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