Voluntourism code of good practice

Back in August of 2007, I published a post on Volunteer Travel in South Africa, then in November a new Code of Good Practice was put forward by volunteer travel agency Voluntours in collaboration with an award-winning responsible tour operator, Calabash Tours. The Code is theirs only so doesn’t have broader buy-in as yet from the industry, but it’s only a matter of time before that will be implemented — or mandated by government. Here’s what they promise: As a responsible volunteer operator we pledge our commitment to uphold a minimum Code of Good Practice, which includes... Read more »

Lwandle Township Soccer Update

SABC TV coverage of the Lwandle Township Soccer match against Killester FC from Ireland was recently posted to YouTube: This article was originally posted on Afrikatourism.You can read and comment on the original article here.  Read More →

Responsible Travel on Facebook

Back in February 2007, I reviewed the leading online travel discussion forums. The online world continues to develop, and now there are a plethora of other ways to engage with communities of like-minded travellers beyond good old threaded discussion forums. That Facebook provides one of them should come as no surprise. Here are the Facebook groups that I belong to that share my passion for Responsible Travel: The Blue Yonder: A well-regarded Responsible Travel company working in India. Because they’re at the coal-face of the big Responsible Travel conference in Kerala coming up in March,... Read more »

Cape Malay Cooking Lessons

Having been to a number of Cape Malay restaurants (and being a fan of Zorina’s chicken rooti in particular), I have tried my hand at cooking Cape Malay meals at home. My kerries and slaais and even a once-off bredie had gotten respectable, but they still weren’t…right. Too much chili in the curry here, not subtle enough balance there, not sweet enough, and so on (in spite of rootis bought fresh from Biesmiellah). The cookbooks and quality local ingredients were a good start, but I soon got to the point where I realized I wasn’t going to get any better unless I got some expert... Read more »

Lwandle Magic: Township Soccer and Tourism

With the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup on its way to South Africa, interest in soccer tourism has grown. And it’s no surprise that this has collided head-on with the huge demand for responsible travel, community tourism and cultural experiences. Well, I’ve just been part of one responsible soccer community cultural experience (RSCCE?) that blew my mind — and changed the lives of dozens of participants. It was the TK Lions (Lwandle, Cape Town, S Africa) versus Killester United (Dublin, Ireland). An international friendly of note played on 5 February, with the visitors coming out... Read more »

Amphitheatre Backpackers

On my recent trip to the northern section of the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg, we stayed at Amphitheatre Backpackers for 5 nights, using them as the base for all our day excursions in the area. We chose them after meeting the owners (Ilse, Ruby and little Oliver…) at Bulungula in 2007 The good and bad news about backpackers’ lodges is that they can be overrun with…backpackers. Amphitheatre has it particularly good/bad because the Baz Buz stops at the front door 3 days a week. But overall, I have to give Amphitheatre good marks and recommend it as a good base for a wide range of travellers. It... Read more »

Northern Ukhahlamba Drakensberg

I’ve recently returned from a 6-day trip to the northern section of the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park (one of South Africa’s eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites), located in KwaZulu-Natal Province. It was a nice escape from the hot, dry Cape Town summer and the holiday crowds that descend on the Mother City by the hundred thousand. The massive, sprawling crescent of the Drakensberg Mountains (”The ‘Berg” to many) is roughly divided into southern, central and northern regions. We went for the north, and stayed at the Amphitheatre Backpacker’s Lodge, run by some lovely... Read more »

Addis In Cape Ethiopian restaurant - 1 year later

It has now been a year since my initial review of Addis in Cape restaurant. Over the past 12 months I have been back for dinner on three occasions at different times of the year with groups of varying sizes, and I can share the following: The service has consistently gotten worse: much slower. My most recent visit we waited 2 hours and 20 minutes before our food was served. We were a group of 8 who would have struggled to find an alternative restaurant to eat at given the late hour, otherwise we would have walked out after the first 60 minutes. Yes, the restaurant was busy, but the kitchen simply... Read more »

Gola Forest Sierra Leone

A new national park, Gola Forest, was announced by the government of Sierra Leone, and is the first in a series of eight new national parks that will be created in coming months. Meet the new paradigm for 21st century missionary work in Africa. Forget salvation by coming to know Jesus, this is high-profile, high-stakes save the planet stuff that helps the West assuage its conscience and mitigate the consequences of consumerism. It’s post-conflict economic development, biodiversity conservation, and preservation of carbon-sucking forests to help slow global warming all at the same time. Some... Read more »

Grootbos - Responsible Tourism Award Winner 2007

A remarkable South African destination was duly acknowledged for its commitment to responsible travel this past week. Grootbos, a private nature reserve with two five star lodges in it was rated best in the world for Conservation of an Endangered Species as part of the Virgin Responsible Tourism Awards for 2007, run by responsibletravel.com. Grootbos is located between Hermanus and Cape Agulhas on the southern coast of the Western Cape Province, about 2 hours from Cape Town. They were recognised for Conserving 1750 acres of the Cape’s threatened fynbos by using 5 hectares for tourism development... Read more »

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