The spectacular 'Lunar Rainbow' cuts through the mist given off by Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, troubles have surfaced in the area surrounding the majestic Victoria Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. The enveloping Victoria Falls National Park and its neighbouring Zambezi National Park both boast incredible biodiversity. Within the dense rainforests and riverine jungles are rare plants and animals like mahogany trees, elephants, kudu, hippos, herons, crocodiles, cormorants and kingfishers. In recent years, however, many native species have suffered from an increase in poaching.

Fortunately, one group has worked tirelessly to confront the growing crisis.

A Need for Action

In January 1999, having observed the increased threat to the parks surrounding Victoria Falls, a local safari operator named Charles Brightman joined forces with the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge to establish the non-profit Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit (VFAPU). Working in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, local police and the Forestry Commission, the VFAPU combats the destruction caused by environmental, subsistence and commercial poaching.

Environmental poaching is the removal of plants, trees, soil and other local species and habitat. Examples include the pilfering of sand for use in making bricks, quarry stone for construction or plants for food. The biggest threat of all, however, is the unsustainable removal of indigenous hardwoods for firewood (for cooking and warmth), carvings and structural supports. Over the last decade, due to the deteriorating economic situation, local residents have devastated Zimbabwe’s forestry zones. There are an estimated 5,000 curio vendors in Victoria Falls alone and the indigenous hardwoods harvested as raw materials are African ebony, pod mahogany and the mukwa. Research conducted by the Forestry Commission indicates that in certain areas, 80% of the mukwa trees have already been destroyed.

The Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit (VFAPU) started with three scouts, but now has 12 full-time members who patrol the Victoria Falls area of Zimbabwe seven days a week

To counter this, VFAPU spends time in local communities reinforcing the importance of preserving the environment, while also identifying sustainable alternatives for, for example, cooking and heating. The VFAPU delivers its conservation message through song and dance with the aid of drama groups, and gives demonstrations on the use of stoves that use alternative fuels like sawdust (available free from local mills). Working with the Forestry Commission, commercial carvers are provided free transport to and from the forestry headquarters, where they can purchase wood.

Scourge of the Snares

Subsistence poaching poses a deadly threat to wildlife in the national park areas surrounding Victoria Falls. Gangs of poachers set traps along animal migration trails used to reach food and water sources. Trapped in wire snares, animals can suffer for several days before they die. The poachers then butcher the animal on site, hang the meat up to dry for several days and then send it to local communities to sell. As ‘bushmeat’ is sold at a cheaper rate than meat available at the butcher, there is a huge demand for the poached produce.

Mammals regularly targeted for their meat include buffalo, kudu, eland and impala. The snares, however, do not discriminate and larger, stronger animals are sometimes caught. Their attempts to pull free often result in the broken snares embedded in their limbs, snouts, trunks and tails resulting in mutilations and serious or life-threatening infections. To date this year (2010), 99 snares have been removed from the area and 18 mammals have been removed from snares: one eland, four impalas, three warthogs, six buffaloes, one sable, one spotted hyena, one elephant and one kudu.

After butchering animals caught in their snares, poachers hang the meat up to dry for several days before taking it to the markets to be sold as bushmeat, a popular and relatively inexpensive delicacy

In conjunction with the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority – together with local veterinarians and wildlife experts who volunteer their time – VFAPU has been successful at darting and treating animals found alive in snares, removing the snares and treating the infection. Unfortunately, many animals are discovered dead, do not survive their injuries or, due to the severity of their wounds, must be put down.

Conservation in Crisis

Commercial poaching – the sale of plant and animal products such as ivory, horns, feet and skins – is also prevalent in Zambezi National Park. The most common victims of commercial poachers are rhinos and elephants, the coveted ivory tusks of the latter the most frequently poached product, sold to traders in the Middle East and Far East and carved into artefacts. Elephant feet are also used as footstools and umbrella stands, while their hair is used for bangles and their skin cured for leather.

Driven by a consumer appetite for their distinctive horns – prized for their translucency when carved and their supposed health properties – all five of the world’s rhinoceros species have been brought to the edge of extinction. While we can report on a successful breeding program for black rhino in Zambezi National Park, the survival of the species is still in doubt due to an increase in poaching of both white and black rhino in Zimbabwe.

VFAPU scouts catch a poacher red-handed. The wire snares cause trapped animals inestimable suffering and result in a slow, agonising death.

Sustainability through Education

As with all conservation and environmental recovery efforts, educating the local communities is one key to success. When subsistence communities have been pressed by financial crisis and are fighting for their survival, finding reasonable alternative practices and resources is the biggest challenge. To help with this process and provide new sources of income, training programs now teach skills such as weaving and embroidery. Wood is also made available through the forestry commissions.

