Marsa Alam, November 2008

My local dive centre, Galaxsea Divers, organised a dive trip down to Marsa Alam in southern Egypt. Marsa Alam is one of the newer resorts in Egypt and is primarily a diving resort so I took the opportunity to visit the area. Our group booked a 7 night trip to Marsa Alam, staying at the Marina Lodge on Half Board basis with 5 days diving. The cost per person was £659. Our flight was direct from London Gatwick and took just over 5 hours.

Marsa Alam airport is only a few minutes from Port Ghalib where both our hotel (the Marina Lodge) and dive centre (Emperor Divers) are based. The town of Marsa Alam is some 60km (40 miles) to the south. In between are a handful of hotels which are all pretty much self-contained. The majority of the hotels are to the south of Port Ghalib although there are a few to the north as the roads heads towards to the town of El Qesuir.

Port Ghalib is a rapidly developing facility which will eventually have a capacity of more than 1,000 vessels of various sizes up to 60m. The Marina Lodge is on the south side of the port while to the north are some apartments and a couple of restaurants.

The Marina Lodge is a very well set out hotel. The rooms are spacious and comfortable. The powerful shower was very welcoming after a day diving. Each room also had a built in safe, television and mini-bar. Breakfast and dinner is served in the restaurant. Most tables are indoors but there are a few tables located outside. Having stayed in a number of hotels in Egypt, I would rate the food at the Marina Lodge among the best I have been served. There was a good selection and variety of food every day whilst there were plenty of waiters on hand to serve drinks.

Signing in at Emperor Divers is the same efficient procedure as they have at all their centres. The necessary paperwork doesn’t take long to fill out and they also provide a price list of the various extras (eg – third dive of the day, additional trips, equipment hire). I brought all my own equipment so I was given a small crate in which to keep my gear during my time at Emperor Divers.

Our first days’ diving was at the local dive site of Marsa Mubarak. This gave all the divers the chance to get used to the daily diving routines with Emperor Divers, perform a weight check in the water and generally orientate themselves with diving in the Red Sea. We completed two dives at Marsa Mubarak which were pleasant without being spectacular.

The following day, we headed a bit further south to Ras el Torfa. Despite the long coast line, there are relatively few dive sites where a boat can moor safely. The Egyptian coast runs north/south as does the wind and current. The dive sites tend to be in little bays which cut into the reef which allows the boats to moor safely away from the effects of the wind and waves. At Ras el Torfa, we dived the southern part of the reef first as later in the day, visibility gets worse. At one point in the dive, there is a very low piece of table coral with a couple of small reef sharks hiding under it. This was mentioned on the dive briefing and sure enough, when we got to table coral, the little sharks were hiding there.

The third day’s diving was one of the trips that cost an additional 20 Euros. Abu Dabab is about 30 minutes away by bus at the Sol Y Mar resort. The bay is a sandy bottom, covered in sea grass and is renowned for attracting turtles and the Dugongs (aka Sea Cows). These gentle giants are related to the Manatee and are generally comfortable in the company of divers and snorkellers. As the Dugong is a wild creature, there are no guarantees of seeing one but we were told, our chances were good. Abu Dabab is a shore dive so the soft sand and breaking waves made entry and exiting the water a bit more of a challenge. The dive site isn’t deep, generally around 5-8m and no more than 13m which mean nice long dive times. Our group decided to spread out to cover as much area as possible. Soon after the dive started, we found a turtle, complete with a couple of ramoras on it’s shell, getting stuck into its lunch of sea grass. It was completely unfazed and we surrounded it taking photos for a few minutes before continuing with our search. At one stage, we found a Ghost Pipe Fish. This is a tiny little creature that looks very similar to a dark piece of seaweed or sea grass. However, on closer inspection, you can see its little fins and recognise it as a little fish instead of a turtle’s snack. The first dive didn’t result in any Dugong sightings so after lunch, we went in again. The dive was similar to the first with some excellent close up time near a couple of turtles but once again, no Dugongs.

Day four was back to the boat for a couple of dives at Marsa Shouni Soraya. We made two mooring dives, one to the south part of the reef followed by one to the north part of the reef. There was a good selection of marine life without anything too spectacular. On the way back, some of our group opted for a third dive which was a drift dive at Marsa Mubarak.

My final day’s diving was at the famous Elphinstone Reef. The journey from Port Ghalib is about 2 hours by boat and there is a supplement of 35 Euros for the trip. Elphinstone has a reputation as an excellent dive site although there is a requirement that all divers must have logged at least 30 dives and they must also carry an SMB (Surface Marker Bouy). Elphinstone is a long pinnacle a few miles offshore running north/south. There is generally a north-south current making it an ideal drift dive although current direction may vary. The reef is about 300m long so the plan for the two dives was to drop us at the north end of the reef and drift to the south end. The first dive was on the eastern wall of Elphinstone and the second dive was on the western wall. The great thing with Elphinstone is that if the current is running north-south (as it was for us), it’s a nice effortless dive which you can do at a shallow depth (10-15m). This in turn means you won’t use as much air so you get a longer dive time.

Both the east and west walls of Elphinstone drop off into the blue so there is a mass of coral to search as you drift along. Its also worth keeping an eye out to the blue just in case something a bit larger swims past. Although, nothing spectacular made an appearance for my final dives of the trip, the dives were very pleasant and I managed to take a few nice pictures.

My final full day in Egypt was a non-diving day so I took the opportunity to head up to the town of El Quseir which is around 65km north of Port Ghalib. Quseir dates back to the times of the Pharaohs when it was a trading port with other parts of the East African coast. Later in Roman times, trade routes to Asia were developed and Indian pottery has been uncovered in the area.

El Quseir is also a traditional embarkation point for Muslim pilgrims on the Hajj (the pilgrimage to the holy sites of Mecca and Medina). There is a quarantine building on the waterfront where returning pilgrims were kept for up to 60 days while screening for diseases. Throughout the town are numerous tombs of Shaykhs (holy men) who died in Quseir during the Hajj. Their origins in West Africa, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Somalia and India testify to the great diversity of pilgrims that passed through the town. The tombs show that to die on the Hajj was not unusual and was considered a blessing. The journey and ritual have also always been physically challenging, today due to sheer weight of numbers made possible by cheap air travel, but previously due to the long and inhospitable terrain that had to be crossed.

Modern day Quseir is still pretty well unaffected by tourism although there are a few shops where souvenirs and the like can be bought. There are a few cafes and restaurants and the old fort dating back to 1571 is worth a visit. There is a nominal entrance fee of around 15 LE. The fort was originally built by the Ottoman Turks to protect the town and Mecca-bound pilgrims from attacks by the Bedouin. The fort was abandoned by the mid 1700s before Napoloen’s army occupied Egypt and strengthened the defences. The British navy bombarded the fort but failed to take the town. In more recent times, the Egyptian coast guard had used the fort until 1975.

Trips to Marsa Alam can be booked on line with Explorer Travel at www.redsea.explorertravel.co.uk

Marsa Alam, November 2008

British Government increases Air Passenger Duty

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, announced rises in yesterday's pre-Budget report that will add £15 in tax to a flight to Australia from November 2009 and £45 from November 2010.

He also announced the creation of a new four-band APD system, instead of the current two bands, from November 2009:

• Bands A and B will cover Europe
  
• Band B will extend 4,000 miles to destinations such as Egypt, Bahrain, the Gambia and the US
  
• Band C will take in the Caribbean
  
• Band will cover Australia and New Zealand
  

The standard rate of APD will rise by £1 to £11 but band B will rise £5 to £45, band C will be £50 and band D £55 from November 2009. These will be followed by further rises in November 2010.

Source: Travel Weekly

Looking for flights and/or hotels, try our new on line booking website, www.explorerdirect.co.uk

British Government increases Air Passenger Duty

Anglo Zulu War Talks by Rob Caskie, June 2009

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust is delighted that Rob Caskie will give a series of lectures in June 2009. These will be hosted by a number of key supporters of the Trust at the various venues throughout England and Scotland.

