WORLD CUP! Feel it, it is here.

I cannot beleive, that after the hundreds of days we have been counting down, that at 8PM local time, 7PM London Time, the world cup FINALLY starts!
South africa was humming yesterday as thousands of planes arrived filled to the brim with revaling fans.People lines the streets blowing Vuvuzelas, a local trumpet used at all matches.
The World cup kicked off with a great live concert held last night in Johannesburg with many international stars such as Alecia Keys, Black Eyed Peas (who were dismal) as well as local South African bands that showed their own world class standards. See these sites for more information on the RSA bands.
PARLOTONES ; FRESHLYGROUND
For more information on the parties and activities in Cape Town, you can visit the following site: FIFA FAN PARKS CAPE TWON

10th May is Inauguration Day.

We recently celebrated Freedom Day in South Africa, but yesterday was just as much a remembrance of a historical turning point in the history of our country, as it marked the day that former President, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated. With crowds gathering to more than 100,000 people, Mr. Mandela delivered his moving speech from the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Below are some exerts of this famous speech;

“Out of the experience of an extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud”.

“The time for the healing of the wounds has come.
The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come.
The time to build is upon us”.

Nelson Mandela is the true hero of our country.

For the full written inaugural speech click here!
For the YouTube link Click here.

One & Only Hotel Cape Town Cocktail Party.

Wedgewood South Africa was invited for cocktails and canapés to the luxurious One & Only Hotel last week to meet the new chief sales and marketing manager, Wilna Beukes. The One & Only is situated in the heart of Cape Town’s trendy Waterfront area, and surrounded by an exclusive Marina offering both mountain and harbour views. The location was the perfect setting for a warm autumn evening. Taste buds were tantalized by a dazzling array of canapés provided from the hotels restaurants, Nobu and Maze. Thank you Laura, Caren and Wilna for a very enjoyable evening!
Photo Above left to right: Christina of Wedgewood South Africa, Michelle from Time, Laura Bravetti of One & Only, Rolf from Wedgewood South Africa

Cape Town Life- Friday after work…

While the weather is still good and autumn tries to creep closer in the southern hemisphere, Capetonians still carry on with the tradition of drinks by the beach after work.
For those who are lucky and have managed to start the weekend early, they get the prime tables at the many up market cocktail bars situated along the favourite beach boulevards.
The area of Camps Bay has to be the prime location for this. The long white soft sandy beach, with blue Atlantic waters is flanked by some of the best and trendiest bars and restaurants in Cape Town.

The crowd is mixed between fashionable youngsters and businessmen carrying on negotiations with clients they have invited for a Sauvignon and lavish platter of prawns. After drinks, those with time will dine at Paranga, The Cove, Bungalow, Blues and plenty of other top restaurants.
So much choice, too little time.

Changing Zimbabwe, The Victoria Falls.

Over the last decade, Zimbabwe has been passed by as an Incentive destination due to its political views. Some of my first incentives with international clients took place up at the Victoria Falls more than 10 years ago. This magical place will always hold fond memories. The irony is that some of the best hotels for incentives and large conference groups were sadly put to one side for all these years, however, things are starting to change.
Wedgewood has continued to host top class incentives at the Victoria Falls, but this has taken place on the Zambian side of the Falls, in some of the most luxurious and well appointed properties such as the Royal Livingstone Hotel, Zambia

On a recent trip to the area, I took time off to re-explore the Zimbabwean side of the Victoria Falls. The first thing that struck my mind was that it was far busier than expected. I noted that there was a mix of both small group travel and FIT’s from a mixed background of markets such as UK, USA, Asian, and East European.
Rates are very good as some hotels can be on average 40% cheaper than in Zambia, and this goes for food and drink too.
I was fortunate enough to spend a few nights at the Victoria Falls Hotel, the real Grande Dame of the hotels at Victoria Falls. This 5 star hotel was built during the colonial period and was meant for the true purpose of rest and relaxation on a large scale. Perfectly located next to the old Victorian station where one can arrive on the Famous Rovos Rail from Pretoria South Africa, then with sweeping views over rolling perfectly manicured lawns down to the gorge with the mighty Zambezi River.

As far as location goes, the more sort after hotels, are closely situated to the small town of Victoria Falls, and is within easy walk. The town has some interesting stores and curio markets to keep one busy. When one sticks to the main roads, it is safe to walk around.
Beyond this, there is so much that one can do in the area and the tourism infrastructure has not only been well maintained, but even in the difficult 10 years that local companies have gone through, they have pulled through and expended on local product.
One can enjoy lazy trips on river boats, watching the sun set over the Zambezi River with cocktails and canapés, breathtaking helicopter trips over the falls, while spotting elephants and hippos at the same time. To step up the pace, one can enjoy an elephant back safari, or simply interact with these graceful creatures. Wild Life Safari drives can be done in the nearby state park. Those who are fearless may think of taking the plunge over the gorge on a bungee rope!



For more information, contact us at rolf@wedgewood.co.za

27th April is Freedom Day

Freedom Day is celebrated annually as a reminder of the struggle for a free and just South Africa culminating in the first democratic elections held in 1994 where South Africans of every walk of life participated in the making of our new country. Freedom Day commemorates the first democratic elections held in South Africa on 27 April 1994.

London Eye comes to Cape Town

When I heard about the article below, I thought to myself, this is nice. However I would be curious as to how many Capetonians will ride such a wheel, when behind it we have a towering Table Mountain 1000m above sea level, outclassing the Ferris wheel by a staggering 950m. As we live in a very VERY, windy city, I personally would not like to be caught in such a contraption when the storms start to blow. However the details are interesting. Take a read.

