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.

'Last Chance to See' on BBC2

Have you been watching the BBC’s news series ‘Last Chance to See’ which began on 6th September? Presented by Stephen Fry, the programme is a remake of a radio series from 1985 and book of the same name, released in 1990 as a companion to the radio series.

The aim of this programme is for Stephen Fry and zoologist Mark Carwardine to re-investigate a number of the species that appeared in the original series to see what has happened to both the animal and conservation efforts. 

Always a fan of anything presented by Stephen Fry, I was keen to watch this week’s episode in which Stephen and Mark visited New Zealand in search of the kakapo, a fat, flightless parrot on the verge of extinction (although I have to say my favourite part was one very amusing scene where a kiwi ’played dead’ as part of its defence!).

As always with Stephen Fry, this programme is informative and entertaining, and certainly worth adding to your series link, especially if you are keen to travel to Brazil, Kenya, Madagascar, Indonesia, Malaysia and New Zealand in the future – all of these countries are covered in the series and are also destinations that we cover here at Audley.

Alternatively catch up on this series through the BBC iPlayer.

Walking safari in Zambia's South Luangwa National Park

This morning I grabbed a spare chair at the back of the Safari for Beginners seminar, and along with some Audley clients, listened intently to our Africa specialists go through the basics of safaris.

I sit in on these presentations from time-to-time to ensure that the content I am creating and maintaining for the Audley website is consistent with what we are actually offering clients. Secretly, I have to confess on this occasion I had an additional motive for being there.

You see, during my travelling days and long before I joined Audley, I had been lucky enough to safari in the Masai Mara Nature Reserve (Kenya), the Serengeti National Park (Tanzania), South Luangwa National Park (Zambia) and Etosha National Park (Namibia).

So, this hour long presentation - explaining where to go, when to travel and other useful information - was the perfect way for me to reacquaint myself with some of the animal kingdom’s most awe-inspiring sights.

Judging by the way the guests chatted away with our specialists afterwards I think it definitely fired some people’s interest.

In case you are interested I’ve included a link here to some of our forthcoming Travel Seminars. They’re free and include tea and biscuits!

The beautiful scenery in Franschhoek

On Friday I attended another of the travel seminars. This week’s subject was ‘Getting the best out of South Africa’ run by some of the South Africa specialists at Audley. I have never been to South Africa and was keen to find out more!

Visit our Audley Seminar Programme for more information on seminars coming up or call us on 01993 838 000 to find out more.

The seminar was both entertaining and informative and gave a very useful overview into travelling to South Africa with Audley and some of the highlights of a trip there. Now is a wonderful time to travel to South Africa and very good value as well!

The seminar was divided into four sections and we heard about: Cape Town & the Garden Route; KwaZulu Natal; Wildlife & Safari and Off the beaten track: By train.

Cape Town & the Garden Route

 The classic route of Cape Town and the Garden Route is many people’s first introduction to South Africa and with good reason.

View from Table Mountain

A few nights in Cape Town is a good start, with time to visit Table Mountain, either on foot or if you prefer, by cable car! The best time to visit is in our winter months, when the weather is better, there are fewer people and better offers.

The Winelands is an hour from Cape Town and is the gourmet capital of South Africa. You can enjoy amazing wines on a guided tour, tailored to your exact interests, such as wine tasting on horseback or the interesting sounding chocolate and wine tasting!

Whale watching is also a highlight of time in this area, with trips in Hermanus, which also has some of the best land-based whale watching.

The scenic beauty of the Garden Route is well worth exploring, along its 300 km of coastline.

KwaZulu Natal

KwaZulu Natal is known as the province with everything and is renowned for its scenery, relaxation, food, beach, safari, history and other activities. It is perfect for a second visit to South Africa or for the more adventurous!

Highlights of this area include the Midlands, Drakensberg, the Battlefields and the beach.

The Battlefields are a fantastic place to visit and a guided tour here is fascinating.

You can also take part in turtle tracking on the beaches, as well as go on safari in one of the reserves.

 Wildlife & Safari

Lion in Kruger National Park

South Africa is one of the best places to see the Big Five (Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant) , either in a private game reserve or in Kruger National Park. 

The rangers and trackers who travel with you on the game drive are highly skilled and find the animals for you.