The full list of venues can be found here

Hosts for each talk will choose which lecture they wish to hear, the Battle of Isandlwana or Rorke’s Drift. The first lecture contains a mesmerising account of the Battle of Isandlwana.  It was beneath this strange Sphinx-shaped mountain that a British force of nearly 1800 men were surrounded by 25000 Zulu warriors on 22^nd January 1879. In little more than 2 hours, more than 1300 men on the British side lay dead. 

 

The second lecture vividly explains how a large force of Zulu warriors  chose then to run on from Isandlwana to attack the mission station at Rorke’s Drift.  It was an epic of human struggle and a triumph of the human spirit, immortalised in the classic movie ‘Zulu’.   

 

David Rattray was acknowledged by many in Britain as the finest public speaker and storyteller of his age in the world.   His stories were not tales about conflict, but rather stories about compassion and with his unequalled knowledge of the Zulu War, David enthralled audiences all over the world.  

 

Rob Caskie worked alongside David Rattray for 6 years before David’s tragic death in January 2007.  Now the principal lecturer at Fugitives’ Drift Lodge, Rob continues to share these dramas with the passion, emotion and vigour instilled in him by David. 

All the information about the talks can be found here

Anglo Zulu War Talks by Rob Caskie, June 2009

New video added to our YouTube account

New video added to our YouTube account

The Oberammergau Passion Play

Oberammergau is a small town in Bavaria. For most of the time, it is no different to other towns in the area but once every 10 years for a few summer months, hundreds of thousands of visitors descend on the town. Theses visitors come to Oberammergau to witness the Oberammergau Passion Play. This play has been performed by inhabitants of the town since 1634.

In 1632 as bubonic plague swept Europe, the town vowed that if God were to spare them from the effects of the plague, they would perform a play every 10 years depicting the life and death of Jesus. Between March and July 1633, the death rate dropped dramatically so believing that God had spared them, they kept their part of the vow and have performed the play ever since although it has since changed so that it is performed when the year ends in ‘0’. The last performance was in 2000 and the next performances will be in the summer of 2010.

The Oberammergau Passion Play involves of 2,000 actors, singers, instrumentalists and technicians, all of whom are residents of the town and the surrounding area to maintain the tradition of the vow their ancestors too over 350 years ago.

The performances in 2010 are expected to attract around 500,000 visitors as the play runs from May to September. Each performance starts at around 2:30pm and lasts until 10:30pm although there is a break for dinner at around 5pm.

Demand for tickets is always high and if you would like to find out more information about organised trips to Oberammergau, please visit http://www.oberammergauexplorer.co.uk/

The Oberammergau Passion Play

Belarus - The Last Dictatorship In Europe?

In 2005, Condoleeza Rica described Belarus as the ‘last outpost of tyranny in Europe’. So when England played Belarus in a recent World Cup qualifier, I took the opportunity to visit Minsk to see the football and spend a few days looking round the city.



I arranged my visa direct with the Belarus Embassy in London. Although it may seem a bit of a paperwork nightmare, the procedure is fairly simple. For a tourist visa, you need an application form (from the embassy website) and your visa invitation. This is a document that is usually provided by your hotel. It states where you will be staying in Belarus and for how long. If you are staying in more than one hotel, you will probably need an invitation from each hotel. As a general rule, you need to have paperwork to account for every night you will be in Belarus. If you are unsure, contact the embassy. I took the documents down, along with my passport and after a few minutes wait, I was allowed in where I filed my documents paid my fee of £63. The visa would be ready one week later. You don’t need to go to the embassy in person, you can post your documents to them. Check their website for more details.

Direct flights into Minsk are only available a couple of days a week using the national airline, Belavia. If you want to fly to Minsk, there are a few options flying via other European cities. However, I chose to fly to Vilnius and then take the 4 hour 40 minute train ride. Flights to Vilnius from the UK are quite easy to get and my return ticket by train was around £12. Facilities on the train are limited (to say the least) and we had to wait at the border as first the Lithuanian officials came on to check passports then 30 minutes down the track, the Belarus officials also took their turn. However, we arrived right on time in Minsk.

Apartments are a great low cost option for accommodation in Minsk. We arranged an apartment via a website. It was located on the main Prospekt Nezavisimosti, just up from the war memorial (which you can’t miss). They also arranged our visa support (invitation) and transfers. It was clean and comfortable. The kitchen was well equipped there was a little shop a few minutes away where we could buy food.

As our apartment was fairly central, it was very easy to get around. The centre of Minsk is quite small so it is possible to walk everywhere but we also used the metro which is a very cheap alternative. There are only 2 lines so it is fairly simple to find your way around. However, one word of warning; the station maps and metro map is only in Cyrillic. Tickets are in the form of a small plastic coin which are bought from the ticket desk for 600 roubles each (15 pence). One coin is for a single journey, there are no zones. The metro operates between 5:30am and 1:00am. The one occasion we took a taxi, it cost 10,000 roubles (about £2.60) which seemed to be a tourist rate for most places within town.

Tourism in Minsk and throughout Belarus is relatively small. They get around 75,000 visitors per year (less than the number of people stranded abroad when XL collapsed recently) and of those, just 4,000 are British. That doesn’t mean that Minsk isn’t an interesting city. It has a complicated history and was all but destroyed during the war as the Germans went through it as they advanced into the Soviet Union then retreated back again as the Soviets countered. In human terms, the population suffered a staggering casualty rate with around 1:3 citizens being killed.

After the war, a huge rebuilding program took place and as this was in Stalin’s time, you could be forgiven for expecting to see dreary concrete buildings everywhere. However, although some typically Soviet buildings do exist, there are plenty of examples of other types of architecture which add to the charm of Minsk.

The time in Minsk will determine just how much of the city you can see. I started with a short city tour. This type of quick overview is a good idea in any city as it allows you to get your bearings and you can always go back at look at things in a bit more details. I hadn’t realised that Minsk had briefly been home to Lee Harvey Oswald and his former residence is mentioned in a number of Guides to Minsk.

The Island of Tears is a memorial to the 1,700 young men from Belarus who died during the Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. The focal point of the little island is the small chapel which is quite haunting. It is also a place where newly weds go. Many couples leave padlocks with their names on the gate on the bridge and further round the island is a small statue of a boy-like angel.

Victory Square (Ploshad Pobedy) can be found on Prospekt Nezavisimosti and the centre piece is a towering spire with an eternal flame at the base. Access is gained by going under the road and directly below the spire you will find a large amber ring. On the walls are listed the names of soldiers who were made Hero of the Soviet Union.

Heading back towards to centre is the imposing (and still active) KGB building. Nearby is the Church of Saints Simon & Elena. Dating back to 1910, this red brick catholic church was build by a trader as a memorial to his two young children who died at an early age.

The oldest church in Minsk is the St Peters and Paul Church which dates back to 1613 and can be found on Njamiha. Although the church is well looked after, it is surrounded and dwarfed ugly concrete buildings.

The Museum of the Great Patriotic War is well worth a visit and has some excellent displays and exhibitions, including an array of tanks including the iconic T-34 and an Ilyushin aircraft that looks suspiciously like a DC-3 (Dakota). The museum is quite sombre as it highlights the suffering in the concentration camps with some graphic images.

The match between Belarus and England was played at the Dinamo Stadium which was a roofless bowl which looked typically Eastern European with 4 large, imposing floodlights. The stadium was sold out expect for the upper section of the main stand opposite us. The following day, we walked round the outside of the stadium where there was a market. After seeing all the bland new stadia springing up all over Britain, it was refreshing to see a stadium with a bit of character. The statue of the 3 athletes behind the main stand and the letter “D” carved into stone at regular intervals around the stadium (“D” is for Dinamo Minsk).

I was very impressed with my short time in Minsk. I found it to be an incredibly clean city and I felt safe at all times. There is a relatively small tourist industry so there no hint of a rip-off culture that tourists experience in many cities around the world. You’ll find that your money goes a long way but you would find it useful if you can understand a bit of Russia or at understand Cyrillic writing. If you wanted to stay a bit longer in Belarus, there are places to see outside Minsk. Sadly, I didn’t have time but hopefully at some stage I’ll have the chance to return. In my opinion, Minsk is definitely worth considering a destination for a short break.

