FEBRUARY/MARCH 1999
This summer has been a hot and humid one and
I can't wait for the cooler winter months. One thing about our winters,
especially here in Durban, is that they are not freezing, but cool to warm.
The nights are a bit chilly with the need for a jersey and occasionally
a jacket but during the days I still wear a pair of shorts and t-shirt with
probably about 20 days of the winter a need for a jersey during daytime
- so nice! Dean
Of recent, the sun has really dried our grass out soooo much, I have bought
a truck-load of compost and covered the front lawn and grass pavement and
spent the last week giving it a lot of TLC - I have been assured that it
will turn green again and produce lovely fertile grass! Let's see!!
I have decided to combine two months together for this entry as I have been
so busy that I did not have the chance to write last months entry until
now, so there are still a couple of happenings still to take place in March,
but they can appear next month.
During February, Alice went on leave for a week, so I was left to deal with
all the admin work and hold the fort - Alice and family went up to their
Time-share in the Drakensberg Mountains - one of their favourite retreats
and came back relaxed and ready for a year of bookings and safari planning!
Shortly after that week, I disappeared for a day to visit a friends new
game reserve - the Thula Thula Private Game reserve, situated near the Umfolosi
reserve. It is an old established reserve, but the previous owner had 'lost
his marbles' and started shooting all the animals - well to cut a long story
short, they took over and are restocking the reserve, upgrading and renovating
the accommodation and spending thousands and thousands of rand on making
this one of Kwazulu-Natals top private reserves. They have a dormitory type
camp, which is ideal for school and youth groups sleeping 64 kids and 6
teachers and then they are renovating the 5 rustic huts in a different area
and then the exclusive upmarket lodge will be constructed on the top of
a hill overlooking the valleys and entire reserve, with a savannah and waterhole
in front of it.
The game statistics are not that great at the moment, but the numbers will
soon start to improve - the only predators at the moment are 3 leopards,
so this reserve is ideal for folks wanting to go on wildlife walks in a
relatively safe environment.
I went to a Travel and Trade exhibition recently in Durban, to meet some
of the guesthouse, game reserve and lodge owners and made a few new contacts.
I also came away with a prize - weekend for eight at a Bush Lodge, near
Shongweni Dam - I still have to use it, so can't tell you much at the moment.
More next month, I hope!
Another great visit I enjoyed was just a couple of weeks ago - to the Tembe
Elephant Reserve. Boy this was great. We departed from Durban in a luxury
4x4 and screamed up the North Coast to Zululand and Maputoland. The Tembe
reserve is situated on the Mocambique border, about 5 hours from Durban.
Our accommodation was in safari tents, which are on a raised platform. Each
tent had a double and single bed inside, some were en-suite, others had
clean communal ablutions. The dining table is under a thatched lapa and
next to the chilly splash pool. The food here was tremendous, especially
the freshly baked bread and muffins. We went on a number of game drives,
which require a 4x4 due to the area being a coastal forest reserve with
soft sand. Obviously we saw elephants and these ellies are special - they
are the last remaining herd of indigenous elephants in KwaZulu-Natal - all
the others at Hluhluwe, Phinda, Mkuze etc, all come from Kruger Park. These
ones are larger and have greater tusks - and also with a more cautious and
aggresive nature than the friendlier Kruger ellies. These ones had been
involved in the bush war in Mocambique and are still recovering from the
shock and shootings they experienced. We saw other animals including the
rare and shy Suni antelope, a Bushbuck coming to the waterhole, plus waterbuck,
warthog, Black rhino, impala, nyala, "Gertrude" the hippo and quite a lot
of birdlife. This reserve is aimed at the middle to upmarket - one gets
the real atmosphere of being in the wild as only 5 cars a day are allowed
in its 30 000 hectares, whose landscape reminded me most of the time of
the Okavango and Moremi, in Botswana. After 2 nights there, we returned
to Durban. A highly recommended Reserve.
Just last week I also attended a meeting for Tour Operators who are interested
in assisting with the World Aids Conference to be held during July 2000
in Durban - I have to decide whether I shall participate or not - I have
offered my services to the Boy Scouts World Conference to be held here in
Durban during July of this year - but although I have forwarded itineraries
and have Guides and drivers on standby, I do not get the impression that
they are totally organised in advising the participating Scouting folk -
they have large coach tours organised, but these are also expensive - I
was offering the cheaper options. We shall see.
During last month I was also studying quite a bit - for my Eastern Cape
Satour Guide exam - which I successfully passed - so now I have the four
main tourist provinces to my credit - as I mentioned before, you have to
be licenced to be a legal Guide and clients do not want to deal with an
illegal guide or someone who is not trained properly. So congratulations
to myself!
