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People value your time
and attention more than your money
Newsletter 49 | October 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
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Travel requires being Streetwise! |
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Once
again, during our recent trip abroad, we again became aware of the
fact that travelling requires more than just an airplane ticket and
accommodation! Sometimes you have to adapt and change itineraries on
the spot. We were fortunate enough to travel to the idyllic regions
of Tuscany, Umbria and the Amalfi Coast. Unfortunately we had to
leave Italy via Fuimicino Rome Airport for Cyprus to attend a
wedding, which never materialized, due to a cancelled flight.
Our
nightmare, however, was to try and communicate with Italian
officials and customs, to try and recover our luggage, which was
already sent through to cargo, as well as the original air tickets
for possible refunding. After a full wasted day’s running from
counter to counter and terminal to terminal, through customs and
back, we eventually got hold of our luggage just before it left Rome
to an unknown destination. Only then could we divert to a new
destination, before returning to South Africa (with much
appreciation to Etnique as back-up at home).
One
thing became evident: never leave any issue to be resolved back at
home. Retain everything before leaving a country. There is a popular
saying: see
Rome and
die;
after
our nightmare, we would rather say see
Rome and
fly!
Never
to see Rome again, if possible!
And the
excuse at every dead end was: blame it on your travel agent! Luckily
we had some inside information. (Refer to I am a Travel Agent)
- Johann Beukes
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On the left bend of the River Main, Miltenberg is
a charming little German village, with a mix of cobblestone
streets and sloping red pitched roofs with loft rooms and
windows.
Although only an
hour’s drive south-east from Frankfurt, in the northern corner
of Bavaria, this little gem has much to offer the inquisitive
traveller: far from the maddening crowd of international
travellers, with locals buying the best at reasonable prices,
street “beergartens”, wine taverns under vine pergolas,
steamboats mooring at the quay, and the oldest inn in Europe!
Zum Riesen is dates back to 1280! |
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Frau Cilly Jöst
and her retired architect husband, Werner, bought this
dilapidated wood structured three storey building some 30 years
ago and started to restore the third floor as an intimate little
home away from home. Speaking only German, and without fax or
e-mail facilities, communication is quite a challenge!
The narrow
pedestrian’s Hauptstrasse runs parallel to the river.
Many fascinating and original little shops, selling German
handicraft and clothing lined both sides of the historic street
façade.
But the reward
of it all makes it worthwhile to consider this detour off the
beaten track, as a last stopover, before flying out of
Frankfurt.
- Johann Beukes |
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I am a travel
agent.... I have advance degrees in accounting, public relations,
marketing, business building, computer science, civil engineering
and Swahili.
I am a travel
agent.... Of course I remember the reservation you booked six years
ago, even though you don't have a confirmation number and you think
it was made under a last name that begins with a T.
I am a travel
agent.... It's no problem for me to give you seven connecting
non-smoking poolside suites with 2 king beds and 4 rollaways in
each, and yes, it is my fault that the hotel does not have a
helicopter pad.
I am a travel
agent.... I speak all languages and have visited every destination.
I am a travel
agent.... It's obvious to me when you book your reservation for
Friday, you really mean Saturday.
I am a travel
agent.... My company has entrusted me with financial information,
and yet I can't tell you why your hotel bill for March 1989 had a
50p phone call because, of course, you shouldn't have to pay for
calls.
I am a travel
agent.... I understand that Joe Blow Ltd. is a vast empire and will
make or break my agency.
I am a travel
agent.... Yes, I am lying when I say there are no seats left at the
lowest price.
I am a travel
agent.... No, it's not a problem for me to quickly construct several
more guest rooms at the hotel you want, and this time I will not
forget the helicopter landing pad!
I am a travel
agent.... I am capable of checking fares for three people, taking
five reservations and answering fifteen calls simultaneously.
I am a travel
agent.... I always know where to find the best vegetarian, kosher,
and Mongolian barbecue restaurants.
I am a travel
agent.... I know exactly what to do in all cities without spending
money.
I am a travel
agent.... I take responsibility for airline food, traffic jams,
rental car flat tires, weather, hotel locations, and the national
economy.
I am a travel
agent.... Of course I can fit you into the hotel at the special
corporate rate because you are affiliated with the Blackburn North
Lawn Bowls club.
