Mount Zion Tours and Travels (PTY) Ltd: August 2014

Tuesday 26 August 2014

DAVID'S HOFFMAN IS TOURING IN SOUTH AFRICA

“While travelling I came to realize that becoming an independent traveler takes some practice, but in the end is the most satisfying way to experience any destination”, Said International Travel Blogger, David Hoffman.

David is an Entrepreneur and travels addict who focuses on one country at a time to bring international destinations to you and you to them and he also specializes in digital travel media. On the 19 and 20 August

2014, David visited various areas around Johannesburg in South Africa with Mount Zion Tours and Travels (MZTT).

The tour was hosted by Joburg Tourism Company (JTC) in partnership with MZTT. MZTT was the Tour Operator transporting the International Blogger; David Hoffmann and his crew Carlos Varona to various places in Johannesburg such as Soweto, Braamfontein and Johannesburg CBD.

David Hoffmann together with his crew at Soweto Market

During the tour in Soweto, David got an opportunity to visit prominent places such as, Hector Peterson Memorial, Mandela’s House and Soweto Power Swing. This tour took him through the Vilakazi Street which is a well-known street in Soweto where he got an opportunity to interact with the local people of Soweto.

He has a passion for teaching others how to travel independently and his inspiration starts with his multicultural heritage which led him to connect with family members abroad. Due to his passion for multi cultural heritage,he went to a historical cultural tour by visiting Lesedi Cultural Village in the North of Johannesburg to explore various South African cultures.

This has been one of the greatest tours for Mount Zion Tours and Travels to take a trip with an international blogger who earned himself a global reputation of travelling independently.

Neighbour Goods Market in Braamfontein

He acknowledged on his website that: “being an independent travel means not being afraid to plan, implement and do exactly what you like”. David is definitely an independent traveler who is not afraid to plan because he managed to travel to many countries abroad independently. Besides visiting South Africa for the second time, he also travelled abroad to countries such as, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Crocia and many others, to mention the few.

From touring Johannesburg, David visited other places to explore what South Africa has to offer. He visited , Kruger National Park, Port Elizabeth, Durban and Cape Town.

Touring across Johannesburg with David has been a great pleasure for Mount Zion and Tours and Travels.

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Friday 22 August 2014

ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES TO EXPECT IN SOUTH AFRICA

Mount Zion Tours and Travels offers a range of adventure options that will add a lot of fun to your stay in South Africa, whether you are young or aged, we have a variety of adventure options within your fitness. There are plenty of activities to choose from in all areas of South Africa. Never leave this beautiful country without experiencing the following adventures: bungee jumping, white water rafting, horse riding, hot air ballooning, quad biking and canopy tours

Bungee Jumping

Bloukrans Bridge Bungee Jump

Bungee jumping in South Africa is now well known in the world for its claim to having the highest commercial bungee jump in the world. Bloukrans Bridge Bungee jump that is found along Garden Route in Western Cape, it is now recognized as the highest commercial bungee jump in the world because of its extreme height. Power Swing in Soweto and Bungee Mogale in Krugersdorp are popular bungee jumps in South Africa. Power Swing is the South Africa’s largest mural and site of the world’s first power swing between two cooling towers.

White Water Rafting

South Africa is home to some overwhelming pouring rivers promising exciting white water rafting adventures. If you’re the kind of person who likes to crank things up a notch, then white water rating is definitely for you. Water Rafting provides a great team build for school & corporate groups and a family trip. This is one of the great adventures you can try during your stay in South Africa. This adventure draws attention of many travelers visiting South Africa. It is important to be aware that it is not recommended that you go on a white water rafting adventure if you cannot swim -or have a phobia or water.

Horse Riding Trails

Horse Riding

Horse riding trails in South Africa are very popular. You can take a quick run riding a horse along a beach, a fast ride across sweeping grasslands or you can take a stroll through wonderful mountain surroundings. If you are seeking for this adventure, Mount Zion Tours and Travels offers a fantastic horse riding holidays in South Africa.

Hot Air Balloon

A journey in a hot air ballooning gives you the chance to observe, smell and soak up an area on a completely new level. It has an element of adventure and quite often enhances the guest’s safari experience if conducted in a wildlife area, with abundant sightings of wild animals. South Africa has many areas where you can try this adventure and each hot air ballooning operation is located in an area within South Africa that has its own beauty and attraction.

