Tourism in Africa

Construction of a new five-star hotel in Zanzibar is set to complete December this year, developers have said, bringing a ray of hope in a country where shortage of world-class accommodation facilities is thwarting tourism development plans.Tanzania is in big demand for more investors in the hospitality industry in order to match the growing number of tourists.
Compared to neighbouring Kenya, Tanzania has less in hotel investments whereas it has 174 registered and licenced tourist class hotels, offering 11,568 rooms.

The Zanzibar Ocean Wave Hotel & Resort will cost $25M and will be situated in Mbweni in the island famous for its historic clover.Blue Pearl Hotel and Apartments chairman Rustam Merani told the press recently that Tanzania will have 171 rooms more by the end of this year, thanks to the firm’s massive investment drive.“We’re building a 5-star hotel at Mbweni in Zanzibar. It is going to cost $25 million and will be known as the Zanzibar Ocean Wave Hotel & Resorts. It’s construction started two years ago,” he said.

The hotel capacity in the entire Tanzania and Zanzibar is a hundred and seventy four facilities under official operation for both local and tourism use, with an aggregate capacity of eleven thousand five hundred and sixty eight rooms.
A 1976 survey revealed that the greater part of the Hotel industry in Tanzania belongs to town-based hotels in comparison to holiday resorts. The findings also showed that though occupancy margins between the two kinds of accommodation destinations were equal, the operating expenditure for urban facilities exacerbated even as owners checked in returns.
Despite this, urban hotels still generate greater revenue to the Tanzanian economy than the resorts which are comparatively easier to run but risky to invest on.

Debates have abounded on whether operators should find a break-even point between the town and holiday facility by either clinging to improving the stakes of the holiday resort or giving a stimulus on the more predictable yet expensive town facilities.

Though Tanzania has top-notch tourist circuits ranging from snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro to the sandy beaches in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, it still lacks a sufficient number of holiday facilities that live up to global competitiveness.
The year by year statistics on mainland hotels with a staff base of above thirty workers, giving attention to the level of occupancy and the nightly beds that can meet immediate occupancy needs, showed the following results between December 2009 and December 2010.

*Of the 109 major hotels that were under spotlight, the 2009 results showed a bed capacity of 7938. With bed-nights of 246, 078 on offer, some 90, 664 persons were accommodated with 43,146 of which being foreign.
* The December 2010 statistics climbed a notch higher to 150 hotels with 251, 472 bed-nights on offer, with 91, 236 persons visiting of which 43, 697 were foreign.
* Both surveys took part over 31 days.
The notable factor in the above display is that occupancy margin depreciated by 0.2% over the two December antitheses.
Roughly, the international visitor remained almost constant, a major reason perhaps being lack of superb facilities for holiday accommodation.

With the building of the new Zanzibar Ocean Wave Hotel & Resort, Tanzania will be improving its bubbling hotel potential in both the mainland and the oceanfront.
Nevertheless, currently Tanzania is the leading tourist attraction in Africa most likely beating South Africa, because of rampant robberies and thefts of tourists property in South Africa.
After the election violence in Kenya, thousands of tourists shunned Kenya making it fall behind Tanzania in tourist numbers.However, that did not significantly affect the transit tourists at the Nairobi International Airport.
Nairobi remains the connecting center for many airlines to and from Africa hence you will find thousands of passengers crammed at the transit waiting for connecting flights.

Tourists to Egypt and Tunisia, declined tremendously because of the demonstrations and the subsequent violence.Whereas Morocco, Algeria and Mali lost thousands of tourists because of threats from islamic fundamentalists.
As for Nigeria, the negative publicity reports caused by attacks,abductions and deaths on innocent civilians by crazy islamists -Boko Haram, have driven tourists off the country. The rampant scams originating form Nigeria scare many would be tourists.

Nevertheless, Nigerians in the diaspora are the largest number of tourists to their country.Thousands of diaspora Nigerians land at Murtala Mohammed International Airport daily visiting there home country.When i visited Nigeria sept 2012, i noticed that there were very few connecting flights from Murtala Mohammed International Airport to other countries compared to Nairobi International Airport.
Nigeria you are a super power in Africa yes. But you need to rebrand yourself. I hope Goodluck Jonathan and other Nigerians are listening.

