Leonard Ncube In Victoria Falls
PLAYERS in the tourism industry in Victoria Falls have mobilised resources to build a holding shed at Kazungula Border post to provide resting places for tourists entering the country.
This comes amid reports some tourists have fainted at the border because of excessive direct heat as they wait to be served by immigration and revenue officers.
Representatives of the industry, Mr Chris Svovah, who is chairperson of Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe Victoria Falls chapter, Zimbabwe Council for Tourism Matabeleland North representative, Mrs Barbara Murasiranwa and Mr Farai Chimba, who is Victoria Falls Hotel deputy general manager, visited the border post last week to assess progress on the construction site.
The project has been on the cards for some time and Mrs Murasiranwa last year appealed to the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority to help as she claimed the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority was throwing spanners on the grounds that if “we carried out the project, the tourism industry would be glorified as it will be known that it’s the operators who built it (the shed)”.
Mr Svovah said the shed, with a capacity of 100 people, has already been constructed on the Zimbabwean entry side.
“As HAZ we noted with concern that tourists who come through Kazungula Border Post endure scorching heat as they wait to be cleared at the border. This coupled with incessant rains becomes a challenge to our visitors as they wait in long queues for border procedures hence we decided to build a shed at our own cost,” said Mr Svovah.
He said the first phase cost $8 500 mobilised from a number of players who chipped in and the second phase where a similar shed will be built on the exit side, will push the figure to $12 500.
Said Mr Svovah: “Last week we visited the border when workmen delivered building material of which today I am happy to report that there has been tremendous progress. Poles and trusses have been erected and painted. As we speak they are mounting the roof and the shed will be ready in the next two days.”
Mr Svovah said the idea was to ensure that tourists are not exhausted on entering the country so they can visit many resort areas and book for activities.
“Overally, we want our visitors to be fresh when entering the country so they can explore what we have to offer. We want them to enjoy Victoria Falls,” he said.
Over the years, the industry, led by HAZ, has given mineral water to tourists at ports of entry such as the Victoria Falls International Airport, Victoria Falls and Kazungula Border Posts at its own expense as a way of welcoming them into the country. This was to cool them down from high temperatures.
The holding shed will come in handy especially against the backdrop of the re-introduction of the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Uni-Visa, which facilitates free movement between Zimbabwe and Zambia as well as Botswana. Since the re-launch, arrivals have increased by about 15 percent, authorities said.
Source: Haz mobilises resources to erect shed (30/03/17)
More: Zimra rejects offer for help . . . Tourists suffer at shelterless Kazungula Border (7/7/16)
KEEP VICTORIA FALLS WILD
Save Victoria Falls from over-development - click to visit site - www.keepvictoriafallswild.com
Friday, 31 March 2017
Tuesday, 28 March 2017
80,000 more tourists a year expected into Vic Falls
By Lovemore Ranga Mataire
AT least 80,000 tourists are annually expected to fly into Victoria Falls as two large international airlines have already committed to the destination, a leading tourism leader has said.
In an interview, Africa Albida Tourism (AAT) chief executive, Ross Kennedy, said the month of March heralded a new dawn for tourism, with the arrival of South African Airways’ A330-200.
He said the South African Airways began operating an Airbus daily to Victoria Falls from Johannesburg on March 1. The Airbus A330-200 is the largest passenger aircraft ever to land at Zimbabwe’s top resort town.
According to Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe, the A330-200 has 222 seats, 88 more than the smaller aircraft and so far inbound flights are heavily booked until the end of the month with demand growing daily.
Besides South African Airways, Africa’s largest airline, Ethiopian Airlines, will also begin four weekly flights from Addis Ababa to Victoria Falls on March 26 while Kenyan Airways will begin direct flights three times a week from Nairobi on May 18.
The Ethiopian Airlines flight route will be Addis Ababa – Victoria Falls – Gaborone – Addis Ababa, while Kenya Airways will fly Nairobi – Victoria Falls – Cape Town – Victoria Falls – Nairobi.
