Media Release. 11 March 2010. Mossel Bay Tourism

Women Run Tourism in Mossel Bay

Francina Terblanche

Marina Vermeulen

IMAGE: Back row from left: Carmen Bester (Point Village Hotel); Yolandi Lombard (Garden Route Casino Hotel & Spa); Liz Taylor (Point Hotel); Marcia Holm (Mossel Bay Tourism); Dawn Prinsloo (Riviera Hotel. Front row from left: Sonia Yeats (Garden Route Boutique Hotel) Karen Bus (Protea Hotel Mossel Bay). Absent: left – Francina Terblanche (Botlierskop); right – Marina Vermeulen (Diaz Strand Resort)

Women Make Tourism Work In Mossel Bay

Every single one of Mossel Bay’s major hotels – and also its tourism office and municipality – are managed by women.

“We’re not sure how it happened, but it’s happened,” said Mossel Bay Tourism’s chief operations officer, Marcia Holm.

“Carmen Bester manages the Point Village Hotel, Yolandi Lombard runs the Garden Route Casino Hotel and Spa, Liz Taylor runs The Point Hotel, Dawn Prinsloo runs the Riviera Hotel, Sonia Yeats runs the Garden Route Boutique Hotel, Karen Bus runs the Protea Hotel Mossel Bay, Francina Terblanche runs the Botlierskop Private Game Reserve, and Marina Vermeulen runs the Diaz Strand Hotel,” said Ms. Holm. “And the municipality is managed by the all-women team of our mayor, Alderlady Marie Ferreira, and our municipal manger, Dr. Michelle Gratz.

“Previously women where restricted to the kitchen and therefore didn’t have the opportunity to prove themselves as leaders in a male dominated industry.” said the Diaz Strand’s Marina Vermeulen.

“As we know, there were very few women in top business positions until quite recently – but I think we’re seeing a trend now, and women are at last beginning to get the jobs they deserve in the tourism industry.

“I think women are stronger than men in admin – although I know that’s a generalisation – and I think our femininity is an important asset in the hospitality industry.

“Also, in general, women pay more attention to the finer details,” she said.

“I think we women have a sensitivity that adds a different dimension to the tourism industry,” said Ms. Holm. “Logically speaking, half of all tourists are women, so having women in management positions makes sense.”

The Point Hotel’s Liz Taylor went even further.

“For many years, women weren’t allowed to have these positions,” she said. “But now that we have them, we’re proud of them, and I think this makes us generally work harder to prove that we’re the right ‘wo-man’ for the job.

“We’ve got perseverance, staying power, and endurance; we take the initiative; and we’re good at detailed planning and delegating – which is an important aspect of management.

“I also think the motherly instinct is ingrained in our systems, and that this ability to nurture and mentor others makes us more compassionate and caring of our staff and our guests.

“We’re passionate beings, too, and passionate about what we do – and we generally and genuinely want to please.

“We’re more open to talk to, and less intimidating than men. And we’re generally more organised because we have to deal with so many things on so many levels in our lives – both in our private lives and in our professional capacities,” she said.

Neels Zietsman, chairman of the board of Mossel Bay Tourism, said, “We’re proud that such an important part of our tourism industry is managed by women – partly because gender equality is an ideal set forth in our country’s constitution, and partly because it’s just right that those women who have the skills and the experience should advance to the top.

“But in the end, it’s not only about gender: it’s also about ability and a genuine love for what you do – and Mossel Bay’s women in tourism have shown again and again that they have those things in abundance.”

ENDS 612 WORDS

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• Beach Boulevard
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• Tel: +2728 – 551 2235
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Taking tourists on guided tours within the Western Cape.

• P.O.Box 1739
• Mossel bay
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• Homepage: www.cape-of-good-tours.com

Our price for deep sea fishing is R550 per person, including all the fishing equipment, tackle and bait. Bring only own refreshments. This is a hour trip. We are operating on the same cost as from 2008. We also have a shorter 3 hour trip for R300 per person, for those who like a shorter trip.

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Media Release. 4 March 2010. Mossel Bay Tourism

Image: This leopard triggered a camera trap in the Gamkaberg. Photo courtesy of the Cape Leopard Trust

Leopard Group Includes Mossel Bay Property in its Studies

The Cape Leopard Trust has installed a camera trap on Mossel Bay’s Bonniedale Holiday Farm as part of its work to track and study the Province’s most important predator species.

