THE LAPPET-FACED VULTURE; BIRDS OF UGANDA

The lappet-faced vulture scientifically known as Torgos tracheliotos stands as an Old world vulture which belongs to Accipitriformes order that includes kites, eagles, hawks and buzzards most of which are explored on birding safaris in Uganda. This is known to be the lone member of the Torgos genus.

This remarkable bird species is noted to be the Africa’s largest vulture dominating other Vultures while feeding and is at times strong enough to chase away the jackal from the kill. The broad-winged bird feature powerful and large beak with the capacity to tear off the hides, the tendons along with any coarse tissue of its scavenged prey something that can be very challenging for smaller scavengers as often viewed on Uganda safaris and tours.

The lappet-faced vulture is easily identified by its prominent size, pink-skinned bare head along with skin folds noted as lappets on the neck sides that form the background for its naming. They thrive in two sub species with the African subspecies identified by feathers that are dark brown to black contrasting sharply with the white thighs along with the white bar that runs across the under wing’s leading edge which is visibly clear in the flight. The other North East African Subspecies are notably brown in colour with partially brown thighs where some members show the white colour under wing and these were initially found in Israel also with their backs marked by pure white feathers.

Regarding feeding, the lappet-faced vulture is a scavenger bird that thrives on carcasses of animals which it spots by encountering other vultures or sighting it themselves. The full crop of the lappet-faced vulture can take up to 1.5kg of meat. They can scavenge on road-kills or other dead animals but can as well attack a live animal especially the weak and the young.

The Lappet-faced vultures are primarily solitary birds and it very hard to find a count of ten (10) nests in one area. The home range of this bird species can be 8 to 15km.  They normally nest in the months of November through to July for the northern groups, May to January to the south of Africa and all year-round for East of Africa including Uganda where they are encountered on Uganda safari holidays.

They thrive majorly in dry savannah, rid plains, thorn bush, Open Mountain slopes and deserts with scattered trees and would avoid tall grass cover. However, they can stretch to would be avoidable areas after spotting a prey while foraging.  The lapped-faced Vulture thrive in countries of Uganda, Senegal, Burkina faso, Mali, Chad, Niger, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia, Malawi, South Africa, Somalia, Gambia among others while beyond Africa; they thrive in Yemen, Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Oman.

The lappet-faced Vulture is listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.

AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK; A REMARKABLE JOURNEY TO REVIVAL- RWANDA SAFARIS NEWS

Akagera National Park is one of the popular Rwanda Safari destinations positioned to the north east of the country close to the Tanzanian border. Akagera combines with the Volcanoes National Park and Nyungwe National Park to make the long standing Rwanda wildlife safari circuit.

With its diverse habitats, Akagera National Park is a home to a range of wild game, wetland species and highland dwelling fauna and flora. The popular wild game explored in Akagera National Park by the travelers on safaris and tours in Rwanda include; buffalo, elephant, zebra, topi, roan antelope, eland, waterbuck, oribi, duiker, bohor reedbuck, impala, and klipspringer. The primate species such as vervets, olive baboons, secretive blue monkey and bush babies also thrive in the park.

Akagera National Park is truly on the journey to revival. This is evidenced by wholesome conservation efforts that are increasingly gaining ground not only in Rwanda but across the international spectrum. The lions which had disappeared from the park for counts of years eventually were re-introduced in 2015 giving Akagera a brand new rhythm in the predator world. The lions supplement the native population of predators including Hyenas, leopard and the side striped jackal making it an exciting destination worth visiting on Safari tour in Rwanda. The move to restore the Akagera National Park’s glory remains as the authorities seek to as well re-introduce the black Rhino in order to restock the famous Big five.

Established in 1934 covering more than 2,500km², Akagera National Park was reduced in its size to provide land to the ever increasing Rwandan population especially after the return of exiles following the 1994 civil war. The apparent size stands at 1,122km² and from 2010, the park has been under private public partnership between the Rwanda Development Board and African Parks limited.