Kennedy, who is also African Travel and Tourism Association chairman, said these routes would create new access to Africa’s iconic tourist destinations, with visitors now easily able to visit the Maasai Mara, Serengeti, Victoria Falls and Cape Town in one trip.
“Tourists will also be able to take in the history, culture and birding of Ethiopia with one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, Victoria Falls, which is the gateway to the rest of Zimbabwe, as well as Zambia, Namibia and Botswana.
“These new route connections will give the opportunity to innovative members of the travel industry to create new packages and destination linkages for tourists,” he said.
In addition, newcomer low-cost carrier Rainbow Airlines launched its weekly Harare to Victoria Falls flight on January 25.
The new US$150 million Victoria Falls International Airport, which includes a new 4km long, 60m wide runway, enabling long-haul wide-bodied aircraft to land, was opened by President Robert Mugabe last November.
AAT is a Zimbabwe-owned hospitality group, which operates a portfolio of properties in Victoria Falls, including Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, Victoria Falls Safari Club, Victoria Falls Safari Suites, Lokuthula Lodges, and Ngoma Safari Lodge in Chobe, Botswana.
Victoria Falls is located in the heart of the Kavango Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area, which boasts of some of the most pristine and diverse wildlife areas left on the planet.
Source: 80,000 more tourists a year expected into Vic Falls (27/03/17)
Wednesday, 22 March 2017
ZRU plans to build stadium in Vic Falls
Leonard Ncube in Victoria Falls
ZIMBABWE Rugby Union (ZRU) has approached the Victoria Falls Town Council for land to build a permanent rugby stadium in the resort town.
This follows the inaugural Kwese Sports Victoria Falls Sevens rugby tournament that was won by the Cheetahs, who beat Namibia 24-7 in the final.
The tournament, which featured four nations, including Zimbabwe, will be staged in Victoria Falls for the next five years, as organisers want to develop the game in the resort town to attract international events and clubs.
ZRU president Nyararai Sibanda said engagements with council were at an advanced stage to acquire land for the ground.
“We have engaged the council and had a positive response. We want to have a stadium, but this won’t be next year because courting partners is a process,” said Sibanda.
He said ZRU would spearhead the project with the help of partners, while a trust will also be established, as the union wants to build a legacy in the resort town.
Victoria Falls is usually quiet in terms of sport, with the Victoria Falls Marathon, ironically sponsored by Econet, the mother company to Kwese Sport, the only major sporting event on the calendar.
If the ZRU plans succeed, this would put the resort town on the world map and maybe attract the rugby world.
Similar plans have also been mooted by Zimbabwe Cricket, which was allocated land in the industrial area to build a 10 000-seater stadium, although the plans have been put on hold due to lack of funding.
There are plans to move the Kwese Sports Sevens Rugby event to the Elephant Hills Grounds where there is a soccer pitch wider than the one at Victoria Falls Primary School.
Sibanda said this would be decided by a committee that will sit in April to deliberate on the matter.
Victoria Falls town clerk Ronnie Dube recently told a full council meeting that the local authority would start projects of rehabilitating and developing sporting facilities so that the resort town can also grow its sport tourism potential.
Source: ZRU plans to build stadium in Vic Falls (21/03/17)
ZIMBABWE Rugby Union (ZRU) has approached the Victoria Falls Town Council for land to build a permanent rugby stadium in the resort town.
This follows the inaugural Kwese Sports Victoria Falls Sevens rugby tournament that was won by the Cheetahs, who beat Namibia 24-7 in the final.
The tournament, which featured four nations, including Zimbabwe, will be staged in Victoria Falls for the next five years, as organisers want to develop the game in the resort town to attract international events and clubs.
ZRU president Nyararai Sibanda said engagements with council were at an advanced stage to acquire land for the ground.
“We have engaged the council and had a positive response. We want to have a stadium, but this won’t be next year because courting partners is a process,” said Sibanda.
He said ZRU would spearhead the project with the help of partners, while a trust will also be established, as the union wants to build a legacy in the resort town.
