Mweya Safari Lodge from the deck in Africa

Counting hippos in Africa

You don’t have to be an African safari expert to become a volunteer hippo census-taker. In fact, if you have never set foot in East or South Africa, you are more than welcome to come along on this adventure.  Mweya Safari Lodge invites travelers to Queen Elizabeth National Park to help the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) cruise along the water in a six-passenger boat, counting hippo heads.

Census-taking trips are planned for February and March 2012. Volunteers will sail with the UWA staff and researchers  in conducting the census.  There is a fee of $100 per day for each seat, but breakfast, lunch and bottled water are included.  Volunteers are entitled to go on more than one excursion (daily rate applies). Seats will be available for 12 days (please see regions and dates below), making a total of 24 available seats.

Regions and dates to keep in mind

Kazinga Channel – Feb 10 – 12 (6 seats)

Lake George – Feb 16 -20 (10 seats)

Kazinga, Katwe and Pelican Point – Feb 24 (2 seats)

Lake Edward – Feb 25 (2 seat)

Crater Lakes (including Nyamsingiri) – March 2 and 3 (4 seats)

Kazinga Channel

The Kazinga Channel, the predominant feature of Queen Elizabeth National Park, is a 22-mile stretch of water connecting two lakes – fresh water Lake George and saltwater Lake Edward, one of Uganda’s Great Lakes. Kazinga has one of the densest populations of hippos (and Nile crocodiles) in the world.  Numerous elephant and buffalo can be viewed along the Channel’s banks and myriad birds inhabit the area.

Hippo lounging Mweya Safari Lodge

HIPPOPOTAMUS – Greek river horses of Africa

The hippopotamus – Greek for river horse – is a huge, herbivorous mammal populating sub-Saharan Africa.  It’s the third largest land mammal (after the elephant and rhino) and is semi-aquatic: hippos stay in water or mud by day to keep cool and emerge at dusk to graze on grass. While they resemble pigs, their closest living relatives are whales and porpoises.  The earliest known hippo fossils in Africa date to some 16 million years ago.

Hippos have barrel-shaped torsos, enormous mouths and teeth, nearly hairless bodies, and stubby legs. Despite its stocky shape and short legs, a hippo can easily outrun a human. Hippos are an endangered species, threatened by habitat loss and poaching for their meat and ivory canine teeth. In 2005, large numbers of hippos were killed in the Kazinga Chanel as a result of an anthrax outbreak, which occurs when animals eat remnants of vegetation in the driest months, absorbing bacterial spores that can live for decades in dry soil.

Mweya Lodge Queens Cottage in Africa

Mweya Safari Lodge

Those planning on joining the Uganda Wildlife Authority on its hippo counting expeditions may stay within Queen Elizabeth National Park at Mweya Safari Lodge. Located in East Africa and surrounded by the Rwenzori Mountains, also known as the ‘Mountains of the Moon,’ the lodge consists of a variety of accommodations, including 32 standard and 12 deluxe rooms, two suites, four tents, a Presidential cottage, a Queens Cottage and two family cottages.  Rates range from $160 for single rooms to $330 for deluxe rooms per night and include meals. All rooms have en-suite bathrooms, balconies with views of the Kazinga Channel, safes, phone, fans and oversize windows. The suites and deluxe rooms have natural wooden floors and AC units. The suites and cottages have minibars.  Two of the standard rooms and one of the luxury tents provide disabled access.

If You Go:

MWEYA SAFARI LODGE 256 (0) 312 – 259390

Marasa Central Reservations
Plot 96-98, 5TH Street Industrial Area
P.O. Box 22827
Kampala,
Uganda

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Article written by  Travel Writer Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip, Travels from Northern California. Photos courtesy of Mweya Safari Lodge

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Take the Blue Train to South Africa

Waiting for your flight may just have become more bareable

There is nothing easy about trying to grab a few hours’ sleep between connecting flights on those uncomfortable airport chairs, where plastic armrests and wafer thin foam pads hinder any chance of comfort. Combined with the drone of security and boarding announcement, excited children and stressed parents (not to mention the sounds and smells coming from the person next to you) it’s usually a long, trying and uncomfortable wait before you are able to board your flight for yet more insufficient rest.
While some airport terminals do have connecting hotels where you can gather a few hours of contented rest (probably the only time most of us would consider paying for a hotel by the hour), the rates are usually too steep for most to consider this an option.

An affordable solution is on the horizon however and may be coming to an airport (or even train or bus station) near you.

The Sleep Box is a budget friendly, compact hotel room featuring a modest 4sq meters of space, with single bed and a lockable door so weary travelers are able to grab a little rest in peace and security.

There are no en suite facilities and with just a plug needed to connect the rooms’ electricity, units are entirely mobile (think small garden shed with a bed inside) and can be installed in any space, without the need for extensive renovations or remodeling, making this new innovation not only practical but very affordable.

They are gradually being seen in hotels, hostels and even offices (for overworked employees) around Europe with plans to introduce these to the USA in 2012.

Prices range depending on location but are typically around $50 per night or $15 an hour for those in airport terminals.

Photo Credit: SleepBox

Saskawa Lodge at Singita Grumeti Reserves

Travel + Leisure, one of the industry’s leading consumer magazines, has released its annual list of the world’s best in travel, as decided by its readers.

