6000 km and they are here

 

The Southern right Whales have travelled more than 6000 km to South Africa and have arrived. We have spotted so may whales in Walkerbay near Hermanus and de Kelders, and what a way to announce your arrival with a four breach sequince in the distance. Best of all is that we are able to sit on the cliffs in silent wonder. Anybody wanting to to see the whales feel free to come in contact info@adarotours.co.za

Panorama Route vs The Garden Route in South Africa

Once you have travelled and toured the Panorama route you can and will understand that the name is spot-on. Few people realise how extensive the Panorama Route actually is and even less have spent a week exploring this very scenic Route that actually consists of a network of roads along the eastern escarpment of Mpumalanga Province. The highlights are sold to Tourists and during a tight program they see the three Rondavels, Bourke's Luck potholes, Gods Window, and Pilgrim's Rest and if the program permits they may stop at one of the may waterfalls cascading over the escarpment. They will not feel shortchanged because the beauty is spectacular with towering Mountains deep canyons and a diversity in flora to be seen. Pilgrim's Rest was a gold rush town that even today represents a feeling of the wild days when gold fell into the hands of ordinary people and all the trappings that accompanied that era. History even tells a story of a robber that was put in his grave at odd ends with the towns graves, because of his reputation.

Sir Percy Fitzpatrick also found the Gold rush days fascinating and in his book of "Jock of the Bushveld" he describes the trails and tribulations that a runt named Jock experienced during those troublesome days.

Mountain Passes are a plenty with views that can only be described as wonderful. One should take the time to drive the Abel Erasmus, Longtom, Kowyn's Pilgrims and Robbers Passes and believe me there are quite a few more mountain passes that warrant a drive. the routes to Haziview, Barberton and Sabie are panoramic in every way, you may even find that the N4 between Malelane and Machadodorp is worth the drive, and don't be shy to try some of the back roads because although they have more timber carries they are less congested offering ample time to stop for that special photo.

You could spend two or three days just following the waterfalls in this beautiful countryside and for the more adventurous you will find treetop slides, cliff swings, rock-climbing, and a whole host of daredevil activities. the Panorama routes are a mecca for Mountain bikes and if you have a motorcycle the swoops and bends is an absolute pleasure, just a note though riding fast is dangerous because of the slow and lumbering trucks you will find in these mountains. If you drive the Abel Erasmus pass enjoy the pass but please do not fail to drive through to Hoedspruit because on your way and just a short distance off the main road you will find two fantastic Baobab trees on a farm and it is free to visit, I like having a cup of real South African Coffee (home grown in Sabie) at this spot. O, yes, before I forget, although the one tree has fallen over,  it is still growing and is only about 1840 years old, I would like to hear its life story.......

.Whale spotting knowing what to look for

Because whales are huge water bound mammals we more than often do not know what to look for if we are whale spotting, I have on my tours have observed that even Tourist Guides make mistakes in identifying some whales. With this I will not say that I will be correct every time, and it is for this reason I would like to give a few tips that I use to spot and Identify the various whales that visit our coast.

The Southern Right Whale is perhaps the easiest to Identify because their numbers are greater and they have a few fundamental things to look out for. When you see a spray with a distinctive V shape you can expect it to be a Southern Right Whale.  Your next tactic is to use your binoculars to see if the whale has the tell-tale off-white callosities on the head and while doing this you have to look if you see a dorsal fin. Southern Rights do not have dorsal fins, another sure way to identify them is that their flippers are paddle shaped and broad, their tail flukes are dark on the upper as well as the bottom. When they do “spyhopping” you may see the pronounced bow shaped mouth. These 50 ton beasts can be spectacular when they breach, with a repeated full body breach ending with a massive splash when they re-enter the water.

Humpback Whales are our next most frequent visitor and they also have very clear ways to I identify. They are known as the acrobats among the Whales, they are smaller and swim much faster than the Right Whales they have dual blowholes but their single spray, up to 4 meters high are very different from the Southern Rights. When you have seen the spray also look for the dorsal fin visible as an extension of a hump on the back of the whale, o yes the Tail flukes have as in the case of the flippers a ragged edge with white markings on the underside. While mentioning the flippers, they are long elongated and in many cases up to a third of the length of the Whale, best to be seen when they are doing their spectacular breaching display. When they are spyhopping you will also notice the usually white and pleated under throat. A difficult whale to follow because of its speed but extremely satisfying to watch when they are actively showboating with huge multiple breaches.

