REPOST: A Taste Of Bohemian Rustic Luxury In South Africa's Countryside

Tracey Greenstein shares her experiences as she explores out of the urban centers and tourist areas around South Africa. Read it here:

Image Source: forbes.com

South Africa travel is typically synonymous with ‘the big five’ or stylish urban getaways to Cape Town and Johannesburg. These days, travelers are looking toward rural travel for more authentic cultural experiences. Experience the untainted beauty of Eagles Ridge Country House, a free-spirited retreat in South Africa’s mountainous, lushly green countryside.

My senses were overcome with sheer tranquility the minute I stepped onto the Eagles Ridge property: bursts of primary colors, sweet fragrances from every kind of flower, warm, dry air and the sound of silence hit me all at once. There’s an innate barefoot, no-frills mentality. The owners will introduce you to their pet tarantula and they preserve a 20-year old Golden Orb spider that sits in a sheltered web above a doorway leading outside. It’s that kind of place.

Located at the base of the Kologha mountain range on the Eastern Cape in Stutterheim, Eagles Ridge is adjacent to an indigenous forest and sits atop a sprawling bright green lawn and garden that gently slopes to a wetland bird sanctuary. The main facility is an eccentric restaurant-art gallery that serves Euro-African fusion cuisine, and many of the vegetables are from an on-site garden or are locally sourced.

Image Source: forbes.com

Embedded mirrors are scattered on the walls and floors in different shapes and sizes throughout. In the midst of vibrant artwork, found art displays and a spiral staircase to a spacious rooftop are pastel-colored mosaic tiles that swirl all around your feet and encircle a tall tree that grows out of the floor. The art on display throughout the gallery is designed mostly by locals and many of the ceramic sculptures are created at Free Wings Art Studio, the Eagles Ridge workshop. Every few steps something new would catch my eye and I’d think to myself, ‘now what’s that?’

Sounds of the 1960′s gently play on the loudspeakers in the open, sunny space. While admiring the multiplicity of mirrors and colors I had the pleasure of hearing The Rolling Stones song ‘She’s A Rainbow’, which was perfectly timed for that moment.

Image Source: forbes.com

Organized in a ‘village style’ setting, pathways that lead to the restaurant-art gallery are carved by trees with artful dream-catchers on their trunks and little ceramic sculptures, many of which are created at Free Wings. The decorated trees and neon-colored flowers make you feel as though you’re walking through a private enchanted forest.

A series of thatched rondavels – classic African-style cottages – are decorated with plaids, prints, and every type of textile imaginable. Bathrooms are covered in colorful mosaic tiles and intricate designs, created by artist Coenie Strydom, a South African native who exhibits his work and teaches sculpture classes at Free Wings.

Image Source: forbes.com

Ceremonies are held regularly at Eagles Ridge by the Xhosas. A South African tribe that speaks the tonal Xhosa language, their words are communicated with clicks of the tongue. The tribe’s powerful singing voices and booming of their drums is an ethereal experience – spiritual energy fills the room as they perform various Xhosa songs, dances and rituals. They shared their ancient traditions for food preparation and cooked a special kind of bread called Umbhako, which is similar to cornbread but finished with a nice smokey flavor. No one ever knows what to expect from the Xhosas: the entire event is spontaneous and never staged.

Eagles Ridge emphasizes the full scope of South Africa: art, creativity, beauty, luxury and a genuine encounter with South African culture. See it all through native eyes and opt to dwell in the countryside.

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REPOST: "Tourism numbers show South Africa setting itself apart, says Zuma"

South Africa's unprecedented boom as a tourism hub has sparked an exciting discussion on the country's effective marketing strategies. Read this Business Day Live article to learn more:

President Jacob Zuma, second from right, at the V&A waterfront
after announcing the 2012 tourism figures on Thursday.
Image credit: Business Day Live

South Africa’s “phenomenal” growth in foreign tourism last year demonstrated that the country’s marketing efforts were on track, President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday as he announced a 10.2% rise in foreign arrivals.

In break with tradition, Mr Zuma and not the Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, announced the statistics at a media briefing in Cape Town.

According to the figures, South Africa outstripped the average global growth rate of about 4% as estimated by the UN World Tourism Organisation with strong year-on-year growth (33.7%) coming from Asia. Excluding Africa, which produced a 7.5% growth in tourists to South Africa last year, overseas tourist numbers rose by 15.1%, which was one of the highest growth rates in the world.

