FEATURE SOUTH AFRICA
NAMIBIA…
“There’s wildlife, culture, history and amazing scenery. A South African holiday allows
visitors to develop their own memories" MATTHEW ARMSTRONG, South African Tourism
which is already operating on the
UK-SA route, with more to follow by the end of the year. Features include an airy open cabin and sophisticated personal touch-screen TVs. On October 1, Emirates will be
introducing brand new 489-seat Airbus A380 aircraft on the London-Heathrow to Johannesburg via Dubai route, a service that has seen 34 per cent revenue growth over the past year. A new domestic direct flight between
Cape Town and Hoedspruit provides a convenient link between the city and the popular Kruger National Park game lodges. The route will provide a boost to two-centre itineraries combining two of the country’s most popular destinations. Winchester Mansions, on Cape
Town's Atlantic seaboard, will unveil its refurbished public areas and popular Harveys restaurant this month. Harveys Restaurant and Deli will offer bistro-style cuisine by day and ‘a contemporary restaurant atmosphere’ at night. MD Nils Heckscher says the hotel is expecting a ‘strong’ summer season. At Shamwari Game Reserve in
the Eastern Cape the newly refurbished Bayethi luxury tented lodge sits on stilts with wraparound wooden decks and individual plunge pools, from which guests can look for wildlife visiting the banks of the river.
20 September 2011 •
www.sellinglonghaul.com
Other accommodation options at Shamwari, which is located in a malaria- free reserve, include the elegant Longlee Manor, built in 1910, and Riverdene Lodge, a restored settler’s lodge. Activities include visits to the working Wildlife Rehabilitation and Born Free Centres, a 'Kids on Safari' programme, bush walks, relaxation treatments, star gazing and game drives. KwaZulu-Natal Tourism and Ethos Marketing teamed up to launch a new initiative during their joint summer UK-wide roadshow. The Zulu Route showcases the
province’s culture, history, wildlife and accommodation highlights and is designed to encourage the trade to gain the confidence, knowledge and tools to package tailor-made itineraries to the region. To assist in this aim Ethos has developed an interactive map which is available online at www.zuluroute. com. Agents can explore a range of short or longer-term holidays and find suggested themed itineraries. Lungi Morrison is South African
Tourism’s new UK country manager. Lungi, who relocates to London this month, will be responsible for 'developing and implementing marketing strategies, enhancing awareness of South Africa as a tourist destination and monitoring market trends’.
On the operator front, Premier
Holidays has added four South African hotels to its 2012 Faraway brochure, including the Protea Breakwater Lodge in Cape Town and Hyatt Regency Oubaai on the Garden Route.
Tourism Talk LUNGI MORRISON
newly-appointed UK country manager, South African Tourism, UK
“Joining South African Tourism is an extremely exciting opportunity. I am particularly looking forward to meeting and subsequently working with the UK trade and stakeholders to position South Africa as a value-for-money destination leveraging our new positioning ‘Leave the Ordinary Behind’. “The post-recession climate will see us continuing to build on partnerships, which are ultimately about supporting the travel trade with identifying an array of compelling products to offer the UK market.”
GARY KERSHAW SAA country manager UK and Ireland “One of our goals is to be
an agent-friendly partner that delivers outstanding service. The travel trade remains our most important UK distribution channel and we want agents to know that SAA is an airline they can talk to. Agents should know that beyond South Africa we are growing our route network on the African continent and providing customers with even more
Rugged, wild, unspoilt and under- populated, Namibia is one of Africa’s most diverse, unique and exciting destinations. For adventurous clients, suggest a two-country Southern Africa road trip that takes visitors up through the Northern Cape and into Namibia It’s claimed that every type of rock to
be found on earth has a presence amid the hauntingly beautiful desert and bush of a country famed for both its diamond mines and great outdoors. Wildlife safaris are especially exciting
here, with the big five – Namibia is the only country in the world with desert elephants – plus an abundance of other species on view in game reserves like Etosha and the Namib Rand. Then there's the Skeleton Coast with its
vast sand dunes and miles of pristine beach, though a cold current rules out swimming in the sea, unless with a wet- suit, even when the on-shore temperature soars.
Whale watching, dune buggy and 4x4
excursions and visits to the former German colonial towns of Swakopmund, Luderitz, Walvis Bay and Windhoek (the diminutive little capital), with their charming but slightly incongruous Bavarian ambience, should be on the agenda – along with the ubiquitous game lodge experience. Air Namibia, 0870 777 7172, www.
airnamibia.com, provides access by air, either through South Africa or with direct flights from Frankfurt, Germany. Namibia pairs well with next-door South Africa, Botswana and the Victoria Falls.
Top: Two images of South Africa's northern neighbour Namibia, zebras and the dunes
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