our
famous Sindabezi Island ‘On Demand’ Shower! During these
mild days all the avid fishermen and women have also
been delighted by a bumper crop of Tiger fish courtesy
of the high waters … still lapping at the deck in Chalet
Three! Sindabezi has also been honoured by a visit from
“The Might Mudenda”- a very big local Elephant who
occasionally comes by to sample some Sinda fruits …
Livingstone Island is currently closed for safety
reasons while we wait for the water levels to fall
sufficiently but we do hope to re-open by the end of the
month. Exact dates to follow. Please note that due to an
increase in park fees etc we have increased the rates
for the coming season. Please contact us for further
information..
Victoria Falls
www.tongabezi.com
Please can you let me know if anyone would be interested
in a Zambian Educational in October or November?
The construction of Two(2) new Suites and Six(6) new
Luxury Standard Tents has taken a little longer than
planned, but that’s the wonderful challenge of Africa
for you... Nonetheless, the finished products have
turned out even better (and bigger) than expected and
feedback has been fantastic. Guests love that we are
quite different from typical safari camps and that in
the remote location of the Lower
Zambezi.
The new Suites are "to marry for", and it has already
been suggested we turn ALL our accommodation to the
same!
I was lucky enough to pop in prior to Indaba to have a
little look and I was not disappointed. The new decks
make for a fantastic option to sit out and enjoy the
views during siesta time and those guests lucky enough
to stay in one of the suites will have their own plunge
pool which will be particularly appealing in the hotter
months again enjoying the views with total privacy.
Sausage Tree Camp
3 new managers have joined Sausage Tree Camp. Welcome to
Daniel (based in Lusaka) and Alan and Nicci who have
joined Dave and Tash in camp. Daniel has worked in the
hotel industry internationally and brings a wealth of
experience with him and Alan and Nicci have worked in
various lodges around Africa. Alan is a fly fisherman
and is thoroughly enjoying this perfect location for
fishing. Despite the new managers arriving, Jason is
still very heavily involved in the running of the lodge
and will often be found at camp too…
Here a little synopsis of their experiences running up
to Sausage Tree Camp
“We first moved to Botswana in
1995 to build and run Zibalianja Camp in the Selinda
Reserve. Alan had been working in the Eastern Transvaal
and I had been working as a Microbiologist. The move to
the bush was a big change for me, but I have never
looked back. Alan was in his element as the game viewing
in the Selinda Reserve is spectacular. At the end of
1995 we stayed with Linyanti Explorations but moved to
Chobe Chilwero outside of Kasane. We both loved the
area.
In 1997 we moved to Ichingo Lodge
on Impalila Island. Alan was happy as he had unlimited
access to tiger fishing. Flyfishing is his passion and
he enjoyed the rapids in front of the lodge as they were
very productive.
At the end of 1998 we decided we
needed a break from the bush and went back to city life
for 3 years. During this time we worked at a hotel in
the Natal Midlands, Alan set up a fly fishery in
Franschhoek and I worked for a restaurant. We soon
discovered that we missed the bush terribly and
negotiated a return to Ichingo Lodge.
In 2001 it was back to the Chobe
River and we enjoyed 6 years there. The lodge expanded
and took on two houseboats. At the end of 2007 we felt
we needed a change of scenery and saw ourselves moving
to Sausage Tree Camp. It is great still being on the
river“
www.sausagetreecamp.com
Fact of the Day –
Animal groupings
A PARLIAMENT of
Owls – Well done and thank you to those who sent in
their answers…
Giraffes at Apoka
What do we call a group of giraffes????
|
