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Posts Tagged ‘South Africa’

Traveling Through South Africa

September 3rd, 2009 No comments

A vibrant and diverse land, South Africa is home to dreamy beaches, exciting wild grasslands, awe-inspiring deserts, and even some rather impressive vineyards. The tragedy of Europe’s invasion and exploitation of the land has evolved since the fall of apartheid into a rich melting pot of both European and African culture. On a simple drive you may find yourself torn between the contrasting sights of white and black architecture and culture, from Paris to Delhi and back again. For those who are unaware, Indians are a significant portion of the communities of South Africa that have a great impact.

Best time to visit South Africa: Normally, anybody can visit South Africa year round, as the climate is pleasant and warm. The climate is exactly the opposite of the climate in North America or Europe. South Africa enjoys winter during the month of July.

In South Africa, June to September is the best time for safaris and wildlife observation. Because of dry season or dryness, animals come out near to the watering places. It is the best time to watch and observe them. Krger national park and in the protected game areas of KwaZulu Natal, are the noted parks of South Africa. Temp is around 25deg C. during day. As compare to the day, nights are cool. South African summer is warm on the east coast. Its Indian Ocean plays very important role in maintaining pleasant role for whole year. Some times summer is very bad and tough. Temperature goes up and very difficult to live. This could make bearable by extreme dryness. The autumn has usually pleasant temperatures. Some time its rains in autumn. Occasionally Cape Town goes thru unpleasant southeast winds. This usually abates from March to April.

Autumn normally has good temperatures with a little rain, and during this season the unpleasant winds in Cape Town begin to come to an end. In spring there are cooler temperatures with a medium amount of rain. This season is a treat for flower lovers. During August and September, visitors to Namaqualand in North Cape and the western areas of West Cape can enjoy the highly praised and anticipated “Miracle of Flowers.”

Following care is a must while traveling in Johannesburg and in the capital Pretoria: 1) Preferable travel in group. 2) Don’t carry much cash while site seeing. Keep cash in your room only. 3) Get full information in detail about tour / program and follow strictly. 4) Never drive with unlocked windows and doors. 5) It is advisable to go for rent a car. 6) If feels danger of attack, drive off immediately.

While special inoculations aren’t necessary, if you’re visiting during the rainier season, you should acquire a malaria shot. Don’t underestimate the mosquitoes; pack long-sleeved shirts and mosquito nets. The hospitals are quite competent and the pharmacies have a wide variety of medicines, but you must pay for these things locally, so you’ll want to get health insurance before you travel.

Customs Allowances: Each person may bring a liter of liquor, two liters of wine, 2 packs of cigarettes and 250 grams of tobacco as well as 50ml of perfume. The unit of currency is the South African Rand. As exchange rates vary, you will need to check the rate when you are booking hotels or making travel arrangements. The major, international credit cards are accepted in all states. With your own credit card and pin number you can get cash at many cash machines problem-free. The FIFA Football World Cup takes place in South Africa in 2010.

Graham McKenzie is the webmaster for a leading South African Flight Comparison portal, to book a flight, simply visit our website at: http://www.saflights.co.za

Enjoy An African Safari Adventure

August 27th, 2009 No comments
by Lee Reid

Nothing beats being up close with wildlife. It can be an awesome and unforgettable experience seeing wildlife in their natural habitat. When it comes to wildlife, African safari vacations are quick to come to mind.

African safari vacations are extremely popular today that travel agencies and companies have packages designed to give tourists an African safari adventure. These tours have experts on board, of course.

If you decide to go on an African safari adventure, you’ll be living in lodges and camps with hot showers. Your meals and barbecues would be prepared by a cook hired for your specific African safari tour.

Most of the African safari vacations are in Kenya, with a beach holiday possibly included in the package. Kenya is a country that boasts of 40 national parks and game reserves. The Kimana Game Sanctuary is one of the most popular and spectacular game reserves in Kenya. It is situated at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Rich rain forest is the terrain at the Mount Kenya National Park and stretching plains dominate the Masai Mara. Guides drive parties in 4×4 vehicles or in open back trucks. Sometimes, they travel in mini buses.

For an aerial view of the landscape, there are fly/drive packages, using small, light aircraft. Kenya brings opportunities to see leopards, gazelle, crocodiles, giraffes, zebra, lions and hippos.

