American Model Arrives to boost tourism

US super Model Marlina Moreno tourched down at Entebbe Airport aboard Emirates Airlines for her 21-day visit to Uganda where she is expected to climb Mt. Rwenzori on January 17. The Los-Angeles based super model and TV host, touched down at about 3: 00pm. From Entebbe international Airport, she was taken to her hotel and latter had fun at the Uganda Wildlife EducationCenter (UWEC) in Entebbe. Clad in boots, skinny jean pants and a light weather top, the 5.6 model was taken through the history and purpose of the center before being guided into the park – first to Charles, the three years and eight-months old elephant. But the most interesting scene was was at the giraffe’s base. The former national football league cheerleader and model for Nike, Samsung, Canin, Virgin Atlantic and Siemens fed and kissed one of the giraffes.

“I have dreamt of coming to Uganda, the “Pearl of Africa” for the last one and half years. Nature conservation is my thing. I love the flora and fauna. And is great coming to such a country with this abundan nature,” said Moreno.
“It is not my first time in Africa. I have been to South Africa. But it is my first time mountaineering. So I am looking forward to the experience,” said the avid traveller, who is expected to document her travel experience in Uganda on her various social media outlets for her over 50 million followers on social media.

“I am going to the source of the Nile. Do bungee jumping , then do Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for the Mountain Gorillas. It is going to be one marvelous experience ,” she said. John Ssempebwa, the deputy executive  director of the Uganda Tourism Board, said the move was among the many that the Government is deliberately taking to market Uganda. “Some of her followers will read her experiences and also want to come to Uganda. And this is good for the tourism country. Coutries which do not have half the beauty and nature that Uganda has have many visitors. We need to market our country,” he said.

At a press conference earier this month, Ssempebwa revealed that over 4,500 sightseers were expected to climb the mountain with the supermodel.  The function will start with the climbing of the mountain and conclude with a party at the base of the mountain in Kasese district, he said.

Moreno, who boasts over 50 million followers on social media, will, at the end of her visit, profile her experience and produce a documentary to be carried on her travel platforms: Examiner.com, Huffingtonpost.com, and whenInManila.

New airline to end monopoly on Nairobi- Entebbe route

East African Safari Air, a private charter airline based in Nairobi, is poised to test the dominance of Kenya Airways (KQ) on the Entebbe – Nairobi route.
The airline, which trades as Fly – SAX, launched its operations in the country on Monday. It will ply the Nairobi – Entebbe route, seen as one of the most expensive short routes in the world. 
“We lured this new airline in order to break KQ’s monopoly. There is no way one can bring down the fares if one has no competition,” said Dr Stephen Chebrot, the State Minister for Transport at the launch.

He said the entry of Fly – SAX into Uganda’s aviation market is in line with Uganda Civil Aviation Authority’s (UCAA) liberalisation policy of enhancing competition and improving service delivery. 
The new airline will operate two scheduled flights daily, on the Entebbe – Nairobi route, according to Mrs Claire Misire, the country manager. The maiden flight is due on January 9. A return ticket costs $318 (about Shs892,000). 

Meanwhile, RwandAir, Rwanda’s national carrier, is also set to commence operations on the Nairobi Entebbe route. According to an advert published in the media, the airline will start operating direct flights to Nairobi on January 10th and a ticket will cost $250 (about Shs700,000). 
Officials from the airline were not available for a comment by press time.
Following the grounding of Air Uganda mid last year, UCAA granted Rwandair fifth freedom rights to operate flights to Nairobi. However, the absence of a green light from the Kenyan authorities has been holding it back. 
Mr Ignie Igunduura, the public affairs manager at UCAA, said the arrival of new players on the 45-minute route is partly a result of the recent signing of a pact among Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan on the management of the Northern Corridor Air Space bloc. 
“It is a joint effort aimed at bringing down the fares in the regional airspace. The competition on the route will also lead to better services and more options to travellers,” he said.
The Entebbe-Nairobi route has in past proved difficult for some airlines to fly, as earlier efforts by Africa One, East African Airways and VictoriaInternational Airways among others ended unsuccessfully.

