An African Anthology provides a wide range of services to the hospitality industry including marketing, sales, reservations and management of establishments throughout Southern Africa. The portfolio has been carefully constituted through the selection of complimentary establishments, each single minded in their pursuit of guest satisfaction.

For all future reservations please contact res2@africananthology.co.za and for all other enquiries please contact sales2@africananthology.co.za.

We apologise for any inconvenience that may be experienced during this transition, and we look forward to delivering world class African holidays to our guests.

Kind regards
Phil Patton

Stand details – Hall: ICC | Stand no: F017

Phil Patton, Frans Vermaas and Erika Glück will be in attendance and are looking forward to updating you with what’s new at Islands in Africa.

To book your appointment, please contact Erika at erika@islandsinafrica.com.

Sosa Garden Villa is a luxury self-catering villa based in Knysna – The Heart of the Garden Route

In a heavenly position, adjacent to the Pezula Golf Course and hanging over Knysna and the full length of the lagoon, lies this chic new villa. This stunning property is specifically orientated to opening onto a terrace, deck and infinity pool, whilst offering miles of breathtaking views.

It is perfect for families, couples and golfers alike, sleeping up to 8 people in 4 similarly designed luxury en suite bedrooms. Children are welcome.

From R3500.00 per villa per night
Pay for 3 nights and stay for 4 –  Offer is cumulative
(terms & conditions apply)

Please contact Susan at susan.patton@islandsinafrica.com for further information.

Ntwala & Impalila Island Lodges

Aerial view of Impalila

Both Ntwala and Impalila Island lodges, on the edge of the Caprivi where the four countries meet, are enjoying a large amount of rain at present. The resultant lush vegetation surrounding the lodges has lead to a number of exciting wildlife experiences, especially with the magnitude of breeding summer birds and interesting hippo and elephant behaviour. The largest Tiger Fish caught so far in 2012 is a 7.4kg beauty. The truly African thunderstorms bring with them cool refreshment from the warm summer days, and breath-taking sunsets, best viewed from the lodge decks with equally refreshing sundowner cocktails in hand.

The magnificent Black Cheeked Lovebirds have reportedly been spotted flying over Ntwala again – although this requires confirmation, it is not outside the realms of possibility as they are fairly common in the Kafue National Park south of Kaingu. We are hoping to confirm this rare sighting of these beautiful birds this far south of the Zambezi. This confirmation will add to the ever-growing list of incredible bird species found in this area.

The Impalila Conservancy Agreement has been signed by both Ntwala and Impalila and the relationship between the lodges and the local community is as strong as ever. The new primary school classrooms have been completed and have been taking their first pupils as of January 2012.

Kaingu Safari Lodge

Kaingu safari lodge safari tent view

After 10 years of creating unique safari memories for cherished guests, Kaingu Safari Lodge is undergoing a complete facelift. The lodge is currently closed for renovations and is set to re-open on the 01st April 2012.

These renovations will include the building of a new teak viewing deck extending over the water and into the tree line. The main lodge area is also set to be updated and refurbished to create an area for guests to relax between the variety of activities on offer. All guest chalets are being upgraded to include additions such as sitting hammocks and improved lighting ensuring that guests can laze away in comfortable surroundings in the privacy of their own rooms. The Fin foot Villa (Family unit) has been given new lighting, a renovated deck plus the front window levels are being dropped so that guests can watch the river from the comfort of their beds.

Newly renovated main deck at boma

New environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing low energy pathway lighting has been installed, making it convenient and safe for the guests as they wind their way back to their chalets after dinner and fireside drinks at the end of an activity filled day.

The Kafue River and especially the sections above and below the Lodge are truly spectacular, with many forested islands and narrow channels to explore for birding, fishing or just soaking up the beauty of the area in a complete isolation. To appreciate this pristine river, Kaingu has also invested in new, quieter and environmentally friendly 4-stroke motors on boats customised for fishing, birding or simply cruising the river.

Rafting

Wildlife – Guests of recent have been spoilt by large herds of Impala, Sable antelope, a territorial pack of Wild dog and many sightings of leopard, just to name a few. The first sighting of leopard this year was of a mother and her half grown cub, she spent 10 minutes watching the vehicle and its occupants before moving off into the bush. The second sighting was the following day when she was spotted at 11:00 on a pathway between the chalets whilst stalking a troop of vervet monkeys.

