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Webnews February 2004 |
Upcoming
events
More than 16 000 swimmers of all races will take
to the water at Midmar Dam on Sunday 7th February
for the world's largest open water swimming event.
This will be the 31st staging of the Midmar Mile
and the field grows steadily in numbers every year.
With the water level at Midmar having risen appreciably
in the last week, 2004 is shaping up as the best race
ever, according to the organisers. Would-be swimmers
can enter online until Feb 4 and thereafter at the
start line on the day.
On Sat 7th Feb, the day before the big race, the
Midmar leg of the Seals Ironman Triathlon and the
Ironman Biathlon will take place
For further info, go to www.midmarmile.co.za
Several of the country's top brands - as well as
some of our craziest comedians - will perform at the
popular Up the Creek, to be held on the banks of the
Breede River, near Swellendam in the south-western
Cape from 6-8 February.
Among the musicians and bands are Arno Carstens,
Hog Hoggidy Hog, Flat Stanley, Jack Hammer, Wonderboom,
Godessa and Tumi & the Volume. Comedy acts will
include Cokey Falkow, Dave Levinson, Adam Adams and
Chris Forrest.
The festival kicks off at 16 30 hrs on Friday (6th)
and ends at 1600 on Sunday (8th). Bring tent, party
costume, swimsuit and towel, and special drinks. There
will be lots of food and food and wine on sale, as
well as a flea market.
Admission is R360 per head (for 13 yrs and over);
for 12 and under, admission is free.
For more info, see www.overberginfo.com
This travel expo with a difference takes place alongside
the ICT South Africa conference and business-travel
exhibition at the Sandton Convention Centre, from
25-27 February. It's designed to give smaller tourism
destinations and product manufacturers the opportunity
to display their wares to the general public and tourism
trade. Expo categories include accommodation, cultural,
heritage, outdoor and adventure, transport and catering.
If you are looking for something different to do
and see in Gauteng, the Tourism Showcase promises
plenty of opportunities…
For further info, go to www.rai.co.za
Billed as the ultimate mountain-biking experience,
the eight-stage Cape Epic starts in Knysna on Saturday
Feb 28th and ends at Spier Estate near Stellenbosch
on Saturday 6th March.
The route winds through 750 kilometres of beautiful
Western Cape countryside and across some of the country's
most spectacular mountain passes. Each stage begins
at 7am and ends at around 5pm The race is open to
teams of two riders, amateur and pro, over 18 years
of age. A team must stay together at all times.
The race is fully serviced and riders will be provided
with tented accommodation, breakfast and dinner, route
maps, energy drinks, medical support etc. The organisers
promise to deliver 'an unsurpassed and unforgettable
mountain biking and African travel experience'
For further info, go to www.cape-epic.co.za
The many and various aspects of South Africa's largest
city are depicted through the lenses of five South
African and one British photographer The five are
the eminent Jurgen Schadeburg, Chris Kirchoff, Hugh
Fraser, Bettina Andrag and Robert Rich, along with
Londoner Leila Amanpour. Schadeburg will be exhibiting
his new photo-essay on Kliptown.
The exhibition will take place at the Absa Gallery
in Main Street, Johannesburg City Centre. All works
will be on sale and the proceeds will go directly
to the artists themselves.
Kirchoff and Fraser exhibited similar versions of
their work at the 'Johannesburg Now' exhibition at
the Fifth Biennale of Architecture and Design in Sao
Paolo in September 2003. Their success in Brazil prompted
The Johannesburg Tourism Company to stage a similar
exhibition here. 'Celebrating Johannesburg' promises
to be a "refreshing visual experience for visitors"
| Did
You Know - That the only street in the world
to house two Nobel Peace Prize winners is in Soweto,
the sprawling township to the south west of Johannesburg,
where the Children's Revolution broke out in 1976?
Both former President Nelson Mandela and Archbishop
Desmond Tutu have houses in Vilakazi Street, Orlando
West Soweto. |
News & trends
-
is to expand its capacity to be able to accommodate
13 000 people, making it the biggest convention centre
in the country. A R395 million expansion programme
will add a 6000-seat auditorium, a 200-room three
star hotel and an indoor sports arena to the current
facilities, which have successfully housed several
large international conferences.