Time on a safari is made up of a number of games drives per day, interspersed with time at leisure  and wonderful meals! A real highlight is going on a night drive when you can see the big cats hunting.

The main areas to go on safari are the Eastern Cape, the Kruger, (particularly Sabi Sands), Madikwe and Tswalu.

Off the beaten track: By train

There are 2 luxury rail journeys in South Africa and both run from Pretoria to Cape Town and vice versa. They are the Blue Train and Rovos Rail and are both world famous, for the service as well as the wonderful scenery you pass on your journey. There are also excursions off the train.

The Blue Train is the more modern of the two, with all mod cons, while Rovos Rail is a more authentic experience and the decor on board reflects this. Whichever train you choose, you’re sure to have an unforgettable experience!    

If this has whetted your appetite to see South Africa for yourself, visit our website to find out more about a tailor-made trip to South Africa with Audley, contact one of our dedicated South Africa specialists on 01993 838 550 or contact us online.

Mara Rianda Charitable Trust

This Sunday (22nd March 2009) is World Water Day – drawing attention to the plight of 1.1 billion people worldwide who lack access to clean, safe drinking water. This global problem is estimated to kill almost 4,500 children per day.

Accordingly, a team comprising the following have now come together to deliver clean water to Aitong Primary School, located on the edge of the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya:

• The Mara Rianda Charitable Trust
• Governors’ Camp
• Audley Travel
• Prestige Promotions Ltd
• Oundle School, in Northamptonshire

The school lacks a sufficient supply of clean water and currently its water comes from a very unhygienic muddy pool.

Thanks to the team’s effort, the project underway involves tapping a nearby spring, installing a solar water pump, pipes and storage tanks at the primary school which are urgently needed. Just one hour drive away from Governors’ Camp, guests staying at the safari camp will get the opportunity to see first hand the good work being done and the huge benefits this brings the local community.

This work is the latest in a number of projects jointly undertaken by Mara Rianda Charitable Trust (a charity supported by Audley) and Governors’ Camp. Just three years ago the two partners installed a borehole at another nearby school, Mara Rianda Primary School which has helped raise attendance at the school by reducing water borne diseases.

Visit the Audley Responsible Travel website.

The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency on the BBC

Last night I enjoyed watching the first programme in a new 6 part BBC series of Alexander McCall Smith’s bestseller, ‘The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency’. This series comes after the 2008 film based on the novel and follows the exploits of Botswana’s only lady detective, Mma Ramotswe who is based in Gabarone.

If you missed the programme you can watch it again on BBC iPlayer.

If you would like to visit the places that inspired Alexander McCall Smith we have an itinerary that we have designed to enable you to do just that!

Delta, Desert & A Detective Agency is an 11 day itinerary that starts in the capital Gabarone, with a tour of the locations that inspired Alexander McCall Smith’s famous novel. The places visited include Mma Ramotswe’s house in Zebra drive, her ancestral home in Mochudi and JLB Matekoni’s House.

You can then discover some of the other treasures of Botswana with time on safari in Chobe National Park, as well as game drives in the Okavango Delta and finally a few days discovering the amazing scenery and wildlife in the Kalahari Desert.

Please note that this is just a suggested itinerary and we can design an itinerary that is based entirely around your own interests and plans.

For more details and to discuss your plans please call our dedicated Botswana specialists on 01993 838 530, visit the Audley website or contact us online.

School children with their new books

Clients who recently returned from Botswana and Namibia have very generously donated the refund from their cancelled hot-air balloon trip to two very worthy causes. A donation of this kind really makes a difference!

Half the donation went to the Purros School Project in Namibia which was founded to provide education in an underdeveloped and under resourced part of Namibia. The remote area of Purros on the Skeleton Coast in the far north west of Namibia previously had no school and the children had to travel 120km to the nearest one in Sesfontein. The school in Sesfontein had no boarding facilities and parents generally have very little money, so unless the children had relatives in Sesfontein many were unable to attend school. As a result, many of the Himba and Herero children of Purros received no or very little education. The Namibian government will not support such an isolated school and the school is therefore solely dependent on the generosity of sponsors for the school to function.

