Green Rail and Ride!

IMAGES:
1. the Southern Line (Cape Point Route)
2. Riding the Southern Line (Photo: Jacques Marais)
3. Muizenberg Beach Huts as seen from the train (Photo: Peter haarhof)
4. The Brass Bell on Kalk Bay Station (Photo: Jacques Marais)
5. Noordhoek Farm Village - hosts of the launch (Photo: Jacques Marais)

Yesterday (27 May 2010), I had the priviledge to join a bunch of cool people in the Cape Town tourism industry for an "educational" with the Southern Line Tourism Route who teamed up with the Green Cabs to launch the Green Rail and Ride.

The word "educational" didn't have a particularly fun ring about it but the day certainly was a good outing. We met at Cape Town Station for registration and a much needed cup of coffee, and a welcoming breakfast pack provided by the Protea Hotel in Sea Point. Actually registration was more a meet and greet as familiar faces were grinning at each other and unfamiliar ones were being introduced.

Cape Town Station was also a great surprise! The construction is not quite complete but shiny floors, open glass doors and efficient staff, information office, security and information boards made it a very pleasant, welcoming and safe meeting point. We were escorted to Platform 1 for the business express - which was a very fancy train - for the journey to Fish Hoek station. A speedy journey with no stops meant that we didn't get enough time to "ooh and aah" out the window once we hit Muizenberg and the False Bay coastline... but we did have a return journey to look forward to!

We transferred onto buses bound for Noordhoek Farm Village where the launch of the Green Rail and Ride took place - held in the warm and welcoming environment of the Toad in the Village. The speeches and presentations were prepared as everyone warmed up on tea and coffee. We were introduced to a fantastic product by the partners in this project of going green to get to the point - City of Cape Town, Metrorail; Tourism Enterprise Programme and the Green Cabs.

Cape Town is one of very few cities in the world that can boast being able to offer tourists an option where they can travel by rail along a spectacular coastline. As a City committed to improving it's eco-credentials this iniative allows a low-carbon option of travelling by train and with Green Cabs to access Cape Point. Green Cabs goes the extra mile to educe its carbon footprint by converting the petrol component of its fleet of vehicles to run duel-fuel on petrol and LPG and the diesel component on BioDiesel (2nd generation Cooking Oil!) - thus achieving a saving in CO 2 emissions of between 15 - 20%! Woo Hoo!

So what is the initiative:
Tourists travel in a designated Southern Line Tourism Route Carriage and are accompanied by informed ambassador guides and dedicated security guards. Guides accompany travellers for the entire day.

the fare of R600 per person includes all these services as well as:
a return train ticket
return transfer and entry fees to the African Penguin Colony at Boulders Beach in Simon's Town as well as Cape Point Nature Reserve.

Launching to the public on the 1st June, the service will be available mid-week i.e. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Trains depart from Cape Town Station at 09h32 in the morning from Platform 5 and return from Simon's Town Station at 15h18 in the afternoon to arrive back in the city by 16h26!

No more guilt trips! This is a scenic, cost effective, low carbon option to visit the Cape Point Route!

Metrorail Southern Line Tourism Route also offers a hop-on hop-off ticket to Obsevatory, Newlands, Muizenberg, Kalk Bay and Fish Hoek Stations for just R30 per one day ticket OR R50 for a 2-day ticket. Cape Point Route suggests taking the 2 day ticket and staying overnight in Muizenberg, Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek or Simon's Town.

Thanks to all the partners for a great day and we look forward to massive use of this great programme!

Indaba 2010 - Pictures from Cape Point Route

Images from Indaba 2010 - Cape Point Route

1. Lucky Prize draw at the Cape Point Route wine function where we gave away R55 000 worth of prizes to stay on the Cape Point Route
2. Dumi - GM of Monkey Valley Resort in Noordhoek having a meeting on the Cape Point Route stand
3. Candice from Shaya Moyo Day Spa at Whale View Manor in Simon's Town - cheering enthusiastically for one of the lucky draw winners at the Cape Point Route wine function!
4. Cape Point Vineyards "Splattered Toad" wines were a hit at the Cape Point Route wine function. Thanks to Cape Point Vineyards in Noordhoek for sponsoring all the wine! We highly recommend stopping at their new tasting room on the southern slopes of Chapman's Peak Drive.
5. Early morning shot of the Cape Point Route stand in the DEC hall - moments before everyone arrived for the day's meetings.
6. Cape Point Route stand during the day - a full, busy, vibrant buzz of meetings, energy and passion for the south peninsula - selling peninsula day tours with a difference and 3 day, 2 night packages in the area.
7. Cape Point Route group photo with Alderman Felicity Purchase. From Left to Right: Dumisani Sukuinje (Monkey Valley Resort in Noordhoek); Debbie Smuts (Grosvenor Guest House in Simon's Town); Grete Hollenbach (Southern Right Hotel in Glencairn); Barbara Elshove-Schmidt (Cape Point Route); Milton Musanhi (Monkey Valley Resort in Noordhoek); Alderman Felicity Purchase (Fish Hoek - Ward 69); Bev Stacey (Boulders Beach Lodge in Simon's Town); Sally Grierson (Cape Point Route)
8. Barbara and Sally from Cape Point Route (in orange) with head of Cape Town Routes Unlimited Calvyn Gilfellan and David Fransden also from CTRU.