The re-development
of the ICC and the opening of the huge uShaka
Marine World at Durban Point in April 204 will significantly
enhance
Durban's attractiveness as a conference and tourism
destination.
- Among
the most well-known are South Beach, Durban, Margate
on the KZN South Coast, Humewood in Port Elizabeth,
Kleinmond near Hermanus and Fourth Beach, Clifton
in Cape Town. Eleven other beaches are in the pre-Blue
Flag pilot stage. Blue Flag status is awarded annually
to beaches which meet the highest standards in the
areas of safety, amenities and the environment.
-
following the introduction of lion into the reserve
just over a month ago. While other reserves in the
region cater for the top end of the market, Lalibela
aims to attract the middle-market tourist, both foreign
and domestic.
For further information, tel 046 622 4808
-
both in Johannesburg. SA Tourism's new contact details
are: Street address: Bojanala House, 90 Protea Road,
Chislehurston; Postal address Private Bag X10012,
Sandton 2146
Telephone (+27)
11 895 3000 Fax (+27) 11 895 3001
Hidden Gems- another in
an occasional series by Richard Steyn.
Perched atop a hill between Pongola and Mkuze on
the N2 highway, Shayamoya Game and Tiger Fishing Lodge
offers its guests one of the most stunning vistas
to be found in South Africa. Below and beyond, for
as far as the eye can see, stretch the Phongolo Nature
Reserve, the huge Pongolapoort Lake (aka the Jozini
Dam), the purple-coloured Lebombo Mountains and the
kingdom of Swaziland. From a telescope mounted on
the large wooden deck at the central lodge, one may
view more closely Shayamoya's unique attraction -
a large houseboat on the lake, available for hire,
which can sleep up to sixteen people.
Tiger-fishing is the lodge's other speciality. Pongolapoort
Lake is the only water in South Africa that is home
to the combative tiger-fish and a large variety of
other freshwater fish, including bass and carp. The
lodge is well equipped with professional guides, ski
boats, fly-fishing boat, rods, tackle - all that is
necessary to give the keen fisherman a memorable experience.
If fishing is not your bag, there are plenty of other
things to do at Shayamoya, including game drives on
the nearby Phongolo nature reserve (South Africa's
first game reserve), river safaris by boat or canoe
up the Pongola River or guided rhino viewing on foot,
elephant monitoring or horse-riding. For the unenergetic,
there is a swimming pool to lie beside and the aforementioned
wooden deck from which, drink in hand, to soak up
the restful surroundings. The lodge is also an excellent
base from which to explore Mkuze, Tembe Elephant Park
and the splendours of nearby Maputaland.
Accommodation at Shayamoya, a semi-finalist in the
AA Awards in both 2000 and 2001, is provided by ten
self-standing stone-and wood chalets, each commanding
a spectacular view. These tastefully-furnished chalets
-- which include two honeymoon suites - sleep two
people each and are equipped with en-suite bathroom
and outdoor shower. The food served at the central
lodge or outdoors under the stars is good, and the
staff is friendly and attentive.
Shayamoya is particularly popular with visitors from
overseas, who revel in the range of authentic African
experiences that a stay there provides. It's also
a luxurious stopover for travellers between Johannesburg
and Zululand.
(For those simply looking for a bed for the night
and a good dinner, the nearby Tamboti Ridge (a part
of Shayamoya) offers cheaper accommodation in a restful
sub-tropical garden a mere 4kms away.)
Rates for dinner, bed and breakfast at Shayamoya
range from R R800 ppn sharing for dinner, bed and
breakfast, or R 1135 ppn sharing which includes all
meals and one activity, either a game drive or river
safari.
If you're entertaining visitors from overseas, looking
for some fun in the outdoors or simply a quiet few
days away from it all, spectacular Shayamoya awaits
you.
For further information tel +27 34 435 1110 or e
mail shayalodge@saol.com
Website: www.shayamoya.co.za.
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