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Drakensberg
Mountains
Our Train Journey
SECOND TOUR: Cape Town - Bulgaria
‘Festival of the Roses’ - May 27th - 7th June 2019
Our second Tour is for those
who really wish for something totally different and want to visit another
country that
offers History, amazing architecture,
culture, cuisine, folksongs and dancing, Roses and much more which you
cannot ever see in South Africa. This is a
wonderful chance to travel to Bulgaria with accommodation, meals and
entrances all included plus an English
speaking Tourist Guide. COST: R24,860-00
Attached please find the
Itinerary of the Tour plus Booking form and contact details.
EXTRA
Flight from Cape Town - Sofia
26th May 2019 from -
R8,864.48 to R12,390.04 Return - 15
Hours
Flight
from Johannesburg - Sofia 26th May 2019 from - R10,280
to R16,870 Return - 20
Hours
Please
note that the flight from Cape Town is Cheaper than from Johannesburg. Both
are direct flights.
 
Beautiful
Architecture
Festival
of the Roses
Northern Cape Province Educational:
15th
October - 21st October 2018
CTC Marketing was invited to
join 6 other Tour Operators/Guides to go on a 7 Day extraordinary
trip through the NC Province.
We were all very excited and
on the morning of the 15th October at 9.00am we set off on our
experience of this very large
Province ready for the unknown wonders
…..The Northern Cape is the biggest province in South Africa and covers
362 591 km2
Our first stop after just
over 3 hours we arrived at VanRhynsdorp for a
delicious lunch at Letsatsi Lodge, where we were welcomed
by the Manager at the Red Ox
Restaurant. Everyone could choose something different from their A le
Carte Menu which was
huge. This alone was a
wonderful experience, plus having a quick site inspection of their little
Chapel and accommodation
facilities.
At 2pm we set off for the rest of our
journey to reach O’Kiep Country Hotel where we were going to stay
for 3 days.
O’Kiep was the world’s richest copper
mine until production ceased in 1918. It is also the oldest mining town in
South Africa
where copper was first discovered in
1855.
The Cornish Pump House – a fully
intact steam engine is the only remaining pump house of its sort in the
Southern Hemisphere
and was used from 1882 to pump water from
the mine. It is now a National Monument.
At The O’Kiep Country Hotel,
we were welcomed by the Owner and Guide Malcolm Mostert who had a
everything prepared for
our stay. After a great tasty
supper had by all, we turned in for an early evening to be ready for the
next morning’s adventure
through this large area.
.
Contact: Malcolm -
082 569 7158 - okiep@intekom.co.za - www.okiep.co.za
 
VanRhynsdorp
- Letsatsi Lodge
Arriving at the O’Kiep Country Hotel
After a delightful country breakfast we departed for the Goegap
Nature Reserve on the way to Kamieskroon to be introduced to
their amazing ‘Succulent Garden” which
was absolutely beautiful and made us wonder how these small flowers could
survive
in this very dry part of South
Africa. Malcolm was very informative so we learnt much about this area.
After a short visit we set
off to
the Quiver Tree Forest in the middle of nowhere, if we did not have
Malcolm our Guide we would not have known about
this
wonderful forest, where we took lovely photographs and enjoyed this
experience. We then continued to learn more
about
the local medicinal plants in the area by visiting Oom (uncle) Bampie and
his wife in Nourivier. Here we were welcomed
to
a demonstration of bread making and milling of grains before enjoying
a cup of coffee and Roosterkoek ( dough flat bread
made
over an open fire and served with butter, apricot jam and cheese) before
continuing further. This was local hospitality
received
with such enthusiasm by us all and an experience not to forget.
 
Quiver
Tree
Forest
Mrs
Bampie watching the Roosterkoek
Our
next stop on day 2 was at Pedroskloof 25km
from Kamieskroon in the Kambiesberg, where we are going to
experience authentic farm life and a
taste of traditional farm fare such as crispy cracklings on warm home-made
bread, traditional chicken pie, Bobotie
and home-made soup. What a wonderful warm
welcome we received from Sulene
and her husband. We were escorted to
their lovely dining room where we saw beautiful old fashioned furniture
and things seen
many years ago.
Table mats where vinyl 33 long playing
records, I had ‘Sentimental Journey’ and in the corner an old gramophone
was playing local traditional music called
‘Boere (farmers) Music’ to the delight of all. Took some of us back to
our Grand-Mothers days and many happy
memories. The food was absolutely delicious and served with
much love. While we waited for our meal
to arrive her husband told us all about the farm and later took us on a
site
seeing
inspection. They also have beautiful modern accommodation where
you can stay over for a day or two and
enjoy the
country air and have a farm experience.
Contact: sulene.archer@gmail.com - 087 095 0523 - Taaibos Plaas
Restaurant.- www.pedroskloof.co.za
 
