Gorillatrekking

Members from the Kenyan Tourism industrymore so those from the Eastern part of Kenya at the coast have jumped for joy after receiving the confirmation news that come Friday, Moi international Airport will be receiving its very first charter flights from Moscow in Russia and keep expecting a number of them coming in every week. The news came at the time when all the involved people were not sure any more whether this would ever happen. Russia is now Kenya’s new market in this matter and it has been persuaded by the Kenya Tourism Board plus other private sectors working for the Tourism industry in Kenya to send as many Russian as possible especially during the winter seasons when they feel like traveling out of the... read more

There are rhinos and lions expected to be arriving in Rwanda’s Akagera national parkcome next year from South Africa funded by the Rwanda Development Board. This is intended to improve on the number of wild animals in the park given the fact that there was high rate of poaching in the 1980s and the 1990s which highly reduced the quantity of wild animals. “We are organizing to stock more animals in Akagera specifically the rhinos and lions so as to improve on the tourism potential so that Rwanda can be able to compete with other East African counties in terms of tourism.” Said Rica Rwingamba the head of department for tourism at the Rwanda Development Board while she was addressing the New Times yesterday. She however could not det... read more

(Today in the skies over Kenya, the new B787 Dreamliner. Picture courtesy of Boeing) When the Dreamliner will land later this morning, at 10.45 hrs eta to be precise, in Kenyas capital Nairobi for the first time ever, and by the looks of the programme captained by a Kenyan pilot, history will be made for not just for the aviation fraternity, who will be cramming the area outside the security fence to see the B787 park outside the Presidential Pavillion, but for the nation at large. Kenya Airways has 9 of these aircraft on order and a further 4 options, deciding to wait for this revolutionary new bird rather than going... read more

GRACE manager Luitzen Santman (red tie) and other guests join Kasugho village celebration at GRACE. The arrival of six orphan gorillas at the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) center after their long journey from a temporary facility in Kinigi, Rwanda on July 23-4 caused great celebration among the people of the village of Kasugho, the neighboring population center. Families from Kasugho were among those who created the community-based Tayna Gorilla Reserveand the community college, the Tayna Center for Conservation Biology (TCCB), that donated the land for GRACE. Kasugho has been designated a Model Conservation Village by the Dian Fossey Gorilla... read more

The Fossey Fund field staffs are very happy that both of the dispersed females and their infants rejoinedKuryama’s gorilla group this morning. The group spent the night outside of the park once again, but were herded back in promptly after the trackers arrived in the field. Umutekano and her infant, Dukore, rejoined the group at 10:30 a.m. Although dominant silverback Kirahure initially reacted with aggression toward the dispersed female, the behaviour was brief and her infant soon joined the other youngsters in the group for a play session. By the time Umutekano and Dukore rejoined their group, trackers were already on the trail of the additional dispersed female and her infant. The pair was located 150 meters from the group, with the mother exhibiting stress behavior. The trackers were... read more

World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel industry, is proud to announce a total of 183 new exhibitors at the event for WTM 2011. National tourist boards, destination management companies, technology companies, ground handlers, lodge owners and tour operators are all hosting their own stands for the first time from November 7-10 at ExCeL – London. The growth has been largely driven by the technology and online travel region which will host 71 exhibitors with their own stands for the first time. The increase is symptomatic of the growth of the importance of technology in the industry. Companies making their debuts cover virtually every aspect of the online travel world and include 3D interactive travel-guide platform 3rd Planet, digital agency Fortune Cookie, hotel room recommendation site Room 77, online marketing specialists... read more

Uganda Wildlife Authority has announced promotional sale of gorilla permits covering October and November. The promotional price is $ 350 for Foreign Non residents, $250 for foreign residents and sh.100,000 for East Africans. The promotional price is applicable to unsold permits that are offered to be sold at this discounted rate but not all available permits in the month. The permits apply to 4 Gorilla Groups of Kahungye, Oruzogo, Mishaya and Mubare The permits may not be extended and cancelled, outside the guideless given above. UWA plans to implement the promotional sales jointly with priv... read more

FAMILY STATISTICS Family Size: 12 Silverback: Ndahura, Rukumu, Karamuzi, RukaraBlackback: Mugisha, ObiaAdult Female: Ruhara, Kamunga, BetinaJuvenile: Twakire... read more

The Uganda Wildlife Authorityhas confirmed the coming on line of two newly habituated gorilla groups for tourism activities this November in Bwindi National Park. Both new gorilla families, named Oruzogo and Kahungye will be located in the Southern part of the park, bringing the total number of daily permits available in Uganda to 64, as the 8 groups available for tourism purposes can cater for a maximum of 8 tourists each per day. This will take Uganda amongst the three East African gorilla countries of Rwanda, Congo DR and Uganda to the top in terms of daily permits, although it is understood that the presently 7 gorilla families habituated for tourism in Rwanda may also soon see another one o... read more

Qatar Airways, the self proclaimed ‘5 Star Airline’, is set to commence daily flights between Doha and Entebbe from early November this year. A regular source within the Civil Aviation Authority establishment in Entebbe has confirmed that much, but no light could be shed on the type of aircraft the airline intends to use, although there is speculation it would be a single aisle Airbus for the time being. Flights to Entebbe will close the gap for Qatar Airways in East Africa, as they already fly to Nairobi and to Dar es Salaam, and both destinations recently saw a major boost in the number of flights, serving notice to travelers and other airlines that Qatar Airways sees a strong traffic potential in the region which it aims to tap into and connect via their hub in ... read more