54 south africa
experiences that can be incorporated into longer tailor-made itineraries and suggestions for exploring lesser-visited parts of the country. Virgin Holidays has added the new Richard Branson property, Mont Rochelle, in Franschhoek, the latest hotel to join the Virgin Limited Edition programme. Kirker has reintroduced the family-owned and managed Kariega Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape. It offers a choice of accommodation types as well as the ‘Big Five’. Also new for Kirker is the apartment hotel The Place on the Bay in Camps Bay, Cape Town. Tourism board: South African Tourism has launched a new website (gandhi.
southafrica.net) outlining a series of tourist attractions inspired by Indian pacifi st and independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. Celebrating the years he stayed in South
Africa – from 1893 to 1914 – the site provides visitors with a list of 13 sites across the country including Pietermaritzburg Station, where Gandhi was thrown off a train for sitting in a fi rst-class carriage despite having a valid ticket; and Satyagraha House, Johannesburg, a house Gandhi shared during his early years in South Africa. Now a private guest house it also serves as a small museum, with photos and original journals. Lodges: Jock Safari Lodge (jocksafarilodge. com) is now offering a game drive and golf combo by offering complimentary transfers to Leopards Creek golf course, one of the best in South Africa. Sanbona Wildlife Reserve (
sanbona.com) has maintained its Green Leaf certifi cation for its efforts in making its three lodges sustainable and ecologically friendly. Kwandwe Private Game Reserve (
kwande.com) in the Eastern Cape has added a campfi re cooking activity. Over three days, guests learn to cook authentic South African ‘braais’ and favourite South African dishes using fresh and locally-
sourced ingredients in-between game drives. Thanda Private Game Reserve (
thanda.com) has
“Travel and tourism contributes nearly 10% of GDP and over 1.4 million jobs to the South African economy, making a bigger employer than banking, mining
and the telecommunications” WORLD TRAVEL & TOURISM COUNCIL
teamed up with Fugitives Drift to offer a ‘Zulus Past and Present’ experience. Guests stay three nights at Thanda Tented Camp and two nights at Fugitive’s Drift on a full-board basis and will enjoy safaris and tours of the battlefi elds at Isandlwana and Rorkes Drift. Opening this year is the Rhino Ridge Safari lodge (
isibindi.co.za/rhino-ridge), a four- star private lodge in Hhluhluwe iMfolozi Park, Northern KwaZulu Natal. The hilly park offers spectacular scenery and safaris in Big Five territory. Hotels: Historic Oude Werf (oudewerfhotel.
co.za) in Stellenbosch is open again after a refurbishment, complete with a new restaurant and kitchen and new room types.
Marriott International (
marriottrewards.com) has introduced its Marriott Rewards loyalty programme across 26 Protea Hotels and African Pride hotels in
Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. Trains: Luxury rail operator The Blue Train (
bluetrain.co.za) is launching a new route from Pretoria to Hoedspruit. The two round-trips to Limpopo province will run in July and August. The 19-hour one-way trips offer the option of new ‘rail safari’ combination packages with several wildlife reserves and private safari lodges in the Greater Kruger and Sabi Sands area. Trade shows: The annual Indaba Travel Trade Show takes place in Durban in May (9-11). Sun International, Fairmont Zimbali Resort and
Tsogo Sun are three of the new exhibitors at WTM Africa 2015 in Cape Town (April 15-17). The second running of the event spans three days after last year’s inaugural two-day show.
Tourism talk “We continue to value and support the travel trade. This month (April) we will be launching our new SA Specialist
programme for the trade. This online training
sellingtravel.co.uk
programme provides a great opportunity not only to learn more about various destinations in the country but also enables all those who pass every module to be listed as specialists, via a postcode fi lter on the SAT UK consumer-facing website. So if you’re investing time in staff training, this fi lter provides a good return on investment. “We will ramp up our fam trips this year and are hosting 16 UK tour operators at the travel trade exhibition, INDABA 2015, in Durban this May. “To support our trade activity we will also be rolling out three major consumer campaigns, kicking off with the ‘Five-Minute Holiday’ on Oculus Rift – cutting-edge technology that shows footage of adventurous scenes in South Africa in 360 degrees.” Tolene van der Merwe, General Manager South African Tourism UK
Where to book it COX & KINGS – 020 7873 5000
Pearls of the Limpopo is a new 11-day /eight- night self-drive itinerary priced from £1,965pp. It includes the mountainous Highveld and wildlife-rich Lowveld in the northern reaches of the Kruger National Park. Safari, Ocean and Cape is a new 13-day/10- night tour that includes a safari in the Eastern Cape, the Garden Route, a coastal drive to the
Top from left: the new Rhino Ridge Lodge in KwaZulu-Natal; a Zulu community visit featured by Thanda Private Game Reserve; Jock Safari Lodge, in the Kruger; Baboons are regularly spotted at Cape Point
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68