Mid April to 3rd June 2005.
Hello everyone around the world,
Hope you are all very well and mighty fine.
It’s that time again for some more silly antics and daft stories from Percy Tours down at the bottom of Africa, which now has afew chilly and windy days mixed with some warmer sunny intervals in the Western Cape.
Durban Tourism Conference Indaba.
Well Percy Tours thought it was about time that we went on our 1st business trip, so off we jet to Durban and a massive Tourism trade show. This enormous Expo showcasing all of Southern Africa’s major tourist attractions, from Safari lodges and game parks to wines, helicopter trips, adventure sports, many amazing accommodation establishments and all points in-between.
It took us afew days to explore the whole show, while collecting a monstrous bundle of information brochures that will take us weeks to read thro. There were many parties where the free food and booze just didn’t stop being offered and being a complete gentleman, it would have been very rude to have declined their kind invitations, wouldn’t it? While venturing out to afew of the city’s night clubs too – all in the name of research and networking you understand :-)) Needless to say we met many interesting and important future contacts.
Even tho' we are only an hours flight from Cape Town, the weather and scenery are vastly different - sunny, warm and humid, with enormous fields of banana plants and sugarcane. On one day we decide to drive down the coast and admire the views; then cut inland to venture thro the amazingly pretty Valley of 1000 Hills, with small homesteads scattered across this most picturesque landscape.
In Durban there is a marked difference in cultural mix compared to Cape Town, as in the 1800 & 1900s many Indian workers were employed in the sugarcane fields. Their descendants are now the majority of the population in this part of the world, so some damn fine curries are to be had here and I have to say that curries are about the only thing I really miss from London. Spicy poppodums being the top of the list. Yummy!!!!
Tours.
Even tho' the tourists are a slightly rare sight nowadays, we have been kept busy with day trips to Safari parks, wine tours, Cape Town excursions and another corporate team building day, which involved us zooming around the staff of a South African medical company for 6 hours, on a Treasure Hunt of Hermanus. Wickedly funny, especially the blindfold food tasting and them having to decorate a cake, then go and sell it for as much money as possible to some unsuspecting punter down Hermanus main road. With that money then having to be used to buy as many items as possible in a super market which we then took down to the Township kiddies charity shop. The quad biking session on a wine farm was just as entertaining with everyone burning rubber and throwing up dirt into competitors faces.
Safari Drive.
I totally love Safari drives and relish the times I am able to do them. The game park we visit have some new arrivals – with many baby giraffe, zebra, springbok, buffalo and wildebeest hopping about. They have also just introduced a new species of antelope to the park, called Lechwe which are already breeding very successfully and originate from Botswana’s Okavango Delta region.
They are also eagerly awaiting the births of some cute cheetah and the slightly larger arrival of a baby rhino. These will be fabulous to see, as we all love baby animals and instantly go AAAAA!!! The baby cheetahs will have to be hand reared at the lodge, as they would be killed by the male adults if they were left inside their enclosure. So I am really looking forward to seeing them being bottle feed and hopefully being allowed to stroke these little cuties. Many photos to be will be taken at that event, you can bet.
Percy Tours recent developments.
Life never stops here as we have just had delivery of our 1st batch of Percy Tours official merchandising – some very wacky and eye-catching t-shirts.
Our merchandising range will expand over the next few months as we have some great ideas to put into practice. The minibus will have its sides splattered with corporate insignias next week and we have been busy with updating a very useful website for a pictorial montage of Percy Tours. Enjoy!!!
So please feel free to click the following link for a good look –
Flickr.com with 38 new pictures, spread across 4 pages - http://www.flickr.com/photos/51084760@N00/search/tags:percytours/
The "View as slideshow" button on the top right of the page, is an excellent way to see them all in their utmost glory.
One major item that will be ready in a week’s time is a fun, informative and hard-hitting Percy Tours promotional DVD, which has been put together by one of Cape Towns most respected Production Editors. Pumping music sound track, fast flowing and covering many different activities, which will also be available for download too.
Computer misery - Trojan Horses.
We all think our computers are safe – especially us at Percy Tours who weekly update Nortons, Windows Updates, Microsoft anti-spy, Spybot and many other protection programs, but 3 weeks ago I got hit by a Trojan–bloody–Horse, that turned into 3 – arse is all I can say. It’s all been fixed now but it seriously slowed down my computers running speed for afew days.
Sucking on a plastic manikin anyone??
As part of becoming a registered tour company and official tourist drivers, we have to perform mouth to mouth with a plastic torso. Uumm not my idea of fun as 1st aid courses and blood are not my most joyous of activities, but we made it thro the 2 day course and came out with shining colours for being able to practice life-giving kisses.
Lets Rock!!
