The shortest war in history.

On August 27, 1896, the Anglo-Zanzibar War started ... and ended. Considered history's shortest war, it lasted less than 40 minutes.

The run-up to the war had started two days earlier, when Zanzibar's leader - Sultan Hamad - died suddenly, prompting speculation that he had been poisoned by his nephew. That speculation heightened when his nephew, 29-year-old Khalid bin Bargash, quickly moved to seize the throne. Great Britain objected, citing a treaty between the two countries requiring British approval of a new ruler in Zanzibar.

The two sides flexed their muscles a bit and prepared to throw down. England parked three ships just off the shore of the Indian Ocean and sent a warning to Khalid. He sent a reply: "We don't believe you would open fire on us." England assured him that he was wrong.

Shelling of the palace began at 9 a.m., and Khalid bolted from the scene approximately five seconds later. The shelling continued for 38 minutes until the palace and all connecting structures were destroyed and in flames. For good measure, England destroyed Zanzibar's Navy, which consisted of one obsolete ship. The ship sank in such shallow water that its masts protruded above the surface for 16 years before someone finally got around to scrapping the ship.

An estimated 500 Zanzibaris were killed or wounded - mostly palace servants - while Britain's casualties consisted of one petty officer who was injured but recovered.


Please follow the links for more info on Zanzibar Holidays and Safari Holidays or call: 01227 753180

1Time withdraws Kenya route

Low cost airline 1 Time has decided to withdraw its flights to Mombasa as from September 17th which only started in March 2012.. CEO Blacky Komani stated that "1 Time wishes to strengthen profitable routes and to terminate non-profitmaking destinations,”

Please follow the links for more info on Zanzibar and Safari Holidays or call: 01227 753180

Client Feedback: Tanzania Safari and Zanzibar

 Hi Bruce

As I said on the phone, we all had an excellent time, and a significant element of that was the structure of the itinerary you put together, including your responsiveness to specific requests etc.  It all meant we managed to fit in what felt like a huge amount and yet, remarkably, not feel rushed/hassled.  Thank you again for your help and advice.

Re the specific feedback I was giving you (in the context of overall it being an excellent trip):

The 2 drivers we had were good, and knew a lot about the wildlife and other aspects of the trip.  They both made a meaningful positive impact on the tips success. (Peter, in Manyara, and Halifa in Serengeti) -- that said in the first vehicle we had (only for 2 days) I had a broken seat. Fortunately this was not the vehicle we spent most of our time in, which was a custom made one with many clever features (turned out to have be customised by our driver and his brother who had a business doing this). 

The lodge at Manyara is lovely, and we enjoyed the stay, but it fell a bit short in terms of the food quality, both the evening meal, but particularly the packed lunches on our day trips. That said the staff were excellent and very keen, but they felt somewhat disorganised (even allowing for "africa"!). My sense was it just needs a bit of a tweak to lift itself dramatically.

The Nomad Camp was of course the highlight of the whole trip, and one my children are desperate to do again.  Of course being close to the migrating game was important, but I think the sense of stepping back in time to the days of the Empire, combined with the communal dining was what particularly appealed. It was amazing given how transient all the guest at the camp were, but this was where we engaged and has the most fun with people.    Other highlights of course were the breakfast out on the plains, as well as getting right up close to the migration.

Sayari Camp was a good tonic however after living in the tents -- not least thanks to the pool.  Also what really struck me about this place is the location -- whether it be on the banks of the River Mara, or on the open plans on the north side of the river approaching kenya.  Saw a lot a of game here, but most time spent tracking cheetah and rhino.  The new managers had arrived just a day before us, but what they lacked in knowledge (nothing that the housekeeper did not know) they more than made up for in enthusiasm and friendliness.

The Mashariki Palace was a totally different prospect -- in that it was in the middle of a bustling town  -- which was a culture shock after the Serengeti. I spent some time chatting to the manger who is originally from a town near my place in Switzerland. It is apparent that whilst the emphasis of the hotel is to provide a haven from the bustle outside (which it does well), it has not yet nailed the food side of the equation -- bland at best. Of course this is a statement I would make of many of the hotels/restaurants in stone town, and interestingly we went to 236 Hurumzi to dine on the rooftop restaurant (which you will remember I considered staying at). Contrary to the concerns we discussed when setting up the trip (and we got more warnings when we were in Stone Town, but went anyway given I had been there 16 years before), we had an excellent evening with pretty good food. So I would recommend it -- although mostly for the "highest dining point in stone town" aspect -- but definately the Swahili side sitting on cushions etc -- not the modern side.   (BTW the original place I stayed 16 years ago, Emersons , is now called Emersons Spice and reopened earlier this year.  Had a look around, but do not know if any good).

