As summer begins to draw to a close (there’s now a distinct autumnal feel here in Oxfordshire, and it’s still only August!) one of the things I’ll miss most is those warm summer evenings which give you a great excuse to open a bottle (or two!) of wine. And if you enjoy a good bottle of wine, why not enter our South African Winelands competition?
The home page of the James House website.
A week ago we held a quiz night which raised over £600 for two African charities we support – Uthando in South Africa, and the Mara Rianda Charitable Trust in Kenya. We’ve just received these emails from them describing in detail how this money will be spent and just how valuable these contributions will be.
'Uthando South Africa' is a registered non-profit organisation based in Cape Town.
Each year, the Africa team organises a fund-raiser quiz for the staff of Audley, and this year it took a Family Fortunes theme, with the various departments battling it out through various rounds for the champion’s trophy! Nearly 80 people came along to support the event, which was a really fantastic turnout.
gorillaapp.com, the website where you can get the new iPhone gorilla app.
If you have an iPhone you can now download “iGorilla”, the first app dedicated to supporting the plight of Africa’s endangered mountain gorilla.
The app allows uses of iPhones and iPads to follow the daily lives of gorillas in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, through reports, photgraphs and videos.
It costs $4 (about £3), most of which goes towards the conservation of the gorillas.
To find out more visit www.gorillaapp.com
South Luangwa National Park is one of Africa’s premier game viewing destinations, but often remains criminally overlooked during the ‘Green Season’ – November to May. It’s a time of plenty, when animals take full advantage of the abundant food to give birth to their young, and when the park is at its most colourful.
The following clip shows the beautiful scenery and some the fantastic array of wildlife. Look out for the elephants walking through Mfuwe Lodge at 2.30 mins, one of our most popular lodges.
Aloe plants in De Rust, Cape Region, South Africa.
If you’ve booked or are considering a trip to South Africa’s Cape region, why not whet your appetite by heading down the British Museum to get a taste of the plant life you can also expect to see.
The British Museum has teamed up with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and will be displaying this little corner of the Cape on the West Lawn of the museum’s forecourt.
The exhibition runs until the 10th October 2010 and is free to view.
To find out more visit the British Museum website.
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town
Two of our clients, Mr and Mrs Reeves, were featured on Radio 4’s “Traveller’s Tree” programme this week after they were given sound recording equipment to take on their trip to Cape Town and asked to record some of their experiences.
This week’s episode was all about South Africa and features the Reeves on their Audley holiday where they visited Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town and learned about the work carried out by Uthando.
This non-profit organisation supports 25 grass roots community projects in the townships of Cape Town. This unique Responsible Tourism initiative introduces visitors to some of the innovative and inspirational ways in which these communities are handling the social problems that confront them. The projects they support range from the care of children and the elderly through to prisoner rehabilitation, urban agriculture and the development of the performing arts in the townships.
Samburu girls - Village visit from Sasaab
BBC4 have just finished a week of programming taking an in-depth look at Africa, from its history and culture to its magnificent wildlife and scenery.
Our Africa team felt it would be nice to include some of the places, safari lodges and experiences that Audley offer and which were featured in some of these programmes. So, if you watched any of them do let us know what you thought by leaving a quick reply at the bottom of this blog.
In case you missed any of the programmes we have linked each one to the BBC’s iPlayer service so you can watch again (available UK only for a limited time).
Lady Liuwa
This is the extraordinary and moving true story of how one lone lioness turned to humans for companionship, and who in turn, tried to find her a family of her own.
It began in 2004, when Namibian filmmaker Herbert Brauer arrived in Liuwa National Park, Zambia to make a wildlife documentary. He noticed a single lioness in the distance, watching his every move and over the subsequent weeks she began to follow him during his daily filming; she even slept next to his tent at night, purring. He realised humans had become her only comfort.
I found it remarkable that she would attempt to seek company with other humans especially as her own pride had been slaughtered by poachers five years earlier – hence her enforced solitude.
The story goes on to tell of how Brauer set about the task of re-introducing male lions into the park as her only chance of companionship and motherhood.
Footnote: As of writing this Lady Liuwa still lives in Liuwa National Park. For more about the country visit Audley’s Zambia section.
Kasanka National Park attracts millions of bats annually from October until December.
Did you know the world’s largest mammal migration takes place in Kasanka National Park, in the Bangweulu Wetlands of Zambia, every year from October until December.
An astounding eight million Straw-coloured Fruit Bats arrive from the Congo to feed on the wild musuku fruits.
Audley work closely with The Bushcamp Company, and we can arrange guided trips into the park from 2010 to witness this fascinating spectacle close-up.
In the mean time you can watch this stunning event in the ‘Mammals’ episode the new David Attenborough Life series, which is on BBC1 on the 26th October.
Visit our Zambia section of the website or contact us online.
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