World Tourism Blog

The Kiwengwa caves in the Kiwengwa-Pongwe Forest Reserve are part of ancient history of the Zanzibar Island. The locals have visited the caves to worship their ancestors, bringing gifts to the holy stones in the caves. In the old days, the villagers kept leopards in the caves as a status symbol of the owner. Forest guard found these longest caves of Zanzibar in 2002, and there is now an initiative to make this natural wonder available for tourists to visit and enjoy. In 2005, the Department of Commercial Crops, Fruits and Forestry of Zanzibar, in cooperation with the Turku Geographical Society of Finland and the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), started the Kiwengwa Ecotourism Project to develop these unique caves as an ecotourism destination.

The Cave System and Rich Biodiversity

The cave system is divided into three parts. Only the North cave and South cave are accessible for tourists. These are 230 and 205 meters long respectively. The East cave is 50 meters long, is darker, has a lot of bats, and can only be entered by crawling. The stalactite caverns have formed from water dissolving calcium carbonate from coral stone. There are many insects and also five species of bats, of which two are considered to be rare in the caves. The naturally formed holes in the ceiling of the caves let sunlight in, creating an exciting atmosphere. Another curious feature is the roots that have forced their way through the ground and look like electric wires connecting the ceiling and the bottom of the caves.

The caves are surrounded by three natural trails; a short 0.2 km, a medium 0.4 km and a long 2 km trail. The Kiwengwa-Pongwe Forest Reserve is the only large remaining high coral rag forest area in the Northern Zanzibar. There are endemic species, for example Red colubus monkey, duikers (big antelopes) and mini antelopes, which you might see when walking the trails. There are also 47 bird species such as Fisher’s Turaco and a lot of butterflies in the forests.

Most of the trees and other plants along the trail have interesting traditional medicinal purposes, and you can ask your guide about the usage of these plants. There are some endemic and rare species of trees such as Uvarioendron kirkii and Pittosporum viridiflorum and tree climbers such as Vernonia Zanzibariensis and Monodora grandidieri. They are used commonly as local medicine, which is part of the reason why they have become rare.

Developing Ecotourism and Livelihoods of the Communities

The Forest Conservation by Livelihood Development Project (LIVE Project) aims to conserve the forest areas and biodiversity in Zanzibar by supporting alternative livelihoods for the local communities. LIVE Project supports 40 groups in 11 villages around the Kiwengwa-Pongwe Forest Reserve, including Kiwengwa. There are also ten Village Conservation Committees involved in the project, working to develop sustainable use of forest resources. By visiting the caves, visitors will also be able to support the project, as well as experiencing one of the most spectacular natural wonders of the island.

Kiwengwa-Pongwe Forest Reserve is located in the Northeastern region of Unguja Island, and you can get there by taking a dala-dala from Kiwengwa to Mchekeni. The distance from the Stone Town is approximately 35 kilometres. The last journey of the road (about 500 meters) is in a bad condition, but the LIVE Project is seeking funding for fixing the road.

This is a site not yet known to tourists. A reception center has been built, with a café and a souvenir shop, although the center does not have the capacity to provide services for visitors yet. For now there is no entrance fee, while later when the services are more developed, visitors will be required to pay US$5-10 to enter the site. LIVE Project welcomes visitors interested in being among the first to experience this unique attraction.

By Elina Nieminen

Zanzibar LIVE Project

Johannesburg lies in the heart of South Africa. Tourists have been flocking this fascinating country and it has a multidimensional quality that attracts tourists from all over the world. The older surroundings have been well maintained in conglomeration with the rising needs of modern living. People coexist with history in this city and one has to visit to know what it is. This is more evident in cities like Gauteng.

Nevertheless Johannesburg is a very modern city and since it is the financial capital it holds many attractions and shopping centers in it.

Things to do in Johannesburg

The Saturday flea market is really the most ideal shopping place and if you are looking for that special memento to carry back then this is the place you would find it at a steal deal.

Museum Africa unlike any other museum reveals the utmost African struggle in a critical way and also takes you through the troubled times of the nation. History buffs can spend one whole day in this museum to learn its vast findings.

People with kids should head to the Gold reef City theme park which has the state of the art rides and water theme parks.

