Leopard Group Includes Mossel Bay Property in its Studies

Leopard Group Includes Mossel Bay Property in its Studies

The Cape Leopard Trust has installed a camera trap on Mossel Bay’s Bonniedale Holiday Farm as part of its work to track and study the Province’s most important predator species.

“We’ve been running surveys in the Gamkaberg and the Swartberg since October 2007, and in the Cedarberg since 2004,” said the Trust’s founder, Quinton Martins.

“Throughout the mountain areas, the surveyed population is quite low, so the fact that there is only so much sustainable habitat is obviously of concern.”

Mr. Martins, who spent ten years in the safari industry before beginning his studies, is currently preparing his PhD thesis which aims “to provide a broad understanding of leopard populations in the Cape mountains, their home ranges, and their diet.
 
“The leopard is the apex species in the Western Cape,” he said. “Without it, the effects could be dire, and you can imagine the knock-on effects it would have on the ecosystem if they were wiped out.

“The need to preserve leopard and their habitat has an effect on managing human-wildlife interactions, and therefore, of course, on the tourism industry.

“The leopard is a charismatic species that has the ability to attract people’s attention. It only occurs in certain wilderness areas, and even though you barely ever see them, the mere fact that they exist - and that you might experience through seeing their spoor - adds to the attraction of an area.”

He said that the Cape Leopard Trust provided scholarships to a number of students, and that Rhodes University PhD candidate Gareth Mann was studying leopard movement and activity in the Gamkaberg and Swartberg areas.

“I’m trying to identify their core areas, and how they move between areas - and hopefully this information will eventually inform decisions regarding the establishment of movement corridors and priority areas for conservation,” said Mr. Mann.

Conservation Student Aneri Vlok said that the cameras had helped to positively identify seventeen individuals in the Gouritz area - a broad corridor of land surrounding the Gouritz River, which runs from the Swartberg Mountains and into the Indian Ocean just west of Mossel Bay.

“We have 15 stations in this region, with some on private land - like the one at Bonniedale - and some on state land that’s managed by CapeNature - like the ones on the adjacent Gamkaberg Nature Reserve and in the Gamkaskloof (Die Hel - which forms part of the Swartberg Nature Reserve),” she said.

The cameras are triggered when animals move across their infra-red beams, so, she said, “suddenly we have data on all kinds of species in this area.

“The discovery of bushpig was a surprise in one area, and in Matjiesvlei a farmer was surprised to learn that he had kudu on his land,” she said - although many other seldom seen animals - like aardvark, aardwolf, and honey badgers - have also been pictured by the cameras.

She said that the camera that had been installed on Bonniedale had been up for about 3 weeks, and that it would be serviced for the first time in another two to three weeks’ time.

Cape Nature’s Tom Barry is based at the Gamkaberg Nature Reserve - which lies just north of Bonniedale - and was instrumental in choosing the farm as the site for a camera.

“Nico Hesterman (Bonniedale’s owner) had mentioned that he’d seen brown hyena in the area, and we thought it might be a good idea to set up a camera there in combination with our study to try and see if we could get pictures of them and the leopard,” he said.

Brown hyena are generally thought to have last been seen in the area between a hundred and a hundred and fifty years ago, and, said Mr. Barry, “if we can pick up a breeding population in the area, it would be interesting to know about it.”

Mossel Bay Tourism’s Marcia Holm said that the Trust’s work was exciting for the town’s tourism industry because it highlighted the broad spectrum of attractions in the Mossel Bay, Garden Route, and Klein Karoo areas.

“Many people still associate Mossel Bay with beach holidays, and while our beaches rate amongst our most popular attractions, there is so much more to do in the Mossel Bay region - like exploring the mountains that are the home of the Cape leopard,” she said.

“Mossel Bay is presently running a campaign to attract South Africans during this year’s World Cup, and our experience is that local visitors are often much more adventurous when it comes to getting out onto the back roads and visiting places like Bonniedale.

“The Trust’s work therefore serves to highlight the rewards that you could enjoy in the wilderness areas surrounding Mossel Bay,” she said - while Mr. Martins stressed that leopards were definitely not a threat to people.

“As predators go, leopards are relatively small,” he said.

