Namibia’s Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta said the country has moved to make security adjustments to close any loopholes in flagship Etosha National Park, to ensure that poaching incidents do not occur again.
This comes after 11 rhinos were found poached in the country’s flagship national park this month.
“We will leave no stone unturned to apprehend poachers and bring them to justice. We will not relent in ensuring maximum protection of our iconic species in the Etosha National Park, and indeed elsewhere in the country,” Shifeta said as he warned those attempting to involve themselves in wildlife crimes.
Shifeta said joint anti-poaching units are constantly engaged in activities to deter and prevent wildlife crime.
“With the biggest population of black rhinos in the world, the world looks up to Namibia to prevent this already critically endangered species from going extinct,” he said.
“Our resolve as the citizens of this country must be clear, namely that we do not tolerate poaching and the illegal plundering of our natural resources. Our natural resources must be preserved and utilized for the benefit of all of us,” he concluded.
With its unique mix of wildlife, spectacular scenery and diverse cultures, Namibia is in high demand for international visitors during the looming high season.
The high demand from long-haul source markets has also seen a sharp rise in flight prices during the high season, which runs from July to October.
Туристический сектор Намибии восстанавливается. Благодаря уникальному сочетанию дикой природы, живописных пейзажей и разнообразных культур Намибия пользуется большим спросом у туристов в разгар сезона.
Большой спрос привел к резкому росту цен на авиабилеты в высокий сезон, который длится с июля по октябрь.
Namibia's working landmark - Windhoek railway bridge
One of Namibia’s most prominent bridges is the wrought-iron Avis railway bridge under which every visitor arriving from the airport must pass on his way to Windhoek city centre.
Although the bridge may go unnoticed by present day traveller, in the 1920s the building of the railway from Windhoek to Gobabis and the construction of the Avis railway bridge on the outskirts of the city were country's milestone events.
Up until then the journey to the eastern reaches of the country included a gruelling 20 km section undertaken by ox-wagons over the Auas Mountains and across the Klein Windhoek River. The terrain was so challenging that the oxen needed to outspan, quench their thirst and rest at the Kapps Farm before they could continue with their journey.
Also referred to as an "ox-wagon hotel", the hotel at the Kapps Farm provided accommodation to the touleiers (team leaders), as did the next stop at Seeis further along the route. The hotels were dotted along the ox-wagon routes, a day apart from each other, providing rest and replenishment for both human and animal after the long day’s journey.
Linking Namibia east to west
The construction of the first 27 km of railway line from Windhoek to Kapps Farm began on the 24th August 1921. The steel substructures for the 93 m bridge over the Klein Windhoek River were brought in from Cape Town and assembled on site, supported by four concrete pillars. The bridge was completed in 1922, making it a hundred years old this year.
It formed an important section of the Windhoek to Gobabis railway line that was built by the SAR - South African Railways, linking the cattle growing farming area of Namibia's east to the interior, and from there to South Africa. The railway line was completed in 1929. The infrastructure – buildings and water points – were completed over the following year. The official opening took place on 6 November 1930.
Businessman Laban Kandume is planning to build a pay-to-use road in the Namib Desert after his initial idea of building a railway transport system was rejected by the tourism industry.
Kandume's company Sky Eye Hospitality and Tours had proposed to construct a motor and railway transport system and a tethered balloon ride in the renowned Sossusvlei. The plan has been heavily criticised by several players in the tourism industry, including state-owned Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR).
This concession was granted to Kandume's Sky Eye Hospitality and Tours by the minister of environment, forestry and tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, who unilaterally stripped NWR of its rights to carry out shuttle services into Sossusvlei – an undertaking which used to bring them more than N$10 million in yearly revenue.
Kandume then crafted a plan to introduce a train, road system and tethered helium balloons leading into Sossusvlei – which offers landmarks with its red dunes, white salt pan and Dead Vlei – situated in the western part of Hardap Region in the Namib-Naukluft National Park. Kandume said they still plan to go ahead with the road system and tethered helium balloons project.
