Friday, October 2, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Happy Glamping!
Read the latest article on Explore Gorongosa. We agree with Meera, the journalist - GLAMPING is the way forward!
http://www.orange.co.uk/travel/holidayideas/pics/5888_1.htm
Keep pressing NEXT until you get to the glamping article on Mozambique. That's us!
http://www.orange.co.uk/travel/holidayideas/pics/5888_1.htm
Keep pressing NEXT until you get to the glamping article on Mozambique. That's us!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
August Bush Blog
Check out our bush blogs here: http://www.exploregorongosa.com/content/view/6/
And before you know it... blink, blink... and it’s already the middle of August! How time flies while you’re messing around in the bush. Not any bush, mind you. No, Gorongosa is a unique and dynamic park with all sorts of exciting things happening at all sorts of times that we hardly have time to breathe, let alone jotting down some of the great events of the past few months.
So, in a nutshell then: mating lions, lions hunting in camp, lions walking through camp, lions roaring in and around camp, lions fighting with other lions, lions chasing bushbuck, lions sleeping, lions, lions, lions. In between these beautiful cats, we’ve had some great elephant sightings including a sunset with some 80 or so on the Albida floodplains. Some classic “aaah” moments with youngsters, grumpy mums, sparring bulls, and one enormous bull dubbed Tiny by one of our guests. We also have seen huge herds of waterbuck, reedbuck, hartebeest, sable and impala gathering on the Urema floodplains for the winter, and have recently encountered a lone wildebeest on a walk which was great considering most of these unusual beasts had been shot out during the conflict and only a few survived. There are already a couple of hundred brought in from South Africa awaiting release in our sanctuary so whether this chap was an escapee or a survivor from the war days is unsure; but he still provided us with much fun galloping and snorting along with us in the fever trees.
Talking trees, the spring flowering flush has begun with the knobthorns, wild pears, flame creepers and fever trees leading the bunch. The pod mahoganies above the mess tent have not yet burst out in bud – but when they do we can expect birds, bees, butterflies, bushbabies and other b-animals all hovering for their delicious nectar. We also have had some humour with the pods of these trees which has me clambering up them once a week, collecting “specimens” for my display shelf, which keep on getting pinched by visiting civets, genets and bushbabies at night. We’ve had other visitors at night too and our staff recently disturbed a group of 10 bushpigs drinking in the dwindling river in front of camp whilst setting up for early morning tea. The bushbuck are also really relaxing down now and it won’t be long before Jos has them all named and accounted for in her “aren’t they just the cutest?” catalogue.
Birding continues to astound, amaze and even perplex us at Explore Gorongosa. We’ve had a Narina Trogon floating around in camp – really relaxed and curious as to our goings on. We have a resident Pel’s Fishing Owl in the big trees across the river now and we have seen regular sightings of a juvenile Palmnut Vulture which is very exciting. These three birds alone are worth the air-ticket out here – and we can add a whole stack of other specials to the list including a fantastic sighting of a flock of Pink-backed Pelicans fighting for a few spots on some palm trees near the lake the other day. We also have watched as an Osprey has followed, caught and eaten a poor unsuspecting rat. We were a bit put out by this one because Osprey’s are fish eaters and are meant to be summer visitors to our region. This one was seen eating rodents in winter... go figure?! I got my monthly fix of Green Headed Oriole too with two visits to the Gorongosa Mountain rainforest. I also got to swim in the seriously stunning Murombodzi waterfall on what must have been the hottest day this winter so Jos thinks I’m very spoilt!
Oh, and on the subject of spoilt – Jos and I both had the opportunity to take to the skies the past few months... twice! Greg Carr kindly offered a couple of rides in his chopper that were not turned down – oh no. One took us on a whistle-stop tour of the Park from above with some incredible sightings including the Dingue-Dingue swamps (think Okavango), Bela Vista (an old lodge site on the hills near the mountain) and the crocodile-lined Urema Lake. On the second trip, we went off to the dramatic limestone gorges, perching the helicopter and ourselves on the top of these magnificent cliffs overlooking a huge gorge forest. On route we saw the wild herd of buffalos (the ones that survived the war), the only zebra known to still be in the Park (including one young foal which is good news for Gorongosa’s zebras), great elephants, hippos and other fun things like Silvery-cheeked Hornbills from above, and a rather unfortunate Great White Pelican caught in the jaws of a really fortunate croc. All in all, both of these trips took our breaths away – this Park is truly a wildlife wonderland and one that will amaze and astound all those who take the opportunity to visit it before it becomes old hat. Old hats are nice, but new ones are so much more appealing!