Victoria Falls is usually quiet in terms of sport, with the Victoria Falls Marathon, ironically sponsored by Econet, the mother company to Kwese Sport, the only major sporting event on the calendar.
If the ZRU plans succeed, this would put the resort town on the world map and maybe attract the rugby world.
Similar plans have also been mooted by Zimbabwe Cricket, which was allocated land in the industrial area to build a 10 000-seater stadium, although the plans have been put on hold due to lack of funding.
There are plans to move the Kwese Sports Sevens Rugby event to the Elephant Hills Grounds where there is a soccer pitch wider than the one at Victoria Falls Primary School.
Sibanda said this would be decided by a committee that will sit in April to deliberate on the matter.
Victoria Falls town clerk Ronnie Dube recently told a full council meeting that the local authority would start projects of rehabilitating and developing sporting facilities so that the resort town can also grow its sport tourism potential.
Source: ZRU plans to build stadium in Vic Falls (21/03/17)
NGO Says Chinese Men Paying $2 for Sex With Little Girls in Vic Falls
CHINESE nationals in Victoria Falls are taking advantage of poverty stricken underage girls whom they are offering $2 for sex, an investigation by a local child rights lobby organization has found.
The investigation by the Zimbabwe Council for the Welfare of Children, (ZNCWC) sought to establish the number of young girls aged 18 years and below engaging in commercial sex work throughout the country.
According to the report, this has been happening in the resort town for the past five years when government, through the Civil Aviation of Zimbabwe, commissioned expansion of Victoria Falls International Airport.
ZNCWC carried the research in selected HIV hot spots throughout the country where it interviewed a sample of 300 respondents.
"While young girls were noted at all the study sites, extremely younger ages were noted in Hwange and Victoria Falls," read part of the report which took a year to be concluded and whose results were published last week.
"In Hwange, the main reason reported to be pushing young girls into sex was house hold poverty triggered by high unemployment rates, whereas in Victoria Falls the main reason provided was the existence of the Victoria Falls international Airport construction community amid surrounding communities in Lupinyu that are marred by poverty and lack of fees to attend school," the report said.
Some of the people who were involved in the construction of the Victoria Falls International Airport included Chinese nationals some of whom the researchers said they found negotiating sex with young girls.
"During data collection the research team witnessed Chinese employees at the airport construction company soliciting for sexual services for as little as $2 from young girls," the investigation said.
ZNCWC said most of the young sex workers whom they interviewed had no idea of how to use condoms during the course of their work, thereby, making them vulnerable to HIV and AIDS.
Source: NGO Says Chinese Men Paying $2 for Sex With Little Girls in Vic Falls (21/03/17)
Ancient Origins -Evolution of the Zambezi
Reproduced from the Zambezi Society March 2017 Newsletter
THE ANCIENT ZAMBEZI
Lovers of the Zambezi River who are interested in learning more about its very ancient history, will be delighted to read a fascinating article by Fenton "Woody" Cotterill, Andy Moore and Roger Key which was reproduced in the The African Fisherman magazine last year.
The article is a non-technical summary of the original paper published in the South African Journal of Geology under the title: ‘The Zambezi River: an archive of tectonic events linked to Gondwana amalgamation and disruption, and subsequent evolution of the African Plate’.
What is particularly fascinating to the layman about this latest research is a) geological study now establishes the ancient Proto-Zambezi as the Earth's oldest-known river (minimum 280 million years old) and b) that the ancient Proto-Zambezi ran in exactly the opposite direction (west across Africa into the Karoo) to what it does today (east into the Indian Ocean).
We reproduce an extract below: (you can read the full article via the link given at the end): "Africa's Zambezi is now established as Earth's oldest known river – the direct descendent of an ancient Proto‑Zambezi river. The origins of the Zambezi have been deciphered from geological evidence across the vast wilderness of the Chicoa, Gwembe, Luangwa, Mana and Sebungwe valleys of south‑central Africa; here, rock formations and landforms preserve the central repository of the river’s history back into the Palaeozoic Era before 280 Ma (million years ago).The Proto-Zambezi river originated in the drainage system that was established as vast Dwyka ice-sheets were receding across the super-continent of Gondwana. At this time the immense highlands of the Trans-Gondwana mountains directed the westerly flow of glacial meltwaters into the interior of Gondwana. With its catchment entirely contained within Gondwana, this massive river sustained a vast, inland sea centred on modern‑day Botswana....
