January 2005 Sanctuary Talking
GENERAL NEWS
Another Conde Nast Award!
We are delighted to advise that Olonana has joined Chobe Chilwero and Chief's Camp on Conde Nast Traveler's “Gold List,” just published in the January 2005 issue of the magazine.
World Travel Award for Chobe Chilwero!
Another great award was received by Sanctuary Lodges & Camps! Chobe Chilwero Lodge received the World Travel Award 2004 for “ Botswana 's Leading Hotel” at a dazzling event held in Barbados.
Something sweet from the Tsunami
A baby hippopotamus, swept into the Indian Ocean by the tsunami, is finally coming out of his shell thanks to the love of a 120-year-old tortoise! Owen, a 300kg, one-year-old hippo, was swept down the Sabaki River ; into the ocean and back to shore when the giant waves struck the Kenyan coast. The dehydrated hippo was found by wildlife rangers and taken to the Haller Park animal facility in Mombasa . Pining for his lost mother, Owen quickly befriended a giant male Aldabran tortoise named Mzee - Swahili for "old man". "When we released Owen into the enclosure, he lumbered to the tortoise which has a dark grey colour similar to grown up hippos," Sabine Baer, rehabilitation and ecosystems manager at the park, told Reuters on Thursday. Haller Park ecologist Paula Kahumbu said the pair are now inseparable!
( February 2005, Thorkild C. Bøg-Hansen)
Appointments
 Allison Budde has joined the Sanctuary Lodges & Camps reservations team from 04 January 2005. Allison's love for Africa & having worked with inbound travel to Southern Africa over the past two years brings a wealth of knowledge & experience to our team. We welcome her onboard the Sanctuary team & look forward to working with her!
Just a reminder that Lynne Butler, previously in our reservations team, has joined the sales team from January 2005. Lynne will be handling sales throughout Southern Africa, which includes Botswana, Namibia, Zambia & Zimbabwe.
East Africa Passport Update
Talking Travel Africa's January 2005 newsletter stated that from January 2005 East African passport holders will be exempt from immigration procedures. Added to this new regulation, is the single airspace for East Africa, which is scheduled to be complete by August 2005. It is anticipated that this should make flights within the region cheaper and faster, thus making travel through East Africa much easier. (Talking Travel Africa, Jan 05 Newsletter).
Elephant Outreach 2004 - Update
  
Living With Elephants Foundation announced that another successful year of its Elephant Outreach Program was completed in December 2004. Over 200 children, residing in the Ngamiland District of Botswana, participated in Living With Elephants Foundation's two day educational program based in the Okavango Delta. The children, aged 8-15, visited from the 6 villages officiated by the Okavango Kopano Mokoro Community Trust (Boro, Daonara, Ditshiping, Morutsa / Quqao, Xharaxau and Xhaxaba), from 16 primary schools of Maun and from the Bana Ba Letsatsi Trust.
The objective of the program is to improve the Human-Elephant relationship, one child at a time, by offering the youth of the region an opportunity to touch, approach and interact positively with our three elephant ambassadors, Jabu, Thembi and Morula and their guardians Doug & Sandy Groves. The objective is also to raise environmental and conservation awareness thus helping young Batswana become active in wildlife conservation by opening their eyes to eco-Tourism career opportunities. The 2004 Elephant Outreach Program would not have been possible without the kind support of International and local partners including Sanctuary Lodges & Camps, Botswana. (LWE, Jan 05)
BOTSWANA
Baines' Camp
Baines' Camp celebrated a traditional Christmas this year with customary dishes such as turkey and gammon with main festivities being held in the dining / lounge area with drinks at the pool. New Years Eve had the African Bush festivities as usual offering a selection of set menus as well as extra dishes for the day. New Year featured a sit down dinner with spectacular cocktail sundowners at the pool as well as stargazing.
Frequent leopard sightings were experienced this month with an exceptional sighting of a black mamba on a walk - not an every day occurrence! This time of year is always a good time for general game viewing as there is an abundance of youngsters found in the bush. There is also a small herd of Red Lechwe frequently sighted in front of camp, as well as an abundance of giraffe on the concession.
  
As promised, here are some updated pictures of the pool, the thatched sala's as well as the new room 5 at Baines' Camp.
We are looking toward a great 2005!
Chief's Camp
The festive theme at Chief's Camp for 2004 was Afro-Chic with a range of soft candles and fairy lights. The traditional Christmas dishes were served from Christmas pies to egg nogg ending with a Christmas braai! Christmas Carols were sung by the Batswana along with an explanation on how the Batswana traditionally celebrate Christmas.
This was quite an exciting month for us as the guides found the cheetah coalition to the west of the camp! Two male cheetahs were just getting ready to hunt when a female leopard came strolling out of the bush and disturbed them. They then watched the leopard and called off the hunt. When the leopard was about halfway through the floodplains, a lioness moved out of a nearby bush with her three cubs - what a sighting! The beginning of the month saw a dispersal of game into the interior but now at the end of the month the game are moving back toward the camp due to the dry pans in the area.
