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Leadership is the capacity to
translate vision into reality
Newsletter 45 | June 2005
P.O. Box 13600, NOORDSTAD,
9302 E-mail:
info@etniquetravel.co.za
Tel: (051) 406 2500
Fax: (051) 436 3793
To receive our monthly newsletter electronically please send an
e-mail to
info@etniquetravel.co.za
AFTER HOURS EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER:
083 461 2561
What
an exciting time to be in the travel industry!
For
the first time we can recognise the changes that took place and most
of them for the better for both customer and industry. We would like
to share just a few examples with you:
NO LONGER DO YOU WONDER
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Who is getting which share of the cake – the airline, the operator
or the travel consultancy?
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Why do you have to pay for service not up to standard?
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Why not use the internet instead of consulting an unfriendly
travel consultant?
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Why still use the same travel agency if they do not provide
service excellence?
IN THE CHALLENGING NEW WORLD OF TRAVEL,
YOU AS THE CUSTOMER WILL BE LOOKING FOR:
We at
Sure Etnique Travel
are looking forward in meeting you asap!
- Johann Beukes
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A Tale of Two French Towns |
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Moustiers Sainte-Marie and Rocamadour
In every
European country, when you are travelling through the
countryside, you will often come across a small little village:
and quite often, when you decide to linger a few hours, you soon
realise that you have found a jewel not to be missed!
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In the
Haute-Provence region of France, not far after leaving behind
the Gorges du Verdon, the picturesque town of
MOUSTIERS
SAINTE-MARIE
greets the visitor. This region full of poetry, art and legend
set high up in an oasis of springs, sun and colourful
vegetation, welcomes the traveller arriving after an exhausting
day. At every curve the curtain rises to the splendid spectacle,
which reaches its climax in the late afternoon, when the
mountain wall behind the town starts to cast long shadows over
the landscape.
But this is only
after you have experienced the greatness of the Verdon. The magical
canyons of sheer rock face, plunge on both sides of the valley down
to the twisting ribbon of cascading water. On the sinuous cliff top
road a succession of hairpin curves offer amazing views into and
across the deepest and most impressive river gorge in Europe. After
driving the 30 kilometres along the Corniche Sublime on the
southern side of the gorge, you eventually reach the expanse of Lac
de Ste-Croix, an emerald-blue lake. |
But this is only
after you have experienced the greatness of the Verdon. The magical
canyons of sheer rock face, plunge on both sides of the valley down
to the twisting ribbon of cascading water. On the sinuous cliff top
road a succession of hairpin curves offer amazing views into and
across the deepest and most impressive river gorge in Europe. After
driving the 30 kilometres along the Corniche Sublime on the
southern side of the gorge, you eventually reach the expanse of Lac
de Ste-Croix, an emerald-blue lake.
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Protecting
the small town square on the mountain side, and next to the
little bridge over a mountain brook, is among other
stucco-plastered buildings, the Hôtel Le Relais. The
Eisenlohr-family runs this simple, no frills establishment for
the past 45 years.
The hotel
entrance is very unconventional through the cosy bar! A charming
country restaurant offers meals en pension to both locals
and visitors alike. Our favourite room is on the second floor,
facing the bridge and square and capturing the panoramic view of
lavender fields and twisted olive trees.
From the
square as focal point of the town, narrow cobbled streets lead
to the main places of interest: small shops selling earthenware
and artistic souvenirs, picturesque houses with vaulted cellars
and rustic shutters and the ever presence of the tolling bells
of the Church of Sainte-Marie. Going off the beaten track, one
comes across charming and poetic sights: olive groves, houses
with geraniums in bloom, old and mysterious alleyways,
unexpected prospects of environing landscape, finely carved
doors and attractive fountains. |
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Long famous
for its ceramics and lavender, Moustiers is well worth a stroll,
even more, a stay overnight, to really experience the serenity
of the gilded star on a chain, hanging across the ravine behind
the pilgrims chapel; but who put it there and why has almost
been forgotten! The star, now shining in the blue sky, was put
up in 1957, in replacement of the one that fell off some time
earlier.
The
Notre-Dame de Beauvoir chapel is reached by means of a
step-path. As one draws nearer the chapel high up in the small
valley, the scenery seems to sink into the valley. |
Notre-Dame de
Beauvoir speaks to you of the time of the great pilgrimages; when
men came to you in search of love and hope. They hear your voice no
longer and know not where the path is that leads to the star. But
there you are, between heaven and earth, awaiting still the child
who will ascend the steps leading to the sun.
Some 500
kilometres west of Moustiers, in the south west region of France,
one will find ROCAMADOUR. Vast stretches of rock, a
river almost dried up, flowing along the floor of a remarkable
canyon, and there, clinging to the cliff, as if suspended from and
forming part of it, an extraordinary medieval village, rolling out
its single street and concealing in its heart a series of
sanctuaries.
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Rocamadour’s
setting is irresistibly dramatic, particularly early or late in
the day, when the light is indirect. When approaching the
village from the south, the first sight of this sheer limestone
spur rising from a dry canyon, is best experienced from
L’Hospitalet across the valley of Alzou.
Close up the
fortified village loses some of its magic in an undignified
scuffle for parking and the clamour of kitsch-like tram trains,
transporting inquisitive travellers up and down the single
cobblestone path.
Worth
visiting are the modern tapestries by Lurçat in the town hall,
the château dating back to the 14th century, the
black Virgin discovered only in the 17th century as
well as falcon displays over weekends. The history of this
village is just as extraordinary as its site. There are no clues
to reveal why pilgrims visited Rocamadour already in the 9th
century.