Wild Dogs

Deception Valley Lodge

The large volume of rain received in this area of the Kalahari has resulted in a herd of elephants moving into the concession – very unusual for the Kalahari but a superb sighting for guests. The guests have also witnessed lions mating, along with numerous sightings of other cats in the last two weeks. DVL is reported to look like an animal nursery school at the moment as many of the herbivores have had their calves. Young hartebeest, Oryx and wildebeest can be seen running around for the most part of each day.

Susuwe Island Lodge

It has been an incredibly special time at Susuwe as far as game sightings in the surrounding Bwabwata National Park are concerned. The park is teeming with game and guests have had the pleasure of two separate sightings of leopard. One sighting was of male leopard that lay on a horizontal branch and gave our guests a relatively unheard of forty-five minutes of photography time. Another spectacular sighting was that of three lionesses, one carrying a cub in her mouth and another walking gracefully with her 3 cubs. The lioness carrying the cub placed her little one down and proceeded to collect a duiker kill, which she had recently taken down behind a small cluster of trees. The elephants in the area are slowly moving in large numbers towards Horseshoe bend on the Kwando River.

Head Office and Windhoek Office

Islands In Africa is pleased to welcome Frans Vermaas to the Team. Frans is joining us as Head of Operations throughout the group and will also be assisting in the management of the Ndumo project in Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa.

We have updated our image gallery on our website. Please also visit our website for more images of Kaingu’s refurbishments.

Located in Zambia and situated in a private Game Management Area adjacent to the Kafue National Park, Kaingu Safari Lodge sits on the banks of the Kafue River, one of the Zambezi’s largest tributaries. This intimate eco-friendly lodge boasts four double Meru-Style luxury tents and a family house, all of which have en-suite bathrooms, outdoor showers and all overlook this pristine river. The lodge, which is accessible by road and air, sits within a big game area and offers game drives, guided eco walks, birding, boat and fishing cruises, canoe trails, rafting and cultural village tours.

This lodge encompasses true wilderness, is extremely remote and offers exclusive activities within the Kafue National Park.

This partnership, effective from November 2011, will see Kaingu joining a set of exclusive lodges that include Ntwala, Impalila and Susuwe Island Lodges, Deception Valley Lodge and Sosa Garden Villa.

To read and see more, visit the Kaingu Safari Lodge section on our website.

Written by Xamse Xota

“That was my first time out of the Kalahari, Botswana. Ever since my life I spoke to God for that to happen and it was my dream to travel around in my continent, as a African and afterwards my dreams came true and I would like to appreciate God and the guys who were leading me through those hard but nice trips I have done.

Firstly I would like to thank Gert, Nadine and Vicky for the wonderful times I spent with them in South Africa as a Bushman of the Kalahari. It was my first time to travel with a Kulula air craft 737-800 and it was amazing.

On the plane Nadine told the operators that she is with a Bushman guy who has not ever travelled with a plane and this will be his first time to travel with a plane and everyone on that plane were very shocked to hear that. Sitting on a big plane was amazing and as plane was taking off I was a little bit scared, but as it goes above I enjoyed every single moments and everything I spotted was wonderful. As we goes Nadine and Vicky asked me how I feel about the flight, I told them that it is unbelievable and they laugh. Even me too laughs with a scary voice.

The flight took us two and half hours from Jo’burg to Cape Town. As we reached Cape Town I was very very shocked to see things I was not expected to see, Table Mountain, 2010 Soccer Field. But unfortunately I didn’t have time to nice view of these two. When looking at the sea I was getting wild. Thank to God everything looks different and I enjoyed to be there for rest of my life.

Getting inside Radisson Waterfront Hotel, almost everything I spot looks different. Using lifts to the room 119-120 were Nadine, Vicky and I, stayed were wonderful. And as I opened the door of my room 119 I was getting wild. Two big televisions one on sitting room, other one on bedroom. A mini bar. When opening some cuttings oh my God that’s what I said, the ocean was just next to my room and some big ships/boats on the ocean.

After putting my luggage and getting outside to have nice view I meet many guys and all of them enterview me. There were some flashes for several times and all eyes were on me and other guys were enterviewing with English and Afrikaans.

Late evening before dinner Nadine and Vicky takes me to the Hisense Wheel of Excellence and each wheel was 60 metres high and weighs up to 365 tons. They have an capsule seating op to 6 adults and 2 kids each. From each capsule there are 360 degrees panoramic views of the surrounding area. Sitting for dinner was much colder but it was good time to be. Every meal I enjoy there was good, everything was available.

Early morning just around 4:40 I wake up happily. Get my shower and standing outside my varendah at the sunrise was nice with so many colours reflecting on the sea was unbelievable and on other hand Table Mountain was fully covered by some clouds and it was so cold. Then I have cup of tea and went for breakfast and it was wonderful.

