Bundu Basher – holiday reviews and venues

Do your December holidays feel like a distant memory? Perhaps it’s time to enjoy some time away. Whether you crave a midweek getaway or an extended weekend away, Exclusive Getaways has some fantastic South African travel specials that will enable you to enjoy the rest of the South African summer at a great rate.

Exclusive Getaways’ extensive portfolio showcases over 100 of South Africa’s best holiday accommodations, as well as top travel destinations and holiday packages, and a range of excellent last-minute specials. Whether you’re travelling with friends or family, Exclusive Getaways has the South African holiday package for you. Better yet, we’ll tailor our travel packages to suit your holiday preferences perfectly!

Here is a selection of the current travel specials available from Exclusive Getaways:

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Bundublog is very proud of its South African heritage and aims to promote the positives that are attached to visiting the African continent.

We have one of the most diverse continents on the planet with some amazing tourist attractions.

With that in mind we would like to invite the Bundublog communtiy to submit short reviews of some of the holiday places they’ve been to. These reviews (preferably with a picture) would then be displayed on the Bundu Basher blog. We will then link back to your respective blog.

If you would like to submit a review please send it to webmaster@rival.co.za

Hotel and gaming entrepreneur Sol Kerzner has been named winner of the 2010 Hospitality Innovator Award, given annually by the Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. Kerzner, founder, chairman and CEO of Kerzner International Holdings Limited, will receive the honour at the school’s annual awards dinner to be held Tuesday, 8 June 2010, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
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Qatar Airways, the Middle’s East only five star carrier, have unveiled the launch dates of four recently-announced new routes for 2010 as part of the airline’s continued aggressive expansion strategy. The launch of flights to Copenhagen, Ankara, Tokyo and Barcelona comes during a busy five months for the award-winning airline.

• Carrier Takes Off To Danish Capital Copenhagen On March 30
• Flights To Turkish Capital Ankara Begin On April 5
• Airline Prepares To Serve Japanese Capital Tokyo From April 26
• Carrier Flies To Spanish City Of Barcelona From June 7

The announcement comes a month after Qatar Airways revealed its new routes for 2010 and just days after the airline confirmed it will begin daily non-stop services between Doha and Bengaluru, formerly known as Bangalore, from February 22 to mark the airline’s 11th Indian destination. Beginning March 30, Qatar Airways adds Copenhagen to its European network with four flights a week, non-stop from Doha, the airline’s operational hub.

After Stockholm, the Danish capital becomes the second Scandinavian destination served by Qatar Airways – the only Gulf carrier serving the region. A week later, starting April 5, Qatar Airways spreads its wings further into Turkey with the addition of four non-stop services a week from Doha to Ankara, supporting its existing scheduled services to Istanbul. From April 26, Qatar Airways expands its operations in the Land of the Rising Sun with daily flights to the Japanese capital, Tokyo. The flights will be operated from Doha via Osaka, representing a significant increase in capacity for the Japanese market.

Seoul, which is currently served via Osaka will be de-linked from the Japanese city to become a daily non-stop service from Doha, beginning March 28. Starting June 7, Qatar Airways’ European network receives another boost with non-stop flights between Doha and the Mediterranean port city of Barcelona – after Madrid, the airline’s second Spanish destination. Details of the airline’s planned flights to Sydney, its second Australian destination, will be announced later.

“The next few months will prove to be yet another exciting period of growth with such diverse business and leisure destinations being added to Qatar Airways’ growing network,” said Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker. “It further strengthens our resolve to fly to the heart of political and business capital cities across the world, giving South Africans and passengers worldwide more choice to get to their final destination.

“Passengers can plan their travels now that we have announced the launch dates of these great destinations and we look forward to welcoming them onboard to experience our award-winning service.” With six new routes on the horizon, Qatar Airways will increase its global portfolio from 85 to 91 global destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Far East, North America and Australasia. The carrier currently operates a modern fleet of 77 aircraft. The airline currently flies daily from Johannesburg and four times weekly from Cape Town its base in Doha. Regardless of the point of departure, Qatar Airways offers convenient connections for South Africans over its Doha hub to the airline’s global network.

By: Paul Symonds

Egypt is a fascinating country to visit and one which offers great weather, history, culture and some unique foods. If you love to see new things and love history, Egypt holds even more attraction. Below, a look at some of the main reasons to visit Egypt on holiday or vacation.

The Great Pyramid of Giza – The Great pyramid is probably the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Egypt, and it’s really no surprise. The pyramid is amongst the Seven Wonders of the World, and is not only the largest, but the oldest of the Giza necropolis. It originally stood at over a hundred and forty meters tall, but time has led to natural stone erosion, meaning that the structure is predicted to have lost around ten meters in height.

