Thank you for all your efforts and help with this tour !!

 and Michael thank you for your patience, understanding about my nervousness in making your tour the best it could be with what we have to work with within this mysterious, wonderful country of South Africa.

So when you think that you cannot do this -

MICHAEL HIS LARGE CHAIR AT PENGUIN COLONY CAPE TOWN

He did – enjoyed and disability DOES NOT MEAN you cannot do it!

I have combined this newsletter, as time has run away with me, as thankfully I have been busy with tours for the last couple of months. I am truly grateful to those of you who have sent me business in this climate of fiscal fallout.

I love classical music and am currently listening to Vivaldi’s Four Season’s, which is pertinent due the heading of my newsletter. This will be followed by my favourite – Tchaikovsky! This gives me inspiration to write and love life. Some exciting things, besides the weather heading to “my season” I like it hot, I cannot take cold. I grew up in the town which has the second best weather in the world – Mossel Bay – with sunshine 350 days a year, so I am a sunshine person.

So what are the new tour all about – new tours included in our line-up in the new season – more animals and more people! What is this woman going on about I am sure you are asking yourself.

ANIMALS – Tenikwa in the Crags on the Garden Route of South Africa, where Len & Mandy opened their arms to animals in need of help, love and rescued some that would otherwise have died. They have many of the small cats we never see on a “safari” as they often nocturnal, shy or both. They have some never even heard of generally – Black Footed Cats, Caracal, Wild Cats, Serval and off course the most endangered of all the Cheetah. They also have birds – our national bird the Blue Crane and Malibu Storks – the undertakers. This is really worth a visit to support their amazing work. They also do pro-deo work with the local communities animals where possible and where funds allow. A worthy cause and wonderful place to visit, they also go the extra mile to ensure that my special guests get the most out of the experience.

PEOPLE – Meet the People – in Mossel Bay, a young man by the name of Jackie Viljoen, had a vision to help people with hidden talent to promote themselves with a tour with a difference, not a township tour, but a tour where these people could be exposed to visitors to the town who could be a source of “spreading the word” about their talents and how they are trying to help themselves rather than rely on help from government etc; I have written before about Janneman who has now sadly passed away. He did leather work in the form of hand stitched bags etc; he was in a wheelchair after a motor vehicle accident. I was very upset by his untimely death, as he was about my age – far too young to die. I still want to be a granny and enjoy many years of grandchildren. I will now also never get to buy that special pink ostrich leather bag he was going to make me when he could get the leather – sad indeed.

BUT on a brighter note, there are still others who we meet:
Cecile, who makes a foot balm and face crème from herbs she grows in her garden in Grootbrak and also serves a tea made from ingredients in her garden – refreshing hot or cold – she explains how herbs can relax and pamper you.

Then Hein Munroe, whose family have been diving for Oysters for 7+ generations. The beach where I used to dive for oysters as a child – Munroes beach – named after his family who lived there in the Cape Dutch style cottages, now part of the Dias Museum complex. Hein explain how this is done and how oysters are rich in calcium. Between the oysters and my mothers daily calcium pills fed to me, I have very hard and VERY heavy bones for which I am grateful no osteoporosis, so living in Mossel Bay did me a world of good as a child.

We continue the tour to a coffee roastary in Voorbaai where we meet Barruch who also explain the process. Then to the “township” area to meet a few other people, we met Patrick this past weekend. He is a man who is also a wheelchair user that works with leather like Janneman did, he also is a cobbler of sorts, in that he repairs shoes. His story is a real one of dragging himself up from the depths of despair, to be what he is today, a person with conviction to make the best of his life and push his boundaries in sport. Beside the leather work he is participating in various sports, such as wheelchair racing, shot-put, discus and more, for this he needs specialised wheelchairs. He has got old ones handed down from other competitors, but needs new to be the best he can be for getting his times to qualify for the Olympics – his dream – in London in 2012.

Any one who has contacts or can sponsor this, please contact me, whether you are in South Africa or overseas, we will make a plan to get any chairs donated to him and get publicity for you in this regard.

So all these people we meet all have a story to tell and worthwhile a stop and listen, engage with them and come away with a happy feeling of having met very special people. The tourism ad for Mossel Bay is – “no hurry – no worries.” A ‘must-do” stop!

Pam Taylor
Flamingo Tours

Janneman was a wheelchair user that was such a success story of achievement through gaining self worth and understanding his ability rather than his disability. Janneman made hand stitched leather handbags.

It all started about 5 years ago, when Jackie Viljoen met this sad, shy man who did not understand he had talent to make his future more comfortable and find his self esteem and his pride. With a lot of encouragement he found all of this and I became very fond of this gentle-man – emphasis on gentle. From first meeting him where he would not look in the eye, because his disability literally got in the way. He thought that because he was in a wheelchair he was useless, no one in a wheelchair is useless, but it takes time to find that wealth within that strong essense of life that when found spring out and brings joy to all who meet the person. Janneman came out of this shell so much I could not wait to see how he had “grown” each time we visited with overseas guests. Most said he was the highlight of the tour.

So now what?? His passing has left this huge chasm that will never be filled in the way Janneman made eveyone feel so humbled. He will be sorely missed by all knew him. Our condolences to his family and friends. Pam Taylor – Flamingo Tours.

- JANNEMAN – THE STAR OF THE SHOW!

The recent spate of storms that hit Cape Town and the Western Cape have reaked havoc here, but in spite of all that, we still went on tour with guests in wheelchairs in rain, sun and to the rugby! At the rugby match – Emerging Springboks versus the British & Irish Lions, it rained it was freezing and generally a good time was had by all visitors to this beautiful country – no matter the weather!

John from the Rugby Museum, next to the Newlands stadium, very kindly arranged accessible undercover parking for us, so we did not have to walk for miles in the inclemant weather to get back to our adapted transport.

The game itself was exciting with SA on the back foot for most of the game until the final couple of minutes when the Emerging Springboks came off that back foot to equalise the score 13 ALL. It was really a good match.

I think that the Newlands grounds  needs a cover like Wimbledon that can move over in the rain or do you wheelchair rugby crowd feel that rain is part of the whole package? I leave my story there for the moment, until next time!

Enjoy the rest of the rugger the final test will be a a good one even though we have already won the series.

Tours for the deaf and hard of hearing are part of the portfolio and travelers are accommodated with sign language.

As personal attention is important, the package includes pre-tour briefings to ensure that attention is given to personal interests, needs, age group and physical ability.

About 6 years ago I went and did a sign language course and then a few months later followed that with an advanced course, but my signing still stinks. I think I can manage a meager conversation. My problem is that I know what I want to say more or less, but cannot follow others conversation easily – practice , practice & more practice is required on my part. I tried to sell this concept of tours for guests with hearing impairments about 6 years ago at our largest Trade show in Africa, but no one was interested at all. A friend who is deaf – Pierre – even went to study to become a tour guide so that we could work together and poor guy waited for tours, from other sources as well as myself – nothing – zilch – neto – so what did he do – start a small company for himself- good for him – but sad loss to the guiding fraternity!!

If you have friends, clients, guests who want a wonderful tour of this dynamic land of South Africa, contact us, and let us put a wonderful tour together for you. Last year I did a tour for guests that were blind and we had a really fantastic time so much so that one of those guests e-mails me daily to just to say Hi and thanks. What a rewarding job I do, I want to show off my country – so come and let me achieve my goal.

Pam Stephens Taylor. Cape Town South Africa

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