Africa Safari Blog

The historical Victoria Falls Bridge has turned 106 years old amid reports that it has become the second most visited tourist attraction after the mighty Victoria Falls rainforest.

The bridge which took 14 months to build and was completed in 1905 links the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Livingstone in Zambia.

At the weekend, the two neighbouring countries’ tour operators and tourists came together to commemorate the 106th anniversary in an event that was marked with fanfare.

To celebrate the historic structure that has been used to catapult economic development between the two countries and the south and north of the SADC region, the Victoria Falls Bridge Company (VFBC) invited tour agents from Livingstone and Victoria Falls and members of the public.

At the same time, the celebration came at a time when the tourism sector is commemorating the tourism month.

The bridge crosses the Zambezi River just behind the Victoria Falls and is built over the Second Gorge of the falls.

Today the Victoria Falls Bridge is the location for the popular adrenalin – 111 metres – bungee jump, bridge swing and slide.

By Jean

Africa Safari & Travel News

The Association of British Tour Operators (ABTA) has moved to assure UK tourists that Kenya is a safe holiday destination in the wake of the attack on two Britons at Kiwayu Safari Village early on Sunday morning.

Amid mounting concern from tour operators that the intense publicity given to the shooting of David Tebbutt, 58, a finance director at the UK publishers Faber & Faber and the seizure of his deaf wife Judith, 56, is beginning to have a negative affect on tourist inquiries, ABTA has released a statement in an attempt to quell fears.

It said: “Kenya is generally a safe and hospitable country which attracts thousands of UK holidaymakers.”

Angie Sloan, the Kenya Tourist Board’s director for the UK and Ireland, said that while it was understandable that holidaymakers are worried following the news, Kiwayu was in a remote location far away from most tourist areas.

More than a million tourists visit Kenya every year, more of them from the UK. More 164,000 Britons visited in 2009 and the numbers have been rising steadily since. Tourism earned Kenya a record Sh74 billion in 2010.

By Jean

Africa Safari & Travel News

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has increased game park entry fees to boost its conservation efforts and reduce its dependence on the government.

KWS, the custodian of Kenya game parks, has introduced charges that will see the fees increase to $80 (Sh7,520) from a minimum of $60 (Sh5,640) on premium parks with immediate effect.

The Forestry and Wildlife minister Noah Wekesa also reviewed the fees structure by eliminating low and high season fees and introduced a flat rate charge in a bid to boost revenues.

Foreign visitors used to pay $60 (Sh5,640) during the low season at the premium parks (Amboseli and Lake Nakuru) and $75 (Sh7,050) during the peak seasons, which runs from January to March and July to October.

Dr Wekesa said the review is aimed at boosting KWS coffers to allow it meet its conservation obligations, arguing that the efforts are becoming expensive, causing the state-owned firm to run a huge deficit.

The increment will, however, only affect five top KWS parks, out of the 52 it manages and Kenyans will continue paying Sh500 at premium parks and Sh300 in others.

By Jean

Africa Safari & Travel News

A dog has been spotted living at the peak of the Kilimanjaro Mountain, Africa’s highest mountain, over 5,800 metres above sea level.

A group of four tourists who climbed the mountain recently reported seeing the dog at Uhuru peak.

The sighting of the dog on top of Africa‘s rooftop has puzzled animal scientists who wonder how the canine could have scaled its way up and had managed to survive.

The snow-capped tip of the mountain is freezing cold with temperatures of between minus 4 and 15 degrees centigrade. Its desert-like stony plains stand between 5,730 and 5,895 metres above sea level.

A vet doctor Wilfred Marealle said it was common for a dog to live in cold weather but it was uncommon for the animal to climb to such heights.

“A dog climbing to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro is not something common. The dog might be rabid,” said Dr Marealle, cautioning people to stay away from it.