Educating travellers is also vital to the success of conservation efforts in Zimbabwe. Through his travel company, Discover Safaris, Charles Brightman has launched a new activity: the Wildlife Conservation and Awareness Safari. Participants learn about VFAPU’s operations and the challenges it faces before being taken into Zambezi National Park to record game sightings, identify spoor, patrol and sweep for wire snares and investigate for signs of poaching. An anti-poaching horseback patrol has also been introduced; experienced riders are invited to search for snares as a step in learning about conservation efforts in the park.

Volunteers and local companies continue to give time and money in support of the Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit’s proven success in protecting Victoria Falls National Park and Zambezi National Park. From a starting full-time staff of only three people, VFAPU has grown to include 12 active scouts charged with patrolling the 50-square-kilometre area surrounding Victoria Falls. Committed to the recovery of snares, authorised to capture and arrest hardened poachers and armed with a determination to educate the local communities on the importance of sustaining the local environment, the Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit presses on, playing its part in protecting the parks and resources of Zimbabwe for generations to come.

With the Sphinx bearing witness, the Tour d'Afrique riders assemble near Cairo, Egypt, in preparation for the first kilometre on day 1 of their four-month, 11,800-kilometre trans-African pedal (photo by Brian Hoeniger)

Pedal Power

As a recreational biker and former humanitarian aid worker in Africa, I had dreamt of cycling the Tour d’Afrique since it was first held in 2003. Having zero long-distance cycling experience, I was both intimidated and inspired by the prospect of biking across Africa, so I trained hard on Toronto’s bicycle paths and on a stationary bike. In the end, I completed the tour in two halves, riding from Tanzania to Cape Town in March to May 2008 and from Cairo to Tanzania in early 2009, all without a serious hiccup, aside from a few falls and the obligatory stomach upset.

For first-timers, the allure of long-distance bicycle touring quickly becomes apparent. You are rewarded not merely by encounters with new lands and cultures and by the physical conditioning of riding 80 to 180 kilometres day after day, but, above all, by the incredibly intense feeling of freedom that comes with having nothing to do except cycle down the African road, eat and sleep. It’s all too easy to become completely removed from the world of workstations and laptops, and, with between 50 and 65 other riders sharing the adventure, the camaraderie among the tour riders and the largely volunteer staff is strong.

On the Tour d'Afrique, in northern Kenya, the roadblocks and hazards are not exactly run of the mill (photo courtesy of Tour d'Afrique Ltd)

An African Dream

If anything, the four months exceeded my expectations as the challenge of a lifetime. There were many highlights, but some memories definitely stand out. Discovering how friendly the Sudanese people are – contrary to the country’s reputation in the western press – was enlightening. In fact, on several occasions I was invited by shopkeepers to share a meal of fuul (mashed fava beans) and pita bread. As Sudan is a Muslim country, there is virtually no crime to speak of and there was nowhere I felt safer on the entire trip.

Ethiopia’s biblical landscapes, unique cultures and cuisine were definite eye-openers as well. In Gondar city, the capital of Ethiopia in the 16th and 17th centuries, King Fasiledes’ castle, a World Heritage Site, is a must-see. On a rest day at Bahir Dar on the shores of Lake Tana, a group of us took a boat to ancient island monasteries, where we viewed manuscripts of the Ethiopian Coptic Christian Church dating back to the 10th century. Washed down with Dashen beer, Ethiopia’s fiery national food staples of injera (flat pancakes made from teff flour), wat (stew) and kitfo (steak tartare) are beyond delicious, although an acquired taste for some!

The sheer majesty of Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River is breathtaking and, by contrast, makes Niagara seem a mere trickle. Whether you choose to get soaked at the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park (meaning ‘the Smoke that Thunders’), go white-water rafting or bungee jumping 100 metres down from the bridge separating Zambia and Zimbabwe, or just enjoy the view over a buffet breakfast from a hotel balcony, the falls live up to their billing as one of the world’s seven wonders of nature.

A local bike shop in Tanzania helps a Tour d'Afrique rider with some repairs (photo by Brian Hoeniger)

The wildlife is another unforgettable aspect of the trip. I will long treasure the experience of heading out at dawn with birdsong and my bike as the only sounds, not to mention the day I cycled past a family of elephants at 6:30am just outside of Kasane, Botswana. I will never forget one Zambian farmer commenting that “The elephants are really bad this year!” as he bemoaned the damage to his crops and gardens, much the way rural Canadians might decry deer or wolves for wandering into their yard.

