Fly 540 Lowers Fares Again for Regional Holidays
Information received from the Kampala office of Fly 540 confirms the buzz amongst travel agents and regular travelers to Nairobi that the fight for market share has just become a notch harsher and ‘specials’ are being put out by the airlines, and often superseded by yet better deals, just as soon as the ink on the promotional pamphlets has dried. Fly 540, which last week confirmed a fare of USD 268 return all inclusive has over the weekend lowered this to US Dollars 240, inclusive of all taxes and surcharges, applying pressure on their competitors Kenya Airways, which is facing renewed strike action if last ditch efforts to find a common basis with the Aviation and Allied Workers Union in Nairobi fail, but also vis a vis Air Uganda.
The latter recently introduced a third daily flight between Entebbe and Nairobi, going one up on Fly 540 – KQ operates 4 daily flights between the two airports – but from usually reliable sources it was learned that the flight occupancy was still needing more ‘work’ to meet expectations at this moment in time and U7 too was considering dropping fares in order to get extra passengers into their seats.
Air Uganda, according to another source, has offered a range of ‘specials’ for their flights between Entebbe, Mombasa and Zanzibar, indicating that market conditions are ‘tough’ and unless passengers can be found, and kept, the struggle for not just market share but also for financial viability is a steep uphill journey. To lure more passengers most especially leisure tourists who seek a safari in east Africa on this route they are presently offering a companion rebate of 50 percent on their US Dollars 319 fare (terms and conditions apply) for the second ticket, making this deal slightly cheaper than Fly 540 if traveling ‘in pairs’ and cheaper still with their ‘family fare’ which goes for US Dollars 959 for two adults and two children.
Meanwhile it was also learnt that Fly 540 had offered a special fare for weekend travelers from Uganda traveling to Nairobi for the African Cup of Nations qualifier at only US Dollars 210, to be also repeated again for the upcoming ‘half term’ holidays of local schools between 15th and 24th of October.
Uganda drew their match 0:0 with Kenya and presently tops their qualifying group to the joy of the ‘Cranes’ supporters who for long have waited to see Uganda return to the continental stages, leave alone of course making an appearance in a FIFA World Cup final for the first time ever.
Said one football fan traveler with 540 to this correspondent: ‘at 210 Dollars I could not refuse to fly with Fly 540 and instead of spending a hundred or so dollars more with others, that money saved I used for my tickets and transport in Nairobi. And they have a very good aircraft, very comfortable’.
Read MoreAnnual Sipi Falls Mountain Bike Race set for 08 and 09 December
Second annual Sipi Falls Mountain Bike Race set for 08 and 09 December, 2012
The second annual Sipi Falls mountain bike race will take place on Saturday 08 and Sunday 09 December 2012, in Kapchorwa, eastern Uganda. The event will be hosted by Sipi River Lodge.
The race itself is what we call an XC event – which stands for ‘Cross Country’ – this means the race includes both downhill sections and climbing sections. Said the host
The course we use for the race is 19km long and is truly an epic ride with amazing scenery passing waterfalls and cliffs along the way. We start and finish at the lodge, after 4km of tarmac we turn off for a fast section of single-track downhill before reaching the valley floor where we begin a mix of climbs and descents along murram roads, eventually meeting back up with the tarmac for a few more km’s to the finish line.
When asked about last year’s race, Sipi River Lodge team said The fastest event time recorded at last years race was 1hr 34mins. The fastest time not in an event is 1hr 25mins. We think these times can be smashed by some serious riders!!
The weekend is not just about the bike race. The weekend is a chance for us to showcase our activities in the mountains. We have half price rock climbing and abseiling all weekend. Trekking, fly fishing, tandem paragliding and coffee tours are all on offer. For the more mellow vibe why not just relax in our garden with a cup of freshly roasted coffee and wait for the riders to finish.
You can stay wherever you like in Sipi Falls, but at Sipi River Lodge we will allow camping for this weekend only at $10 a night as well as our other great accommodation – and we’ll be having a BBQ cooking all day with Burgers and Tasty food. The party after the event will be at the Lodge.
We hope this will be a great Festival atmosphere and we are looking forward to showing everyone what fun can be had in the mountains of Eastern Uganda!!
Further information about the Sipi Falls Mountain Bike Race, Sipi River Lodge or any of the activities around the area, email Sipi River Lodge on info@sipiriverlodge.com
You can also follow updates on the race by liking Sipi River Lodge Facebook page on www.facebook.com/SipiRiverLodge
Read MoreParagliding Comes to Uganda
Exploring Uganda’s varied Landscapes By Tandem Paragliding
Fly Mami Afrika is the first renowned firm in the adventure business to launch Tandem Paragliding flights in Uganda. Managing director Adam Robinson found time in his hectic schedule to talk to the Uganda Tourist about his company’s latest activity on Uganda’s adventure itinerary. “Exploration is the spice of life”
After paragliding in 13 different countries, the search was on for a new location to introduce paragliding. So far there have only been a handful of people to fly in Uganda over the years.