So then, with talk of receding recessions, spring coming to the bush, direct flights to the Park, and a whole bunch of exciting new beach and island destinations to explore in Mozambique in combination with us... what is your excuse for not being here with us right now, sipping Gin Cities, breathing in some serious ozone, and giggling with our resident Samango monkeys... or would you rather be in your boring four-walled, grey office in cold, wet and miserable wherever with nothing but traffic and crappy TV to look forward to this evening? Your choice...
When you come round to your senses... we’ll see you here soon. We can’t wait.
Until then – happy days from all at Explore Gorongosa!
And before you know it... blink, blink... and it’s already the middle of August! How time flies while you’re messing around in the bush. Not any bush, mind you. No, Gorongosa is a unique and dynamic park with all sorts of exciting things happening at all sorts of times that we hardly have time to breathe, let alone jotting down some of the great events of the past few months.
So, in a nutshell then: mating lions, lions hunting in camp, lions walking through camp, lions roaring in and around camp, lions fighting with other lions, lions chasing bushbuck, lions sleeping, lions, lions, lions. In between these beautiful cats, we’ve had some great elephant sightings including a sunset with some 80 or so on the Albida floodplains. Some classic “aaah” moments with youngsters, grumpy mums, sparring bulls, and one enormous bull dubbed Tiny by one of our guests. We also have seen huge herds of waterbuck, reedbuck, hartebeest, sable and impala gathering on the Urema floodplains for the winter, and have recently encountered a lone wildebeest on a walk which was great considering most of these unusual beasts had been shot out during the conflict and only a few survived. There are already a couple of hundred brought in from South Africa awaiting release in our sanctuary so whether this chap was an escapee or a survivor from the war days is unsure; but he still provided us with much fun galloping and snorting along with us in the fever trees.
Talking trees, the spring flowering flush has begun with the knobthorns, wild pears, flame creepers and fever trees leading the bunch. The pod mahoganies above the mess tent have not yet burst out in bud – but when they do we can expect birds, bees, butterflies, bushbabies and other b-animals all hovering for their delicious nectar. We also have had some humour with the pods of these trees which has me clambering up them once a week, collecting “specimens” for my display shelf, which keep on getting pinched by visiting civets, genets and bushbabies at night. We’ve had other visitors at night too and our staff recently disturbed a group of 10 bushpigs drinking in the dwindling river in front of camp whilst setting up for early morning tea. The bushbuck are also really relaxing down now and it won’t be long before Jos has them all named and accounted for in her “aren’t they just the cutest?” catalogue.
Birding continues to astound, amaze and even perplex us at Explore Gorongosa. We’ve had a Narina Trogon floating around in camp – really relaxed and curious as to our goings on. We have a resident Pel’s Fishing Owl in the big trees across the river now and we have seen regular sightings of a juvenile Palmnut Vulture which is very exciting. These three birds alone are worth the air-ticket out here – and we can add a whole stack of other specials to the list including a fantastic sighting of a flock of Pink-backed Pelicans fighting for a few spots on some palm trees near the lake the other day. We also have watched as an Osprey has followed, caught and eaten a poor unsuspecting rat. We were a bit put out by this one because Osprey’s are fish eaters and are meant to be summer visitors to our region. This one was seen eating rodents in winter... go figure?! I got my monthly fix of Green Headed Oriole too with two visits to the Gorongosa Mountain rainforest. I also got to swim in the seriously stunning Murombodzi waterfall on what must have been the hottest day this winter so Jos thinks I’m very spoilt!