A sublime sense of accomplishment and a delicious bowl of soup at the end of the toughest days always seemed to make me forget about tired muscles, and finding the elusive cold beverage on a really hot day was bliss. Although I’m not normally a fan, a chilled fizzy drink has never tasted better than on a dusty African roadside.

The Experience of a Lifetime

There are crazy bus drivers in Sudan and southern Tanzania who will force you off the road. In Ethiopia, where the population has exploded to almost 80 million, you are unlikely ever to be alone and guaranteed to be pestered and plunked by stone-throwing shepherd boys (“You! You! You! Give me money!”).

The Tour d'Afrique is, in the end, about the strength and determination of one person and his/her bike (photo courtesy of Tour d'Afrique Ltd)

That being said, provided you watch over your health, know your limits and when to slow down on an off-road rock-strewn downhill, you will be fine. There are some rainy days, but the tour has been designed with the prevailing winds and seasons in mind. Sunshine and warmth typically predominate, including a few days of extreme heat. Perhaps the biggest setback is packing up the bike at journey’s end and bidding adieu to Africa and new friends, knowing it’s time to go home and back to work.

In short, the Tour d’Afrique challenges riders physically and mentally like nothing else, with rewards of unsurpassed and diverse terrain, and an incomparable feeling of achievement that few have the opportunity to experience. Seeing the funds I raised for the Tour d’Afrique Foundation converted into bicycles for African community health and development workers was the icing on the cake.

If I can do it, then believe it or not, so can you!

The spectacular Lunar Rainbow cuts through the mist given off by Victoria Falls

The town of Victoria Falls is often referred to as the Adventure Capital of Africa and intrepid travellers will not be disappointed with the Victoria Falls tours and activities on offer, ranging from Microlight flights and bungee jumps to white-water rafting through the Batoka Gorge and walking across a high wire suspended above the falls. Daring visitors can even revel in unrivalled fall views on a Flight of the Angels helicopter ride. For something a little less high-impact, there are plenty of relaxed ways to view the falls. For example, on the evening of a tranquil full moon, don’t miss the spectacular Lunar Rainbow. Enjoying a picnic and a bottle of wine is one of the best ways to make the most of this stunning phenomenon.

While the main attraction in Victoria Falls town is undoubtedly the waterfall, there are numerous other things to see and do in the town itself and across the border in Livingstone, Zambia. Victoria Falls also offers travellers a wide range of accommodation including bed-and-breakfasts, backpackers’ hostels and Victoria Falls hotels.

whl.travel’s launch of www.victoriafallszambezi.travel is the first whl.travel destination portal in Zimbabwe and puts travellers directly in touch with local expert Charlotte Moroney and the team at Wildside Tours. This is the third website managed by this passionate team of outdoor enthusiasts; the other two are Livingstone and Kafue National Park, both located in neighbouring Zambia.

One of the most exciting ways to experience the falls - a tandem Microlight flight

Charlotte Moroney says, “We are so excited about joining whl.travel. To be part of this worldwide travel network is awesome knowing that together we are linking many countries and uniting sustainable tourism across the world. The Zimbabwean people are hopeful and are all in a small way rebuilding by creating more jobs and opportunities through a healthy tourist industry. We are all enjoying the prospect of being of service to our foreign visitors and through whl.travel we hope to link you up with the wonderful enterprising people of Zimbabwe and are working hard to promote our fantastic town as a destination.”

Bali is the most famous of Indonesia’s many and spectacular Lesser Sunda Islands, a 1200-kilometre-long archipelago east of Java that also includes Komodo, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, Timor, and Lembata and Alor, not to mention a mouthful of adjacent smaller islands. Visitors will find them bursting with human culture and vivid with mind-boggling land-based flora and fauna – like the famous Komodo dragon, the largest living lizard in the world, native only to Komodo National Park and some parts of Flores island – as well as some of the world’s most spectacular and unusual marine life.

The fully grown male Komodo dragon can reach three metres in length and about 100 kilograms in weight

Given the number of Lesser Sunda Islands (see map) and the incredible diversity of local cultures, there is much to see and do. Most people settle for a single-island holiday, eager to absorb its spectacles as best they can, but many with more time on their hands enjoy the new sensory experience that each island destination holds.

Of those islands less well known, Komodo is perhaps the greatest draw by virtue of its Komodo National Park, now also in the running as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature. Only about 280 square kilometres in size and situated between Flores and Sumbawa Islands, Komodo is home to the giant protected lizard of the same name – highly vulnerable, there are only approximately 3500 left today – it also includes coastal waters teeming with marine life, including dolphins, frogfish, manta rays and pygmy seahorses. Keen lovers of marine life can take in the unremitting flows of fish adding to the already abundant aquatic colours of the seabed on a Komodo diving day trip.

