10 Fish River Canyon Hiking Tips

Having recently walked the challenging but incredibly beautiful five day hike along the Fish River Canyon in Namibia, there were a couple of things that we wished people had told us before we left. So here are a few tips that my friends and I learnt along the way, that you might find useful.

• Book the shuttle from Ai Ais to the canyon entry point as early as possible. There is only one vehicle and it leaves Ai Ais at +/- 7am and 10:30am. This means that if you catch the later shuttle you will only start the hike at 12:00 – loosing a whole morning. The shuttle can be booked at Ai Ais.

• Don’t forget to take cash with you on the shuttle as you will need to pay the park fees at Hobas before you can enter the canyon. This fee is NOT included in the cost that you would have paid when booking your hike months earlier.

• Other than the emergency exit on day two, there is no signage in the canyon whatsoever. Although the map of the hike is not very accurate, it does help with estimating your whereabouts… well kind of.

• Don’t stress if you haven’t made much progress after day 2, the terrain is tough going and you will make time up on day 4 and 5 when the canyon opens up. If you make camp an hours walk after Palm Springs on day 2, you are doing well.

• Don’t camp near “Sand Against Slope” – the sand is there for a reason. The wind can pick up at night and deliver ½ a ton of sand into your sleeping bag.

• I also wouldn’t suggest camping anywhere along “Dassie Ridge” and “Baboon Mountain”. Our fury primate friends get up to all kinds of mischief and keep you up all night with their loud partying.

• Bring secure sandals for river crossings.

• Please burn you toilet paper after use. Digging a hole and covering it with sand isn’t good enough. The wind simply blows the sand away.

• Some food that we found worked well from a calories vs weight point of view were: rice, pasta, couscous, crackers, tuna sachets, peanut butter, dried fruit, sachet pasta sauces, nuts, energy bars, honey, cup-a-soup, oat sachets and a few onions and garlic for flavour. I would also suggest biltong, but that didn’t even last the car trip there.

• Don’t forget to appreciate the five days of no emails, facebook updates, bbm, spam text messages, tweets, phone calls and general world events. It’s a beautiful thing.

Chris

Direct flights between Hoedspruit - Cape Town

SA Express has announced the launch of flights between Cape Town and Hoedspruit, starting July 26.

The airline will operate the route with a 50-seater CRJ 200 with a launch phase frequency of once daily, every Tuesday and Thursday. Flights will depart Cape Town at 09h30, arriving Hoedspruit at 12h10. The return service will depart Hoedspruit at 12h45, arriving in Cape Town at 15h25.

The airline said it was confident the addition of this route to its network would ensure the best possible connections for business and leisure customers.

For the full article click here.

A Year In The Wild

From 12 June 2011 to 30 June 2012, Scott Ramsay will be exploring and documenting the wild places of South Africa. The goal is to promote the conservation of the country’s natural wonders, by sharing his photos, videos and blogs with the world via social media.

He’ll travel to 31 of South Africa’s most special wilderness and wildlife areas. In these unique areas, he’ll be interviewing rangers, community leaders, environmental and cultural activists, ecologists, scientists, researchers, travellers and school kids.

“Ultimately I’d like to raise awareness of African wilderness – and why it’s important to the people of the continent and the world”, said Scott.

Here at Finding Africa, we will be following Scott’s journey with much interest and bringing your updates along the way.

You can also visit his website www.yearinthewild.com.

Best Airline in the World

Qatar Airways has won the title as the World's Best Airline at the 2011 World Airline Awards, in a ceremony held at the French Air and Space Museum as part of the 2011 Paris Air Show.

Voted by over 18.8 million airline passengers from 100 different nationalities, the World Airline Awards are the most prestigious and respected quality recognition of front-line product and service standards across the world airline industry. With 200 airlines featured, the awards reflect customer satisfaction levels across 38 different items of airline front-line product and service.

According to the Awards, the world's best airlines for 2011 were:

1. Qatar Airways

2. Singapore Airlines

3. Asiana Airlines

4. Cathay Pacific Airways

5. Thai Airways International

6. Etihad Airways

7. Air New Zealand

8. Qantas Airways

9. Turkish Airlines

10. Emirates

Locally, South African Airways was named the Best Airline in Africa. The runners-up in this Best Airline Africa category were Air Mauritius in second, ahead of Kenya Airways.