Quad Biking

Quad biking is a four-wheeled fun experience in the great outdoors. The sport’s growing popularity has seen adventure trails open up across South Africa, from coast to countryside. Since quad biking is an unfettered sport, it can be enjoyed by anyone just about anywhere. Most outlets take into consideration varying levels of competence, and usually offer beginners’, intermediate and advance trails, so you’re guaranteed to have a good time, novice and expert alike.

Canopy Tours

Canopy Tour

Canonopy Tours entail sliding from one high level forest platform to another along a steel cable suspended up to thirty metres above the forest floor. Those who are interested in nature, Canopy Tours are definitely for you. So, if you are not afraid of heights and wish to enjoy nature, book yourself a Canopy Tours.

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Tuesday 19 August 2014

THE MOST FASCINATING GAME RESERVES TO VISIT IN SOUTH AFRICA

Kruger National Park

Rhinos in Kruger National Park

Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It is a South Africa’s premier Big Five national park and is exceptionally well set up for tourists. You can expect good roads and an excellent choice of accommodation to suit all pockets. You can do Kruger as a self-drive or as guided tour. Other exhilarating options include mountain bike trails, walking safaris and a self-drive 4x4 trail. The nearest airport to the park is the Kruger Mpumalanga international Airport, just outside Nelspruit.

Pilannesberg Game Reserve

Zebras in Pilannesberg Game Reserve

Pilanesburg Game Reserve is the fourth largest game and nature park in South Africa. It contains over 7 000 animals and nestled on an extinct volcanic crater. It is a place where you will be able to view wild animals such as lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant, zebra, and a white rhino. The place is open to day visitors and offers accommodation in a number of different lodges catering for business and holiday travelers. The activities that are talking place in this place include hot air balloon safaris, game walks and nearby Sun City offering a golf course, a casino and water world entertainment.

The Tsitsikamma National Park

Tsitsikamma National Park

The Tsitsikamma National Park, part of the Garden Route National Park situated in Eastern Cape In South Africa, is a place where you can experience the outdoors, stunning marine life and adventure filled vacation. It is a multi-dimensional destination with dramatic coastal scenery, reefs, rivers, lush forest and delicate Fynbos. The activities in this place include diving, snorkeling, kayaking, hiking, swimming, climbing, abseiling, mountain biking, sailing and bungee jumping.

Dinokeng Game Reserve

Lion in Dinokeng Game Reserve

Dinokeng Game Reserve is a place where you can experience the wild elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard. Dinokeng lies in the catchement area of the Olifants and Limpopo Rivers. It is a home of free roaming Big Five and also contains variety of wildlife including zebra, giraffe, hyena, small predators and numerous bird species. This place is great for wildlife, bird watching, hiking and game drive.

Madikwe Game Reserve

Game drive in Madikwe Game Reserve

Madikwe Game Reserve is one of the largest wildlife reserves in South Africa. It is a home to the Big 5 as well as cheetah and wild dog, situated on the Botswana border in a transitional zone of the Kalahari. This place attracts an unusual diversity of animals and birdlife. In this place you can find animals such as brown hyena, sable, eland, gemsbok and giraffe. Madikwe is good for wildlife, bird watching, hiking, game drive, big five and nature reserve.

SABI SANDS GAME RESERVE

Elephants in Sabi Sands Game Reserve

Sabi Sands Game Reserve is one of the most exclusive private game reserves in South Africa. This game reserve is situated in the south-western corner of the Kruger National Park. In this game reserve, you can expect to see animals such as lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino. Activities that take place in Sabi Sands include hippo tours, river tours, bush dinners, safari lunches, bush breakfasts, astronomy, hippo tours, game drives and bush walks.

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Friday 15 August 2014

SPECIALIZING IN VARIOUS DESTINATIONS ACROSS SOUTHERN AFRICA

Have you ever thought of visiting Southern Africa, but you are still not sure where to start? Which game reserves to visit? Which place in Southern Africa is worth visiting? Mount Zion Tours and Travels is here to assist you with these kind of questions by giving you a summary of best Southern African destinations, game reserves, safari adventures and holiday destinations .

Many people wish to explore what Southern Africa has to offer, but they still don’t know who to contact regarding the planning of their destinations. As we told you earlier that Mount Zion Tours and Travels specializing in various destinations, there is no need for you to worry about who to contact because we are here to assist you with the planning of your dream destinations.

We are specialising in various Southern African destinations such as South Africa, Mozambique, Mauritius, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, Seychelles, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Here we give you a short description about few of the destinations in Southern Africa that we specialise in.

