Newsletter-

Community Based Tourism 2009

Field research trip to South Africa &
Lesotho
Newsletter #1 26th November 2009

Who we are and what do we want to achieve

Our travel itinerary:
21.11. Amsterdam– Johannes-
burg
22.11. Johannesburg
23.11. Johannesburg– Soweto
24.11. Johannesburg–
Bloemfontein
25.– 27.11. Lesotho
(Malealea)
28.11. Lesotho (Moorosi)
29.– 02.12. Lesotho (Ha Lip-
hapang)
04.12. Lesotho (Moorosi)
05.– 06.12. Lesotho (research
location outside of Moorosi)
07.12. travel day to Addo
08.12. Addo Elephant park
09.12. Port Elisabeth
10.– 13.12. Cape Town
14.12. Arrival in Amsterdam
We are six students at INHolland University of Applied Sciences- Haarlem in the Nether-
lands and we are currently conducting a research for our minor, Community Based
Tourism.
In order to fulfil this, we will do field research at different locations in Lesotho and
South Africa.
We will have to write a research report for the current partners involved in the commu-
nity based tourism projects in Moorosi and Ha Liphapang. This report will include ad-
vises and recommendations for improving tourism at these two locations. Advises and
recommendations must be provided with regard to community involvement, public-
private partnership, transport possibilities and marketing and promotion aspects. In
order to obtain a sufficient amount of information about tourism in South Africa we will
have to conduct numerous interviews.
Right now we are in Lesotho and it is our 5th day in Africa. We have spent the last cou-
ple of days in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Soweto and Bloemfontein– but now we are in
“real” Africa with sometimes no electricity, water, internet and mobile network. There-
fore making this newsletter is also a challenge, since we have to see when we have the
possibility to connect to the internet, or to simply charge the laptops. We have already
conducted several interviews with several stakeholders and the next days our research
will continue in different locations.
We hope we can give you some impressions of our experiences made so far and we will
continue to share them with you in two more newsletters.
Enjoy reading this first issue!
Best regards,
Silviene, Kim, Evelyn, Thalita, Sebastiaan and Inge

In this issue:

Who we are and 1

what do we want
to achieve

The First days 2

Reflections of 4
group members

Fun facts about 5

the group mem-
bers

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The First days

Day 1: the travel to Africa and Johannesburg

Saturday night we all gathered at Schiphol airport and we were all very excited for our trip to Africa. We
flew out at a quarter to 9 and the flight went very well, which was also thanks to the big collection of
movies available. After a quick stopover in Paris, we continued our flight to Johannesburg. All together
our flight took a bit over 12 hours. Fortunately we only had 1 hour of time difference, so we did not
really have a jetlag. After we arrived at Johannesburg airport, we had to wait for more than one and a
half hours at the passport control. Once we were through, we were picked up by a local agent from the
hostel transfer service. The hostel we stayed at was called Ritz and was situated at the northern part of
Johannesburg. One thing that really caught my eye, were the huge differences in wealth. On our way to
the hostel we saw some small slums. Speaking for myself I had never been in a third world country be-
fore. I found it quite confronting to see how people lived in houses built out of gulf plates. However they
all looked very happy and satisfied. Other people told me the situation in Johannesburg was not too bad
compared to other places they had been to. The hostel was quite nice and after we arrived, we had lunch
somewhere nearby. After lunch we took a taxi to the Appartheidsmuseum.
Written by: Sebastiaan Poppen
The Appartheidsmuseum currently has a ground breaking exhibition on display that is celebrating the
life and times of Nelson Mandela. It was very interesting to see so much information about such an inter-
esting person. As you know Nelson Mandela is one of the most important characters of South Africa.
After the museum we took a taxi to the Carlton mall which is known as the highest office building in
Africa. This was on advice of the taxi driver. We went to the 50th floor for a beautiful view of Johannes-
burg.
Written by: Inge Zuurbier