There are many other Komodo and Lesser Sunda Island tours that bring you in direct contact with the islands and assist you in discovering their magical beauty. In between trips, a wide variety of Komodo and Lesser Sunda Islands hotels will make you feel right at home no matter how far off the beaten track you go.

whl.travel’s launch of www.komodo-tours.travel, which covers Komodo, Flores and Sumba, puts travellers directly in touch with Ng Sebastian and the team of Incito Tours, a local  tour business started in 2005 with a strong belief that that tourism must involve locals as a fundamental part of ensuring its sustainability.

“Incito Tour is happy to be partner of whl.travel,” said Ng Sebastian on behalf of his team. “It makes Komodo and the Lesser Sunda Islands just a click away: easy to access and easy to arrange visits and adventures.”

The Komodo and Lesser Sunda Islands travel portal adds to the whl.travel network a third Indonesian destination portal, following those in Aceh and Manado.

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IN INDONESIAN / DALAM BAHASA INDONESIA:

Bali adalah pulau yang paling terkenal dari sekian banyak pulau di jajaran Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara di Indonesia, kepulaun sepanjang 1200 km di sebelah timur Pulau Jawa yang termasuk Komodo, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, Timor, Lembata dan Alor dan masih banyak lagi pulau kecil di sekitarnya. Pengunjung akan mejumpai rangkaian pulau yang penuh dengan daya tarik budaya dan alam baik fauna maupun flora seperti Komodo yang terkenal itu yang merupakan kadal terbesar di dunia yang masih hidup dan hanya ditemukan di Taman Nasional Komodo dan beberapa tempat lainnya di Pulau Flores serta daya tarik alam bawa lautnya yang berkelas dunia.

A traditional village of Sumba beautifully settled on a hill overlooking a riverbank

Rangkaian kepulaun Nusa Tenggara (lihat peta) menyajikan begitu banyak keragaman budaya sehingga ada banyak hal yang bisa dilihat dan dibuat. Sejumlah orang hanya menikmati satu pulau saja dalam kunjungannya, tetapi bagi mereka yang punya cukup waktu dan berjiwa petualang adalah lebih baik mengunjungi lebih dari satu pulau karena setiap pulau mempunyai daya tariknya tersendiri.

Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara ini memang belum banyak dikenal orang, tetapi Komodo di Taman Nasional Komodo – sekarang adalah salah satu kandidat 7 Keajaiban Dunia yang Baru – merupakan daya tarik yang paling kuat. Hanya seluas 280 km persegi terletak antara Flores dan Sumbawa, Taman Nasional Komodo adalah rumah bagi Biawak Raksasa Komodo yang dilindungi. Saat ini populasinya hanya berkisar 3.500-an ekor.

Laut di Taman Nasional Komodo kaya dengan biota laut yang menawan dengan karang yang sehat dan indah menjadi habitat lumba – lumba, aneka ikan pari besar, kuda laut mini dan masih banyak lagi. Para pencinta dunia bawah laut akan menjumpai aneka koloni ikan yang memperindah panorama bawah laut yang berwarna – warni itu dalam Perjalanan Menyelam di Komodo dalam satu hari.

www.komodo-tours.travel menawarkan begitu banyak paket wisata yang mencakup Komodo dan Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara sehingga memungkinkan anda bertemu langsung dan berinteraksi dengan aneka peradaban di sana dan membantu anda menemukan keindahanya yang terpendam itu. Untuk melengkapai petualangan anda, situs ini menyajikan begitu banyak pilihan hotel di setiap tempat yang anda kunjungi sehingga anda menjadi bagian dari tempat yang dikunjungi itu tidak peduli seberapa jauhpun anda bertualang di Nusa Tenggara.

Peluncuran www.komodo-tours.travel oleh whl.travel yang meliputi destinasi Taman Nasional Komodo, Flores, Sumba dan sejumlah pulau di sekitarnya membuat anda akan berhubungan dengan Ng Sebastian dan timnya di Incito Tour, yang merupakan Biro Perjalanan lokal. Incito Tour bediri tahun 2005 dengan dasar keyakinan yang kuat bahwa industri pariwisata harus melibatkan penduduk setempat sehingga konsep pariwisata berkelanjutan dapat dijalankan dengan baik.

“Incito Tour bangga menjadi partner whl.travel,” travel berkata NG Sebastian atas nama timnya. “Karena Destinasi Komodo and Nusa Tenggara menjadi hanya sejauh ujung jari. Mudah diakses, mudah mengatur kunjungan dan petualangan bersama komodo-tours.travel.”