Oh, and on the subject of spoilt – Jos and I both had the opportunity to take to the skies the past few months... twice! Greg Carr kindly offered a couple of rides in his chopper that were not turned down – oh no. One took us on a whistle-stop tour of the Park from above with some incredible sightings including the Dingue-Dingue swamps (think Okavango), Bela Vista (an old lodge site on the hills near the mountain) and the crocodile-lined Urema Lake. On the second trip, we went off to the dramatic limestone gorges, perching the helicopter and ourselves on the top of these magnificent cliffs overlooking a huge gorge forest. On route we saw the wild herd of buffalos (the ones that survived the war), the only zebra known to still be in the Park (including one young foal which is good news for Gorongosa’s zebras), great elephants, hippos and other fun things like Silvery-cheeked Hornbills from above, and a rather unfortunate Great White Pelican caught in the jaws of a really fortunate croc. All in all, both of these trips took our breaths away – this Park is truly a wildlife wonderland and one that will amaze and astound all those who take the opportunity to visit it before it becomes old hat. Old hats are nice, but new ones are so much more appealing!
So then, with talk of receding recessions, spring coming to the bush, direct flights to the Park, and a whole bunch of exciting new beach and island destinations to explore in Mozambique in combination with us... what is your excuse for not being here with us right now, sipping Gin Cities, breathing in some serious ozone, and giggling with our resident Samango monkeys... or would you rather be in your boring four-walled, grey office in cold, wet and miserable wherever with nothing but traffic and crappy TV to look forward to this evening? Your choice...
When you come round to your senses... we’ll see you here soon. We can’t wait.
Until then – happy days from all at Explore Gorongosa!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Direct flights to Gorongosa National Park
Every Monday & Friday, CFA Charters will be flying DIRECT from Bazaruto Island to Gorongosa National Park.
Woweeeeee! Best news ever!
Now you can very easily link up the Bazaruto Archipelago with Gorongosa National Park and eliminate any yukky road transfers! Beach & bush in Mozambique - accessible, easy & affordable.
CFA are also doing a twice weekly flight Maputo - Bazaruto Island to link in with this one!
The Schedule & Costs
Costs are per seat rates.
Bazaruto Lodge-Gorongosa National Park 1300 - 1420
Monday & Friday
Gorongosa National Park-Bazaruto Lodge 1450 - 1610
Monday & Friday
$275pp one way or $480pp return
Maputo-Indigo Bay-Bazaruto Lodge 1030 - 1230 - 1255
Monday & Friday
Bazaruto Lodge-Indigo Bay-Maputo 1330 - 1340 - 1555
Thursday & Sunday
$295pp one way or $505pp return
Now isn't this the best news ever for beach & bush in Mozambique? We can book the flights too from Gorongosa. Email us for more information & bookings!
Woweeeeee! Best news ever!
Now you can very easily link up the Bazaruto Archipelago with Gorongosa National Park and eliminate any yukky road transfers! Beach & bush in Mozambique - accessible, easy & affordable.
CFA are also doing a twice weekly flight Maputo - Bazaruto Island to link in with this one!
The Schedule & Costs
Costs are per seat rates.
Bazaruto Lodge-Gorongosa National Park 1300 - 1420
Monday & Friday
Gorongosa National Park-Bazaruto Lodge 1450 - 1610
Monday & Friday
$275pp one way or $480pp return
Maputo-Indigo Bay-Bazaruto Lodge 1030 - 1230 - 1255
Monday & Friday
Bazaruto Lodge-Indigo Bay-Maputo 1330 - 1340 - 1555
Thursday & Sunday
$295pp one way or $505pp return
Now isn't this the best news ever for beach & bush in Mozambique? We can book the flights too from Gorongosa. Email us for more information & bookings!
Friday, August 7, 2009
New article on Gorongosa
Check it out...
http://www.southernafricadirect.com/news/entries/2009-08-04/mozambiques-gorongoza-park-comes-back-to-life.html
http://www.southernafricadirect.com/news/entries/2009-08-04/mozambiques-gorongoza-park-comes-back-to-life.html
Friday, July 10, 2009
Fire-break burning at Explore Gorongosa
One of our guests, Sam, recently joined us as we spent the afternoon and the evening burning fire-breaks around our exclusive operating area in preparation for the dry season coming up... The experience was summed up by Sam: "I've never had the chance to make this much fire - legally... it's great to see how quickly the birds arrive to scoop up the crispy fried grasshoppers. We should have brought along some marshmallows!"