The Akagera River straddles to the east of the park feeding a chain of forest fringed lakes including the second largest lake Ihema. The rolling hills, savannah plains and papyrus swamps present a beautiful natural landscape that makes the park outstanding. A range of 500 bird species make it an Important Bird Area and a paradise for birders on birding adventure vacation holiday safaris and tours in Rwanda

RWANDA INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR TO ATTRACT OVER 419 EXHIBITORS

A range of 419 exhibitors have already expressed interest in participating in the forthcoming Rwanda International Trade Fair. Coming as the 19^th of its kind, this fair also referred to as Expo Rwanda is in high steam and a range of mentioned exhibitors from all over the world will safari to Rwanda to be part of it.

According to Stephen Ruzibiza – the Chief Executive Officer of Private Sector Federation, the event comes with immerse opportunity to demonstrate the products especially the Rwanda Safari tour products which are available on the market. Besides the showcasing, the fair is also a perfect avenue for networking.

The 19^th Edition of the Rwanda International Trade Fair will commence on July 27^th running through to August 10^th at the famous Gikondo expo grounds. This fortunately comes in at a time when the country is embarking on rigorous positioning of Meetings Incentives Conferences and Events (MICE) programme to the portfolio of Rwanda tour products capable of generating foreign exchange to the country.

The Rwanda International Trade Fair (RITF) has been happening overtime and gradually, it has continued to attract the International attention and so far a count of seventeen (17) countries have expressed interest in this year’s turn mainly from Africa, Europe and Asia. In 2015, the expo had 408 registered exhibitors but for this year, the number has increased to 419. The 271 of these exhibitors are locals while the 148 are foreigners.

The success of the past exhibition is evidenced by increased foreign direct investment in Rwanda something that continue to yield job opportunities for the local people, enhancing the national revenue and contributing to economic growth and development. Interestingly, some of these investments are in the tourism and hospitality sector such as hotels which in turn increases comfort prospects of travelers on safaris and tours in Rwanda.

Rwanda’s economy is apparently featuring an 8% annual growth rate of which the private sector has contributed considerably. Therefore establishing strong ties with the foreign world to facilitate technical and financial resource inflow would add strength to the private sector thus enhancing their input to national development.

The anticipated sectors that will engage in the exhibition include; Agro-processing, Manufacturing, financial services, Handcraft, Tourism, financial services, SMEs, Housing and Construction.

The Head of Trade Fairs and Investment at the Private Sector Federation Mr. Eprehem Karangwa noted that a range of 320,000 visitors are anticipated to reach at this year’s exhibition with 20,000 people making it to the event every day.  The expo will be broadcasted live and among the notable new exhibitors are from Turkey and United Kingdom.

ASSOCIATION OF UGANDA TOUR OPERATORS IN THE RHYTHM OF NEW LEADERSHIP

The Umbrella that brings together all the operators that package the Uganda Safari and tour products to domestic and international consumption is in the fresh rhythm after securing the new leadership. The Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO) features fully constituted board of eight (8) members that are elected in the every annual general meeting.

The Board’s position of the Chairperson was maintained by Babra A. Vanhellepute having served in the same capacity for the past two (2) years. In her capacity as the new chairperson, she is aiming at strengthening the systems and structures established in her initial term office and lobbying for improved working environment of the tour operators to ensure that synergies are created to induce more travelers to take up safaris and tours in Uganda.

The AUTO General meeting also saw a range of other posts filled accordingly with the competent people that were nominated and voted for by the members themselves including the Directors of Prime Uganda Safaris and tours Ltd Mr & Mrs. Samuel & Cate Makanga who were in attendance.

Among other members elected include; Jacqueline Kemirembe as Vice Chairperson, Dennis Ntege as Board Secretary, Costantino Tessarin as Treasurer, while Dona Tindyebwa, Gary Segal and Lydia Nandudu and Civy Tumusiime were selected as Committee Members. The general meeting was attended by over 200 people of whom more than 100 were owners of Uganda tour companies that form the central membership of the Association.

