Newsletter November 2012 |

Need a break? 10% off for all Overland Tours

Time always flies and therefore we would like to remind you how important it is to take a step back and take some time for yourself and your loved ones.

Escape to the most wonderful places in southern Africa. Let these places inspire you and enjoy the real Africa by joining one of our overland tours and have a once in a lifetime experience. Have a look at our tours and maybe in a few weeks’ time you will look right into a lion’s eye, swim with the dolphins, explore the history of mankind or just watch the colourful rainbow over the thundering Victoria Falls and relax at this natural wonder.

If you need a break, we will support you with a 10% discount on all our offered Overland Tours departing until the end of 2012.

#CCC2 Gugulethu Night & Day – Feel the vibe

After #CCC1 on the 14th of July ran very successfully, our team started in the middle of September with the planning of the upcoming event #CCC2. The plan was to stay overnight in a Township. Read what happened…

The tour started at the Central train station with a group of 31 people who caught the train to Helderveld station next to Gugulethu. From here we had a short walk to Mama Noks, who has been organising the homestays in Gugulethu for a few years. We all felt really welcome at Mama Noks and the kids from the neighbourhood came to meet the visitors and play with them. All the Mamas who were hosting us were warm-hearted and considered the visitors as a part of their family. We also experienced how it feels to live in a township. While waiting for the braai over the campfire, we moved with our guides to a shebeen nearby. This was just amazing – we came in touch with the locals and talked to them, played pool or just had a beer and listened to the music. For most of us it was a really unique experience to see the real life of township people. The rest of the night we spent at Mama Noks’s house, had a braai and enjoyed the evening while listening to the music next to the crackling campfire. Last but not least, each of us who went home with their Mamas to the homestays, felt the deep relationships in the families and had a good time with their hosts.

“Only the early bird catches the worm “; and after breakfast with the families we all met at Mama Noks to start the workshop. The idea was to create a bracelet with wire and coloured beads, as explained by Mama Noks. Most of the group did it really well and now they have a souvenir to remember the tour. The next part of the trip was the Khanyisa Church. That´s an important institution in the life of the community in Gugulethu and that’s why you felt the spirit inside. They sang wonderful songs with gorgeous voices and danced to the rhythm of the music. Just fantastic. Finally we started the walking tour with our guides through Gugulethu by visiting Amy Biehl Memorial, Gugulethu Seven Memorial, hostels, shacks, etc.. During the walk we got in touch with the locals and in the shacks we were invited by a friendly man to visit his house and see how he and his family lived. We also had a short break in a local shebeen in the shacks to socialize with the people, play with the kids and hang around. We ended up at Mzoli´s, met the Mamas again and had a braai and felt the vibrant life of Gugulethu again.

During this trip we learned a lot about the life and the culture in the township, saw poverty and living on the breadline, but at the same time there is a lust of life, warm-hearted people and solidarity which we had never seen before.

To say it in summary from one of our participants – “a real life experience in one day”

Share Africa Travel is proudly presenting the first fair-trade certified tour !!!

The FTTSA label is the first initiative that certifies accommodation, tours and other tourism services in South Africa according to the internationally recognized criteria of Fair Trade. Now we are proudly presenting our first tour by Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa. This certification ensures that important criteria like fair wages, working conditions, fair purchasing, fair operations, equitable distribution of benefits, respect for human rights, culture and the environment are strictly adhered to. We know about our responsibility and now you can see that those aren’t only words….

We want to show you our certified tour and hope you’ll think the same way like we do. Then this self-drive tour will become a wonderful and unique experience for you. This 8 day tour shows you the beauty of Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the east of South Africa. You will stay in Johannesburg, experience Soweto, the biggest township in South Africa, and get inspired by the open-hearted people. Dip into a wide range of brilliant arts & crafts and get an unforgettable authentic cultural adventure while you stop at the villages and chat with the locals in the Limpopo Province. Take the chance to explore Kruger National Park and have a mind-blowing time there.

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