Added: 2010-03-05 07:30:45

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Rising Surf Star in FIFA 2010 year

Proud Mossel Bay Proud of Young Surfing Star Shaun Joubert
 

Eighteen year old Shaun Joubert - a Mossel Bay resident and rising star on the international Pro Junior Surfing Tour - is in Hawaii right now, riding epic waves with a bunch of other youngsters from around the world under the direction of Billabong Australia’s international marketing manager (and the company’s international junior team manger), Sasha Stocker.
 
“He’s working towards getting into the WQS (World Qualifying Series) and, eventually, into the WCT (Association of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour),” said his mother, Minette.
 
“He’s been in Australia since the middle of January, but Billabong have now taken them over to Hawaii for a training camp while the big WCT Snapper Rocks contest is under way.
 
“He told us they’re having the best swell, and the surf’s been pumping.”
 
South Africa’s 2009 surfing champion, Llewellyn Whittaker - who grew up in Mossel Bay, went on to surf both the WQS and the British Tour (in which he took the Triple Crown Championship in 2007), and now owns the Waves School of Surfing and manages its Schools Club development programme - said that Shaun was an example of how sport, mixed with determination and dedication, can help young people to create significant opportunities for themselves.
 
“In Shaun’s own way he came from humble beginnings, because he was born and bred inland, and he only came to live in Mossel Bay and started surfing when he was nine - which is late by many children’s standards,” said Mr. Whittaker.  
 
“But we have such fantastic waves in this area, and just as it opened up opportunities for me, Mossel Bay has opened up opportunities for Shaun - and he’s taken them and turned them into a promising career as a professional sportsman.”
 
Ms. Joubert (a neurosurgeon) said that she and her husband, Anton (a medical scientist), are adamant that Shaun should have a complete education, and that he had matriculated from Point High School last year.
 
“It’s hard earning a living as a sportsman, especially because you rely on your body for your success, so it’s worthwhile investing in a good education.
 
“The school was very supportive, and always helped him along, even though he was often away on tour for months on end.
 
“But they also made him feel very special: he represented South Africa four times in a row as a junior, and when all the children had to wear their school blazers on Tuesdays, the school asked him - and one or two others who also had national colours - to wear their Springbok blazers instead.
 
“I promise you, he wore that blazer with a huge smile! He said that making the SA Junior team was one of the best things he’s ever done.”
 
Shaun - who took a bronze medal in the Under-16 division at the world championships in Brazil two years ago, and came third in the Oakley Global Challenge in 2008 - is now sponsored by major international surf brands Billabong, Oakley, Dakine, Reef Brazil, Nixon Watches and Future Finns. He is also an accomplished photographer (a passion he shares with his father), and a more than competent journalist and blogger (see his interview with Seth Hulley, the manager of the Oakley Australia team, at http://shaunjoubert.wordpress.com).
 
“We’re very excited about Shaun’s success because he’s a real role model for the kids who are taking part in the Schools Club programme, which is one of the development projects we’ve sponsored,” said Mossel Bay Tourism’s Marcia Holm.
 
She explained that Mossel Bay Tourism’s support for sport was based on the conviction that it can be both a positive influence in young people’s lives, and an important driver of tourism for the town.
 
“Mossel Bay is an important beach holiday destination, and the beach means surfing to many people, so just by succeeding the way he has, Shaun has brought attention to the town. And for that, we’re both proud and grateful,” she said.
 
“For now,” said Ms. Joubert, “he’s doing something he really loves in many beautiful places all around the world.
 
“These are memories he’ll treasure forever.”

Added: 2010-02-26 16:34:18

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Business Backing Tourism here in Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay Tourism Launches Campaign to Attract Membership From Business Community

Mossel Bay Tourism has launched a campaign to attract membership from the town’s business community.

“The 2010 FIFA World Cup perfectly demonstrates how tourism affects every sector of the economy, because while the driver of the event is football, its engine is tourism - or the movement and hosting of people into and around the country,” said Mossel Bay Tourism’s Chief Operations Officer, Marcia Holm.

“It’s therefore as a direct result of tourism that the Government has built and upgraded so many stadiums and so much infrastructure over the past six years: a programme that’s provided jobs and business opportunities for everyone from labourers to professionals - many of whom are probably not even aware how tourism has benefited them, nor how they’ve contributed to the tourism economy.

“Clearly there would have been no incentive or reason to do all of this work if the tourists - whom we’ve become used to calling ‘the fans’ - weren’t prepared to travel to South Africa or to visit our host cities.

“It’s the same in our regional and city-based economies: tourism touches everyone who lives in Mossel Bay, and every business is directly or indirectly affected by the performance of the tourism industry,” she said.