..An unbroken chain of evidence places a minimum age of 280 Ma on the Zambezi's origins, when Gondwana’s ice-sheets began to melt as the super-continent drifted northwards. Central Africa’s rift valleys preserve the rock ledgers (historic record) that tell us the Proto‑Zambezi existed long before Africa became a continent. Importantly, this geological record of the ancestral Proto‑Zambezi is contiguous with the modern river. In particular, the evidence reveals that precursors of the modern Luangwa and Middle Zambezi already existed in the early Permian. This geological record in the Luangwa and Middle Zambezi valleys (the central African rifts) has survived despite the complete reversal of the Zambezi’s flow caused by Gondwana’s breakup, which forged the African continent.
The west-flowing Proto-Zambezi drainage system maintained a vast inland Karoo sea (K). The original extent of the Karoo sediments was likely larger before the breakup and erosion associated with the daughter continents of Gondwana. This map details the centres of Karoo deposition (shallow lakes, seas and deltas) depicted in darker shading, as presented in surviving rock formations in southern and central Africa. The superimposed dashed line approximates the position of the modern, east-flowing Zambezi river.
The greatest change in over 280 million years of the Zambezi’s evolution entailed the complete reversal of its flow. The process of break up was protracted, as over millions of years, river by river, flow in the Proto‑Zambezi’s catchment was redirected into the Indian Ocean, to reduce the significance of the Proto‑Zambezi’s inland terminus (in central Botswana)....
....Geologically recent captures of the Chobe, Kafue and Upper Zambezi testify to the relative youth of the (modern) river’s topology. The Great Equatorial Divide on Africa’s high plateaux comprises the Zambezi’s modern watershed, and its present position testifies to repeated re-shuffles of links between long lived rivers. To summarize, we now estimate the modern Zambezi basin to be barely 250 thousand years old.......
...Its status as Earth’s oldest, big river – yet known – underwrites the conservation status of the Luangwa‑Zambezi wilderness. The geological continuity preserved across these landscapes reveals how the ecosystems of the Zambezi have endured in an unbroken chain, ever since the first ecosystems of Dwyka times formed along glacial streams. The criterion of Ancient Evolutionary Heritage positions the Zambezi as a unique outlier among Earth’s most spectacular landscapes, including the Grand Canyon. One is challenged to name World Heritage Sites that match these iconic values, in preserving comparable geological and paleoecological records."
This summary article is reproduced in full by The African Fisherman in print (issue 172 - April/May 2016) or online at this link.
The full scientific article is re-produced as a downloadable PDF on the Zambezi Society website HERE.
THE ANCIENT ZAMBEZI
Lovers of the Zambezi River who are interested in learning more about its very ancient history, will be delighted to read a fascinating article by Fenton "Woody" Cotterill, Andy Moore and Roger Key which was reproduced in the The African Fisherman magazine last year.
The article is a non-technical summary of the original paper published in the South African Journal of Geology under the title: ‘The Zambezi River: an archive of tectonic events linked to Gondwana amalgamation and disruption, and subsequent evolution of the African Plate’.
What is particularly fascinating to the layman about this latest research is a) geological study now establishes the ancient Proto-Zambezi as the Earth's oldest-known river (minimum 280 million years old) and b) that the ancient Proto-Zambezi ran in exactly the opposite direction (west across Africa into the Karoo) to what it does today (east into the Indian Ocean).
