African Eye News Service articles from September 2003

African Eye News Service archives from September 2003

SOUTH AFRICA: NORTHERN CAPE SENDS ASPIRANT BIRD GUIDES TO MPUMALANGA.
September 1, 2003... NELSPRUIT, South Africa, Sep. 1 (AENS) - Six aspirant bird guides left the Northern Cape on Sunday to undergo training at Birdlife South Africa's centre in Wakkerstroom, Mpumalanga. The aspirant guides come from deep rural Galeshewe,...

SOUTH AFRICA: MEN ACCUSED OF BRIT TOURIST'S RAPE TO BE TRIED IN HIGH COURT.
September 1, 2003... NELSPRUIT, South Africa, Sep. 1 (AENS) - Five days have been set aside for the high court trial of four men accused of abducting and raping British tourist Julie Stevens in November last year. The four suspects, Sipho Mbokane (29), Willie...

SOUTH AFRICA: BRITISH TOURISTS REACH OUT TO RURAL KZN SCHOOL.
September 4, 2003... HLUHLUWE, South Africa, Sep. 4 (AENS) - Children at a rural KwaZulu-Natal school will soon no longer have to endure lessons under trees, but will be housed comfortably in two new classrooms blocks. The classrooms are being built at...

SOUTH AFRICA: WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT MADE EASY.
September 4, 2003... SKUKUZA, South Africa, Sep. 4 (AENS) - Wildlife management in the Kruger National Park has been made easier after rangers were given hi-tech cyber trackers on which to record the observations they make while on patrol. They record data...

SOUTH AFRICA: LIMPOPO TO HOST SA'S FIRST EVER INDIGENOUS GAMES.
September 4, 2003... POLOKWANE, Sep. 4 (AENS) - South Africa's first annual Indigenous Games Festival starts in Limpopo on Friday, with 600 participants from across the country competing in traditional sports like morabaraba, diketo and jukskei. The games will...

SOUTH AFRICA: CALLS TO PRESERVE ANCIENT INDIGENOUS FOREST.
September 5, 2003... UMHLANGA, South Africa, Sep. 5 (AENS) - KwaZulu-Natal's north coast could house a world-class R300-million botanical garden if conservationists succeed in preventing a housing development from ruining a rare coastal dune forest in Umhlanga. ...

SOUTH AFRICA: R730-MILLION MARINE WORLD TO OUTSHINE OLD SEA WORLD.
September 8, 2003... DURBAN, South Africa, Sep. 8 (AENS) - Durban will host a new tourist attraction when the R730-million uShaka Marine World opens in April next year. The 17-hectare development is part of a larger 55-hectare real estate development earmarked...

SOUTH AFRICA: GRAHAMSTOWN TO CELEBRATE SPRING.
September 9, 2003... GRAHAMSTOWN, South Africa, Sep. 9 (AENS) - The season of Spring will be heralded with a festive street party in the Eastern Cape city of Grahamstown this month. The Albany Hotel Group will be celebrating its 15th anniversary in the...

SOUTH AFRICA: KING SHAKA CULTURAL TOURISM ROUTE TO OPEN.
September 9, 2003... DURBAN, South Africa, Sep. 9 (AENS) - The King Shaka Cultural Tourism Route north of Durban along South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal coastline is scheduled to open in time for the December holiday season. The route, initiated by the Illembe...

SOUTH AFRICA: ANTI-SLAVERY CYCLISTS TACKLE AFRICA.
September 10, 2003... GRAHAMSTOWN, South Africa, Sep.10 (AENS) - A group of Oxford university graduates who are cycling through Africa to raise awareness of modern-day slavery, are currently battling their way through South Africa's Eastern Cape. Two of the...

SOUTH AFRICA: RANGER RECOVERS FAST AFTER ELEPHANT TRAMPLES HIM.
September 10, 2003... NELSPRUIT, South Africa, Sep.10 (AENS) - It's been a week since Kruger National Park field ranger Alfred Sithole was trampled by an elephant and doctors are amazed at his recovery. His chest bone was split in two and his lungs were...

SOUTH AFRICA: FEEL-GOOD TOURISM BENEFITS RURAL SCHOOLCHILDREN.
September 10, 2003... DURBAN, South Africa, Sep.10 (AENS) - Two new classroom blocks were handed over to children at a rural KwaZulu-Natal school on Wednesday. The children at Khatazile primary school in Mduku near the Phinda private game reserve have had to...

SOUTH AFRICA: CYCAD THIEVES GASP AS FRIENDS TURN STATE WITNESS.
September 16, 2003... NELSPRUIT, South Africa, Sep.15 (AENS) - Two Mpumalanga men accused of stealing and selling cycads worth R100 000 were clearly shocked when their seven co-accused were let free on Friday on condition they testify against them. The...

SOUTH AFRICA : US CHILDREN REACH OUT TO MPUMALANGA SHACK SCHOOL.
September 16, 2003... HAZYVIEW, South Africa, Sep.15 (AENS) - School children thousands of miles away have managed to make a difference in the lives of 50 pre-school children who were forced to use a dangerous, over-crowded and poorly insulated tin-shacks as a...

SOUTH AFRICA: SA BIRDING ROUTE ONE OF THREE FINALISTS IN GLOBAL AWARD.
September 16, 2003... ESHOWE, South Africa, Sep.16 (AENS) - South Africa's Zululand Birding Route has made it to the top three finalists in the global Sustainable Tourism Award for Conservation. The award, an initiative of the US-based Smithsonian Magazine and...