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Gorongosa from the Air - Take 2
And so it was that we found ourselves soaring above the stunning Gorongosa National Park once again late June, this time in a chopper with Greg Carr and others in the park management team. We spent over an hour zig-zagging across the park and were truly wowed by this unique and totally diverse natural national heritage. From Mount Gorongosa to Lake Urema, from the Dingue-Dingue swamps to the Pungwe and all the other beautiful bits in between - we were pretty much speechless for much of the journey (although Rob was also speechless towards the end when he had his face in a sick-bag - but, moving on...)
There is no better way to see this park then from the air and we will be actively trying to make it possible for others to expereince this magnificent aerial sensory bombardment. We saw everything from a serious "Serengeti-like" herd of a couple of hundred waterbuck on the shores of Lake Urema, to a group of crocs in the Songue large enough to swallow the chopper whole, to a gentle herd of ele's playing in a pan near the sanctuary, to an all-white Lichtenstein's hartebeest. All in all, the expereince once again hammered home the fact that we are very lucky to be living and playing in such a special place as Gorongosa... thanks Greg!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Watch CBS 60 minutes this Sunday!
If you are in the US, don't forget to watch CBS 60 minutes this Sunday 28th June. The piece on Gorongosa by Scott Pelley will be re-screening.If you are not in Gorongosa - you can watch it here http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4
Monday, June 8, 2009
Beautiful sunsets & great guests
Just waved goodbye to Lukas and Ana, who came for a wee honeymoon getaway at Explore Gorongosa. For Ana - it was her first time to see elephants! Thanks Lucas & Ana for being such great guests. And heres to your next visit. Ate a proxima!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Gorongosa from 50 meters up...
"Seeing Gorongosa from the air really does bring the whole place to life" - Rob's excited words after landing safely back on the Chitengo airstrip. He can now see how Greg Carr was/is so inspired by this place everytime he flies over it...
Photo courtesy of Jeff Barbee (no Rob cannot take such good pics!!)
Photo courtesy of Jeff Barbee (no Rob cannot take such good pics!!)
Yip, Rob got a chance to fly over Gorongosa National Park in a little KitFox ultralight visiting the park last month and he is now an airborne junkie... shame poor guy can't get to grips with the idea that he has a real job to do back on the ground now.
Monday, May 18, 2009
And we are open...!
So exciting... we are now open at Explore Gorongosa. And have already had 2 sets of guests. I will definitely blog soon with more information and pictures of the camp. It is just so exciting to see a dream become a reality...
More to follow soon...
More to follow soon...
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Only 3 weeks until we open!
Yep - it is only 3 more weeks until Explore Gorongosa is up and ready! It seems only yesterday that we were here at Gorongosa National Park doing our recce to see if it would suit walking safaris!
1st of May sees the launch of our upmarket luxury walking safari experience - the very first private operation in Gorongosa National Park. Watch this blog if you want to do some armchair travelling or else come and join us in Mozambique and be one of the first to walk amongst Gorongosa's wildlife! And camp out at our beautiful wilderness fly camps!
1st of May sees the launch of our upmarket luxury walking safari experience - the very first private operation in Gorongosa National Park. Watch this blog if you want to do some armchair travelling or else come and join us in Mozambique and be one of the first to walk amongst Gorongosa's wildlife! And camp out at our beautiful wilderness fly camps!
Over 120 interviews! For just 8 positions!
We have just finished a marathon session of interviewing over 120 people from the surrounding villages for 8 positions in our Explore Gorongosa family/team! We put the word out that we were looking for keen, enthusiastic people who were willing to work with us out in the bush operating safaris. Well - it look 10 mins for the first person to arrive and 1 hour later we had 20 people outside. This bush telegraph is amazing, as the nearest village is at least 30 mins away by foot!
It is heartbreaking to see how many people are so excited and keen to work but how little work there really is around. One man was 36 years old and had only ever worked for 3 months in his life. But he was nearly in tears asking us if he could work to help support his wife and 3 children.
Rob eventually 'red carded' me from attending any more interviews. I wanted to hire everyone! But not being part of the interviews allowed me time to formulate my next project - a hospitality training school. As soon as Explore Gorongosa is up and running, the plan shall be executed! With Mozambique being the new hot spot in Africa, tourism wise, these skills will not go to waste and will hopefully not only upskill the people but also help new tourism operators to Mozambique.
One of the tasks during the interview was to set up a simple dome tent to test logic. Many had never seen a tent before, let alone put one up! But again, so eager to learn!
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