The world cannot travel right now. South Africa
closed her borders for tourists. News updates come in faster as lightning in a
South African summer storm. Health experts research tirelessly to get us as
fast as possible through this. The situation is dreary, awful, and to most
probably heavily frightening. We live in hectic times. Sharing stories and
knowing that no one of us is alone in this, helps.
We cannot go to South Africa right now, but we can
ask the locals about their country.
You find the Swartberg mountain range at an
elevation of up to 2,300 metres, in the Western Cape province. They divide the
Great Karoo in the north and the Klein Karoo in the south. It is an area of
lakes, with caves, with peaceful valleys from where you can see steep ravines.
The Swartberg Pass connects the Karoo towns Prince
Albert and Oudtshoorn. It is certainly a road trip for the bold and brave. A
gravel road that winds to the summit 1,583 metres above sea level, with divine
views at every turn. The thrill comes from manoeuvring steep (and often sudden)
serpentines.
In 1762, a farmer’s couple began to build what is today
known as Prince Albert. The place soon attracted more and more farmers. Fast
forward eighty years, a church had been built. A well-established community
formed. Locals suggested naming their town Albertsburg. In memory of Prince
Albert, the English Queen Victoria's husband. The community of settlers
accepted the idea gladly.
Jan Bester lives in Oudtshoorn and runs two companies.
One of Jan's companies is Africa Safari Connexion. The other is True South Travel, a
registered operator specialised in Swartberg Mountain tours. Their stargazing
trips sound like a true highlight. I check in with Jan Besterto hear from him about the situation in South Africa.
Coronavirus crisis in South Africa – face masks, drastic
measures and a positive mindset
When I ask about the current situation in South Africa, Jan tells me that “Locals should comply with
all lock-down legislation and stay at home and only travel for essential
services. Everyone should also keep social distancing and the wearing of masks
is strongly recommended.”
Authors note: Update, according to the official Twitter page of The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa "South Africa will be placed on alert level 3 from 1st June 2020. Public gatherings and other high-risk activities, especially those that involve close contact between large numbers of people, remain prohibited to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. ... All borders of the
republic remain closed except for the transportation of goods and
repatriation of citizens"
To me, it feels as if
nothing is as it was and will not be in the foreseeable future. I wonder how
Jan handles this. “A positive mindset founded in my personal faith and
conviction that this too will pass. I have suffered great loss during the 2008
global economic meltdown and this has made us very resilient to deal with this
current scenario. It is imperative to continue to work hard at your business
and now is the time to renew and reinvent. We are refining our product offering
and focussing on the future rather than succumb to the fear of our current
reality. We are taking drastic measures to survive financially in the next
couple of months. We are cutting unnecessary operating costs and arrange for
bridging finance.”
The bright red Ericas
offer a feast of nectar to the sunbirds
I briefly described the
Swartberg mountain ranges earlier, if visitors would go on a tour with Jan this
month, they would see that “Autumn is one of the most beautiful months on our
beloved Swartberg Mountains. Traversing the mountain via the spectacular Swartberg
Pass offers beautiful vistas with various Proteas in flower. The bright red
Erica’s offer a feast of nectar to the sunbirds. Nature is spoiling us with her
last flowers before winter sets in.”
Stay connected – Social Media
Jan deeply misses to be
around people all the time, but it is a delight to see he found a way to
compensate. “I draw a lot of energy from guiding and hence it is important for
me to stay connected via social media and other digital platforms. I just
managed to launch my Swartberg Pass tour on YouTube and reading the response
from all our followers made me feel connected with them.”
He seems to some extent
favourable of his situation when he explains “Now that I have much more time to
reflect, I realised that I am more creative in designing more products and
services. I have not had a break like this in 15 years. So now that I am
rested, I find myself focussing constructively on the future and enjoying time
with my family.”
Hope dies last – a life-changing experience
The big question that
everyone is interested in right now is when the situation in South Africa will
begin to normalize again, and Jan predicts “I am an eternal optimist so I trust
that we will have a better than expected “high season” or summer. Nearly 80 %
of SA tourism businesses are Small Medium & Micro Enterprises. No SMME can
afford not to have a good high season since that helps us survive winter months.
We work and plan to welcome our first clients in August 2020.”
I dream of the time when the coronavirus crisis is
over and ask Jan whether he is going to do things differently once this is over,
and he thinks he will, “Yes, appreciate the privilege I have, spending most of
my time in nature even more! I will also focus to reflect more and fulfil more
of the dreams I have planned. I have my own foundation, H.O.P.E Foundation. We
have some projects within the local communities. I would like to get more
involved in assisting school children within rural communities and train more
local guides. I also want to produce more of my own videos and marketing
material.”
Everyone experiences this coronavirus crisis
different, and I am not the least bit surprised when Jan describes it as
"Life-changing," before he describes in more detail "I thrive
under pressure and chaos since I know that a calm, focused approach is the only
way out of this. I purge all negative emotions, censor media exposure and work
dedicated long hours on my vision of the future. Every weekend I reward myself
with leisure time and celebrating the successes of the previous week. If you do
not keep your mind in check, the fear of the unknown will be paralyzing. This I
avoid at all costs."
No one can foresee the future and say for sure when
we can travel again, Jan holds on to his dreams and says “I will execute the
travelling plans I had for this winter and visit many of the gems our beautiful
country has to offer. I love South Africa and when possible will explore all those
unique off the beaten track spots. We have so many of them. I planned a
three-week tour through South Africa exploring the remote areas of our country.
This had to be cancelled."
Businesses and freelancers in South Africa
Businesses and freelancers go through immense
financial problems in this crisis. Governments are left in charge to decide in
what way they use tax money and how to utilise funds most effectively. I would
love to find out what South Africa does in this crisis. It seems people face a
rather complicated situation, one where no one will get a straight and easy
answer. Jan explains “Yes, we are a small
family business with no other income that tourism. Like everyone else in our
industry, we have no income. We have applied for the relief funds made
available by the government but due to the fact that we are not representative
of the preferred demographic (B-BBEE) we do not qualify.”
According to the South
African Economic Development Department “Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment
aims to ensure that the economy is structured and transformed to enable the
meaningful participation of the majority of its citizens.” When I ask whether Jan received a letter which told him that funding is
not available to him, and what would have been an exact reason, he explained “I
have not yet received any communication from them. However, after I submitted
my application the minister of Tourism stated that B-BBEE companies will get
preference for funding. We do not qualify.”
A message to old and new friends of True South Travel
This leaves me with lots to think and read about. Before Jan leaves, he has a message for old
and new friends and guests “Being of service to our clients is not only our
livelihood but also our passion. We know that this too will pass and look
forward to welcoming every traveller exploring our beautiful country!”
Looking for more stories from South Africa? Dream
now - Travel later.