Several industry players said this move would damage the environment. “The train project is a good idea. It's just that we are 10 years too early because of Covid-19, which is affecting the arrival of tourists,” said Kandume.
He is, however, adamant that the train project would be realised in the future.
“It may not even be during our concession time, but it will happen. I hope I will be alive by then to see it happening,” he said.
TOLL GATE
The new plan would see Sky Eye Hospitality and Tours constructing a road that will have a toll gate. A toll gate is a barrier across a road where drivers or pedestrians must pay to travel further. Other tour operators would then have to pay a fee before transporting their passengers to their lodges. “Everyone can use our detachable road, but will have to pay a toll gate fee,” said Kandume.
The new plan, according to Kandume, would mean there would be no more complaints about job losses, a monopoly, or environmental damage. He does not expect any issues with the new plan. “If we do then these are no longer genuine concerns regarding the environment, but hidden agendas. Then this is playing the man instead of the ball,” he said. Kandume said the tourism industry needs transformation.
“Black people must participate in this industry. They must sit at the decision table,” he said. Chirstelle Du Toit-Oosthuizen, representing Taleni Africa Tourism, which owns Sossusvlei Lodge, said they were not aware of the latest development.
She said they are still waiting for feedback after they had a meeting with the company conducting the environmental impact assessment on 1 April. “Sky Eye Hospitality was supposed to give us feedback on all the questions they couldn't answer during the meeting,” she said.
“We are looking forward to any official communication with regards to any future plans,” Du Toit-Oosthuizen said. NWR spokesperson Nelson Ashipala last month refused to comment since the parastatal has not seen the new bid information document detailing the latest development.
“NWR was not consulted on this new development,” he said.
Ashipala said NWR was informed through a letter from the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism about the allocation of the motorised transport proposal. “We are yet to receive full technical and operational information on this prospect,” he said.
Kandume said they would issue a press release later to explain the new plan.
Ernest Hemingway wrote “I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up and was not happy.” Today is an exceptionally happy day for us as I have the pleasure to announce and share our official opening date for Mokuti Etosha Lodge with you.
In our last correspondence 4 months ago, we estimated that the revamp would take between twelve (12) to fifteen (15) months. Our project team is working tirelessly to remain on track with the envisioned refurbishment and today we can confidently and with great pride announce that our “Grand Dame” will be ready to welcome our valued guests as of 03 March 2023.
As we know, change is inevitable and in business change is vital. For Mokuti to remain a flagship safari destination, the upgrade is inclusive of the reception area, bars, dining room, kitchen, conference centre, pool bar-area and viewing deck, not to mention new activities that will be on offer. All of these will be brand new and ready to host our valued guests when we re-open, under the theme of “Africa Reimagined”! With this we will take each of our guests on a journey of rediscovering our African-Namibian heritage in a unique and contemporary way that is purposeful in capturing the imagination through the story that each element tells.
To ensure that you, our valued trade partners have a first-hand experience of our property, we will be booking site visits. You can also follow our journey of transformation and keep abreast of the changes that are about to come. Our reservation and sales teams are on standby and ready to assist you with any bookings or enquiries.
Strong east winds trash Namibian coastline causing damage
Several coastal businesses closed their doors for the day as residents were smothered in dust in the midst of the strong eastern sand storm. The east winds, also called "Berg winds" ("Mountain winds") reached gale force on 27 June 2022 at around 8:00.
Coastal residents are advised to remain vigilant to the possibility of downed trees and other debris affecting homes and property as the east wind continues to batter towns along the coastline.
The strong winds swept sand into the air, causing low visibility and sand heaps on coastal highways.
Winds of 60 km/hour with gusts of 90 km/hour pummeled the coastline throughout the morning, causing uprooted trees, broken tree branches, and caused the mooring of a boat to break at Lüderitz, washing the vessel onto the rocks.