South Africa

Cape Town, South Africa

South Africa is one of the top tourist attractions because of its national parks and reserves, beautiful cities like Cape Town which is regarded as one of the world’s best cities. It has plenty of National Parks, variety of attractions, mountains, wildlife, floral scenery and many more. South Africa offers interesting combinations of landscapes, history and diversity of cultures that attract most of the travellers.

Mozambique

Mozambique is of the most attractive tourist destinations in Southern Africa because of its wildlife, historic heritage and natural beauty and offers excellent opportunities for beach, cultural and eco-tourism. It has a unique historical and cultural heritage, tropical beaches, and amazing landscapes and small islands close to the coast.

Mauritius

Mauritius is known as the tropical paradise by many people around the world because of its gorgeous island and is arguably Africa’s wealthiest destination, a tropical paradise with tons to do. It is an island that is located in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Madagascar.

Namibia

Zambezi River, Zambia

Namibia is of the major destinations in Africa and is known for ecotourism which features wide-ranging of Wildlife, Game Reserves, Tours and Safaris options. It offers the visitors with numerous Wildlife & games reserves, natural beauty and rich diversity of environmental phenomena. Namibia has a well developed infrastructure and it offers broad choice of resorts and parks.

Swaziland

Swaziland is a small country that offers plenty of Arts and Crafts outlets, traditional markets and wildlife reserves. Royal Swazi Sun Hotel complex that is situated between Mbabane and Manzini is one of the major attractions in Swaziland. It also hosts a huge number of internationally well-known hotels and a number of thermal springs where visitors can relax.

Zambia

Zambia is a country with enormous lakes, rich wetlands and 17 waterfalls including famous Victoria Falls which is regarded as one of the spectacular natural wonders of the world. Things that visitors can expect include Big game, abundant birdlife and raw and exciting wilderness. It has eight main parks which include South Luangwa National Park, Kufue National Park, Lower Zambezi National Park, Nsumbu National Park, Kasanga National Park, Lochinvar National Park, Blue Lagoon National Park and Victoria Falls National Park.

Seychelles

Seychelles is a home to the bulk of country’s resorts. The Seychelles are a group of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean that lie of the coast of East Africa. Seychelles also has numerous shops, art galleries, markets, colonial plantations houses, a botanical garden, and plenty of national monuments.

Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana

Botswana

Botswana is one of the world’s most exhilarating travel destinations to explore wildlife and offers some of the most excellent wildlife safaris. Botswana offers exclusive experience in exploring wildlife, birds and game in its natural state. Botswana has the best parks and reserves which include Makgadikgadi Pans Game Reserve, Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Chobe National Park and Tuli Game Reserve.

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is place where one can experience nature personal because it consists of diversity and unrivalled natural beauty. It has an interesting history that provides deepness and meaning. The most attracting places one can visit include the capital city of Zimbabwe which is Harare, Victoria Falls, The Great Zimbabwe National Monument, Hwange National Park, Matobo National Park and Mana Pools National Parks.

Kilimanjaro Mountain, Tanzania

Tanzania

Tanzania is place of Africa’s highest mountain, the world-famous Kilimanjaro. It has dozens of beaches and the most amazing destinations such as Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti National Park, Zanzibar, Manyara National Park, Kilimanjaro Mountain, Ruaha National Park and Selous Game Reserve.

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Tuesday 12 August 2014

SOUTH AFRICAN CITIES TO VISIT

If you are fascinated in visiting South Africa you have taken a footstep in the right way. We believe that South Africa is one of the world's leading travel destinations and that you will not be saddened in your choice to visit this exciting country. There are many cities around South Africa that you may be interested to visit. Therefore, we prefer you to take an open-top bus tour because is often the best way to view the main attractions in the city. Here are some of the cities that you may be interested to visit in South Africa.

Cape Town

Cape Town has so much to offer that the biggest open-top bus tour company, City Sightseeing, has two different tours on offer. The City Sightseeing Bus red route in Cape Town takes visitors around the city centre and Atlantic Seaboard, while the blue route covers the peninsula and areas beyond the city bowl. The red route includes attractions such as District Six,the Bo-Kaap, the Castle of Good Hope, City Hall, St George’s Cathedral, Table Mountain, Camps Bay,Clifton and Sea Point. The blue route includes Hout Bay, Constantia and the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden.

Johannesburg

Johannesburg is a city with so much to offer: there are wonderful restaurants, relaxed sidewalk cafes, laughter-filled shebeens, glitzy shopping malls, tranquil parks, unique emotive museums and monuments, thrilling casinos, busy townships, stunning galleries, funky nightclubs, and more.

