“You cannot call a quick drive through the township a cultural experience – you have to participate and not just be a spectator”
So say Knysna Tourism in their promotional material for the ‘living local’ programme in this area of the Garden Route. Liesel and I decided to find out for ourselves and drove the long distance from Cape Town to meet the people of Knysna and find out what their community tourism experiences are all about.
I was fortunate enough to be invited to sample the Green Mountain Trail recently and despite some wet weather was delighted to have discovered this unique activity. The trail is a collaboration between various accommodation owners, local guides and the regions wine farms. The combination of guided trails through spectacular mountain scenery and evening wine tastings with local winemakers works perfectly. What makes the trail even more interesting is the excellent conservation and community involvement that is implemented along each stage of the route.
A Biodiversity Showcase Garden is being created near the Cape Town Stadium in Green Point. It is a special educational garden featuring over 250 plant species, artworks and interactive displays. This garden is one of the City’s Green Goal 2010 projects and a legacy for Cape Town. The gardens will be officially opened to the public at the beginning of November.
I recently had the privilege to join a press trip to the remote Wild Coast to visit some of the FTTSA accredited community tourism projects in the area. One of the establishments we visited was Bulungula Lodge, situated on a remote stretch of the Eastern Cape coast, overlooking a deserted beach and surrounded by rolling hills and coastal forest. Read more
News about the projects we are currently working on and other interesting news about the South African tourism industry, sites we have visited and events we have attended.