We reproduce an extract below: (you can read the full article via the link given at the end): "Africa's Zambezi is now established as Earth's oldest known river – the direct descendent of an ancient Proto‑Zambezi river. The origins of the Zambezi have been deciphered from geological evidence across the vast wilderness of the Chicoa, Gwembe, Luangwa, Mana and Sebungwe valleys of south‑central Africa; here, rock formations and landforms preserve the central repository of the river’s history back into the Palaeozoic Era before 280 Ma (million years ago).The Proto-Zambezi river originated in the drainage system that was established as vast Dwyka ice-sheets were receding across the super-continent of Gondwana. At this time the immense highlands of the Trans-Gondwana mountains directed the westerly flow of glacial meltwaters into the interior of Gondwana. With its catchment entirely contained within Gondwana, this massive river sustained a vast, inland sea centred on modern‑day Botswana....
..An unbroken chain of evidence places a minimum age of 280 Ma on the Zambezi's origins, when Gondwana’s ice-sheets began to melt as the super-continent drifted northwards. Central Africa’s rift valleys preserve the rock ledgers (historic record) that tell us the Proto‑Zambezi existed long before Africa became a continent. Importantly, this geological record of the ancestral Proto‑Zambezi is contiguous with the modern river. In particular, the evidence reveals that precursors of the modern Luangwa and Middle Zambezi already existed in the early Permian. This geological record in the Luangwa and Middle Zambezi valleys (the central African rifts) has survived despite the complete reversal of the Zambezi’s flow caused by Gondwana’s breakup, which forged the African continent.
The west-flowing Proto-Zambezi drainage system maintained a vast inland Karoo sea (K). The original extent of the Karoo sediments was likely larger before the breakup and erosion associated with the daughter continents of Gondwana. This map details the centres of Karoo deposition (shallow lakes, seas and deltas) depicted in darker shading, as presented in surviving rock formations in southern and central Africa. The superimposed dashed line approximates the position of the modern, east-flowing Zambezi river.The greatest change in over 280 million years of the Zambezi’s evolution entailed the complete reversal of its flow. The process of break up was protracted, as over millions of years, river by river, flow in the Proto‑Zambezi’s catchment was redirected into the Indian Ocean, to reduce the significance of the Proto‑Zambezi’s inland terminus (in central Botswana)....
....Geologically recent captures of the Chobe, Kafue and Upper Zambezi testify to the relative youth of the (modern) river’s topology. The Great Equatorial Divide on Africa’s high plateaux comprises the Zambezi’s modern watershed, and its present position testifies to repeated re-shuffles of links between long lived rivers. To summarize, we now estimate the modern Zambezi basin to be barely 250 thousand years old.......
...Its status as Earth’s oldest, big river – yet known – underwrites the conservation status of the Luangwa‑Zambezi wilderness. The geological continuity preserved across these landscapes reveals how the ecosystems of the Zambezi have endured in an unbroken chain, ever since the first ecosystems of Dwyka times formed along glacial streams. The criterion of Ancient Evolutionary Heritage positions the Zambezi as a unique outlier among Earth’s most spectacular landscapes, including the Grand Canyon. One is challenged to name World Heritage Sites that match these iconic values, in preserving comparable geological and paleoecological records."
This summary article is reproduced in full by The African Fisherman in print (issue 172 - April/May 2016) or online at this link.
The full scientific article is re-produced as a downloadable PDF on the Zambezi Society website HERE.
Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Uni-Visa boosts arrivals in Vic Falls
Tourist arrivals at prime holiday destination, the Victoria Falls have increased steadily since the re-launch of the Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Uni-Visa in December last year, an official has said.
The Uni-Visa allows visitors to stay in Zambia or Zimbabwe (or both) countries for up to 30 days for a single payment of $50. It also covers people who want to enter Botswana for day-trips through the Kazungula border post.
Zimbabwe Council for Tourism representative for Matabeleland North, Barbara Murasiranwa said arrivals had increased by about 15 percent since re-introduction of the visa regime.
“Arrivals into Victoria Falls via Zambia had gone down prior to the re-launch of the Uni-Visa, but right now arrivals improved significantly because now they (tourists) can just arrive in Zambia and then proceed to Zimbabwe after paying just $50 and they can still go back to Zambia or Zimbabwe again without facing any problems for a month,” she said.