What to expect when you visit Johannesburg

Most people come with the mind set that Africa is poverty stricken however you would be sadly mistaken when you visit some wealthy Northern Suburbs of the city. Places like Sandton, Bryanston, Fourways have some of the best restaurants, pubs, discotheques and bars. The slick environment can have you partying sooner than you think. However as a tourist the best way to explore the city is by taking a tour. There is everything here from fossil tours to theme parks and gold digging or shopping. In a nutshell you don’t have to go elsewhere for fun and entertainment when in Johannesburg.

By Besttouristdestinations

Johannesburg

Cape Town Has Much to Offer, Even If You Are Not a Soccer Fan

CAPE TOWN - Overshadowed by Table Mountain and teeming with soccer fans here to watch the World Cup, Cape Town is a vibrant city at the tip of Africa where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet.

Reuters correspondents with local knowledge help visitors to get the most out of a 48-hour visit to a city in the feverish grip of Africa’s first World Cup.

FRIDAY

6 p.m. - Kick off your stay with sundowners or hot chocolate at Wakame Asian sushi restaurant in Beach Road , Mouille Point, enjoying an uninterrupted vista of the ocean as the waves break meters away. Even in winter, the sun pokes out its brilliant head periodically and this is an ideal spot to relax as the fading light becomes one with the ocean darkness. Call them on +27 21 433 2377. If raw fish isn’t quite your fancy, then try the sophisticated Aubergine restaurant where diners enjoy their meals as a fireplace provides warmth and ambience during the cold winter nights. Situated in the former 19th century home of the Cape’s first chief justice, the restaurant offers innovative twists to culinary classics, with wild boar and geranium scented sauce among the favorites. The restaurant is found at 39 Barnet Street, Gardens or could be contacted on +27 21 465 4909.

7:30 p.m. - It’s soccer World Cup time and the inner-city undergoes a regular metamorphosis as streets are blocked or opened to assist thousands of fans attending matches at Green Point Stadium. The stadium, within walking distance of the city’s central business district, is adjacent to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, a mega-mall that offers something for everyone. Having whet your appetite earlier, why not grab a succulent Ostrich (the world’s largest flightless bird) fillet with red wine sauce at Belthazar Restaurant (Shop 153, +27 21 421 3753) or for those with a wilder palate, a game kebab typically featuring meat cuts from Kudu, Springbok, Gemsbok and Impala buck. Also situated at the V&A is Nelson Mandela Gateway (+27 21 413 4217), where you can buy tickets (200 rand p/p return) to visit Robben Island Museum and see the cell which held South Africa’s first black state leader for 26 years. There are usually four tours a day during winter ending 3 p.m. daily, (including Sundays and holidays). To cater for increased demand during the World Cup tournament, there are an extra two boat trips at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The island is a World Heritage site and a former leper colony. All trips are weather dependent.

By Wendell Roelf

The new 70,000 seat capacity Green Point Stadium (bottom L) for the FIFA Soccer World Cup in Cape Town, on April 25, 2010. Overshadowed by Table Mountain and teeming with soccer fans here to watch the World Cup, Cape Town is a vibrant city at the tip of Africa where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet.

The tables on the Seabourn Sojourn were set. Silverware, from Sambonet, and wine glasses, from Schottzwiesel, were meticulously arranged, and napkins crisply folded. The empty dining room awaited the passengers for the luxury cruise liner’s maiden voyage, set for June 6, from London to the Norwegian fjords.

The Seabourn Sojourn aims to provide a lavish yet personalized experience for the upscale cruiser.

Karlo Buer, the captain of the Seabourn Sojourn, which is the second of three nearly identical vessels released by Carnival Corp.’s Yachts of Seabourn line over the course of three years, said the Seabourn Sojourn distinguishes itself not only by its amenities and sophisticated cuisine but by its extra space and singular attention to details.

The 650-foot ship carries no more than 450 passengers, even though it could carry many more.

“On a ship this size, we could hold up to 1,000 or even 1,200 [passengers], but since we’re in the luxury market, we cannot do that,” Buer said. “This is not about quantity. This is about quality.”

Andrew Magowan, the vice president of Seabourn Cruise Line for Europe , the Middle East and Africa, said the Seabourn Sojourn has one of the highest space-per-guests ratios in the industry.