Finally Essque Zalu -- this was an excellent ending to the holiday, enabling us to recharge  / relax etc in the second half of our holiday. The hotel definitely has the "wow" factor when you walk in through towards the pool.  We took full use of this pool as well as the spa facilities -- good massages -- although I wonder how crowed it would feel when it is full. Of course the centre piece, both visually and as a place to eat, is the pier out into the water. We found the quality of the dining here to be the best we had on the whole trip, and added to the very chilled out bar, was a place we enjoyed immensely. In fact the main restaurant could take a leaf out of this Jetty space for both food and ambience (not that it was poor, but just not as good...).  Overall, given what else surrounds this "oasis", EZ is a standout property which I would recommend. 

As I said on the phone, I have passed on your details to a couple of fiends who may be in touch at some point  - having listened to me waxing lyrical!. Otherwise, thanks again for looking after us, and we will be in touch should we start to think about travelling again.

best regards

Paul

For more information on travel to Zanzibar, Safaris or Zanzibar Holidays please follow the links or call: 01227 753180

Client Feedback

Hi Bruce,

Yes we have encountered Zanzibar! We had a good time, it was great to be back in Africa again.


The Beyt Al Chai was comfortable and staff friendly.  The restaurant was excellent and would recommend eating and staying there. Stonetown was easy to wander around. We did a 3 hour photo walk with a professional photographer and his wife who is local so we were able to wander in areas we probably wouldn’t do on our own and Zakkia took us inside some of the courtyards  and we were able to take photos of local children.  We did get caught up on the outskirts of a demonstration with tear gas and had to take refuge in a police station for a while, but it was all good fun!

Unguja lodge was very pleasant. The accommodation is very special.  The food is ok, I wouldn’t say it’s brilliant but the staff are lovely, nothing is too much trouble.  We were surrounded by Dutch but they were friendly enough, better than lots of Americans!

The flight connections were tight and if we were booking again we would give ourselves more time.  We didn’t realize that we had to get a taxi to the domestic airport in Dar which stressed us a bit as we were running out of time!  Plus coming back Zanair put us with another airline, Coastal air, which was flying later  and was delayed. Fortunately our Emirates flight was an hour late.  However as we used to say ,TIA,  this is Africa and no-one seemed bothered by our problem!

So all in all a great trip, lovely temperature (it’s 45C here in Dubai!) lovely people and beautiful beaches and sea!

Regards
Nadia

For more information on travel to Zanzibar please follow the links or call: 01227 753180

Prince William rails against rhino poaching as 3 rhinos moved from Kent to Tanzania

The Aspinall Foundation, headed by passionate conservationist and wild animal park owner, Damian Aspinall, has successfully translocated three critically endangered black rhino from Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent to The Tusk Trust's Mkomazi reserve in Tanzania.


Fewer than 800 Eastern black rhinos
The move, which will hopefully boost populations of black rhino in the wild, is a bold decision given the stark and current threat of poaching. With a wild population thought to number fewer than 800 individuals, Eastern black rhino are the rarest of the three remaining rhino subspecies in Africa. The Aspinall Foundation has successfully carried out similar reintroductions and is confident that the heavily guarded reserve will be the perfect place for the three rhino to give the indigenous population of black rhino a much needed boost.

Damian Aspinall said: ‘This represents a massive step in the unique ambitions of our Foundation. We have always been passionately committed to restocking natural habitats with species which have become critically endangered.'


Prince William
The three rhinos - two females named Grumeti and Zawadi and one male named Monduli attracted royal attention when Prince William, the Royal Patron of Tusk Trust, paid a private visit to them and their keepers at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park recently. The prince came face to face with Zawadi and even took part in hand feeding her.

Talking to Kate Silverton, the Duke expressed his deep concern for the escalation in poaching of both rhino and elephant across the African continent fuelled by the increased demand for rhino horn and ivory from the Far East.


