Brain Top Off!

The Maldives islands, located in the Indian Ocean, are being affected by the degradation of much of the islands shallow underwater barrier, known as a coral reef. This is the worst environmental disaster to strike the Maldives since the 1998 El Nino, which rapidly destroyed much of the reef. The present catastrophe is a chemical bleaching of the coral reef.

Global warming is literally present everywhere. It also affects the algae present in seawater. This algae is dependent on the coral reef of the ocean. The rise in the temperature of the ocean further kills the algae as it causes stress, which is uncalled for. This results in the algae not able to survive in this condition and they leave which causes the coral bleaching or slow death of the coral.

A report from the Marine Research Center by its Marine biologist Hussein Zahir says that the coral reef in the Maldives shallow is under threat. Almost 10 to 15 percent is already bleached white and another 50 to 70 percent is beginning to fade.

Guy Stevens, who is also a marine biologist, witnessed the beaching of the shallow coral reefs a year ago. It is his hypothesis that this was caused by El Nino, and that the reefs of Maldives have been struggling to come back since that time. Stevens has indicated that approximately 95% of the shallow reefs at that location died following El Nino. The most severe effect was felt in the Indian Ocean because almost the entirety of the reef ecosystem is comprised of coral reefs.

The contrasting conditions of the coral reefs in Thailand does not seem to be considered by Stevens in his explanation of the Maldives reef destruction. Thai marine biologists are reporting that their coral reef is dying at a nearly 100 percent level, yet they claim not to have been affected by the El Nino of 1998.

If aftershocks caused by El Nino are said to be causing the ongoing damage to coral reefs in the Maldives explain how the coral reefs off of Thailand are suffering similar damage that could not possibly be attributed to El Nino?

So Spain have won the Jules Rimet trophy after defeating Holland in the World Cup final in South Africa. But the tournament wasn’t all joy for Spanish fans in the country, as more than 600 missed the semi final with Germany after their flights to the game were delayed or cancelled due to congestion at King Shaka airport, SA.

According to many reports, the congestion was caused by stars, politicians and royalty flying into the airport in private jets. These famous faces included a plane of FIFA officials, Spain’s King Juan Carlos, Leonardo Di Caprio, Paris Hilton and South Africa’s president Jacob Zuma.

The planes carrying the celebrities and dignitaries apparently ignored directives to land at an alternative airport in Durban, to avoid congestion and free up airport parking spots reserved for the flights that were scheduled, including those of the football fans.

Many fans were reported to have spent up to $1,300 for Semi Final tickets, only to discover they couldn’t get to the game. The South African airport management company ACSA (Airports Company South Africa), has now said it has put aside $52,000 to reimburse the passengers who were forced to miss games.

What’s not clear however is whether or not this amount is enough to compensate the passengers, as many have said that missing that game completely ruined their holiday.
Lara, a Spanish supporter living in the UK, said:
It’s not like we’ve only spent money on these flights. We couldn’t afford the final so flew out just for the quarter and semi finals. Sure they can reimburse us the fees for that flight, but what about the hotel? Or the Manchester airport parking for a fortnight? Or travel insurance? Or the fact that we were stuck in South Africa with nothing to do, and two expensive tickets that became worthless to us. It’s not right that these people get whatever they want just because they’re famous

There are many flights that are available to South Africa and you have a choice of three arrival destinations in South Africa, which is Cape Town, Durban and OR Tambo International Airport which is in Johannesburg. You will find that most flights that are destined for either Durban or Cape Town will pass through Johannesburg anyway.

If you can schedule your trip to be between the months of June and December you might be able to get a discounted air fare. For the most part of the year visitors are just so many as they try to get away from the rains and the winter season. Traveling mid week that is on any of the days between Monday and Thursday will also get you lower airfares at a discount.

There are a number of places on the internet where you can get information regarding flights to South Africa. There are agencies that will be able to take care of your flight arrangements and other holiday requirements if you need them to. If you can order your ticket online then you will be quoted a lower air fare and also bookings made in advance also qualify for a discount. Basically making a booking two weeks in advance of your departure date qualifies to be called an advance booking.

Considering the flights to South Africa you have direct flights and connect flights. If there is no real emergency then there is no need for you to fly direct because it costs more. The difference in the arrival times between the direct flights and the connecting flights is usually no more than two hours.

The Air fares also vary according to the time of the year that it is. So it is not possible to get any fixed rates at any one time, estimates might be available at any one of the following:

• Flights From Port Elizabeth To George

• Flights From South Africa To Canada
• Cheap Flights To Johannesburg

There are quite a number of options for flight from UK to South Africa. For one you have several options when it comes to choosing the place of departure. You will find flights to South Africa at the following airports London (LON), London Heathrow (LHR), Glasgow (GLA), Manchester (MAN), Newcastle (NCL) or Birmingham (BHX) airport.

Then you also have a variety of options on which airport you will be landing at in South Africa. Of the 10 major airports 3 of them are international airports i.e. the OR Tambo International airport in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban international airports. Unless you definitely have an interest in the other cities then OR Tambo airport is good arrival point.

Actually most of the flights destined for Cape town or Durban from the UK go via Johannesburg.

London (LON), UK to Johannesburg, South Africa

There are six flights you can consider booking for this route. That is, Swiss air, Lufthansa, Emirates, Air France, Etihad Airways and the South Africa airways. If you are looking for non-stop flights UK to South Africa then consider the latter.

The flight takes 11 hours and 35 minutes, which is the shortest time on this route. This flight will leave London for Johannesburg at 18.00 hrs and arrive at 07.25 hrs the next day.