Garden
at Taaibos Farm Restaurant
Old record player
Day 3 was
going to be our adventure day, so everyone was up bright and early for our
departure to
Vioolsdrift on the
border of South Africa and Namibia to start our river
adventure. We were welcomed by Maudie
with a big smile and kitted out and briefed
about our trip. We boarded a large vehicle with all our Canoes also
load to go down to the starting
area. Here we had to get our canoes into the water and start
paddling back to the
Bushwhacked Adventure Camp.
What a performance with much laughter and excitement. Some of the
group had
never been on
a canoe let alone to paddle 7km downstream, after much turning in
circles to get everyone going
in one
direction we departed for our long journey down the river. Another
amazing day at the office, back home they
will say, when they hear about this
adventure, forgetting that it is actually hard work rowing.
It was a
beautiful sunny day and the scenery was
out of this world, with the green vegetarian, and vineyards on the
South
African side of the river and Namibia with arid mountains and very little
greenery. After rowing half way down
the
river, we all stopped for a lovely swim to cool down as it was nearly noon
and under the hot sun it was refreshing.
Soon
after we started our journey again we arrived at our first rapids which
were a bit scary, but enjoyable because
rowing was not
needed we just followed the flow of the river. Just before arriving back at
the camp we had our 2nd
rapids
which were a bit faster, but we all enjoyed it so much. Getting back
to camp we were greeted with a super cold
Buffet
and cold drinks, which was very welcome to all who were slightly sun burnt
and hot. .
After
lunch we were joined by Adam the owner of Bushwhacked who took
us on a short drive to see the rest of the
area and visit the Petroglyhics, which are rock
engravings that is believed to have been created by the San people (the
first people) several thousands of years ago. These engravings are protected historic and cultural
sites by the South
African government. Getting back to camp we
went on a site inspection of their accommodation, which were interesting
reed cabins
beautifully fitted out, we then departed back for O’Kiep Country
Hotel.
Contact:
Maudie Bleach - 083 325 7261
- info@bushwhacked.co.za - www.bushwhacked.co.za
 
Bushwhacked
signage
Resting time before the swim
Day 4 we
departed for Augrabies Falls about 152km drive to first visit Pella
Mission Station, to see the Cathedral
Church and enjoy the Damera / Nama cultural
entertainment with storytelling and dancing.
Pella is an oasis in Namakwa (Bushmanland)
in the Northern Cape of South Africa. Earlier known as Cammas Fonteyn,
the spring was used by a nearby
stronghold of San people. In 1776 a South African Dutch farmer
called Coenraad
Feijt settled here and lived in harmony with
the San people despite their fondness for raiding cattle in the Hantam.
In 1814 a Missionary called Christian
Albrecht moved to Cammas Fonteyn (fountain) from Namibia. He founded the
Mission Station and renamed it Pella
after the ancient town which became the refuge for persecuted Christians
from the Romans.
. In 1872 after the mission was abandoned because
of drought it was reoccupied in 1878 by Father Godelle
a Roman Catholic missionary. After having
established gardens and planted crops he and Father Simon began
building the church which took 7 years.
The Cathedral is surrounded by palm trees
from which dates with a unique after taste were harvested. The area
is
also known for its gemstones such as
Malachite, Jasper and Rose Quartz. The locals are descendants of the
mission
station converts, who settled there in the
19th century.
 
Pella
Cathedral
Pella Date Palms next to the Cathedral
We arrived just before lunch at Augrabies Falls National
Park where we had a lovely lunch at the Quiver Tree
Restaurant. We then
checked in our cottages, which were absolutely great, with aircon and all
the modcons.
We assembled at the reception to meet our
Guide who was going to take us on a tour of the park and
also see the Falls. This was most
enjoyable, with much information given by our Guide who allowed us to take
as many photographs as we needed. We
ended our afternoon looking at the sunset at Oranjekom for sundowners.
Worth a visit, but suggest that you stay
longer than one day, as there is much to see and do and the accommodation
is really lovely.
Contact: National Parks
Reservation - 012 428 9111 or Augrabies National Park - 054 452
9200
 
