Dear Friend,
Another year gone and another year to look forward to. Shops, offices, homes and streets are decorated with glistening and colourful Christmas decorations, people are running everywhere doing their final Christmas shopping and others are travelling around our beautiful country on their family holidays - boy isn't life great?
Our democratic country has undergone some major changes over the past few years and this has been a plus for the tourism business as it is now a lot safer to travel around, there is more to see, the people are friendlier, the infrastucture is improving and with the introduction of electronic communications in Southern Africa - things happen quicker. Of course there are problems in our great land, but then there are problems all over the world - crime and violence being the most frightening. I watch TV and read the papers and am horrified how cruel and greedy humans are - we see the situations in Iraq, Ireland, Zaire, Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe and of course also here in sunny South Africa. As one country seems to get over their problem, so a similar one erupts in another country - wouldn't it be great if for just one week, or even one day, we heard no bad news, or better still, if there was no bad news?
I like to be happy and to make people happy, and that is why I run my own safaris company - I am sure that all of you that have dealt with me for more than two e-mails or who have been on one of my safaris or even just travelled with me for a day or two, will agree, I am a happy chappy! Let's keep it like that and spread the good news.
Over the past 8 months that I have connected to the Internet I have had many, many requests for information on travel in South Africa, Zimbabwe or Botswana and then the occassional request for Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania. It was due to these continuous requests that I extended my services to include giving free information to enquiring people. A lot of people contacting me, I suspect are just 'surfers' who are just getting a rough idea of what is on offer, prior to discussing a possible holiday with their parents, or spouses. I am only to happy to assist anyone with such a request, but I would just like to know if this is the case. If it is a definate trip then I will make the long distance phonecalls to get the exact latest prices as this would be important to a forthcoming tousists budget. These long distance phonecalls get paid from my pocket - if you are just having a general enquiry to get a rough idea, then I would prefer to give you a rough price - I would normally inflate the price by 5 or 10% to allow for inflation.
I will be continuously developing them and as I learn how to programme, I will advance the level of them - if my tiny brain can cope and assuming I have time. At the moment there are facts and figures on Southern Africa countries, details of the services that I offer, more about African Bundu Safaris, sample itineraries and tariffs and plans about the new corporations. There are links to Tourism Durban - my tour association, Tradepage - my service provider, Findit - a business search facility, plus more to follow.
Soon there will also be a page in French as I have the services of Franscois - a french tour guide and also of Karin - a sign language tour guide (deaf people). So if you know of any French or hearing- impaired people - let them know of my services!
I would estimate that about 90% of people enquiring about safaris ar either single or couples - as you are no doubt aware - to have an exclusive safari is obviously pricier than if there were two or four other people joining you. I will still be willing and able to run a safari for just one or two of you, if money is not an object, or if you prefer exclusivity, but if your dates are flexible then let me know and I will put you on 'hold' until I find a similar request and then link you with the other people, to reduce the overall cost for you. I already have people on hold for safaris into Mozambique, Zimbabwe(Lake Kariba and Zimbabwe ruins), Namaqualand flowers, Namibia, a birding safari, and Lesotho. Ask and though shall receive! If you are planning a holiday here for next year, or the following, let me know, before you book your airtickets, as I might be able to link you with other people - my new corporation will make this easier, but it might mean that you might not travel in my 4x4 or worse still, you might not have me as your personal tour guide, BUT, you shall still have a great holiday with a great tour guide and comfortable transport.
In case you are not aware, there is a new law in South Africa which states that you are meant to have a tour guide registered in each province that you travel through - well we have 9 provinces, (used to have 4), and it is necessary to study one province at a time, taking about 6 months per province - so please be understanding when on any tour you might have two or three different Tour guides - this is the New South Africa, and things have changed. Eventually I will be licensed for the entire country, but this will take quite a while - but my vehicle has all the correct and necessary permits and licences to travel anywhere in Southern Africa, which is one big plus and another bigger plus is that having travelled everywhere over the past 20 years, I know the country, the roads, the routes, the scenery better than most licensed tour guides.
Over the past few months I have been busy helping my younger brother quite a lot move into his new house which is situated on a 4 acre small holding just outside the town of Howick, near Pietermaritzburg. As he has 5 Rottweiler dogs, 2 male and 3 female, he needs fences and runs for them to keep them apart otherwise - fighting take place. Well his new place was bought from a deceased estate so the grounds was badly neglected with long grass and overgrown bushes. So after many hours of hard work and many blisters, the grass was cut, the bushes and trees trimmed or removed and then the holes for the fencepoles were dug - whew, that was hard work. Then we erected the 6' fence and electrified it, to keep the dogs in and stop them digging under. His fiance will soon be moving in and then he is hoping to extend the house and start growing flowers and vegetables to supplement his income.