Durban

Durban, Beachfront

Durban welcomes visitors to a relaxed, outdoor lifestyle where beaches, barbecues, seafood and curry restaurants, clubs and up market accommodation establishments provide everything an out-of-towner could wish for while on holiday. Durban has good weather, beautiful beaches and cultural mix to its famous curries.

Pretoria

Pretoria’s architectural highlights include the Union Buildings, National Heritage Site, Mahlamba Ndlopfu-the Presidents’residences in Pretoria- the South African Reserve Bank, Loftus Versfeld sports stadium and the South African State Theatre.

Port Elizabeth

Port Elizaberth

Port Elizabeth offers visitors a choice of stunning beaches, interesting museums and memorials,award-winning wildlife destinations, cultural and historical nuggets, and some of the friendliest folk in the country.

Bloemfontein

Bloemfontein tourist destinations are becoming more popular, along with the city, which has been listed as one of South Africa’s best cities to live in. It has excellent museums, a fine zoo, a cheetah reserve, architectural icons and a nature reserve within the city limits.

Nelspruit

Nelspruit

Mbombela (formerly known as Nelspruit) is a vibey little city that is home to Mpumalanga’s provincial government. There are lots to see and do in and around the city, including visits to a crocodile farm and elephant sanctuary, the oldest caves on earth and a remarkable botanical garden.

Kimberley

Kimberley, thanks to the fevered diamond rush of the 1870s, has a glittering past. Take a guided tour of a once-operational diamond mine, which descends a staggering 840m below the earth. Founded on diamonds;this historic city is home to the Kimberley mine museum and the Great Hole of Kimberley.

Polokwane

Polokwane is the capital city of Limpopo Province, and has a vibrant mix of people and culture. Polokwane has great restaurants, art galleries, museums, jazz clubs and shopping centres. It’s also called the gateway city because it’s a stepping stone to a diversity of Natural attractions from mountains to wilderness areas.

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Friday 8 August 2014

VISIT KRUGER NATIONAL PARK WITH US

The Kruger National Park is famous not only because its diversity of wildlife, but also for its protection record. You can see the renowned Big Five, but you'll also be dazzled by hundreds of birds, ancient trees, great rivers and many more.

Lion

The Kruger National Park should be on everybody's bucket list.

Unless you've been up at dawn, driving out of camp as the morning sun illuminates thousands of impressive spider webs among the bushes, cruising slowly next to the roads hoping for that overnight lion kill, or a leopard draped casually over the branch of a big tree, you've missed one of the world's greatest wildlife experiences.

It's not only about the famed Big five, but many of other animals such as the giraffe – definitely the most elegant of all the wild animals. You'll meet elephants galore – watch out for that tiny baby crossing the road – and herds of buffalo. There are so many different kinds of antelope your head will spin, fat crocodiles sunning themselves on sandbanks, hyenas mooching along, and, if you're very lucky, a pack of wild dogs on the prowl.

Sharing the park with you are over 100 000 impala, 10 000 blue wildebeest, 9 000 kudu, 5 000 warthog (everybody's favorite ugly duckling), 25 000 zebra, 180 cheetah, over 1 000 leopard and 1 500 lions – and that's just the start. You can now start to recognize the natural super-abundance of one of the world's best-loved game parks.

The Kruger National Park enjoys a great year-round sunny climate and offers all kinds of activities, from guided game drives and bush walks with an armed ranger to three-night walking trails in deep wilderness areas.

The Kruger National Park gets over 1.4-million visitors a year, but because it's so big – 352km from north to south, and covering over 1.9-million hectares – you will be shocked at how often you are alone watching game on a 2 500km network of tar and dirt roads.

TRAVEL TIPS

HOW TO GET HERE

Book with Mount Zion Tours and Travels, we will take you there. You can book at: www.mountziontours.co.za

TOURS TO DO

A guided sunset tour. You get a glorious view of a spectacular African sunset, see game coming to drink, and then have the excitement of a spotlight night drive

WHAT TO PACK

Comfortable lightweight clothes, plus a warm jacket for winter evenings. Plenty of sunscreen and a hat, no matter what the season.

WHERE TO STAY

There’s accommodation to suit all budgets, from basic campsites and cottages to spacious family. Book with us, will help you with accommodation options. Book at: www.mountziontours.co.za.

WHAT TO EAT

The camp shops supply of foodstuffs and drinks. Their braai meat is particularly good. If you’re not self-catering, all the bigger camps have restaurants.