She pointed out that tourism was particularly important in the Western Cape, which has the highest proportion of graded hotels of any province in South Africa.

“It’s an indication of the impact of tourism on the Provincial economy that the Western Cape boasts 30% of all hotels on the National Star Grading Council’s list, while Gauteng, which is generally considered our richest region, has 25%, and KwaZulu Natal, which has the biggest tourism marketing budget of any of the provinces, has only 11%.

“Consider the wide variety of businesses that serve Mossel Bay’s hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, self-catering establishments and tourist attractions.

“From petrol stations to banks, from accounting, law and medical practices to engineering works and plumbing companies, there isn’t a company in Mossel Bay that can say that it doesn’t benefit from the tourism industry.

“Even the Municipality benefits, because it receives a significant proportion of its rates and taxes from tourism,” she said.

“Therefore, we’re appealing to all businesses in Mossel Bay to join Mossel Bay Tourism, and to get involved in its activities - and in that way to contribute to the sustainable economic success of the town,” she said.

Ms. Holm said that Mossel Bay Tourism’s Chairman, Neels Zietsman, was an example of a businessperson who understood that tourism and the wider business community were inextricably linked.

“As a consultant with Pam Golding Properties - which is a business that you might consider outside of the mainstream of tourism - my own fortunes are definitely influenced by the state of tourism,” said Mr. Zietsman.

“When Mossel Bay is busy with tourists, we’re busy - and vice versa.

“That’s why it’s in the best interests of every businessperson in Mossel Bay to work for increased tourism to the town,” he said.

Ms. Holm said that membership of Mossel Bay Tourism was inexpensive, and that the collection of money was not the motivation behind the drive.

“The largest proportion of our income comes from our Municipal grant, and membership fees make up only a small percentage of our operational and marketing budgets,” she said.

“This campaign is really about including the wider business community in the activities of the one sector of the economy that affects all of us the most.”

For moiré information, please contact membership@visitmosselbay.co.za, or call 044 691 2202.

Added: 2010-02-26 08:09:06

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FIFA 2010 Great Prices in Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay Keeps Rates Low During World Cup

Mossel Bay’s accommodation providers and tourism product owners are planning to attract both South Africans and foreign visitors this winter by charging their normal low season rates during the course of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

“As a result of the media focus on accommodation and transport prices and possible price gouging during the World Cup, we asked our members to mail us their World Cup period rates - and none of those who responded will be charging anything more than they would during the rest of our low season, which stretches from just after Easter until well into September,” said Mossel Bay Tourism’s Marcia Holm.

“Once again, Mossel Bay has proved itself to be one of South Africa’s most affordable holiday destinations, especially when you consider that we have an incredibly broad spectrum of accommodation - from ocean-front camping sites and 4-star hotels to mountainside resorts and self-catering units.”

She said that the biggest attractions for Mossel Bay in winter were the same as its biggest attractions in summer - it’s warm, stable weather and its natural environment.

“With more than 300 days of sunshine in every 365, our visitors can enjoy our beaches, the warm Indian Ocean, our fynbos, our game reserves, and the Outeniqua Mountains every day of the year, and our accommodation providers have taken full advantage of both the weather and the environment in the establishment of their businesses to best suit their guests.

“This is also reflected in the cross-section of members who replied to our survey.

“So, for instance, during the period of the World Cup - and for the rest of our winter season - you can hire a caravan stand for R100 per night, or a 4 bedroom, self-catering beach house from R1,200.00 per night at the ATKV Hartenbos Resort; you can stay in the 4-star Eight Bells Mountain Inn on a bed and breakfast basis from R500.00 per person per night; you can rent a 2 bedroom self-catering apartment at Anchor House on the Mossel Bay Golf Estate for R650 per night (a price which includes registration as a guest of the golf course, so that you can play at members’ rates); or you can enjoy dinner, bed and breakfast with two game drives at the Garden Route Game Lodge (an Official accommodation provider to the 2010 FIFA World Cup) from R965 per person per night,” she said.

Ms. Holm said that it was important to note that these were rack rates - and not special offers.

“I really want to emphasise that everyone can find value for money in Mossel Bay, which is first and foremost a child-friendly, family-oriented holiday resort town,” she said.