I am a travel
agent... I am never offended when I spend 10 hours researching a 12
day Europe itinerary only to hear you say you "booked it yourself
over the internet and saved £30!" I also never gloat when you call
back to say the rate was sold out or that you are stuck in the
middle of nowhere since they cancelled your flight and you cannot
"call" your internet provider to be reprotected on another flight.
I am a travel
agent... I love when people walk up to me at parties and out of the
blue expect me to know the latest airlines fares from Melbourne to
Ibiza via Byron Bay, the Maldives and Nairobi "off the top of my
head".
I am a travel
agent... I love that everyone assumes I get to travel everywhere for
free and when I do get to take advantage of a perk people act like
it is a sin against nature. If you ask me to get you the rate at my
"travel agent discount" I will kill you.
I am a travel
agent... Don't bother telling me any dates or cities since I'm a
mind reader and already have the reservation in my crystal ball
before you can tell me. I smile, empathize, sympathize, console,
cajole, up-sell, down-sell, cross-sell, perform, sing, dance, make
coffee and fix the printer.
.................. I
am your travel agent!!
I need to go and
see the mountain gorilla in East Africa. I don’t have much money,
time or patience but I have to do it this year. I start phoning
travel agents. Some offer feeble excuses and refer me to other
agencies, some promise to investigate and get back to me but mostly
no one delivers anything worthwhile. I become despondent. Then a
friend suggests I phone Tessa Hattingh at Etnique Travel - she’s had
so much joy over the years from this remarkable woman that she
wouldn’t even consider using any other agent. So off I go and yes,
I must have been Tessa’s best ambassador ever since - her
professional, efficient, thoughtful manner makes one feel so relaxed
and safe that the period before the trip becomes totally hassle
free. Tessa takes over and all you need to do is pack your clothes
- and even here she directs you as to what is needed.
Airport
personnel are on strike, delays are a dime a dozen, but with a huge
full moon hanging golden yellow and low over the horizon, the De
Havalland pulls in its wheels and the holiday of a lifetime is about
to start. I am on my way to East Africa and very soon Mount Kenya,
the slender Masaai in berry red shukas, Kericho’s tea plantations,
the gigantic Lake Victoria, thousands of pink flamingoes at Nakuru,
wild rapids on the mighty Nile and the soulful faces of the gorilla
gorilla beringei will be like old time friends.
Always amazing
how much one can pack into a fortnight and how long it takes to file
all the memories neatly into various drawers afterwards.
Tourists are
warned beforehand - travelling in Africa is unpredictable. Expect
the unexpected. So, with a pair of brand new walking boots, enough
tabard to kill an army of mosquitoes and as fit as I can possibly be
at 45, I open my eyes wide and leave all known territory behind.
Roads in East
Africa are absolutely appalling - much worse than you can possibly
imagine. Although our Overlander proudly boasts a Mercedes emblem
on its front grill, we struggle to reach a top speed of 40km per
hour. For long stretches we actually get out and by walking, make
better progress than our vehicle, bumping and struggling through
potholes and broken tar.
Kenya is even
more beautiful and green than pictures indicate, but I lost my heart
to Uganda - the Pearl of Africa. Over a thousand different
bird species fly over the most picturesque valleys and mountains.
Tourism is still in its baby shoes - so you feel a little bit like a
discoverer of days gone by - you can even imagine any moment hearing
Henry Morton Stanley’s famous words - Dr Livingstone I presume…
Through Kampala,
where at least one marabou stork sits like a sentry on each lamp
post and rusty roof. These eerie scavengers are the silent
testimony of the lack of hygiene in the country which is
incidentally much more densely populated than neighboring Kenya.
But, this is Africa and this is what I came to see. It’s here that
nutty dictator Idi Amin reigned in the 1970’s.
A few kilometers
further lies Jinja, the little town at the source of the White Nile
and this is where we stop to indulge in white river rafting.
The grade5
rapids are going to blow your mind, says Sadulu Khadiri (an Ugandan
Olympic kajak competitor), but after a 30 minute mini course in the
art of rafting/surviving rapids we get into the rubber boats while
the current of the mighty Nile starts pulling with a vengeance. The
first rapid, Donald Duck, is but a baby at grade three. But don’t
worry, says Sadulu, the giants aren’t far away. And he was to be
proven absolutely correct. You paddle with supernatural power
previously unknown to you, you dive down when ordered to do so, but
somehow in the wild white water of Big Brother you’re shot out of
your little haven and say a thank you prayer for a helmet and life
jacket! But fun was had by everyone - lots and lots of mega fun. My
favorite moments were when we dived overboard, on calm stretches, to
float down the Nile - gently bobbing up and down - somehow taking me
back to my children’s bible and Moses in his papyrus basket.