Uganda has many varied landscapes, this makes for interesting flight characteristics. Beautiful wildlife is abundant, the vistas awe inspiring. We fell in love!
When looking for a viable location for Tandem Paragliding, many factors play a part. Like baking a cake, without the proper recipe and ingredients, the result will be lackluster. Mt Wanale (visible upon entering Mbale 2hrs East of Jinja) is the logical first site for Tandem Paragliding.
Highways between Iganga and Mbale are some of the best in the country, and there are passable roads to the summit. The flying has great distance potential, with elevation gains equal to cloud level on a good day.
Paragliding has evolved immensely in terms of passive safety and performance since it’s conception in the 1960s.
Unlike parasailing, a paraglider is not a parachute pulled up behind a boat. A paraglider doesn’t have a rigid frame like a hang glider. An aerodynamic airfoil creates lift using the same principles as an airplane.
A paraglider uses soaring and thermal techniques identical to a large bird to gain elevation while flying. Soaring is a reference to air blowing at a mountain ridge and jumping off the top like a skateboarding ramp. We fly along the edge of the ridge where that air compresses. Thermals refer to air heated by the sun that releases vertically due to variable topographical features (ie trees, rocks, water, even buildings). When a stork ascends making circles, it’s found a thermal.
Imagine no mobile phones, or work deadlines, and no traffic! Just woven kevlar lines, industry ripstop nylon and mylar in the canopy, safety parachute, a harness that reclines into a chair, the feeling of weightlessness, and wind in your hair. This is paragliding!
Our pilots have CPR/First Aid training, Wilderness First Responder certifications, and the U.S. Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association’s T3 Tandem Instructor, Instructor, and P4 ratings.
The Package:
Fly Mami Afrika is currently offering combination packages including 2-3 night stay at the Sipi River Lodge after the tandem excursion in Mbale. FMA intends to expand by offering tandem flights in other locations throughout Uganda, individual paragliding instruction, and guided paragliding tours for established pilots.
The info:
To book a Paragliding flights with Fly Mami Afrika log on at www.flymamiAfrika.com | Call Tel: +256 (0)785 748719 |+256 (0)793 040238, email: info@flymamiafrika.com
Read MoreKazinga Channel View Resort opens in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Kazinga Channel View Resort in Queen Elizabeth National Park is now open for booking
Information reached us recently of the opening of Kazinga Channel View Resort, a new budget resort in Queen Elizabeth National Park located, in southwestern Uganda. The newly opened hotel is located in Katunguru area along Kazinga channel, 1kilometre within the game park. The Kazinga Channel which links two lakes – Lake George in the northeast to Lake Edward in the southwest is a dominant feature of Queen Elizabeth National Park trip as the area hosts a wide range of water bird species, hippos, elephant, buffalo, warthog and Nile crocodiles. Wild game can be seen right within the resort’s grounds.
Kazinga Channel View Resort offers accommodation in categories of singles, doubles and twin rooms and bandas for safari holidays, vacation rentals or temporary lodgings. The rooms are spacious and comfortable. Singles from US$76 and doubles from US$152. There is also secure camping grounds. The resort has own restaurant & bar.
Due to its prime location, Kazinga Channel View Resort offer guests a good base for activities like; boat launch trips, sport fishing and bird watching.
For more information about Kazinga Channel View Resort or to book your room.
Read MoreUganda’s Chimpanzee Population on the Rise
Our Guide said,”Jump here”. We stopped and had a look at the ground at the mass of bamboo twigs and leaves. “Why?”, I asked. After all it looked like any other part of the forest. “There may be a mine there”, was his reply. So we all obediently jumped at that point!! We were in the south of the Rwenzori Mountains surveying the forest for its chimpanzees.
This was the final forest in a four year census of the chimps of Uganda. The field teams had started in Bugoma Forest Reserve in June 1999 and walked over 4,600km through 20 forests in western Uganda, where chimps occur. Wherever we went we worked with people who knew the forest and could guide us through it particularly in places such as Rwenzoris and Semuliki Park.
This was the first effort to completely census the chimps population in Uganda. Previously scientists had guessed that there may be between 3000 – 4000 chimps but nobody knew for sure. The census was carried out by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Jane Goodall Institute in collaboration with the Uganda Wildlife Authority and Forest Department. It is important to know how many chimps are in each forest because then we monitor their population overtime to see if the numbers are increasing or decreasing.
Chimps build a nest each night to sleep in and these are used to count over a three month period. From this you can calculate the density of chimpanzees in the forest. The results produced a total of 4,950 chimpanzees in the whole country.
Chimpanzees are globally recognized as an endangered species as their numbers are declining rapidly across the continent. Chimpanzees are our closest living relative, sharing 98% of our genes and in many ways resemble us in their behaviours. It is important that the few that remain in Uganda are protected. Mountain gorillas are well known tourist attraction in Uganda but chimpanzees are not promoted as much. Yet Uganda is the best country in the world to view chimpanzees, coupled with the fact that there are mountain gorillas and 18 other species of primate; should make Uganda the premier primate destination for tourists in Africa if not the world.
Read More