I have also undertaken a few trips, as a tour guide, to Shakaland - a zulu cultural village which provides an exciting and wonderful explanation of Zulu traditions and history, followed by beer-tasting, Zulu Dancing and a great lunch. I have also been to our famous and wonderful Hilltop camp in Africa's oldest Game Reserve - Hluhluwe-Umfolosi game reserve. The accommodation at Hilltop is really classy, with some rooms having wonderful views over the hills and valleys below. The food there is also absolutely great - plenty and tasty. Another visit was to Zulu Nyala Game Lodge - a private game reserve wher each group has their own game ranger and individual attention is wonderful, as is the accommodation and meals. The game viewing excludes any large predators, but you can go on horseback through the reserve and also there is a lovely boat ride on their river.
Just last weekend I lead a group of young adventurous chaps on a weekend hike in the Drakensberg Mountains. We arrived on the Friday afternoon at the Bushmansnek borderpost, where we slept that night in the Parks Board huts. Saturday was a blistering hot day and we hiked the 12 kms up the escarpment to Tarn Cave, situated on the border fence of Lesotho and South Africa. The heat was only reduced in the late morning when the wind picked up. We arrived at lunchtime and dropping our backpacks in the cave we went for a swim in the one crystal clear tarn straight away. The refeshing water was great and we reluctantly made our way back to the cave for afternoon tea and then the clouds, thunderstorm, lightening and rain arrived - typical in summer. Sleeping in the cave was nice that night, except the one chap kept shouting out different words like "JAMES BOND" , " YEH, YEH" ... during the night - well, it certainly woke me up - and provided a good laugh in the morning! We used a differnt route for the hike down and it was more scenic with many waterfalls and clear pools en route. The weather was cooler with overcast skies - a great weekend, but boy did I find new muscles - need to get fit again!
Our weather that we have been having is very unusual - lots of rain and cold days - for summer !!! We even had snow on the mountains in November - not totally unheard of, but rather rare. We have a day or two of sun , then two or three of rain - good for the farmers and the dams, but not nice for tourists. I guess its this El Nino fella!
My sister gave my mother a little dog a month ago and boys is she full of life. We put the previous dog, Tequila, to sleep over 6 months ago, as she was 19 years old!! She was virtually blind, had lost bowel control and was battling to walk properly. This new dog, Didi, jumps around similar to a Springbok, has an excellent nose (for smelling), loves playing with a tennis ball - until she has destroyed it, and is learning new commands weekly. She is a pavement special - a bit of skippiky, terrier and doberman all mixed together - rather cute at times.
There are big plans to improve the tourist facilities in Durban - you probably have not heard the news about the proposed Monorail that will run along the beachfront and down to the ICC (International Convention Centre). The plan is to have one running past every 5 to 10 minutes and to be elevated 4 to 9 metres above the ground. The ICC was opened by President Nelson Mandela a few months ago, and is very impressive, with the sparkling Hilton Hotel also having just opened, adjoing it. The Point Waterfront is undergoing a revamp and big development plans are in progress to improve facilities, with restaurants, bars, entertainment centres and other attractions being built. There were also talks of a large statue of King Shaka (Zulu king of 1820's) overlooking Durban harbour form ontop of The Bluff, and also a cablecar across the harbour entrance and more recently a hotel, boat jetty and restaurants on the Southern Breakwater and Bluff - all dreams and ideas at this stage - need the money.
The Bed & breakfast guesthouses in the Durban area are booming and more and more tourists are prefering to stay in them rather than the impersonal hotels. Not only are they cheaper, but friendlier, cosier and very homely. I work closely with a number of them and have got to know which are the ones who provide good service. Admittedly they are a bit further from town, but if you are not hiring a car or wanting to use public transport either your host/ess or a tourguide, like myself, will be able to assist you to get around.
For the future, I have a number of tours that are booked already between now and January 1999, so if you are wanting to confirm your booking, let me know as soon as possible. The popular destinations are the Hluhluwe-Umfolosi Game Reserve - some with the wilderness hiking trail, the Drakensberg Mountains - with Sani Pass, snorkelling at Cape Vidal, the Garden Route and Cape Town and of course Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. But please listen to me - there are many other places to visit that I can take you to that are not so well known, but just as great and beautiful. They do not have the big crowds and so are more attractive to certain tourists. A popular request is to visit game areas, but not a zoo - well, the closest zoo to Durban is in Johannesburg - I prefer Game Reserves - which are from 500 hectares up to 96 000 hectares in size - but you must realise that the animals can be anywhere in the reserve and you might drive for 10kms and see nothing, yet the person a few hundred metres behind you might see quite a lot - just as the animals move around! - No guarantee for animal sightings!
Our President Mandela is coming to the end of his reign in office and it seems as though Mr Thabo Mbeki will be the new one - things are always changing here - hopefully we don't get the radical changes like Zimbabwe is going through!
My skills in video filming and editing have been in demand recently as I have been assisting a number of people in how to use their cameras properly and also how to edit their movies that they have made - nothing like a bit of extra pocket money!
Well, Didi wants to go and play "throw and catch", so I must go or else my ankles get chewed at!
Trusting that this newsletter finds you in good health and in a happy festive mood.
All the best
Kind regards
Dean
Manager - African Bundu Safaris cc.
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