Bahr el Jebel Safaris open up South Sudan’s amazing wildlife to the world

BAHR EL JEBEL SAFARIS PUTS SOUTH SUDAN MIGRATION UP TO THE 2 MILLION MARK

d5a8a3d

d5a8c31

d5a8cae

Already featured in National Geographics series The Great Migrations as one of the greatest wildlife spectacles remaining on the globe, the migration of the White Eared Kobs, the Tiang Antelopes and the Mongalla Gazelles remains a mystery to most, as even ardent wildlife specialists and experts across Eastern Africa often profess knowing bugger all to repeat the words of a long time friend seen a few weeks ago in Kenya, about the extent, locations or migration patterns of this second great migration found in Eastern Africa.
Everyone knows of course about the Serengeti migration which annually extends to the Kenyan Masai Mara Game Reserve, immortalized by Prof. Dr. Grzimek in his books and TV series Serengeti Must Not Die or the film of the great Kenyan wildlife enthusiast Allan Root The Year Of The Wildebeest and which is now under threat by the Tanzanian government over plans to construct a highway across the most sensitive migration paths, potentially decimating the estimated numbers of up to and beyond 1.5 million animals moving across the plains and savannah ecosystem shared between Kenya and Tanzania.
Yet, the South Sudan migration, extending from the Boma National Park at the border with Ethiopia to the Sudd one of the worlds greatest and hitherto almost totally unexplored wetlands created by the White Nile to Bandingalo aka Badingilo National Park and even as far as into Ethiopia itself at the Gambella National Park, is literally still a well kept secret, inspite of multiple articles by this correspondent going back several years. In fact the first few articles at the time raised strong objections from readers like stop lying or stop inventing things to sound important before eventually the truth emerged, only with even greater numbers than the figure given initially here of over 800.000 migrating plains game.
It was gratifying to see that my version eventually prevailed and that in fact the latest game counts put the real figures on the ground, combining the various species coming from different directions to the Badingilo National Park in July and August every year to congregate there for a few weeks, at almost twice the number estimated some years back by yours truly and the spotters from single engined light aircraft when doing the initial surveys, even though those were rather limited in their extent and could not cover the entire area shown on the maps above.
South Sudan remains unexplored and undervisited, and the recent negative publicity following the brutal aggression by Khartoum Sudan has certainly not helped to promote Africas youngest nation as a tourism destination, but there is a hard core of explorers, adventurers and intrepid travelers not shy to rough it within reason that is tough it and go there and be counted amongst the very first to have actually seen this amazing spectacle, if not miracle of nature with their own eyes and through the lenses of their own cameras.
Pioneer for South Sudan is Bahr el Jebel Safaris, also operating in Northern Uganda along the Albert Nile, which when entering the South Sudan at Nimule is then called Bahr el Jebel. Bahr el Jebel Safaris has defied the odds and overcome the challenges to operate in a new country short of infrastructure and still building itself and actually offers expeditions into these parks and the areas in between, depending on the time of the year. Itineraries are changing so as to be certain to show their followers what the large herds since times immemorial have looked like, still roaming their age old grazing grounds with little if any impediment by mankind.

Badingilo National Park, unbeknown to most, now incorporates the Mongella Game Reserve of old to form one administrative unit of over 8.000 square kilometres and with minor changes depending on the weather pattern are the great herds moving into this ecosystem every July and August before then disbursing again to follow their own engrained route map back to the Sudd, the Boma National Park and beyond, or else linger on with always a strong resident population remaining. Here too, factual knowledge about Boma National Park amongst the safari operators across Eastern Africa remains scarce and few would possible accept at first hearing that the park sprawls over 22.800 square kilometres. While not touching the border with Ethiopia, it would be hard to figure where the park ends and the frontier runs along were it not for the wider use of GPS systems today. Between ordinarily November and March each year are the White Eared Kobs are mostly found inside Boma although even here migrating from the North to the South of the park before then turning West again to return to Badingilo for another annual meet up with their cousins.

Bahr el Jebel Safaris is using the traditional camp method of semi fixed sites along the migration routes, flying clients from Jubas international airport to the nearest airstrip, often grass or dirt and after rains at times unserviceable till dried up again to carry the weight of the twin engined aircraft used, and there expedition members are met by vehicles to take them to their prepared camp, from where they can then for the next few days explore the area by 4×4 vehicles pushing and digging absolutely required when getting stuck in the mud, but all that being part and parcel of an expedition experience.

