News > A Green Tale of Two Cities!
GREEN by Name.....GREEN by Nature! That’s the Green Route credo that signifies our company’s “greening” or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment and the credentials that every one of our incentive groups experiences in programmes throughout southern Africa.
And with CSR playing such a vital role in destination selection these days GREEN ROUTE was recently given a chance to showcase our ingenuity to a group of Australasian industry experts after the Meetings Africa trade show in Johannesburg.
At the invitation, and trust, of SA Tourism Australia, Cape Town and Durban were the focus for this VIP familiarisation trip conjured up by Green Route for these media and incentive agents. They were treated to surprise after surprise that enriched their lives in experiencing local culture, crafts and wilderness in a compelling and interactive way.
In Durban they viewed dolphins out at sea, visited and enjoyed samplings with the locals at the Victoria Indian Market – spice tasting, samoosa sampling and watching a colourful sari demonstration. They jived to the beat of African music and thrilled to a beachfront rickshaw race that took them to a traditional restaurant, where Durban’s famous “Bunny Chow” was on the menu.
The Cape Town day began with a bicycle ride in the township of Masiphumelele (say masee-poo-melaylay) for a close-up look at life in a crowded shanty community, where their guide was an award-winning operator from the township. “Very humbling...very exciting....very enriching experience,” said one of the Aussies. Food parcels were handed out by the group to the needy during a walking tour in Ocean View township and some animated discussions ensued as “life experiences” were swapped.
They visited hotels and restaurants in the beautiful peninsular suburb of Noordhoek and were warmly received at the unique worm farm at the farm village there. This leg of the journey culminated in a picnic lunch on the Noordhoek common, a popular venue for team building exercises. They then stopped to meet the children of an ‘after school’ care project in the township of Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay. iKhaya le Themba (meaning ‘Home of Hope’) is Green Route’s inaugural Green Tribe CSR division Community Development project.
Then, back to the high life! Site inspections of two five star hotels on the Atlantic seaboard were followed by a dine-around at three well-known upmarket restaurants in the City. The visitors were enthralled and a fitting finale was when they received gifts from Green Route – beaded baskets made by township wire crafters. These were filled with traditional South African snacks. Thus our visitors left with a genuine “taste” of South Africa to spread the word of what treats lie in store for incentive groups to our shores in the future...when they “take the Green Route”!
Our Green Tribe Community Development project is vibrant, creative and committed. Ask us for more information at greentribe@greenroute.co.za
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