Three
Guides - Italian, South African &
German
Beautiful Oryx at Augrabies Falls
Day 5 :After
breakfast the next morning we took a leisurely walk to the falls, that were
not so full due to all the draught
we have had in South Africa and especially
in the Northern Cape. We set off on the rest of our journey to Dundi
Lodge just
outside Augrabies for a site inspection of their lodge.
Our next site inspection was at
Vergelegen Guest House also at Augrabies/Kakamas area. Here
Elzaan took
us around their lovely establishment with
beautiful accommodation available for holiday or business clients.
Contact: vergelegen@electronet.co.za 054 431 0976 www.augrabiesfalls.co.za
 
Dundi
Lodge swimming
pool
Vergelegen
Guest House
entrance
Lunchtime
we reached Bezalel Wine and Brandy Estate between Kakamas and
Upington N14. What a wonderful
surprise awaited us. A lovely
round table with wine and tasty bits for a wine pairing which was
absolutely out
of this world. Low and behold
then along came the Brandy paring which was phenomenal, from 5 years to 25.
Our
host Martiens was very knowledgeable, and was an amazing host. This
was one of the best pairings I have
had in a long time. Their lunch was
also something very special and the garden on this Estate was so
beautiful.
A stop here if you are ever in this part of the world, and not to be
missed. After purchasing some wine
and
various other gifts we set off for Kanoneiland near Upington.
Contact: Martiens - 054 491
1325 -
info@bezalel.co.za - www.bezalel.co.za
 
Bezalel
Estate Tasting
room
Bezalel Potstill Brandy
We
arrived at Kanoneiland – the largest inhabited river
island in the world, a verdant haven within the Orange
River for our overnight stop at African
Vineyard Guest House where warm hospitality and excellent cuisine
awaited
us. It is situated
off the Quiver Tree Food and Wine Route on the N14 and on the R358. The
length of the island
is 14km
with a width of 3km at its widest, covering an area of 2553 hectares. The
name originated in the 1878 when
it was the
stronghold of the Koranna Tribe led by Klaas Pofadder. During the 2nd
northern frontier war, the Korannas
were driven back to Kanoneiland and
were bombarded by the Cape Artillery Corps with cannon fire. (For more
history information, please do not
hesitate to contact me).
It
is also home to one of the few signature Kalahari Spas in South
Africa started by Carina Francke.
Our hostess was Elmarie who is also the
owner of this magnificent Guest House had everything prepared for us.
Our
accommodation was absolutely beautiful and such large rooms, some of the
group went for treatments at their
Spa after
our long drive..
We were
served Cocktails before having a wonderful dinner which was served outside
on a large Patio. One had
the feeling that you were on a farm, as
it was so quiet and looking up outside all you could see were stars in the
night sky.
Contact: Elmarie - 083 461 1724 -
africanvineyard.info@gmail.com - www.africanvineyard.co.za
 
Garden
at African Vineyard Guest
House
Our Dinner Table
Day 6: After a very restful
night and a great breakfast we set off on the rest of our journey to depart
for Kenhardt
where we visited another Quiver Tree
Forest. On route we passed some very interesting road side Stalls
where
we purchased local produce, jams, cookies,
fruit, drinks and even Rose Quartz which was sold in big plastic bags.
Where ever we travelled the roads were
excellent so we had an amazing trip with no
incidents.
 
Kakamas –
Pink Road Farm
Stall
Kenhardt
Oma Miemie Farm Stall
Around
lunch time we reached Brandvlei a small Hamlet for the local farming
community in the area, where
we stopped for lunch. Lovely home-made
brown or white bread toasted sandwiches and coffee.
The restaurant was
getting ready for the afternoons big rugby match so you can imagine all the
farmers coming
into town with their family where they were
going to have a big braai late afternoon at the facility provided at the
Windpomp Restaurant on this Saturday
afternoon. Very friendly and pleasant service, so worth a stopover.
Contact: 054 603
0011 - Windpomp Restaurant
 
Die
Windpomp Restaurant
Wall hangings at entertainment area
We now had about another 3 and a half
hours to travel to Calvinia where we were going to stay over for the
evening at Die Hantam Huise.
These are all authentic Victorian dwellings and one large house that can
sleep
a few people. They can all be used as
self-catering or on a Bed and Breakfast basis. Meals will be served
at their Restaurant in Hope
Street. We are having our Dinner at their Restaurant where they
serve South
African traditional food, and also have
a gift shop with many interesting goodies made locally, preserves, jams,
enamelware consisting of plates, mugs, jugs
and various knitted articles etc.
Our accommodation was lovely,
we were located in the large house and everyone had a room to themselves,
decorated with old fashioned furniture from
the Victorian time. It was like living in a space many years ago. It was
so quiet and peaceful and all the rooms were
large and very cool because of the high ceilings. Some of the
rooms even had a lovely fireplace. The
bathrooms were all modern and very comfortable with lovely fluffy
towels, plus a TV in each room.
It would be an ideal place to stay if you were visiting the flowers in
Spring as
a base. You would be able to have
meals prepared, or do your own. It is also very centrally located
for flower viewing. This is also
an unpolluted haven in the Northern Cape.
Contact:
082 720 1812 hantamhuis@calvinia.co.za www.calvinia.co.za
 