“We’ve been running surveys in the Gamkaberg and the Swartberg since October 2007, and in the Cedarberg since 2004,” said the Trust’s founder, Quinton Martins.

“Throughout the mountain areas, the surveyed population is quite low, so the fact that there is only so much sustainable habitat is obviously of concern.”

Mr. Martins, who spent ten years in the safari industry before beginning his studies, is currently preparing his PhD thesis which aims “to provide a broad understanding of leopard populations in the Cape mountains, their home ranges, and their diet.

“The leopard is the apex species in the Western Cape,” he said. “Without it, the effects could be dire, and you can imagine the knock-on effects it would have on the ecosystem if they were wiped out.

“The need to preserve leopard and their habitat has an effect on managing human-wildlife interactions, and therefore, of course, on the tourism industry.

“The leopard is a charismatic species that has the ability to attract people’s attention. It only occurs in certain wilderness areas, and even though you barely ever see them, the mere fact that they exist – and that you might experience through seeing their spoor – adds to the attraction of an area.”

He said that the Cape Leopard Trust provided scholarships to a number of students, and that Rhodes University PhD candidate Gareth Mann was studying leopard movement and activity in the Gamkaberg and Swartberg areas.

“I’m trying to identify their core areas, and how they move between areas – and hopefully this information will eventually inform decisions regarding the establishment of movement corridors and priority areas for conservation,” said Mr. Mann.

Conservation Student Aneri Vlok said that the cameras had helped to positively identify seventeen individuals in the Gouritz area – a broad corridor of land surrounding the Gouritz River, which runs from the Swartberg Mountains and into the Indian Ocean just west of Mossel Bay.

“We have 15 stations in this region, with some on private land – like the one at Bonniedale – and some on state land that’s managed by CapeNature – like the ones on the adjacent Gamkaberg Nature Reserve and in the Gamkaskloof (Die Hel – which forms part of the Swartberg Nature Reserve),” she said.

The cameras are triggered when animals move across their infra-red beams, so, she said, “suddenly we have data on all kinds of species in this area.

“The discovery of bushpig was a surprise in one area, and in Matjiesvlei a farmer was surprised to learn that he had kudu on his land,” she said – although many other seldom seen animals – like aardvark, aardwolf, and honey badgers – have also been pictured by the cameras.

She said that the camera that had been installed on Bonniedale had been up for about 3 weeks, and that it would be serviced for the first time in another two to three weeks’ time.

Cape Nature’s Tom Barry is based at the Gamkaberg Nature Reserve – which lies just north of Bonniedale – and was instrumental in choosing the farm as the site for a camera.

“Nico Hesterman (Bonniedale’s owner) had mentioned that he’d seen brown hyena in the area, and we thought it might be a good idea to set up a camera there in combination with our study to try and see if we could get pictures of them and the leopard,” he said.

Brown hyena are generally thought to have last been seen in the area between a hundred and a hundred and fifty years ago, and, said Mr. Barry, “if we can pick up a breeding population in the area, it would be interesting to know about it.”

Mossel Bay Tourism’s Marcia Holm said that the Trust’s work was exciting for the town’s tourism industry because it highlighted the broad spectrum of attractions in the Mossel Bay, Garden Route, and Klein Karoo areas.

“Many people still associate Mossel Bay with beach holidays, and while our beaches rate amongst our most popular attractions, there is so much more to do in the Mossel Bay region – like exploring the mountains that are the home of the Cape leopard,” she said.

“Mossel Bay is presently running a campaign to attract South Africans during this year’s World Cup, and our experience is that local visitors are often much more adventurous when it comes to getting out onto the back roads and visiting places like Bonniedale.

“The Trust’s work therefore serves to highlight the rewards that you could enjoy in the wilderness areas surrounding Mossel Bay,” she said – while Mr. Martins stressed that leopards were definitely not a threat to people.

“As predators go, leopards are relatively small,” he said.

More information:
Cape Leopard Trust www.capeleopard.org.za
Bonniedale www.bonniedale.com
Mossel Bay www.visitmosselbay.co.za

ENDS 848 WORDS

Taking tourists on guided tours within Western Cape.