South Africa is the ideal destination for your African safari vacation if you’d like to see different landscapes (e.g., semi-dessert, old forest, open grassland, wetlands, etc.). South Africa’s Phinda region can be explored by foot, air or car.

There are also African safari vacation packages that include exploring South Africa by boat. Expect to see lions, buffalo, rhinos, leopards and elephants. You’ll see packs of hyenas and wild dogs, leopards and elephants when you tour the Madikwe Game Reserve.

There are also African safari packages to Uganda and Rwanda. If it’s chimpanzees and lowland gorillas you want to see, you’ll see plenty of them in Uganda. You’ll see gorillas at the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

To see the different bird species of Uganda, you can walk through the Mgahinga Volcanoes, a tropical rain forest, on foot. The Queen Elizabeth National Park has a great savanna wherein you can see giraffes, elephants, birds and antelopes. Another popular destination that can be reached by boat is the Murchisson Falls National Park. The waterfall is a sight to behold and you’ll see wildlife that includes zebras, baboons and warthogs.

Mountain gorillas abound in Rwanda. It’s said that if you’ll see about 350 mountain gorillas in the slopes of the Parc National des Volcans. Uganda and Rwanda are popular African safari destinations for those who are after seeing volcanoes, lakes, forests and waterfalls, as well as lowland and mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.

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Locals Guide to Shopping in South Africa

August 4th, 2009 No comments
by Annette Hendley

Johannesburg, Cape Town and many other cities in South Africa compare well with big world cities when it comes to shopping.

Shopping Malls are in abundance. In Cape Town, the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront Mall and Canal Walk are favorites. The Waterfront has convenient food stores to brand name stores and boutiques. Craft stores, bookstores and chain clothing stores can make choices hard. Numerous restaurants and coffee shops will provide sustenance for tired shopping bodies.

Johannesburg offers a mall around every corner. Located at the entrance to Johannesburg on the airport side is the Eastgate Mall. With its massive size, it will take visitors a couple of days to visit every shop. If your taste buds are craving the very best in breads, cakes and pastries, try visiting the Bread Basket. In addition, this mall offers name brand shops such as Hang Ten, Levi Strauss, Guess and many more.

Just outside Durban in Umhlanga Rocks is Gateway with approximately 370 different shops. Apart from the shops which includes fashion, homeware, food stores, pharmacies and many specialty shops there is also a Barnyard theatre. Barnyard is a unique South African theatre concept made possible by two theatre industry people in 1996.

The popularity of the Barnyard Theater has grown to over twelve theaters across South Africa. Each one offers the unique feel of a rustic barn while at the same time containing the proper equipment to provide patrons with a quality show. Ticket prices are generally lower than most other theaters and guests are welcome to bring their own picnic lunch or dinner. Drinks must be purchased at the bar and if anyone does not wish to bring a picnic, they have the option of purchasing food at a snack bar.

Shopping is however not only reserved for Malls. Flea markets are still going strong and street vendors are all over. On the way to the Kruger National Park you will find many stalls along the roads where you can buy anything from a basket to a wood carved product for a fraction of the shop price.

The Bruma Lake Fleamarket provides shoppers with a wide array of authentic South African products and is massive in size. The Greenmarket Square in Cape Town’s inner city is open for shopping every day but Sunday. The Rooftop Market in Rosebank, Johannesburg and the Milnerton Fleamarket on the West Coast road offer visitors authentic African products and collectibles such as clothing, pottery sets and jewelry.

Shoppers will be mesmerized by the Western Cape as linens. materials, shoes and clothing are offered at rock bottom prices in many factory outlets.

Always be sure to bring plenty of money and bags to carry your unique finds when shopping in South Africa.

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Amazing South Africa

April 21st, 2009 No comments

South Africa is one of the most splendid places on earth. Stuffed with astonishing beauty, South Africa holds awesome sunsets and sun rises. People from all over the world love to have a holiday at this remarkable destination. You can enjoy luxurious picnics together with the savor of local wines. For the brilliance this country holds, it is renowned as a dreamland filled with natural beauty, history and all you can imagine.

One astonishing place you ought to see in luxurious South Africa is the Kruger National Park. This park offers wilds at their best as well as ultimate and comfortable African safari. It also offers a variety of wonderful private lodges which allow you to treat in astounding food, and an assortment of South African wines. Not only this, this part also has great massage service to calm its visitors.