Great Sphinx – The Great Sphinx is situated near the Great Pyramid, and takes the form of a lion with a man’s face. In mythology, a Sphinx was meant to portray a “living image” although it is not known of whom the Great Sphinx is the “living image” of. Since its creation, time has encouraged a build up of sand that buried the sphinx under several feet of hand up to its shoulders, but an archaeological dig in 1817 managed to uncover the chest, and the entire body was re-emerged in 1925 thanks to an excavation team.

Nile - The Nile River runs through the enormous deserts of Egypt, and has benefited Egyptian societies, purely for its ability to flood the surrounding areas, allowing the otherwise barren land to become fertile and efficient for the growth of crops. Without the immense Nile, Egyptian civilization would not have been able to survive in the host deserts.

The Valley of the Kings – The Theban Hills (or the Valley of the Kings as they are more famously known) is best known as the original resting place of Tutankhamen. The ancient pharaoh’s sarcophagus was excavated by Egyptologist Howard Carter in 1925. The valley is located to the West of the River Nile, and as is strongly evidenced, was built as the final resting grounds for past pharaohs. There have been around fifty nine discoveries in the valley, numbered in the order that they were found.

Egyptian Museum – In Cairo, you will find the Egyptian Museum, which is home to hundreds of thousands of ancient Egyptian artifacts, including statues, mummies, furniture and even Tutankhamen’s gold mask, which is enough to attract any tourist by itself. The museum contains a great deal of Egypt’s history, excavated from various famous site, and whilst originally the “Royal Mummy Room” housed twenty seven royal mummies, today only nine are on show to the public.

The Pharos of Alexandria – Pharos is another of Egypt’s Seven Wonders of the World, and is actually a lighthouse located on the northern coast of Egypt in Alexandria. The lighthouse is predicted to have been erected in the third Century BC, as a landmark with the soul purpose being for navigation, and eventually as a lighthouse. The structure is thought to be between 115 and 135 meters tall, and has been seriously damaged by three earthquakes throughout history, and the lighthouse is nothing more than ruins as a result.

Luxor – Luxor was originally known as the ancient city of Thebes, and is renowned for its popular temple, located in Karnak. Here, you will also find a wonderful avenue of ram-headed sphinxes. You will also find the Mummification Museum here. Overlooking the Nile, the museum contains not only the mummies of humans, but also of various animals. It is a great place to discover how, and with which tools mummification was done.

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Paul writes about a number fo subjects including Paris travel and accommodation and Miami culture and travel.

Click on the map and find accommodation wherever you need it in South Africa. Tell ‘em you heard about it on South Africa’s leading blogging platform Bundublog.com!

I picked up this press release from advisory firm Grant Thornton and just had to publish it here. It is defiantely something a little different!

If England is knocked out in the early stages of the 2010 World Cup, English fans will be irate, but Cape Town tour operators will be smiling.

According to Martin Jansen van Vuuren, Director of Grant Thornton Strategic Solutions, World Cup spectators whose teams are knocked out in the early rounds of the tournament could be a captive market for local tour operators.

Few fans plan on their team being knocked out in the early stages, but if it is, some tour packages will allow them to either follow other teams or use the opportunity to travel around the country.

“Flights around that time are likely to be expensive and fans will have to pay a premium to go home early. So it is more likely that they will utilise their option to stay in South Africa, providing a huge opportunity for local tour operators.”

According to Grant Thornton, Cape Town will benefit from this arrangement as it has been chosen as one of the holiday destinations for these fans. The tourism injection of these fans would be welcome in Cape Town as it is unlikely to benefit as much as some cities from the actual World Cup.

The majority of games are scheduled for Gauteng and Durban, with only eight being played in the new Cape Town stadium. There are also no teams based in the city itself, with most preferring to stay in the upper escarpment or Highveld area to adjust to the altitude.

Cape Town will benefit most if certain European teams, such as England and Holland, are knocked out early. These teams tend to bring along a large number of fans familiar with Cape Town as a holiday and partying destination.

“How much Cape Town will benefit from increased tourism depends on which teams are knocked out and when,” says Jansen van Vuuren.

“At this stage it is very difficult to predict how many World Cup tourists will come to Cape Town on these types of packages. But these fans will be a different type of visitor to the usual target audience.”

Football fans are likely to do various day trips for sightseeing but would want to be close to a TV during match time. This means they probably won’t be taking two- or three-day trips into the rural areas, preferring to stay close to the restaurants and nightlife in Cape Town itself.

“Tour operators should be aware of these dynamics to capitalise on this market,” says Jansen van Vuuren. “Trips would be most suited from say 09:00 to 16:00, allowing fans to get up later after a night out and get back early enough to watch the game.

“They are also more likely to be travelling in small groups without children and/or spouses so the activities they will be interested in will probably be more male- and sports-orientated than family-orientated.

The hospitality industry will need to be flexible enough to adapt to the requirements of a very broad fan base.”

