We are delighted to announce that two Elewana Collection properties - Elewana Arusha Coffee Lodge and Elewana The Manor at Ngorongoro have joined the Signature Travel Network. With a network of more than 7,000 travel professionals, Signature was created by a group of like-minded agency owners in 1956 and continues to attract some of the travel industry's most successful and prominent retailers.

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James Haigh, the Elewana Collection's Director of Sales and Marketing commented: "We are absolutely delighted to have been accepted to join the Signature Travel network of some of the most prestigious and luxurious properties around the world and to be able to present Elewana Arusha Coffee Lodge and The Manor at Ngorongoro to our friends in Signature member agencies across north America."

2-Updates-on-the-Guide-Training-in-Tanzania

At the beginning of the year we sent a number of our walking guides to South Africa for six weeks to learn from leading professionals in the industry. In our continued training, Professional Guides from Royal Malewane travelled to Tanzania and over the last two months have worked with our walking guides to further their skills and knowledge on home ground. One of the guides, Nikolas Vounnou was once an apprentice of our very own Head of Guide Training at Elewana, Craig McFarlane and having completed his training, Nik was awarded FGASA Safari Guide of the year 2012.

3-Loisaba-security-Manager-won-2018-African-Ranger-AwardThe Kenya Wildlife Service Headquarters in Nairobi celebrated World Rangers Day on Tuesday the 31st of July. The Security Manager for the Loisaba Conservancy Daniel Yiankere was one of 50 rangers to have won an award in the 2018 African Ranger Awards made by the Paradise International Foundation. This 10 year award program was implemented in 2017 by Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba and co-chair of Paradise International Foundation, to support 500 rangers across Africa, and is given annually to 50 rangers who have made outstanding efforts to combat poaching, habitat loss, and the illegal wildlife trade.

Daniel became a KWS ranger 25 years ago in 1992, pledging to protect Kenya’s wild animals for future generations. During his service he has worked all over the country, in the Mara, Meru, Tsavo, Amboseli, Mt Elgon and Nairobi National Park, and is proud of the duty he has to conserve and protect Kenya’s wildlife resources.

He has been on Loisaba for over a year leading Loisaba’s security team of 64 Rangers and the canine unit comprising four bloodhounds, where recently he was key to the interception of 81 pieces of ivory in transit.

Congratulations Daniel for this will deserved recognition for his incredible hard work and diligence protecting Kenya’s wildlife over the years!

4-Getting-SMART-at-Loisaba

The Rangers at Loisaba Conservancy in Kenya, which conduct over 2,000 patrols each year, walking an average 1,803km/1,100 miles a month and recording 6,026 different wildlife sightings and collecting data on threats, like poachers' snares. How do we know this? Because of the SMART system that was launched last year with the Zoological Society of London. Analysis of data by Chege Amos, Loisaba's Conservation Officer supported by Space for Giants, has shown some fascinating trends, and allowed ranger patrols to be fine-tuned to be even more effective. SMART allows a continuous flow of information from the rangers on the ground to Loisaba’s management, so that effective conservation decisions based on real science can be made.

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Elewana Arusha Coffee Lodge is hidden amongst one of Tanzania’s oldest and largest coffee plantations, the Burka Coffee Estate, established in 1899 by German settlers and purchased much later by a group of Swiss investors in 1929. The Estate manages 342 HA of Arabica coffee, with which they have adopted an active and profound corporate responsibility, while maintaining the consistent quality that makes Burka Coffee Estates a trusted speciality coffee producer. The name Burka is derived from the springs found on the farm, providing water for irrigation as well as the local communities. The Northern Tanzania Arabica coffee produced from this estate fetches a premium on the world market and is highly sought after by Japanese clients as well as European and US markets.

6-Elewana-Elsas-Kopje-remembers-George-Adamson

George Adamson was killed in an ambush by Somali bandits in Kora, on 20th August 1989.

Born on the 3 February 1906 in India, after being educated in England he moved to Kenya in 1925, where after a number of jobs, he joined Kenya's Game Department in 1938 and was Senior Wildlife Warden of the Northern Frontier District. It was his work with lions that earned him the affectionate title of the Baba ya Simba ("Father of Lions" in Swahili), and would become a respected British wildlife conservationist and author.

7-Update-on-donation-received-for-TCA-School

Esiteti Primary School in Amboseli is an education centre for the local Masai community, located near Elewana Tortilis Camp Amboseli. The school caters for over 400 boys and girls and is supported by the Land & Life Foundation, who work alongside the Elewana Collection to ensure the local communities living nearby benefit from tourism. The school has received several generous donations to improve the facilities in the school, and help create a new and improved learning environment for the children.

8-Turtle-Hatchery-Season-IIElewana AfroChic Diani has begun season two of this year’s turtle hatchery project, which was started in order to help protect turtles and their natural habitats, thereby conserving the rapidly declining population of these magnificent creatures as well as the maintaining the balance of the ocean’s ecosystem.

At the end of July, 138 eggs were carefully and safely buried in new turtle nest, with an expectation of hatching after two months, so look out for our update at the beginning of October. Recently our guest had another opportunity to witness the burying of 128 turtle eggs into the third nest. We now have 379 eggs safely under our watch as we wait for them to hatch. The count continues....