Though luxury Kruger safari is not very cheap, yet this magnificent experience is certainly worth the cost. You will also be able to see the astonishing African flora and fauna including the herds of Elephants, Lions, Leopards, Rhinos, and Buffalo. You will also get a prospect to watch cheetahs and other astonishing wildlife at this park. These great parks also offer a variety of some of the most astonishing birds as well.

After you see and experience all the wonders of wildlife, Cape Town is just the thing destinations for you to return. This town has some of the best things you can dream to see. Best restaurants, splendid museums and galleries Cape Town is amazing in all aspects.

One of the land marks of this great city is the Table Mountain. You can enjoy a great cable car ride to the top which offers great fun and excitement. Here you will be able to behold some of the most amazing sites of Cape Town. You must not miss this brilliant experience. Cape Town is also offers you some great sight seeing. You will also find some amazing galleries here, and dwell in winery lodges.

Garden Route is one more lavish spot which will give you an astonishing experience. During the months of July to December, you can take pleasure here and have a wonderful time beholding the beach, and the whales. You can also spot some wonderful spectacles at Walker Bay. The Cango Caves are yet another marvel of South Africa. It is packed with wonderful beaches and great forests.

South Africa is wonderfully diverse and offers endless entertainment, fun and thrill for its visitors. It is surely one of the most amazing places where the tourists love to delight in. Owing to its diversity and amazing experiences, this country has been titled as the Rainbow Nation.

Be it beautiful beaches, mouth watering food, finest hotels, rare and awe-inspiring wildlife, wine or night life, south Africa can make all your dreams come true with its comprehensive and perfect spectrum of perfect and luxurious holiday package. So wait no more and head to the luxurious South Africa and make some ever lasting memories with your loved ones.

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KLM: National Airline of the Netherlands

February 26th, 2009 1 comment

The flagship carrier of the Netherlands is KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines, hosting a main hub at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and headquartered in nearby Amstelveen. Offering both domestic and international service, KLM-Royal Dutch airlines serves over 90 destinations, and is also a member of the world’s second largest airline alliance, SkyTeam.

KLM-Royal Dutch is part of Air France-KLM and also has an operating partnership with Northwest Airlines of the United States. The entire KLM group carries almost 75 million passengers annually, operates a fleet in operation of 607 aircraft, and serves 258 destinations worldwide. Air France-KLM recently purchased a 25 percent stake in the Italian airline Alitalia.

KLM-Royal Dutch is the world?s oldest airline and was founded in 1919. KLM-Royal Dutch operated its first flight in May 1920 from London to Amsterdam. The airline stopped operating during World War II. KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines has been accused of helping Nazi war criminals flee Germany after World War II, a charge the company denies.

Air France and KLM announced their plans to merge in 2003, marking the end of the oldest independent airline in the world. However, the merger did not impact KLM’s long time partnership with United States based Northwest Airlines, as both companies joined the SkyTeam alliance in September 2004.

KLM gifts its long-haul first-class and business passengers with small Delftware, blue-and-white porcelain reproductions of old Dutch canal houses. The houses are filled with Dutch liquor. This practice started in 1952. There are now 88 Delftware houses as of 2008 (the airline?s age that year). A new Delftware house is added each year on October 7, the anniversary of the airline?s founding.

KLM?s frequent flyer program is called Flying Blue. Flying Blue members can earn and spend mileage points on flights and services of Air France-KLM, other companies of the SkyTeam airline alliance and assorted other financial, travel, and transportation companies. Flying Blue contains four membership levels ? Ivory, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Level miles are gained by taking any flights with an AF or KL code or flights operated by one of SkyTeam’s airline companies under the code of any other SkyTeam airline, or flights operated by Kenya Airways, which is a Flying Blue partner.

KLM?s past success isn?t protecting the airline from a bumpy future. The airline recently announced it will cut up to 2,000 jobs due to lower ticket sales and lower cargo volumes. The cuts represent three percent of the KLM workforce. KLM also plans to reduce its airline capacity by two percent in summer 2009. KLM lost $653 million dollars in the quarter ending December 31, 2008. Airline officials say they haven?t ruled out future cuts or reductions as they look to stabilize their business and return the airline to profitability.

An airline watchdog group based in Australia, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, announced in February 2009 that it is suing Air France-KLM over price fixing allegations. KLM denies the charges and will defend against the suit. British Airways and Qantas were recently fined $5 million and $20 million over similar price fixing allegations.

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