Cape Point Route does it for the South at Indaba 2010

Article in the People's Post - Tuesday 19 May 2010

The Tourism Trade Show, Indaba 2010, held in Durban, has been and gone in a mad tourism flurry of visual displays, stand set ups, meetings, talking, activity, noise, vuvuzelzas, networking, selling and fun – which is exactly what Cape Point Route went to Indaba to achieve.

The organizers said that 13 856 people has passed through the exhibition turnstiles at 14h30 on May 10th, with a full day and a bit left of the show, so there is a good chance that Indaba 2010 attendance figures would top those of 2009.

Indaba 2010 celebrated the World Cup (as it should) with lots of footballs, vuvuzelas, makarapas and diski dances, but Indaba 2010 played an important role in destination promotion for 2011 and 2012 – just the thing that is required to build a strong tourism economy. Cape Point Route worked strongly on this aspect of promotion with packages set up to teach Tour Operators how to package the area as a minimum 3 day destination and not a peninsula day trip. “Getting the Tour operators to relearn their classic trips and take on alternatives is a long process,” says Barbara Elshove-Schmidt of Cape Point Route. “This is not a shift that happens overnight. The impact of highlighting the south peninsula in a bold effective collective is working though, with international visitors returning to the Cape Point Route stand for more information”

“Getting your message across quickly is imperative,” says Sally Grierson of Cape Point Route, “that is why the visual display is so essential. We are so grateful to Mr Eichel from Fish Hoek Galley who sponsored a plasma screen for the show. The images from the area go such a long way to make the impression required in a short space of time”

Other activations are networking events. Exhibitors compete for the attention of the tour operators and industry personnel, by hosting functions. Cape Point Route hosts a wine evening every year and Indaba 2010 was no exception. Attended by about 350 people, the Cape Point Route event was a massive success. One of the drawcards was the quality of the wine, which was sponsored entirely by Cape Point Vineyards. Snacks and platters were sponsored by Pick ‘n Pay and almost R60,000 worth of prizes were given away in various weekend packages in the area. These prizes become educationals as the tour operator experiences the area personally to sell the region to his/her clients. Gavin from Cape Xtreme says, “The Cape Point Route function is THE network function to attend - it’s the busiest, most vibey function with superb prizes and you get to meet great contacts.”

“Working as a collective, Cape Point Route has made a name for themselves,” says Steve Thomas from Daytrippers. “The orange t-shirts, flashdrives, vibrant stand, their boundless energy and the product knowledge of all the participants who attend Indaba with Cape Point Route has made the destination stand out in a crowd of incredible tourism destinations in South Africa”

Barbara adds, “I am so proud of the Cape Point Route group – working as a team for the region is critical and every participant was out there showcasing this beautiful destination in which we live and work and most importantly turning those contacts into business”. Grete Hollenbach from Southern Right Hotel confirms this, “I have already made a post-Indaba booking for later this year, which is a direct return on investment”. Bev Stacey of Boulders Beach Lodge, attending her first Indaba says, “It was phenomenal for me. I strongly believe that if you are in tourism and you do not attend, you are loosing out big time.” Dumisani Sakuinje of Monkey Valley Resort, commented “Going to Indaba with Cape Point Route made it so easy. I definitely managed to get meetings with people who might not have spoken to me because of my orange Cape Point Route t-shirt!”

Sally concludes, “As a group we offer good value packages with a difference. The south peninsula is a collective of like-minded businesses which operate ethically and professionally. The face of Cape Point Route extends to the people who work with us and these principles have been the recipe of our success. Whilst marketing methods might change, the essence of good marketing in tourism is about nurturing relationships, honesty, integrity, consistency and transparency and of course meeting expectations of the clients by under promising and over delivering.”