I mentioned last month that a few folks were going on various safaris -
going to Mocambique with my cousins safari company were 4 clients from Italy
and 2 from Brasil. It was an overland participation camping safari and reading
the e-mail from both the Italians and my cousin, after the trip, they did
not really enjoy themselves. Some folk I guess are not suited to camping
in Africa and eating South African food. If you have not been on a camping
safari before, it is always recommended to go on a lodge/chalet safari first
- a lot more comfortable. Remember as well, that in Africa, time is another
factor - we are not too fussy about sticking to strict time schedules -
well, not everyone - the saying goes...."Oh, they're on African Time!" The
couple from Brasil are still on safari in South Africa, so I shall hear
from them later.
Mocambique also experienced severe rains and floods recently and many bridges
and villages were badly damaged - a great pity as they are a poor country
and do not need such disasters. Stephan and Mirjam seemed to enjoy their
self-drive safari - I was only involved with them for their Durban - Hluhluwe
section and after collecting them from the airport and giving them a short
tour of Durban, they left for the Hluhluwe game reserve - I am looking forward
to hearing from them soon. Stephan made the comment to me that he had hired
a car from another company that offered 1000kms free a week - well, they
exceeded that distance by 2500 kms, so had a lot more to pay for the rental.
My car hire tariffs include UNLIMITED KILOMETRES, INSURANCE, DELIVERY AND
TAX - there are no hidden extras - so no need to shop around - come straight
to me!
I have just had word from my colleagues in Cape Town who guided "The Wrinklies"
on a couple of tours, that they enjoyed themselves and are now driving up
the Garden Route to Durban - I look forward to meeting them during their
2 week stay here. I have been very busy over the last few weeks supplying
a variety of itineraries and bookings to Gerri for her sisters forthcoming
visit. The final verdict seems to be a 2 night safari to Zululand Tree Lodge
and Dumazulu Cultural Village - followed a few days later by a flight to
PE, then a drive to Addo, Shamwari, East London and Coffee Bay. These are
two great itineraries that will allow her sister and nephew enjoy the best
what we have to offer them, based from Durban. So, I shall be away for part
of our Easter holidays.
I have also been very busy with working on itineraries over the Xmas and
New Year period - folks, if you have not made you bookings yet, you are
going to battle!! SSSOOO many places are full already and sssooo many of
them require a minimum of 4, 6 or even 10 nights stay at their establishments.
It is the MILLENNIUM celebrations and some places have been booked out for
6 to 12 months already, especially in Cape Town and Victoria Falls !!!!
If you are planning a safari/visit/vacation during that period - shout quickly,
as we are even battling ourselves to find appropriate accommodation for
our clients.
To speed up the processing of enquiries and itineraries, we have modified
our systems and office slightly - I purchased two larger desks last week
and Alice will work on the newer and faster computer, concentrating on the
initial enquiries, continued communications and quotes. I shall work from
the older pc from a different office room and concentrate on the finer details
of the itineraries and quotes. With regards to quotes, there are still some
people who have not read my previous entries and feel that they should get
all services for free! I have a small admin and booking fee - this is towards
the many phonecalls, faxes and time spent getting the latest information,
tariffs etc for you. It is cheaper than all those international long distance
phonecalls you would have to make, plus we know where to look and who to
ask! For the establishments we/you choose to stay at - we normally use Tour
Operator recognised places, that offer the public one rate and Tour Operators
another rate - this means that you do not have the price increased by 10
or 20 %, which is the standard business commission here in Southern Africa.
If you travel in my 4x4, you cannot only pay for the petrol - there is wear
& tear included in the tariff as well - how on earth could I replace my
vehicle or afford to have it serviced regularly then? When you have a Guide
with you - most establishments offer us a much cheaper rate for the Guide
to stay in a room - it is not normally the same type of room, but the Guide
will be happy with it. Our tariffs include the entrance fees, toll fees,
meals, accommodation and other services that are noted for you to read.
The normal exclusions are telephone, laundry, bar account, curios, personal
items, and gratuities.
I had occasion recently to remind a client that I offer tailor-made packages
- that is I compile a safari to suit their pocket, but if you do not tell
me the size of your pocket (ie a budget) it becomes very difficult for me.
Also, when you buy a car or house - you do not get itemized billing for
each component, so it is not our policy to break-down every component on
a guided safari - self-drive safaris are a different matter. If you are
going to deal with us for your safari, please keep a record of our info
we send you - some chap recently asked us to 'summarize' what we had sent
him over the past two months as he had been shopping around sooo much, he
had forgotten what we offered - I do not need to deal with such people!
Remember, the more details that you include in your enquiry, the better.