Belarus - The Last Dictatorship In Europe?

How To Get The Most From Your ‘Learn To Dive’ Holiday?

As part of my business, I get a lot of people looking to book up a diving holiday so they can learn to dive in the sunshine (usually Egypt). I’ve personally been diving in Egypt for years and consider it to be one of the best places in the world and as a PADI Divemaster, it’s a subject I’m always happy to talk about.

For the novice, Egypt is an excellent place to learn to dive. The weather is always great, the water is always warm, the visibility is always good and the sea is generally quite calm. However, the problem is that when you go off to nice warm destinations such as Egypt, your time there is limited. If you are learning to dive, you want as much time as possible in the water not spending time with your head stuck in a book.

So how do you get round this problem?  The answer is actually quite simple. When learning to dive, the initial course is essentially split into 3 parts; theory, confined water dives and open water dives. The theory part of the course involves reading a manual and understanding some basic concepts of the sport. The confined water dives are performed in a swimming pool where you learn a number of skills such as clearing your mask underwater (don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it sounds). These skills are completed over the course of a couple of dives and once they are to a sufficient standard, they are repeated in the open water (ie – the ocean).

Many people don’t realise that you don’t need to complete the whole course in a consecutive days and those wanting to learn to dive can use this to their advantage. I generally advise people that their best option is to complete the theory and confined water dives at a local dive centre. This means that once they arrive at their holiday destination, all that remains is to complete their open water dives and they are certified. In turn, this means they have an extra 3 days of their holiday left to enjoy their new found status as certified scuba divers which would otherwise be spent studying or in the swimming pool.

The way to do this is quite simple. The most popular entry level diving certification is the PADI Open Water Course so what you need to complete prior to travel is the Open Water Referral. This covers the 3 days of theory and confined water elements of the Open Water course. Once completed, all that remains is to complete the final 4 open water dives which is usually done over 2 days whilst you are in your holiday resort.

The way to do this is quite simple. 

1. Find your local dive centre which will be listed in the Yellow Pages and give them a call to tell them your situation. Explain that you want them to take the Open Water Referral (theory and confined water dives). This shouldn’t be a problem for any dive centre and they will discuss when you can complete this.
2. Contact the dive centre in your holiday resort to book the final part of your Open Water course which may also be called Open Water Referral. They will advise you what you need to bring along and the final 4 dives normally have to be completed no later than 12 months after the theory and confined water modules.
3. Complete the theory and confined water dives before heading off to your holiday resort.
4. At your resort, spend just 2 days instead of 5 completing the final 4 open water dives and congratulations, you are now a certified scuba diver with most of your holiday ahead of you.

 For more information about learning to dive in Egypt, contact Explorer Travel (http://www.redsea.explorertravel.co.uk/Diving/Intro.htm)

How To Get The Most From Your ‘Learn To Dive’ Holiday?

UK’s 3rd Largest Tour Operator Collapses But Where Do The Passengers Stand?

In the early hours of Friday, 12^th September 2008, XL Leisure Group based in Crawley, Sussex announced that they had called in the administrators. The group, who operated holidays to 50 destinations and employed 1,700 people world wide, collapsed with debts of around £143m stranding 67,000 passengers who were already overseas and will result in another 200,000 passengers with advanced bookings, to lose their holidays.

The following companies which make up the XL Leisure Group are all in administration:

XL Leisure Group Plc, XL Airways UK Limited, Excel Aviation Limited, Explorer House Limited, Aspire Holidays Limited, Freedom Flights Limited, Freedom Flights (Aviation) Limited, The Really Great Holiday Company plc, Medlife Hotels Limited, Travel City Flights Limited, Kosmar Villa Holidays plc.

The following companies held ATOL Licences:

The Really Great Holiday Company, Kosmar Villa Holidays PLC, Freedom Flights Ltd, Aspire Holidays Ltd.

Unfortunately, not all of the 67,000 passengers who are stranded abroad will receive help. For more details, XL customers should refer to the group’s website – www.xl.com

• Anyone who booked via an ATOL or ABTA bonded Travel Agent or Tour Operator will be covered by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) who will eventually get them home
• Anyone who has booked direct with XL Holidays will probably not be covered unless they have insurance or used their credit card.
• Anyone who paid by credit card will probably be covered but should check with their bank
• Anyone who has travel insurance will probably be covered by should check with their insurance company
• Anyone who has paid by debit card probably won’t be covered but should check with their bank.

Of the 67,000 passengers who are currently abroad, around 10,000 are not covered and will have to make their own way home. Under terms of the administration order, XL are not allowed to send their planes abroad to bring back their passengers. The CAA are working with Thomson and First Choice to bring home the passengers but as XL Group Chairman Phil Wyatt said at a press conference, bringing 67,000 passengers home is a huge task.

Now, there is no denying, when it comes to travel, we all love a bargain. Even saving a few pounds makes us feel somehow better about our travel. However, like people who don’t always see the need for fully comprehensive car insurance, when you come to need help, it’s usually a time for regret.

It is in unfortunate times like this that the true value of using an ATOL or ABTA bonded travel agent such as Explorer Travel comes to light. Consumer protection is often unclear and when booking out holidays, we are more concerned with facilities at the hotel or how far it is to the beach rather than thinking about what happens if the airline goes bust.

Around 26 airlines have gone bust in the last year or so and with oil prices still over $100 a barrel, it is unlikely that XL Group will be the last company to collapse. British Airways Chairman, Willie Walsh said that there are a lot of “weak” airlines struggling to remain in the business  and that some of them will not survive. With this thought in mind, people really should be paying more attention to the company or airline they are planning to travel with rather than getting the cheapest ticket possible. Going for the cheapest option may well turn out to be the most expensive option.

As I was writing this article, it was not lost on me that just 3 weeks ago, my family and I were on an XL flight coming back from Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt. I had booked the flights direct with XL using a debit card so it could well have been a bad experience for myself and my family.

UK’s 3rd Largest Tour Operator Collapses But Where Do The Passengers Stand?

Sharm el Sheikh - August 2008

I’ve been to Sharm a number of times and its always interesting to see how the place has changed. My last visit was two years ago so the first change I noticed when we arrived that the cost of your visa (on arrival) is down to US15. The visa itself has also changed from the previous 2 ‘postage stamps’ (1 orange, 1 blue) to a larger single sticker complete with hologram. The visa and immigration process, along with luggage collection did seem to be a lot quicker than last time and when we left the arrivals hall, I was also pleasantly surprised to see that the all the old style taxis had been replaced with newer cars. Presumably, the old taxis have been passed on to various science museums.

We spent our first full day in Sharm down on the beach at Na’ama Bay and it struck us that although there were a number of people around, the resort did seem a lot quieter than last time we had visited in August. Conversations with people who work in Sharm as well as other frequent visitors went along with our line of thought. The number of British visitors seems to be around the same and there did seem to be a slight increase in visitors from neighbouring Arab countries. The big difference in numbers seemed to be a drop in the number of Russian visitors. This may be due to the fact that in the past, Egypt has been an easy destination for Russian tourists due to they could just purchase their visas on arrival. Stricter visa application procedures in other countries had meant that it was harder for Russians to visit places in Europe but in the last 12 months or so, an agreement between Russia and many EU countries has meant that it is now easier for Russians to obtain Schengen visas so they may well be visiting different destinations.

After a few nights in Sharm, we took a trip to the Old Town which is a short taxi ride away. The official price is 15LE (around £1.50) but sometimes as a tourist, it can be tricky to persuade a taxi driver to take you for that. However, we managed it and we were soon in the Old Town. We headed for a Thai restaurant we’d used before and once again the food was excellent and good value for money. After the meal, we headed around the various shops to buy some fruit which is cheaper and more plentiful than in Na’ama Bay. As much as Na’ama Bay had seemed quieter, the Old Town was far busier than I remembered. There also seemed to be more shops than when I was last there 2 years earlier. We spent about 45 minutes wandering round and we bought 3 bags of fruit then headed back to Na’ama Bay.