The Seabourn’s emphasis on space extends from the sparingly furnished main decks to the passenger cabins. Ninety percent of the yacht’s 225 suites include private verandas. Suites range from 295 to 1,182 square feet, and all have ocean views.

By CATHERINE CLOUTIER

The Seabourn Sojourn seeks to provide a luxurious yet personalized and intimate experience for the upscale cruiser.

As the safari industry follows the global trend to go green, one company has been leading the charge toward sustainable tourism in Africa for over 40 years. Hopefully, other outfitters will follow in their footprints.

Peering out of the Jeep window at the savannah flats extending south to the Serengeti in the Great Rift Valley, we spotted the curved horns of water buffalo, baboons, impalas, a mother and baby giraffe, a field of zebras, four lions sleeping peacefully under an acacia tree, and a big and brawny 35- to 40-year old elephant with long tusks. Unlike the Serengeti, the Masai Mara, a park reserve in southwestern Kenya named for the Maasai people who traditionally inhabited the area, offers a place where you can drive off-road to get a close-up glimpse of a lion on her back, rubbing her belly with one powerful paw.

“It’s the Discovery Channel without the remote control,” says John Neva, a safari guide who’s been leading guests into the African bush for the past 15 years. He’s refering to the intimate experience available at Masai Mara, where you can view a wild animal in person from the same distance that you would view one on the TV from your couch.

Mara is Swahili for dotted hillside, and if you glance around the Mara triangle inside this refuge, you can’t help but be enamored by the wealth of wildlife peppering the valley, especially during early summer and fall, when vast hordes of wildebeests make their way to and from the Masai Mara and the Serengeti. Yet only two decades ago this same wilderness area was rife with poachers hunting rhino, Maasai warriors spearing male lions as a ritual gateway to manhood, villagers killing ostriches and impala for their meat, and mass tourism allowing 20 to 30 safari trucks to corral a lone leopard.

It was during this time, when hunting and poaching were climbing at an alarming rate and park rangers were shot and killed on a regular basis, that Jorie Butler Kent, co-owner and President of sustainable travel company Abercrombie & Kent, discovered a dead black rhino less than a mile from her camp. The tusks had been removed, likely ground into a powder that makes the cocaine trade look like chump change—to this day, one rhino horn, used as an aphrodisiac in China, Taiwan, and Thailand, can fetch upwards of $100,000 U.S. on the black market.

Soon, Butler Kent formed a rhino conservation program, which morphed into the Friends of Conservation (FOC) in 1982, long before “green” was a travel trend. Geoffery Kent, her husband at the time and business partner to this day, had implemented the John Muir principal to leave only footprints at Abercrombie & Kent back when he took over his father’s company in the mid-1960s. He also masterminded the high-end tented safari concept so that guests could get up-close and personal with the wildlife. More than 40 years later, Kent remains committed to eco-friendly practices, making such efforts as using solar lighting in tents, providing locally harvested produce during meals, and encouraging guests to get on horseback and leave the safari trucks behind.

Butler Kent’s work with the FOC has become the blueprint for ecotourism in Kenya and East Africa. In 1999, Abercrombie & Kent unveiled Olonana, a permanent tented camp on the banks of the Mara River—the sinuous waterway that snakes through Masai Mara all the way to Lake Victoria, the world’s largest lake. The walls may consist of canvas, but the 14 tents on the property are decidedly upscale in flavor, with queen-sized beds, mosquito netting, indoor and outdoor showers, and flush toilets. The veranda overlooking the rushing river is a real highlight. Upon request, the front desk will wake you up with hot Kenyan coffee and muffins at sunrise; head to the veranda with your cup-o-joe and you might glimpse a mother hippo teaching her young child to swim upstream.

Solar-powered lighting and a small vegetable garden used by the African-themed restaurant add to the environmentally conscious allure, as does a wetlands project behind the tents that filters the toxins from waste water, and returns it to the Masa River cleaner than the actual water found there. A series of three ponds slowly purify the wastewater using vegetation like lily pads that naturally absorb nutrients. Each guest can also plant a tree on the property—not to be used as firewood, but for much needed shade.

