January 2010In response to some
concerns over the recent news surrounding Airlink's aircraft, the
airline has released this official statement:
** NEWS RELEASE: 21 JANUARY 2010 **
AIRLINK JETSTREAM 41 FLEET CLEARED TO
RE-ENTER SERVICE
JOHANNESBURG – Airlink, the
Southern African regional airline, welcomes the SA Civil Aviation
Authority’s (SA CAA) decision to allow its Jetstream 41 aircraft to
return to service.
Earlier today, the SA CAA cleared Airlink’s
Jetstream 41 fleet after wrapping up its intensified inspection of the
aircraft - a process underway since the fleet was grounded on 23
December 2009.
“The SA CAA’s reinstatement of the Jetstream 41’s
Certificates of Airworthiness is a welcome relief and confirms that
Airlink maintains its Jetstream 41s in full compliance with South
African and international regulations and with the manufacturers’
prescribed procedures,” explained Airlink CEO, Rodger Foster.
“At
this time, I want to thank our loyal customers for their continued
support and apologise sincerely for any inconvenience and anxiety
they’ve suffered as a result of the disruption to our normal services,”
he added.
“While the SA CAA’s decision positively endorses
Airlink, we will continue our drive to enhance safety in everything we
do. We will regroup and work hard to restore public confidence in our
airline after what has been the most difficult four months in Airlink’s
otherwise very safe and successful 17-year history,” he added.
Airlink
intends putting six of the 13 Jetstream 41 aircraft back into service,
keeping the others in reserve. Airlink is also in the process of
acquiring four additional Embraer 135 twin-jets, which will all be in
service on the recently-consolidated route network by the end of this
month.
Airlink serves 25 destinations in 7 countries with over
3,300 flights a month.
December
2009
Our final Bush Blog of 2009 is now out - check it out here. Hopefully by next
year we will have some more interactivity on this site so that readers
can comment on the Blogs and add their two cents... which is nice!
November 2009
- Jos
& Rob have just returned from a successful marketing trip to the UK
which included attending the World Travel Market - exhibiting on the
busy Mozambican stand - and conducting a 'roadshow' of African travel
operators in southern and west England.
- We now have
new email addresses, although our One Africa addresses still apply so
no need to change your address books madly!
October
2009
We have just received the first few clips from the
new National Geographic premier film on Gorongosa which is due out on
the Nat Geo Channel next year (2010) across the world. The footage is
truly stunning and we will be trying to get some clips on our site soon
to give you a taste of the brilliant filming (and beautiful setting) of
this exciting movie... watch this space!
September 2009
- Jos
& Rob will be visiting the UK in early November for the World
Travel Market and look forward to touching base with some of our
UK-based operators, past guests, family, and friends... for those who
would like to see us at WTM or during our planned 'roadshow' thereafter,
please
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to make an
appointment...
- Rob will be heading up to the huge
Niassa Reserve next month for the first of what we hope will be many
set-departure expeditions to this magical wilderness reserve. This trip
is a birding special, organised in connection with Africa Geographic
magazine and is hosted by Rob and our friends up in Niassa, Derek &
Paula, with Ian Michler as the trip birding guru.
August
2009
Our partner, Greg Reis, was up in Gorongosa to visit
the project recently. He had a great week with us with many great
game-viewing and birding opportunities. He was very lucky to see a Fish
Eagle catching a fish in one of the pans, as well as spending some
quality time with some elephants who were making themselves regulars at
Paradise Pan around midday every day of the week. Greg also had some
time to catch up with the team and stay in the newly placed Tent 2...
lions pacing around and roaring right outside his tent on his final
night was a great way to end his visit. We look forward to seeing him
back in paradise soon...
May 2009
May means
the Travel Indaba, and this year Rob & Jos will be down in
Durban again from the 8th to the 12th of May. If you will be at Indaba
this year, please come round and see what we are up to or drop Jos a line to
book a more detailed appointment. We are on the Mozambique Stand in
the DEC... see you there!
Explore Gorongosa was this month featured in the Skyways
Magazine, SA
Airlink's in-flight glossy... for the whole article, click
here...
