The Lion King, based on a true story?

BA to increase flights to SA

British Airways will increase its double-daily Johannesburg schedule by three flights from March next year, adding nearly 700 seats a week between London and South Africa’s commercial capital.

It will also add an additional service to its Cape Town summer schedule to offer double-daily flights from the end of October 2011. The 747-400 aircraft will add some 14 400 seats into and out of the Mother City over the busy summer season.

“The additional services give our customers increased choice and flexibility and provide better connections from London to our global network and to the regional and domestic network operated by our franchise partner, British Airways Comair,” says Gavin Halliday, the area general manager for Europe and Africa.

For the full article on iafrica.com, click here.

“Flightiquette”, what we should all know.

Flight Centre has compiled a list of 10 commonly aired in-flight grievances and how to minimize the risk of passenger-related turbulence at 30 000 feet.

1) Boarding and disembarking by row
Once aboard, carry your luggage directly in front or directly behind, as luggage carried to the side will leave a path of destruction (and more than a few headaches) among the aisle-seat dwellers who have already taken their seats.

2) The overhead locker
Ensure your bag is within the required dimensions, only bring one and, wherever possible, stow it in the locker directly above you. Don't deposit your bag above seat 1A and then proceed to your seat at the back of the plane. Trust us - there will be knock-on effects.

3) The arm rest
Let's face it; the middle seat doesn't have a lot going for it, so as you settle in to your window or aisle seat, spare a thought for the disadvantaged middle seat dweller.

If you have established early elbow dominance on shared armrests, make some space for the middle seat dweller, who otherwise faces a long and uncomfortable journey without arm support.

4) Chair reclining
On short flights (under two hours), reclining should be kept to a minimum and avoided completely during meal times. On longer flights, the one-in, all-in rule should apply.

5) Border crossings
Space is an extremely precious commodity in the economy cabin. Don't attempt to cross your neighbour's border (unless invited) by stretching the legs or extending the arm span to read a fold-out map or a broadsheet newspaper.

6) Footwear
You're in close proximity to your neighbours. If there is any suggestion or past history of odour issues, footwear should remain on or should be carefully secured.

7) Mindless chatter
Before engaging in mid-flight banter with your neighbour, look for the obvious clues that point to a reluctant chatterer. Headphones on or face buried in a book mean "I don't want to talk".

8) Knees in the back
You're in a confined space, so the occasional bump to the seat in front is inevitable. Regular knees in the back are, however, almost a declaration of war.

9) Hands off the headrest
Like knees in the back, hands on the headrest in front are frowned upon. Avoid the temptation to pull the headrest in front for extra leverage when standing. The consequences of a poorly timed headrest shake can range from mild whiplash to severe red wine spillage.

10) The bathroom
Reaching the bathroom without breaching one or two of the rules above can be challenging. So, if you're likely to be a regular bathroom visitor, request an aisle seat at check-in and empty the tanks before boarding to avoid the rush that inevitably occurs once the fasten seatbelt sign is switched off.

For the full article on iafrica, click here.

Explore Gauteng

If South Africa was a ship, Cape Town would be the deck. In the Mother City there are sea breezes, deckchairs and beautiful views. Joburg, however, would be the engine room – the metal heart of the country where the hard work gets done.

But looking at the sunrise over the Magaliesberg mountains from the basket of his hot-air balloon, Adam Fillmore knows this isn’t true. “The Magaliesberg is 100 times older than Mount Everest and over 120km long,” said the AirVentures pilot.

Sailing along at a leisurely 10km/h, the balloon provides a refreshingly different view of the fast-paced province – crisp spring air, wildlife and quiet farming villages.

Showing off this unrecognised beauty, vibe and charm is what the Gauteng Tourism Department aims to do with its new campaign, “I’m a Gee Pee”.

The campaign was launched at the Cradle of Humankind, and will use promotions and tourism ambassadors to promote the region.

But the target audience is not foreigners – they want you and me to start holidaying in our province. It is estimated that for every 16 tourists who visit, one job is created.

Gauteng MEC for Economic Development and Planning Qedani Mahlangu emphasised that amid the global economic downturn, South Africa needed to depend on local, not international, tourism for economic growth. “Very few Gautengers have tried to explore Gauteng,” she said.

For the full article, click here.

Get jabbed for Zambia

The South African Department of Health has advised that yellow fever certificates will be required for travel to Zambia as of October 1.

This follows a shortage of the vaccine in South Africa and a delay on the change of government policy concerning innoculation requirements.

Mosquito repellants and prophylactics are also strongly recommended.

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.