Day 2: Pretoria and Soweto

The day started very, very early, but it did kick off with a good breakfast. Warm toast, eggs and bacon:
the perfect way to start your day! After we were picked up by our driver, we headed towards Pretoria.
There we went to the headquarters of FTTSA, Fair Trade Tourism in South Africa. This NGO (Non govern-
ment organization) was the first and is still the only Fair Trade organization in Africa. They are strongly
focused on equitable development and a overall transformation of the tourism industry. Lolla, the mar-
keting manager, gave us a very interesting and inspiring interview, this was a good starting point for our
research.
After the presentation it was time to go to Soweto, a township near Johannesburg. This was one of the
many things the group was really looking forward to. I heard about this townships before through the
media. My first association was “sad” people where you feel sorry for, poverty, dirt, low employment
rates and no means to get out. Like the favela‟s in Brasil, but then without the gangs. After we carefully
selected a bike, we started our tour. Lebo, who was our guide and also the owner of the hostel we stayed
at, showed us around. But more important, he showed us another side of the townships. Yes, the people
who live there are poor. Yes, they do not have the same facilities and opportunities as we are used to.
But I have never seen so many friendly and warm people during that tour. After a short while you do not
even see the poverty and sorrow. The people who most definitely have a “hard knock life”, do not seem
to mind it that much to see new faces and can get a smile and a “hello, how are you?” in return. Espe-
cially the children made an impact on us. There seemed to be so much joy and happiness in their lifes. A
lot of kids back home, and probably kids in the western world in general, could learn a lesson or two in
Soweto. And even I had a chance to reflect on my own life. What really is important in life. If you ask me
everybody should pay a visit to Soweto. Do a bike tour from Lebo, stay in his hostel to get a perfect idea
of life in a township. Lebo truly is a poster child for survival and strength. He was born in Soweto, had no
real higher education, but still managed to start and to run a successful business, to create afterschool
activities for neighboring children and made a real difference within his community.
All together, I only stayed in Soweto for twenty hours, but still in that short period of time it changed my
perspectives, gave me a chance to reflect and gave me memories for life.
Written by: Thalita Dennert

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Day 3: Train journey to Bloemfontein

On the third day of our trip we were taken to the Johannesburg central train station. Here our day begun
with a really long journey to Bloemfontein. If you ever thought that going from Groningen to Maastricht
is a long journey I wonder what you would think about this 9 ½ hour lasting trip. Even though I have
experienced travelling by train before, this was quite a new experience for me. The first station we
stopped at, we were delayed for approximately one hour. It was quite warm in the train and we could
not get out. What really made up to that was the fact that we travelled first class and we were in a sleep-
ing cabin. It was very funny that the train personnel did not announce any stops and also did not know
what time we would arrive Bloemfontein. Each stop was a long one. Some nice facts about this train was
that It had a very clean toilet in compared to the Dutch toilets. It also had a shower room. There was a
bar and restaurant on board that provided us some nice meals and cold drinks (even taken to our com-
partment). Even though it was a long trip, we gained something that we would never experience again,
like for example the fantastic scenery.
Written by: Silviene Minguel

Day 4: The travel to Lesotho

Today was the day to travel to Lesotho, also known as the “Kingdom in the Sky”. But before our guide
Glenn Jones brought us to Lesotho we did some Sinterklaas shopping. Of course we want to learn about
the culture and traditions of South Africa and Lesotho but nobody can take Sinterklaas from us. After
this we had our second interview, this time with the owner of the Malealea lodge. The Malealea lodge is
an interesting lodge. It is a great tourism initiative where making profit is not the main concern. The
development of the community is most important. Therefore, they indeed are a good community based
tourism project. They also help upcoming community tourism based projects in Moorosi and Ha Li-
paphang, which are our main research areas. After the interview we left for Lesotho, which is a five hour
drive from Bloemfontein.
We needed a visa for Lesotho, so we got one at the customs. After we received stamps we set foot, or
better drove into Lesotho. Lesotho is a beautiful country where eighty percent of the mountaintops are
higher than 1800 meters. At one point we were at a very high pass and looked into the valley where the
Malealea lodge is situated. Of course pictures had to be taken from this beautiful view. Glenn took us to
our lovely „Flinstone‟ houses, but luckily they were made out of actual beds instead of stone beds.
After a short break in which we met three Basotho girls we went to a performance of a local choir and
band. The band actually made their own instruments and it sounded very good. For dinner we of course
had typical African food.
Written by: Kim Deelen

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Reflections of group members

Evelyn Grunau– Leisure Management, INHolland Amsterdam/ Diemen– 4th year– Project group Leader

The First day in South Africa we had Italian food for lunch...and dinner. So, the transition from European
to South African way of life was not that rapid at all. It is not my First time in a Third World country, but
the First time being in one with a researcher‟s point of view. Seeing rich and poor so close together is
still something that amazes me. I think seeing so many Golf 1 right next to brand new BMWs and Audis
defines this „division‟of the population to me. There are a lot of impressions or things I see every day
here, I wish I could capture with my camera, but either we rush by too fast, or it simply cannot be cap-
tured the way I see it: it is something you have to see for yourself. I think the biggest challange of this
trip is realizing how used we all are to having electricity, running water, internet or a mobile network.
Now our group has to do without these things– sometimes for a couple of days. So far I like this trip
(well...it is just day one without a mobile network) and I am looking forward to the rest of it.

