Newsletter

SOUTH AFRICA NEWS

• Kwandwe Private Game Reserve (Eastern Cape): After only five months of operation, Kwandwe Ecca Lodge has cracked both the UK and USA Condé Nast Hot Lists for 2004!
• Phinda Private Game Reserve (KwaZulu-Natal): The 22nd of April 2004 marked the beginning of the interactive Africa Foundation/Phinda Digital Eco Village Centre (DevCentre) project at Mduku. After years of planning and development, 23 students from nearby rural communities arrived at the Centre to begin tertiary computer science classes, run by the University of Zululand. These bridging classes will enable rural students from nearby communities to prepare for University.
• CC Africa returns to Madikwe: Our fabulous new Madikwe Safari Lodge is on track to open for guests on 10 October 2004. All three intimate camps, totalling just 16 suites, will have a simple yet sophisticated Madikwe style.

SOUTHERN AFRICA FOCUS

• Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge (Namibia): Clear skies over the desert are providing excellent opportunities for skywatchers. Stargazing Safaris from the Lodge’s sophisticated observatory – boasting the most powerful electronic, privately owned telescope in Namibia – will afford incredible sightings in the next few months, including:

  *4 May 2004: A total eclipse of the moon

  *8 June 2004: Venus will cross between the earth and the sun – the last time this happened was in 1882!

• Sandibe Safari Lodge and Nxabega Okavango Safari Camp (Okavango Delta, Botswana): Make sure to book now to avoid disappointment.

SPOTLIGHT ON EAST AFRICA

TANZANIA

• Mnemba Island Lodge (Zanzibar): To celebrate eight successful years on Mnemba Island, we are excited to announce that CC Africa will be treating the Lodge to a total rebuild. We will be changing everything yet nothing at all, to ensure that our guests who know and love Mnemba will continue to experience the same fond memories of East Africa’s most exclusive private island.

• Lake Manyara Tree Lodge (Lake Manyara, Northern Tanzania) was rated as one of the “Five Best Tree Houses” in the UK Independent on 20 March 2004.

• CC Africa’s three new Southern Tanzanian properties – Selous Safari Camp, Jongomero and Ras Kutani – will reopen after their annual closure on 1 June 2004 with CC Africa management happily at the helm:

  * Lodge Managers for Selous Safari Camp are Mike Fender and Jessica Bodley who spent seven years managing Ngala Private Game Reserve (South Africa).

  * Pete Dunning, who has worked for CC Africa for the last seven years at Matetsi Game Lodges (Zimbabwe) and Grumeti River Camp (Northern Tanzania), has been appointed new Lodge Manager for Ras Kutani.

  * Stuart MacDonald and Karen Dowey, previously from Ras Kutani, have been appointed Lodge Managers at Jongomero.

KENYA

• Kichwa Tembo (Masai Mara): During May and June, our guests enjoy an exclusive Mara with few visitors in the Park. Our CC Africa-trained guides afford exceptional game-viewing in open 4x4 safari vehicles.

EXPEDITIONS UPDATE

News from Namibia for 2005: The ever-popular Thirstland Journey – a 13-day Pioneer Safari in Namibia – will allow guests more time in the majestic Namib Desert and in Damaraland where they have the thrilling opportunity to track black rhino. From January 2005, this classic safari adventure will be renamed Thirstland Expedition.