The sex of the turtles is determined by the temperature of the nest, so cannot yet be predicted but should the coming months be hot then we can expect more females then males. For example, in green turtles, temperatures need to be 88 F or above for the eggs to become females. For males to develop the temperature is around 82 F. If the temperature of incubation falls somewhere between 82 and 88 F, a mixture of the sexes develop.

Come stay with us at Elewana AfroChic Diani during October and you might be lucky enough to witness this incredible phenomenon!

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Guests staying at Elewana Kilindi Zanzibar can now enjoy wifi while in their room. All pavilions are enabled with internet access ensuring 24 hour connectivity with the world, giving guests the privacy to speak to loved ones back home, share their favourite photos on Facebook and Instagram or simply communicate with friends a world away when it suits them.

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We are ecstatic to be shortlisted for the PURE Awards 2018 in the Conservation and Sustainability Category! Entries are projects or initiatives that highlight a global issue and the efforts undertaken to preserve our natural resources, going above and beyond to protect our legacy – for the good of not only the tourism industry, but the world.

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Located at Elewana Arusha Coffee Lodge Shanga creates unique, high quality and handmade jewelry, glassware and homewares, incorporating recycled materials into many of our products. Shanga products are sold in Tanzania and around the world, with all profits being reinvested into the development of new products; researching and implementing additional recycling methods into our activities.

Shanga’s purpose-built, open workshop is located in the grounds of Elewana Arusha Coffee Lodge and is a wonderful experience for visitors to meet the inspirational staff, to view and participate in the creative process behind Shanga products.

Over the next few months we will introduce you to members of the Shanga family; who they are, what inspires them and their dreams for the future.

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The voting period for the 2018 World Luxury Hotel Awards is over. The Elewana Collection entered two of our properties, Elewana Loisaba Tented Camp and Elewana Kilindi Zanzibar and during the month of August we asked you to cast your vote. We would like to thank all of you who took the time to do this and help us suceed. We eagerly await the results, which will be announced on the 10th September 2018 and we will keep you updated with our progress.

Established in 2006, World Luxury Hotel Awards is the pinnacle of achievement in the luxury hotel industry offering international recognition as voted by guests, travellers and industry players alike. Over 300,000 international travellers vote each year, during a four-week period to select the winners.

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The 10th of August recognized the animal kingdom’s most beautiful and regal creature, World Lion Day, is when we come together to pay tribute to these magnificent animals, acknowledging the importance of lions culturally and symbolically worldwide and to help protect the rapidly declining population, with only 20,000 left in Africa.

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The Elewana Collection celebrated World Elephant Day on the 12th of August, a day dedicated to making the world aware of the dangers these magnificent creatures face, where poaching, habitat loss, human-elephant conflict and mistreatment in captivity are just some of the few. It encourages the world to stand together to protect not only the elephants themselves but their habitats. With an estimated number of 450,000 - 700,000 African elephants, in contrast to the 3 to 5 million in the 1940s, with one elephant being killed every 25 minutes, many organisations and foundations are working hard to try protect elephant population from declining further with the threats that they face every day.

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Communities in Tanzania and Kenya are coming together with a global network in preparation for World Clean Up Day on the 15th of September, a day where eliminating rubbish is the number one priority.

Delta begins Kenya Airways codeshare service from August 2018

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Delta Air Lines last week commenced codeshare partnership with Kenya Airways, covering the latter’s service between Kenya and Europe, as well as selected routes beyond Nairobi. Planned codeshare service commenced on/around 15 August 2018.

The Serengeti – Masai Mara annual migration is one of the last great migrations, an epic journey that the herds make each year, facing the gauntlet of river crossings, predators that lie in wait and the unknown challenges that they will have to face on an endless journey in search of greener pastures.

August has been an exciting month in the Masai Mara, as the large herds of wildebeest flood into the area with incredible river crossings and high speed action, as Elewana guest’s witness dramatic hunts…  also a few unusual moments captured! Watch the videos below to get a glimpse of what has been happening.

4th August – spectacular Mara River crossing as hundreds make their way to the other side.
(Head of Guide Training: Craig)

9th August – Unusual moment as a Zebra calf is frozen next to a lioness.
(Elewana Guide: John)

13th August – Wildebeest swarm across the Mara River making it safely up the bank.
(Elewana Guide: Alex)

14th August – Guests staying at Elewana Sand River witnessed two different hunts 200 metres apart. The first was a dynamic chase by a lioness who then let her cubs practise their hunting skills, while she recovered.
(Elewana Guide:  Joel)

29th August – Wildebeest moving back and forth from Serengeti to Mara. Large herds seen around Elewana Serengeti Migration Camp.
(Elewana Guide: Moses)

30th August – Guests from Elewana Sand River Masai Mara enjoy Wildebeest crossing.
(Elewana Guide: Koskei)

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Taken by our Elewana Guides (clockwise): Video - Thomas Njogus, Leopard walking - Brown Lengalai, Elephants - Joseph Chege, Lion cub - John Ekaran, Sunset - Joel Cheruiyot.