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

We set off from Cape Town through to the Garden Route via the R62, the longest wine route in the world, overnighting in Oudtshoorn, the Ostrich capital of the country. Here we visited the Cango Wildlife Ranch, where they have a breeding programme for the endangered Cheetah. They also have White Lion, White Bengal Tigers and many more very interesting animals and birds, many endangered such as the Cape Vulture.

We then visited the Safari Ostrich farm, for a tour and lunch ( no potatoes!!). Afterwards we  then headed to the coastal area over the Outeniqua pass to Knysna for a night. This is where the real adventure began, with sightings of Elephant, Buffalo and Warthog. Yes we saw 2 of the 6 Lion, a female that decided she liked the look of us staring at her from a koppie and decided to walk back up the hill, so back into the car – fast – and then tried to follow her, but she slunk off into the thick Spekboom vegetation fast.

The next morning the sunrise was beautiful and as I was taking a photo of it, I heard a roar, Keith shouted he’s walking at about 200m direction 12 o’clock from the guest house that overlooked a waterhole and low and behold what a beautiful male Lion. More of this was on the cards over this very lucky spell.

We arrived at Shamwari and in the first game drive of the evening, we followed a male Cheetah on the hunt. This happened a few times. We also followed a female with 2 cubs a few times over the 8 game drives we did. The Elephant encounters were also special, with the young bulls really play fighting a lot. Other sightings included a herd of Elephant and a White Rhino with calf, which were in the same location as the Elephant.

In the mix

We also encountered that same White Rhino with calf who had rolled in the red sand with a Black Rhino who was totally out in the open, who took a dip in a very small mud pool. We managed to get a photo of both types of Rhino together – another first for the rangers.

So many firsts for seasoned rangers on this trip the angles were really smiling down on us. And so it went on with one special encounter after the other. A Lioness with 2 cubs of about 6 months, was not happy with the males advances,  and tore a strip off him by growling and chasing him. He tried to block her wanting to leave, but she chased him with lots of growling and roaring – a sight I tried to video but was shaking too with excitement.

More Lion encounters, chasing the Male cheetah out of their territory. I can almost write a book about these 4 days at this private game reserve. Well, the verdict at the end of the tour was – after having visited most of the Sub Saharan countries of Africa over 28 years and doing many game encounters, this was by far the best ever experience for Keith, Liz & Tom. Seb enjoyed his first visit and I am sure he will be back, as I am sure the Somerville’s will be.

Keep reading and I hope to set up a photo gallery for these magnificent safaris we do in MALARIA-FREE area – Cheers for now – Pam Taylor.

Lioness one of many seen

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!

Toyota’s system, developed in a collaboration with researchers in Japan, is among the fastest in the world in analysing brain waves, it said in a release on Monday.

Past systems required several seconds to read brain waves, but the new technology requires only 125 milliseconds – or 125 thousandths of a second.

The person in the wheelchair wears a cap that can read brain signals, which are relayed to a brain scan electroencephalograph, or EEG, on the electrically powered wheelchair, and then analysed in a computer program.

Research into mobility is part of Toyota’s larger strategy to go beyond automobiles in helping people get around in new ways.

The new system allows the person on the wheelchair to turn left or right and go forward, almost instantly, according to researchers.

Coming to a stop still requires more than a thought. The person in the wheelchair must puff up a cheek, which is picked up in a detector worn on the face.

Japanese rival Honda Motor Co is also working on a system to connect the monitoring of brain waves with mechanical moves.

Earlier this year, Honda showed a video that had a person wearing a helmet sitting still but thinking about moving his right hand. The thought was picked up by cords attached to his head inside the helmet. After several seconds, Honda’s boy-shaped robot Asimo, programmed to respond to brain signals, lifted its right arm.

Neither Honda nor Toyota said it had any plans to turn the technology into a product for commercial sale as each said they are still developing the research.

- AP

Article found at www.News24.com

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.

Jeff and I were at the Indaba Trade Show in Durban earlier this month, in the Zulu Kingdom of South Africa, the sub-tropical area of the country – hot, humid with everything larger than life, as it rains often and the weather is usually warm to hot always! We love it, as it is a nice break from the cooling Cape Town and Garden Route. Everyone loves our bright pink Flamingo sitting in a wheelchair (a wire one – not the real thing – nature conservation would have me up for cruelty). We are now offering some more plans going further afield and into unexplored areas for those guests who are able to move around in a standard bathroom. OFF the BEATEN TRACK, BRITISH INFLUENCE IN S.A. or design your own tour with your interests in mind and let us arrange your dream holiday for you. We found that many more accessible places that are coming online, with lots more to do and see. Remember we can facilitate many adventure types of day trips. Deep Sea Fishing, Tandem Paragliding, Bungi Jumping, Shark Cage diving, Fly through the canopy of the indigenous forest, just to mention a few, you name it, I will see if I can arrange it. We found that those wanting a real “Adventure” type tour, we can offer so much more these days. This is what we go to Indaba for to bring the world in one country to you! Next month we are off to see all these new places and experiences, to check out the accessibility and advise on how to change it, so that we have more to offer our guests and friends.

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EXCITING NEWS
Adapted vehicle to hire out to overseas visitors

In the near future we are going to be able to offer our overseas visitors (when I buy it!!) an adapted vehicle to hire for package deals only. This is for able bodied driver with international driver’s licence, arriving and departing from Cape Town. The package includes accommodation, all pre-booked and an itinerary to follow or design your own itinerary. This exciting development will be on offer later this year. I am selling my VW Microbus and want to purchase a newer vehicle, that we can offer, when it is not in use by ourselves for our tours. So hold your thumbs, fingers and toes, that we can find something suitable at a reasonable cost and also that we sell the VW without too much hassle. Selling VW 2.3 Microbus white, in standard mode – 212 000 km 1997 December first registered – good condition.
R65 000.00. as is – voets stoets.

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“ADVENTURES” WE CAN FACILITATE”

We can facilitate many adventures, that many people are not aware of. here is a list of things we can arrange for our special guests who want to do something different or are mad enough to want to do these “adventures”. Some are already included in our itineraries.
CAPE TOWN

Helicopter flips
Deep Sea Fishing
Abseiling – tandem
Yacht sailing
Fossil Park archaeological site viewing (Palaeontology – extinct animal fossils)
Boat trip to view seals
Sea Kayaking – good upper body strength and balance required
HERMANUS/GANSBAAI

Shark Cage Diving – cold water 12 – 15°C
Whale watching from boat
Land based Whale watching

GARDEN ROUTE

Farm Experience – farm tour on back of pick up vehicle (bakkie) to see African Nguni cattle, ostrich and sheep.
Shark Cage Diving – Warm Water 20°C+
Paragliding – tandem
Meet the People – unusual style “township” tour – not typical tour – very different – show pride NOT poverty!!
Whale and Dolphin watching from boat off beach launch
500m Forest Walk
Crocodile Cage Diving for those who can stand – not in chair
Hot Air Ballooning for those who can stand – not in chair (In JNB area in chair) Oudtshoorn for able bodied.
River cruises on boats
Bungi Jumping
Tree Top Canopy tour
Game safari

WEST COAST

Fossil Park – extinct animal bones of creatures were have never seen
Many more things are happening all the time. Hope to add to the list soon.

If you have more exciting things to do – let me know and I will add this to the list!