Africa Airline performance Outlook for 2015
According to the International Air Transport Association’s 2015 outlook for the global airline industry, Africa is the weakest region in the past two years. 
Profits are barely positive ($200 million in 2015 which is an improvement on the break-even performance in 2014), and represent just $2.51 per passenger. 
Breakeven load factors (percentage of seats filled at a particular yield versus the airlines operating costs) are relatively low, as yields are a little higher than average while costs are lower. However, few airlines in the region are able to achieve adequate load factors, which are the lowest among the regions by almost five percentage points. Performance is improving, but slowly.

Players
The new airline has increased the number of scheduled international air operators in the Ugandan airspace to 19. 
Last year three new air operators - Fastjet, Fly Dubai and Etihad – Cargo – joined the Ugandan airspace. 
Etihad Airways is also set to launch passenger services to Entebbe on May 1 this year using a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft with 16 Business Class seats and 120 Economy Class seats.

By Bruce Amp

Dreaming of a Wild Christmas

The festive season is an ideal time to tour Uganda’s best spots for wildlife viewing. With cut-price offers from safari companies, we show you where to get memorable experience.

It is a great thing that holidays with in the Pearl of Africa have become fashionable. We do need to plunge some of our hard-earned money into indigenous ventures, of which there are plenty these days.
Thankfully, there are also various incentives that make domestic tourism irresistible when one has the time. With the festive season upon us, some people will be off from work until sometime in January. This vacation means families can do many things together. It is a fine time to include a tour of national Parks or wild sanctuary to the holiday activities.

One of these motivating reasons to take a tour of the wild this festive season is the fact Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), in partnership with Tambula Safaris and Routs to Africa have offered tour packages at subsidized rates. For between sh230,000 and sh250,000 per head one can take a weekend tours up to January 11, 2015. This includes transport, accommodation; meals park entrance fees, tour guide services and activities on the respective itineraries. This price is up to three times lower than the usual cost each person incurs on a solo expedition. Inquiries can be made with UTB of Tambula at Equatorial Mall. In the mean time, let us show you what is to be seen in the wild.

PRIMATE GALORE

Primates are among the favorite animals to watch, as they are so much like humans in many ways. Their behavior is often intriguing and displays their interagency. Chimpanzees and gorillas are among those you have to get out of your way to find, at places like. Monkeys and other smaller apes are easier to meet as they are not shy and in fact can be very bold where they are familiar with humans. They can harass people for food in some places like Uganda Wildlife Education Center (UWEC) and source of the Nile in Jinja. Though many people find this part of the fun, do take necessary care especially with children.

Kibale National Park with over 13 primate species and BwindiImpenetrable Forest are the best for Chimp and Gorilla Tracking respectively. Other Primates are found there too, but they can be found at UWEC, the source of the Nile and not forgetting naughty baboons in lesser forests like Busitema near Busia District and Mabira.

Chimpanzees communicate to each other through a complex system of voice and facial expressions. When excited they use loud calls called pant-hoots. Obey instructions from the guides or caretakers where there are primates to avoid agitating them unnecessarily. They can turn aggressive especially where they believe their families are in danger.

WILD WESTERN UGANDA

Going west, one is sure to see a lot of mesmerizing wildlife. From the ambling Zebras, and hippos at lake Mburo National Park, to elephants, buffaloes and hundreds of antelope species in Queen Elizabeth National Park.  The Jewel in Queen’s Crown is to be found on Ishasha sector where over 40 Tree Climbing Lions remain a favorite curiosity. With their blackish manes, they are not hard to differeciate from other lions. Game drives offer a good chance to view a variety of wildlife across the vast plains of the park.

NORTHERN CONNECTION

 On this route, the star of the Nile will be at Murchison Falls National Park where nature is a director and all sorts of prized wildlife are the main actors with a myriad bird playing supporting roles, as well as supplying the music score. This clean Eden is bordered by the river Nile and provides game viewing both on land and on water. Boart launches are a favorite activity to do here. Beholding the breathtaking Murchison Falls (once known as Kabalega falls) is another awesome experience.

