Mud Hut Travel Blog

What a fantastic three days it has been. It was Mud Hut Travel’s second WTM and my first. Just imagine, the whole of Excel London filled with travel industry representatives. Countries from all the continents, all shapes and sizes, had wonderful stalls, showcasing what their particular region or company has to offer. A feast for the travel-hungry professional.
It was fantastic to be able to meet some of the people we have been working with over the past year – representatives from lodges and management groups in Zimbabwe – especially as Victoria Falls has been really popular at Mud Hut lately. It’s an incredible destination, showcasing some of the best southern Africa has to offer, and it was fantastic to be able to learn much more about this amazing country. Victoria Falls, right on the mighty Zambezi River, is a firm honeymoon favourite for the adventure-loving. Zimbabwe has been in the news for all the wrong reasons in the last few years, and it was great to find out that the tourism industry there is still going strong and that there are funds flowing into a region that has so much to offer and needs support. A custom-made adventure trip to this amazing place is always a highlight for any trip to Southern Africa.

Some of Malawi’s stunning lakeside lodges, like Kaya Mawa, are getting a facelift this year, and it should continue to attract travellers who want to combine lake and land adventures.

Zambia, a Mud Hut favourite and all-round breathtaking experience on the Southern African circuit, is going from strength to strength. We managed to tie strong bonds with some of our trusted contacts in the South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi parks, like Norman Carr safaris

South Luangwa, Norman Carr Safaris

and Robin Pope Safaris, and their seasonal walking safari camps, Sausage Tree Camp and the beautiful lodges run by Sanctuary Retreats, Puku Ridge Camp and the Chichele Presidential Lodge. I spent Christmas in the South Luangwa last year, and it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. The Zambian lodges are incredibly well appointed and attract honeymooners from all over the world.

We managed to make close contact with people from Explore Gorongosa – an amazing camp in Mozambique’s prime game reserve. They do fantastic specials combining game viewing with the breathtaking tropical beach lodges the country is famous for. Our honeymoon favourite, Flamingo Bay Water Lodge, was represented and it was good touching base in person again.

Namibia was a revelation – having been a regular winner or runner-up in Wanderlust’s Travel Awards Top Country category, this arid and stunningly beautiful country had a strong presence at the WTM. Showcasing lodges, adventure trips, sustainable tourism effort or cultural encounters. And if you have World Cup tickets or you are travelling to South Africa in general, it’s really easy to tag on an excursion to Namibia.
Our horseback safaris have attracted a lot of interest over the past few months, and we managed to secure great deals again, especially in Botswana’s Okavango Delta and the Limpopo Valley. I always thought this is the best way to see game – up close and personal, and the comraderie and down-to-earth atmosphere on these specialist safaris are incredible. We can now offer horseback holidays in southern Africa for all levels.

South Africa, of course, had a fantastically strong presence. It was all about the World Cup – a lot of the activities at the WTM were based around football. The Kruger Park is always a firm favourite on the safari circuit and we were lucky to be able to meet up with representatives from some of our favourite lodges there – Sense of Africa’s Lukimbi and Idube as well as finding new boutique hotels and self-catering apartments in Cape Town and the close-by vineyards of Stellenbosch and Franschoek. South Africa, as always, is going from strength to strength.

There were fantastic lectures, too – all about some of the latest efforts in sustainable and responsible tourism. Discussions around the future of adventure travel. Case studies into package versus custom travel. Of course we were lapping it all up, trying to figure out how to translate all of these ideas into our particular business, that of creating custom-made itineraries for travel in Southern Africa. I had been planning quite a few client honeymoons lately, and it was great to learn how to approach this specialist market more effectively.

Can’t wait for next year’s WTM!

If you want to get in touch … 

Above all, keep smiling!
Bettina

Mud Hut were out with some clients on the Zambezi River in August and had a superb couple of days. Take a look at the video below.

One of the clients had never been fishing…. well he hadn’t caught anything before!! And within 24 hours he had caught 7 fish… 6 small bait fish and in impressive Tiger fish weighing over 8 pounds!!

