Flighs between Cape Town and Kruger Park

Great news, you will be able to fly direcrly between Cape Town and Hoedspruit and not have to fly via Johannesburg and get a connecting flight saving time and being much more convenient.

SA Express has announced the launch of flights between Cape Town and Hoedspruit, starting July 26.
The airline will operate the route with a 50-seater CRJ 200 with a launch phase frequency of once daily, every Tuesday and Thursday. Flights will depart Cape Town at 09h30, arriving Hoedspruit at 12h10. The return service will depart Hoedspruit at 12h45, arriving in Cape Town at 15h25.
The airline said it was confident the addition of this route to its network would ensure the best possible connections for business and leisure customers.

Direct flight between Cape Town and Livngstone

Starting June 30, Zambezi Airlines will introduce new flights connecting Cape Town directly with Livingstone and on to Lusaka.

Flights from Cape Town are scheduled to operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and will depart at 08h00, arriving in Livingstone at 11h10. Flights will then depart Livingstone at 11h55, arriving in Lusaka at 12h55.
The return service will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, departing Lusaka at 12h15, arriving in Livingstone at 13h15. From Livingstone flights will depart at 14h00, arriving in Cape Town at 17h10.

Flights will be operated by a B737-500, configured in 99 economy seats and 12 business-class seats.

World Golf Championship

South Africa is set to host the World Golf Championship from 2012.
The announcement follows extensive meetings between the US PGA Tour and the International Federation of PGA Tours, of which the Sunshine Tour in South Africa is a founding member.
The World Golf Championship will feature the top 70 players in the world golf rankings.
Said Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, Gareth Tindall: “This is without a doubt, the most significant milestone in the history of professional golf in South Africa, what is even more significant is that we have the commitment that we will host this World Golf Championship event for a period of five years. That has enormously positive implications for the game and for our country as a whole.”

SA National Parks to build hotels in Kruger Park!

After its recent quarterly meeting, the board of South African National Parks (SANParks) confirmed that it still stood by the decision to develop two safari hotels in the Kruger National Park. In the meeting, the board agreed that the decision to develop the hotels was within its mandate as a key responsibility to the continued sustainability and financial viability of the organisation. In a statement issued to the media, SanParks said commercialisation continued to be a policy of the board. It said it was based on sound decision-making and that nowhere in the world had an accommodation facility destroyed the ecology of a park, and invited anyone to bring such scientific evidence to the table. SANParks confirmed the appointment of Professor Willem van Riet, a former SANParks board member, as the Project Co-ordinator for both the Malelane Lodge and Skukuza Conference Lodge. The statement said that Professor van Riet had extensive experience in conservation, landscaping and development of tourism facilities in ecologically sensitive areas and was responsible for the development of the Berg-En-Dal rest camp in the Kruger National Park.

New Travel Card

A new travel card will allow visitors to South Africa the convenience of a debit card and the opportunity to save money before their trip.
With the launch of 1st Contact Travel Money Card, travellers can begin saving money in the weeks leading up to their holiday. Money is loaded online and immediately converted to rands according the latest exchange rate displayed online.

No commission is charged on the travel card, a small fee applies for ATM withdrawals while no charge applies for swiping at restaurants.
The card is also supported by an online application, 24/7 service and support, both via text and online and the ability to load the card any time, from anywhere.

To apply for the card and more information visitwww.1stcontact.com/forex

South Africa named Golf Destination of the year

South Africa has been named “Africa, Indian Ocean and Gulf States Golf Destination of the Year 2011" by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO).

The announcement was made in Valencia, Spain, at the annual international awards ceremony for the golf tourism industry.
South African Tourism’s UK Country Manager, Lebo Mokhesi, said: “With over 600 golf courses providing every type and level of golf experience, we are proud to be announced as winners of this prestigious award. This is a significant acknowledgement by IAGTO that South Africa is fast becoming an irresistible golfing destination for golfers of all abilities across the world, as well as one of the most diversely appealing destinations on the planet.”

The selection for winning golfing destinations is made through votes cast by over 300 golf tour operators from 50 countries who consider customer satisfaction; quality of golf courses and accommodation; value for money; support from suppliers, tourist boards and airlines; professional conduct of suppliers; and accessibility to tee times.

Amazing 5 minutes in the Kruger Park

The astonishing spectacle of a leopard savaging a crocodile has been captured for the first time on camera.

A series of incredible pictures taken at a South African game reserve document the first known time that a leopard has taken on and defeated one of the fearsome reptiles.

The photographs were taken by Hal Brindley, an American wildlife photographer, who was supposed to be taking pictures of hippos from his car in the Kruger National Park .

The giant cat raced out of cover provided by scrub and bushes to surprise the crocodile, which was swimming nearby. A terrible and bloody struggle ensued. Eventually, onlookers were amazed to see the leopard drag the crocodile from the water as the reptile fought back.

With the crocodile snapping its powerful jaws furiously, the two animals somersaulted and grappled. Despite the crocodile's huge weight and strength, the leopard had the upper hand catching its prey by the throat.



Eventually the big cat was able to sit on top of the reptile and suffocate it. In the past, there have been reports of crocodiles killing leopards, but this is believed to the first time that the reverse scenario has been observed.


Mr Brindley said : I asked many rangers in South Africa if they had ever heard of anything like this and they all said no.

"It just doesn't make sense. The meat you get out of a crocodile is just not worth the risk it takes a predator to acquire. The whole scene happened in the course of about 5 minutes. Then the leopard was gone.

"I drove away, elated in disbelief. It may have been the most amazing thing I've ever seen."