By Stephen Jermanok

MASAI BY TWILIGHT: A view of the Masai Mara as darkness envelopes the savannah (Stephen Jermanok)

JUST an hour and half away from Kingston by plane is one of Miami’s premier tourist attractions — Jungle Island, home to some of the world’s most rare and incredible animals.

The theme park offers visitors a fun, educational opportunity to get an up-close look at these animals in replicas of their natural habitats.

Located on Watson Island, just minutes from both the Port of Miami and Miami International Airport, Jungle Island’s offerings include ‘Pinky’, the hire-wire bicycle-riding Cockatoo; ‘Mama Cass’, which is said to be the only tame cassowary on the planet; and Hercules the liger, who was added to the Guiness Book of World Records in 2006 and currently still holds the record for World’s Largest Cat.

Many visitors are fascinated by the liger — a rare hybrid animal fathered by a male lion with a female tiger. The ‘King of the Jungle’, Hercules weighs over 900 pounds and stands nearly 12 feet on its hind legs.

Mama Cass, on the other hand, is a genuine six-foot-tall cassowary from Australia, which has been trained to perform in a live show. The cassowary, native to New Guinea, is one of the most lethal birds on earth; it is said to have killed more humans than crocodiles or alligators. Yet on Jungle Island, visitors can get closer than ever to this stunning and graceful beauty.

The attraction is also home to ‘Peanut’ and ‘Pumpkin’, said to be only the third set of Orangutan twins to be born in captivity. Their loving gestures toward their caretakers remind enchanted park guests of how much communication is possible without language.

Visitors to Jungle Island can stroll along the 1.35 miles of winding, covered trails while enjoying the many special exhibits, attractions and tours that are available. Be prepared to enjoy the Winged Wonders Show in the Parrot Bowl, a covered amphitheatre that seats 1,200. The 20-minute show captivates visitors with singing and talking birds, including the free-flying condor with its 11-foot wingspan, and the trained cassowary.

Journalists from Jamaica and Trinidad — two of American Airlines’ Caribbean destinations — were last week taken on a media familiarisation trip by the airline to experience some of the hotspots in Miami, among them Jungle Island.

Ashley Serrate, public relations manager at Jungle Island, explained to the group that the facility sees about 1,000 visitors each day. However, during the summer, this figure can increase to as much as 7,000.

She noted that the facility, which was established in South Miami in 1936 as Parrot Jungle, was created with the idea of an attraction where birds could fly free. But it has evolved over the years into Jungle Island to better encompass the wide variety of animals, plants and activities available.

Now under current owner Dr Bern Levine, who purchased the facility in 1988 and relocated it to Watson Island, the attraction lives up to its name with unusual flora, from the extraordinary African sausage tree to a collection of rare cycads.

The park is also home to dozens of macaws, cockatoos, parrots and parakeets, and visitors can immerse themselves in a sea of colours and hand-feed these charming birds or take advantage of photo opportunities with the feathered ones.

Other shows include Lifestyles of the Cute and Creepy, which provides fun facts about an array of creatures, such as penguins, reptiles and mammals. Then there is La Playa, a private beach ideal for relaxing in a lounge chair while the children enjoy aquatic bounce houses or splash in the water.

Visitors can also meet some playful red kangaroos and, for an extra charge, get up close with them. Through its VIP Safari 90-minute guided tour, visitors experience one-on-one sessions with Red Kangaroos from Australia; African Penguins from South Africa; Aldabra Tortoises from the Seychelle Islands; Capuchin Monkeys from South America; and parrots from around the world.

With its breathtaking landscapes and vistas, exciting shows and hands-on interactions, a visit to Jungle Island is certain to be an unforgettable experience.

Bomb kills child outside school in Pakistan

It was just like driving to work, except that I kept on going: From New York to Argentina, through 12 countries, for four months and more than 13,000 miles.

It’s the first leg of my overland trip around the world, an expedition that I consider the last true adventure on earth. From Buenos Aires, I will ship my car to Africa, fly across to meet it, and continue the drive, heading north to Europe, east to Asia, and finally, later this year, returning to North America.

My adventure began Nov. 15 when I gave up my apartment, quit my job as art director for The Associated Press, and set off in a ‘96 Toyota Land Cruiser outfitted with a rooftop tent, fridge, stove and portable toilet.