PRIVATE PARKS

Away from the National game parks, there are some smaller and often privately managed animal sanctuaries that can provide similar treat for those seeking a Christmas experience with the wild. Between Kampala, Wakiso and Entebbe, you can find places to see reptiles, small game and birds, at close range.
The government owned UWEC is the front runner of these, but there are others like Kavumba animal Sanctuary, Snake Park and Reptile Village, Rhino Sanctuary in Kiboga and Camp Crocs in Mpigi, off Masaka Road, offer up-close experiences  with Rhinos and Crocodiles, respectively. Find details and directions from local guides

By Bruce Amp

Uganda Whips Spain in Tourism Polls

President Yoweri Museveni’s off-the-cut remark that Uganda is a better tourism destination than Spain caused a storm and inadvertently brought the country international media attention. It echoed the statement some time ago, made by Spain’s president, Mariano Rajoy, that Spain is not Uganda, which riled Ugandans who reacted strongly on the Internet. This time, Ugandans got their revenge when international media outlets picked up on Museveni’s statement. The UK based Gurdian Online put up a poll for readers to vote one of the two countries.

In truth, Spain receives many more tourists than Uganda, and so it was expected that Spain would walk away with an easy win on the Internet battle. Surprisingly, Ugandans took to the polls to settle the score and scooped 79% votes, flooring Spain which emerged with a miserable 21%. Over 2.5M people worldwide voted.

Some commentators advanced good reasons to visit Uganda and beautiful pictures of the country were featured. Hopefully, Uganda has had other victories in tourism contests before. Early this year, the country was chosen to host winners of the Orbitz Rewards Programs a US based online travel agency that runs an online competition. The winners take an all-expense-paid trip to any outstanding travel destination.

Meanwhile, the president of Uganda Tour OperatorsAssociation, Barbra Adoso noted that the world Encyclopedia of Travel has picked on Uganda to host nine Russian travelers who will be in the country starting December 9 to explore its attractions in 21 days.

Get ready to watch the birds

Uganda Has a Great Variety of Birds, and Big Birding day next Saturday, is a good chance to seek them out.

There is good news for tourists: we have free access to all the National parks and conservation areas under Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) on November 29th, 2014. That day is the long awaited Big Birding day, which Uganda is taking seriously for the second year running. With over 1,050 bird species in Uganda, such a day was long overdue.

“This exercise is expected to improve interests in the bird watching. You can watch birdsanywhere. It can be in Kampala City, in your backyard or in a forest. Every region of the country will have a team involved in the bird watching for 24 hours,” said Steven Masaba of UWA. Given the UWA officer, birdwatchers have options of many destinations that are excellent bird habitats, but with a bonus of other attractions to make the trip worthwhile. That day 500 Guides will be all eyes and ears recording the species that they encounter in the swamps, mountains, forests and lake shores.

“Participants will explore the countryside to see birds in flight, listen to their songs, and see them court,” said Uganda Tourist Board (UTB) spoke’s person Edwin Muzahura. “to hone our bird watching skills, the occasion will be blessed by birders, Tim Appleton and Bill Thompson form the US and UK respectively.”

Bill Thompson is Editor of Bird Watcher’s Digest and author of Backyard Birds. He has seen and heard 1,000 different bird species. “These are no mean achievements. Bird Watcher’s Digest is the oldest and most popular bi-monthly magazine devoted to birds and bird-watching enthusiast around the world,” Muzahura pointed out. These birds have millions of social media followers from across the world and it is hoped that their participating in Uganda’s Big Birding Day will highlight the country’s various attractions to the rest of the world. “Thompson and Appleton will be able to sell destination Uganda, among their social media followers,” Muzahura said.

Uganda Tour Guide Association President, Herbert Byaruhanga revealed that an average Bird watcher stays longer and spends more while in the country. “They between $2.000 (Sh5m) and $7,000 (sh17.5m) on accommodation, a bird guide transport, buying mementoes and having fun.” Byaruhanga notes that Uganda should be able to identify a nitche in birding given the variety of avian species as a comparative advantage over other regional destinations.

