By the second week of the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it was already clear that containing the spread of the haemorrhagic disease was proving to be difficult.
They came from Manchester, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Uitenhage and the open sea. What brought them all to the same place – and to the finals of Safari Guide of the Year 2026 – is anything but a straight road.
There are viewpoints along the Panorama Route … and then there’s the Graskop Gorge Lift. This is not a “stop, take a photo, and leave” kind of place. It’s a bucket-list experience – one that quite literally takes you off the edge of the escarpment and into the heart of a living forest.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued ongoing warnings related to a low-pressure system over southern Mozambique, which is expected to continue affecting north-eastern South Africa over the coming days.
In a town better known as the safari capital of the world – where khaki, camera straps and 4x4s rule the day – a different kind of travel venture has quietly rolled into town. Greater Kruger Travel is setting out to make global travel planning as personal, reliable and polished as the safaris that put Hoedspruit on the map.
Just a short drive from Port Elizabeth and nestled along South Africa’s celebrated Garden Route, Kariega Game Reserve has become a beacon of conservation success and luxury eco-tourism. This malaria-free, family-owned Big-5 reserve spans an impressive 11,500 hectares of diverse wilderness, making it one of the Eastern Cape’s most remarkable private game destinations.
The Safari Guide of the Year – an annual event powered by the Field Guides Association of southern Africa (FGASA) – was held recently at Kariega Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape. This was the first time the event has been held in that province, and it acknowledges and confirms the strides FGASA has made as the golden standard in nature guiding in southern Africa and beyond, more particularly the progress made in the Eastern Cape.
The Blyde Dam, a lifeline for communities and agriculture in Limpopo and Mpumalanga, is in critical condition, losing a staggering 20% of its water storage capacity in just two to three years. A recent survey reveals the dam is rapidly filling with sediment, a direct consequence of escalating illegal mining, deforestation, and rampant erosion in the Blyde River’s upper catchment. This isn’t just about water; it’s about the survival of an entire region.
The majestic African elephant, once a symbol of strength and grace, has become a harbinger of ecological distress in the Kruger National Park and KNPGK (KNPGK) area. With numbers soaring, the area and conservationists are grappling with a crisis that threatens not only its diverse wildlife but the very fabric of its ecosystem. Must we expect and accept that high intelligence animal welfare must receive priority over the less intelligent species?
Wildlife crime often goes unreported, and when it does make headlines, coverage frequently varies from the lurid to the lacklustre. And in South Africa, the public discourse on it all generally focuses on poached rhinos, pangolins and snared wildlife.