Portal Destinasi Komodo & Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara merupakan destinasi ke tiga di Indonesia dari jaringan whl.travel setelah Aceh dan Manado.

Cape Town's Table Mountain is one of the finalists in the New Seven Wonders of Nature, as well as a whl.travel destination

It is now time for the world to speak and choose the final seven. Optimistic estimates are that 1 billion votes will be cast starting now, throughout 2010 and into 2011, when the official list will be unveiled.

TO ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE TALLY, START HERE.

whl.travel Destinations in the Mix

whl.travel is delighted to note that, of the 28 finalists, eight are covered by the network:

• the Amazon – see Manaus: the Brazilian Port of Entry to the Amazon Rainforest)
• the Dead Sea – take a tour
• Iguazu Falls – see Finding Heaven in Foz do Iguassu
• Jeita Grotto – take a tour
• Komodo National Park – take a tour
• Maldives – learn more about it and then read about Whale Shark Encounters in the Maldives
• Puerto Princesa Underground River – take a tour
• Table Mountain – why not Abseil off Table Mountain

More Information

The nomination and voting process is being led by the same team that oversaw the New Seven Wonders of the World, during which 100 million votes were counted.

Jordan is solidly back on the radar. Already one of the most entrancing destinations in the Middle East, Jordan is attracting more attention than ever before as site of the ancient stone city of Petra, one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. But Jordan is far from being a one-hit wonder. Visitors moved to take in the awe-inspiring rock structures of the Nabataeans usually also discover the country’s other attractions -– archaeological, historical and cultural. And, these days, in keeping with a growing awareness of travel ethics, many are doing so responsibly.

Responsible travel in Jordan is a relatively new concept, albeit one steadily gaining ground, both amongst locals and visitors. So, to add momentum to important early strides toward the country’s sustainable tourism future, here are several responsible travel hints.

Airport arrival. Most travellers first touch Jordanian ground at Queen Alia International Airport, located approximately 30 kilometres south of Amman. Although there are airport taxis to Amman on hand, getting one can sometimes be nerve-racking, even with the posted fixed-price service. Alternatively, and with an eye toward reduced fuel consumption, take the hourly bus (leaves on the hour) from outside the terminal 2 arrivals hall. As of mid-2008, it cost 3 Jordanian dinars per person (taxis charge slightly more than 20) and runs via Amman’s 7th, 6th, 5th and 4th circles before turning north to the new large bus station. You can disembark anywhere.

One of Amman's responsible craft sales centres

Real Jordanian Crafts. Once in Amman, visit the handicrafts showrooms displaying wares made in Jordan as part of community-based income-generating programs. Some of Jordan’s leading social welfare organizations have trained women and marginalised groups to earn a living by producing and selling quality products. In Amman, there are showrooms for the:

• Jordan Handicraft Producers Association (in Jebel Amman)
• Jordan River Foundation (in Jebel Amman)
• Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development’s Beit al Bawadi (in Abdoun)
• Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) ’s Nature Shop at its Wild Jordan Centre (in Jebel Amman)

From approximately October to July, many small-scale producers also display their products at the weekly Friday Souk JARA (in Jebel Amman) and Beit al Bawadi’s Saturday Souq Al Ard (in Abdoun). Incredible bargains on a dazzling variety of second-hand and recycled goods -– in particular clothes -– can be had every Friday at the Souk al Abdali.

Souk JARA sales stalls line a street in Jebel Amman

Sights around Amman. Jordan is a small country, so distances between points of interest are not great. Several primary areas near Amman are therefore now getting attention, including the cities of Ajloun, Jerash, Madaba and Salt. Most tour operators already include brief stops here on day trips from Amman. However, they are increasingly responsible destinations in their own rights, with, in addition to their primary attractions, community- and nature-based tourism initiatives well worth a longer look. Take time (even including an overnight) away from Amman by indulging in some of the following:

• near Ajloun: the Ajloun Forest Reserve, with hiking trails, village/farm visits, the Orjan Soap House, cabins and bungalows
• in/near Jerash: the Dibeen Forest Reserve and the incredible community-owned Roman Army Chariot Experience (RACE)
• in and around Madaba: many undertakings now stewarded by the community-based Madaba Tourism Development Association
• in Salt: the Salt Handicraft Training Centre

Roman foot soldiers and chariots at the Jerash RACE

For more information about Jordan, including accommodations, tours, activities and lots of insider tips, contact your local whl.travel connection: Seif Saudi, Rana Bseiso and the team of Jordan Select Tours at www.jordan-travel.jo.