Accompanied by armed rangers and guides with intimate knowledge of the area and where the game tends to be concentrating, daily game drives take place from morning till evening before returning to camp.
Facilities to charge camera batteries are available, needless to say, but there is NO coverage of any of the South Sudanese or Ethiopian mobile networks and the only means of communications is restricted to the emergency use of a satellite phone, perhaps making it a good idea for participants in such an expedition to bring their own satellite phone with them, often available at airport duty free shops including sufficient credit to make and receive the still hugely expensive calls. Otherwise a call from the camp satellite phone will be charged at a cost of 4 US Dollars per minute for those who absolutely cannot do without a daily ration of phone calls.
The camps are simple but perfectly adequate, with mosquito proof Arabian tube shaped tents, outdoor bucket showers in a little enclosure where hot water is provided by the camp staff on request, though the regular high day time temperatures often make a cold shower more desirable, and long drop loos with a proper seat to facilitate doing the business. Depending on the camp location there will be 2 3 showers and loos to cater for the camp guests.
The menus are varied and include fresh produce procured from nearby, and provide home cooked fare with freshly baked bread, even cakes and seasonal fruits. While on daylong game drives out into the wilderness a packed lunch is kept fresh in cool boxes, available to provide some relief when that peckish feeling hits the stomach.
The camps offer a limited bar service of soft drinks and alcoholic beverages but for special preferences it is advisable to inform Bahr el Jebel on booking to facilitate a particular preferred brand or else bring your duty free allowance of your favourite poison. Water, juices, tea, coffee and other hot beverages, alongside iced tea, are part of the items included in the cost of the expedition while alcoholic beverages are chargeable items. At night kerosene lamps provide an authentic camp atmosphere, supplemented by that quintessential camp fire and for individual use lanterns with rechargeable batteries are available for the maximum of 10 participants which can go on each of the expeditions Bahr el Jebel Safaris organizes.
Visit the website at www.bahr-el-jebel-safaris.com for more information on available departure dates from Juba, the cost of the expeditions and details on Boma and Badingilo, the game likely to be seen as well as details on what clothing and how much to bring and generally what one needs to know about coming to South Sudan, Visa now incidentally granted on arrival at the airport in Juba and recommended inoculations and insurance packages including cover for medivac flights, should that at all be necessary. Travel by air to Juba is now twice a day by Air Uganda from Entebbe, visible via www.air-uganda.com or from Nairobi by Kenya Airways, also twice a day and visible via www.kenye-airways.com or else Jetlink, one of Kenyas private airlines visible via www.jetlink.co.ke.
Bahr el Jebel Safaris has made a slot available to yours truly later in the year to give a firsthand report and a serialized daily diary of the expedition experience, pictures and all, which will be available here on the blog, published by global industry leader eTurboNews upon returning to base and for sure picked up by a number of other media organizations dedicated to travel and adventure tourism. Therefore, as the saying goes, WATCH THIS SPACE and look out for the dates and expedition articles as and when.

Likoni Ferry suffers another incident prompting regular users to demand road bypass to be sped up

NEW FERRY MISHAP AT LIKONI LEADS TO RENEWED DEMANDS FOR ROAD BYPASS

The Thursday evening incident at the Likoni ferry crossing, when one of the new ferries imported from Germany a while ago ran aground after missing the ramp, caused renewed pressure on the Kenya government to commence construction of the road bypass to the south coast but also once more put the ferry operators Kenya Ferry Services under the spotlight.
Are these people for real asked a regular source from Mombasa before continuing whenever there is such a problem KFS is playing down the issue. They make big statements on what they do about maintenance and so forth but ferries stall midstream with a big risk of colliding with bigger cargo ships and they talk about how they train their staff and still such things happen. Their CEO is also a fool when he thinks he can tell us he does not know because he is on leave. Their internal protocol made sure he got his information immediately and was informed so he should stop lying to the public that he was not aware of an incident because he was on leave. We need the new road from the Nairobi to Mombasa highway to go to the south coast and it cannot come a day too soon. We are fed up with KFS and their arrogant attitudes and bad mistakes they make. And about the question you asked me some weeks ago when you were in Mombasa, that the ferry company now prohibits anyone taking a picture while on the ferry for so called security issues, that is a lie too, they just dont want anyone making evidence pictures on board because it could compromise them so badly and expose them.
Another ferry reportedly then collided with the stranded one, causing more panic and anxiety amongst commuters while on both sides of the Likoni channel, which opens the Indian Ocean to the Mombasa port, were stuck for hours at end. Travelers en route to the airport in Mombasa are said to have missed flights while tourists en route back from Mombasa or from safari reached their south coast beach resorts hours late too.
The stuck ferry MV Kwale was only able to refloat and to be taken for inspection for any damages at the following high tide, a stark reminder for regular commuters what risks a channel crossing involves them in day after day.
Watch this space.