Paul Okia
Happy Tours Africa
info@happytoursug.com
www.happytoursug.com

Boda Boda or Okada in Africa

BODA BODA IN EAST AFRICA & OKADA IN WEST AFRICA Boda Boda is a bicycle taxi, originally in East Africa (from English border-border). The bicycle rider can also be called boda-boda. In Uganda it is sometimes abbreviated as simply Boda.
A motorcycle taxi is a licensed form of transport in some countries. Typically, the taxi carries one passenger, and sometimes two or more who ride as the pillion, behind the motorcycle operator.
The boda-boda taxis are part of the African bicycle culture; they started in the 1960s and 1970s and are still spreading from their origin on the Kenyan - Ugandan border to other regions. The name originated from a need to transport people across the "no-mans-land" between the border posts without the paperwork involved with using motor vehicles crossing the international border. This started in the southern border crossing town of Busia (Kenya/Uganda), where there is over half a mile between the gates, and quickly spread to the northern border town of Malaba (Kenya). The bicycle owners would shout out boda-boda (border-to-border) to potential customers - not to be confused with poda-poda, which is a form of shared taxi in Sierra Leone.
Indian or Chinese standard roadster bicycles are used with locally made carriers and a cushion to transport passengers and goods. There are big advantages compared to the expensive, slow and heavy Cycle rickshaw used in Asia. In many East African and Central African cities and villages, professional bodaboda taxi-drivers are common. Bodaboda organizations have been founded in many towns. They help to minimize the risks (dangerous driving, badly maintained bikes) by registering and licensing their members.
While the boda-boda bicycle is still spreading to other areas, in its area of origin, especially in cities in Kenya and Uganda, the bicycles are more and more replaced by motorbikes. The motorbike taxis have taken the name bodaboda as well. Other local names have been coined for the motorbikes; they are known as peng' in the Nyanza province of Kenya. In 2004 it was estimated that more than 200 000 men in Uganda were working as bicycle bodaboda and already almost 90 000 as motorized motorbike bodaboda. Okada or Achaba is the Nigerian equivalent to motorbike bodaboda. The Philippines has its own version of this form of paid transport called the "habal-habal"
An okada sometimes called achaba, going or inaga is a commercial motorcycle used as a vehicle for hire in Nigeria. The name okada was borrowed from Okada Air, a Nigerian local airline, now defunct. Okadas are also commonly used in many West African countries, including Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
In its time, Okada Air was the most popular Nigerian local airline, but was not known for its comfort.The motorcycle transports were nicknamed after the airline, because they could manoeuvre through the heavy traffic of Lagos, and take passengers to their destinations in a timely manner, in the same way as the airline. The ironic humour of an airline's name being used for commercial motorcyclists, as well as the local familiarity with Okada Air, caused the nickname of okada to outlive the airline from which it originated, and which many Nigerians no longer even remember.

Okadas appeared in the late 1980s, during an economic downturn in Nigeria. Jobless youths began to use motorcycles to earn money by transporting passengers on narrow or poorly maintained roads to faraway cities and villages. This type of transportation quickly became popular, and acceptance of it has increased steadily. Okadas are now one of the primary modes of transportation in Nigeria, and comprise a cheap and adaptable transportation system, the most popular informal one in the country by far. Even in remote villages, they arrive at regular intervals. It has become a means of transportation regularly used by the young and the old, and men and women. Unfortunately, the rise in okada usage has been accompanied by increased occurrences of risky driving, and accidents, on Nigerian roads; as a result, okadas have come under heavy criticism, resulting in legislation intended to restrict or prohibit their operation in some Nigerian cities.
Taxicab and bus service in Nigeria is inadequate, and congestion and poorly maintained roads are widespread. Okadas are used in cities such as Lagos by businessmen, government workers, and students to overcome traffic congestion, and are able to navigate roads that are inaccessible to automobiles and buses, particularly in villages and urban slums. Contributing to the flourishing of okadas is their low purchase price for operators, and their superior fuel efficiency, which is particularly important during petrol shortages in Nigeria. Okada fares are usually higher than those of public transit. Riding on an okada has been described as "a unique experience" by both tourists and local users.
Accidents Police statistics show that bodaboda accidents claim 500 people in Uganda every year while another 1200 get seriously injured.There are harrowing tales of children who have been victims of these accidents to the extent that the biggest national referral hospital, Mulago, set up a special ward to specifically treat such cases.
Over 100 children are bedridden at Mulago National Hospital due to bodaboda accidents that occur while they are being taken to school. Okadas, like motorcycles elsewhere, have a higher rate of crippling and fatal accidents per unit of distance travelled than automobiles. Injuries to limbs occur to patients who report at the emergency department of that hospitals in practitically all African countries. The use of personal protective equipment is practically nonexistent among Okada or Boda Boda riders.
Joan Naluggwa 6, a Top Class pupil of Salver Village at Wandegeya says she was involved in an accident while going to school when a bodaboda she was traveling on knocked another at Kaleerwe.
Annet Komimbo 7, a Top Class pupil at Makerere West Valley says she was heading home on a bodaboda after school when it had a head on collision with another. She sustained head injuries.
Elijah Kapule, only 2, was knocked by a bodaboda at the roadside and broke his leg as he rushed to welcome his elder siblings from school.
Abel Bukenya 6, a P.1 pupil of Omega Primary School and resident of Kabalagala was knocked by a bodaboda a few meters from home as he came from school.
Sharifa Nakato 10, who goes to school at Kayembe in Bweyogerere was was knocked by a runaway bodaboda as she crossed the road from school. She is being looked after by her mother, Florence Nakayiza, in hospital where she is bedridden. Sharifa Nakato was hit by a runaway bodaboda
Avias Niwagaba 8, a Top class pupil at John Bosco Katende together with his sister Sanyu Tusiime 12, had been sent to buy milk when a bodaboda knocked them. Sanyu was not so lucky and died on spot.

• Failure of motorists to detect and recognize motorcycles in traffic is the predominating cause of motorcycle accidents
• The vast majority of okada/Boda Boda drivers do not pay attention to road signs and other motorists.
• Unlicensed and untrained drivers. In Africa, okada /Boda Boda drivers begin working after only a few hours of training sessions. Underage okada /Boda Boda drivers are not uncommon on African roads.
• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Over speeding
• Over loading, they will carry as many as 4 passengers on a single motor bike, plus luggage.
• Poor state of African roads, which are typically riddled with pot-holes
• Graft and corruption among the Police Force,who are induced into disregarding traffic misdemeanors when given bribes.