Our camp was situated down river from the Chirundu border post between Zambia and Zimbabwe; but you can also participate in tiger fishing off a houseboat in Lake Kariba. There is nothing like camping in the African bush and waking up to a pot of coffee on the fire, an early morning fish, big breakfasts, some beers out on the river and a mid afternoon nap before heading out again for some more fishing and sundowners…

Not only did we have some great fishing, but saw plenty of wildlife: a small herd of elephants plus a solitary bull swimming in the reeds, malachite kingfishers, ground hornbills, fish eagles, monkeys, baboons, crocodiles and plenty of hippos. A treat one evening was the roar of a male lion no more than 1km from our camp…

Anyway … enough talking… here is the video:
(footage by Mud Hut Africa)
Music: Wake up - Oliver Mtukudzi; Alane - Wes

Hope that whet your appetite for some custom travel to southern Africa. Take a look at our other options at the Mud Hut or get in touch….

Keep smiling,

Click to get in touch with the southern African specialists

Rob

The purpose of this document is to create awareness around probable business travel restrictions during the Soccer World Cup to be held June - July 2010.

Although the official World Cup is 11 June - 11 July 2010, the period between March and July 2010 will be an exceptionally busy period with the pre- and post- arrangements that will have a huge impact on business travel. The grid below indicates the magnitude of the disruption to business travel over this period which includes other major events beside the FIFA World cup.

Overview of what is to be expected during the World Cup:

1. Volume of Travellers expected
The World Cup is approximately 15 times bigger than the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The media contingent that will attend is estimated at 30 000. Business travel is disrupted purely due to the volume of supporters.

All indications are that approximately 220 000 long haul visitors will attend, 180 000 visitors from Africa and an average of 150 000 local supporters. On any match day it is envisaged that 100 000 travellers will need to use a travel commodity i.e. flight or road / rail transportation.

An additional 2 000 busses have been imported (overload on road transport) to carry these supporters. It is predicted that supporters will watch their team play every 3 or 4 days. When their teams are not playing, supporters will frequent the Fan Parks or embark on tours within the city of their choice.

2. Fan Parks
Fan Parks are situated in central areas so that general public can watch all the games. Entrance to the Fan Parks is free and it is expected that these Fan Parks will attract a lot of visitors. In Germany 2006 one Fan Park attracted 500 000 spectators to watch one game. To avoid large transport infrastructure expense, training venues will also double as public viewing sites.

Fan Parks in the Western Cape
The Grand Parade; Somerset West Road;
Stellenbosch; Bellville Velodrome;
Swartklip; Atlantis;
Khayelitsha; Nomzamo Yethu (Hout Bay).

Training Facilities in the Western Cape
Newlands Rugby Ground; UCT Rugby Ground;
UWC Soccer Field; Bellville Rugby Ground;
Stellenbosch Rugby Ground; Athlone Stadium.

Fan Parks in Johannesburg (list to be updated)
Mary Fitzgerald Square in the Newton precinct;
Fan Parks in Soweto are to be expected;
Innes-Free Park in Sandton;
Walter Sisulu Square in Kliptown.

Fan Parks in Durban (list to be updated)
The Durban Beach Front has been earmarked as one of Durban’s preferred sites for one or more Fan Parks during 2010.

3. Flights
To date no airline has released any prices or strategies for the World Cup period.
On pre and post match-days flights into and out of the venue cities will be overbooked. Due to the sheer volume of travellers, huge delays can be expected.

World Cup teams will use charter aircrafts and plan to use 2nd tier airports however their supporters will use the general airports. These airports will focus on scheduled international and domestic flights.

4. Accommodation
All the major hotel brands within South Africa have contracted with MATCH at a pre-defined room rate and therefore the normal Corporate rates will not be available during this period.
According to FIFA there is an approximate shortfall of 18 000 rooms for the World Cup. This supply and demand scenario allows B&B’s / Guesthouses to offer rooms at a premium.

5. Car Rental
It is most likely that all car rental companies will go on “stop-sale” for the period of the World Cup and rental cars will be scarce.