It’s fairly rare to have big international rock stars grace this part of the world, so when Avril Lavigne decides to rock-up I jump at the change to practice my air-guitar moves. With me is a South African friend who has a small entourage of 5 highly excitable 13 year old girls; so we all bundle into my minibus and zoom off to have our ears blasted. Upon arriving it seems that the whole place is a wash with tons of young teenagers being escorted by their mums and dads, so the screaming and squealing are more ear-piercing than the bass speakers on stage. Great fun and very entertaining. Avril was booked to do a shark dive but cancels at the last minute because she is worried about getting a cold and does not want to spoil her singing voice.
All together now – “aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!! Poor diddums!!!”
New Listening Pleasure.
As with every month i do my best to keep up with the new album releases that hit the high street shelves. So off i go to CD Warehouse in the Victoria & Albert Waterfront and purchase - Mylo - fabulous house (track 7 is the one that got me jumping) / Queens of the Stone Age - marvelous rock / Hot Hot Heat - more chart friendly rock but still damn good too.
Trying to find “Love” in paradise!!
We should always make time to do something new and this month has been no exception. One of my mates introduces me to an internet dating website called Thunderbolt City. This is my very first time at this ever increasing popular global activity, so it’s with trepidation that I boundly step forward.
And oohhhh my, what incredible fun this new past-time is. There certainly seem to be a large number of single ladies in the Cape Town area and after filling in all my personal details I start to search for a “match”. Within about 3 days I have 10 “fans” who all like what they see in my details - I mean are they all mad or desperate – or just blind drunk?? Hahahahahahah !!!!! So I start to have ever increasing longer and longer email chats with afew that I find equally attracted to.
One lady totally stands out from the crowd – nicknamed London Girl – we have a right laugh writing to each other, being highly witty, sarcastic and damn right daft and after about a week I pluck up the courage to ask her out on a date.
She is 36, tall, from London, been living here 18 months and started her own charity to help disadvantaged children with special educational needs, who have been effected by Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (which is when the mother drinks alcohol all the way thro the pregnancy and therefore seriously damages the baby). This is very brave work indeed I am sure we will all agree.
So we arrange to met up for a coffee and take it from there. After about an hour we suggest it’s about time for a proper drink, so we go to a nearby comfy hotel bar and slowly start sipping some fabulous South African white wine. We can’t stop talking and natter on and on and on for 6 hours, with us getting on like a house on fire.
We say our good-byes and know we will be in contact very soon, although she is off to London for a month very soon.
More on how this develops in next months Update. :-)))
Press Launch for a new Tourist Product.
One Friday evening we are cordially invited to The Gecko bar for the press launch by The Shark Lady, who originally pioneered shark cage diving here in Hermanus in 1992, which has now become the worlds Mecca for all enthusiasts of this incredible activity.
Tonight she is presenting to the local press and important people in the tourism trade her new concept – a totally circular plastic cage. Now you might think that’s not that ground breaking, but as all the other 7 dive operators are still using square metal cages, this is a new idea. One of the unfortunate things with square metal cages are that they are not that shark friendly, as one of the sharks many senses is to detect magnetic fields and obviously metal plays havoc with this sense. Being circular there is no way that a shark will ever injure itself on any part of this new cage. There is also another important aspect for us humans who will venture into this cage – you now have no visible protection from a 6 metre shark that is coming at you like a speeding train, as you are suspended in the water looking thro' clear plastic. This will greatly enhance the thrill of shark diving and I can’t wait to get in it myself.
The following day she has a movie film crew and 4 famous UK entertainers arriving to try out this exciting new piece of kit.
Ground breaking news. 3rd June, 2005. Roving reporter in the area.
Today I was wondered around the town centre, just going into a shopping centre when who should be going the other way – Richard E Grant, Ruby Wax & Colin Jackson – the 4th member of this filming session was not with them……so more on this world exclusive when we have it.
In fact there is more - they are all here to film Shark Bait, a program to be aired in the UK on 4th Sept (the 30th anniversary of Jaws movie). They will all be diving with Shark Ladies new see-thro' cage.
Good News.
Afew weeks ago I got a great email from my mate Cicely, who I first met in Cape Town in 2001. She’s been back in Newcastle, UK for the last year, but is on her way down to Cape Town in early July. So that will be great to catch up with all our gossip.
Building Work.
And on the 13th June I start to have my house extension started. This could be hampered by the rains as it seems to be not the warmest or driest weather down here at the moment, but that won’t stop me cracking the whip.
That’s about your lot for now, so chat soon and for those of you up there - enjoy the summer and festivals in the Northern Hemisphere.
Cheers
Percy “Intrepid Explorer of South Africa”
www.percytours.com
Designer Tours of Hermanus, Cape Town and the Western Cape region.