In between my diving trips, we spent the days at the beach alternating between laying in the sun, snorkelling or just relaxing in the sea. From the beach, its hard to believe just how good the snorkelling can be but within a short time I had seen Parrotfish, Angelfish, Butterflyfish, Surgeonfish, Picasso Triggerfish, Clownfish (Nemos), Porcupinefish, Pipefish and a Yellow Edged Moray Eel.

I also saw two Scorpionfish having a bit of a fight. This is something quite unusual. I’ve never seen Scorpionfish behave like this out on the coral reefs, never mind in Na’ama Bay. There is a more serious angle to this though. Scorpionfish are very difficult to see as their primary defence is camouflage.  Their secondary defence is a row of poisonous spins which run along their spin and as a result people can step on them by mistake. You won’t find Scorpionfish in the sand but there are a couple of very small pieces of coral in Na’ama Bay where they like to hide so it is very important that you NEVER stand on the coral. There are a lot of creatures in there who can cause you a lot of pain and the Scorpionfish is one of them.

So our two week holiday soon came to an end. It has been two years since I was last in Sharm and the resort is expanding all the time. Among the new additions to the centre of Na’ama Bay is a new TGI Fridays and a number of hotels. New shopping malls are also being completed. Further south in the Old Town, the streets seemed busier than ever but the biggest area of growth was north of the airport in Nabq Bay. The evidence is there for all to see that Sharm is aiming to boost the number of visiting tourists and maintain its status as the number one resort in Egypt.

For more information about visiting Sharm el Sheikh or any of the other Red Sea resorts, please visit www.redseaexplorer.com

Sharm el Sheikh - August 2008

Diving in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt

The day after I arrived, I went down to Emperor Divers to check-in. As I got there, I met one of the instructors, Davorin, who was one of the dive leaders when I was here last time. Just over a week ago, a bait ball was sighted off Middle Garden being feasted on by 3 or 4 whale sharks. I had heard about this before I left England and Davorin said that it was an incredible sight. None of the instructors can ever remember seeing anything like this around Sharm before. Some people say the plankton bloom is a bit higher than normal (which would encourage the whale sharks to stay around) but what was apparent from our brief chat was that there does seem to be a lot of good marine sightings at the moment in Sharm. I’d booked 8 days diving so I was hopeful I’d be able to put my camera to good use at some stage over the next fortnight.

The first days’ diving with Emperor Divers is always at a local dive site. This just lets you get a feel for diving again, allowing you to perform a weight check and get back in the swing of things. The following days, you are free to chose where you want to dive. After breakfast, I headed over to the dive centre to sign in for the day. I chatted with a guy called Ian whom I had dived with before in Sharm. He was heading down to Ras Mohammed and I was going to be on the Empress Theresa with dives scheduled to the north of Sharm at White Knights (next to the Savoy Hotel) and Ras Bob. But the disaster struck, as I was getting on the bus, I somehow managed to drop my camera. Thankfully, the camera house wasn’t damaged which meant it was still watertight but the colour correction lens was cracked and the camera wouldn’t switch on. What a nightmare – I was going to be without my camera underwater for the first time for ages. Still, I tried to be positive, diving in the Red Sea without a camera is still infinitely better than being at work.

If you haven’t dived in Sharm before, you shouldn’t be put off by the term ‘local dive site’. After all, Middle Garden where the bait ball and whale sharks were spotted is considered a ‘local dive site’. We plunged into the water at White Knight and headed down. I was buddy paired with a guy called Paul who had his camera so I was going to help him find lots of things to photograph. Almost immediately, I found a good sized Giant Moray Eel which we observed for a while before moving on. One thing I have noticed is that the more I dive, the more I notice the smaller creatures that. Although we saw a good variety of marine life, the highlight for me was a tiny little Djedda Snapping Shrimp which grows to a size of just 4cm. They are generally found sharing a small hole in the sand with a small goby fish. The goby stands guard over the hole and if it is considered to be safe, the goby will move far enough out to allow the shrimp to start shovelling sand out of the hole. It was fascinating to watch this little tandem act go about their business.

Day two and a trip to Tiran was scheduled. There have been several sightings of Hammerhead Sharks recently so I was quite hopeful of an encounter. However, problems struck again as our boat, the Emperor Marcus had engine problems and we barely reached the local dive sites. While the crew, tried to establish the exact problem, we decided to dive at Fiddle Garden. Following this, another of Emperor Divers boats, the Kastan Sea was going to tow us to a second dive site and then home as by now, the crew had discovered, the engine needed some replacement parts which were not on board. After a long surface interval and lunch, the Kastan Sea towed us towards Near Garden for our second dive. Although we didn’t get to see the Hammerheads at Tiran, we still had 2 good dives. The highlights were a tiny Torpedo Ray and a ‘cleaning station’ with 3 or 4 massive Groupers and a Napoleon Wrasse waiting for the little cleaning fish to come and remove the parasites from them.

Days three and four were also both to Tiran and this time, there were no problems and we were able to dive successfully on both days. On Day Three, conditions were very calm so were able to dive on the back of Jackson Reef which has a reputation as a place to see Hammerheads. We dropped in and swam away from the reef into the blue and sat at 20m waiting. After about 10 minutes, the unmistakeable profile of a large shark. The type of shark was later of some debate. We only caught a glimpse of it for a few seconds and our view was side on so we didn’t have a clear view of the head. Hammerhead sharks get their name from a very distinctive hammer shape and they can’t be confused for any other shark on this basis. Another distinctive feature of a Hammerhead is the tall dorsal fin and this shark definitely had a tall dorsal fin. However, the discussion was that no-one got a good clear view of the head so it may be the shark was a Sand Bar Shark which has a similar body profile and dorsal fin as the Hammerhead.

After this, I took a few days break from diving before starting my last 4 days with a trip to Tiran again. Our first stop was again the back of Jackson to look for Hammerheads and we were not disappointed. I saw two Hammerheads and some of others said they saw three. The next dive on Thomas was uneventful but the on the third dive of the day, my tank started leaking air quite badly and I had to cut the dive short. A day later we were back at Tiran again and our first dive on the front of Jackson was superb with turtle, free swimming moray eel and a crocodile fish. By lunchtime, conditions were a bit calmer so it was off to the back of Jackson. I had my best sightings of 2 Hammerhead which came relatively close to our group and hung around for a while before heading back into the blue. The latter part of the dive was on the reef wall which was quite interesting with sightings of Pyjama Slug, Pipefish and a Leopard Blenny. It proved to be my last trip in the Empress Theresa which has now been sold and no longer available to Emperor Divers.

On my penultimate day, I decided to dive down at Ras Mohammed National Park which is right at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. At this point, is the famous Shark and Yolanda reef which boasts wonderful marine life and the wreck of the Yolanda cargo ship which spilled its cargo of bathroom furniture along which the captain’s BMW car. The downside of having such a popular dive site is that it is invariably overcrowded. It was a fairly uneventful dive although I did manage to get stung by some Fire Coral – ouch !! The second dive site was Ras Za’tar, a favourite of mine. It’s the only place I’ve ever seen dolphins while I’ve been underwater. During the dive, we saw a turtle and 4 Napoleon Wrasse but once back on board, we saw a Marlin breaching the surface in pursuit of some little fish. It was the first time I’d seen Marlin in Egypt.

The last days diving always comes round far too quickly and it was off to Tiran again, this time with a small group which is always more relaxing. Conditions at Tiran were too rough to consider going in search of Hammerheads so we started with a dive on Gordon reef and almost immediately came across a massive Feathertail Ray which was best part of 2m in length. We briefly watched the ray before continuing with the drift dive where we found some Garden Eels. These little creatures bury themselves in the sand and come out when it is safe. From a distance, they look like some sort of plant growing from the sea bed but if you get too close, they disappear back into the sand.