The inside of the Platz-am-Meer Mall at Swakopmund was left covered in sand.
Gale force winds are winds stronger than a strong breeze; specifically a wind of 50 - 100 km/hour, corresponding to force numbers 7 to 10 on the Beaufort wind force, a descriptive table that depicts the force of wind by a series of numbers from 0 to 12.
Strong east wind conditions and high temperatures reaching over 30 degrees Celsius are expected to continue throughout the next three days.
Our next Post-Mortem course is already coming soon! We have limited space left, so if you are interested kindly let us know asap. We are more than happy to sent you the more detailed course outline.
We have been advertising and talking about our Post-Mortem course a lot lately. Perhaps you are getting a bit tired of it. However doing a PM (nadoodse ondersoek) is really important! You as a farmer and us as vets can gain a lot of knowledge – you to keep your herd in an optimal condition, and we learn more about general diseases in Namibia. In this article we would like to show you how much information you could gain. We will first give you the history, and the PM findings. As you read through the text and photos, think for yourself what this can mean. At the end we will explain what our interpretations were.
History
This case happened during the harsh drought of 2019. The roans were fed lucerne and boskos. Two roan heifers had died recently. A third heifer appeared sick, and we were called out. By the time we got to the farm the roan heifer unfortunately died.
External examination
The heifer appeared to be bloated, even tough she died just a few hours ago. She was in a poor body condition, and her mucous membranes were blue/purple.
Post-Mortem findings
On the rumen (grootpens) we found haemorrhages (small bleedings). Around the coronary groove of the heart was no fat.
The other organs did not show major abnormalities. The rumen was very full, and the content was dry and impacted. The next stomach, the reticulum (ruitjiespens) was completely empty (yellow arrow). The following stomachs, the omasum (blaarpens – blue arrow) and abomasum (melkpens) were impacted with dry content. The duodenum (first part of the small intestines) was completely empty.
The omentum (thin membrane that covers the stomachs and intestines) did not had any fat (see-through) and no fat was observed around the kidneys.
So now what?
What was remarkable for you in this case? You might have thought all the lack of fat is not right… Very correct! The poor body condition, and especially the absence of fat around the heart, omentum and kidneys indicate that the roan was starving. Fat around the organs is the last fat that gets absorbed by the body – meaning a very poor body condition.
The blue mucous membranes are abnormal, indicating a lack of oxygen (cyanosis). This was likely caused by suffocation due to rumen pressure on the diaphragm.
The third observation is the bloat. As the roan was opened up, small bleedings were found. Remember this… dead animals don’t bleed. So, the bleedings on the rumen happened before the animal died. This is an important observation; would there not have been bleedings, then the bloat most likely happened after the roan died. In this case, as the roan bloated, the small blood vessels teared and started to bleed.
Conclusion
The conclusion is up to your vet. With your info and photos, the vet should be able to ‘make an educated guess’. The fresher the carcass, the better the vet can help. The absence of fat around the heart, omentum and kidney indicated that the roan was starving. Her rumen was completely full and impacted, but the food did not pass though. This suggests poor digestibility of the food. Most likely, the lignin content of the boskos food was too high (late stage of the season with no green left around the branches), making the boskos of inferior quality. This resulted in starvation and disturbance of rumen flora, and leading to bloat.
Advice
Drastically reduce or take away the boskos, and feed good quality lucerne and game pellets.
Vintage footage of Johannesburg - perhaps beginning of 1970s. Johannesburg, informally known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world.
According to Demographia, the Johannesburg-Pretoria urban area (combined because of strong transport links that make commuting feasible) is the 26th-largest in the world, with 14,167,000 inhabitants.
Johannesburg is the seat of the Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa. Most of the major South African companies and banks have their head offices in Johannesburg. The city is located in the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills and is the centre of large-scale gold and diamond trade.