Kim Deelen– Tourism Recreation Management, INHolland Rotterdam, 4th year– Deputy Manager

I did not want to have too many assumptions about the places we would visit, but of course you read
and hear things. The city of Johannesburg did not really made an impression on me but the bicycle tour
through Soweto, a township, did. Lebo our guide and owner of Lebo‟s backpackers told us about the
way of life in Soweto, which is not always as dangerous as described in brochures. It was interesting to
see how these people live. I am looking forward to my time in Lesotho. A beautiful country and hope-
fully I will have lots of interesting experiences.

Inge Zuurbier- Tourism Recreation Management, INHolland Haarlem– 4th year– Secretary

I did my internship in Florida last year and that was a great experience. I learned a lot from the culture
for example. This made me want to learn more about the different cultures in the World and that is the
reason why I chose the minor Community Based Tourism. Now I am in South Africa for a few days and it
is very interesting. We went to Soweto where we made a cycle tour through the township and we stayed
there for one night. So we could see their way of living, which was quite interesting. Until now we have
seen some things about the culture in South Africa. At the moment we are staying in Lesotho. Here we
will realize how it will be like to life without electricity– I am curious what that will be like. But...I am
looking forward to it!

Silviene Minguel– Tourism Recreation Management, INHolland Rotterdam– 4th year– Communicator

When I heard I was going to South Africa I became really excited about it. As for all my previous jour-
neys I did not really prepare for this one. I knew It would be a new experience and it would be very ad-
venturous. After hearing what we were going to do I became more excited but also a little bit anxious
of whether I was able to do this journey and survive it. I never made an adventurous trip like this before
or lived in/saw places that are quite poor. It would also be my first backpack trip. Another thing that
worried me so much was whether I would like the food there. Now after being in Africa my view defi-
nitely changed. Africa is not as poor as we have seen on television. It is really a developing country that
is in development. Of course I have seen some slums but I have also seen nice houses. Even though the
people are poor they are very happy. As for the food, I like it so far. I had also discovered that it is a bit
like the food I ate at Curaçao, my place of birth. I think after today my 4th traveling day, I will really go
into the adventurous stuff, like having no electricity, no running water and seeing the big five.

Thalita Dennert– Tourism Recreation Management, INHolland Amsterdam/ Diemen– 4th year– Project
group member

I have never been to Africa and it has been on my “travel-to-do-list” for a while. I am very happy I got
this opportunity! South Africa is a beautiful country. And even though I have only been here for four
days, I have seen and learned so much it has changed my life. Now the next part of our journey has
begun, Lesotho. Which primarily means the start of our research and going back to nature. In other
words, no electricity, no running water and bugs. So, people, wish me luck!

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Sebastiaan Poppen– Tourism Recreation Managment, INHolland Haarlem– 4th year– Archivist

The last few months, I was really looking forward to go on this trip. The last months flew by and now
we are here in Lesotho. The past few days were very interesting. I find it quite confronting to see how
poor some people are. We for example did a bicycle trip through Soweto and it was very interesting to
see the differences in the township. Tuesday we took the train from Johannesburg to Bloemfontein and
it nearly took ten hours. No we are in Lesotho and Malealea is a beautifull little town with a good ambi-
ance. I am really wondering what the next few weeks will bring, but I am sure it is gonna be a great
experience.

Fun facts about the group members

Did you know that…

...we now know the difference between a village and a township? Thanks to Silviene always asking our guides about it,
since she was so curious about it.

...Sebastiaan likes doing the laundry– by hand?

...Thalita always has something in her hair?

...Sebastiaan is the one that always has to finish the girl‟s food?

...one of the choir boys was flirting with Silviene (not vice versa)?

…Kim finally had her real pasta meal (in Lesotho)?

...Inge is allergic against chocolate, but she still eats it? Every time.

...Evelyn managed to find the outdoor toilet, in the dark, without her glasses on?

...Inge thinks that „To Let‟ is missing one letter?

...we had Italian food three times already and were happy to have steak in Bloemfontein?

...Evelyn is very relieved after finally mailing her 14 (!) postcards?

...Sebastiaan can sleep during car trips, even though there is beautiful scenery outside (and five beautiful girls next to him)?

...Jolanda and Silviene are going to the local „witch‟ doctor tomorrow?

...the group has to wear a helmet every other day? And we still do not like it…

Newsletter #2: 3rd December 2009