My final dive of the trip was again on the front of Jackson. My first success was finding the elusive Longnose Hawkfish hiding on a large Gorgonian fan at a depth of 25m. These shy little fish are white with a red grid pattern and they almost seem to jump around rather than swim. We continued into the fabulous coral gardens and it was here I found yet another first for me – an Undulate Moray which was swimming free. Jackson can get quite crowded with divers in addition to the lunatic snorkellers who, in my opinion, shouldn’t be anywhere near Tiran for their own safety. However, it was a quiet dive and we stayed down for 64 minutes before ending the dive and my own dive trip.

This was the 3rd time I’d been diving in Sharm in August and with the exception of Ras Mohammed, it was probably some of the best diving I’ve experienced in Sharm. I’d seen a number of creatures for the first time in Egypt:

Partner Shrimp & Gobys
Torpedo Ray
Hammerhead Sharks
Yellow Edged Moray
Longnose Hawkfish
Leopard Blenny
Feathertail Ray
Undulate Moray

Not to mention the more dubious firsts of being stung by Firecoral and have an O-Ring go underwater.

I’ve been fortunate to dive in many wonderful places in the world and Egypt is definitely up there with the best of them. Diving conditions are generally excellent, the weather is almost always sunny and the range of marine life across a large number of dive sites means there is always something new to see on your next dive.

For more information about day diving, courses and liveaboards in the Red Sea, please visit http://www.redseaexplorer.com/

Diving in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt

When A Crocodile Eats The Sun

In some parts of southern Africa, the locals believe a solar eclipse occurs when a crocodile eats the sun. It is said this celestial crocodile briefly devours our life giving star to show its displeasure at the actions of man. It is considered to be the very worst of omens.

Today, 1 Aug 2008, the world will experience a solar eclipse. The path will start in northern Canada and then continue through Greenland, central Russia, eastern Kazakhstan, western Mongolia, China and India. A partial eclipse will also be visible in eastern North America, most of Europe and Asia. London will experience a 12% eclipse. The next solar eclipse will be 22 Jul 2009.

The title of this blog and is taken from the excellent book by Peter Godwin who is a former Foreign Correspondent for The Sunday Times (London). It is the follow up to his first book, Mukiwa, which is an account of his time growing up as a white boy in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). His book, “A Crocodile Eats The Sun”, details the ebbings of his father’s life, set in the modern back-drop of Zimbabwe and his discovery of his fathers Polish-Jewish roots.

Living in the west, its very easy to dismiss such superstitions and beliefs of African tribes who believe in this such as “When A Crocodile Eats The Sun” but consider this. During the Battle of Isandlwana, the first battle of the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879, a 73% eclipse covered the battlefield. The terrible omen hovered over the battle that triggered the defeat of the Zulu army and it was not only the Zulus who suffered. The Anglo-Zulu war had been started against the wishes of Queen Victoria and it is said that it was a contributing factor to the defeat of Benjamin Disraeli’s government in the 1880 election.

The planet experiences a solar eclipse about once a year but it is usually decades before the same place experiences another eclipse so when you consider the Zulu superstition and combine it with the fact that the Isandlwana battlefield was darkened by a solar eclipse on 22 Jan 1879. From there, consider the consequences of the battle, it does make you start to wonder that maybe there is a bit more to these superstitions than we in the west are prepared to acknowledge.

For more information about visiting Isandlwana, please visit http://www.battlefields.explorertravel.co.uk/War_Zones/zulubattlefields.htm

When A Crocodile Eats The Sun

A Hard Winter In Store For Airlines

Love them or hate them, Irish budget airline Ryanair, run a very streamlined business which has meant they have been hugely successful. Earlier this week, they announced they would cutting a number of services from London Stansted by around 14% and as a result, operations at seven airports would cease.

Virtually all airlines ‘hedge’ the fuel purchases. In simple terms this means they agree a price with a supplier for several months supply. This means that fluctuations in the price of oil don’t instantly affect them so in turn, they can keep their air fares stable for a period of time. Not so long ago, a barrel of oil cost around $70 a barrel and many airlines have ‘hedged’ their purchases for this summer at around this figure. However, Ryanair do not hedge their fuel purchases and with oil hitting more than $140 a barrel, they are feeling the squeeze.

That said, there is no talk of Ryanair collapsing and they will survive. However, not all airlines are run as efficiently as Ryanair and eventually, their ‘hedged’ oil deals at around $70 a barrel will run out. After that, they will be paying the going rate so what will happen? The summer is generally a good time for airlines with passenger numbers higher than in the winter but once the sun starts to head south and autumn moves in, I believe some airlines will start to struggle.

Since December last year, we have seen nearly a dozen airlines go bust worldwide, many blaming the rising cost of oil. As their ‘hedged’ deals run out, their fuel costs will rise so it would suggest that more airlines are likely to run into trouble.

A Hard Winter In Store For Airlines

Brits abroad recieve an online lifeline

This latest entry is really only relevant to my fellow Brits but of course, everyone is welcome to read. This information was taken directly from the UK government website:

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has recently launched a new service called LOCATE which will help it to track down Britons in the event of a crisis abroad, as a survey reveals that two thirds of us don't actually know where our travelling loved ones are and over half of us go abroad without leaving details of our trip with friends and family. People will be able to help the FCO to find them in a crisis by registering details of their foreign trip as well as emergency friend and family contact details at LOCATE. FCO has created LOCATE in response to the changing face of travel. More people are travelling today than ever before, with an estimated 68,000,000 foreign trips made by British nationals in 2006. Of those who go abroad, 96% take up to three trips a year and more than five million of us stay abroad for a year or more.

We're also travelling to traditionally more unstable regions. But it's not just in remote, exotic places where a crisis can happen, as demonstrated by last summer's fires in Greece and bombings in recent years in popular resorts like Turkey, Egypt and Bali.

Although the chances of being directly involved in a crisis are small, a fifth of Brits say they have been abroad during an incident and felt compelled to let someone at home know they were OK. But communication is often difficult at those times and not knowing an individual is safe can lead to worry for friends and family and a diversion of consular assistance away from those who really need it.

LOCATE is a two-way service and in the event of an emergency worried family members can register details of a loved one who may be caught up in the incident. If the traveller also confirms with the FCO that they are OK, LOCATE will match the two bits of information and the good news can be quickly passed to relatives.

Foreign Office Minister Meg Munn, said: "It's great to get off the beaten track when we're away from home, but things can change very quickly in any country. In our survey more than nine out of 10 Britons said they would feel reassured to know that in the event of an emergency abroad, the local Embassy could quickly find their location. Telling us where you will be, whether it's a short trip or you're travelling for a year, could help us either to get to you if you are in trouble, or know that you are safe so that we can concentrate our resources on helping those in need."

Frances Linzee Gordon, Travel Editor for Lonely Planet said: "More and more people want to head to remote places and visit areas away from the tourist hotspots. Whilst it's great that we can enjoy this freedom, we often lose touch with home and few of us ever think about the consequences of no one really knowing where we are. The new LOCATE service will allow you freedom by giving you personal peace of mind whilst you're exploring far-flung places, as well as providing reassurance for friends and family if they lose touch with you that you may be located during a crisis."

The FCO advises that travellers simply add LOCATE to their usual pre-travel checklist:
-Get comprehensive travel insurance
-Find out about vaccinations
-Research the local laws and customs of your destination/s
-Take photocopies of important documentation or store copies online using a secure data storage site
-If travelling in Europe, take your EHIC

Disclaimer: This text has been taken directly from the UK government FCO website.

Register with LOCATE

Brits abroad recieve an online lifeline

Umkomaas & Aliwal Shoal

My final few days in South Africa were spent just south of Durban in the town of Umkomaas which is close to the famous Aliwal Shoals. Located about 30 miles south of Durban, Umkomaas is a small town that seems to be there primarily for the diving industry and I stayed at the Aliwal Dive Centre which had accommodation on site. This suited me fine as diving in KwaZulu Natal generally starts early and is finished by lunchtime as by then the sea has started to get a bit too rough.