Added: 2010-02-26 08:04:36

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We are pround to support this initiative in 2010

Media Release. 18 February 2010. Mossel Bay Tourism

Bob Skinstad - here in ‘jail’ to raise funds for his bobsforgood foundation - will be in Mossel Bay on the 24^th of February to donate more than 500 pairs of shoes to scholars at two local schools, and to address the Sakemanne Gholf Dag at the Mossel Bay Golf Course. Photograph: Shari Lee Thompson

Mossel Bay Schools to Benefit from Bob Skinstad’s Walk This Way Tour of the Western Cape

Former Springbok captain, flanker and eighth man, Bob Skinstad (who wore his country’s jersey 42 times), will visit Mossel Bay next week to deliver more than 500 pairs of shoes to children at two of the town’s neediest primary schools - KwaNonqaba’s Isalathisu and Imekhayha.

Mr. Skinstad’s visit will be facilitated by the Meet The People Cares trust - an organisation set up by a local tour operator to manage donations received from domestic and international travellers - and has been organised as part of his ‘bobsforgood’ Walk This Way campaign, which was launched at the V&A Waterfront on February the 15^th (for the launch, Mr. Skinstad spent five nights in a mock jail cell to raise funds for the bobsforgood foundation).

Mr. Skinstad created bobsforgood in order to help tackle the detrimental social consequences arising from the fact that some seven million children in South Africa have no shoes.

bobsforgood is a business that sells shoes - but it’s a business with a difference, because all its profits are directed into the purchase of shoes for the underprivileged. So, for every pair of shoes sold on the open market, bobsforgood donates a brand new pair to one of South Africa’s neediest children.

The bobsforgood business runs in conjunction with the bobsforgood foundation, which receives funds from the public and other sources for the donation of school shoes.

The ‘Walk This Way’ campaign was created in conjunction with a forward-thinking, business orientated, Cape Town-based NGO called ‘Heart’ (www.heartglobal.org), which aims to transform the quality of peoples’ lives by establishing and incubating social enterprises which address a wide range of social and environmental challenges.

As part of the campaign, and after his ‘release from jail’ on the 20^th of February, Mr. Skinstad will undertake a week-long tour of the Western Cape - visiting Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Mossel Bay, George, Knysna, Worcester, Paarl and Bellville. He plans to meet community groups, business leaders, politicians, other NGOs, and the general public at each of his stops.

In Mossel Bay he will meet the Mayor, Alderlady Marie Ferreira, visit various small businesses on a Meet The People Tour, and address local business people at the annual Sakemanne Gholf Dag (Business People’s Golf Day) at the Mossel Bay Golf Club.

bobsforgood will use the funds raised during Mr. Skinstad’s tour to donate shoes to the neediest children in the Western Cape.

“Meet The People Cares - which was created by Jauckie Viljoen of Back Road Safaris - is a not-for-profit trust that demonstrates the good that tourism can bring to a community, and we’re very proud that Bob Skinstad has chosen it as the vehicle through which he will make this generous donation to these two local schools,” said Mossel Bay Tourism’s Marcia Holm.

A spokesperson for Mr. Skinstad, Claire Alexander, said, “Bob is extremely grateful to Meet The People Cares, and to Jauckie, who has been liaising with the campaign in assisting and helping with the arrangements for this visit to Mossel Bay.

“Bob aims to raise as much money as possible on this tour as then he can help more children. With the help of the MEC for Education, we have identified 4,000 of the neediest children, and we can only reach them all with the public's help.

“The most important part of the entire campaign is public participation, which will enable bobsforgood to donate to as many schools in the Western Cape as possible.”

Businesspeople wishing to attend Mr. Skinstad’s presentation at the Sakemanne Gholf Dag should contact Pierre Venter on 082 492 2623, or Jauckie Viljoen on 083 262 2307.

To make a contribution and for more about the bobsforgood foundation, visit www.bobsforgoodfoundation.org; for more about Meet The People Cares, visit www.meet-the-people.co.za; and for more about Mossel Bay, go to www.visitmosselbay.co.za.

Added: 2010-02-18 09:11:39

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2010 we support this approach

We have a link from tourism web-site to all accommodation adresses, tours and activities, with all current rates, use the whl travel-back road safaris, who have people on the ground.

Mossel Bay Tourism: Special Request to Members

The soccer fans are coming (well, some of them are) - but where will South Africans go during this year’s World Cup?