The French Consul, Antoine Michon, visited Knysna last week and met with Knysna Mayor Eleanore Bouw-Spies, the Municipal Manager Mr Johnny Douglas, Knysna Tourism CEO Shaun van Eck and other representatives to discuss the town’s hosting of the French team during the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Mayor Bouw-Spies said that Knysna was excited and honoured to host Les Bleus and hoped that this can be the start of an ongoing relationship with France, also post 2010. “One of the objectives of our 2010 business plan was to create a legacy for Knysna, and this is what we’re working towards. We asked the Consul to help us identify opportunities and I hope that this can be the start of a variety of exchange programmes on a social, cultural, economic and sport level, creating benefit for all involved.” Michon said that he will definitely assist the municipality in finding exchange opportunities with towns in France. “I will work with the municipality to identify possible options. France is running a very successful exchange programme between the Burgundy region, home of the famous French wines, and the Western Cape winelands area, and I believe we can find something similar for the Knysna area.”

He said that they believe the French team made the best choice possible. “Knysna, being one of South Africa’s top tourist destinations is a perfect base for the team. In the upcoming months we will work closely with the relevant authorities to make sure that all is in place. We are in the process of appointing an honorary Consul de France in Knysna and will also be involved in various cultural projects that will include French language classes for local residents, food and wine exchanges and live entertainment. Ideally we would like to turn Knysna into a French village for a month.”

Accompanying Michon was Christophe Freschi, Director of Alliance Française in Port Elizabeth who will be running a variety of cultural programmes in Knysna. Freschi and CEO of Knysna Tourism, Shaun van Eck, have worked together on various projects in Port Elizabeth in the past. Van Eck said that the involvement of the Alliance Française will be invaluable for Knysna’s preparation to offer the best welcome to French visitors. “Our staff will take French language classes facilitated by them, and they will assist with translations and the compilation of visitor information packs. We will also work together to make sure we have plenty of entertainment for French and other visitors.”

The annual Knysna Oyster Festival was also discussed at the meeting, and van Eck said that they hope to include a variety of the cultural exchange events on the festival programme. “We are looking at a nine piece jazz band with French and South African musicians, a French film festival, art and craft exhibitions and a puppet show with giant puppets.”

Mayor Bouw-Spies said that they will work towards creating a longstanding relationship with France. “This is the building steps to creating a relationship that I hope will outlast the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. Our first priority is obviously to get the town ready and make sure our visitors have a great experience, but I also believe it is a fantastic opportunity for us to create long term benefits that will assist us in our endeavours to create a town that works for all.”

Contact Information:
Knysna Municipality
www.knysna.gov.za

My family and I have just had the opportunity to spend four very nice days at Sabie River Sun in Mpumalanga.

Situated on the banks of the Sabie River, it is a nice mix of holiday resort and privacy with the option to stay in either a self-catering chalet or in the hotel.

Our chalet comfortably slept four adults and two children and came equipped with DSTV, braai, fully-stocked kitchen (in terms of utensils), furniture, bedding and linen.

The resort is situated on a golf course. The course itself is apparently not the most challenging from a technical point of view, but there are a lot of lost balls in the various water obstacles. I also got the sense that there were a helluva lot of “hackers” trying to smash their way around the course so keep an eye open for wayward balls coming at you from out of nowhere.

There are various pools littered amongst the chalets and up at the hotel so you never get the sense that you are competing for space against other holiday-makers.

For me the best feature of the venue is the hippo and crocodile dam which splits the lower end of the golf course. You can see crocodiles and hippos lounging around on the sandbanks or in the water while you walk or play your round of golf. A couple of times you will even find a crocodile lounging around on the green so watch where you stand!

For those with the world of patience, if you come down to the dam in the evening (around 6pm) you may be lucky enough to see the hippos making their way down to the Sabi River. I won’t lie – we waited for the better part of 90 minutes waiting for them to make their walk but they didn’t play ball so don’t hold your breath.

The dam also attracts many different species of bird and if you are into amateur bird photography then bring your camera down to the “hippo hide” and see what you can spy.

We didn’t eat at the hotel at all but we did do chocolate milkshakes on a couple of days which was nice! The menu at the hotel looked reasonably priced for those paying in Rands!

The hotel also has events on in the day and evening for kids and adults of all shapes and sizes so there is no shortage of stuff to do.

All in all – a nice family resort – a bit of tranquility without feeling like you are too far away from home.

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Having arrived in Cape Town at the start of the tourist season, I have found myself looking very critically at all of the “tourist attractions” trying to decide which ones are worth the exorbitant prices to visit them.

(Let’s just say that my love of the Cape was sorely soured after forking out R600 for 3 burgers and 2 breakfasts at a local coffee shop in Simons Town.)

Anyways we were at the Two Oceans Cape Town Aquarium yesterday and were pleasantly surprised – it is really a nice time out.

Price wise it was a little pricey – R310 for two adults and three children but the presentation and environment was good and the kids had a really good time.

Not bad for a couple of hours and it backs on to the V&A Waterfront as well as the local market so plenty to see and do once you leave the aquarium.