The body is charged with ensuring professional standards of service delivery among the tour operators to facilitate confidence building among the world travelers about destination Uganda. The body also makes recommendations to the government especially in granting of tour operator licenses. The inter member disputes can also be solved by the body.

An independent electoral committee spearheaded the voting exercise and Dr. Akankwasa from the Ministry of Tourism headed it. The election of the new leaders put an end on the two year regime that had prevailed from July 10^th 2014 when it was elected into office.

GRACE NYAKAANA TAKES THE MISS TOURISM TOORO CROWN

It was such a remarkable moment as the region of Tooro – one of the famous Uganda Safari tour hot spots takes on the challenge of selecting the Miss Tourism.

In the lush environs of Mountains of the Moon Hotel, the night of Friday July 22^nd was a romantic and yet a tense one as the auditions for Miss Tourism went on. Positioned at a vantage point overlooking the Royal Karuzika palace, the Mountains of the Moon Hotel is one of the popular hotels used by travelers on safaris and tours in Uganda and thus had a credible ground to host a significant audition.

The contest which had a count of five (5) people in competition saw Grace Nyakaana emerging as the winner by Midnight. Grace is noted to have become the third ambassador for tourism ever since the preliminary arrangements commenced at regional level three years past.

From most of the revelers, it was clear that Grace had locked from the start. The confidence, poise, expert knowledge about the culture of Tooro and the tourism industry in general put her cut above the rest. Grace also took the Miss Social Media and Photogenic category awards.

The  second runner up was Christine Kajumba while the third runner up was Gorret Peace Kobusingye. These three (3) beauty angels will go to the boot camp to join the national competition with those from other regions including Rwenzori, West Nile and Karamoja.

During the event, Shamim Kabahenda was the crowd’s favourite and was crowned Miss Talent while Kobusingye took the Miss Culture category. The guests who included those on Uganda tours were entertained by the local Musician Kigambo Araali.

The event was attended by a range of people including the Minister for Tourism in the Kingdom of Tooro Anna Bagaya who disclosed the Kingdom’s commitment to unleashing the region’s tourism potential especially under the New Campaign named Tooro Kokasemera.  Tooro region features a range of attractions including Kibale National Park, Semliki National Park, the Fort Portal crater lake field, Ndali Kasenda crater field,  the Royal Kingdom of Tooro and its heritage, tea estates and Amabere g’Nyinanmwiru caves which combine to make it a rich destination worth inclusion on the itinerary as one plans a safari to Uganda.

THE TWEGAITE SOURCE OF THE NILE RUN LOCKS JINJA

Jinja is one of the popular Uganda safari tour destinations famous for a range of things but most of all being the Source of the Nile River. On Saturday July 23^rd, the roads were connecting to Jinja for the Twegaite Source of the Nile run which had the intention of directing the proceeds to the building of the Cancer ward at Jinja Hospital.

The run was occurring for the second time following the Twegaite International Initiative a non profit Organization which originated in United States of America in the year 1998 with the intention of connecting friends and Children of Busoga in Uganda and Diaspora to facilitate the development of Busoga region including championing the causes that would increase Uganda tours in Busoga area.

The start point for the Marathon was at Source of the Nile Gardens and the end point was at the Jinja Rugby grounds. The participation was priced at 15000/= and the registration was at Igar Cafe Jinja along with Laftaz in Kampala and Jinja. It was such a fun filled day with the range of activities that included; Mountain climbing, camping and Mini zoo tour among other activities that enabled to showcase what Busoga has for the travelers on safaris and tours in Uganda.

The post race moments was also magical with activities like live entertainment, the exhibition of wildlife by the Uganda Wildlife Education Center, a range of children activities along with Jinja reunion party at the famous Jinja Sailing Club – one of popular relaxation points for those on Uganda safaris and tours.