Cape Town will have a giant wheel, similar to those in London and Paris, at the V&A Waterfront ahead of the World Cup - and it will remain for at least six months.
The 50m diameter wheel, designed and supplied by Wheel of Excellence, is being shipped to South Africa from the Place de la Concorde in Paris.
It is smaller than the London Eye (which is 135m high), but similar to the 60m wheel in London's Hyde Park.
Ronald Bussink, its designer, said it couldn't be compared to a Ferris wheel: "This is a stand-alone, a major tourist attraction."
The wheel has 36 enclosed air-conditioned capsules holding eight people. Each trip accommodates 288 people.
Running daily from 10am until 10pm (with the possibility of extending running hours until midnight), the wheel could accommodate 15 000 riders a day.
At night it is lit up by 2 million LED lights, which consume only two kilowatts of energy an hour.
It will be set up at the Gateway Canal at the Waterfront, accessed from the Coen Steytler entrance.
Tickets for a ride are expected to sell for R70, but the Waterfront expects to have various pricing plans, including family packages, and a cost for the hiring of a private cabin. A VIP cabin with leather seats and Champagne bar will also be available.
Two of the cabins are accessible to wheelchair users.
The wheel will turn at a stately "panoramic speed" and each trip will last 15 to 20 minutes, allowing those on top panoramic views of Table Mountain, Robben Island, Cape Town Stadium and the Paarl Mountains. The Waterfront in-tends having the wheel functioning as early as June.
"This is a major coup... it's the first time a wheel like this has been in South Africa," said V&A Waterfront commercial director for 2010, John Elliott.
There are Wheel of Excellence wheels in major tourist destinations such as London, Brisbane, Perth, Copenhagen, Kuala Lumpur and Niagara Falls.
Elliott said the required permits had been obtained from the city. The permit is valid for six months.
Felicity Purchase, the mayoral committee member for Economic Development and Tourism, said news of the wheel was "tremendous".
"I have been on the London Eye and the Singapore Eye and at each one there are permanent queues."

Crossing to the other side

One thing that has always been somewhat of a challenge while living in Cape Town is the lack of working pedestrian lights, or foot bridges to cross heavy traffic. But now with much thanks to the large development that has taken place due to preparation for the World Cup, the city has had to upgrade many pedestrian areas and make crossing major intersections far safer than before. So I hope the days of playing “chicken” are gone.

For groups and incentives, the two new bridges will now finally make a safe and easy pedestrian access route joining the hotels around the Cape Town Conference Centre directly to the Waterfront.
The new bridges will be monitored by CCVTV cameras to make sure the areas are safe to use 24 hours a day.

Besides these bridges, elsewhere other major road upgrades continue on around the city much to the delight of all the city dwellers.

Fifa Ticket systems bomb out!

The much awaited “over the counter” Fifa 2010 ticket sales left thousands of South Africans furious as systems crashed all over the country. Many people had been queuing for 8 hours or more to stand the chance of purchasing category tickets with entry prices of ZAR140.00 per ticket, or the equivalent of US$20.
It was reported that one father and his sons who had camped out the night before, and were only 14th in the queue were not able to get any of the affordable tickets promised to SA Citizens by the time they arrived at the counter.
By Thursday afternoon tensions had mounted as queues were not moving and communication as to the failure of software systems by Fifa were nonexistent that in some areas police had to be called in to manage crowds that were on the verge of rioting.
Fifa apologized this Friday morning and said they were doing their best to get systems up and running again.
It was reported on the radio this morning however that 100% of all tickets have now been sold for matches in Cape Town.

FIFA releases 500,000 tickets to South Africans!!!

In a land mark change in Fifa history, South Africans will now be able to buy tickets for the first time today, directly over the counter. Local’s fans have been battling with strict Fifa ticket regulations which have made it difficult for those without internet access or normal banking accounts, something that affects many less privileged citizens, but still fans of the game. Over the counter ticket sales start today at 9am in all major centers across the country and people have been queuing since 4pm the previous day. All tickets and categories are available except or the final game in Johannesburg. The excitement has started with some sad news when it was reported that one elderly lady standing in queue this morning passed away from a heart attack.

Soccer Fever in Cape Town

Saturday the 10th April 2010 allowed for another spectacular showcase of our new soccer stadium in Cape Town.
Two back to back matches were played between South Africa vs Nigeria and Brazil vs Ghana.
At first many thought that the 68000 seater stadium would be a blemish on the city skyline, but now that it is complete, its sleek design with aesthetic lines blend in with white covering and a light dove grey blue roof to match the ocean.
Some local supporters for the games included Wedgewood's Christina Silva from our operations team. "The stadium looks amazing. The organization was perfect and I am looking forward to see Portugal play during the World Cup".

I love Cape Town!

I am sure there are many people who can happily say that they love their city.I am most happy to be one of those. I am a truly and utterly biased Capetonian. There is not a day that goes by that I do not enjoy the amazing energy and beauty of the City of Cape Town.
There are so many attributes that make it an amazing city to live in and over time these are the features I wish to covey on this blog in more detail.

Cape Town has such natural beauty, being surrounded by oceans and mountains. This has created many "green lungs" where one is within quick and easy access to nature.
It is safe and easy to walk and explore the city centre. There are many pedestrian areas that showcase great markets and stores. We have a great cafe culture inviting one to enjoy the "old town"
For centuries, Cape Town has been a melting pot for different religious and ethnic backgrounds and this has led to a truly cosmopolitan and liberal city.

The other great advantage Cape Town has, its its easy access to the rest of the surrounding country side. Within less than an hour one is in the Wine Country surrounded by high valleys and green slopes of vineyards. Head in the other direction and one can explore some of the most pristine coast lines of the Hermanus area, famous for whale watching.

There is always so much to do and so little time in this great city!