As a result of increasingly pessimistic outlook for international tourism to South Africa during the period of the World Cup, and because of the withdrawal of the Paraguayan team from its agreement to base itself in Mossel Bay during the event, Mossel Bay Tourism has embarked on an aggressive domestic tourism marketing strategy aimed at ensuring bookings from our traditional South African market during this year’s extended winter holidays (which will run from the 9th of June to the 13th of July).

You will have seen our first media release in the campaign - Mossel Bay Open For South Africans During World Cup - and we have booked advertising space in various publications (including the Beeld Vakansieskou Supplement which will be published later this month).

One of the major problems affecting the World Cup - and, indeed, the whole of South Africa’s Tourism industry - has been the question of price gouging, or the inflation of accommodation and travel prices to take short term advantage of the event. Tour operators and travel agents have reported increases of up to 500% in the cost of rooms, coach hire, and even air fares.

This has affected both our foreign markets (where travellers know the value of the rand, even if they are buying in pounds, euros or dollars), and our domestic market (which means that South Africans are wondering where they can safely go on holiday this year).

So far (and unsurprisingly), we haven’t heard of any price gouging going on in Mossel Bay, and we would like to make it quite clear to South Africans that they can still come here for an affordable holiday in 2010.

PLEASE WOULD YOU THEREFORE allow us to publish your winter period rates and special offers?

We envisage using this information on the web site http://www.visitmosselbay.co.za/ and, perhaps, in media releases in the coming weeks.

If you’re happy to take part in our Winter 2010 Domestic Marketing Campaign, please mail your special offers and winter period rates to manager@visitmosselbay.co.za

Thanks and with best regards

Neels Zietsman

Chairman

Added: 2010-02-16 09:35:14

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Mossel Bay Open For South Africans During World Cup

Mossel Bay Open For South Africans During World Cup

With all the hype about the hundreds of thousands of foreign soccer fans who are expected to stream into South Africa for the FIFA World Cup in June and July - what are South African holidaymakers going to do this winter? Especially since many of the country’s hotels and lodges are expecting to be fully booked, prices are skyrocketing in many destinations, and local schools will be enjoying a six-week-long mid-year break?

“They should come and visit us,” said Mossel Bay Tourism’s Marcia Holm. “Mossel Bay will definitely be open for South Africans during the World Cup.

“The host cities around South Africa are going to be crowded, busy and bustling, and while the Garden Route and Klein Karoo regions certainly are expecting more visitors than usual, Mossel Bay is without a doubt going to be the place to be this winter - especially as most of our accommodation establishments are currently quoting very affordable winter season prices,” she said.

Ms. Holm said that the town’s tourism industry had always benefited from the area’s good weather. “We have 300 days of sunshine a year, and our weather in winter is particularly mild and pleasant, and is characterised by sunny, wind-free days - so it’s a fantastic time to take a holiday.”

She pointed out that wintertime was when the fynbos was flowering at its best, when the waves were at their finest, and when the beaches, the shops, and the roads were relatively quiet and uncrowded.

She said, too, that Mossel Bay was a good base from which to explore the region.

“The town has become known for our beaches - and we definitely have fantastic beaches - but Mossel Bay is also at the foothills of the Outeniqua Mountains, which offer endless opportunities for exploration, and adventure, and which host some of our most sought-after accommodation establishments and camp sites.

“Over the past few years, a number of game farms and private nature reserves have opened up in our area, and winter is a very pleasant time of the year for game and bird watching. But it’s also the best time of the year for whale- and dolphin watching, because that’s when the migratory species (and especially the southern right whales) are most likely to come to the Bay to mate and calve,” she said.

“Also, within an hour or two’s drive of Mossel Bay, you have all the attractions of the Klein Karoo (the ostrich farms, the mountain passes, the Cango Caves, and so on) and all the attractions of the Garden Route - with its golf courses, it’s forests and its National Park.

“And if you really have to watch the games,” said Ms. Holm, “well, we have television too, you know!”

Mossel Bay Tourism chairman Neels Zietsman said that the town was looking forward to a very enjoyable winter period.

“By basing yourself in Mossel Bay during this year’s World Cup, you’ll be able to experience the kind of traditional, affordable South African holiday for which Mossel Bay has become famous,” he said.

Added: 2010-02-05 12:24:35

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Great News for FIFA 2010 Well Done Team.

New Hotel For Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay’s newest hotel - The Point Village Hotel - has opened for business in the historic heart of the Southern Cape’s quaint harbour town.

“The Point Village has been a favourite family holiday destination for generations, and this hotel aims to continue that tradition,” said the owner and developer of the property, Albert Wiffen.