“I can say this Uni-Visa is something that we definitely needed as a tourism region.”
The Uni-Visa regime was first introduced during the 2014 United Nations World Tourism Organisation general assembly that Zimbabwe and Zambia co-hosted but collapsed in December 2015 due to logistical and legal reasons.
After the general assembly, the two countries piloted the regime for several months with the idea of rolling it out across five countries in the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area to promote tourism. The five countries included Namibia, Botswana, Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Source: Uni-Visa boosts arrivals in Vic Falls (13/03/17)
The Uni-Visa allows visitors to stay in Zambia or Zimbabwe (or both) countries for up to 30 days for a single payment of $50. It also covers people who want to enter Botswana for day-trips through the Kazungula border post.
Zimbabwe Council for Tourism representative for Matabeleland North, Barbara Murasiranwa said arrivals had increased by about 15 percent since re-introduction of the visa regime.
“Arrivals into Victoria Falls via Zambia had gone down prior to the re-launch of the Uni-Visa, but right now arrivals improved significantly because now they (tourists) can just arrive in Zambia and then proceed to Zimbabwe after paying just $50 and they can still go back to Zambia or Zimbabwe again without facing any problems for a month,” she said.
“I can say this Uni-Visa is something that we definitely needed as a tourism region.”
The Uni-Visa regime was first introduced during the 2014 United Nations World Tourism Organisation general assembly that Zimbabwe and Zambia co-hosted but collapsed in December 2015 due to logistical and legal reasons.
After the general assembly, the two countries piloted the regime for several months with the idea of rolling it out across five countries in the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area to promote tourism. The five countries included Namibia, Botswana, Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Source: Uni-Visa boosts arrivals in Vic Falls (13/03/17)
Vic Falls hotel occupancy rate remains flat, revenue increases slightly
By Tichaona Kurewa
VICTORIA FALLS – Occupancy rate for the eight major hotels in Victoria Falls remained unchanged in January 2017 at 28 percent compared to same period last year although revenue increased slightly owing to the re-introduction of the Uni-Visa between Zimbabwe and Zambia.
The hotels under review include A’ Zambezi, Cresta Sprayview Hotel, Elephant Hills Hotel, Ilala Lodge, Kingdom Hotel, Rainbow Hotel, Victoria Falls Hotel and Victoria Falls Safari Lodge which have a total of 1 125 rooms.
Statistics released by the Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe (HAZ) Victoria Falls chapter show that occupancy rate remained static although revenue rose marginally to US$1.342 million from US$1.308 million last year.
Figures from HAZ also show that the average daily rate for January 2017 increased slightly to US$136 from US$133 in the comparative period.
HAZ Victoria Falls chapter chairperson, Chris Svova, also attributed the slight increase in revenue to the spillover of tourists from the Victoria Falls Carnival held in December 2016.
“The slight increase in revenue is because of the Uni-Visa that was re-introduced before Christmas last year, a number of players were also offering some promotions to attract people, especially locals, into their properties,” Svova said.
He, however, said the depreciation of the rand against the US dollar had impacted negatively on tourist arrivals from South Africa, a major source market.
“Traditionally, we expect growth from neighbouring countries like South Africa where there is a large number of Zimbabwean diaspora, but maybe this time around they could also not travel because of the fluctuating rand rate.
“This made it very expensive for South African tourists or Zimbabweans based there to visit the country. This is one of the reasons why the occupancy percentage did not change,” he said.
He said prospects of increased tourist numbers in Victoria Falls were bright considering that wide-bodied aircraft had started plying the Victoria Falls route, following the commissioning of an expanded airport for the resort town.
New airliners such as Ethiopian and Kenyan airways are expected to fly into the resort town before mid-year, raising hopes for tourism players in Victoria Falls.
Located in Matabeleland North province, Victoria Falls is one of Zimbabwe’s major tourist attraction sites and one of the seven wonders of the world offering services such as game drive, falls viewing, cruising, canoeing and bungee jumping.
Source: Vic Falls hotel occupancy rate remains flat, revenue increases slightly (13/03/17)
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