The influx of Okadas/Boda Bodas has been linked to an increase in crime in cities throughout Africa, particularly in city centres, urban slums, and red light districts. The criminal activities range from theft of purses and mobile phones to abduction, grand larceny, and even murders.
Okadas have been criticized for causing or exacerbating traffic congestion in the cities where they operate. There have also been incidents involving gang beatings, in which Okada drivers have attacked motorists after traffic accidents. Fights have been known to escalate into riots and vehicles being set on fire.
Boda Boda/Okada Outside Africa
Vietnam Locally known as xe om, this lightweight mode of transportation is one of the most popular in Vietnam. It surpasses buses when it comes to speed and mobility. Passengers can get a ride simply by waving at passing operators. Alternatively they can find drivers who usually gather at public places such as schools, markets, hospitals and bus or train stations.
United States A motorcycle for hire service began in California and New York City in 2011. Like a sedan service, random passengers may not hail the motorcycles, but rather a yearly individual or corporate membership fee, plus an hourly rate, is charged. Experienced riders, many former police motorcyclists, carry clients on Honda Gold Wings, and in California can bypass traffic congestion by lane splitting. Passengers are provided with helmets, airbag vests, and Bluetooth in-helmet cell phones. Besides the Gold Wings, the service bought several Can-Am Spyders before realizing they were not capable of splitting lanes.
United Kingdom The industry began in 1990 and has established itself as a niche market, never growing past a total of 12 bikes. All equipment is provided for the passenger along with an intercom system linking the rider and passenger. The luggage rack means a cabin-sized suitcase can be taken on the back for convenient trips to local airports, especially Stansted, Gatwick and City. The bikes are now licensed by Transport for London and the Public Carriage Office, (PCO) who also license London's black cabs. There are currently 3 firms offering a taxi bike service based in London.
Thailand Motorcycle taxis are common forms for public transport in Bangkok and most other cities, towns and villages in Thailand. They are generally used for short trips. In Bangkok, there are motorcycle taxi queues on many sois, or side-streets, and the queues are regulated by the city's government. Licensed motorcycle-taxi operators wear orange vests. In compliance with Thailand's helmet law, many but not all carry a spare helmet to offer to passengers.
Sweden In 1994–1995 there were several motorcycles working as taxis in Stockholm. Due to the Northern climate of Sweden, there is not a long period for a motorcycle taxi to work in Stockholm, and so it remains only a niche industry. There is one company offering tours using two Chang jiang sidecar motorcycles.
Philippines The Philippines has sidecar taxis as well as "habal-habal" - motorcycle taxis with extended seats, often sideways by a T-shaped crossbeam, and then "tricycles," covered three-wheel autorickshaws. Kalesa & Habal-Habal Found in most cities and towns, the tricycle is the Philippine rickshaw – a little, roofed Habal-habal are essentially motorcycle taxis with extended seats ,literally translated as 'pigs copulating"
Indonesia Motorcycle taxis or Ojek are a very common unlicensed form of transport in Indonesia. Commonly called ojek, they can be found in most areas of the country, from towns where traffic jams sometimes greatly hinder other forms of transport to rural areas areas where four-wheeled vehicles cannot travel. Would-be passengers usually haggle with the driver over the fee which is generally around IDR 5,000 to IDR 10,000 (about 50¢ to US$ 1) for short trips. Many motorcycle taxi drivers own their vehicles or are paying installments for them through credit. The availability of cheap Indonesian-made motorcycles from Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki and some cheaper Chinese imports combined with the ease with which driver's licenses can be obtained and credit schemes has resulted in the rapid growth of motorcycle taxis. In several areas, the motorcycles used are often stolen ones without any papers. Indonesian law requires motorcycle riders to wear helmets. However often only the driver does so. Sometimes drivers provide a helmet for the passenger but more likely drivers will simply avoid larger streets where police might catch the violation. Because of traffic, ojek are often the fastest form of transport, especially in Jakarta. Many people choose ojek rather than taxis because although taxis are much safer, ojek are cheaper can easily manoeuvre through the traffic.
India Motorcycle taxis are a licensed form of transport in Goa, India. They are much cheaper than other taxis, although the lone passenger can only carry a backpack as luggage. Motorcycle taxis in Goa are driven by men called 'pilots'. By law, in some parts of the state, the rider is expected to wear a helmet, but the pillion-rider is not. These motorcycle taxis can normally be identified by their yellow-and-black coloured paint. The fare should be fixed in advance, and the rides are not metered.
Cambodia In Phnom Penh and other cities in Cambodia, motorcycle taxis are the primary form of public transport. Motorcycle taxi drivers are called motodups. They form in queues outside major tourist attractions, office buildings, public markets and near the corners of residential streets. In Phnom Penh, a typical motodup ride costs around 2,000 riel.
In Uganda, i don't know of a school for Boda Boda riders or pilots, as they preffer to be called. However, you will find Hundreds of thousands of them in every corner of the country.
In Uganda, you may learn to ride in one hour and get your permit the next hour - as long as you have money to cough! You may as well start the business without the permit.
While you enjoy the ride, little will you know that the motorcycle you are using is a stolen one without any papers and the owner could have been mudered before the motor bike was obtained.
Next time you have to use Boda Boda or Okada, be ready for anything like careless accidents.
Do not say we never alerted.