“The atmosphere is ‘chic yesterday blended with modern today,’ and we’ve gone for a philosophy of ‘never judge a room by its price’,” he said.

The recently completed hotel, which is situated on the corner of Bland and Marsh Streets, offers extremely affordable luxury accommodation in sixteen en-suite rooms (each with its own kitchenette), and seven self-catering suites (each with a fully equipped kitchen and two en-suite bedrooms).

All rooms have sea views and comfortable balconies, and undercover parking is available.

The hotel can accommodate up to 60 guests, but has no breakfast room, so, for people requiring a bed-and-breakfast rate, vouchers (which are redeemable at the neighbouring Delfino’s restaurant) are supplied.

“What makes the Point Village Hotel special is its feel, its relaxed style, and its unique atmosphere, which has something old, something borrowed, something new about it,” said the hotel’s Annemarie le Roux. “So for example we have a number of old photographs of the families who used to holiday in the old houses at The Point, and who had such a lovely time here, and we’ve aimed to recreate that kind of feeling,” she said.

Mossel Bay Tourism’s Marcia Holm said that the opening of a new property of this calibre was a significant event in the history of tourism in the town.

“We believe that Albert has read the market perfectly, and that the Point Village Hotel will appeal to everyone, including South African holiday-makers, international self-drive tourists, and tour companies.

“Its position less than 50 metres from the waves, the beach, and the municipal tidal pool at The Point, and the fact that it is close to the town centre (and within less than five minute’s walk of six beachfront restaurants that offer a variety of cuisines), coupled with Albert’s reputation for service and style, will ensure that The Point Village Hotel will be a major asset for the town,” she said.

Importantly, with the World Cup just months away, and at a time when the tourism industry and the media are paying particular attention to the cost of accommodation and travel in South Africa, the Point Village Hotel has opened at a rate of R495.00 per night for a double room.

“And this won’t go up significantly during the event,” said Ms. le Roux.

Although the hotel has not yet been graded, Ms. le Roux indicated that it would apply for three stars.

The Point Village Hotel will hold an open day on Friday, 5 February, when members of the public and the tourism industry are invited to join Mr. Wiffen and Ms. le Roux for a drink and to inspect the property.

Added: 2010-02-05 12:22:03

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An Eccentric Place to Stay in 2010

Mossel Bay Property One of World’s ‘Ten Most Eccentric Places To Stay’

View this release and an image on line here

Mossel Bay’s Santos Express, which offers accommodation aboard a train parked permanently alongside the town’s popular and historic Santos Beach, has been named the second of the world’s ‘Ten Most Eccentric Places To Stay.’

“This wasn’t a competition or anything: we just received notice one day that we’d been placed on the list,” said Santos Express owner, Allan Robertson.

“We’re stoked!”

The world’s leading ‘Most Eccentric Place to Stay’ is a hostel built in a Boeing 747-200 airliner that’s been permanently parked at an airport near Stockholm in Sweden. Other places on the list included a former prison in Ljubljana, Slovenia, a middle-age fortress in Padua, Italy, various hotels that now occupy ships at permanent moorings in places like Amsterdam, and the interior of a disused opal mine in the Australian desert.

Mr. Robertson said that, although the majority of his guests during the Christmas and Easter Holidays are South Africans, “for the rest of the year, about 80% of our guests come from overseas.

“What attracts them is that it’s very different to your usual four walls and a bed - it’s a real train and you get to sleep in real compartments.

“But the fact that it’s right on the beach is probably the key,” he said.

“We’ve been going for 15 years now, and some of our guests come to Mossel Bay just so that they can stay on a train. The Santos Express has become a destination in itself.”

Mr. Robertson said that the fact that the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe and other trains steamed right past his lodge on a regular basis helped to enhance the atmosphere of the place. “And, of course, many of the guests on the Choo Tjoe come to us for lunch.”

In the same week that Hostels Club announced their list, a Chinese web site named Mr. Robertson’s other product - the Stonehill Restaurant in Little Brak River - one of the ‘100 Best and Most Exciting Restaurants in South Africa.’

The ChinaTravelHong.com site drew its information from Wine Magazine’s 2008 list, and included the Bahia dos Vaqueiros Restaurant (at Mossel Bay’s Diaz Beach Resort), which it described as, “A fine dining Portuguese style restaurant with an up-market feel.”

“Stonehill,” it said, “is an intimate restaurant with French style dining.”

