Time For A Small Celebration
January 21, 2010 by Johan Knols
Filed under SAFARI NEWS
The PlanYourSafari site enters the Top 100 of Travelblogs
Jewel in the crown
Last night I received an email in my inbox from travelblogsites.com and they delivered a fantastic message. The PlanYourSafari blog has entered the Top 100 of ‘best travelblogs on the web’ and currently holds position #93. I am extremely happy with this result and I want to thank not only the readers of the articles, but also everybody that took the effort to leave a comment. You all rock!
The next challenge will be the Top 50…..
One year down the line
It is almost exactly today a year ago that I started uploading the first safari related articles onto the PlanYourSafari website. The official birthday of the site is the first of February though, as on that date the first articles appeared ‘live’.
A lot has happened since then. Not only have I gained a lot of knowledge about blogging and how to promote a blog, but I have come into contact with many people I would otherwise not have met. People with their own views and thoughts, but people with one common interest: African safaris.
Especially the last weeks some heavy discussions erupted from the site and one particular article that did very well in creating a heated debate was the one on ‘canned hunting’. Not only was this a hot topic on this site, but also on other (influential) sites like Fodor’s.
A few figures ‘till today
11.330 visitors made 16.513 visits to the site
45.227 pages were viewed in total, which is 2.74 pages/ visit
2:36 is the average time on the site and
68.38% is the percentage of new visitors
193 visitors was the highest number/ day (on 25 Nov. 2009).
Poll statistics
Although the site was originally created to give tips and advice for safari-novices, it seems from the poll on the home page, that especially people that have already done a safari visit the site.
The question on the poll was the following: What have you got with safaris?
The results after 100 people answered the poll are as follows:
“I don’t work in tourism and I have never done a safari” 18%
“I don’t work in tourism and I have done a safari” 39%
“I work in tourism and I have never done a safari” 8%
“I work in tourism and I have done a safari” 35%
As you can see a staggering 74% of the people visiting the site (and answered the poll) have done a safari in the past. The majority of them (57%) is not working in the tourism industry. With this knowledge in mind I don’t mind insider discussions on the site, although the main aim will still be the providing of tips and advice.
E-Tourism Africa Summit
Another highlight this year was my visit to the E-tourism Africa Summit in Johannesburg in December last year, where I had the honors of speaking about blogging in the tourism industry. You can read more about that by clicking here.
New: the Safari Shop
Blogging can be a lonely profession and to be honest, it sucks from a financial point of view. However, the fun of writing about the 15 years of my safari-life and sharing it with you is tremendous fun and I will keep on doing just that. Since I also have to pay my bills, I have created the ultimate ‘plan your Safari Shop’. Most articles that you might need on a safari are for sale through Amazon.com and if you miss certain items, I would like to hear from you. Feel free to enter the shop and have a look around. The 25 year old sales lady you just have to imagine with it!
Last but not least I want to remind you of the fact that you too can contribute towards the blog. Have you got an interesting safari story, a nice idea, something to moan about or a cool picture, please feel free to contact me.
Stay well and enjoy your safaris!
Well done Johan!
You will soon be in the top 10….. but then you will need a big staff to handle all the incoming. Since you now have #93, can I ask you some questions?
a) Do hippos eat fish?
b) Are rhinos attracted to campfires and then stamp them out?
c) Do giraffes rest their heads on a tree branch to go to sleep?
d) What do lions eat to give the males the amazing stamina to mate every 20 minutes for four days?
e) Vultures only seem to eat rotten meat. What does a vulture taste like?
f) Sharks replace their teeth on a regular basis. What about crocodiles?
g) Is a baobab really growing upside down?
h) When my professional safari guide identifies a little brown bird as a lesser spotted periwinkle, can I believe her?
i) Etc
Congratulations again!
Hi Pieter,
Herewith the answers to your questions:
a. If hippos are like me, they only eat fish every 60 days.
b. ‘Campfire‘ is doing a lot for rhinos. So it would be stupid if rhinos stamp that out!
c. Of course! How would they sleep otherwise? They also give ‘heads-up’ for the establishment of World Heritage Species
d. Haven’t you read the last post? Crushed lion bones of course…..
e. No idea. But I know that a previous dog of mine liked them.
f. I am a crocodile, cause I only changed mine once (as far as I know)
g. Yes, you think that bushmen are stupid?
h. That totally depends on the color of her eyes!
Thanks for the congratulations…..
Good answers Johan!
Incidentally, these were all questions I had been asked while in Botswana. Now that you are internationally recognized as a safari guru (go buy some robes) I would urge all your readers to ask you more questions that have been puzzling them….
I have a few more that I was asked:
1) When you see a dead impala in a tree, did it jump up there and could not come down?
Is a mole rat a mole or a rat?
2) If I am bitten by a tsetse fly, how long until I fall asleep?
3) If I eat lots of garlic, will mosquitoes stop biting me?
4) What kind of animal produces UHT milk?
5) What is the difference between a red-billed hornbill and a yellow-billed hornbill?
6) Birds in Europe fly south in the winter. Don’t they run out of space in South Africa?
7) In Botswana, you see big palm trees and palm scrub. Where are all the medium sized palms?
You don’t give up do you!
1. It only stays up there when building a nest.
2. If it bit you after a heavy lunch at 38C, probably 5 min.
3. No, but girls will stop biting you!
4. An elephant cow, lying on her back in the mid-day sun.
5. The color, wally.
6. No, they don’t run out of space. They stay very close to earth.
7. Ever heard of ‘palm-wine’? People chop them down to get drunk. ‘hik’.
8. I don’t care, but I do know that I was bitten in my toe by one……