Dr. Fred Bateganya the head of Twegaite International noted that the initiative has supported the cancer ward at Jinja Hospital for the last three (3) years and a range of improvements including securing of new linen and renovation have already been accomplished. The proceeds from the Saturday’s event will be directed to hospital van acquisition to make the transportation of hospital staff easier.

RWANDA AIR TO COMMENCE FLIGHTS TO HARARE IN JANUARY 2017

Rwanda Air – the National carrier of destination Rwanda and one of the significant players in the transportation of Rwanda Safari undertakers will in the month of January 2017 commence the flights to Harare – the Zimbabwe’s capital.

The addition of Harare to the Rwanda Air destination portfolio is part of its expansion endeavour that aims at adding six (6) other destinations on the continent of Africa. The Chief Executive Director of Rwanda Air John Mirenge in February disclosed that the carrier intended to embark on the new routes including Harare in Zimbabwe, Bamako in Mali, Cotonou in Benin, Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire, Lilongwe in Malawi and Khartoum in Sudan.

The connection to Harare is intended to facilitate easy connection between Rwanda and the countries of Zimbabwe and Zambia including the travelers that would wish to undertake Rwanda Safaris and tours. The route that will be launched early next year will see Rwanda Air fly to Harare from Lusaka as it is already operating in Lusaka.

The government of Zimbabwe welcomed the initiative as the two destinations aim at enhancing tourist development according to Herald – the Zimbabwe’s largest daily newspaper.  Minister for Tourism and Hospitality in the Zimbabwean government Mr. Mzembi met with the officials of Rwanda Air after the just concluded African union summit to affirm the carrier operation between Lusaka and Harare along with the future possibility of flying Harare to Kigali and Guangzhou.  The RwandaAir management is very optimistic that with the newly bought Air buses, the prospect of operating Harare-Kigali-London route can be realized.

RwandaAir is towards the end of this year is expected to commence the flights to Mumbai in India using its newly acquired A330-300 Aircraft connecting once in a week. This is expected to invigorate Indians to plan safaris to Rwanda.  The India’s Bird Travel has already been contracted to act as a general sales agent.

Apparently, the RwandaAir operates in a count of seventeen (17) destinations among which include; Entebbe, Nairobi, Mombasa, Lusaka, Bujumbura, Juba, Dar es Salaam, Douala, Kilimanjaro, Dubai, Johannesburg, Lagos, Brazzaville and Libreville.

RWANDAN SENATORS CALL FOR BETTER MANAGEMENT OF TOURIST SITES

The Rwandan Government has been called upon by her own senators to work as fast as possible in ensuring that the Rwanda Safari sites including National Museums are focused on specific topics, documentation of local tourist sites’ history to the benefit of the visitors on safaris in Rwanda whereas the protected areas of Volcanoes National Park and Akagera National Park receive the buffer zones.
These recommendations featured in the report made by the senatorial Standing Committee on Economic Development and Finance regarding the implementation of government programmes in the tourism sector. The committee was chaired by Jacqueline Muhongayire.
A range of other recommendations were submitted by these legislators to enhance the transformation of the tourism sector and increase the travelers taking up Rwanda Safaris and tours. Among these include devising tourism master plan for every district and incorporating the development of tourism in their performance contracts every year.
Evariste Bizimana one of the members on the committee noted that the national tourism master plan of Rwanda is not very detailed but by availing the district master plans, the details required to enhance the promotion of Rwanda tour sites in the whole country will be clearly brought out. The decentralization of the tourism development to the district level would be of great significance since apparently all tourism development coordination efforts are centered at Rwanda Development Board.
The need to clarify on who does what in terms of implementation is very significant and the senators called upon the government to close that gap in the national tourism development agenda. This at times curtails the swift implementation of the national tourism master plan.
The other recommendations include focusing of specific topics by national museums like nature, colonization, war of liberation among others, opening the north entry gate of Akagera National Park to enable the visitors on safari in Rwanda from the north to gain easy access and expanding the buffer zones so as to deter animals in Volcanoes and Akagera National Park from straying to the community.
Research to enrich information about the tourist sites and training of the required personnel to the international standards including those in the hospitality sector is highly recommended by the report. However, the government effort to develop MICE and increase of staff in the parks and other tourist site was hailed in the report.
The tourism sector is one of the Rwanda’s economic strongholds with estimated revenue of $318 million in the year 2015 rising from the 2010 figure of $210 million.

