UGANDA: Kampala Serena Hotel***** Remodeled

The Kampala Serena Hotel is a hotel in Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda. The hotel is rated 5-star by the Uganda Tourism Board.

The hotel is on Kintu Road on Nakasero Hill, in the centre of Kampala. The hotel is nestled among 17 acres (6.9 ha) of lawns and gardens.

The hotel is close to the Kampala Sheraton Hotel, Imperial Royale Hotel and Mosa Courts Hotel.

It is in the Kampala Central Division, one of the five administrative divisions of the city.

The hotel opened on 31 July 2006, after eighteen months of renovations and refurbishment at a cost of US$30.5 million.

Kampala Serena Hotel is part of the Serena Hotels Group. It has 152 rooms, including thirteen suites, one of which is a presidential suite.

During the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2007 in Kampala, the hotel hosted Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom for four nights.

Kampala Serena Hotel has its own helipad for easy transport between the hotel and Entebbe International Airport.

Adjacent to the hotel is the Kampala Serena International Conference Center with a seating capacity of 1,500 and multilingual translation facilities of up to nine languages simultaneously.

A member of the global luxury hotel cooperation ‘The Leading Hotels of the World‘ has for long been Kampala’s top address when business and leisure travelers come to the Ugandan capital.

Food and service add to the architecture, the ambience and the room standards, second to none in Uganda, more so as the company is proactive with regular scheduled maintenance all over the property.

Last year 36 rooms and suites were added, including a senior Presidential Suite and the new rooms are larger and more opulent in their furnishings, meeting all the needs of a seasoned and discerning traveler.

More recently was the remodeling of The Pearl Restaurant completed including the launch of Uganda’s first champagne bar and the launch event, a French Food Week, provided the setting for Kampala’s number one Hotel.

On the same level of the hotel, the mezzanine floor, where previously two meeting rooms, Turaco and Crane were found, have four board rooms been added with a seating capacity of four, six and 10 respectively.

Named Shoebill, Kingfisher, Siskins and Jacana is the tradition upheld to give such facilities the names of some of Uganda’s most spectacular birds.

The corridors of the hotel too were refurbished, despite the length of the corridors never give the feeling of being monotonous, as, besides fresh flower arrangements are works of art being displayed like wall hangings, pictures but also sculptures.

This making the walk to and from one’s room an almost artistic experience reminiscent of walking the corridors of an art gallery.

Kampala Serena Hotel corridors give a feeling of warm welcome to guests who can enjoy plenty of art pieces on display.

An Executive Lounge was created, to which holders of qualifying Serena loyalty cards and guests booking suites or paying top rates for their rooms, will have access.

A complimentary breakfast, served on the 5th floor facility between 06.30 hrs and 10.00 hrs will make way for a light lunch set up before an evening Happy Hour with canapes and a full complimentary bar and drink service will round up the day.

Tea, coffee, soft drinks and juices will be available throughout the day and the latest newspapers and news magazines will help guest to pass their time.

Easy chairs and lounge chairs invite to sit down in comfort though regular tables too are available for those guests having breakfast or lunch.

The new lounge will be officially opened very soon giving regular guests of the Kampala Serena Hotel some great pleasure.

Victoria Hall will soon be closed, the main auditorium, which will see the current technology replaced with state of the art electronic systems, audio and video, and a new roll out / roll back seating system which allows users of the facility to have the spaces rightsized to their needs.

Additional work will at that stage also be carried out at the Kampala Serena Conference Centre’s other facilities to bring it truly in line with the main hotel’s appearance of today.

The residents’ lounge, Bambara, is now only accessible for guests using their key cards, making it truly an inhouse guest facility with patrons from the city, unless accompanied and signed in by a hotel resident, then restricted to the main restaurants, The Lakes and The Explorer and of course the Mist Bar and Terrace.



Tourism Observer

ZAMBIA: 5 About Africa’s Shoebill

The African Shoebill rightfully claims its name as Africa’s swamp king. Shoebills are the ultimate fans of large, rich, dense marshes, wetlands, and swamps. This makes the Bangweulu swamps in Zambia the best place to witness a special sighting of one.

Every May, Robin Pope Safaris takes a trip to the swamps in search of this prehistoric-looking and extremely elusive bird.

Tracking them down on foot or in dugout canoes is part of the unique experience that makes it a bucket list safari.

Based on his personal experience on these wild and remote excursions, Robin Pope Safaris’ guide Jason Alfonsi shares five interesting facts about Africa’s shoebill:

Family genetics
While the shoebill is called a stork, genetically speaking it is more closely related to the pelican or heron families.

They have the same little crest on the back of their head and both have a prehensile prickly tongue which they use to hold and pull food into their bill.

The large bill is also similar in both birds with a hook or tooth at the tip.