The rest of the donation went to Children in the Wilderness (Botswana), a project that supports both local communities and the environments they live in. The overall aim of this project is to offer children whose childhoods have been disrupted by life threatening conditions such as illness, poverty and HIV/AIDS a six day educational programme staying in a Wilderness Safaris camp, all totally free of charge. This programme combines conservation, environmental education, arts and crafts, health education and recreation in a uniq u e environment. In addition, the programme is designed to increase self-esteem, teaching new skills and knowledge. The fundamental objectives of the programme are also reinforced through the support of Wilderness staff in the local communities.

Perito Moreno glacier, Argentina

Don’t miss the BBC’s new programme, ‘Explore’ on Sundays at 9pm. Last night was the first programme in an exciting and enlightening new four part series. It is led by Simon Reeve, author and presenter (Tropic of Capricorn and Equator) and a team of reporters, who travel on spectacular journeys of discovery to diverse parts of the world.

Last night’s programme was set in Argentina and explored a variety of landscapes and issues from land disputes in the stunning wilderness of Patagonia to conflicting evidence for global warming in the awe-inspiring ice fields at the Perito Moreno glacier in the Andes, the proposed beatification of Eva Peron and an intense football match in Buenos Aires, in addition to the effect of soy production on the traditional gaucho in the Pampas.

Future programmes explore Africa’s beautiful Rift Valley with its extraordinary wildlife, the rich culture and contradictions of Turkey and finally the vast and vibrant islands of the Philippines.

They truly get under the skin of the places they go to and present much more than your usual travel programme, with social and political issues documented as well as often breathtaking landscapes and fascinating people.

If you would like to explore these places for yourself please contact one of our dedicated country specialists on 01993 838 000 or contact us by email.

If you missed last night’s programme you can watch it again on BBC iPlayer.

We have just released two excellent offers for Green Season in Tanzania and Zanzibar, or Botswana, Namibia and Zambia, with savings of up to £600 per person. Running from December until mid-March in Tanzania and between mid-November and April in Botswana, Green Season is a spectacular time in Africa when everything is bursting with life and colour, and wildlife viewing is spectacular.

Dates of travel for Botswana are between 1st December 2008 and 31st March 2009, and between 1st January 2009 and 31st March 2009 for Tanzania.

Click here to view full details of these amazing offers.

We’ve even got the co-ordinates for the tree, so you can see it on Google maps or if you’ve got Google Earth (or access to any other satellite imagery!) you can check up on the Audley tree – it’s at South 34.55084; East 19.41599. Happy tree watching!

Most of the days were spent in meetings, however I did manage to find time to eat quite a bit (you’ve got to love corporate entertaining if it’s in Windhoek), go on an official city tour which I’d never previously done and of course, do some shopping for the team back home. Starting with the shopping, I had a list with three items, Roibos teabags which we drink like fish in the office, biltong – requested by our South African’s Mel & Bronwen and a teapot for Matt, our Yorkshire lad who loves a cuppa and is finding one cup just isn’t cutting it.

Ruth, who heads up our Southern Africa division, was with me and suggested we head for the Namibia Craft Centre. What a brilliant place to shop! The old brewery has been converted and lots of local craftsmen all have individual stalls. Everything in the centre has to be made in Namibia and the stuff is beautiful. I found some embroidered linen made in Katutura, a seed-pod mobile from Keetmanshoop and a teapot with elephants on from the pottery in Omaruru.

After a hard afternoon shopping there is even a small café on a leafy balcony where you can have an enormous slab of cake. Eating is a particular hobby of mine and it was great to try some other restaurants in Windhoek apart from Joe’s Beerhouse where I’d been previously. Our agents introduced us on the first day to a new restaurant in Windhoek called ‘Fresh & Wild’. On turning up I found it is owned and run by two people I’ve known for ten years. Penny Scott, who used to guide for us, and Sue Camp who used to work for our agents and who did my bookings six years ago.