Diving is normally from RIBs (Rigid Inflatable Boats) so groups are small and it’s a bit of fun getting to and from the dive sites. I prebooked 3 days diving (2 dives a day) and arrived around 6:30pm the night before where I met one of the Divemasters and a couple of other lads who were staying at the centre. After I put my luggage in my room, we went around the corner for something to eat before crashing out as it was an early start in the morning.

Aliwal Shoal has a reputation as one of the best dive sites in the world and is a hot spot for sharks so having spent the previous week viewing land predators, it was the turn of the their marine counterparts. The briefing was straightforward and we were soon off out to the first dive site. The marine life viewing started in spectacular fashion before we even reached the dive site with 3 humpbacked whales appearing close by so we took time to head over to them and took a few pictures. Soon they disappeared from view leaving us with the classic ‘whale tale’ view so on we headed to the dive site.

Diving on Aliwal Shoal tends to always involve a current and is always affected by surge so overall, its not ideal for taking photos. However, its something I always try to do and the area is particularly well known for rag-tooth and tiger sharks. My last dive had been in August last year so I started taking pictures of fairly mundane marine life just to get the camera settings correct. By the end of the 2nd dive, I had managed 6 pictures that I was happy with including a small scorpion fish that I nearly put my hand on, a paper fish which I’d never seen before and a turtle.

The following day, the sea was pretty rough with swells of around 3m, not ideal for me as I suffer a bit in small boats. Given the surface conditions, I was a bit surprised that underwater, it was better than the previous day. I managed to get pictures of a Manta Shrimp, a couple of Ramoras (the long thing fish that normally attach themselves to sharks), a video of a Rag-tooth Shark and a turtle eating some soft coral. All in all, it wasn’t a bad collection of pictures but back on the surface, I was a lot less comfortable and was very glad when we got back on dry land. A cooked breakfast and nice cup of tea soon sorted me out ready for an afternoon of laziness.

My third and final days diving saw the best conditions so far. The sea was very flat and visibility under the surface was much improved. Just prior to jumping in, we found a number of dolphins who predictably disappear as soon as the cameras were ready. Never mind, we had 50 minutes underwater ahead of us and in we went. As the previous 2 days, there was a surge and a current but there was also a variety of marine life and I managed to get photos of Potato Cod, Clown Fish, Sea Snake (back half), Scorpion Fish, Moray Eel and a partly hidden Octopus.

Not bad and we were soon back on board heading back to shore. However, June/July in KZN sees the annual Sardine Run and there had been reports of a large shoal about 100km south of us. On the way back we say some activity to the south and headed over to investigate. There we found a small shoal of sardines being attacked by a number of sharks. We also noticed that more and more fishermen were appearing on the coast. The arrival of the Sardines is a big event each winter and they are remorselessly attack by predators from land (humans), sea (dolphins, tuna, sharks, whales) and the air (gannets and other sea birds).

I decided to abandon the 2nd dive of the morning as I wanted to see something of the Sardine Run before I left. I had my breakfast, showered, changed and headed back to the coast. Most of the parking places and vantage points were busy by now and more people were arriving all the time as word of the sardines spread. After a while, I went back to the dive centre and they suggested I head further south so off I went and all along the coast road were fishermen parking up and I also saw people selling sardines from buckets that they had obviously caught earlier that day. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any ‘David Attenborough’ type action with regards to the Sardines but it was interesting nonetheless and I did get to see a little bit more of KZN.

The following morning, I enjoyed a bit of a lay in before the mammoth task of trying to pack everything into my suitcase. Over the last 2 weeks, I’d been given so many things it was a real challenge to get the suitcase closed, never mind under the 23kg limit. However, I eventually binned quite a lot of unwanted paper and the suitcase seemed quite light although the true test would come at check-in and the risk of excess baggage.

Before I left, I handed over the last of my England replica football shirts which were greatly appreciated. We often don’t realise just how hungry people all round the world are for English football so if you travel to these places and have some old football shirts that you no long want, passing them on to people in places like South Africa will be greatly appreciated. I checked out and as I had a few hours to kill before my flight, I headed up to a shopping centre just to the north of Durban for some last minute shopping.

If you would like to contact us for more information about, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, please visit our website here (http://www.bigfive.explorertravel.co.uk/)

Umkomaas & Aliwal Shoal

Fugitives Drift Lodge

While down in South Africa, I was determined to see the battlefields of the Anglo Zulu war of 1879. Fugitives Drift was founded by David Rattray along with his wife Nicky and created an award winning lodge for visitors to savour this amazing story. Tragically, in January 2007, David was killed by an intruder but Fugitives Drift is a wonderful legacy to something he started with his wife Nicky and it still continues today. Rob Caskie has taken over as the main guide. Like David, Rob speaks fluent Zulu, knows the history inside out and is probably the finest story teller I’ve ever heard.

For those that don’t know, the two battles that I was interested in were the battle at Isandlwana when the Zulu army wiped out more than 1,300 British soldiers on 22nd January 1879. Later that day, just south of the Buffalo river, a smaller force of Zulus who had missed out on the action at Isandlwana, wanted their chance so against orders, they attacked Rorke’s Drift. This defensive action has gone down in the history of the British Army as one of its most remarkable battles which saw 11 Victoria Crosses award. Less than 140 British soldiers fought off around 4,000 Zulus in a battle that raged for hours. Both battles have been brought to the big screen with story of Isandlwana being told in the excellent Zulu Dawn. The better known film Zulu (starring Michael Caine) tells the story of Rorke’s Drift.

My stay at Fugitives Drift started with an afternoon tour of the Rorke’s Drift site. It’s a few miles from the Lodge and we started looking round the museum which was it hospital building at the time of the battle. As with most battlefield museums, there were various artefacts from the battle (rifles, bullets, buckles, spears etc) but the most striking thing I saw was a model of the battlefield. It showed the latter stages of the battle when the hospital had been evacuated and the British were defending the store behind their piles of mealie bags. The model showed a handful of red coated soldiers surround on all sides by Zulus several deep and this was the first time I’d really been able to visualise the battle properly. All the films and images I’ve seen in the past were usually close ups with a small number of people but this model gave an overall image which was quickly frankly, shocking.

Rob started the tour with an orientation, explaining how the landscape had changed since the battle and various important landmarks. To help visitors imagine the layout, there on lines of stones marking where various defensive lines were. Rob started the story explaining what Rorke’s Drift was and the reasons why it was attacked. In some ways, the story was the wrong way round as we heard about the second battle of the day first but it wasn’t really an issue. Rob’s launched into his story show passion and knowledge. He made the story so interesting and explored ideas and information that most of us who know a bit about Rorke’s Drift hadn’t even considered. He made you realise there was so much more to the battle than just a fight between black and white, British redcoat against Zulu warrior and from what I know of David Rattray’s reputation, I’m sure this how David used to tell the stories too. In all, the tour was around 3 hours and we all just sat listening to this wonderful story teller recounting the events of 22nd January 1879.

Back at the lodge, I took the opportunity to freshen up in my magnificent room. It really was a shame I couldn’t spend more time in the room as it was so comfortable but it was time for drinks just before dinner so I made my way to the dining room. This room is like a museum with pictures, flags, letters, weapons and much more covering the walls. The meal itself, like everywhere else I’ve eaten in South Africa, was superb. Everyone staying at the Lodge sat round the same table and I was sitting next to Rob and we chatted about a number of topics. It was a very pleasant evening but an early start the following morning meant it wouldn’t be a late night.

My 6:30am alarm call was a nice hot pot of tea being brought to my room (its nice to see some British traditions still live on). We had a nice warm breakfast before leaving for our morning tour of Isandlwana. This battlefield is across the Buffalo river and our guide was a Zulu called Joseph. This was a very different battlefield to Rorke’s Drift. It took place on a vast plan in the shadow of a mountain so the orientation took a lot longer as we first visited the museum before moving on the hill wear the Zulu commanders had stood 129 years ago. We moved on to the battlefield itself and parked up. Now the talk was going to be a couple of hours so we had deck chairs which we carried up the mountain to a vantage point which gave us a great view of the battlefield. However, the altitude was about a mile above sea level so it wasn’t the easiest climb I’d ever attempted.

