Travel News Digest, 5 April: FlySafair’s Kruger-Cape Route, Destination Dupes, Increased Biodiversity Focus

This week’s latest travel news highlights show safari travel enthusiasts have new options for air travel access to South Africa’s famous Kruger National Park. National Geographic unpacks the trend of destination dupes, pegging the Cape Winelands as an exciting alternative to California’s Napa Valley. While biodiversity and conservation efforts have been ramped up across Africa – we’ve curated this selection of travel stories to keep you in the know:

Airline and Aviation News:

• FlySafair connects Cape Town to Kruger: South African low-cost carrier FlySafair’s inaugural flight between Cape Town International Airport and Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport launched on 2 April. The flight will operate twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays. It puts the popular appeal of Cape Town within reach of travellers to South Africa’s flagship national park, Kruger.
• Virgin Atlantic and Kenya Airways enter codeshare partnership to improve connectivity in East Africa. The partnership enables Virgin Atlantic customers to book flights on Kenya Airways’ London-Nairobi route directly. Kenya remains popular with UK travellers, who no longer need a traditional visa to enter.
• Ethiopian Airlines makes Maun its second Bostwana destination. The airline announced the launch of a service between Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Maun, Botswana. The route will facilitate more international access to the Okavango Delta.
• “SAA really is here to stay” South Africa’s national carrier has doubled its routes since September 2021 and will take delivery of four Airbus aircraft in the coming weeks. It interim CEO of SAA, Professor John Lamola, added he is confident the airline’s “new economic profile will unlock new funding opportunities.”

Travel and Destination News:

• Malawi extends visa-free entry to 75 countries. U.S travellers are amongst a host of new countries that now qualify for visa-free entry to Malawi. Top attractions include Lake Malawi, Liwonde National Park with its prolific elephant, hippo, and crocodile populations, and the Nyika Plateau’s unique landscapes.
• Cape Winelands a destination dupe for Napa Valley: Want to swap California’s vineyards for Stellenbosch or Franschhoek in the Western Cape? National Geographic agrees. The destination dupes trend is best described as  alternative travel spots that offer similar experiences to famous, often pricier locations but at a lower cost and with fewer crowds.
• Small Towns Tourism Boom: From the Western Cape’s quaint fishing villages to the Eastern Cape’s beauties, a new social media group is being celebrated for sharing the best experiences only found in South Africa’s quaint dorpies or small towns.  Started by Ron Mackenzie, the group has grown to 126k followers since beginning of the year.

Conservation News:

• WATCH: Conservation organisation becomes first in Australia to release captive-bred cheetah back into the African wild. The Wild Cat Conservation Centre in New South Wales, Australia has successfully released a captive-born cheetah, Edie, into the wild in South Africa. It adds that the cat has “undergone a phased return to the wild”, including fitness development, diet changes, and “support while she honed her predatory skills”.
• The South African government aims to set national biodiversity targets by 2036, with strategies akin to its climate initiatives, including boosting game meat production and sales, as reported by MoneyWeb.
• Largest African frog species discovered in over a century. A North-West University team found the Pyxicephalus beytelli, in parts of Namibia, Angola, Zambia, and Botswana. The frog is known for its yellow-green color and large teeth for hunting various prey.
• Great White Conservation now a matter of urgency. Marine experts, including Dr. Enrico Gennari of the Oceans Research Institute, stressed the urgent need for great white shark conservation in South Africa, noting a significant drop in Western Cape sightings to less than 10 per year. Orcas are believed to have  influenced white shark numbers and behaviours in the region, forcing the need to double down on conservation efforts.