UGANDA TOURIST VISA BACK TO $50; THE IMPACT ON TOURISM

 The destination Uganda on the morning of July 22^nd started to issue the Single entry Visa to the visitors including those on Safaris to Uganda at half the price of what it used to cost.

The Uganda Visa had been hiked to the price of $100 from the $50 something that was heavily protested by a range of stakeholders especially the tour operators with the argument that the high fees were discouraging the Uganda Safari travel.

The country has for the whole of the previous year been bewildered by setbacks in the number of travelers on safaris and tours in Uganda resulting into the low occupancy rates at the safari lodges as well. The high Visa fees added to the 18% VAT made the destination expensive resulting into reduced arrivals. Of course, this situation was worsened by the pre-election speculation where hyper reporting was all over media including International media something that made some of the potential travelers that had interest in taking up tours to Uganda to rethink their decision.

Fortunately, the anticipated after election violence never happened and when the nation was still enchanting because of that, another magical decision arrived when the Uganda Visa was reversed to its old price of $50. The continuous engagements with the Uganda Immigration Officials, the Visa fee was eventually brought back to $50 commencing 22^nd July 2016 at all entry ports of Uganda including Entebbe International Airport.

However, this comes at a time when Uganda is introducing the online visa application programme where those intending to travel to Uganda have to submit their application online for approval before traveling to the port of entry. This will not only save time at the Airport but also enhance the national security which is to the benefit of all.

The reduction of the Visa fees is believed to pose a significant impact on the tourism sector by increasing the tourist arrivals which in turn will result into increase accommodation occupancy and the revenues generated from tourism. The trend in the number of Uganda tour undertakers is anticipated to keep positive since the destination is no longer costly.

A NEW TOURIST SITE UNVEILED BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

The Catholic Church is credited for having made the most recent addition to the religious Uganda Safari tour product chain. The birth place of St. Kizito in the district of Luwero has been unveiled as a significant tourist site with the intention of promoting and preserving the Church history.

The Waluleta shrines marked by an ancient Muvule tree are noted to be the playing grounds for St.Kizito – the youngest of all the Uganda Martyrs. This site which has started to attract religious travelers on safaris in Uganda is located in the village of Kigwe, Makulubita Sub county 7km to the West of the town of Wobulenzi.

The popularity of this site has not started of recent but rather has been there with the Catholic pilgrims traveling there annually for the past 20 years according to the Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga the Archbishop of Kampala and the Kasana-Luweero Pioneer Bishop. He is noted to have tracked it and pronounced it a Pilgrimage site in 1995.  Upon realizing the significance of the site as the Pioneer Bishop by then, Dr. Cyprian undertook its mapping, preserved the three (3) graves of Kizito’s relatives and built a local church. Overtime the diocese has developed it to reach at the standard site level worth exploring on religious tour in Uganda.  This was disclosed to an approximate of 20,000 Pilgrims at the grand opening of the shrine on Sunday.

The grand opening of the Shrine was also blessed by Paul Semwogerere the Bishop of Kasana Luwero, Anthony Zziwa the Bishop of Kiyinda-Mityana and Christopher Kakooza the Bishop of Lugazi Diocese

The famous St Kizito is recorded to have undergone baptism on 26^th May 1886 after which he clashed with his King Mwanga over the issue of religion resulting into his death on 3^rd June 1886 at Namugongo. Pope Paul VX canonised him in the month of October 1964 like other Uganda Martyrs that suffered the same fate.

Religious tourism is steadily gaining ground among the Africa vacation safaris and holidays in Uganda as many people are increasing in their quest for spiritual cleansing, material blessings or research and history.