If you want an early departing flight then you can book with Air France. It lives London at 06:40 and flies to South Africa via Paris De Gaulle. It gets there at 09:00 and lives for South Africa at 10:30 and gets to Johannesburg at 22:00.for further details about how you make your travel arrangements and how to book your ticket visit:

• Airlines That Fly Into South Africa
• Cape Town To Port Elizabeth
• Flights From Johannesburg To Bloemfontein

You can take some time to read through the rest of the content in this site

There are generally two departure points in Bangkok i.e. you can choose the Bangkok – Don Muang (DMK) to Cape Town route or the Bangkok (BKK) to Cape Town route. Since flights for the DMK route are not usually available we will look at the BKK route.

(BKK) Bangkok to Cape Town

You can choose from any of the following airays that are offering flights to to Cape Town i.e. Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Thai Airways International, Emirates, Cathay Pacific Airways, Malaysia Airways Singapore Airlines or the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

The cheapest flight amongst these is Kenya Airways and Ethiopian, which costs about half of what other flights are charging for the same trip.

The Ethiopian airways flight leaves Bangkok at 01:40 and flies to its home country Addis Ababa. It will arrive at 06.35 hrs and is scheduled to leave for Johannesburg at 08.50hrs where it should touch down at 13.15hrs. From there it leaves at 15:00 and heads straight for Cape Town where it arrives at 17:10 the next day.

All in all this cheap flight to Cape Town takes 16 hours and 40 minutes on air and the overall journey is 22 hours and 20 minutes.

Emirates is also another airline that is offering cheap flights from Bangkok to Cape Town. It departs from Bangkok at 20.30 hrs headed for dubai . You must be prepared to sleep overnight because it will arrive in Dubai at 23.35 hrs and only leave for Johannesburg at 04.40 hrs the next day.

It will reach Johannesburg at 10.50 hrs and depart for Cape Town. The final journey takes about two hours and by 15:10 you would be in Cape Town.

Other possible flights that you might use are Cathay Pacific, Malaysia and Singapore Airlines. KLM is the most expensive amongst these and has the longest journey.

Up to date airfares and ways on how to make your travel arrangements can be found from any one of the following:

• Discount Internal Flights South Africa
• Flights To South Africa
• Budget Flights From London To Johannesburg

There are only 3 main flights from Miami to Cape Town South Africa. These are The South African Airways, Delta Airlines and British Airways. There is no direct flight and all of the flights make 2 stops before getting to their destination.

The routes of some of these flights includes via Washington, New York,Baltimore and Johannesburg. With each stop you have to switch flights but this is normal for long flights.

South African Airways

Destined for South Africa it leaves Miami at 13.25hrs and makes its first stop in Washington Dulles arriving at around 16.05hrs. After stopping for about 1 ½ hrs it leaves for Johannesburg where it is scheduled to arrive at 15.50hrs the next day.

It then lives Johannesburg at 17:40 and flies to its final destination, Cape Town. It gets there at 19:50. The air flight to South Africa from Miami is about 20 hours long.

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines lives Miami at 06:00 and flies to Baltimore. Having arrived at 10.34hrs it will leave at 11.00hrs going New York. It gets there at about 12:10 and takes off at 16:00 heading straight for Cape Town South Africa.

Compared to the South African Airways flight this one is longer being 23hrs in total.

British Airways

The British Airways departs from Miami at 20:50 and heads straight for London. It gets there the following day at 10:05.. There is quite a long stretch of waiting here as the new flight that you are switched to only takes off at 17:50 and flies to Johannesburg

It gets there at 06:35 on the second day. The connecting flight to Cape town will leave at 09.00hrs and arrive at 11.10hrs. The total flight time is about 21 hours – better than using Delta Airlines.

If you are going to be comparing prices then South African Airways comes out as the cheapest.You will be able to access current airfares and ways you can book your travel tickets from one of the these:

• Air Flights From South Africa From Miami
• Air Flight To South Africa
• Cheap Flights From Johannesburg

The Western Cape of South Africa is one of the few places in the country that has many naturally occurring tourist attractions. This is one place that you can visit without a plan because of the many choices to choose from. There is the famous Garden Route which travels along Indian Ocean coastline going through the Tsitsikamma and Outeniqua Mountains towards the mainland. It has a a variety of bird’s species, sunny beaches and attractive blue lagoons.

For flights schedules, rates and routes to South Africa and within South Africa check out any of these: cape town to durban, flights from cape town to mmabatho, flight from durban to cape town

The Winelands

The three towns Paarl, Stellenbosch and Franschoek have centuries old buildings and just going through these towns is a tour on its own. You can get a chance to visit some of the best wine cellars and dine in some of the best restaurants in the Cape.

The West Coast

Along the West Coast is where you will find the best in South African hospitality. Any of the restaurants you choose to dine in will offer you a wide array of seafood and fish, all this served with the best lavish wine you can find. The West Coast provides an immaculate view of the ocean and the mountain ranges.

The Garden Route

This is also another part of the town that offers a lot in terms of sight seeing. The beautifully styled and modern beach front houses and the traditional colonial style houses of this place will keep you in this part of town longer than you would expect. This is a good place for those that want too be outdoors in a modern environment.

The number of place that you can visit in the Western Cape are just so many; once you get there you will know what I mean. As I mentioned previously it is one of the few places in the country that boasts of such a diverse and well preserved environment. Its just one of those places that you have to see to truly appreciate what I’m talking about, chances are you will say are understated the beauty of this place.