Paul Okia
Happy Tours Africa
info@happytoursug.com
www.happytoursug.com

* Imbalu or Circumcision In Masabaland

Bagisu/Bamasaba People and Culture

The Gisu people,Bagisu,Bamasaba (in Uganda) and Babukusu (in kenya) , alternately Gishu, Masaba, or Sokwia, are a tribe of the Masaba nation of eastern Uganda, closely related to the Bukusu people of Kenya. Bagisu live in the mainly in Greater Mbale region of Uganda on the slopes of Mount Elgon. The Gisu speak a dialect of the Lumasaba language called Lugisu, which is fully understandable by other dialects, and is also understood by the Bukusu. The Bagisu people or Bamasaba inhabit the western and southern halves of Mt. Elgon. On the west, the mountain spreads like the fingers of a hand with steep and narrow valleys between them. On the south, the land is broken and consists of a jumble of hills jammed against a high escarpment like a crumpled tablecloth. The escarpment fades gradually to a plain leading away to the northeast inhabited by the Iteso tribe. The Bagisu or Bamsaba undergo a circumcision ritual called the Imbalu. The ritual is held every two years during August. Origin of Bagisu or Bamasaba The Bagisu- have no tradition of an early migration from somewhere. They assert that their ancestors were called Mundu and Sera whom tradition says came out of a hole in Mountain Masaba (Elgon). Their early life seems to have been anti-social, almost based on the principle “survival of the fittest”. Very little is so far known about their history but they are known to be related to a sub-group of the Luhya of Kenya known as the Bukusu. The Bagisu are believed to have separated from the Bukusu sometime in the 19th century. The tradition claiming that they have always lived where they are throughout history is not fashionable. The earliest immigrants into Bugisu area are believed to have moved into the Mt. Elgon area during the 16th century from the eastern plains. Their earliest home is said to have been in the Uasin Gishu plateau of Kenya. They seem to have been an end product of the mixing of peoples of different origins and cultures, but since their language is Bantu, their predecessors should have been Bantu speakers as well.

Culture The Bagisu had a loose political structure based on clans. Every clan had an elder known as Umwami we sikoka (chief of the clan). These men were chosen on the basis of age and wealth. They were responsible for maintaining law and order, and unity and the continuity of the clan. They were also responsible for keeping and maintaining the cultural values of the clan and for making sacrifices to the ancestral spirits. Often, stronger chiefs would extend their influence to other clans but no chief managed to subdue other clans into one single political entity. Other important figures in Bugisu included the rainmakers and the sorcerers.

Imbalu or Circumcision Rituals The male initiation exercise starts with a convergence of all potential candidates above the age of ten at Mudodo or Mutoto, the former palace of the Umuyinga (the Gisu king) in Mbale town. Apart from being a tribute to their fore fathers, it is also widely believed that everything begins from here. One of the unique social customs of the Bagisu is male circumcision. The actual origin of this practice is mysterious even among the Bagisu themselves. One tradition states that it originated from the demand by the Banpa (Kalenjin) when Masaba, the Bagisu hero ancestor, wanted to marry a Kalenjin girl. Another tradition claims that the first person to be circumcised had a complication with his sexual organ and that circumcision started as a surgical operation to save the man’s life. There is yet another story that the first person to be circumcised had it done as a punishment for seducing other people’s wives. Legend states that it was decided to partially castrate him by way of circumcision. When he recovered he resumed his former practices and rumour went around that he had become excellent at sex. In order to compete favourably, other men decided to circumcise aswell.

Before circumcision, an initiate is administered with a certain herb called ityanyi. Its purpose is to arouse interest in circumcision within the person to be circumcised. Often the ityanyi is tied round the initiate’s big toe or it is put in such a place where he might jump over it unawares. It is believed that if the candidate who has taken the ityanyi is delayed or hindered from being circumcised, he might end up circumcising himself as his mind is said to be so much stimulated towards circumcision that no other thing can distract him. On the morning of circumcision, malwa (local brew) and konzoa (plantains) are prepared for the candidates and the meal is served at six in the morning. Only men prepare this meal and the konzoa is peeled using fingers, not knives. Circumcision among the Bagisu occurs biannually during leap years. Every male has to perform the ritual upon reaching puberty. Those who abscond are hunted down and forcefully and scornfully circumcised. Before the day of circumcision, the initiates are tuned up by having them walk and dance around the villages for three days. Their heads are sprinkled with cassava flour and painted with malwa-yeast paste. Smeared with mud, yeast, cassava flour or cow dung, the dancing candidate is led around the village, visiting relatives to raise money for his upkeep. This may last as long as a week depending on the number of relatives he wishes to visit.