Penny & Sue certainly know how to run a restaurant. There is a small menu of healthy food (if you discount the chocolate brownies) using lots of fresh ingredients. And ten specials that change every day – fortunate really as we were to eat lunch here every day we were in Windhoek! You can sit under an acacia tree, and enjoy your lunch in peaceful surroundings. It isn’t open for dinner but Penny & Sue have a wine bar planned for the evening that will do snacks – somewhere definitely on the list for my next visit. In the evening we were taken to Am Weinburg which has an amazing situation in Klein Windhoek. It’s the place to sit on the terrace, nice glass of wine and watch the sunset. I had the most perfect oryx steak there, although I did find the presence of the tinned peach garnish on the side a bit alarming. Still, I decided the perfect place to bring my husband when he next comes on a trip with me as he enjoys excellent and innovative cuisine (is a tinned peach innovative?!).

Finally, we ate at The Olive Grove, our guesthouse. If I had to rank the meals in Windhoek I would say this was the top. Excellent steaks cooked to perfection, salads that actually tasted of salad (what a nice change from the UK) and a pudding that was a few handmade chocolates from the chocolate factory in Omaruru. It had never occurred to me that the Omaruruans might give the Swiss a run for their money but surprisingly they really do.  After all the eating and meetings I did want to get out and about in Windhoek. I’ve lived in Windhoek for short periods of time and have always loved it so I took the chance to walk about a bit under my own steam. I walked down Independence Avenue, up to Christus Chirche and through Klein Windhoek. Evidence of Namibia’s booming economy is everywhere, construction is big business and I saw a number of expensively dressed business men on Independence Avenue, one with a superb pair of pointed crocodile shoes.

The thing I love about Windhoek is that I feel so safe. You can chat to people at the bus stop without ever feeling threatened and it’s the one of the few places in Africa where I can jump in a cab on my own (the ones from the Information Centre, not the yellow lighted ones) and not even think twice about it.

As I had an afternoon to spare I thought I’d better do a city tour to see what it would offer to guests who’d like a bit of guidance. I completely lucked out with my guide as it turned out Festus Mbinga, one of Namibia’s top guides. Only having 3 hours before going for my flight we whizzed about the city, visiting the museum (excellent rock art exhibition at the moment), the Old Location cemetery and then into Katutura, Windhoek’s largest township. Festus told me that it was completely safe to drive or walk around in the day and certainly I didn’t feel even the slightest bit uncomfortable. We visited the house he had grown up in and then went to the local market where we could wander about and chat to the stall holders. At night, the stall holders simply put a sack over their wares, tie it with a bit of old rope and leave them. Come morning they are 100% intact and the day’s business starts again.

Having stopped for a cup of tea in a local café we headed back to the airport to fly home to Gatwick. So, that was Windhoek. Sunny, safe and a place to put on weight! I thought about taking my husband for a city break at Easter. Sadly, his work has decided to send him to Bremnen in Germany instead so that’s out of the window. If Air Nambia has a good deal on flights though, I might just go with a friend….

Last week Ruth, one of our Africa Regional Managers, and I flew to Windhoek for meetings with our ground agents. We flew down overnight on a Sunday night and back overnight on the Thursday night. The time in Windhoek was great, but pretty tiring with back to back meetings for four days. Ruth somehow managed to get food poisoning on the Wednesday. So by the time we reached Windhoek airport on the Thursday night for our flight home we were both pretty strung out and tired. We looked forward to a quiet 10 hours flying gently back above Africa to the UK. Imagine our delight on getting to the check-in desk to find the plane was taken a diversion – via Accra in Ghana. ‘Why?’ we asked the lovely check-in girl (who looked on the verge of tears, having answered this question about 56 times already). ‘Well, the Namibia Football team needs to get to the Africa Cup of Nations so you’re dropping them off’. Cue, team neatly arriving behind us, girls screaming, photographers flashing, baggage handlers rushing for autographs and a level of excitement Windhoek Airport has never seen in its life. How we loved the check-in girl when she kindly gave us the exit seats. How we then nearly cried to find we were the only non-football team / fans in our entire section of economy.Many fans had never boarded an aircraft before and the stewardesses (who by this time had given up any hope of getting any rest) were kept on their feet for every second of the 5 hour and 32 minute flight to Accra serving food, drinks, trying to get them to sit down when the seat-belt lights were on and perhaps suggesting that singing and shouting all the way to Accra wasn’t a great idea. Still, the stewardess sat in the jump seat opposite us told us that the silver lining to our cloud of economy despair was that in Ghana our entire section of economy would clear out and Ruth and I could bag 4 seats to ourselves, stretch out and snore all the way back to the UK. How excited were we on touching down in Ghana? And then, how far were we flung into the pit of despair when we found out that Air Namibia had somehow managed to flog the spare seats to 135 Ghanians to cover the cost of the extra fuel needed for the diversion.