Hello everyone around the world,
Hope you are all very well and mighty fine.
It’s that time again for some more silly antics and daft stories from Percy Tours down at the bottom of Africa, which now has afew chilly and windy days mixed with some warmer sunny intervals in the Western Cape.
Durban Tourism Conference Indaba.
Well Percy Tours thought it was about time that we went on our 1st business trip, so off we jet to Durban and a massive Tourism trade show. This enormous Expo showcasing all of Southern Africa’s major tourist attractions, from Safari lodges and game parks to wines, helicopter trips, adventure sports, many amazing accommodation establishments and all points in-between.
It took us afew days to explore the whole show, while collecting a monstrous bundle of information brochures that will take us weeks to read thro. There were many parties where the free food and booze just didn’t stop being offered and being a complete gentleman, it would have been very rude to have declined their kind invitations, wouldn’t it? While venturing out to afew of the city’s night clubs too – all in the name of research and networking you understand :-)) Needless to say we met many interesting and important future contacts.
Even tho' we are only an hours flight from Cape Town, the weather and scenery are vastly different - sunny, warm and humid, with enormous fields of banana plants and sugarcane. On one day we decide to drive down the coast and admire the views; then cut inland to venture thro the amazingly pretty Valley of 1000 Hills, with small homesteads scattered across this most picturesque landscape.
In Durban there is a marked difference in cultural mix compared to Cape Town, as in the 1800 & 1900s many Indian workers were employed in the sugarcane fields. Their descendants are now the majority of the population in this part of the world, so some damn fine curries are to be had here and I have to say that curries are about the only thing I really miss from London. Spicy poppodums being the top of the list. Yummy!!!!
Tours.
Even tho' the tourists are a slightly rare sight nowadays, we have been kept busy with day trips to Safari parks, wine tours, Cape Town excursions and another corporate team building day, which involved us zooming around the staff of a South African medical company for 6 hours, on a Treasure Hunt of Hermanus. Wickedly funny, especially the blindfold food tasting and them having to decorate a cake, then go and sell it for as much money as possible to some unsuspecting punter down Hermanus main road. With that money then having to be used to buy as many items as possible in a super market which we then took down to the Township kiddies charity shop. The quad biking session on a wine farm was just as entertaining with everyone burning rubber and throwing up dirt into competitors faces.
Safari Drive.
I totally love Safari drives and relish the times I am able to do them. The game park we visit have some new arrivals – with many baby giraffe, zebra, springbok, buffalo and wildebeest hopping about. They have also just introduced a new species of antelope to the park, called Lechwe which are already breeding very successfully and originate from Botswana’s Okavango Delta region.
They are also eagerly awaiting the births of some cute cheetah and the slightly larger arrival of a baby rhino. These will be fabulous to see, as we all love baby animals and instantly go AAAAA!!! The baby cheetahs will have to be hand reared at the lodge, as they would be killed by the male adults if they were left inside their enclosure. So I am really looking forward to seeing them being bottle feed and hopefully being allowed to stroke these little cuties. Many photos to be will be taken at that event, you can bet.
Percy Tours recent developments.
Life never stops here as we have just had delivery of our 1st batch of Percy Tours official merchandising – some very wacky and eye-catching t-shirts.
Our merchandising range will expand over the next few months as we have some great ideas to put into practice. The minibus will have its sides splattered with corporate insignias next week and we have been busy with updating a very useful website for a pictorial montage of Percy Tours. Enjoy!!!
So please feel free to click the following link for a good look –
Flickr.com with 38 new pictures, spread across 4 pages - http://www.flickr.com/photos/51084760@N00/search/tags:percytours/
The "View as slideshow" button on the top right of the page, is an excellent way to see them all in their utmost glory.
One major item that will be ready in a week’s time is a fun, informative and hard-hitting Percy Tours promotional DVD, which has been put together by one of Cape Towns most respected Production Editors. Pumping music sound track, fast flowing and covering many different activities, which will also be available for download too.
Computer misery - Trojan Horses.
We all think our computers are safe – especially us at Percy Tours who weekly update Nortons, Windows Updates, Microsoft anti-spy, Spybot and many other protection programs, but 3 weeks ago I got hit by a Trojan–bloody–Horse, that turned into 3 – arse is all I can say. It’s all been fixed now but it seriously slowed down my computers running speed for afew days.
Sucking on a plastic manikin anyone??
As part of becoming a registered tour company and official tourist drivers, we have to perform mouth to mouth with a plastic torso. Uumm not my idea of fun as 1st aid courses and blood are not my most joyous of activities, but we made it thro the 2 day course and came out with shining colours for being able to practice life-giving kisses.
Lets Rock!!