“I think Stonehill has drawn attention because we grow a lot of the food we use ourselves, so it’s organic and the chefs always have fresh and tasty ingredients to work with,” said Mr. Robertson

“We’ve made ourselves part of the slow food movement on purpose, and we take local products and find the best ways of presenting them to our guests.

“Possibly this is why we made it onto this list.

“The Chinese have a very old, complex cuisine and I expect they appreciate the effort that goes into making food the way we do.”

Neels Zietsman, Chairman of Mossel Bay Tourism, congratulated Santos Express, Bahia dos Vaqueiros, and Stonehill on appearing in the Hostels Club and ChinaTravelHong.com lists.

“Mossel Bay Tourism is very aware that the Internet, and its bloggers and journalists, lead the way in setting trends in the 21st Century, and we’re always excited - and very proud - when they single out local products for mention".

Added: 2010-01-30 13:48:00

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Surf during the FIFA World Cup

Mossel Bay’s Schools Surf Club Opens For 2010

Mossel Bay Tourism is supporting a Schools Surf Club - and the hope is that the groms* who are just now learning to stand on their sponsored boards will lead the way to surfing glory (and beach tourism) for the town.
 
British Surfing Association level 3 surf instructor and 2009 South African champion Llewellyn Whittaker, who grew up in Mossel Bay and went on to surf both the World Qualifying Series (the WQS - in which he consistently made the top 100), and the British Tour (in which he took the Triple Crown Championship in 2007), and who returned from training the Junior British Squad in the 2006/7 year to concentrate on surfing and coaching in his home town, is the driving force behind the Waves School Of surfing and its Schools Club.
 
“School Club is free for anyone of school-going age, and takes place every Thursday at Diaz Beach from 3.30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.,” he said.
 
Made possible by sponsorship from the Langeberg Mall and Mossel Bay Tourism, the Club’s aim is to make surfing accessible to everyone in Mossel Bay - and thus increase the depth of surfing’s talent pool.
 
“We had a great summer this year, with awesome waves and some brilliant conditions for learning to surf at Diaz beach,” said Mr. Whittaker.
 
“To date we’ve done beginners’ lessons for 120 people, which was a great turn out considering the current economic situation.  
 
“The biggest thing I find is trying to convince holiday makers from up-country to try surfing. There is a huge difference in mentality here compared to the U.K., where all the holiday makers from Liverpool and Manchester go to places like Newquay just to learn to surf and to have the experience of riding a wave, no matter whether they ever do it again or not.
 
“I do believe that we need to change this mentality so that we can get kids into the water at a young age, and increase the depth of junior surfing in South Africa.
 
“We have world class surfers but only a handful of really good ones come through in each generation.”
 
Mr. Whittaker, who also runs a surf tour company that hosts visitors to the town, would like to see surfing become one of the “top three things to do in Mossel Bay - alongside shark cage diving and visiting a game farm.
 
“Mossel Bay gets a lot of attention when people like Shaun Joubert (a local who is now surfing in the worldwide Pro Junior Series) - and me (when I was on the professional tour) go out to surf,” he said.
 
“The town’s tourism industry can benefit from this in many ways, because Mossel Bay is a place that can accommodate every kind of surfer, from beginners to advanced level chargers. It’s got great waves, and you can surf here throughout the year.
 
“Surfing is a sport with no boundaries. It can open doors for young people looking for a career, it can provide travel opportunities, and it can be a major tourist attraction, and this is why we want to open it up to more people in the town,” said Mr. Whittaker.
 
As for the School Club, he said, “If the groups start getting bigger we can start to run it twice a week. But we do need to get people’s cell phone numbers so that we can use our group text messaging service to let everyone know whether the conditions mean we can surf or not.”
 
He said that the School Club was part of a bigger project that includes inter-club contests with Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Buffalo Bay, Victoria Bay, and Still Bay, and that he hoped that this would lead to the establishment of a major, Mossel Bay-based professional, international surfing tournament.”
 
“An event such as Llewellyn has in mind would hugely increase Mossel Bay’s profile, and bring it to the attention of a whole new travelling market,” said Mossel Bay Tourism’s chairman, Neels Zietsman, “and this is why we are happy to support the School Club.
 
“By setting the building blocks in place one at a time, the Club and the Waves School of Surfing are building a solid foundation for a major step forward in the not too distant future,” he said.

Added: 2010-01-30 13:43:42

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