SOUTH AFRICA : LION SANDS BUILDS ANOTHER TREE HOUSE FOR GUESTS.
September 16, 2003... HAZYVIEW, South Africa, Sep.16 (AENS) - Lion Sands Private Game Reserve in Sabi Sands, Mpumalanga, is building a second tree house for adventurous guests wanting to sleep outdoors. Marketing director of the family-owned reserve, Rob More,...

MALAWI: MALAWI TRAINS TOUR GUIDES FOLLOWING VISITOR COMPLAINTS.
September 16, 2003... BLANTYRE, Malawi, Sep.16 (AENS) - Malawi's tourism authorities have advised tour guides to improve their service following numerous complaints by tourists about harassment, misconduct and the involvement of tour guides in drug activities, most...

SOUTH AFRICA: FAMOUS SANGOMA'S HOME IS A TOURIST ATTRACTION.
September 22, 2003... TZANEEN,South Africa, Sep 17 (AENS) - The home of Limpopo's legendary sangoma, Neverdie Mushwana, who died three years ago, has been turned into a popular tourist attraction. Mushwana, who lived in Dan village outside Tzaneen, was a snake...

SOUTH AFRICA : AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY RAISED AT ANTHROPOLOGY CONFERENCE.
September 22, 2003... GRAHAMSTOWN,South Africa, Sep 17 (AENS) - Xhosa spirituality and the mystical element of San rock art was highlighted at the recent African Ritual and the Environment Conference at Rhodes University. The conference, hosted by the...

SOUTH AFRICA: FOREX PURCHASERS NEED PROOF OF RESIDENCE.
September 22, 2003... DURBAN,South Africa, Sep 22 (AENS) - A large number of customers have been turned away by Rennies Travel branches recently following government legislation brought into effect last week. The new legislation requires that purchasers of...

SOUTH AFRICA : PLANS TO TURN ROYAL KRAAL INTO TOURIST ATTRACTION.
September 22, 2003... TZANEEN,South Africa, Sep 22 (AENS) - The Nkuna tribe of some 500 000 Shangaan-speaking people will hold their annual clan celebrations at the Muhlava royal kraal near Tzaneen in Limpopo this Saturday. Among the tribe's members are...

SOUTH AFRICA: Fire destroys historic Grahamstown church.
September 24, 2003... GRAHAMSTOWN, South Africa, Sep 23 (AENS) - A fire destroyed an historic 101-year-old church last week that became a popular fringe venue for the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, in the Eastern Cape. The Union Congregational Church...

SOUTH AFRICA: Kruger Park caters for wedding market.
September 24, 2003... SKUKUZA, South Africa, Sep 23 (AENS) - The Kruger National Park is marketing itself as a wedding venue that's more than just about saying 'I do'. It's offering a venue where guests can enjoy unpolluted air, a choir of birds and game...

SOUTH AFRICA: SA's culture, heritage can boost tourism, says Premier.
September 24, 2003... GRAHAMSTOWN, South Africa, Sep 24 (AENS) - South Africa's success as a nation depends on the conservation of its heritage sites and the preservation of its diverse cultures, says Mpumalanga Premier Ndaweni Mahlangu. Addressing heritage day...

SOUTH AFRICA: Kruger to turn old army base into tourist attraction.
September 24, 2003... SKUKUZA, South Africa, Sep 24 (AENS) - The Kruger National Park is revamping an old army base into a tourist rest site that will form part of the Great Limpopo transfrontier park. The Makhadzi tourism facility will be the first stop for...

SOUTH AFRICA: KRUGER OPENS BICYCLE TRAIL.
September 25, 2003... SKUKUZA, South Africa, Sep 25 (AENS) - Adventure tourists can now go on bicycle trails in the world-famous Kruger National Park. The trails are available at the Olifants Camp and were launched this month. "This is a way to get people...

SOUTH AFRICA: NATIONAL GOLD PANNING CHAMPIONSHIPS KICK OFF.
September 25, 2003... PILGRIM'S REST, South Africa, Sep 25 (AENS)) - South Africa's national gold panning championships started on Wednesday with nearly 600 competitors battling it out to fine most gold nuggets in the historical mining town of Pilgrim's Rest. ...

SOUTH AFRICA: WHALE NUMBERS ON THE RISE ALONG KZN COAST.
September 29, 2003... PORT SHEPSTONE, South Africa, Sep 29 (AENS) - KwaZulu-Natal could be as much of a whale watching destination than the Western Cape. Recent research from the University of Pretoria has shown that there are more southern right and humpbacked...

SOUTH AFRICA: GAME RESERVE INTRODUCES RELATIVE OF EXTINCT CAPE LION.
September 30, 2003... CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Sep 30 (AENS) - Six Barbary Lions have been re-introduced at the Aquila private game reserve outside Cape Town as part of its ongoing wildlife re-introduction plan. Barbary Lions are the closest surviving relative...

SOUTH AFRICA: CROCODILE KILLS TEEN IN KRUGER PARK.
September 30, 2003... SKUKUZA, South Africa, Sep 30 (AENS) - A crocodile killed a 17-year-old teenager while he was fishing with five men along the Sabie River just inside the Kruger National Park on Monday. The teen, from Cork village near Hazyview, was using...