Joseph, like Rob gave us a fascinating lecture and really helped us visualise the scene. He also said that although he was a Zulu, he wasn’t there to give ‘their side of the story’, he wanted to give us the facts about what happened, sometimes in quite graphic detail. At the appropriate times, he would echo the Zulu shouts that were made back in 1879 and as Joseph’s voice echoed around us, it brought even more realism to the setting. The story was fascinating. I listened to Joseph recite what was happening and my eyes wandered around the landscape which was littered with piles of white stones. These piles of stones are the graves of the British soldiers who were buried where the fell. Each pile of stones represented 6-8 men with the exception of 2 large piles which were for up to 40 men. The hard African soil meant it was impossible to dig anything but shallow graves for the men and pile stones on them.

After the talk was over, were had time to walk round some of the graves and memorials at Isandlwana before heading back for lunch. Again, all the guests present dined together and it was soon time for me to say good-bye and move on to my next destination. This was a fabulous destination and I probably could have done with spending another day there as there was a Zulu village to visit as well as the walk down to the Buffalo river where Lieutenants Melvill and Coghill lost their lives saving the Queen’s Colour of their regiment and years later became the first men to be posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

Sadly, I had to leave and so said my goodbyes and heading off for my scenic trip back through Zululand down to the coast. The previous day, Rob had told us how there was a time that when a white man in car was seen in this area, it usually meant they were lost. Today, there is an industry based on the work David and Nicky Rattray started which means there is a huge interest in those battles between the army of the biggest Empire the world has ever seen and the finest warriors Africa has ever produced.

Rob Caskie is travelling to England in October 2008 to speak at a number of venues in the London and Reading area. He has said that he will send me more details in due course and once I have them, I will be forwarding them via my Battlefield Explorer (http://www.battlefields.explorertravel.co.uk/) email list. If you would like to sign up for the newsletter, you can do so here (http://www.bbmexplorer.com/mailinglist.htm )

Fugitives Drift Lodge

Cleopatras Mountain Farmhouse

Hidden away in the stunning Drakensburg mountains in the Kamberg Valley near Giant’s Castle, you will find Cleopatras Mountain Farmhouse. This exclusive Gourmet mountain lodge is 200km from Durban airport and 450km from Johannesburg airport. I was driving down from Johannesburg and the journey took me just over 5 hours down the N3 toll road before turning off at Mooi River. From there, it was just under 30 miles and although the directions were good, it is better to do this part of the journey by daylight to make it easier to pick up the landmarks that are referred to in the directions.

Eventually, I arrived but as it was dark, I wasn’t able to fully appreciate the beauty of its location until the following morning. I’d also arrived too late for the 6 course evening meal which was a pity. There are 11 rooms at Cleopatras and each one is different. I was checked into room 2, the Scandinavian room and it was beautiful and reasonably spacious. It had been a long day so I soon got into my bed which was warmed by an electric blanket and went to sleep.

I woke up early as I had a long trip to Fugitives Drift ahead of me but first I wanted to have a look round. The morning mist hung over the surrounding mountains and I could see what a picturesque location this was. I made my way to the breakfast room where a splendid 3 course meal was served to set me up nicely for the day. The chef at Cleopatras prepares his food with flavour as his primary objective and I had to say that I was not disappointed. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I was served such a good breakfast.

Next it was time for a quick trip up to the top of the mountain although the view would be limited. However, it was clear enough to see that for anyone looking to spend a bit of time outdoors and enjoy wonderful food, Cleopatras is highly recommended. Activities available include walking in the Highmoor Nature Reserve, horse riding, horse stud tours & local adventures, fishing, helicopter rides, Bushman rock art, Crane rehabilitation centre and if you want to go out driving for the day, there are more than 180 stops on the Midlands Meander from wood turners, to potters, to cheesemakers, to weevers and more. Sadly, it was time to move on again and had a final chat with the staff before checking out and heading on my way to the Zulu Battlefields.

If you would like to contact us for more information about Cleopatras Mountain Farmhouse or other accommodation in the Drakensburg, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, please visit our website here (http://www.big5.explorertravel.co.uk/)

Cleopatras Mountain Farmhouse

Hells Kitchen in South Africa

15 million people live in the gateway to South Africa but unfortunately we got to spend very little time here. For the rest of the group I was travelling with, this was to be their final night in South Africa before heading back home while I would be heading south into KwaZulu Natal for a second week in South Africa.

We checked into the Protea Hotel Balalaika in Sandton. I never did find the reason why the hotel has the same name as a Russian stringed musical instrument so if anyone can tell me, I’d like to know. Having been without access to shoe shops for much of the week, the girls in our group were straight off to the nearest shopping mall while I took the time to catch up with emails and news via the hotels WiFi connection.

As it was the final night of the Familiarisation trip, we all ate together in a restaurant next door. The food was excellent (as it had been all week) and the drink flowed pretty freely. After the meal ended, we moved back to the hotel bar and I enjoyed a few bottles of Castle at incredibly cheap prices. Eventually, we called it a night as we had one last activity in Johannesburg before heading back to the airport where the rest of my group would fly home and where I would collect my hire car to head down to KwaZulu Natal.

The activity was a cook off hosted by Samp & Souflee (http://www.sampsouffle.com/). We met up with 2 other groups who had also been to South Africa for the past week and from there were split up into 3 groups. The idea was that each group would be responsible for preparing a course for a 3 course meal under the guidance of a chef. Our group was responsible for the main course and making the bread for the soup. The main course was venison (Impala) with an assortment of vegetables and paleta (basically, mashed up sweet corn). Our group worked pretty well together and for what looked to be a very nice meal, it was surprising how little time and effort it actually took to make. Things like this make you realise just how lazy we are when it comes to convenience food. Proper cooking doesn’t actually take too much longer and it was good fun.

All courses of the meal were wonderful and at the end of it, we had time to chat and relax which was a nice way to end an excellent week. We were also presented with a few momentos of the day; an apron, oven gloves, a jar of sauce, a BBQ tool set as well as some brochures. With time pressing, we loaded up and headed back to the airport. From here, my new found friends would fly back to the UK and I would continue my adventure in South Africa for another week.

If you would like to contact us for more information about seeing the Big Five in South Africa, please visit our website here (http://www.big5.explorertravel.co.uk/)

Hells Kitchen in South Africa

Dawsons Game & Trout Lodge

Dawson Lodge is situated near Badplaas about 4 hours from Johannesburg in a beautiful setting surrounded by hills and a trout lake. In addition to the Lodge, there is also a cottage next to the trout lake which is ideal for anyone who wants to fish for trout. Most of the group stayed at the Lodge while I stayed down at the cottage. It’s a self-catering unit which is very well equipped and even has satellite TV.

We arrived late afternoon so there wasn’t much time to do anything after check-in before diner was ready. Prior to dinner, we were invited to watch the chef show us how to prepare a trout which although I’m not fish eater, was very interesting. Its always amazing how simple professionals make their job look.

As with everywhere we’ve stayed, the food was wonderful and the whole group dined together on one long table which added to the atmosphere.

The following morning after an excellent breakfast, there was the option to take part in various activities such as archery, quad bikes and horse riding but most people decided to enjoy the opportunity to sleep in a bit later than we have able to all week. I’d woken up early to try to take some pictures as the sun rose. It’s a wonderful sight in the African wilderness to wake up as it gets light and then to see the shadows cast by the mountains retreat as the sun rise. The morning mist soon disappeared and a glorious blue sky was soon in its place.