Malwa is a local maize or millet beer brewed by mixing yeast and maize,millet or sorghum. When mature, the beer is mixed with hot water and will be ready for drinking. Nobody knows the alcholic content, but drinkers grade it as tough or strong, medium and light. The beer is drunk dipping straws in the beer. Sometimes directly from a teapot or kettle by imbibing it directly with your mouth on the teapot or kettle and swallow. Relatives dance with them and there is much drumming and singing.The surgeon and his assistant (who must both be registered and qualified) walk around the candidate, performing the required rituals and are obliged to make the operation or else their property is confiscated and severe beatings follow compensation claims from the victim (candidate). Girls, especially the sisters of the initiates, enthusiastically take part in the processions, they dance while wriggling their waists. During the circumcision season, many marriages break as most women become uncontrollable. They will follow the kadodi procession ( carnival) to all friends and relatives of the boy-to-be-curcumcised, returning home late or comming back the next day. It is believed that once a boy is circumcised he becomes a true Mugisu and a mature person. An uncircumcised person is known as a musinde. The circumcision operation on each initiate is pretty fast. The surgeon and his assistant move around performing the ritual as appropriate. The assistant surgeon pulls the foreskin of the penis and the surgeon cuts it off using a sharp knife. The surgeon goes further and cuts from the penis another layer which is believed to develop into another top cover for the penis if it is not removed. The surgeon proceeds and cuts off a certain muscle on the lower part of the penis. These three cuttings end the circumcision ritual. Painfull ofcourse but, they have to show they feel nothing inorder to prove their manhood. Remember there is no anesthesia.The candidate is handed stones or a stick to hold up, in a show of endurance and the ability to stand firm with humility in the face of pain. In the past, the operation used to be performed in an enclosure with only surgeons and the candidate in attendance. Not any more, it is now done in public. Without sterilizing his instrument, the assistant holds the foreskin and the surgeon cuts the first layer. The candidate is applauded and offered gifts such as cows, land and money for standing firm and not breaking down. If he falls or cries, his father's property is confiscated as punishment. The surgeons are keen on using different knives on different candidates to avoid contamination and disease transmission.

After Circumcision The initiate is made to sit down on a stool and he is then wrapped in a piece of cloth. After that he is taken to his father’s house and made to move around the house before entering it. For three days, the initiate is not allowed to eat with his hands. He is fed. They say that it is because he is not yet fully initiated into manhood. After three days, the surgeon is invited to perform the ritual of washing the initiate’s hands. It is after this ritual that the initiate can eat with his hands. On the same day, the initiate is declared a man. It is then that custom allows him to marry. During the ceremony the initiate is instructed on the duties and demands of manhood. He is informed in addition that agriculture is very important and advised to always behave like a man. It is believed that the healing of the cuts depends on how many goats have been slaughtered during the initiate’s circumcision.

After Healing A ritual is performed. All the new initiates in the locality have to attend. This ritual is called Iremba/Inemba. It is an important occasion which all the village people and, these days, even government officials attend. During ritual proceedings, the initiate could pick any girl and have sexual intercourse with her. The girl was not supposed to refuse. It is believed that if she refused, she would never have children when she got married. This poses problems of Christian females if they are chosen. Previously, circumcision was done in specific enclosures and only the initiates and the surgeon is allowed in. The rest of the congregation would just wait and listen from outside the enclosure. Today, however, all people are allowed to watch the whole process. Firmness the and courageous endurance on the part of initiate is appreciated as a sign of bravery. Traditionally and Culturally, it is compulsory that all Bamasaba -( Bagisu and Babukusu ) must go through this initiation ordeal.However some parents take their childen to hospital for a modern surgery.Absconders are hunted down and forcefully and scornfully subjected to the ordeal. The bamasaba will do it to anybody of their own even at the age of 80 years. They keep track of everybody of theirs even if they live in the diaspora, they will catch them here in Uganda and do it regardless where they fing them. It is believed they will do it to a dead person who dodged the ritual. Remember that 65 year old man who was grabbed from Uganda House in Kampala in the year 2007 and forcefully circumcised. However, mant living in the diaspora travel back to Masabaland for the same ritual and go back after. Children are sensitized and motivated at an early age, so they grow up eager for the ritual.

Tourist Attractions

• Mountain Elgon National Park
• Sipi Falls
• Sisiyi Falls
• River Namazo
• River Manafwa
• Mbale Town
• Semei kakungulu burial site

Paul Okia
Happy Tours Africa
info@happytoursug.com
www.happytoursug.com

* Nairobi The Visitors Hub

The word Nairobi derives from a water hole known in Maasai (an Eastern Nilotic language) as Enkare Nyirobi, which means "cool waters." Nairobi is a prominent social and financial centre in Africa and is currently the 12th largest city in Africa. Nairobi is the fourth most visited city in Africa, after Cairo, Johannesburg and Casablanca and remains the economic hub of the most of East and Central Africa. Nairobi has a population of 5 million. Situated on the Nairobi River, the city is not only the largest and fastest growing city in Kenya, but one of the largest in Africa.The city of Nairobi has grown due to administration,tourism, financial and industrial businesses. Nairobi is now one of the most prominent cities in Africa, politically and financially.Home to thousands of Kenyan businesses and over 100 major international companies and organisations, including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the main coordinating and headquarters for the UN in Africa & Middle East, the United Nations Office in Nairobi (UNON), Nairobi is an established hub for business and culture. The Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) is one of the largest in Africa and the second oldest exchange on the continent. It is ranked 4th in terms of trading volume and capable of making 10 million trades a day. Nairobi will received 1.8 million international visitors in 2012, ranking third behind Cairo, Johannesburg and Casablanca which are expected to welcome 3.3, 2.5 and 2.1 million visitors respectively. Nairobi ranks 8th in the Middle East and Africa, with a robust growth in international visitors of 10 per cent in 2012.Visitors injected $1.3billion into the city’s economy. Nairobi’s emergence as a top destination for international visitors has in the past largely been attributed to its relatively better developed infrastructure and the presence of leading regional airline Kenya Airways, which uses the Jomo Kenyatta Airport (JKIA) as its hub. In 2011 for example, Kenya Airways carried 3.6 million passengers, majority of whom transited through JKIA in Nairobi. As they wait for connecting flights, some passengers opt for brief tour of the city, especially as a Kenyan visa can be obtained at the Airport for $50. The setting up of regional headquarters in Nairobi by global multinationals and aid agencies like IBM, Airtel , Coca-Cola, Google, Microsoft, General Electric, Action Aid, Oxfam and the United Nations has also contributed to the growing number of visitors. Tourism, Travel and Business are the major driving factor especially as many visitors travel to and through Nairobi’s JKIA.
Visit Nairobi. Why not?