For the tired
feet after walking the steep cobbled pathway, nothing is more
relaxing than sipping a glass of cold Chablis white wine at a street
bistro, overlooking the valley below. However, it is only late
afternoon, when all day visitors have left, and the village return
to normal silence again, that one starts to experience the peace,
pilgrims of days gone by must have sensed. |
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If you are
privileged enough to overnight at the Domaine de la Rhue, you will
be offered a rustic, but luxury room in a converted stable, in the
shadow of its regal, ivy-clad château. The caring hosts, Christine
and Eric Jooris, converted the original stables, retaining the old
world character by preserving the weathered beams and implements.
Our room enjoyed an outside entrance off the garden; an ideal spot
for the farm style breakfast prepared by Christine the next morning,
before departing to our next destination in the Bordeaux region.
- Johann Beukes
THOMPSONS LONDON PACKAGES
THOMPSONS TOURS HAS LAUNCHED
THREE NEW THEMED THREE-NIGHT LONDON PACKAGES, INCLUDING THE FUN &
NIGHTLIFE, FAMILY
LONDON AND THE SHOPPING AND
AFTERNOON TEA & PALACES PACKAGES. TO COMPLEMENT THE NEW
PRODUCTS, THOMPSONS IS OFFERING REDUCED ENTRANCE FEES FOR ALL MAJOR
ATTRACTIONS AND SERVICES, INCLUDING MADAM TUSSAUDS, LONDON EYE,
KENSINGTON PALACE, LONDON TRAVELCARDS AND WEST END THEATRE PASSES,
AMONG OTHERS.
EXCITING NEW FAR EAST DESTINATION
MYANMAR, THE FORMER BRITISH COLONY BURMA, IS NOW RE-ENTERING THE FAR
EAST TOURISM MARKET AND HAS ALL THE REQUIRED CREDENTIALS - QUALITY
HOTELS, MODERN GROUND TRANSPORTATION AND A TURBO JET AIR FLEET; THE
CULTURE; AND FRIENDLY PEOPLE. UNSPOILED WHITE SANDY BEACHES; CRYSTAL
WATERS FOR SNORKELLING AND DIVING; GOLF COURSES SURROUNDED BY
PAGODAS; TREKKING IN THE MYANMAR HIMALAYAS; BUDDIST MEDITATION
CENTRES; WORLD HERITAGE SITES AND CRUISES ON THE IRRAWADDY RIVER;
GEMS, PEARLS, LACQUER WARE, TAPESTRIES, SILK, CARVINGS, SILVERWARE -
THIS IS MYANMAR. LAST YEAR’S TSUNAMI DID NOT AFFECT MYAMAR TOURISM
AS NGAPALI BEACH AND NGE SAUNG ARE PROTECTED BY THE SEMI-CIRCULAR
SHAPE OF THE GULF OF BENGAL.
RUSSIAN
TOURISM UNDERGOES A METAMORPHOSIS
RUSSIAN TOURISM HAS
UNDERGONE A MASSIVE TRANSFORMATION AND IS UNRECOGNISABLE FROM THE
OLD SOVIET UNION DAYS WHERE FOREIGNERS WERE CLOSELY WATCHED AND
RESTRICTED IN WHERE THEY COULD GO. YOU CAN NOW TRAVEL FREELY ABOUT
ANYWHERE YOU WANT AND RUSSIA’S HOTELS ARE RAPIDLY INCREASING IN
NUMBER AND QUALITY. CAFES, BARS AND RESTAURANTS HAVE SPRUNG UP
EVERYWHERE IN GREAT VARIETY AND GETTING AROUND HAS BECOME MUCH
EASIER BY ROAD, RAIL OR AIR. INTOURIST HAS ALSO UNDERGONE A RAPID
TRANSFORMATION SINCE THE 1990S. IT WAS PREVIOUSLY A STATE-OWNED
COMPANY WHICH HAD THE MONOPOLY ON FOREIGN TOURISM WITH A HUGE
NETWORK OF HOTELS AND TRAVEL BUREAUX IN RUSSIA AND A NUMBER OF
OFFICES INTERNATIONALLY. AS WITH MOST STATE-RUN COMPANY’S, SERVICE
WAS NOT A PRIORITY AND INTOURIST BEGAN TO BUCKLE UNDER PRESSURE FROM
INDEPENDENT RUSSIAN OPERATORS AND FOREIGN TOUR COMPANIES AFTER THE
FALL OF THE USSR. IT WAS SUBSEQUENTLY BROKEN UP AND PRIVATISED, AND
NOW OPERATES UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF SISTEMA, A LARGE RUSSIAN COMPANY
WITH VARYING INTERESTS.
AVIS - GPS
LAUNCHED AT INDABA
SOUTH AFRICA’S AWARD-WINNING, AND LEADING CAR RENTAL COMPANY, AVIS,
HAS ANNOUNCED THAT ITS RECENTLY INTRODUCED GPS SYSTEM WOULD BE
SHOWCASED AT THE TRAVEL INDABA BEING HELD IN DURBAN THIS YEAR.
ANNOUNCING THE INTENDED INSTALLATION OF THE GPS TECHNOLOGY TO ITS
RENTAL FLEET LAST MONTH, AVIS SAID THAT THE NEVERLOST SATELLITE
NAVIGATION SYSTEM, WHICH WAS DESIGNED TO ALLEVIATE THE PAINS AND
HEADACHES ASSOCIATED WITH DRIVING IN AN UNFAMILIAR AREA, WOULD BE
GENERALLY AVAILABLE AS AN OPTIONAL VALUE-ADDED SERVICE WITHIN ALL
THE MAJOR CITY CENTRES FROM JUNE THIS YEAR. |