Tell me, how many people and their ages, what dates you have to or prefer
to travel, what are your interests or destinations or sights you want included,
what is your budget. what type of accommodation you prefer, whether this
is a self-drive or a Guided vacation and anything else that you feel would
assist me in the planning. Obviously many people surf around and enquire
with a few other companies, that is no problem, but I hate a general enquiry
that basically asks such a general open-ended question. My company is small,
friendly and personal - and that is the service I offer and have been successful
with.
I also do not offer jobs - a number of folks send requests for jobs as drivers,
cooks, guides etc - sorry, no vacancies!
I have changed my one Tripod website to have the 1999 schedules, dates,
prices for a number of overland safaris and also the luxury train safaris
- I am busy working on completing it soon, but it is not my immediate priority
at the moment, so my apologies for not showing all the details yet.
A few weeks ago I was chatting to Malcolm via the AOL Instant Messenger
and he told me that a past pupil and friend of mine, Shannon, was in Durban
for two weeks - well, to cut a long story short, I went around for a braai
(barbeque) and congratulated Shannon on his engagement to his girlfriend
who had come to meet his folks etc, and also enjoyed the evening chatting
to quite a few of the past pupils who were there and also his dad, Dave,
who was instrumental in starting African Bundu Safaris with me in 1996.
Dave did most of the welding on the framework of my safari vehicle and was
a tower of strength and great friend. Shannon went back to the UK and says
he is really enjoying it there - "having a jol" !!
I have also had news recently from another past pupil, Michael, who is doing
so well with his lifesaving qualifications, waterpolo and academics - well
done Michael - keep it up - and stop growing so tall !! Neil has returned
from Saudi Arabia and is studying computers at a Durban college. Rowan has
left The Quarters hotel and is now a reservations officer for Dumazulu and
various other lodges. Kevin is making his way north, having spent the last
3 months in the Antartic on the HMS Endurance. Theo is looking forward to
having 14 family members spend Easter with his family in Cape Town! Oom
Piet and his son WP have been training like crazy on their bicycles over
the last few months - they enter the Argus cycling marathon this month in
Cape Town - good luck chaps! Sean and Monica are busy studying in the evenings
and have managed to sell most of their 3500 butternuts that they grew!!
My sister has gone for a job interview in Johannesburg, so might be moving
soon. Sven, my nephew has done so well with his swimming - he is only 7
and swimming in the 9 and 10 year olds and winning! Hans-Jurgen, a pen-friend
since 1979 who lived in the old East Germany and really enjoys his travelling,
sent a postcard from Morocco - his first visit to Africa - maybe South Africa
next!
Political wise - just recently our famous President Mandela visited the
Scandanavian countries followed by a visit to Libiya where he finalised
the deal concerning the Lockabee bombing and here in South Africa - Alan
Boesak has been found guilty of stealing over 2 million rands of charity
money - we shall wait and see if his friend, the Minister of Justice, Mr
Omar acquits him or not! Over the past few months we have also been having
voter registration and the insistance has been on bar-coded ID's - personally
I think it is a great idea, so much easier to computerise everything. They
have given so many months prior notice telling people to get new ID's so
no-one has an excuse not to have obtained one. Our 2nd democratic election
shall be held on 2 June 1999 - so we are all getting into pre-election fever
at the moment. The police and Pagad are still having problems with each
other in the Western Cape. NOW- before I have complaints about racial context
in the next situation - I am explaining how this incident was reported on
the radio - recently we heard about a white lady seeing her husbands brand
new luxury car being driven by black man in Johannesburg area. She was driving
an old car - she cut in front of the car, grabbed her gun - ran to the drivers
door, shouting and screaming she pulled the shocked black gentleman from
the seat pointing the gun at him all the time - and then drove off in her
husbands car back home. On arrival at home, she parked the car in the driveway,
went into the house to tell him that she had managed to recover his new
car, only to be told now they have two new cars! The black gentleman walked
to the nearest policestation and report that "Now I have seen everything
and this country really does have a crime problem - I have just had my new
luxury car hijacked from me by an old white woman!"
You might have noticed that on my webpage there are two e-mail addresses
- well the 'dbnmail' one was giving me so many problems since their server
crashed at the beginning of February, so I signed up with MWEB as well -
so now both e-mails are valid. The Mweb e-mail goes to both computers, the
"dbnmail" one only goes to Alice's computer. The pc's are NOT linked together.
The 23rd March is my mothers birthday and unfortunately, she also has to
go to hospital for a few days for a throat op - hopefully they will remove
the entire lump and report a clean bill afterwards. Quick recovery Mom!
Didi is still the hive of activity at home and the office. She still enjoys
her swim and especially the drying down afterwards. As soon as she sees
my costume on she jumps up and down and runs around in circles! When she
hears that leash, she gets so excited as it means it is time to explore
the neighbourhood.
Well, that ends my 'short' entry. It would be great to hear from you.
All the best
Click here to view the previous edition
of Dean's Diary