Guest Feedback
Guests who stayed at Chief's and Baines' Camp in December 2004, commented as follows:
“Well, we have finally arrived back from our trip to Africa and as we imagined it was an amazing place. To say it was spiritual would be an understatement as we were all moved very much by its beauty and drama. From the moment we landed in Botswana we were looked after impeccably by the very good people at Chiefs. Their professionalism and service was outstanding but even more impressive was their warmth and good spirits which made our trip that much better. After two days at Chiefs we were almost sad to leave but we knew Baines would be exceptional as well (The previous GM of Chiefs was now at Baines). Once we arrived at Baines we were met by our guide, Martin (great sense of humour and very cheeky - he pretended to get lost!) who finally got us to camp where we were greeted by some wonderful singing by the camp staff - just beautiful. Both camps were everything we hoped for and thanks again for dealing with the many emails I sent you over the past year. I know Sarah and I will always cherish the trip and to be quite honest we can't wait to go back!
Much appreciated
Kingsley Warner”
Chobe Chilwero
Chobe Chilwero celebrated the festive season in true African style last year. A choir brought about the true feeling of Christmas with a simple, relaxed yet elegant theme. Dishes on offer included traditional Christmas cake, ginger bread, truffles, mince pies ending with a spit BBQ on Christmas!
New Year was celebrated in a very relaxed & comfortable way with the Zebra's performing & encouraging guests to interact & participate in adding a touch of African magic to the evening.
Stanley's Camp
New Year was an African Feast with a buffet on the front lawn! The theme was chic with a variety of flares and candles. Two large tree trunks were magnificently decorated with fairy lights adding to the nostalgia of the evening. The cuisine on offer was absolutely mouth-watering with guests having the opportunity to sample some spiced coffee or tea at the fire with nightcaps and cognac as well as delicious homemade truffles. It was truly a feast for any king!
EAST AFRICA
Olonana
Long rains were experienced during the past month, which we did not anticipate. The grass has subsequently grown tall resulting in some cats not being seen. Many cats have to cover long distances to get prey since antelopes have moved to shorter grass areas near the borders of the Serengeti. Interestingly, we still have great sightings of Gnus in the Mara triangle plains. There are also various prides of lions frequently seen near the Kichwa Tembo Airstrip, who also provide excellent killing sightings. Other sightings include hippos, troops of baboons, antelopes and the majestic giraffes. A specific sighting to mention was of lions killing a warthog - taking advantage of the tall grass to provide the perfect ambush.
Our resident rhinos are still on site providing excellent sightings on game drives, this despite the fact that the wildebeest migration and zebras that are not in the triangle at the moment. We also experienced various elephant & buffalo sightings. Romance is in the air for Pumba, our resident warthog, as she has a new boyfriend of her age and spends most of the time within the camp!
This is the breeding season for most bird species. Widow birds, Whydahs, Bishops and many other bird species have their interesting breeding plumage, with males doing their exceptional performances. Vultures are very few at the moment since a good number of them have moved to Serengeti following the migration, while the secretary bird is the main bird of prey dominating the Mara grasslands.
After the rains, there are a number of blooming flowers including the tissue paper flower, black lilies and the crosantra, which makes the plain look absolutely beautiful! Walking safaris have been very interesting & varied, as many animal herds have been found near the salt lick.
Kusini
The phenomenon of the migration attracts visitors from all over the world. Wildebeest and zebra, carefully watched by predators such as lion, hyena and crocodile, follow the grazing. A million and more animals rely on the rain to provide good nutritious grass. Sustained rain fell in central and western Serengeti through November and December, with good rain falling from mid-December on the southern plains attracting long lines of wildebeest and zebra out of the woodlands into the open savannah. Rains stop around May, so the animals will be moving to the north and west looking for new grass and dependable water. Not all the wildebeest and zebra will follow the same route - so much depends on the rains. ( Talking Travel Africa, Jan 05 Newsletter ).
Renovations at Kusini will commence from 01 to 31 May 2005, resulting in the camp being closed for this period. The reservations team will contact all parties concerned. We apologise for any inconvenience caused, but believe that the renovations are necessary to ensure the ultimate comfort & luxury to our guests.
DISH OF THE MONTH
Duck Doro Wot
(this recipe comes to us from Baines' Camp)
2 Duck – whole duck portioned into 6
3 Onions
40g Garlic
20g Ginger
1 Bunch celery
½ Bunch leeks
1 Cinnamon stick
45ml Dukkah spices
375ml Red wine
10g Beef stock mixed in 2 cups water
- Trim off all excess fat from the duck
- Score the skin of the duck
- Over a hot char griller, sear the duck skin, making sure all the fat is melted
- Place duck aside
- Sauté the onion, garlic, ginger, celery and leeks for 10 minutes in a little olive oil
- Add the cinnamon and Dukkah spice and cook for 1 minute
- Add the red wine- enough to cover the bottom of the pan
- Add the beef stock- enough to cover the duck
- Check seasoning- you may need to add a little honey and beurre mainiere to thicken the sauce
- Serve with chopped fresh coriander.
- Garnish before serving
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