6. Road Closures
It is indicated that there will be limited access and in some instances complete road closures in the areas surrounding the stadium and fan parks. This will make it difficult for travellers to move freely between offsite meetings.

7. Critical Date
The next critical date for the WC2010 is the 4th December 2009 when the Pool draw is completed. This draw will indicate where the teams will be based and where their supporters will be spending most of their time.

8. Fixtures
The match schedule (see attached) will be updated after the draw on the 4th December 2009. Games will be played at: 13h30, 16h00 and 20h30. Travellers need to allow for traffic congestion both at the stadium and the Fan Parks. It is advisable to allow 2hrs lead time if travelling to / from these areas.

Recommendations for travel during this period:

• Do not travel during these periods unless it is critical to travel.
• Plan your trip well in advance; changes to a ticket over this period will be extremely difficult and very expensive.
• Try to make appointments at a location that is in the opposite direction of a stadium / fan park.
• Take flights during the times of when the games are being played. Games start at 13h30.
• Allow for a minimum of 2 hours to get to the airport in Cape Town and possibly 3 hours for Johannesburg. The congestion on the roads both to and from the Airports is going to be chaotic – plan for delays.
• Parking at the airport will be virtually impossible and it is advisable to get someone to drop / collect you from the airports. Transfer companies will be busy with tourists and will also be very expensive.

Sustainable Africa
One of our clients last week told asked me what the difference between sustainable tourism and eco tourism was. The wiki entries were both a bit formal and put the practices into fairly rigid boxes.

Thus I set aside some time this week to have a look at what we at Mud Hut Travel believe and follow. This has been posted to our site, but thought it would be appropriate to put it here too.

Eco-tourism and sustainable tourism are not the same thing, but the two do sit hand in hand. Eco-tourism is focused on minimizing the impact of the travel experience whilst providing travelers with an experience in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Sustainable tourism is to ensure that the travel process is a positive experience for local people, the environment and tourists themselves. Most importantly, the whole process encourages sustainable economic growth and that any impact on the environment is sustainable and low impact. In otherwords, creating an eco-friendly experience, whilst assisting in the development of the local communities.

Africa is a magical place that has been a huge part of the Mud Hut Tribe’s lives. Our directors have spent many months living amongst and exploring the high mountains, the low lying valleys and plains, the tropical beaches and the backwaters.

Mud Hut Travel

We want everyone to experience southern Africa, but if we all went to the same beaches, stayed in the same big branded hotel, travelled the same routes, ate at the same globally owned chain and rented the same brand of car… what would southern Africa look like in 10 years time?

Hence we want to preserve the uniqueness, the custom and the diversity of the region.

Mud Hut Travel promotes owner-managed businesses aligned to sustainable tourism in all of our itineraries. This way the money directly spent by you will go into the local communities, and assist in the development of the area.

Thus when you return in ten years time, the same small owner managed lodges will be there – but they will be managed by the son’s and daughters of the previous owners; and there may be another one up the road. Where perhaps last time there was only one dive operator, there will now be three different operations along the coast - all owned by previous employees.

And this is the development we support in southern Africa. Sustainable development is not a Chinese built 2 lane highway through the bush, Italian owned air-con hotels and super fast internet connections; it’s the economic upliftment and empowerment of the communities where we spend our money and the preservation of the environments we visit.

Hope that helps with whatever you were looking for, but if you want, get in touch with me through Mud Hut or send us enquiry below.

Keep smiling,

Rob

South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup

For those of you wondering whether the stadiums will be completed for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, a few weeks ago at the World Travel Market, Mud Hut Africa found out that out of the 8 World Cup stadiums being built or renovated, only one of them is on time…. ONE… !!

Unfortunately (for all those sceptics), the others were all between 2 and 8 weeks ahead of schedule… yes, AHEAD of schedule. Luckily the 2010 World Cup is being held in southern Africa, and not in North London where building stadiums tend to run years over deadline. Interestingly, London has recently announced that had it foreseen the financial strains the current credit crunch are imposing on the construction industry,

South Africa 2010

they would not have bid for the 2012 Olympics. However, in 2005 South Africa committed R550 billion to infrastructure development for the World Cup, and 65% of those funds have already been spent.