Trained to cope with African conditions
Grumeti and Monduli, were born at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, whilst Zawadi joined the park from Berlin Zoo. The group, now enjoying the African climate, were subject to weeks of patient training by keepers who have been painstakingly preparing the intrepid three for their African adventure. As part of this preparation the rhino's diets were gradually changed and the rhino also spent time on the African Experience, a 140 acre site at the wild animal park, where they mixed with other African wildlife such as zebra, giraffe and wildebeest.

Adrian Harland, Animal Director said: ‘Our dedicated keepers have been working closely with Monduli, Grumeti and Zawadi over the last few months, preparing them for life in Tanzania. Their diet has been altered to include even more fresh browse and leaves, as this is what they will be primarily eating in the wild and the keepers have been with them every day using a lot of contact techniques in order to reassure them during the flight and at their new home. I'm delighted that the move went so smoothly and I have to thank everyone involved for making this operation successful.'


Special flight
The three rhino flew from Manston airport to a refuelling stop in Bergamo, Italy and then on to Kilimanjaro National Airport in Tanzania. DHL, the world's leading logistics provider, laid on a specially customised Boeing 757 aircraft specifically modified to provide safe and supervised transportation, during which, the rhinos were provided with in - flight meals of carrots, celery, lucerne (hay), apples, spinach and bananas.

The enormous undertaking, in partnership with Tusk Trust, DHL and Virgin Unite, has put The Aspinall Foundation at the forefront of conservation and established the charity as a cutting edge organisation confident to undertake ambitious and bold plans to maintain their efforts to protect species under real threat from extinction.

Charlie Mayhew, CEO of Tusk Trust commented: ‘The success of this delicate operation is as a result of months of careful collaborative work between The Aspinall Foundation and Tusk Trust. We are particularly grateful to DHL one of Tusk's corporate partners, for their immense generosity in providing the aircraft for this historic move.'

Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Unite, the not for profit foundation of the Virgin Group, also supported the translocation of the rhinos by providing a generous donation to cover the costs of creating special comfortable crates for the rhinos to travel.

The move is just one of the pioneering conservation charity's goals this year, with other captive born animals expected to be released to the wild during the course of the next few months and into 2013.


For more info on Safaris and Zanzibar please follow the links or call: 0044 1227 753181

Conservation myth - Walking with lions is good for lion conservation.

A new report, published in the international conservation journal Oryx, concludes that commercial 'wildlife encounter' operations across Africa promoting the reintroduction of captive lions do little to further the conservation of African lions in the wild.

Conservation myth
The report, 'Walking with lions: Why there is no role for captive-origin lions (Panthera leo) in species restoration,' was authored by a blue-ribbon panel of lion conservationists and wild cat biologists from Panthera, the IUCN Cat Specialist Group and a team of university-based lion researchers. Demonstrating that no lions have been successfully released as a result of this process, the report determines that commercial captive lion reintroduction programs operate largely under a 'conservation myth.'

The last two decades has seen a rapid growth of such operations especially across Southern Africa. Advertised as 'wildlife encounters,' the programs typically charge tourists and paying volunteers to pet, feed and walk with hand-raised and so-called tame lions. To the paying public, the stated objective is the eventual release to the wild of lions.

‘Captive-bred lions are simply unnecessary for reintroduction projects'
The Oryx paper assesses the potential of these programs to assist wild lion conservation by evaluating the role and suitability of captive lions for release. The report concludes that captive-bred lions are simply unnecessary for reintroduction projects. For more than two decades, wild lions have been translocated and rigorously monitored in over 40 parks across southern Africa with high success rates. Over 500 wild lions have been re-established by this process. More importantly, the evaluation shows that captive-bred lions and their offspring are poorly suited for survival and release compared to their wild-born counterparts.

'Lion encounter programs do little to help conserve wild lions'
The report's senior author and Panthera's President, Dr. Luke Hunter, explained, "The simple fact is, 'lion encounter' type programs do little to help conserve wild lions. We show that any sincere effort to re-establish lions simply has no reason to resort to captive animals; wild lions are already much better equipped to be wild. Releasing captive animals unnecessarily increases the costs, risks of failure and the danger - to both lions and humans."

The report also claims that captive-lion enterprises divert critical resources and attention from projects making a real impact on declining wild lion populations. Dr Paula White, an author of the paper and Director of the Zambia Lion Project at the University of California notes, "These operations charge the public to spend time with tame lions claiming that it contributes meaningfully to lion conservation.

Breeding lions behind fences doesn't help conservation
Imagine if that funding, and the sincere interest of the people paying it, was devoted to addressing the real reasons that wild lions are declining and threatened. Spending money to breed lions behind fences is not helping."

