Fly 540 Africa

Month: September 2012

  • Cape Town Named Africa’s Best Beach Destination

    The spirited South African city of Cape Town has been named as the best beach destination in Africa at the 19th World Travel Awards.

    The annual event that took place last week resulted in numerous accolades for South African tourism and Best Beach Destination award for Cape Town.

    The South African city competed against previous winner Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, Diani Beach in Kenya, Zanzibar Island in Tanzania, Bazaruto in Mozambique and Plettenberg Bay in South Africa for the top beach destination.

    Other South African winners included South African Airlines (Best Airline), 1Time (Leading Luxury Villa), Fairmont Zimbali (Leading Tourism Development Project), Shamwari Game Reserve (Leading Safari Lodge), Ellerman House & Villa (Leading Luxury Villa), Saxon Boutique Hotel, Villas & Spa (Leading Luxury Hotel) and The Blue Train (Leading Luxury Train).

    The 19th World Travel Awards winners of these legs compete in the WTA’s Grand Final to be held at The Oberoi Gurgaon on 12th December 2012.

    This is not the first time Cape Town is receiving such accolades. The city was named as the best travel destination in the world in a travellers’ poll conducted in May 2011 by TripAdvisor – the world’s most popular travel website.

    The website drew on millions of online reviews to name Cape Town as the top destination, ahead of leading destinations such as New York, Sydney and London, which also featured in the best ten.

    Cape Town, which is a beehive of activity, is a very popular destination among holiday makers from around the world. The self-evident attraction of Cape Town is the Table Mountain – an usually flat mountain that stands proud in the heart of the city.

  • Poaching Remains a Major Challenge in Kenya

    Poaching continues to pose a major challenge to wildlife conservation, especially in the conservation of target species – Elephants and Rhinos. Reported cases of poaching in the country remain at a high since November 2012.

    In the latest reported incident, authorities have intercepted a container at Mombasa port with ivory weighing 2 tonnes and valued at Kshs 100 million. The illegal consignment which was disguised as decoration stones originated from Tanzania and was destined for Indonesia. Separately, a family of 12 elephants was killed and their tasks carted away by poachers on Saturday 5th January, in Bisadi area, Tsavo East National Park. A team of KWS Rangers are pursuing the poachers.

    On the same day, thousands of miles away in the Far East, Hong Kong authorities intercepted 779 pieces of ivory weighing 1.3 tonnes and valued at $1.4m at the Hong Kong port. The container in which the illegal ivory was transported originated from Kenya; and was falsely declared as containing architectural materials. An x ray of the container led the customs officials to discover the ivory which was hidden in sacks and placed beneath stones.

    The Far East stands out as smugglers’ choice destination for sale of illegal ivory and animal trophies, due to a large illegal market supported by huge demand for ivory and high fetching prices.

    In October 2012, Hong Kong authorities intercepted 2 containers of illegal ivory weighing a total of 4 tonnes and valued at $3.4m. The containers originated from Kenya and Tanzania.

    There have been concerns over the rise in poaching since November 2012, when a significant increase in reported incidents was observed. This rise was attributed by KWS in part, to heightened operations against poaching thus bringing the problem into focus. Among the increased measures by KWS in the fight against poaching include involving local communities in the fight; and increased staff efficiency through acquisition of appropriate tools such as aircrafts, vehicles and firearms.

    Additionally, KWS commissioned last August the construction of a wildlife forensic and genetics laboratory at the organization head quarters in Nairobi. Among other functions, when completed, the laboratory will strengthen investigations through provision of evidence in the prosecution of cases of wildlife related crimes such as poaching; tracking genetic status of declining wildlife & determining special gene pools that require special protection. The facility is set to be the only one of its kind in East and Central Africa.