PLANNING A BIRDING TRIP

Families, friends and workmates cold pool resources to fuel a van or public means of transport to commute throughout the day at affordable rates. The fares vary and depend on the distance and ones negotiating skills. The national parks have budget accommodations ranging from sh30,000 to sh50,000 per night. Meals cost sh10,000 and above. Up market facilities are also available at anything between $75 and $300 (Sh 187,000 and sh750,000) per night. Alternatively one could cut costs by travelling with a tent or hiring one.

Kidepo Valley national Park boasts an extensive list of about 475 bird species.  This makes it second to Queen Elizabeth National Park. A few species of note are the Ostrich, Kori bustard and Karamaja apalis. Kidepo is notable for its birds of prey. Of the 56 species recorded, 14 including Verreaux’s eagle, Egyptian vulture and Pygm falcon – are endemic to Karamoja region. Presently, there is no comprehensive survey of birds found there. On this day visitors stand a good chance of adding to the known numbers.

YOU CAN SEE ANIMALS TOO

While scouting for birds in Kidepo, expect to see exciting Fauna such as lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and jackals. Also regulary seen species are elephants, Burchell’s zebra, Rothschild’s giraffe, Cape buffalo and several antelope’s types.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is understandable Uganda’s most popular tourist destination. It is endowed with over 600 species of birds in its diverse eco-system set against the backdrop of the Mt. Rwenzori. It is a photographer’s dream  come true with enormous craters punctuating the rolling green hills, Kazinga channel with its banks lined with hippos, buffalo and elephants.

In the Ishasha plains are the famous tree climbing lions and herds of the Uganda Kob.

Mburo National Park, located close to the kampala – Mbarara highway, is home to 350 bird species.  These live with Zebra’s impalas, elands, buffalos and hyenas, among others. Together with 13 other lakes in the area, Lake Mburo forms part of a 50km wetland system linked by a swamp. The park is well suited to host hundreds of birds in its wooded savanna interspersed with rocky ridges, gorges and patches of papyrus swamp.

Murchison Falls National Park has 451 species of birds and 76 different mammals. The park is bisected by the Victoria Nile, which plunges 45 meters over the remnant rift valley wall, creating Murchison falls. The falls are the centerpiece of the park and the final event in an 80km stretch of rapids. This stretch of river provides one of Uganda’s most remarkable wildlife spectacles. Notable visitors to this park in the past have included Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway and several British Royals.

There are other ideal places to go bird-watching such as at Mabira Forest, Makerere University, Lutembe beach, Uganda Wildlife Education Center, Gaba Beach and Kasenge forest in Mukono. Your backyard can also be a good start.

Uganda to start Baloon Safaris

UWA introduced a new thing in Ugandan Tourism. Seguya the UWA executive director posted this on his Facebook timeline.

It’s not clear as to which national Park thing new tourism product is going to take place. I discussed this with some of the tour operators and tour guide to see what could the best national park for this. Some suggested that Kidepo ValleyNational Park is the ideal place for this because of her vast number of wildlife while others included Murchison falls on the list because it’s the biggest national park in Uganda.

While others welcomed the idea others where totally against it this. They said that it was an extravagant way of speeding money. One said that it would have been better if all to improve on the infrastructure in Ugandan National parks.

With this new Innovation Baloon safaris have been introduces to Queen ElizabethNational park as the First National park to have this in Uganda. Everybody is encouraged to take this up and go on to adventure it with us.

By Bruce Amp

Lake Chahafi: A crater Lake hidden in Kisoro

You wake up to sweet jazz music cascading into your room from an orchestra of various birds merrily playing out their daily morning tunes. You step out into the rising sunlight and your eyes crash into a delicious sight: Mountain Muhavura erect in his invariable aim for the skies, the crowd of cloud around his peak indicating that he has successfully hit the celestials.