85% of lions have disappeared
While perhaps more than 200,000 wild lions lived in Africa over a century ago, their numbers are now thought to be fewer than 30,000. Listed as ‘Vulnerable' by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and extirpated from over 80% of its natural range, the lion is now on track to share the fate of its distant cousin, the Endangered tiger.

Dr. Matthew Becker, CEO of the Zambian Carnivore Programme (and not an author on the report) notes "Certainly interacting with tame lions is a unique experience, but it's not conservation. We have such 'Walking with Lions' programs in Zambia and they require a continual stream of young imported lions, which live out their days in captivity because they are not suitable for release. Zambia doesn't need captive-bred lions versus increased protection of its wild populations and ecosystems. Help lions by supporting the classic walking safaris that occur in our magnificent protected areas - that's the real walking with lions."

Along with Panthera's team of lion experts and Paula White, the Oryx publication was co-authored by Cole Burton (University of Alberta), Andrew Loveridge (Oxford University), and Panthera's Cat Advisory Council Member's Laurence Frank, and Christine and Urs Breitenmoser, who additionally chair the International Union for the Conservation of Nature/Species Survival Commission's Cat Specialist Group.

For more information on Safari Holidays and how you can help please follow the links or call: 01227 753181

A Palm Tree Story from North Island

The Seychelles has six palm species that occur nowhere else in the world and are therefore considered as endemic to the archipelago/islands. North Island is lucky enough to have five of the six. Some species were probably present before humans occupied the island and have been reintroduced during our island rehabilitation to replace alien invasive species as these were removed, whilst others, such as the coco de mer, were introduced to help preserve the species.   

 

Palms mature slowly, and the task we embarked on to re-establish them as components of our native forests is therefore a slow process, requiring patience. Hence our happiness after noticing that one of the deckenia palms, planted at the turning circle where the road branches off respectively to Honeymoon Beach and Sunset Bar, produced flowers for a second time. 

 

This palm species, also known in the local Creole language as "Palmis", became rare because it was used to make the so-called "millionaire's salad", which involves removing the edible terminal bud - thereby killing the tree. 

On North Island, the divine palm salad served to our guests originates from the exotic commercial coconut palm instead, since "Palmis" is now a protected tree in the Seychelles. 

 

When driving through the forest on your way to our Sunset Bar or Honeymoon Beach, you can distinguish the endemic palms by the spines on their stems, apparently developed as defence against the appetite of the giant tortoise in the area! Deckenia palms are the ones with the yellow spines and long leaves with many leaflets, rather like a coconut tree. 

 

Ask your host or villa attendant to organise a forest walk with our knowledgeable guides, so we can show you our planted coco-de-mers and the rest of our palm family.

 

 

 

Please use the links provided fro info on Safari Holidays, Zanzibar Holidays and Zanzibar Honeymoons or call: 01227 753180

 

 

 

Client Feedback

Hi Bruce,

Yes we have encountered Zanzibar! We had a good time, it was great to be back in Africa again.


The Beyt Al Chai was comfortable and staff friendly.  The restaurant was excellent and would recommend eating and staying there. Stonetown was easy to wander around. We did a 3 hour photo walk with a professional photographer and his wife who is local so we were able to wander in areas we probably wouldn’t do on our own and Zakkia took us inside some of the courtyards  and we were able to take photos of local children.  We did get caught up on the outskirts of a demonstration with tear gas and had to take refuge in a police station for a while, but it was all good fun!

Unguja Lodge was very pleasant. The accommodation is very special.  The food is ok, I wouldn’t say it’s brilliant but the staff are lovely, nothing is too much trouble.  We were surrounded by Dutch but they were friendly enough, better than lots of Americans!

The flight connections were tight and if we were booking again we would give ourselves more time.  We didn’t realize that we had to get a taxi to the domestic airport in Dar which stressed us a bit as we were running out of time!  Plus coming back Zanair put us with another airline, Coastal air, which was flying later  and was delayed. Fortunately our Emirates flight was an hour late.  However as we used to say ,TIA,  this is Africa and no-one seemed bothered by our problem!

So all in all a great trip, lovely temperature (it’s 45C here in Dubai!) lovely people and beautiful beaches and sea!

Regards
Nadia


For more information or to book any Safari, Zanzibar Holiday or Zanzibar Honeymoon please use the links provide or call: 0044 (0)1227 753180