Paul Okia
Happy Tours Africa
info@happytoursug.com
www.happytoursug.com

* Wildebeest Migration in the Serengeti

Are you aware, there many different annual migrations in Africa? Wildebeest migration in the Serengeti is the most popular animal migration in the world comprising more than 2 million animals migrating from Serengeti to Masai Mara. Not the only migration in Africa, there is another migration believed to involve twice as many animals as the popular Serengeti - Masai Mara, that is the one in the virgin Boma National Park in Southern Sudan
The most famous one is the annual wildebeest migration in East Africa, but there are numerous others.Dominating are the wildebeest, whose numbers appear to have settled at just under 1.5 million,some 350,000 Thomson’s gazelle, 200,000 zebra and 12,000 eland. These are the main migrators and they cross the ranges of over a quarter of a million other resident herbivores and, of course, carnivores. The lions, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs and lesser predators await the annual coming of the migration with eagerly.
Animals need migration to find water and grazing depending on the seasons. Thousands of zebra and wildebeest cross the Mara river during the annual migration between Tanzania and Kenya. The annual migration sees over a million wild animals move from one country to the other, spanning the Maasai Mara National Reserve. But dozens of crocodiles lie in wait ready to pick off stragglers.
Towards the end of the short dry season, around March, the short-grass plains of the southernmost Serengeti begin to dry out and the wildebeest begin or continue their journey, heading towards the western woodlands.
From the western Serengeti the herds head north, following the rains or signs of rain into Kenya and the Maasai Mara Game Reserve. On their trek the wildebeests’ path is cut several times by rivers: in the Serengeti by the Mbalangeti and the Grumeti, and in Kenya by the Mara.
Tanzania's annual wildebeest migration is a scramble for survival as the animals run from lions and giant crocodiles as they cross a deep swollen river. For the wildebeest of the Serengeti National Park the journey is a must to ensure they reach rich grazing pastures on the other side of the river and avoid starvation.
Wildebeest arrive at the Mara River in their tens of thousands, and gather waiting to cross. For days their numbers can be building up and anticipation grows but many times, for no apparent reason, they turn and wander away from the water’s edge. Eventually the wildebeest will choose a crossing point, something that can vary from year to year and cannot be predicted
The noise, the dust and the smell during the chaos is unforgettable. Crocodiles take advantage of the panic in the water, attacking and killing at will. They hide in the water until the right moment and grab an animal. They then pull it below the surface until it drowns. How sad?
Zebra and wildebeest desperately attempt to scale the Mara river's banks. There are chaotic scenes as zebra and wildebeest desperately attempt to scale the Mara river's banks.Zebra and wildebeest attempt to climb the Mara river bank to escape the preying crocodiles. Zebra and wildebeest climb the Mara river bank and escape into the open grassland. It's the most high-energy, charged and suspenseful wildlife situation to ever experience in one's life. Animals gather on the edge of the bank a few metres up.They will wait there for an hour, several hours or a day before making the crossing. When they are about to make a move they start braying ,when there are thousands of them it is extremely loud." Herds of animals charge over the edge of the bank and into the muddy waters,breaking their legs and drowning in the river meanwhile Lions, Leopards, Cheetahs, Crocodiles wait to prey on them. This is the reason they wait to cross,simply because they are scared of the waiting carnivorous and predator animals. Here you will find 20ft Crocodiles waiting to maul the animals, causing great panic as they swim across the mara river.
That is the animal migration. No passport, no immigration, no police to stop the animals, no border posts. The only hindrance are the waiting predators and scavengers.
Come lets take you here.
More on Wildbeast Migration