Since then, I’ve driven through jungles, mountains and fog, across dirt roads, desert sand and salt fields. Crooked cops tried to shake me down and bad maps led me to places where the road disappeared.

I saw monkeys in the Costa Rican rainforest, pink flamingos in Bolivia, and herds of llamas in Peru, along with pigs the size of ponies. I camped on beaches in Nicaragua so beautiful and remote that you forget you have to go back to civilization one day. I visited the Mayan ruins of Copan in Honduras, ancient tombs and painted caves in Tierradentro, Colombia, and the Spanish colonial city of Quito, Ecuador.

A story about the trip that appeared in newspapers and Web sites before I left resulted in thousands of comments on chat boards, hundreds of e-mails to me, and scores of invitations. I am grateful for the kindness, generosity and hospitality of so many strangers who provided meals and a place to sleep. Notes I posted on a Land Cruiser message board also brought people out to help. It was nice to see that there is a real community behind all these electronic messages on the Internet.

But a few offers I turned down — one from a cable TV crew that wanted to accompany me and another from a company that wanted to pay me to wear a certain jacket throughout the trip.

Many well-wishers keep track of my trip through my blog, TransWorldExpedition.com, where I post updates and photos from the road. One e-mail I received included a marriage proposal for my traveling companion, Nadia Hubschwerlin. Nadia is a childhood friend; we are not romantically tied. In my blog, I told her suitor: “I will be glad to be the witness at her wedding as long as you are a decent guy.”

It was chilly in New York when we started out, but we drove away from the cold weather, heading south on highways that roughly followed the Appalachian Trail to Georgia. We stopped in New Orleans (I am French and I wish that France had never sold Louisiana), then crossed the border from Texas to Mexico and drove southeast through Central America. We drove through Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica to Panama, where the Pan-American Highway ends at the Darien Gap.

The Darien Gap, a roadless region of swamps and rainforests that stretches 90 miles to the tip of Colombia, makes it impossible to drive the entire distance to South America. So we shipped the car from Panama to Colombia and flew there to pick it up, then drove south, through Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia to Argentina.

We camped on beaches and in parks, and often got permission to sleep on farms, where there was plenty of space and where people are accustomed to seeing seasonal helpers. In Costa Rica, there were so many Americans it was like the 51st state. We were also welcomed into homes in Guatemala, where everyone seemed to have at least one relative working in the U.S.

Sometimes we paid a few dollars for a cheap hotel or camp site, other times people let us stay for free. We would park our car, drag a table out, and begin to cook before nightfall. In the morning, we would fix coffee with the delicious beans collected across the best growing areas of Central America. We bought food in markets, and our gasoline-powered stove was our best friend along the way, especially in the cold, high mountains.

In hot, dusty places, it was hard to go without showers. We bathed every few days, sometimes in a home, hotel or campground, sometimes in a lake or with buckets.

In Cusco, Peru, for $4 a person, we rented a hotel room and looked forward to a shower. Of course in the morning, there was no hot water. That became a classic situation, as hotel owners would always promise it, but you would never get it. Hot water was our Machu Picchu: Always wanted to see it, with no success. (Machu Picchu is closed due to flooding.) Commercial Loan Workout.

Singita Grumeti Reserves: Paul Tudor Jones turned a problematic plot of South African land he’d bought in 2003 into a luxury safari experience in the heart of Africa’s untamed wilderness. Air-conditioned tents with luxury amenities create a luxe camping experience. Guests may dine under the trees while watching the famous wildebeest migration.

Hedge fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones has a penchant for buying plush properties. He owns a mansion in Greenwich, Conn., an apartment in Manhattan, an estate in the Florida Keys and another in Zimbabwe, where he enjoys hunting and fishing.

When he bought a 350,000-acre landscape in Tanzania in 2003, the area had a rampant poaching problem. Jones worked closely with the local African populations to help restore the area’s wildlife and create an attractive tourist destination.

Eventually, the problematic plot of land was transformed into a luxury safari experience in the heart of Africa’s untamed wilderness.