• P.O.Box 1739
• Mossel Bay
• 6500
• Cell: +2783 545 2573
• E-mail: michaelwakes@yahoo.com
• Homepage: www.cape-of-good-tours.com

B & B – R250.00 per person per day

Self Catering – R225.00 per person per day

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riverviewlodge@absamail.co.za

R1000.00 per night for a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment – fully equipped kitchen, washing machine, DSTV, linen, towels etc. This apartment is situated in the very popular Point area.

inavis@telkomsa.net

Selfcatering Flat @ R750.00 per day (minimum stay of 7 days) ( The minimum amount of days for Dec./Jan. is 14) If guests would like to extend their stay, discount can be arranged.

B & B @ R350.00 per day per person sharing. If guests stay for 3 days and longer, again discount can be arranged.

www.wheretostay.co.za/outeniquaonc/

Media Release. 25 February 2010. Mossel Bay Tourism.

See below for videos.

Proud Mossel Bay Proud of Young Surfing Star Shaun Joubert

Eighteen year old Shaun Joubert – a Mossel Bay resident and rising star on the international Pro Junior Surfing Tour – is in Hawaii right now, riding epic waves with a bunch of other youngsters from around the world under the direction of Billabong Australia’s international marketing manager (and the company’s international junior team manger), Sasha Stocker.

“He’s working towards getting into the WQS (World Qualifying Series) and, eventually, into the WCT (Association of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour),” said his mother, Minette.

“He’s been in Australia since the middle of January, but Billabong have now taken them over to Hawaii for a training camp while the big WCT Snapper Rocks contest is under way.

“He told us they’re having the best swell, and the surf’s been pumping.”

South Africa’s 2009 surfing champion, Llewellyn Whittaker – who grew up in Mossel Bay, went on to surf both the WQS and the British Tour (in which he took the Triple Crown Championship in 2007), and now owns the Waves School of Surfing and manages its Schools Club development programme – said that Shaun was an example of how sport, mixed with determination and dedication, can help young people to create significant opportunities for themselves.

“In Shaun’s own way he came from humble beginnings, because he was born and bred inland, and he only came to live in Mossel Bay and started surfing when he was nine – which is late by many children’s standards,” said Mr. Whittaker.

“But we have such fantastic waves in this area, and just as it opened up opportunities for me, Mossel Bay has opened up opportunities for Shaun – and he’s taken them and turned them into a promising career as a professional sportsman.”

Ms. Joubert (a neurosurgeon) said that she and her husband, Anton (a medical scientist), are adamant that Shaun should have a complete education, and that he had matriculated from Point High School last year.

“It’s hard earning a living as a sportsman, especially because you rely on your body for your success, so it’s worthwhile investing in a good education.

“The school was very supportive, and always helped him along, even though he was often away on tour for months on end.

“But they also made him feel very special: he represented South Africa four times in a row as a junior, and when all the children had to wear their school blazers on Tuesdays, the school asked him – and one or two others who also had national colours – to wear their Springbok blazers instead.

“I promise you, he wore that blazer with a huge smile! He said that making the SA Junior team was one of the best things he’s ever done.”

Shaun – who took a bronze medal in the Under-16 division at the world championships in Brazil two years ago, and came third in the Oakley Global Challenge in 2008 – is now sponsored by major international surf brands Billabong, Oakley, Dakine, Reef Brazil, Nixon Watches and Future Finns. He is also an accomplished photographer (a passion he shares with his father), and a more than competent journalist and blogger (see his interview with Seth Hulley, the manager of the Oakley Australia team, here).

“We’re very excited about Shaun’s success because he’s a real role model for the kids who are taking part in the Schools Club programme, which is one of the development projects we’ve sponsored,” said Mossel Bay Tourism’s Marcia Holm.

She explained that Mossel Bay Tourism’s support for sport was based on the conviction that it can be both a positive influence in young people’s lives, and an important driver of tourism for the town.

“Mossel Bay is an important beach holiday destination, and the beach means surfing to many people, so just by succeeding the way he has, Shaun has brought attention to the town. And for that, we’re both proud and grateful,” she said.

“For now,” said Ms. Joubert, “he’s doing something he really loves in many beautiful places all around the world.

“These are memories he’ll treasure forever.”

Watch The Waves School of Surfing’s video about Shaun Joubert at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-58glt2cMM. School children who want to learn can to surf can join Schools Club (which is open to all) for free tuition on Thursday afternoons at Diaz Beach – weather permitting. Locations change according to conditions, so all participants are encouraged to place their names on the club’s sms database to receive confirmation of arrangements. Contact Llewellyn Whitaker on 078 297 3999

ENDS 767 WORDS

More videos here

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