Dear Reader,

Welcome "and a very HAPPY 2010"

to all new subscribers who have signed up in the last few months, hello to all my loyal readers, and a very warm welcome to those of you we met at The Luxury Travel Show.

New years' bring new plans, excitements and adventures and we hope that our little tasters of what might be done when you leave the shores of our lovely United Kingdom will  whet your appetite and entice you into fabulous experiences .

STOP PRESS............. Different Tracks have produced a "CalBro" (2010 Calendar / Brochure), full of stunning African and Wildlife pictures. If you haven't yet received one and would like to, please email us at info@differenttracks.co.uk and we'll be pleased to pop one in the post - as usual don't forget to provide your mailing address.

In this issue:

• update on properties we visited in December
• What's special for the first half of 2010
• The FIMA 2010 Wildebeest World Cup - Serengeti, Tanzania

FABULOUS MPUMALANGA and LIMPOPO

Having survived the turbulant 2009, we took the opportunity to add a week to the beginning of our annual sojourn in the Cape and visit a few of our recommended properties in order to get an update of what they are up to and provide you with a personal insight to the experiences they have to offer.

In Summary: Our week was 1 night at Cybele Forest Lodge; 2 nights at Shumbalala; 2 nights at Garonga Safari Camp and 1 night a Ezard House. We opted to drive between the properties to remind ourselves of the distances and driving conditions and most importantly to catch up with the beauty of the area.

After connecting from Johannesburg Airport (coffee in the sun at the Intercontinental is a must if you have time) to Nelspruit, KMI Airport, we picked up our car and drove the short distance (40 mins) to CYBELE FOREST LODGE & SPA. Deep in the heart of the forest, you'll find this old hunting lodge, which offers private luxury and the finest food. The Lodge is a charming old farmhouse with a wide veranda where you can sip your sundowners and look out over the magnificent gardens. In striking contrast to the vivid colours and lush greenery of the gardens, the interior of the Lodge is warm, soft and mellow. Furnished throughout with antiques, art and exquisite fabrics, the main house is the place to relax. Accommodation at the Lodge is limited to a few people and each of the various suites, cottages and studios has been individually decorated and personalised. All suites have their own private swimming pools and all cottages and suites have log fireplaces with a plentiful supply of wood, so that in winter you can drift off to the soothing sound of logs crackling in the fireplace.

We experienced a fantastic thunderstorm the night we stayed, which was very exciting. If you are after a couple of nights pre or post safari this is a must! Fabulous Spa packages are available and the tranquility of the lodge itself is enough to relax you and set you up for either your Safari ahead of you or your return to the UK!

Click here for more on Cybele

We left Cybele feeling relaxed and ready for our 4 nights of Safari and drove the couple of hours up to the Thornybush Game Reserve and SHUMBALALA GAME LODGE. Set as it is in a dry, singeing savanna of Mopane, Acacias and Umbrella thorns, quartered by easterly-flowing rivers densely shrouded in giant figs, fever trees and phoenix palms, the land is an ancient tapestry of natural wonder, this 5* lodge comprises of just 4 suites and 1 double 'Presidential' suite. In true South African Lodge style our welcome was warm and full of smiles, the Game viewing was top-notch and our ranger and tracked managed to help us see all Africa's Big 5 (Lion, Elephant, Leopard, Buffalo, Rhino), during the course of our 4 drives. The staff here make sure that you are treated to not only great food but that your setting for each meal is 'different', a really nice touch!

Now! the highlight of our Game viewing here was a Cheetah Mum with her 4 female cubs. On the 2nd morning Mum made a kill (Impala) very close to the Shumbalala Lodge, our Ranger took us back to Lodge and took us out on foot to view the sighting - A REAL TREAT for us and a sqaure meal for the family of Cheetah.

We thoroughly recommend this little lodge to those who want small and exclusive and excellent Game viewing.

Click here for Offers available at Shumbalala

So what could Garonga offer us after two days of fantastic viewing??? Our 90 minute drive to the Makalali Reserve got us thinking, how could this be better? 

So, GARONGA SAFARI CAMP is a very different experience - firstly the camp is tented and secondly the rooms are set up high overlooking a river bed. As we were walked to our room, there were indeed! 5 Elephant browsing around the trees and enjoying the coolness of the water right under our room. Guests who were planning a picnic lunch up in the tree hide, were delayed until the Ellies decided to move off.

Makalali Reserve is wilder has less lodges than some of the other reserves, which means that you won't run into too many other vehicles whilst out on 'drive'. Also the animals are a little more shy than in some of the other reserves - very exciting then when you actually do come across them - and we did. Our 2 days here were equally as exciting as the previous 2 and the Game just as exciting, the only thing you won't see here (just yet) are herds of Buffalo. What was our highlight?? on our last night drive, making our way back the lodge our tracker shone his beam up into the trees and there was a Leopard lazing in the branches - what a treat.

The Garonga experience is highly recommended, relaxed and friendly and you can enjoy their signature 'Bush Bath' - we missed out this so when you visit make sure you get us to book this in advance for you. And there's also Little Garonga made up of three private suites, perfect for families or small groups.