For all the winners, visit www.worldairlineawards.com.

For the full article on iafrica, click here.

Jackal and vulture standoff

With this photo, taken at Giant's Castle Nature Reserve in the Drakensberg, outdoor lover George Schmahl scooped the nature photography competition featured in Beeld and Die Burger newspapers. Have a look at the photographs and find out how this sequence plays out.

Vote for Table Mountain!

Table Mountain is in the running to become one of the New7Wonders of Nature, but this South African attraction is falling behind! Click here to see the list of the other contenders.

The New7Wonders will be announced on November 11, 2011 and we need your help to ensure our place in the history books.

Vote for Table Mountain online on www.votefortablemountain.com or via SMS as often as possible. SMS “Table” to 34874. Each SMS costs R2.

Incredible photographs of the Namibian landscape.

Tinted orange by the morning sun, a soaring dune is the backdrop for the hulks of camel thorn trees in Namib-Naukluft Park, Namibia.

Desert-dwelling elephants follow the contours of the ancient Huab River Valley, wending their way through the Torra Conservancy - one of 60 areas overseen by local communities.

Quiver trees stand like eerie sentinels under the stars in the Namib Desert.

Pink flamingos mass on the water in Sandwich Harbour, once a secluded spot for whalers the lagoon is now renowned for its bird life with more than 100 species recorded.

The photographs are the work of photographer Frans Lanting, who took the incredible images on behalf of National Geographic magazine.

Appearing in the June 2011 edition of the famous magazine, the photos accompany a feature by Alexandra Fuller, who tells the story of how animals are thriving in Namibia since it became one of the world's first nations to write environmental protection into its constitution following its independence in 1990. She explains how the eco-minded nation treasures its land and feels responsible for it.

Click here for the full article in the Daily Mail.

TripAdvisor votes Cape Town No. 1

According to the TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards 2011, Cape Town is the world’s best destination. The planet’s most popular travel website placed Sydney (Australia) in second place and Machu Picchu (Peru) in third.

“Cape Town is clearly the destination to beat,” said TripAdvisor spokesperson, Emma O’Boyle. “With beautiful scenery, great wine and gorgeous weather, it’s easy to see why Cape Town, which also played host to last year’s World Cup, has topped this year’s list.”

The Travelers' Choice Destinations awards honour top travel spots worldwide based on 45 million real and unbiased opinions from TripAdvisor travelers. Award winners were determined based on a combination of travelers' favorite places and overall destination popularity.

The Top 10 destinations in the world for 2011, according to TripAdvisor are:

1. Cape Town, South Africa
2. Sydney, Australia
3. Machu Picchu, Peru
4. Paris, France
5. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
6. New York City, New York
7. Rome, Italy
8. London, United Kingdom
9. Barcelona, Spain
10. Hong Kong, China

For full article click here.

Joe's Beerhouse - Windhoek, Namibia

Tanja

Joe’s beerhouse, a legendary & unique slice of Namibian hospitality & cuisine, offers a wide range of local yet exotic flair & sumptuous meals to satisfy even the most conservative to experimental palates.

Originally founded in 1986 by Joe & his partner, upon arrival from Germany to Namibia, they started the Kaiserkrone restaurant, which after a few years was later to become Joes Beerhouse, the legend still surviving to this day.

Situated on the iconic 160 Nelson Mandela avenue in the capital Windhoek, Joes bursts onto the scene with African relics old & new, each with its own unique story, inscribed in detail on every facet of the building’s interior. It sports three thatched bars, strewn with toilet seat bar stools, a lapa, and beer garden an outside boma with fireplace, & a quality stocked wine cellar. Riddled with prize heads of game & filled to the brim with Namibian earthy tones & natural wonder, Joes offers this unique experience in quite a neat package.

Joe’s menu is littered with scrumptious exotic but local dishes offered with flair of excellence & generous memorable experiences to excite even the most critical of food connoisseurs. Their menu covers it all from a wide variety of game, chicken & beef. Joes also offers a sizable choice of vegetarian & salad dishes. The locally brewed draught is a beer best enjoyed before, during or after your meal; take into account that they are also the highest consumer of Jagermeister in all of Namibia.

