28 May 2012

Mauritius, what a great place to have a relaxing island holiday and it's only 4 hours away from South Africa. This was my third trip to Mauritius, previously visiting the Grand Bay and Trou aux Biches areas on the North West side for family holidays. This visit was more work related - as I was attending our Travel Counsellors Conference. We were hosted at the 5-Star Shandrani Resort & Spa in Blue Bay on the South East Coast, only 10 minutes from Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport. Shandrani is a fully inclusive resort inclusive of all meals, all drinks, most sports, activities, recreation and entertainment, with 5 restaurants, 2 swimming pools, 3 beaches and a Wellness Centre. It is the perfect getaway for families, couples & even honeymooners. If you want to explore the island, Port Louis is only 40 kilometres away and Grand Bay 80 kilometres away. I had the opportunity to visit another two properties in the area, the 4-Star Preskil Beach Resort and the 3-Star Astroea Beach Resort, so if you need any advice on Mauritius I'm sure I can help you make the right decision. Regards Mark

11 May 2010

I spoilt my wife to a special weekend away in the Eastern Cape where we stayed at the Idwala Game Lodge. The Idwala Game Lodge is situated in the Frontier Country of the Eastern Cape of South Africa, and it is about 100 kilometres from Port Elizabeth when travelling on the N2 towards Grahamstown. This weekend away was a special trip to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. What an awesome weekend it was. We were really taken care of and we even had our own personal game ranger. The meals that they served were absolutely delicious and were of the best quality. During the game drives we got to see the “Big 5” as well as many other animals. We enjoyed a total of four game drives during the weekend. Each of the game drives were about three hours long, so getting to see all the animals was never a problem. Idwala Game Lodge is malaria free Game Lodge which is perched on a cliff overlooking splendid valleys and it only caters for four couples at a time. This lodge is very popular among Honeymooners and many have hosted their weddings at the Lodge.

30 June 2009

I enjoyed five days on Hamilton Island sponsored by Tourism Australia as part of "Corroboree Europe 2009". I joined up with 300 other travel agents from all over Europe who attended this Educational / Familiarisation trips to various locations in Australia. Hamilton Island is one of 74 Islands on The Great Barrier Reef. It is the perfect location to enjoy on that island getaway experience or dream honeymoon. The flying time from Brisbane to Hamilton Island is a short one hour flight or from Sydney to Hamilton Island is only a two hour and a 20 minute flight. The first day we spent at leisure exploring the island. I spend the day jet skiing, I enjoyed a sunset cruise and that evening we attended a function where the winner of the "Best Job in the World" was announced. There were over 36 000 applicants worldwide that applied for the position of "Island Caretaker". On the second day we went out to the reef with Fantasea Cruises. We enjoyed an hour and a half trip on a huge catamaran that can hold up to 300 passengers and travels up to a speed of 30 knots. We spent the day snorkelling and diving. For the people who are afraid of water there are two reef submarines and underwater observation areas so that they can safely witness the sea life. The following three days were spent attending a workshop with over a 100 suppliers so that I could get to know the accommodation, tours, transport etc on Hamilton Island. If you would like more information on Hamilton Island – please give me a call. Regards Mark

19 June 2009

I was invited to attend "Corroboree Europe 2009" by Tourism Australia after qualifying as an Australian Specialist. Corroboree is an aborigine word for a "noisy gathering". We were a group of eight South Africans who attended a week long Educational/Familiarisation trip in the Sydney area. Tourism New South Wales organised all the sightseeing and hotel inspections. The experience was like taking part in the "Amazing Race" which we have watch on TV recently. We visited the Sydney Opera House, Darling Harbour, Circular Quay, Harbour Bridge, Kings Cross, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Football Stadium, theatres, night clubs, Sydney Aquarium & Wildlife Park, China Town, the historic Rocks area (including a pub tour), Double Bay, the Gap (the heads of the harbour), Bondi Beach to Tamarama & Bronte Coastal Walk, Bonza Bicycle Tour, sunset cocktail cruise round Sydney Harbour, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Tower Observatory Deck for 360 degree views and dinner at the rotating Tower Restaurant. We stayed in numerous hotels and did sight inspection tours visiting many other hotels. The restaurants that we dined in were all top class restaurants. We then spent two days out in the Blue Mountains area and I got to experience the wildlife and to visit the Jenolan Caves and Scenic World. This trip to Australia was a great experience for me because my last visit was as a child. Australia is awesome; I now know why so many South Africans live there.

02 December 2008

I joined fellow colleagues from across the globe to celebrate our success and gain further travel knowledge when our company Travel Counsellors invited us to its annual conference in Marbella. I was invited to the luxurious resort in the Costa del Sol as a reward for my hard work and dedication to providing my customers with the highest levels of personal service. I was joined by fellow Travel Counsellors from across the globe at this spectacular event, which was sponsored by the Spanish Tourist Office and the tourist offices of Andalucia and Costa Del Sol and was the largest travel agent event held by a UK travel company this year. I was able to sample the fantastic culture and sights that the Costa del Sol has to offer and gain a wealth of knowledge about this fantastic destination. This included visits to an array of hotels and a host of special excursions including wine tasting, golf, paella cooking, jeep excursions, flamenco dancing, rock climbing, abseiling, archery, mountain biking and a visit to Malaga and the famous Picasso Museum. The airports in Madrid and Malaga are quick and easy to transfer through. The local people are very friendly and most speak English. There are over 8000 pubs/night clubs and 60 golf courses in the region.Buses and taxis are easily available everywhere. They boast about having 325 days of sunshine a year.

28 October 2008

We have been fortunate enough to have had a couple of wonderful overseas holidays. Our most recent holiday was to the United Kingdom in June 2006. That particular summer was when London and surrounding areas experienced a heat wave, but needless to say us South Africans were used to that type of heat. We stayed with family in Harlow, and a wonderful experience for our kids was travelling by train into London. Travelling on the underground was quite an eye-opener for us, especially at rush hour. We spent two full days in London, visiting places like Madame Tussauds, Buckingham Palace, The London Eye, Harrods, and the list goes on. For my son who is sports mad, in addition to seeing the New Arsenal Stadium and New Wembley Stadium, a tour of Lord Cricket Grounds was the highlight of his trip. Obviously for our teenage daughter, shopping was the best, and she shopped till she dropped!!! Being an avid motorcyclist, I was fortunate to meet up with friends and go to Donnington to watch the Motor GP. We flew from London to Scotland, where we spent just short of two weeks with my wife's family in a place called Skelmorlie, which is near to Greenock. We stayed in a flat overlooking the River Clyde, and what a beautiful view!! We visited places like Largs, did a ferry trip to Rothsea, and spent a day in Glasgow. A family member had a yacht and we enjoyed a couple of daily sailing trips to some wonderful places. We did a day trip to Edinburgh and visited the Castle and many other tourist attractions. Scotland is so beautiful and so scenic. Greenock Cricket Club organised for our son who was 10 at the time, to play a match for them. He played with the Under 17's and even managed to take a wicket!!! The weather was stunning, and we have very fond memories of a wonderful holiday.