Fire Light Tours & Safaris Newsletter

PETER MONI started his career in the Tourist Industry working full time in the transfer business. He soon realised that his real interest lay in travel and being able to share this beautiful country with our many travellers that come to our shores, not knowing what to expect. His greatest thrill is lifting the veil on our “dark continent“ and being able to show case the many features which are uniquely African.

Peter is a veteran of more than 150 tours of varying lengths, some as long as 6 weeks. He has led tours extensively in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Zambia and he has travelled extensively in Mozambique and Lesotho. He is a guide that prefers to ring the changes in his work, and the type of work from luxury coach tours to 4 X4 overland and camping safaris. The dictum is that “no two tours are ever the same “, so every tour brings with it its own challenges. Peter is a National South African Tourist Guide with Theta accreditation, a registered FGASA wildlife specialist, a registered Swaziland guide, and an accreditation to guide in Namibia.

AN AFRICAN EXPERIENCE 2006
23 RD AUGUST – 16 TH SEPTEMBER

If ever a tour was blessed with good weather, this was it. Apart from a very light shower that we experienced in Johannesburg along with some very cold weather on our first day, the sun came out for our walk in the Botanical Gardens in Pretoria, the succulents were not as spectacular, but for the fact that this entire region has been blessed with exceptional rains, so no- one minded, the succulents that we found in Vanrhynsdorp made up for it. The entire trip was blessed with very mild comfortable weather, sunshine all the way, we never for one moment had to make any changes because of the weather, and as for the countryside where-ever we went it was green and very beautiful, especially the flowers in Namaqualand.

Dessert Express

Our tour began after a flight from Johannesburg to Windhoek for an overnight stop, a chance for our travellers to get to grips with the jetlag, after a short tour of Windhoek we transferred to the ‘Desert Express’ for our overnight journey to Swakopmund, it’s a fabulous journey that ambles westward through Namibia countryside and we got our first sightings of wildlife, including a stop for a 2 hour open safari game drive in one of the many reserves along our route. A chance to get close to Rhino’s and many antelope including Orynx and Kudu were very special with sundowners taken on the hills overlooking the reserve. We return for dinner on the train and continue on our journey, the train stops overnight giving us a chance to view the stars and some much needed rest. We continue our journey early the following, stopping for a climb on one of the many sand dunes, and after breakfast, we are collected by our coach in Swakopmund and spent overnight at the Swakopmund Hotel, time to explore the ‘Moonscapes’ of the dessert and the Welwitchia’s.

Namibia

We then travelled up the coast to overnight at the Cape Cross Lodge and a visit to the seal island, and from here we motored to Sossusvlei and the Sesriem Canyon, paid a visit to the Duisib Castle with an overnight stop in Luderitz Bay, spent the morning visiting Kolmanskop, the old mining village of the ‘Diamond Coast’ and then the Fish River Canyon, and the stark contrast between beautiful surroundings of the Canyon in the dessert and the flowers that scattered throughout this ‘barren’ land.

Namaqualand

It made for such an interesting tour when you come to remember that we had flowers all the way from the Orange River through Namaqualand, the Bokkeveld Plateau with Calvinia and the drive through to a farm in Klein Toren, in which we must have walked for more than 2 hours with the coach following us until we eventually had to drag ourselves away from the flowers, and returned to our tour schedule and the main road via all the farm roads, it was one of the highlights of our tour, we did get to see bulbs in Bushmans Kloof, and here again such was the splendour of this stay that they did not want to leave. We did get our ‘bobbejaangesigies’ in the Namaqua National Park as we got our ‘bulbinella’s’ in Bushmans Kloof, but by the time we got to Ramsgat in Clanwilliam they had their fill of ‘asteraceae’. The ‘mesembres’ on the West Coast were great and we stopped and took in our fill, we did Table Mountain this trip, on arrival, it sort of settles your stay in Cape Town.

Cape Town

As for Kirstenbosch in spring, I cannot add to the splendour, it was like walking in a time-warp, all the flowers we saw on the trip were out in full blossom, and we got to see the succulents and the baobab in the Conservatory and the Proteas that were just coming into bloom. The proteas followed us into De Hoop, and here for the ‘Southern Right Whale’ for as far as the eye could see, they just kept on coming. What followed was a feast (picnic) prepared for us by the Arniston Hotel which was fit for a king. What a day, what with L’Agulas in the morning, followed by the whales and proteas in De Hoop, you get your fill.

One remarkable feature of this tour is that it continuously introduces such a variety of location, such a diversity of nature, be it the welwitchia’s in a harsh dessert to the beauty of the flowers of the Namaqualand, and then on to splendour of Bushmans Kloof and on to the tranquillity of Arniston by the sea.. The traveller never tires from the spectacle of Table Mountain and Kirstenbosch and the sheer simplicity of Hantam House in Calvinia.

The programme this year was great, the selection of changes in the hotels and just the general programming, was terrific. The Farmhouse Hotel was very relaxing and far better located. Staying at the V & A Waterfront, saves you so much time in travelling to and from outside locations, and with what is on offer, there are no comparisons to be had anywhere else in the country. Arniston was simply great and we were able to accomplish so much more, like L’Agulas and De Hoop. Even the Franschoek Country House, was much more central just 2km out of town, with a walk through the vineyards.

Knysna

Only on the Kaaiman’s Pass and on entry into Knysna with a 40 minute delay due to road repairs, made us late for the 12h30 shuttle departure on the Knysna lagoon. This in turn gave us a chance to check into our hotel, we changed to the 14h30 cruise, which gave the sun a chance to shine and the meal on board was terrific.

Long may the architects of such touring programmes continue to grow and develop such fabulous itineraries. It gives us such a wonderful chance to showcase our country at the very best time of the year and to have had the opportunity of working on such a tour, a chance to experience the passion and the love of travel that such a tour allows. The tour is state-of-the-arte; it is the highlight of my touring year.