Die
Dorpshuis – our
house
Courtyard
outside the house
Day 7: Our
last day today and we are now on our way through Nieuwoudville known
for their beautiful flowers every
year, and is also known for its unique
vegetation with the biggest variety of indigenous bulbous plants in
the world,
and the
100m high Niewoudtville Falls on the Doring River.(Thorn
river) Matjiesfontein for the flower season.
. On the
way we also stopped over at Loeriesfontein to visit the Fred Turner
Museum – Wind pumps.
Loeriesfontein is known as the Wind
pump Capital of Africa, of which the other one is in the
USA. It is also
known for one of the largest Quiver (Aloe
dichotoma) Forests. These trees grow up to 6 metres tall, store water
in their trunks, resist drought indefinitely
and can live up to 400 years. The Khoisan’s use of their bark for
quivers
gave them their colloquial name. The Wind
pump Museum has wind pumps dating from 1906 – there are
approximately 31 different types of
wind pumps.
We had a wonderful Guide who explained
everything so well to us and also showed us the Wagons that the
farmers used to use many years ago when
travelling with their cattle to greener pastures as that was their
accommodation.
Apparently this is still done today, every 6 months they move their cattle
if it is necessary.
The country is very dry and they live
on the border of the Hantam and Bushman-land, so their rainfall differs.
Contact: 082 492 3469 - bookings@kalaharireddune.co.za
 
Loeriesfontein
- Wind
pumps
Nieuwoudtville - Lone Quiver Tree
Around lunchtime we arrived
at VanRhynsdorp for lunch at the Letsatsi Lodge who offer tasty
meals in their
Red Ox Restaurant and accommodation for
holiday makers and also conference clients. They have a
beautiful
Chapel for weddings which we had a
few minutes to inspect
once again..
Contact: 027 219 2828 - letsatsi@webmail.co.za - www.famouslodges.co.za
 
Letsatsi
Lodge
Reception
Letsatsi
Chapel
We are
now back in the Western Cape Province and have left our Namakwa and
Northern Cape friends….
VanRhynsdorp is located at the edge
of the Nama/Karoo, a semi-desert succulent area. It was founded in 1661
by a Dutch gentleman Pieter van Meerhoff who
explored there and named it Trutro, but it had a name change
in 1881 to VanRynsdorp. VanRhynsdorp is at the heart
of one of South Africa’s most amazing spectacles – the
transformation in
Spring, of our western arid areas into a magical carpet of wild
flowers. This botanical phenomenon,
involving more than 6000 plant species, has
attracted scientific study, and of course, a flock of tourists each year.
Daisies, bulbs and succulents carpet
the ground or grow between rocks to surprise one at every turn, and make
photography a dream.
The town of Vanrhynsdorp,
Victorian in style, has some interesting historical buildings and the
Latsky Radio Museum,
the largest of its type in the country.
Not surprisingly, Kokerboom Succulent Nursery in Voortrekker Street is the
largest
in the world. Stargazing in the clean
Namib atmosphere, with gigantic vistas and complete silence, is also very
rewarding.
 
Variety
of
colours
A carpet of daisies
CTC
Marketing has news and exiting services to offer this year! We now offer social media and digital Marketing
services for our clients and Members.
With the internet expanding globally on a daily basis, traditional marketing
is
slowly falling away where social media
marketing is growing at a rapid speed. Do you want more sales, or
recognition
for your Guest House/Lodge or activity
that you offer?
CTC marketing services
guarantees only quality and will help you to market your business for
optimal national and
global growth. We offer website
management, logo design and creation of social media platforms, where we
also
manage and post to your platforms daily
for higher recognition and sales, plus tuition for those who wish to learn
more.
We offer much more but please contact
us for more information: marketing@ctcmarketing.co.za
I hope our newsletter this month has
inspired you to travel to the Northern Cape during the year. Do not forget
our
Tours
on offer and do book soon, so as not to be left out of another experience.
Wishing you all an amazing February
and don’t forget to celebrate Valentine’s Day, till next time………
Warm
Regards from us and God Bless,
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