It’s fairly rare to have big international rock stars grace this part of the world, so when Avril Lavigne decides to rock-up I jump at the change to practice my air-guitar moves. With me is a South African friend who has a small entourage of 5 highly excitable 13 year old girls; so we all bundle into my minibus and zoom off to have our ears blasted. Upon arriving it seems that the whole place is a wash with tons of young teenagers being escorted by their mums and dads, so the screaming and squealing are more ear-piercing than the bass speakers on stage. Great fun and very entertaining. Avril was booked to do a shark dive but cancels at the last minute because she is worried about getting a cold and does not want to spoil her singing voice.
All together now – “aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!! Poor diddums!!!”
New Listening Pleasure.
As with every month i do my best to keep up with the new album releases that hit the high street shelves. So off i go to CD Warehouse in the Victoria & Albert Waterfront and purchase - Mylo - fabulous house (track 7 is the one that got me jumping) / Queens of the Stone Age - marvelous rock / Hot Hot Heat - more chart friendly rock but still damn good too.
Trying to find “Love” in paradise!!
We should always make time to do something new and this month has been no exception. One of my mates introduces me to an internet dating website called Thunderbolt City. This is my very first time at this ever increasing popular global activity, so it’s with trepidation that I boundly step forward.
And oohhhh my, what incredible fun this new past-time is. There certainly seem to be a large number of single ladies in the Cape Town area and after filling in all my personal details I start to search for a “match”. Within about 3 days I have 10 “fans” who all like what they see in my details - I mean are they all mad or desperate – or just blind drunk?? Hahahahahahah !!!!! So I start to have ever increasing longer and longer email chats with afew that I find equally attracted to.
One lady totally stands out from the crowd – nicknamed London Girl – we have a right laugh writing to each other, being highly witty, sarcastic and damn right daft and after about a week I pluck up the courage to ask her out on a date.
She is 36, tall, from London, been living here 18 months and started her own charity to help disadvantaged children with special educational needs, who have been effected by Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (which is when the mother drinks alcohol all the way thro the pregnancy and therefore seriously damages the baby). This is very brave work indeed I am sure we will all agree.
So we arrange to met up for a coffee and take it from there. After about an hour we suggest it’s about time for a proper drink, so we go to a nearby comfy hotel bar and slowly start sipping some fabulous South African white wine. We can’t stop talking and natter on and on and on for 6 hours, with us getting on like a house on fire.
We say our good-byes and know we will be in contact very soon, although she is off to London for a month very soon.
More on how this develops in next months Update. :-)))
Press Launch for a new Tourist Product.
One Friday evening we are cordially invited to The Gecko bar for the press launch by The Shark Lady, who originally pioneered shark cage diving here in Hermanus in 1992, which has now become the worlds Mecca for all enthusiasts of this incredible activity.
Tonight she is presenting to the local press and important people in the tourism trade her new concept – a totally circular plastic cage. Now you might think that’s not that ground breaking, but as all the other 7 dive operators are still using square metal cages, this is a new idea. One of the unfortunate things with square metal cages are that they are not that shark friendly, as one of the sharks many senses is to detect magnetic fields and obviously metal plays havoc with this sense. Being circular there is no way that a shark will ever injure itself on any part of this new cage. There is also another important aspect for us humans who will venture into this cage – you now have no visible protection from a 6 metre shark that is coming at you like a speeding train, as you are suspended in the water looking thro' clear plastic. This will greatly enhance the thrill of shark diving and I can’t wait to get in it myself.
The following day she has a movie film crew and 4 famous UK entertainers arriving to try out this exciting new piece of kit.
Ground breaking news. 3rd June, 2005. Roving reporter in the area.
Today I was wondered around the town centre, just going into a shopping centre when who should be going the other way – Richard E Grant, Ruby Wax & Colin Jackson – the 4th member of this filming session was not with them……so more on this world exclusive when we have it.
In fact there is more - they are all here to film Shark Bait, a program to be aired in the UK on 4th Sept (the 30th anniversary of Jaws movie). They will all be diving with Shark Ladies new see-thro' cage.
Good News.
Afew weeks ago I got a great email from my mate Cicely, who I first met in Cape Town in 2001. She’s been back in Newcastle, UK for the last year, but is on her way down to Cape Town in early July. So that will be great to catch up with all our gossip.
Building Work.
And on the 13th June I start to have my house extension started. This could be hampered by the rains as it seems to be not the warmest or driest weather down here at the moment, but that won’t stop me cracking the whip.
That’s about your lot for now, so chat soon and for those of you up there - enjoy the summer and festivals in the Northern Hemisphere.
Cheers
Percy “Intrepid Explorer of South Africa”
www.percytours.com
Designer Tours of Hermanus, Cape Town and the Western Cape region.