Mr Zuma attributed the success to the decision taken in 2009 to create a separate department of tourism which was subsequently identified as a key job-creating sector of the economy. The national tourism strategy envisages South Africa as among the top 20 world tourist destinations by 2020 and that the sector would create 225,000 additional jobs by then and contribute about R500bn to gross domestic product (GDP).

Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk told journalists that the infrastructure put in place for the 2010 World Cup had stood South Africa in good stead and it now had good facilities. South Africa’s participation in the grouping of Brazil, Russia, India and China (Brics) also had the huge potential to boost tourism. They accounted for 330,834 of the international tourist numbers last year.

The growing importance of tourism to the economy was highlighted by Statistics South Africa data which showed that in 2011 the direct contribution of tourism to GDP rose by 5% to R84.3bn — well above the 3.1% growth in the economy in 2011-12. Domestic tourism expenditure expanded to R101bn in 2011 from R69bn in 2010.

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Robben Island: A bastion of justice and a testament to the human spirit

Image Source: travel.nationalgeographic.com

Between the 17th and 20th century, Robben Island holds a repute of unrivaled infamy. It was a hellhole—a maximum security prison for political prisoners, a wastebasket where people not accepted by society are thrown into, and a field where the military trains and rules overpoweringly.

What remains in the islands are vestiges of its troubled past: quarries from the 17th century, Hadije Kramat’s tomb, ruins of what used to be a leper colony, a 19th century village complete with administrative buildings and a parsonage, WWII military structures, and a small lighthouse. These are all but reminders of South Africa’s Apartheid regime, a racial segregation system which was enforced by National Party (NP) governments. The regime’s philosophies, which touched almost all aspects of life in South Africa, curtailed the rights of all black inhabitants and upheld the white supremacy mentality. In this state, native Africans became a minority in their own homeland, and Robben Island all stood witness to these atrocities.

Image Source: -cs-students.stanford.edu

In a fortunate twist of fate, all of these came to an end in the 1990s when the regime has been finally overturned by South Africa’s citizenry. All of the political prisoners were released, and after many years of being incarcerated in the land of their birth, they finally got to experience the sweetness of freedom.

For all that it was and has become, Robben Island is a fitting testament to the human spirit—a witness to the power of democracy and its triumph over racism and oppression.

Image Source: dreamcatchermarketingllc.com

Africa, despite having a tumultuous history, also holds its fair share of hopeful stories. Get to discover them by visiting this Palace Travel Facebook page.

REPOST: “South African tourism industry upbeat”

South Africa is finally gaining momentum after several years of sluggish tourism performance. The following article discusses how this newfound drive is affecting the country's tourism industry.

South Africa's tourism industry is showing signs of a return to "business as usual", or slightly better than usual, following a couple of very tough years, judging by the latest Tourism Business Index from the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) and FNB.

According to consultancy Grant Thornton, who compile the index, the results for the last quarter of 2012 "confirm a return to normal trading levels and an overall positive outlook for the travel and tourism sector in 2013".

The index came in at 104.6 for the fourth quarter, up on 101.1 in the third quarter - a huge improvement on the 87.3 scored in the fourth quarter of 2011. The forecast for the first quarter of 2013 is 102.4. A score of 100 is considered normal.

Speaking at the release of the index in Johannesburg last week, TBCSA board chairman Mavuso Msimang said performance levels above the norm for two quarters running was "a clear indication of the extent to which business is recovering from the recessionary impacts and excess of supply it suffered post the 2010 Soccer World Cup".

The sector's resilience and ongoing long-term potential shows through in the business and investor confidence for capacity and employment increases, according to Grant Thornton.

However, in spite of the return to regular trading levels and the positive outlook, a number of factors remain a concern.

"Global economic uncertainty and ongoing recession risk, coupled with the negative profiling of South Africa internationally through labour and community unrest, weighs heavily as a constraint for the sector," said Gillian Saunders, Grant Thornton's head of advisory services.

"Input cost increases from rates, electricity and fuel costs were also cited as negative factors affecting business performance," she added.

Wiza Nyondo, FNB's head of tourism, said the results showde that "the market has begun to recognise South Africa as a sought after destination.

"Although we've seen some instability, we still believe in South Africa's diverse offering of services and products where industry professionals can partner to help transform our country," Nyondo said.

According to the survey, the majority of accommodation sector respondents expect domestic business markets to offer the best potential growth for 2013, followed by foreign leisure and then domestic leisure.

Other tourism businesses expect growth to come from foreign leisure markets, followed by domestic markets.  

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