Rwanda’s forest policies cited as best example for Africa to copy

WORLD FUTURE COUNCIL HAILS RWANDAS VISIONARY FOREST POLICIES
After handing Rwanda their global Gold Award 2011 last year for the countrys groundbreaking forest policies, the World Future Council has just concluded a three day high powered meeting in Kigali to discuss how Africa can learn from Rwanda and copy successful methods and applications to restore forest cover in their own countries.
A number of parliamentarians, government officials, forestry experts, NGO personnel, conservationists and media representatives came to Kigali to share experience and discuss the challenges Africa faces today in protecting the continents endangered forests, which are threatened by growing global hunger for resources such as tropical hard wood but also by local population explosions which causes a rocketing demand for fire wood and charcoal.
Rwandas approach has embraced the need for sustainability in the use of forests, accepting that they are crucial water towers but also responded to the need of populations to escape poverty, and tourism in Rwanda is seen as a key factor to spread wealth into local communities by involving them in a range of economic activities centered around tourism activities as well as for instance honey farming.
It is Rwandas declared goal to restore 30 percent of the country to forest cover by the year 2020 and progress in recent years has been impressive, especially in areas around Gishwati Forest which was heavily encroached and in sections degraded when the new forest policy came into effect. Gishwati in fact, over the past 5 years, has seen a significant portion of the previously encroached sections replanted and efforts are underway to restore the entire forest corridor between Gishwati and Nyungwe to, besides many other benefits, also let the primate population in both forests once again migrate as was the case in the past.
Nyungwe Forest, a national park for several years now, has been catapulted into prominence as a tourism resource and Gishwati too is expected to be turned into a national park soon, adding further attractions to the countrys existing safari options and to have more areas of the country benefit from the flow of tourist visitors beyond just visiting the fabled mountain gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park.
Rwanda has become the undeclared champion of forests in East Africa and is regularly cited as a prime example how forest restoration and protection can in fact go hand in hand with fighting poverty and giving economic opportunities to growing populations. Well done Rwanda another feather in the hat right at the time of the Golden Jubilee.

US Embassy in Nairobi lifts Mombasa travel ban for their staff

US EMBASSY LIFTS STAFF TRAVEL BAN TO MOMBASA
Information was confirmed yesterday that the US Embassy in Nairobi has lifted the travel ban imposed on all their staff though that clearly did not affect the allegedly dozens of operatives of shadowy security organizations working the field in the war against terror at the Kenyan coast which the mission imposed two weeks ago.
The travel ban at the time was badly received by the Kenyan government and by the coasts hospitality and tourism industry many of whom compared it with a stab in the back inflicted on them by supposed friends.
The high profile withdrawal of staff from Kenyas port city of Mombasa was by many seen as a cowardly act and the ban overall perceived as an ambush of the highest order, leading to confusion amongst even overseas holiday operators thrown into a state of panic, as were many Kenyans of course at the time.
While not long afterwards a grenade was thrown into a local bar, similar to a few such incidents in the capital Nairobi, there was no indication other than the arrest of two alleged Iranian secret agents, that a major terrorist strike was imminent. The two Iranians are now in court facing a number of terror related charges and the Kenyan government was swift to cancel a major oil deal with Iran in the days following their arrest, though any direct connection was denied by official sources in Nairobi, which preferred to call the cancellation a compliance with embargo orders from the UN, still clouding relations between the two countries though for what appeared to be a overtly hostile act of aggression.
Occupancies at the Kenya coast remain a mixed bag though and while a number of top rated resorts like the Mombasa Serena or the Sarova Whitesands report high occupancies, others more dependent on budget holiday makers from the main European core markets are said to be struggling. That said though, perhaps it is all about quality and innovation and vision by the hoteliers, which makes some thrive where others fail as they are stuck in the same old same old of yesteryear. Watch this space.