Razor sharp beak
Their beaks can reach up to 24cm in length and 20cm in width, often giving the impression of an old big-nosed university professor peering over his spectacles!

But don’t get too caught up in the funny comparison because their beaks mean real business and are used as a very precise fishing tool. The edges of their beaks are razor sharp, enough to decapitate a very large fish or baby crocodile.

Blue-eyed beauties
They may be referred to as the “dino birds” but they are also blessed with the blue-eyed gene.

Some shoebills have exotic pale blue eyes that are quite striking to stare into. Coming face to face with one is the stuff of birding dreams!

Location specific
Bangweulu Swamps in the southern most extent of their distribution but they are also found in other marshy areas in countries like Sudan, Rwanda, and Uganda.

They nest on papyrus platforms which is why their distribution only coincides with the presence of papyrus.

David Lloyd, founder of the Kasanka Trust, collects African masks and it is known that he holds an old mask from Malawi which is clearly of a shoebill.

This suggests shoebills were once in Malawi, in the papyrus swamps there too.

Sibling Rivalry
Shoebills rarely raise more than one chick.

The youngest chick is known to be“insurance” in case the oldest one doesn’t make it.

The sinister sibling rivalry becomes apparent when the mother leaves to fetch water and the oldest chick attacks its younger sibling often drawing blood.

With limited food supply, the mother favours the eldest ensuring one of its young survives.

A trip to Bangweulu swamps in search for Africa’s shoebill demands to be on any birder or nature lover’s wildlife calendar.

Fortunately, the opportunity presents itself every May on a Robin Pope Safari’s Shoebill Safari.

UGANDA: Targeting 100,000 Birders Who Will Bring $700 million A Year In Next 10 Years

Uganda, home to more than half of Africa’s bird population, seeks to earn over $700 million from its rich birding variety over the next decade, government officials said during the Africa Birding Expo held in Entebbe from 18-21 November.

The East African nation hosted the event for the first time at Botanical Gardens in Entebbe and hopes to use the show to increase its tourism revenue. Tourism currently contributes about 10 percent of the country’s GDP.

“We have more birds than U.S. and Europe combined but they earn more than us. We are targeting 100,000 birders who will bring in $700 million a year in the next 10 years,” New Vision quoted Stephen Asiimwe, the chief executive officer of Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), saying.

The event which attracted over 100 exhibitors from Africa and across the world, is organized by UTB and Uganda Safari Guides and funded by the World Bank in efforts to showcase the country’s vast bird heritage.

Uganda has over 1,000 bird species but its tourism numbers are about 500 visitors every year, paltry figures compared to other nations like the U.S., which attracts about 17 million bird watchers every year despite its paltry number of species.

The East African nation has about 10 percent of the world’s bird population.

Some of the most sought-after birds in Africa that are found in Uganda include Shoebill, Fox’s weaver, Black bee-eater, Rwenzori Turaco and the Green-breasted pitta, which are mainly found in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Ichuya Forest and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.

Queen Elizabeth National Park, found in the western region of East Africa’s second biggest economy has over 600 species, the highest for any protected area across the continent.

ZAMBIA: Visit Shoebill Island Camp Now

The best time to visit the Bangweulu Wetlands (April – August) is fast approaching! With healthy rains of late, the Bangweulu promises to be the very best in birding experiences. Have a look at the Shoebill Typical Day outlining what’s on offers to guests who visit during this season.

Shoebill Island Camp, situated in the Bangweulu Wetlands, offers panoramic views over the Bangweulu Swamps and gets its name from the Shoebill storks, which are usually in reach of the camp. It is located on a small piece of high ground in amongst the Bangweulu Wetlands where meru style tents are tucked into an indigenous thicket of trees and face out to the wetlands. These trees and camp vegetation make an excellent haven for birds and many species are active here throughout the day.

This beautiful destination offers guests game drives, banana boat cruises, walking safaris and shoebill treks designed to bring the Bangweulu Wetlands experience to life. Shoebill Island is a sought after destination for keen birders offering a close encounter with the Shoebill stork in the wild as well as swamplands teeming with a huge variety of birds!

Witnessing 100’000 black lechwe anywhere would be worthwhile but to have them spread out before across the deck flat, Bangweulu plains is quite incredible. Sitting in amongst the herds at sunset as they make their way to the swamps from the plains is very special and of course, watching them cross the flooded water in the mornings is also a site to behold.

These black lechwe are endemic to the area but it is the sheer number of them set against a backdrop of open skies and plains that stretch to the horizon that completes the picture. Photographers are quite likely to capture a most stunning image of these Black lechwe in the Bangweulu Wetlands and the sightings available are numerous!

If you’re looking for a breath-taking adventure in a remote and stunningly beautiful location Shoebill Island Camp will fit the bill.