Travel News, African Safari Updates

Last week was the bad day for the Marabou storks that had hatched their young ones on trees along Jinja road. The City council had been directed to cut trees along the electricity lines, which were home to several Marabou storks. The older Marabou storks including the parents of the young ones patched in the nearby trees while the chicks were helplessly lying under sunshine with no sign for survival. Kampala City Council (KCC) senior Electricity Engineer said, they never intended to hurt the birds but they were told to clear trees near the electric line for safety.  Kampala is one of the areas contributing to almost a half of birding safaris in Uganda. Other places where birding can be carried out include Mabira forest, Ssesse Island, Kibale Forest National park and other National Parks, which are habitats for birds.

Airlines rush in for registration in a bid to cash in on the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings. Eight local and international firms dashed to register with Civil Aviation Authority. Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development owns one of the new firms on rush.The head of the Aga Khan Tourism services,  said, the airline was expected to start operation in the second quarter of the year.  Prof. Wolfgang further added that, there are in the process of establishing the airline, they have not yet decided what name to use for the airline, the company has applied for a license under the name of Meridiana Africa Airline. Aga khan also runs one of the most luxurious hotels in Uganda, Serena hotel and they have also located some of the national parks in the country for tourism facilities development.

In 1964 after independence, Uganda was a popular tourist destination in East Africa. However, it later demoralized during Amins regime. Restoring Uganda to its former glory was made possible with improved structure, security and aggressive marketing. In 1960s, the main attractions were game viewing, mountaineering and sport fishing. Uganda to today is the place to be, nature walks, quad bike riding, white water rafting, all game parks activities and religious tourism is one of the attractions in the country. Namugongo Martyrs shrine is a beehive activity every early June for religious tourism. Places like Ngamba island in Lake Victoria, Uganda’s current sanctuary for chimpanzees are one of the places for a must visit. Bwindi impenetrable forest, a world heritage site, is a magnificent green wrap of forest commonly known for mountain gorillas. Rwenzori and Mt. Elgon for mountaineering, do you need to view the big five come to Uganda in places like Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison fall, Kidepo Valley etc. what about Kibale forest for a lot more of chimpanzees. Uganda to day is one of the places for tourism in the world.

Uganda and Kenya are in the process of disarming karamoja and Turkana pastoralists respectively. Karimojong comprised of several ethnic groups including the Pokot, Kadam, Pian, Tepeth, Matheniko and Bokora. Others are the Jie, Labwor, Nyakwi, Dodoth and Teuso. Different communities among the Turkana have relations with some of the karimojong ethnic groups. The karimojong and Turkana still owns guns for their survival escalating cattle rustling in the region.  Though the disarmament process is on, Karimojong and Turkana who thought it wise to hand over the guns willing to the government, only take back ‘rotten’ guns that are of no use to them and determined to keep their dignity. To them international boundaries are irrelevant so are the laws.

One may ask him or herself how the Karimojong  acquired guns? In the olden days rudimentary spears and arrows were used and these were later replaced with home made guns. Civil wars in Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and Uganda these ethnic groups managed to get guns. Up to now guns are still sold in some parts of Sudan that any body else can acquire. During Idi Amin’s fall in 1979, karimojong also looted guns in the Uganda army’s armory in Moroto.

Karamoja is one of the areas where one of the ten national parks in Uganda is found. This is Kidepo Valley National Park, which is one of Uganda’s most spectacular parks.  Kidepo Valley National Park has a wide variety of animal species including Elephant, Burchell’s zebra, Bush big, Rothschild giraffe, Cape buffalo, Warthog, Eland, Duiker Defassa waterbuck, Bohor reedbuck, Jackson’s hartebeest and Oribi. Carnivores include lion, leopard, several small cats, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal and side-striped jackal in the extremely diverse flora. Kidepo Valley National Park is an out standing habitat for over 465 species of birds where ostrich and kori bustard are only found in Uganda. Karimojong culture is also one of the potential unique cultures to be packaged for visitors in the region. The visitors who tour Kidepo Valley National Park remain with a memorable experience of the Uganda’s most diverse park.

It’s a year now since news broke that Uganda, together with a group of investors to refurbish a Uganda flag. Victoria International Airlines, (VIA), which is Uganda’s new national flag carrier is likely to tousle feathers in the market. The company is a joint venture between Uganda and a group of investors from South Africa and Switzerland. The Airline started operating in November 2006 and fly to Nairobi, Johannesburg and Juba. Victoria, which has VB as its airline identification code initially operate two Boeing 737-200s, leased from South African aircraft leasing firm Avstar. The two aircraft have a sitting capacity of 108 with 14 business class seats. VB fly to Johannesburg three times a week and four times to Juba capital of southern Sudan. The Ugandan government owns 20% stake of Victoria with the rest of the stake held by South Africa and Swiss investors. Uganda has not had a national airline since the liquidation of Uganda Airlines in early 2001 and now the dream come true. Visitors from such destinations can now travel directly to Uganda and experience the Pearl of Africa with its safari circuit.

The domestic airline operator has said the industry is ready to provide daylong tourist charters to numerous national parks of Uganda during and after Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The executive officer Eagle airline, added that  CHOGM would provide an opportunity for the local airline industry to fully maximize her resources. Domestic airlines offer will make it possible for the delegates to get pleasure from the summit as well as experience Uganda’s tourism.
Domestic Airline is currently working with the government agency responsible for tourism promotion and other stakeholders to develop an inclusive tourist circuit to cater for those delegates who may wish to visit the national parks of Uganda. Apart from tourist’s circuit across Uganda, Eagle airline has plans of widening the domestic schedule network to cover more areas than currently. The airline is planning regional network with scheduled flights covering Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Congo and Southern Sudan said the executive officer. This will be of great achievement to domestic tourists who would love to visit the gorilla region of Rwanda, Congo, and Uganda and will as well help promote domestic tourism among these countries.