Our third whale is the more rarely spotted Bryde’s Whale appears to be resident to the Southern African shores and sightings in summer are not uncommon.  To identify them you will have to look for a low and compact spray, much smaller that the Humpbacks spray. The dorsal fin is also clearly from the back unlike the Humpbacks distinctive hump, this fin also have a clear hook, similar to a dolphin in appearance. These whales are slower than the Humpbacked Whale and breaching is usually a shallow and is followed by a much smaller splash than the two previously mentioned. Should they ever come close enough for you to see them from above you will see the distinctive three longitudinal ridges on the head, the flippers are leaf shaped and have smooth edges, and the tail flukes which is seldomly seen are triangular in shape.

We do have visits from Orcas, Sperm Whales and many of the smaller species, as beaching of these occur on our Coast line are testimony to, but for us the land based whale spotters finding satisfaction in spotting our three great whales is an experience not to be missed.

Whale spotting in Hermanus, an experiece that changed my own view on wildlife viewing is all about.

Many years ago while still at school in Durban, I was one of  a group of schoolkids visiting the Whale station and the associated factory. We watched as two Sperm Whales were dragged onto rail cars on route to be cut up and processed. I remember the size of the whale and smell to this day. Many years passed before my next encounter, with these beasts, when my wife and I were on holiday in Cape Town.  We heard about the Whales in Hermanus and given my previous experience I went with the expectation to see Whales, and in particular some Sperm Whales.  My amazement was beyond description when live Whales swam less than 50 meters away from me, I could smell their breath and hear them breathe. I knew then that when you are in the presence of wildlife you are truly blessed.
The whales were Southern Right Whales who moved so slowly and so relaxed in their environment that I was at a loss for words. We spent more than 3 hours just sitting on the rocks observing these gentle Giants interact with one another, a truly special moment in my life.
 It was about four years later that I took a tourist on a boat to spot Whales, because the Whales were further down the Coast.  Wow!  We were visited by two Humpback Whales who came so close that I could see the colour of their eyes, and believe me, when they look at you they look deep into your soul. These two also gave an special farewell to the boat with a breaching display that left all on board soaked to the bone. I did not take my camera with me and today I would have liked more than the memories of that day...  perhaps this is why I always have my trusty camera with me when I go Wildlife/Whale spotting.

ADARO TOURS have new and exiting products

Last week I have mentioned that I will have new products and I gave a taster of the tours today I have refined the tours and are also able to release a very attractive pricing structure to these Tours

Walk with Bushman, wine tasting in  Darling, and a Afternoon show by Pieter Dirk Uys (on the days he offers his show in Darling)

one of South Africa’s Prolific Satirist’s @ R700.00 all inclusive excluding lunch (minimum 2 Pax)

Depart at 08:30

At 10:00 we visit !Khwa ttu, for a short historical overview of the San and their Culture followed by 90 mins. with true “Bushman” learning about, Nature, Stories of the Past, visit a replica of an authentic san village, learn the value of some of the plants we grow wild in and around Cape Town, and see how a fire can be started by hand in the traditional way !

Wine tasting at Grote Post wine farm 12:00

Lunch in Darling

Attending the Show 14:00

Back in Cape Town @ 17:00

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Morning Game drive at Buffelsfontein Private Game Park and a walk with Bushman @ R1250.00 all inclusive (minimum 2 Pax)

Depart at 08:30

Game drive on open Game viewing vehicles at Buffelsfontein af a cup of coffee and some Rusks, viewing Eland, Cape Buffalow, Giraffe, Orix Wildebeest, Lion and cheetah and more.

Lunch at 12:30

Depart for !Khwa ttu, a short historical overview of the San and their Culture followed by 90 mins. with true “Bushman” learning about, Nature, Stories of the Past, visit a replica of an authentic san village, learn the value of some of the plants we grow wild in and around Cape Town, and see how a fire can be started by hand in the traditional way !