Just around 10:00am – 12:00 am has the presentations was ready and I was presenting and showing them my best, wearing my traditional clothes and everyone was so shocked to see how I looks like and some flashes and eyes were on me. Afterwards all people who attendant were happy and I swear I cannot ever forget those wonderful moments.

It was late evening when we flew back from Cape Town to Jo’burg and as I spot Cape Town on flight everything was different and as we goes some plane operators ordered me cool drink and some food for free, but unfortunately I was very tired and I fall asleep a bit on ta plane just for half an hour and it was good. Lastly I will say that it was my dream to travel out of Botswana and I will never never ever forget those days seen myself at Republic of South Africa until I die.

Go to http://www.weg.co.za/multimedia/view/xamse-wil-vuurmaak-onder-toerismebedryf-in-botswana to view Weg’s interview with Xamse.

The African Fish Eagle – An African Magnificence

African Fish Eagle

The fish eagle is the national symbol of many African countries and finds itself stuck on most of the historical flags. Why this loud bird is so favored is a mystery since the list of other birds of prey is endless. The answers are not definite nor conclusive especially if one has not seen this bird visually. Attempts to answer the question lie in the imagination and narration of one who is mesmerized by the huge eagle through a defined description of its features.

The fish Eagle is a large fish hunter with white feathers stretching from the shoulder to the head up to the nostril at the demarcation where the yellowish strong hooked black tipped bill ends, just slightly below the eye. Below the shoulder comes the  brown/black feathers  running all the way to the tip of the wings. The under parts constituting the belly and the breast are russet, while the upper back reveals the white V-shape which narrows to the centre of the back. The wing is sliced underneath into two colors representing the russet belly to the front and brown/ black  at its back and this can be seen when the bird stretches its wings or in flight. The legs are yellow, with conspicuous scales while the black sharp talons tell the story of what they can do when the eagle is in action. The tail feathers are white, adding the surface area for the white color which is used to reflect heat from the blazing sun during long hours of patiently waiting  for prey to avail the best chances for it to successfully charge and make a kill. It has black Eyes of an efficient skilled killer designed to pull images closer in binocular fashion that has made it a name through spotting slight movements of fish in the water. Combined with accurate judgment of distance the fish eagle rarely missed its target.

Knowing what the bird looks like and its potentialities as a hunter is not enough! Getting a story on what the African Fish Eagle did in one good August afternoon at Susuwe Island Lodge in the Bwabwata National Park will create the great appreciation and respect for the bird. Our guests on this particular game-drive were not really birding, but they loved birds and found pleasure in stopping and watching every little or big beautiful bird. We had seen from the little Grey backed warbler, rattling cisticola, plovers, doves spur fowl, ducks, up to vultures,  stocks and many more from the more than 300 species of birds that can be seen in the area. This gave all the feeling of accomplishment- what a great day! While we were settling in for our sundowners at Little Serengeti, we picked up a little image of white up on the summit of a tree and suddenly fumbled for the binoculars. Some said it was a white egret, others said it was a heron,stork etc. While we were all still wondering what bird it was, the whole image shot out of the tree with great speed and hissed towards the River Kwando waters. In one swift movement the bird dipped its yellow legs with  a loud splash into the water while opening its talons and emerged with a wriggling 900 grams Zambezi bream. What a striking moment for all of us! No one had a doubt that it was indeed the African Fish Eagle. What a beauty! We watched the bird gracefully flap its wings while ferrying its quarry further south until it perched again on another tree and started pecking on it steadily with its sharp bill. This was the moment of the day, and in all of us this was an experience not to forget. Yes we had seen a kill more so from such a majestic bird of prey. It was beauty and the bird and not the beast, adding to the splendors and surprises at Susuwe Island Lodge.

The beginning of the story quickly flowed back into mind and many questions were answered, that such extreme beauty of a bird was more than attractive. Who would not want to see such a wonder bird, and who on this earth would not want to have the Fish Eagle on their Logo or emblem of the country. The Fish Eagle lives by the Kwando River with the spirit of excellence as a predator among others and represents true African magnificence above beauty, both of which it obviously possesses without prejudice.