To cut another long and miserable 6 hours 15 minutes short we did arrive in Gatwick eventually, some 15 hours after we left (the sums do add up if you allow for the time spent on the ground in Accra). Ringing the team in the office to let them know we had eventually arrived they found the whole episode hilarious.Oh well, I thought, in the car on the way home, despite the fact that things like this can be immensely frustrating, working in the Africa department is never ever boring. I wouldn’t swap it for the world. And after all, how many people can say they flew with the Namibian football team? 

Travel writer John Gimlette travelled with us to Libya over the Xmas and New Year. Just emailed to say he’d had a fantastic trip and how the much the Libyan people loved children – he took along his 3 year old daughter. Looking forward to seeing the article.

UPDATE: John Gimlette’s article is now published here.

A vast country of open spaces and big skies, Namibia has arguably more variation in scenery than any of its neighbours, ranging from the dramatic dunes at Sossusvlei to the lush green waterways of the Caprivi Strip. In the last few years the infrastructure for visitors has been improving rapidly and Namibia now offers exciting travel options for all levels of budget. On my recent trip there I found that self-driving is one of the best ways to travel and I discovered many excellent family-run eco-lodges, friendly guest farms and incredible walking trails.

The first gem I discovered was the homely guest farm, Büllsport, which is located in the beautiful Naukluft Mountains, the perfect location to break your journey between Windhoek and Sossusvlei. Büllsport is run by Johanna and Ernst who have lived and worked on the farm for years (Ernst grew up here). From here you can set out on foot or on horseback to search for mountain zebra, kudu, dik diks, baboons and more. After a day of activities you return to a hearty dinner of farmhouse cooking served around the family table or in front of the fire in the boma. One of my favourite places was the Tok Tokkie trail, where I encountered the Dancing White Lady spider and other desert adapted wildlife. These trails run by Mark Durr, are located in the NamibRand Nature Reserve, a stunningly beautiful area of desert landscapes. Trekking on foot we saw many species of flora and fauna easily missed from a vehicle; barking geckos, flightless wasps, horned adders, dune crickets, ant lions as well as larger creatures like oryx, impala and bat-eared foxes. At night I slept on a camp bed with just my snug duvet between me and the stars.

In the colonial town of Swakopmund on the wild Atlantic coast, I came across one of the most imaginatively designed guesthouses in Namibia. The Stiltz has a fantastic location, overlooking the ocean, on a lagoon area that attracts a myriad of sea birds. The Stiltz’s unique charm is in its quirky chalets, each hand built by the owner on high wooden stilts. From the lodge there are numerous activities to be enjoyed from dramatic 4WD trips down to Sandwich Harbour to kayaking within the Walvis Bay lagoon amongst the playful seals. From Swakopmund I travelled further north to the Palmwag region of Damaraland, where I stayed at Etendeka, a superb family-run eco-camp comprising of ten tents which generates its energy through impressive solar panels. Around the lodge, eroded ancient basalt forms a dramatic landscape of flat-topped hills and plains strewn with weathered boulders. Etendeka’s guide Bonnie takes guests on nature walks and drives to search for the desert elephants and rhino that often pass nearby. In so many parts of the world hotels and lodges have a soulless uniformity. With so many wonderfully unique properties and stunning experiences to be had that Namibia is so high on many travellers’ lists.

The bush has never disappointed me and there is always something to see, whether watching an almost inconspicuous encounter of two dung beetles battling over a dung ball or the adrenalin of seeing lions so close that they use the wheels of your 4×4 to scratch their chins. Perhaps my most thrilling encounter was on the deck of my tent as an elephant came to visit. I sat as still as can be while he reached up for the branch above my tent, completely ignoring me, but as I looked into his huge mouth, believe me, I knew he was there and didn’t make a sound!

My perfect ending to an exciting day in the bush is to watch the sun set whilst enjoying an Amarula and listening to the silence…well, the crickets, cicadas and sounds of the bush, before enjoying a hearty meal and heading to bed with the anticipation of a new day…who knows what it will offer!