Today Jones’ Singita Grumeti Reserves features air-conditioned tents with other amenities to provide a luxurious camping experience. Guests have the opportunity to dine under the trees while watching the famous wildebeest migration before retiring into exclusive lodges with Venetian mirrors and crystal chandeliers.

Forbes teamed up with the Travel Channel to create a list of the most luxurious billionaire-owned hotels. Jones’ Singita Grumeti Reserves and 10 other hotels and resorts will be featured on an episode of Forbes Luxe 11, which debuted on the Travel Channel and Travel Channel HD Saturday, Nov. 21 at 10 p.m. Eastern/Pacific.

Medical-device maven William Cook also made it his mission to restore a problematic locale into a luxurious getaway, spending $450 million to renovate the French Lick Hotel and Casino in Indiana.

In 1996 the resort was a wasteland of vacant buildings. Thanks to Cook’s millions, it has since adopted a Donald Russ-designed golf course, a dozen eating venues, a spa and a 42,000-square-foot casino. The property has won dozens of awards.

Close to the Egyptian pyramids, Kuwait’s richest man, Nassar Al-Kharafi, owns the Port Ghalib Resort, a premiere beach destination on the coast of the Red Sea. The resort’s exclusive location offers some of the best scuba diving in the world.

Port Ghalib provides three different settings within one resort. The ultra-luxurious 19-suite Intercontinental Palace was designed in the image of an old citadel, offering its guests a feel of being in the 12th century. The Sahara Sun Sands provides an up-market beach feel, while the cheaper Sahara Sun Oasis gives an accessible experience with more conventional décor.

New York City, famous for its wealthy residents, also lays claim to several billionaire-owned hotels.

Donald Trump’s flagship tower, Trump International, overlooks Central Park, providing an oasis for those seeking a luxurious refuge from the bustle of Manhattan. An opulent lobby with marble and chandeliers leads up to homey guestrooms. Room service is provided by one of New York’s best chefs, Jean Georges, whose restaurant is located in the hotel.

In 2007 Israeli real estate titan Yitzhak Tshuva transformed New York’s iconic Plaza Hotel into a haven for guests after buying it for $675 million and remodeling the building’s suites while also adding high-end condos. Home Security Systems.

Cyprus tucked away in the top right hand corner of the Mediterranean is so close to Europe, Asia and Africa that it rightly, claims to be a stepping stone to three continents .

An island whose rich dramatic history can be traced back over nine thousand years; an island so coveted over the centuries that it has been invaded and claimed by a fascinating mixture of civilizations from near and far all of which have left their culture and shaped its character.

An island whose archaeology stems from the Neolithic Age, the Ancient Greeks and the Roman period; where churches and monasteries still stand from Byzantine times; castles and palaces from the days of Crusaders and Frankish Lusignans and splendid city walls from Venetian days.

An island chosen by the mythical gods and goddesses of Ancient Greece who indulged themselves here in sport pleasure and tragedy; where Aphrodite goddess of love and beauty, emerged from the Pafos foam to become a famous cult figure - centre of attraction for the first visitors who flocked to the island to worship her.

With such a historic and legendary background it is hardly surprising that Cyprus has developed a character which is quite unique. It is blessed with beauty, natural beauty that ranges from golden beaches and rugged coastlines to rolling hills and forest clad mountains, dotted with picturesque villages. Hard money training

Ethiopia is truly a land of contrasts and extremes; a land of remote and wild places. Some of the highest and most stunning places on the African continent are found here, such as the jaggedly carved Simien Mountains, one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites - and some of the lowest, such as the hot but fascinating Danakil Depression, with its sulphur fumaroles and lunar-like landscape. Ethiopia is old; old beyond all imaginations. As Abyssinia, its culture and traditions date back over 3,000 years. And far earlier than that lived “Lucy” or Dinkenesh, meaning ‘thou art wonderful’, as she is known to the Ethiopians, whose remains were found in a corner of this country of mystery and contrasts.

Many people visit Ethiopia - or hope to do so one day - because of the remarkable manner in which ancient historical traditions have been preserved. And, indeed, the ceremonies and rituals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, open a window on the authentic world of the Old Testament. In no other country is it possible to find yourself so dramatically transported back in time or to participate with such freedom in the sacred rituals of an archaic faith. Hard money training