Click here for more>>>>>>>>

We could spend weeks on Safari, but we had to set off back to Nelspruit for our connecting flight to Cape Town. Our last night was spent at the fabulous EZARD HOUSE which offers the best views in town. The hotel was master-minded by the owner Don Ezard whose vision for a small, exclusive, boutique hotel has certainly been realised. Perched high up, almost in the foothills of Table Mountain, with only 10 rooms and superb staff you will certainly enjoy this Camps Bay experience. Dining here has got to be a highlight of your stay. The restaurant area look out over the Atlantic and the the mountains, not only is the food exquisite, but the chefs are just about in amongst you and if feel the urge you are most welcome to join them at the 'prep' bar for a lesson - or indeed muck in and help!

Camps Bay is one of our top recommendations for a stay in Cape Town, fabulous beach, great beach-front dining and bars, a stones throw from the Cable-way, a short drove to The Waterfront and to City restaurants and of course it's home to Ezard House.

Click here for why to stay at Ezard

And sadly that was the end of our little trip (but we go on to spend another few weeks on holiday in Camps Bay)

THE FIMA 2010 WILDEBEESTE WORLD CUP - SERENGETI , TANZANIA

In June and July 2010, the annual FIMA 2010 Wildebeeste World Cup will take place in the Serengeti.

The governing body, FIMA, (International Federation of Migratory Animals) is well prepared for this annual event, having been doing this for centuries. A FIMA spokesperson (Mr. Slurp Growler-Hyena) anticipates this years Migration World Cup will be one of the best yet.

Teams of over 1.2 million Wildebeeste are expected to attend, over 400,000 Zebra, large teams of Thompsons Gazelle, as well as Elephant, Lion, Buffalo, Eland etc. This is the planet's largest Migratory World Cup, and is an event not to be missed.

The preliminary rounds are already underway in the southern plains of the Serengeti in Tanzania more>>>>, with all the teams training hard on the short grass plains. Teams will only be picked after the February calving season of the strong Wildebeeste Team, and many permanent transfers from the Wildbeeste Team to the Lions, Cheetahs, Hyenas, Jackal and Wild Dog Teams are expected to be made over this period. These annual transfers of young players, and older players, from the Wildebeeste are not, however, expected to weaken this large, fit, team.

Tickets for the games in the southern Serengeti plains, which promise many goals, lots of action and good weather, are still available to fans from the Official Supplier.

The Buffalo, Elephant and Leopard teams, as well as some of the larger Lion teams, have not moved from their bases in the Central Serengeti, preferring to train on their home grounds in preparation for the June/July games. Other teams are also training hard at their home grounds all over the Serengeti - some even in Ngorongoro and other areas, and practise sessions are taking place daily. Many of the "predatory" teams have been seen increasing their team sizes , planning to 'blood' some new players this season, obviously planning for the next World Cups in 2011/12.

 The Play Offs should be in April/May - the expected rains and longer, green grass will make these matches an amazing spectacle for those fans lucky enough to attend, and the Official Supplier is making an effort to fill the stadia over this period by offering discount packages. The play offs coincide with one of the other FIMA events, of large numbers of birds returning to Europe, which will add to the colour and noise in the stands - note that the annoying South African vuvuzela bird is not expected to migrate north at any time in the future. Children are welcome of course and enjoy discounts.

The finals start in June and run into July/August, with stadia in the central, west and north of the Serengeti expected to be packed with fans and supporters. The strong Crocodile Team, which has a permanent position in the finals due to it's owning the stadia on the Grumeti and Mara Rivers, is expected to put in a good showing this year - as they always do - but are not expected to win over the strong Wildebeest and Zebra teams at any time in the future.

Other events are also taking place over this period - the Kilimanjaro Marathon in February and the daily Gorilla Family Trekking Days - (all year - limited seats available), which can all be combined with tickets to the main event in the Serengeti.

As with any major events, tickets are limited. As the Official Supplier to the FIMA 2010 Wildebeeste World Cup, Wild Frontiers (our partner in Tanzania) are in a strong position to satisfy fans with tours of any length at any time. Spokesman John Addison - Human (98.6% Chimpanzee) - states:

"Having been the Official Supplier to this FIMA event and other events in East Africa since the early 1980's, our strong, experienced team of guides and talent scouts are in a unique position at this event. We know the players, the stadia, and the pitch and weather conditions - as our guides live amongst the teams all year. This event, as in all years, has no clear winner and games are expected to be tight, hard fought affairs - sometimes bloody. Flexibility is the key, and our owning of guaranteed front row seats at the stadia, as well as being able to quickly change allocations of tickets should the games move location, allow us to ensure that our fans see the best matches with the best guides/talent scouts and accommodation. With many of the games taking place at night, staying right amongst the players in our camps allow us to be involved with these games too"

While many Humans will be in South Africa watching a game played by 22 people with a ball , in June/July, many other Humans will be watching the Greatest Game on the Planet , the FIMA 2010 Wildebeest World Cup - played on a field of over 25000 square kilometres, by teams totalling over 2 million animals of many species (no balls either - and the games are longer !!).

Book your guaranteed seat to the 2010 FIMA Wildebeeste World Cup now !!! email us NOW - trish@differenttracks.co.uk