If you would like to contact us for more information about fly-fishing and other activities in Mpumalanga, South Africa, please visit our website here (http://www.big5.explorertravel.co.uk/)

Dawsons Game & Trout Lodge

Mala Mala Game Reserve

After the 1 hour flight from Johannesburg, the journey from Nelspruit took around 2.5 hours but once we arrived, it proved to be well worth the effort. Mala Mala was South Africa’s first private game reserve and borders Kruger National Park’s western boundary and is well established as a premier safari destination in southern Africa and the world. There are 3 accommodation options at Mala Mala; first is Rattray’s on Mala which is a small exclusive camp accommodating a maximum of just 16 guests at any one time. No children under the age of 16 are allowed. Second is Sable Camp which is another small exclusive camp although the age limit for children here is 12. Finally, there is Mala Mala Main Camp, where we were booked in. Although it is a larger camp, it retains an intimate atmosphere with a capacity of just 36 guests and it is a child friendly camp.

We arrived quite late in the afternoon and after check-in we opted to go out on a game drive although by now it was practically dark and the chances of seeing much were greatly reduced.. Just before we left, we were briefly introduced to Michael Rattray who founded Mala Mala over 40 years ago. He had just finished a work out in the gym – not bad for a 76 year old, he pointed out. Mr Rattray also added that although it was not an ideal time, if we didn’t go out on a drive, we definitely wouldn’t see any game. I personally didn’t expect to see much but it was the chance to drive out in the open air in Africa and I hadn’t come all this way to sit in a hotel room. As it happened, we got lucky. After about an hour, we got a report that a leopard had hidden a kill from earlier in a tree which we found. We sat and waited for a while to see if the leopard would appear and although we didn’t see the mother, one of her cubs made an appearance. After a few minutes, we relocated to try to get closer and after a while we ended up just 20 metres from the cub who by now was relaxing in a tree. We just sat and watched this beautiful animal for a while and I still don’t know how our tracker managed to spot him.

Eventually, we headed back to camp where we were due to have a Boma. The food and drinks were excellent and all the staff working tireless to make sure nothing was left unattended. When it was time for bed, the wardens walked us back to our rooms. As we were reminded, Mala Mala is a lodge in the middle of a game reserve and as such, animals can come and go through the camp as they please.

The following morning started early with a 6:30am call as our morning game drive was due to start at 7:00am. In addition to the drive, we would also have breakfast in the bush. The drive was fantastic. Not only did we see the Big Five – Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, Elephant and Rhino, we also had the added bonus of a rare Cheetah sighting as well as Zebra and many other smaller birds and animals. In all we were out for 5 hours so when we got back, it was time for lunch. We were briefly entertained by a pair for Vervet Monkeys jumping from tree to tree but moments later a large heard of elephant walk past the hotel terrace less than 200m away.

This set us up very nicely for the afternoon/evening game drive but not before we spent half an hour looking round the other camp, Rattrays on Mala Mala. This is there exclusive camp with a capacity of just 16 guests. The rooms are even more spectacular that the suites at Mala Mala with guests having a private plunge pool, TV and internet access in the rooms. The view from the rooms over looks part of the Sand River so it is a great place to combine relaxation and game viewing.

We moved on to the evening game drive and we were lucky enough to see some giraffe up close and as night fell we moved down towards the river where we found a hippo grazing on the land. This is one of Africa’s most dangerous animals and we sat and watched him from only a few metres away for quite a while before moving on.

That night, we ate around the Boma again and I was very fortunate to sit next to the CEO and founder of Mala Mala, Mr Rattray and his wife. Our meal was briefly interrupted by a small scorpion appearing on the table next to Mrs Rattray but it was dealt with and we had a wonderful evening listening to his stories about life in Africa as well as many other things.

The following morning, there was time for one final game drive before we were due to check out and the highlight was finding a female leopard and its cub who were quite comfortable to have our vehicle positioned less than 10m away and this gave an excellent opportunity for some close up pictures. We headed back to camp and were given a tour of the facilities before leaving.

I can’t speak highly enough of Mala Mala, everything and everyone who is involved with the place.

My Big Five sightings at Mala Mala:
Day 1: Elephant, Leopard
Day 2: Elephant, Leopard, Lion, Rhino, Buffalo
Day 3: Leopard

If you would like to contact us for more information about seeing the Big Five in South Africa, please visit our website here (http://www.big5.explorertravel.co.uk/)

Mala Mala Game Reserve

London Heathrow Terminal 5

Its common knowledge that Terminal 5 had its fair share of problems but in recent weeks the criticism has stopped which generally means that things are starting to work properly. So when it was announced that I would be flying to South Africa on British Airways as part of my destination familiarisation trip, I was actually looking forward to using the terminal to see what all the fuss was about.

Terminal 5 is an impressive, spacious building currently servicing a number of British Airways destinations. There were plenty of check-in machines and counters making the process very easy. Before going to security, there were a number of facilities including foreign exchange counters, shops and cafes.
Getting through security was reasonably quick and this led through to the duty free shops and other facilities. There was a good selection of bars and cafes although I didn’t notice a pub/bar that you would find in most UK airports. There were a couple of places that you could buy beer but these were primarily eating establishments.

It was pretty hard to find fault with the terminal. Everything ran smoothly so it seems that they have got over the problems that were so well reported in the first couple of weeks after it opened. However, it is not running at full capacity yet so it will be interesting to see if they still run that smoothly on a regular basis once British Airways have moved all the flights over there.

For the latest information about British Airways and its operations from Heathrow Terminal 5, please visit their website here

London Heathrow Terminal 5

South African Fundi Tourism Expert Course

Despite what people think, working in the travel industry doesn’t mean you get to spend half the year travelling around the world visiting the destinations you sell. However, familiarisation trips are run from time to time by tour operators and tourist boards to their destinations.

Recently, I started to marketing Southern Africa as part of my business and as part of the process of building my knowledge of the place, I took the South African Fundi Tourism Expert course. This course is run by the South African tourist board and has specifically designed to enable the travel provider (in this case, Explorer Travel) to market South Africa as a destination more effectively.

Since I passed the course, I have received an email from the South African tourist board, offering me a place on their 2008 Familiarisation trip to South Africa. Naturally, I was delighted and accepted immediately and I will be heading down to South Africa for a week sometime in June.

I’m still waiting for the itinerary – it was delayed as the airline we were due to fly with ceased operating and arrangements have since been made to fly with British Airways. The details are being finalised and I should have the itinerary in the next few days. South Africa is a huge, diverse country so there is no way I’ll get to see everything. What I do know is that I’ll be very busy both in South Africa and when I get back. I’ll have a load of pictures to upload and my website will also need to be updated

Big Five Explorer (South Africa) - http://www.big5.explorertravel.co.uk/Destinations/southafrica.htm

South African Fundi Tourism Expert Course

Novotel Sharm el Sheikh attains Green Globe Certification

The Green Globe programme is the official international environmental certification programme responsible for travel and tourism. In July 2007, Novotel started the rollout of Green Globe with a pilot program that involved 28 hotels in 12 countries.

Each hotel is assessed according to 10 key performance areas that seek to guarantee a range of environmental measures including better waste management, air quality improvement and energy & water consumption control. Each hotel is to undergo an annual onsite certification audit as part of the pilot program in the initial year and then every two years.

At present, the Novotel chain has 4 hotels with the Green Globe certification including the Novotel Sharm el Sheikh located on the sea front in Na’ama Bay. This 5* hotel is often overlooked by people but it is definitely one of the best hotels in Na’ama Bay.

Enjoy the sun and sea on the private beach and whether you are with your partner or family, enjoy a unique holiday doing whatever you please. The Kids Club offers different programs of popular sports and a childrens’ pool. Relax at the bars, dine indoors or out at a choice of 3 restaurants. There is also a spa with oriental Hamman and massages.

Although it is just a few minutes walk from the heart of Na’ama Bay, the Novotel is generally quiet offering all the benefits of location as well as the peace and quiet many people look for when on holiday. There are plenty of water sports available on the beach and for scuba divers, Emperor Divers is located right across the road.

Explorer Travel are pleased to offer huge savings on dive packages when you book both your holiday and diving with us. Please visit our website where you can send us an enquiry by email or give us a call to discuss staying at the Novotel Sharm el Sheikh.

Red Sea Explorer – http://www.redseaexplorer.com/

Novotel Sharm el Sheikh attains Green Globe Certification