The list of specialty dishes goes on with classics such as Pork schnitzel & the traditional German “Eisbein” or also known as pork knuckle served with sauerkraut & mustard, are a must. More to the travelers delight dishes such as the Zebra steak & Devils Ribs are not to be missed. All this & more can be enjoyed with a finale of exquisite deserts such as the aptly named Parfait of Namibian Prickly Pears or a modest Amarula (African cream liqueur) Dom Pedro.

So there you have it a unique, exciting & memorable dining & drinking experience that can only be better described by the owners themselves, “ it’s good food, superb company, unique experience & is locally & internationally known as a must see Namibian attraction.”

Le Quartier Francais No 36 in Top 50 Restaurants 2011

Royal highlands trout ballotine, squid ink, avocado.

Pickled aubergine and buffalo labne roulade.

Le Quartier Français has been included, for the 7th consecutive year (and 8th year overall), in the S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants.

This year saw the Tasting Room, the only South African restaurant included in the 2011 Top 50 Restaurants, placed no 36 overall and best restaurant in Africa & The Middle East.

Two other South African restaurants -Rust-en-Vrede and La Colombe – were recognized and included in the S.Pellegrino World's Top 51-100 Best Restaurants rankings; reaffirming our belief that South Africa, as a food destination, continues to impress on a global scale.

The Tasting Room, situated in the French Huguenot valley of Franschhoek, in the Cape Winelands, serves course after course of exquisitely presented culinary delights showcase chef Margot Janse and her team's award-winning talent. You can indulge in a surprise 9 course menu - African inspired - or a five course choice menu. Both options can be enjoyed with a wine pairing. Bookings essential. Dinners Only - Mon - Sun.

5 Course Menu
Almond, cucumber & green grape consommé, dill granita, fennel pollen

Beetroot and liquorice terrine, apple puree, pickled walnut

Lesotho royale highlands salmon trout, squid ink, avocado, wasabi

Crisp skinned cape salmon, pearl barley ragout, miso, soya, celery

Joostenberg vlakte pekin duck breast, confit leg tortellini, pea parfait,butternut, juniper and pomegranate

Coffee roasted warthog loin, potato fondant, garlic puree,bone marrow and currant vinaigrette

Eastern cape blue wildebeest, leek and buchu ash, lentils, celeriac

Swissland chevre ash mousse, plum, pickled turnip, cocoa pepper

Whipped kimilili tulbagh blue, mustard pear, pistachio sable

Mulberries, bitter chocolate ganache, lemon thyme and buffalo yoghurt sherbet

Cashew nut savarin, coconut sorbet, passion fruit, banana, curry

Cape Town in for a Beautiful Weekend

Photo of Table Mountain taken this morning from the V&A Waterfront.

Go on, Buy a Penguin a Home.

The African Penguin was moved to the Endangered list in May 2010 because of a decline of almost 100 birds a week over the last 30 years.

Dyer Island is a critically important breeding colony – one of the largest remaining in South Africa – but African penguin numbers are rapidly declining. In 1979 Dyer Island had a penguin population of about 23,000 breeding pairs. This dropped to 1,200 pairs in 2010 – a more than 90% drop in numbers in 30 years.

During the 19th and 20th centuries the island was stripped of guano for use as an agricultural fertilizer. This has had devastating effects on the penguins. The safest place for penguins to breed is in burrows, which they used to dig into the soft guano enabling the birds to make their nests and sheltering them from the heat of the sun.

During the 19th and 20th centuries the island was stripped of guano for use as an agricultural fertilizer. This has had devastating effects on the penguins. The safest place for penguins to breed is in burrows, which they used to dig into the soft guano enabling the birds to make their nests and sheltering them from the heat of the sun.

When guano was removed, penguins were forced to nest in the open on the rocky island surface. Here they are at the mercy of the elements and of predators. On hot days adults incubating in the open overheat and often leave their nests to go down to the sea. As soon as eggs and small chicks are left unattended on the surface,they too can overheat and die, or more likely fall prey to the ever watchful Kelp Gulls.

The Dyer Island Conservation Trust, in partnership with CapeNature, has embarked on a programme to introduce artificial nests providing vitally important shelter for breeding penguins. Fibre glass nests were specially designed to mimic natural guano burrows.

Download the brochure and help us conserve the remaining breeding colonies by purchasing a nest - only ZAR 400 (USD55 EUR45 GBP35) each or by making a donation to our world class research.