If we have time after all this we will stop on our return journey for a wine tasting.

Back in Cape Town at 17:30

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Wine Tasting in Franschoek, Chocolates, in Franschoek then to Hermanus for whale spotting and Lunch, returning to Cape Town @ R650 all inclusive excluding lunch. (minimum 2 Pax)

Depart at 08:30

Wine tasting at Grande Provence wine farm at 09:30

Chocks at Huguenot Chock Factory at 10:15

Drive to Hermanus through the Franschoek Pass arriving @ 12:00

Whale spotting and Lunch until 15:00

Return to Cape Town arriving at !7:00

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The Whales are coming.

The start of the Whale spotting season is here and through my contacts a few have been noticed off Cape Point. Soon we will have these Gentle Giants around our shore. I will in the next few days elaborate about the whales that visit our shores, and I will spend time telling you about Whalemark, and its activities. so stay tuned.....

Finding new tour product in a over saturated Market

Finding new tourist attractions in Cape Town should not be a problem one would think, and perhaps if you have unlimited resources to do these searches and map the outcome for these products one should be able to sell these with ease, however when you ask any tourist what he or she would like to see, the big 6 would be the first answer, and they are, Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, Kirstenbosch,Table Mountain,  Robben Island, the Stellenbosch /Franschoek/Paarl, wine districts and the fabulous Cape Peninsula. they may want to Safari and during the Whale season we may get a few that will go that way. On occasion we may even get requests for Shark Cage experience. The above are the most advertised and therefore the most popular Tourist activities and quite rightly so, however the challenge always is to find something special that would be meaning full en well within the market average budget.
 I have been working on three new products to make available to those that have already picked up their "T shirt", they have done it all.
The first is an early morning game drive at a Private Game park near the West Coast National Park and to round the day off we visit !Khwa ttu a super project where the San  "Bushmen" show us during a walk Survival skills and traditions that have been carried over for thousands of years.
I stood amased at the skill they had to light a fire without today's technology.
 This tour offers a combination of viewing wildlife and experiencing an almost forgotten culture.

The second Tour also includes the walk with the San at !Khwa ttu but because some have seen the animals and want to experience something new I have added a show at Darling. Pieter Dirk Uys is one of South Africa's best satirists and has appeared before and with many well known persons around the world. and we end the day with a wine tasting in the Darling district.

Guiding a job that requires passion

When I became a Tourist Guide my lecturer once said, that it is the one job that is like art, you need to have the passion for the job much like an painter does. He also said that like a sculpture a tourist guide should work towards the final product, as similar to a musician he needs to create "wow" moments during his tour.
This has stayed with me through the years, and perhaps I need to ad my own statement to what he said to me, guiding is also similar to creating a great dinner, it has to activate all your senses touch, smell, sight and hear and moreover the sense of occasion.
With all that is just said one concludes that as a Tourist Guide your passion should almost be an obsession to create the best experience your tourist may want to have. It is this obsession to deliver your art that sometimes test your patience and goodwill, when dealing with service providers, such as hotels, restaurants etc.
It is therefore not strange that when we have an less than prefect experience at a restaurant, we as Tourist Guides demand good and prompt service, and when we do not receive what we demand for our Tourists we tend to avoid these places until the industry news indicates that a change has taken place.

The opposite is also true when we are surprised by good service and our guests are impressed we remain faithful to the service provider concerned. In South Africa we have an annual tourist guide of the year competition and similarly for hotels, restaurants etc. something like the OSCARS in the film industry, the trouble is that the Tourist Guide has to create his "art" in the background without show and flair, reap the rewards with dignity.
Passion have its rewards and most of the time it is the effect your actions have had on those that you come in contact with, be it an emotional goodbye at the Airport or a lifelong friendship started during the tour. The fulfilling emotion of contentment, after a tour has been successfully completed is hard to describe and it can remain with you for a few days, that is ample reward in itself.
The "wow" moments of a tour also will bring back memories long after you have done another tour.
today I would like to extend an invitation to all come and experience the passion of a Tourist Guide when you go on your next holiday in South Africa.