Indaba time
THE WORLD descends on Durban again – the world of tourism anyway. The Tourism Indaba at the ICC thumbs its nose at worldwide recession. It also, with its thousands of delegate from overseas and elsewhere in Africa, has a huge positive impact on Durban's economy.
Themed this year on the 2010 Fifa World Cup, the Indaba got off to a pulsating start at the weekend with the best exposition I've ever witnessed of African drumming, complemented by the Drakensberg Boys' Choir bouncing footballs in unison with the drumming. It was spectacular.
The Indaba also gives a fascinating insight to the potential of tourism to uplift the economies of Africa. You get a glimpse of both ends of the industry.
At a glittering formal dinner in the Hilton – the Good Safari Guide Awards – the leading safari lodges/camps of Southern Africa and East Africa competed in a range of categories.
This is a category where the emphasis is on conservation as much as tourism. Also on quality cuisine and wines. These are the determining factors in a highly competitive international market.
Elsa's Kopje (Kenya), winner of the top accolade – Best Safari Camp in Africa – possibly got the edge through Italian opera. When owner Stephano Cheli went onstage to receive his award, he sang – on voluble demand - a thrilling aria.
Evening sessions in the Elsa's Kopje bar must be sensational.
The small guys
AT THE OTHER end of the scale are the Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, made to finalists from each of South Africa's nine provinces. Here are the gutsy men and women who are going out into the market in a small way with bed-and-breakfast operations, tourist lodges, car hire firms, tour operations and that kind of thing.
Overall winner was M'hudi Wines, an operation in the Western Cape. Also lots of fun – judging from the screened video – was the Eastern Cape finalist, Jeya Jazz Corner Tavern in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, where tourists don't just absorb the vibe, they become part of it, joining in the dancing.
Somebody should arrange for Stephano Cheli to visit Jeya Jazz Corner Lounge. It would be a sensational mix.
The Wild Man
LACKING from the Indaba this year is the contribution of the Wild Man of Zambia, who has featured in this column before but this year did not make the trip.
The Wild Man is a tall, bearded and dishevelled DH Lawrence lookalike, a Michaelhouse old boy who runs a bush camp in Kafue National Park and is a leading scientific expert on lions. As recorded in this column, he always carries in his pocket a small bottle of dettol (I think it's got something to do with ticks). When his cellphone rings, he snatches the dettol bottle out of his pocket, holds it to his ear and shouts: "Hello! Hello!" He is not accustomed to urban paraphernalia.
But I had a message from him that this year he's busy putting a new motor into his boat on the Kafue River. Also, he's tired of being portrayed by this column as being somewhat dof.
The Wild Man is sadly missed. But one of his colleagues tells me he is still very much on form. He was at a tourism fair in London recently. Having inevitably got himself lost, he approached a Bobby for directions.
But, observing the approach of this dishevelled, bearded creature, the Bobby misconstrued things. "I'm sorry, I can't help with any change," he said.
Mistaking our Zambian lion expert for a tramp or vagrant – whatever next? Have the British Bobbies lost all powers of discernment?
Tailpiece
A TOURIST visits a tropical island. As he gets off the aeroplane he hears drums. He goes to his hotel and still hears drums. He eats lunch and hears drums. He goes to a beach party and hears drums. He goes to the bar and hears drums. That night he tries to sleep – but he hears drums.
Next morning he says to the manager: "Hey, what's it with these drums? I can't sleep. Stop the damned drums!"
Manager: "No can do. Drums must never stop."
Tourist: "Why?"
Manager: "Because when drums stop, bass solo begins."
Last word
The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilisation.
GRAHAM LINSCOTT
No comments:
Post a Comment