Paul Okia
Happy Tours Africa
info@happytoursug.com
www.happytoursug.com

* Watamu

Watamu lies between the blue lagoon and Watamu bay in the Indian Ocean. The term Watamu is Swahili meaning sweet people. This was coined in reference to the Arab slave traders who gave the locals sweets before taking them as slaves. Watamu is one of the best tourist attraction areas in the East African region, but it remains unknown to many. It comes with pristine white sandy beaches and lagoons protected with reefs. The offline coral formations are in three bays, that is, Watamu Bay, Blue lagoon and Turtle bay. For environmental protection purposes, there is the Watamu Marine National park. Watamu is known as the best Snorkeling and diving place in the whole of East Africa. While at these activities, one gets the chance to explore some of the most magnificent features that nature has to offer. One experiences the beautiful and colored underwater growth, corals and fish. The water is crystal clear and this setting presents a paradise feeling. It is also a site where a new species of the largest spiting cobra was discovered in 2007. There are lots of snakes and reptiles in the area. There is The Bio-ken snake park that hosts a diverse range of snake and other reptile species. The snakes range from venomous to non-venomous species. The venomous snakes are milked and one can purchase a dose of the venom which is measured in milliliters. Some tour companies also arrange snake watching safari packages. Here, the tourists are accompanied by an experienced and knowledgeable guide around the bushes looking for snakes, mostly the ‘big five’, which comprises the cobra, puff adder, python, mamba and boomslang. The party sets out with protective gear, and a grabbing stick. Once a snake is spotted, the guide grabs it with his/her stick, identifies it, shows it to the tourists, its features are explained and they also get a chance to touch it. It is then released back to the bush. There is also the Ocean –Trust Watamu turtle watch. Here turtles are conserved and one can watch the lovely reptiles. The Turtle bay Beach Club resort is one of the most prestigious places to seek accommodation while in Watamu. Kamau Mbiyu is a Professional Tour Operator. Area of expertise includes hotel booking, Kenya Safari, Mountain climbing, luxury holidays, golf safaris and Masai Mara Budget camping safari.
Kamau Mbiyu
Kenya Safari
optimise@explorerkenya.com
www.explorerkenya.com

* Ivory Smuggling At Entebbe Airport

At least 84 kilogrammes of ivory belonging to a passenger travelling on a Guinean passport have been impounded as it was being smuggled out of Entebbe International Airport, destined for the tiny West African country of Togo.On noticing danger, the owner fled and could not be traced perhaps with the help of some collaborators at the airport.13 pieces of ivory weighing about 27 kilogrammes was found at a restaurant in a Kampala suburb Zana by Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers . 62-kilogramme of more ivory was discovered at Entebbe airport ready to be loaded on to a waiting plane.The ivory was only discovered because the cargo section of the destined plane was full, hence the cargo had to be loaded onto another plane. Suspicious of the cargo, one cargo staff at the cargo section tipped off Uganda Wildlife Authority.Already two suitcases one red and another blue containing both processed and unprocessed ivory were at the airport tarmac ready to be loaded to the plane, having passed through the checkpoints. Police, Airport security and Wildlife Authority insisted on checking the suitcases,only to find the lucrative ivory. Uganda Police is holding the ivory. Smuggling of ivory is rampant in Africa and Uganda appears to be a conduit for smuggling ivory,since the smugglers collude with some unscrupulous airport staff to enable them carry out the lucrative business undetected through the departure lounge rather than the cargo section. In June 2011, ivory worth $5000 US Dollars destined for a Far Eastern country was seized at Entebbe International Airport. The ivory destined for Malaysia was declared as personal luggage. The origin of the ivory is unkown, but could be DR Congo where there is an on going armed conflict not far from the border with Uganda and Rwanda. African elephants are classified as endangered species in the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), whose trade is prohibited.A kilogramme of ivory costs not less than $3500 US Dollars. In 2009, a large cache of ivory was impounded in Kenya.Two men were arrested for carrying 703 kg (1,550 lb) of ivory in southern Kenya. The seizure, the biggest in Kenya, was made possible thanks to the efforts by AWF-supported game scouts. The two men were traveling by vehicle in Tanzania when they were ambushed by wildlife scouts from the Amboseli-Tsavo Game Scouts Association. The smugglers fled across the Kenyan border, where they were caught and arrested by authorities tipped off by the scouts. The arrest was made in the town of Mbirikani, 50 km from the Kenya-Tanzania border. Initial investigations indicated that the suspects were headed to Nairobi, a Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) statement said. The ivory was confiscated by KWS and suspects charged in a Kajiado court. The two men pleaded guilty to illegal possession of ivory. DNA testing revealed the origin of the ivory to have come from nearly 50 elephants, mainly adult males. AWF provides the Amboseli-Tsavo Game Scouts Association with uniforms, equipment, training and office space. Kenya is trying to recover its elephant population after it dropped from 167,000 in 1963 to the current 33,000.
HORRIFIC HARVEST OF IVORY

The elephant must be killed before the ivory can be procured - stoning, poison dart resulting in slow painful death or machine gun slaughter of entire herds at waterholes. Regardless of the mode in which the elephants are killed, the process of extracting the ivory is all the same. In order to obtain all the ivory from the elephant, the hunter and poacher must cut into the head because approximately 25% of the ivory is contained in the head. What is then left on the fields of the African or Asian plains is the corpse of a tusk less elephant with a mutilated face and head. The largest illegal ivory market in Asia – much of it poached from elephants in Africa – continues to thrive in Thailand.Domesticated elephants are providing cover for illegal trade in wild-caught, highly-endangered Asian elephants from both Thailand and neighboring Myanmar. Thailand has consistently been identified as one of the world’s top five countries most heavily implicated in the illicit ivory trade, but shows little sign of addressing outstanding issues.Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, a major tourist destination, has emerged as the main hub for illegal ivory activities, accounting for over 70 percent of the retail outlets in Thailand offering ivory items for sale. Ivory workshops–eight in Uthai Thani, one each in Chai Nat and Payuha Kiri, and three in Bangkok–”between them employing dozens of carvers in the production of ivory jewelry, belt buckles and knife-handles.” Much of the ivory being worked is illegally imported from Africa Some workshop owners boasted close ties with European knife makers, while others reported sending ivory, steel and silver items to the U.S. for sale in gun shops. Traders buy wild-caught elephant calves for use in Bangkok as beggars There are reports of traders buying wild-caught elephant calves for use in Bangkok as “beggars” on the streets in major tourist centres, or selling them to elephant camps and entertainment parks.Hundreds of live elephants are known to have been illegally imported from Myanmar in recent years, to be sold to elephant trekking companies catering to adventure tourism in Thailand. The capture of wild elephants has been banned in Thailand since the 1970s, but such trade usually goes undetected because domesticated elephants do not have to be registered legally until they are eight years of age. Growing demand of ivory in China, drives elephants at the brink of extinction! Unless poaching and the factors that promote it are reduced,the future of Central Africa’s remaining elephants remains under real and imminent threat.
MASS ELEPHANT MASSACRE IN CAMEROON