It has been proven beyond reasonable doubt that snakes can kill and eat other snakes for so many reasons, some linked to inter/intra-specific competition and others much to do with the predatory instincts based on being opportunistic in their methods of acquiring food. Cannibalism of killing and eating one’s own kind or relation is amazing, more so it has to go against the ethics of fair survival and subsistence and such a sight of species interacting that way can be shocking if not interesting. Observing a fight between two snake individuals trying to bite and introduce venom in each the other is like watching heavy weight wrestlers attempt to catch the other by surprise using speed and accuracy. At the beginning of February, 2010 we had a wonderful observation of an Egyptian Cobra and Puff-Adder fight at the Old Bushman School in the Bwabwata National Park.

There were several thrusts by both snakes which resulted in misses. The Egyptian cobra measuring 2 meters swayed from side to side and ducked away when the Puff Adder made attempts to strike. The shorter, stout but sluggish Puff Adder obviously new that it was facing a much superior and bigger predator cousin than itself and needed to stand firm and fight for its life. After some 5 minutes the Puff Adder finally took a decision to turn around and run, a big mistake which the cobra was waiting for. In a swift movement the cobra struck the puff Adder at the upper part of the tail and although the adder tried to retaliate, it proved too slow. The cobra quickly took advantage of the shocked adder and started swallowing it from the tip of the tail until three quarters of it had disappeared into the cobra. I felt very sorry for the cobra for once upon a time I had watched another cobra killing and prematurely swallowing a puff-adder, being bitten from inside resulting in the mortality of both snakes in less than an hour. This particular cobra seemed to be hearing me from my silent talk and quickly regurgitated the puff adder. He slowly moved to the head of the adder, probably to try and check its consciousness which was a wise thing to do and saved the cobra’s life for a moment. On just getting close to the adder’s head, the cobra had to sway back hastily to avoid two strikes from the adder. This was astonishing, for after 30 minutes one would have thought the adder had passed the stage of paralysis and maybe in rigor mortis. Another car came by and its vibrations forced the cobra to flee into the bushes, leaving the puff adder just as still as ice. There was now a worry that maybe the cobra would not turn back to finish off the mission and the poor puff adder’s fate would not have saved any purpose as far as nature is supposed to take its own course is concerned.

The other car went by, to avoid running over the puff adder who just by looking at it one would presume almost dead. Dead silence now prevailed with the other vehicle gone and observation of these ophidians continued. It was shocking to see the Puff Adder start moving, rolling itself onto the track road, stopping for a moment and wriggling slowly as if finally dying. As it continued to push as if in labor, a huge clump of black droppings came out with a splash of uric acid. This was probably a method of its body system trying to get rid of the cobra’s venom. After this the cobra then moved on slowly on the sand, tried to move out of the track a few times but lost balance as it was tired and in big pain. Suddenly the Egyptian Cobra reappeared from the bushes, searched everywhere for its prey, getting lost almost frequently and finally picking up the scent from the last spot it had left the puff adder. The cobra smoothly pushed itself over the sand and followed the puff adder that he finally could not find. When the cobra was about 2 meters from catching the adder, the adder got to some hot sand which forced it to put effort to exit the road into the nearest bushes. Just before the cobra realized that its prey had faced another difficulty, it also found itself in the same catastrophe! The cobra wriggled around and quickly thrust itself out of the road and disappeared into the bushes. After some 10 minutes, the cobra came back to the road but far ahead of where the Puff Adder was hiding obviously having lost the scent to keep on following its prey. The cobra then went to the different side of the road and probably still intending to carry on searching for the puff adder. This was an hour and a half of observation and it had to stop at that moment. When the vehicle passed by, the puff adder lay still and breathed heavily, a sign that it was struggling. If the cobra finally found puff adder then its own life would have been saved. It would then consume the adder at a time when it could be dead or so week not to respond.

When this happens always one gets that satisfaction of seeing nature do the best it can to shape or deface itself without man’s interference for its own benefit. The Bwabwata National Park is one wildlife sanctuary where a visitor can still expect to see such interactions unfold because of its being entirely natural.

Good cat sightings recently – this one was taken by 2 German ladies (Gerda Pfeil and Andrea Lippert) on a game drive – first week of January.

Recent cat sightings

Our alpha male photographed by Dayne in December

A new Pearl Spotted Owl fledgling by Dayne

Action at the Hobatere waterhole in December photographed by Dayne

Our resident rock monitor - Dayne

Juvenile Boomslang photographed by Dayne in the Hobatere garden

Damara Hornbill in our garden - another near endemics in Namibia - photographed by Dayne

One of the near endemics in Namibia - Madagascar Bee-eater, photographed by Dayne

Steve releasing an Augar Buzzard that he ringed near the lodgeSteve releasing an Augar Buzzard that he ringed near the lodge