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Tuesday 5 August 2014

TOURING THE TOWNSHIP WITH EXPERT GUIDE

Touring the township is one of our services that we specialize in, particularly touring through Soweto Township. Soweto is a township area of the City of Johannesburg in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The history of South African townships south west of Johannesburg that would later form Soweto was propelled by the growing eviction of Black South Africans by city and state authorities. Black South Africans had been drawn to work on the gold mines that were established after 1886. From the start they were accommodated in separate areas on the outer edge of Johannesburg.

Tourists interacting with a local resident in Soweto

Welcome to Mount Ziont Tours and Travels (MZTT), where excellent service is an integral part of a business, where the clients expectations are met. We have been great at delivering excellent services through Township tours because of knowing what our tourists want.

Tourists are more interested to visit in Soweto because of its amazing history, museums , diversity of people, adventures , shebeens, restaurants, worker's hostels and famous streets.

Soweto is well worth visiting on a day tour or for a longer period to experience all the activities that are taking place in the township. Our tours in Soweto usually take about three and half hours, where 30 minutes is spent in Elias Motswaledi, one of the informal settlements in Soweto. We take our tourists to Diepkloof, which is one of the luxurious places in Soweto. We pass through the workers hostels to show the tourists how the people live in the hostels. Our tourists also get a fascinating sight of bustling neighborhood life as we drive by the former residences of two South African Nobel Pease Price winners, as well as visit icons of the “struggle” such as the Hector Peterson Memorial, the Regina Mundi Church and Freedom Square.

Shebeen in Soweto

What we always do in order to meet our tourists’ expectations is that we provide them with site guides who are well acknowledged into the area and who are up to date on all the activities that are taking place in the Soweto township.

We let our clients experience the life and vibe of the township while touring through streets of Soweto. Tourists are welcomed by vibrant site guide with a warm smile, greeting them in different local languages and their languages. We make tourists feel at home by teaching them some of the basics of local languages so that they will be able to interact with the local residents and we also communicate with the tourists using their own languages. Before we plan Soweto township tour, we make sure that we are up to date on all the activities that are taking place around Soweto and also the expectations of the clients. We are always up to date on all the latest restaurants, shebeens, adventure activities, cultural activities, clubs, and other activities that the tourists might be interested to participate in. If arrangement has been made in advance with us by the clients, we can arrange a community engagement on behalf of our clients (visiting local hospitals,orphanage homes and local schools ).

French family visiting a house

MZTT make possible for the tourists to enjoy the township life and its spirit by taking them to historical sites, local streets, worker’s hostels and local sheebens.

We make our clients feel comfortable and feel safe to enjoy their visit in the township. First thing we do when our clients arrive in the township; we introduce them to the local resident guide, explain the history of the area and let them interact with local residents by visiting one of the family living in the shack house. Our site guides are well acknowledged into the area, history and life experiences within that area. And we make sure that we understand our tourists’ special needs so that we will be able to fulfil their needs.

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Friday 1 August 2014

A SPECTACULAR GAME PARK: THE KRUGER NATIONAL PARK

The Kruger National Park is renowned not only for its diversity of wildlife, but also for its conservation record. You can see the famed Big Five, but you'll also be dazzled by hundreds of birds, ancient trees, mighty rivers and much, much more.

The Kruger National Park should be on everybody's bucket list.

Unless you've been up at dawn, driving out of camp as the morning sun illuminates thousands of glittering spider webs among the bushes, cruising slowly along the roads hoping for that overnight lion kill, or a leopard draped casually over the branch of a big tree, you've missed one of the world's greatest wildlife experiences.

It's not only about the famed Big Five, but thousands of other animals such as the giraffe – surely the most elegant of all the bush animals. You'll encounter elephants galore – watch out for that tiny baby crossing the road – and herds of buffalo. There are so many different kinds of antelope your head will spin, fat crocodiles sunning themselves on sandbanks, hyenas mooching along, and, if you're very lucky, a pack of wild dogs on the prowl.

Sharing the park with you are over 100 000 impala, 10 000 blue wildebeest, 9 000 kudu, 5 000 warthog (everybody's favorite ugly duckling), 25 000 zebra, 180 cheetah, over 1 000 leopard and 1 500 lions – and that's just the start. You can now begin to understand the natural super-abundance of one of the world's best-loved game parks.

The Kruger National Park gets over 1.4-million visitors a year, but because it's so big – 352km from north to south, and covering over 1.9-million hectares – you will be amazed at how often you are alone watching game on a 2 500km network of tar and dirt roads.

TRAVEL TIPS & PLANNING INFO

Elephants

Leopard