Last week at the WTM, I had a ticket to sit in on a meeting with some members of the South African organising committee,  FIFA World Cup members and the South African Tourism Board.

After some really informative presentations, the first question asked was, ‘Does FIFA have any back-up plans if the 2010 football World Cup doesn’t go ahead in South Africa?’. Hans Klaus, the Director Of Communications And Public Affairs for FIFA, laughed and said, ‘If I had a dollar - no, cent for everytime someone asked me that, I would be able to host my own World Cup…!!’

No contingency plan has been put in place, but there is a plan should something unexpected like a major natural disaster occur. This is a process plan that is in place for every World Cup - so for all the sceptics… hard luck. For all the 450,000 fans expected to make the trip to southern Africa… get your 2010 World Cup tickets!!!

Local Supporters

Tickets will be going on sale from 2nd February 2009 to the independant traveller, but agents and brokers who are registered with FIFA will get an allocation in November, and then can sell them as packages. Mud Hut Travel has secured the services of various ground handlers for the 2010 World Cup, and we are well positioned to offer a custom travel package for you and your fellow football fans.

Should you not want to commit in advance to a package, you can buy your own tickets, and then once the final World Cup draw is known, you can contact Mud Hut Africa to custom package a trip to southern Africa around your teams and tickets dates. Mud Hut will not only give you a great football experience, but also the chance to enjoy much of the regions natural beauty, custom and hospitality. Have a look at Mud Hut Travel to see what else you would like to combine into your trip - walking safaris, tropical island getaways, 4×4 adventures, surfing tours, golf travel..

Another question asked referred to the political uncertainty in southern Africa, and what would happen with Jacob Zuma, his various court cases and the elections happening next year. What was pleasing to here was a response from the government saying that if Zuma, Motlanthe, Shilowa, Lekota or Helen Zille were in the presidents seat, they would all want the World Cup to be a success. It is in no-one’s political or personal interest to sabotage or destabilise the World Cup preparations. Hopefully this World Cup will have the same unifying effect that the previous cricket and rugby one’s have had on South Africa.

The meeting with the various World Cup organisers was incredibly informative, and I could go on for ages about the development and benefit that it will bring to the region. However, I would like to end off by saying that I am very positive about the 2010 World Cup and look forward to the showcase that South Africa will put on!!

See you in South Africa in 2010!!

Rob

Just a quick note to bring your attention to a great article that appeared in this mornings Observer newspaper.

Walking safaris

Clemency Burton-Hill was a city-slicker who had previous experiences of ‘packaged’ tourist bus safaris, and had no desire to head back into the southern African bush. However, with some coaxing she travels to 3 different lodges within South Africa for some walking safaris.

Here are two of my favourite excerpts from her story.

“It was getting up close and personal with a pair of white rhino that did it: that was the moment that changed everything…

….And to wake to the sun rising pink and perfect over the horizon and know that it’s just you and nature for thousands and hundreds of square miles all around, before setting off for another three-hour bush walk - well, even I have to admit that Soho can’t offer that.”

Aside from the obviously amazing bush experience, Clemency also seeks to use safaris and lodges that have the interests of the community in mind. This is done through employing and training local community members, assisting with education and economic empowerment - something which is close to the ethos of the Mud Hut Tribe.

Go to the Observer website for a read of the full article.

And when you’re done… have a read through our Walking Safaris section at Mud Hut Africa.

Hamba kakuhle

Rob

Aside from our passion for travel, is a deep passion for the wildlife and people of Africa. For us, this is what makes Africa such a special destination.

In all of our trips we ask that everyone make an effort to support the community they visit. This may be in the form of an organised township tour, a trip to an Aids orphanage, visiting a community wildlife project or the donating of money to a registered charity.

We do not encourage giving unsolicited gifts. Whilst it may be difficult to resist giving money to those you feel may be in need, it creates a market for begging - and that is the last thing that Africa needs.

We encourage development.

Please contact us before, after or during your trip to find out ways in which you can help in the development of Africa and her people.