To get to the
gorillas we have to cross yet another notorious African border post
- this time into the DRC. And how cool is it to boast this official
stamp in my passport!
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These
majestic, highly endangered animals let you work very hard to
see them in their natural habitat. The family that we set off
to find lives in the Virunga Mountains - a dormant volcano.
Prior to today you have only heard of rain forests,
perpendicular slopes posing a challenge for scrambling up and
down, nettles stinging right through your denims, four Congolese
guides with pangas and rifles (the latter for dramatic effect?),
more than two hours of trekking under these circumstances. And
then out of nowhere they appear. The gigantic silver back, two
females and five little ones. The dad gives us one glaring look
and disappears into the thicket. The females are calm and
collected and pretend not even to see us. The five babies
however are quite excited about the visitors - they entertain us
with cart wheels, hanging from trees, summersaulting, pulling
each other’s ears, and even mock attacking us where we are
ordered to sit as quietly as mice behind a shrub. The little
faces are too cute for words. After 30 minutes of playing and
showing off they collapse, totally exhausted, onto their
mothers’ torsos. |
I will never as
long as I live forget the piercing eyes of these magnificent animals
and can only now fully understand why people like Diane Fossey gave
their lives for the protection of these gentle giants.
The 14 Days
Nairobi to Nairobi (Africa Travel Co NN14) is a trip completely
unforgettable - I only wish I had 14 WEEKS instead…
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Karien Jordaan, OFM
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Letters from our Customers: |
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“Most people
in Bloemfontein don’t know anything about customer service and when
you get good customer service you really remember it. Tessa Hattingh
is a good example of people who really treat their customers in a
well respected and good manner. Ever since I’ve started working with
Tessa I only got excellent service, I really can’t complain. Just
want to let you know.”
Colette Baatjies - Central
University of Technology
“Ek wil net
laat weet dat ek die maandelikse Etcetera ontsettend geniet en
waardeer. Veral die maand (September) was die artikel van Manie oor
die vakansie reëlings absoluut uitstaande. Die diens (en advies) van
al die konsultante is altyd vriendelik en korrek. Hou so aan”.
Elaine van Dyk -
Bloemfontein
“Tessa, we
had a ball in SA and just returned. Many thanks for your kind
assistance and especially for insisting that we stay at least a day
in Swellendam at the Augusta. That B&B was just great. You are a
superb travel agent!”
Knut Royce - USA
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“Beste
Nerina, baie dankie vir jou flinke diens! In tye van swak
dienslewering is dit voorwaar soos ‘n fris briesie om so gou geholpe
te raak! Ek glo dat ons hierdie toerreëlings sonder pyne gaan
afhandel - danksy jou flinke diens! Verskoon asseblief as ons so van
die plaas af klink, maar die opgewondenheid is groot en ons het
lanklaas so ‘n groot projek aangepak! Groete eers”.
Louise Pretorius - Grey Kollege Sekondêr
“Hi Tessa,
we’re back! Thanks once again. All the arrangements were perfect. We
had lovely weather and although very hot in Dubai, it was still an
experience and we enjoyed the trip.”
Colla Tolken - Sales & Service
Support - FNB
“Marie, ons
wil net vir jou baie dankie sê vir al jou moeite met ons vlugte”.
Yolande van den Berg & Dalene van
Niekerk -
Universiteit van die Vrystaat
“Tessa, ek
wil jou hiermee bedank en gelukwens met die puik reëlings en
voorstelle wat jy aan my gemaak het. Alles het puik verloop en die
verblyf was van die beste. Net jammer SAL het weer die toets gedop.
Met ons aankoms op Johannesburg Internasionaal was daar geen
busvervoer vanaf vliegtuig na hoofgebou. Moeë passasiers moes 20
minute in die vliegtuig wag en nog ongeveer 30 minute vir ons
bagasie wag en dit nog voor die staking begin het”.
Marius en Annalie du Toit
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