The mass slaughter of about 450 elephants showed that Cameroon's government was not alert and unequipped to deal with poachers. The year 2012 started dramatically for elephants in the central African country of Cameroon. According to the UN, 450 carcasses of these animals - a protected species - have been found in the Bouba N'Djida National Park, near Cameroon's northern border with Chad. The slaughter is especially worrisome given that, as of 2007, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimated that only 1,000 to 5,000 elephants are still left in Cameroon. The massacre is sad proof that in spite of serious efforts, poaching continues to damage Cameroon's biodiversity, endangering the elephants. Cameroon's Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, the government agency in charge of the country's anti-poaching policy, saw its budget slashed from $43m in 2011 to just $33m in 2012. The money dedicated specifically to anti-poaching action was only $2m in 2011 - an amount clearly insufficient for tackling the problem. The Bouba N'Djida National Park, where the elephants were killed, comprises about 2,200 square kilometres, making it the biggest protected area in the country. Only five guards patrol its grounds, one of whom was killed in 2011. They receive a modest salary of $160 per month. In April 2011, it was announced that the US embassy donated $39,000 worth of equipment to the park, including motorcycles, bicycles, radios, digital cameras and truncheons. Given that the poachers - who are described as Sudanese and Chadian horsemen - cross the border armed with Kalashnikovs, we can only note the helplessness of Cameroonian guards. Corruption can easily induce the guards to allow the elephants be killed afterall they are payed very little. Desire for ivory has increased in Asia, specifically in China and Thailand, where demand is said to be the highest. Wealthy Chinese pay any price for ivory which is believed to have medical and mystical powers. The International Fund for Animal Welfare estimates that there were 600 elephants left in Bouba N'Djida before the slaughter - meaning that only about 150 likely remain.
Ornaments from Ivory

Illegal ivory bust shows growing appetite for elephant tusks.If you find ornaments or jewelery in a jewelry shop, imagine that they are made from the tusks of elephants illegally killed by poachers, therefore do not buy any of them. At a July 12 press conference in New York City, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance announced the seizure of more than $2 million worth of illicit ivory items, one of the largest such seizures in state history. The ivory was mostly used to make small jewelry, animal statues and carved tusks, which were being sold at two shops in Manhattan. On a table at the press conference, a few objects were on display. Though they represented only a small fraction of almost one ton of ivory obtained in the case, 25 elephants were killed to produce them, estimated John Robinson, executive Vice President of the Wildlife Conservation Society, who was present at the event. Elephants disperse tree seeds throughout Central Africa’s Congo rain forest, Earth’s second-largest forest. Like the Amazon, the Congo forest can be considered a vast, planetary lung, and elephants help keep it healthy. The ongoing demise of elephants is “changing the forest structure throughout central Africa. In 50 years, it’s quite possible that it will change so dramatically that the climate throughout Africa, and perhaps the world, will be changed. Illicit ivory sold in the U.S. is typically used to make handles for guns or knives. Save Elephants - Stop Ivory Trade: The illegal ivory trade starts with the slaughter of elephants, continues with wildlife traffickers smuggling ivory across international borders and ends with the under-the-counter sale of carvings, signature stamps and trinkets, in marketplaces in Asia and online. Cut the supply chain at all its major touch points by training rangers in anti-poaching techniques, lobbying politicians to take action to block the sale of ivory, collaborating with customs and law enforcement authorities to arrest black-market sellers and reducing consumer demand through out the world, especially China, one of the largest consumers of wildlife products including ivory. Blocking the front lines of illegal trade is essential to protecting wildlife, and discouraging consumer demand as well as halt the sale of products made from animal parts. Grace Ge Gabriel, Director of IFAW Asia, pointed out that IFAW monitors found there were many suspected illegal ivory listings on Baidu.com, one of China’s largest search engines .Baidu shut down 13 forums engaging in the illegal trade of ivory, tiger bone, rhino horn, sea tortoise shell, and other derivatives and in live animals. Baidu also wiped 11 forums clean of any discussion related to banned species. In all, Baidu deleted 34,685 postings and is working with IFAW to find other ways to combat illegal online wildlife trade. IFAW study found that 70 percent of Chinese consumers did not know that elephants were killed for ivory. Some thought elephants may lose tusks like people lose teeth. In Chinese, “ivory” means “elephant tooth.” Save elephants by cutting the illegal ivory supply chain. When the buying stops, the killing will stop, too! DON'T BUY!

Paul Okia
Happy Tours Africa
info@happytoursug.com
www.happytoursug.com