In the hotels category, it lists the top 100 over-all hotels, and then breaks down the lists by geographic regions.

In the Top 100 category, I found it interesting that of the top 10, six were in Africa and several of those were luxury camps – glamping, I believe they call it. Only one North American resort cracked the top 10, the Triple Creek Ranch in Montana.

Here’s the top 10 of the Top 100 list, as determined by Travel + Leisure readers:

1. Singita Grumeti Reserves (Serengeti National Park, Tanzania)
2. Singita Sabi Sand (Sabi Sand Wildtuin, South Africa)
3. Royal Malewane (Kruger area, South Africa)
4. Ol Donyo Lodge (Kenya Game Parks)
5. Oberoi Udaivilas (Udaipur, India)
6. Triple Creek Ranch (Darby, Montana, USA)
7. Madarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
8. Oberoi Rajvilas (Jaipur, India)
9. Kirawira Luxury Tented Camp (Serengeti National Park, Tanzania)
10. Serengeti Migration Camp (Serengeti National Park, Tanzania)

A View from the Peninsula Hotel in Chicago, Illinois

Looking at the winners by region, here are the top picks by the magazine’s readers:

Continental U.S. and Canada:

• Top Resort – Blackberry Farm (Walland, TN)
• Top Large City Hotel – The Peninsula (Chicago, IL)
• Top Small City Hotel – Eliot Hotel (Boston, MA – though I’m not sure I’d call Boston a “small” city)
• Top Inn – Triple Creek Ranch (Darby, MT)

Hawaii:

• Top Resort – Four Seasons Resort Hualalai (Hawaii – the Big Island)

The Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas:

• Top Resort – Nisbet Plantation Beach Club (Nevis, Bahamas)

Central and South America:

• Top Resort – Posada de Mike Rapu, Explora Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile)
• Top City Hotel – Palacio Duhau – Park Hyatt (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Mexico:

• Top Resort – One&Only Palmilla (Los Cabos)
• Top City Hotel – Four Seasons Hotel México, D.F. (Mexico City)

Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific:

• Top Lodge/Resort – Lodge at Kauri Cliffs (Matauri Bay, New Zealand)
• Top City Hotel – The Langham (Melbourne, Australia)

Europe:

• Top Resort – Hotel Caruso (Ravello, Italy)
• Top Large City Hotel – Stafford London by Kempinski (London, England)
• Top Small City Hotel – Milestone Hotel (London, England)
• Top Inn/Small Country Hotel – Hotel Villa Cipriani (Asolo, Italy)

Asia:

• Top Lodge/Resort – Oberoi Udaivilas (Udaipur, India)
• Top City Hotel – Mandarin Oriental (Bangkok, Thailand)

Africa and the Middle East:

• Top Lodge/Resort – Singita Grumeti Reserves (Serengeti National Park, Tanzania)
• Top City Hotel – Cape Grace Hotel (Cape Town, South Africa)

All winners were chosen by readers who voted based on five criteria: rooms/facilities, location, service, restaurants/food, and value.

The full list of “best of” picks can be found online at the Travel + Leisure website.

[Photos courtesy Singita Game Reserves and The Peninsula Chicago]

Bedroom at Madikwe Private Game Lodge

When landing at the airstrip of Madiwke Game Reserve in the North-West Province of South Africa, don’t be surprised if you see giraffe sticking their heads above the treetops to observe your approach. I did. And on the drive to Madikwe Hills Private Game Lodge, zebra and kudu greeted me, even before my first official game drive.

The luxury lodge is so perfectly attuned to its surroundings that I didn’t see it at first, situated among the Tamoti trees and giant boulders. But once I arrived under the thatched portico at Madikwe Hills Private Game Lodge, I quickly discovered that luxury can coexist with nature.

Ten individual suites are connected to the main lodge by wooden walkways. Each suite is unique. Mine had a fireplace in the living area and a large bedroom that looked out onto a private plunge pool. The large bathroom included a shower carved into a boulder, although the stone floor required caution as it could be quite slippery when wet. A sliding glass door led to another patio with outdoor shower and a tub.

The main lodge offered elegant seating areas both inside and out. Breakfast and lunch on the patio came with a view of a waterhole. Lucky diners saw glimpses of lions coming for a drink. At dinner, the dining room table was set with china and crystal. And the quality of the food lived up to the grand decor.

Can you see his teeth?

Madikwe Game Reserve (located in a malaria free zone)  is known for sightings of wild dogs, although they eluded me during my visit. Over 8200 animals were relocated to the reserve in 1991 to help the area’s economy. I can’t claim to have seen them all but lions and elephants were especially plentiful. And then there was the hippopotamus who opened his mouth wide just in time for me to click the camera shutter.

If you’ve been on safari, then you know it’s hard work — up early for game drives — with late dinners following afternoon game drives. Madikwe Hills Private Game Lodge offeres a luxurious setting for resting up before it’s time to climb back into the LandRover for another round of animal sightings.

If you go:
Madikwe Hills Private Game Lodge
P.O.Box 551, Zeerust, North West Province, 2865
+27 (018) 350-9200
hannes@madikwehills.com

Photos courtesy Donna L. Hull

Review by Donna L. Hull, My Itchy Travel Feet, The Baby Boomer’s Guide to Travel