You turn your eyes from Muhavura toward the opposite direction, and the placid waters of a picturesque lake sprawling off between the high hills invites you to check out what is in progress at thatmorning hour. At the lake’s shore you get to behold a crowd of crested cranes singing and dancing as though on a morning exercise routine.

It is the kind of experience you should hope to encounter waking up on the shores of Lake Chahafi, one of the several crater lakes down in SouthWestern Uganda’s Kisoro District.

Like other smaller crater lakes in Kisoro, Lake Chahafi remains largely unknown to the tourist world, pushed into the background by the more famous Bunyonyi and Mutanda lakes. But as a visitor you will actually find solid reasons why small Lake Chahafi perhaps deserves to be ranked along with the larger Bunyonyi and Mutanda on the list of lakes one has to prioritise when planning an excursion to Kigezi region.

Bird-watcher’s paradise

Lake Chahafi (together with its vicinity) is ranked by Kigezi tour operators as one of the places with the largest population as well as diversity of birds in south western Uganda. This is quite a statement, given that this region sits with the Kazinga region atop the rankings of Ugandan regions on the subject of bird endowment.

Nelson Mugisha, a tour operator in the region, avers that indeed Chahafi has both a bigger population and a wider diversity of species than most other tourist destinations in Kigezi.
Mugisha’s claim is supported by information from the African Bird Club, where Lake Chahafi is indicated as one of the lakes where a number of rare East African bird species have been sighted.

Talking of that gives Chahafi its competitive edge in this respect, Mugisha says: “The lake descends into a sprawling swamp of lush papyrus vegetation, of a kind you can hardly find on other lakes in Kigezi. It is this swamp that attracts the birds in bigger numbers and in more diversity than is to be found in other areas, because the birds always find it easier to feed and nest in the vegetation.”

Among the bird species to be easily seen at Lake Chahafi and rarely anywhere else are the Lesser Jacana, the African Jacana, the BrackCrake, the Blue-headed Coucal, the Common Moorhen, swamp flycatchers, swamp warblers, among others. Yours truly had a chance to behold two rare species: the Common Moorhen and the Malekite Kingfisher.

Beautiful scenery

Michael Murangira, a local tour guide in Kisoro, points out that Kigezi was nicknamed “The Switzerland of Uganda” owing to its rugged mountainous terrain and Mediterranean climate. Murangira names the Lake Chahafi area as one of the most scenic in the entire Kigezi area. “Lake Chahafi actually has a twin to its east, called Lake Kayumbu,” Murangira says. “In between these two lakes is a towering thread of a hill, and standing atop this one you will catch breathtaking scenery sprawling several kilometres on all sides below.”

Standing on the several high hills in the Chahafi area, one is spellbound as he rolls his eyes as far off as Mountain Muhavura on the horizon. In between the horizons lay incredible spreads of forest vegetation, hillside gardens, oddly-shaped ridges and gorges, name it.

Strategic base to tour Kigezi
Lake Chahafi has a resort right on its shores, and Murangira says apart from staying here when touring the Chahafi area, Lake Chahafi Resort is also ideal for one wishing to go tracking Gorilla or mountain-hiking. He explains that Lake Chahafi is about just 20km from Mountain Muhavura, Mgahinga and Sabinyo –and less than 20km from the Mgahinga gorilla sanctuary.

There’s a colonial history to it 
For those with interest in the past, there is also some interesting history to be encountered at Lake Chahafi. A rich colonial history about the struggle for control of the region at the time of the First World War. For the shores of Lake Chahafi is where in 1914, the joint forces of the British and Belgians set up a base to ward off the approaches of the Germans in the struggle for control of Kigezi.

And going backwards beneath 1914, the Lake Chahafi area is also where the Bafumbira tribal leader Katuregye based in his attempts to repulse the approaching British imperialists. This Katurebe and his subjects were inspired by the native Nyabingi religious movement which claimed that the spirits of the land would help the natives defeat the colonialists, and there are interesting tales about the dramatic campaign that subdued Katuregye.