April 2009
We had
our firts guests this month! Tym & Charlene Tombar from Houston,
Texas, spent part of their honeymoon with us. Charlene, an amazing
singer, gave us an impromptu starlight serenade one evening around the
fireside which was something that just needed to be bottled and preserved
forever. It is experiences like this that make Explore Gorongosa so
unique and special. Check out their feedback in our Guest
Book...
We also
had Greg Reis come out to join us in camp for a few days and he seemed to
really enjoy the freedom and relaxation that hanging about in Gorongosa
provides. He also really enjoyed spending an afternoon with a pride of 8
lions, cubs and all... surprising that!
Explore Gorongosa's Bush Blog for April
2009 is now out...
Explore Gorongosa featured in the well-known Prestigio Magazine in
Mozambique this month.
Gorongosa
National Park is featured in the April 2009 Portuguese addition of National
Geographic magazine.
March 2009
The Explore
Gorongosa Bush Blog for March is
now out...
The
foundations have been cast for the Park's impressive Environmental Learning
Facility which will host school visits from nearby community schools and other
visiting education programmes to Gorongosa.
February 2009
Our February Bush Blog
entry is now available with some pictures from the green, green wet season!
Also in February, Explore Gorongosa was featured in the daily online
TravelHub travel updates:
One Africa offers Gorongosa Walking Safaris
ONE Africa has introduced exclusive walking safaris in Gorongosa
National Park in Mozambique. The Gorongosa National Park spans almost 4 000 sq
km in central Mozambique and is described by the company as a “relatively
unexplored” wild area.
Gorongosa National Park is one of Mozambique’s flagship conservation
areas with a remarkable history. Before the onset of civil war in the 1970s,
the park was considered one of Africa’s finest with large populations of both
herbivores and predators. Now it is one of the most exciting travel
destinations with a restoration project in place to bring it back to its former
glory, a project initiated by the Government of Mozambique and the Carr
Foundation.
One Africa’s ‘Explore Gorongosa’ is the first private safari activity to
be offered within the park. Although predominantly a mobile walking safari
product, Explore Gorongosa also provides guests with first-hand insights into
the innovative restoration project under way within the park.
“Through walking and water-based safaris (season dependent), guests will
be introduced to this amazing yet fragile ecosystem. Our highly experienced
regional guide will lead guests on this wonder-safari through the ever-changing
eco-zones, incredible birding and abundant game-viewing opportunities of
Gorongosa.”
These walking safaris cater for groups of up to eight people and will be
based from the semi-permanent tented camp, Explorers, with various light
wilderness fly-camp options. Fly-camps are flexible and ideally positioned,
dependent on guests’ interests. There is also an option to sleep on platforms
among the trees.
One Africa package game drives with its walking safaris in order for
guests to cover all the areas of the park.
January 2009
The first
entry in our Explore Gorongosa Bush
Blog is now available
On
January 21, 2009, the Gorongosa Restoration Project was awarded
a conservation fund grant from Boise Zoo, the city zoo of Boise,
Idaho, in the western United States. The grant will provide funding to research
and protect the lions of Gorongosa National Park. The choice of the awarded
projects was made through votes cast by the Boise Zoo associates, and Gorongosa
was one of the few chosen recipients from among several competitive applicants.
November 2008
We have
just returned from London after a very successful WTM (World Travel Market),
where we met with many interested agents, operators and journalists, all keen
on finding out more about this new safari experience in Mozambique.
It seems Mozambique is quite the travel destination at the moment with its
beautiful blend of beaches and unique bush experiences such as Explore
Gorongosa and Moja
Explore in the Niassa Reserve.
Another interesting outcome was to see that attendance at WTM was up almost 12%
from 2007 which indicates that the global recession is not putting too much of
a damper on travellers, especially those who are looking for something new,
exciting and different... just like One Africa's Explore
Gorongosa walking
safari experience in Gorongosa National Park!
Gorongosa National Park was also highlighted in the November 2008 issue of
Getaway Magazine in a feature article entitled Where Noah left the Ark
by Alison Westwood.
October 2008
Recent
media interest in Gorongosa:
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