01 February 2022

January is done and dusted, YAY! Cue: the month of Love! I am so pleased to report that I had a great first month of the year, it was a busy month with a definite shift in the air which makes my heart so happy! People are hungry to travel, hungry to make memories and I am all for it! I think it's time to say it, I made it, my business made it. My doors are open and I am still standing, the number of enquiries is on the rise and I am loving my job all over again! It's all because of you!! Thank you so much. My desk is currently filled with bookings, date changes, extending holidays, business trips, honeymoons and so much more... As promised I thought I would share with you what I am currently working on. My favourite enquiries are always surprise holidays, romantic getaways and birthday celebrations! This time of the year normally allows for an opportunity to surprise those you love. I should be careful as to how much I share but let's just say, I am working closely with an incredibly sweet couple who are busy booking getaways for each other at different times and they don't even know it. Each time the other one calls I have to think carefully before I say the wrong thing or refer to the wrong getaway. But my tummy is full of butterflies for them, I get goosebumps at the love they have for each other and I am beyond excited imagining their reactions when they receive their travel vouchers from me. I just know the travel surprises that they will get to experience this year are going to be incredibly precious and I'm am so grateful to be a part of it. I also have a honeymoon couple that has requested rates to the Maldives in June. I was referred to them by another good client, so I haven't met them in person yet but we have had a few good chats and I'm excited to plan this amazing time in their lives with them. I had my own honeymoon in the Maldives and it really was special! There are some amazing deals at the moment and it seems like they are very interested in the Sun Siyam Olhuveli. If you have not seen this resort, do yourself a favour and YouTube it https://youtu.be/6E4fInqlR6M it's absolutely stunning! South African passport holders do not require a visa and travel is so easy! Another big milestone, I got to book 3 people to fly to Mauritius this month! My first flights booked to the island in over 24 months! Eek! They are almost on their way back to South Africa, but it was so exciting and so rewarding to get a picture of them on the plane and on their way. With all the new travel regulations and restrictions I get updated information daily, & I am constantly learning too, through my clients who travel and share their experiences with me. I also helped a family who were meant to travel to Mauritius in 2020 but after it was cancelled we patiently (on most days) waited for the all-clear and two years later they will finally get to go! We are counting the days down together - as of today, it is 143 days to go. Corporate travel is slowly picking up too. I have booked a few flights to the States as well as into Africa. I really hope they change the mandatory testing at some or another stage, it would save companies thousands. On a personal note, this week we decided that we would really like to go to Mauritius as a family for my husband's 40th birthday. It will be such an amazing experience if we can pull it off. He is a pilot for a local airline and getting leave approval can be tricky, I am staying hopeful for a great outcome! May you have a fabulous Feb, here's to Love, laughter and loads more travel!!! Hugs L x

21 January 2022

For those of you that follow me on my social media platforms, you will know that I recently took some leave to spend time with my family. I haven't taken proper leave in two years. Even though it now feels like a lifetime ago I had six full days away from my laptop, emails and flight issues. Being an independent travel agent working for myself it can be daunting to hand over your business to a colleague to look after while you are away but the Travel Counsellors community is amazing and has a TC buddy system in place. I must say a huge thank you to Thea Coetsee and Karin Livingstone for being available and on standby to help my clients who might have needed travel assistance in my absence. I realised again the importance of switching off, forcing myself to not feel guilty. A few days away (not very far, 3 hours drive to Mosselbay) were a complete bliss. We went away intending to lie on the beach all day, every day but the weather had other plans. So instead, we played cards, board games, drank wine, ate too much food, talked and laughed a lot. Spending time with my husband and my little boy was wonderful. We soaked up the stunning sunset views, took walks and talked about things that we were looking forward to this year. Taking time to reconnect has given me the drive and determination to work hard and enjoy more of those times together. Returning ready for 2022, I have thought about my goals and what I would like to achieve this year. First on my list is to plan my next holiday and work towards that. My next "switch off", I need to practice how to not feel guilty! Lol! Secondly, I would like to meet more people and by doing that, I need to put myself out there. So I have joined a woman's hiking group as well as another woman's group that gathers once a month to socialize and relax. I know many people, my personality (I seem to connect easily with people, which I have taken for granted and want to change) along with my job has offered me the opportunity to make many connections, but there is always space for more. Relationships require work, and the older you get the smaller your circle becomes. I am fine with that, I keep my small group of trusted friends nearby, but I totally believe the more connected you are the more opportunities you have. Being authentic and true to who I am has served me well in the past, so I am all about honing in on that this year. Making financial goals is important, as well as eating healthy and losing some extra weight, they are also written down but I believe with the above-mentioned goals this will come naturally. As long as I carry on loving what I do, and I do! My desk is filled with enquiries, from old and new clients and I'm so grateful. Even though this blog isn't travel-themed as such, it's where I am now. So stay tuned for my next blog where I will tell you more about what I am currently working on. Hugs L x

06 January 2022

*The girl who was flown back en route to Saudi* This story needs a quick intro to give you the back story. Two days before Christmas, I received a WhatsApp message from someone who had received my details from a Facebook recommendation for people travelling to Saudi. The Facebook message mentioned my name and cell number and indicated that I had helped the sender to get into Saudi, and if anyone needed assistance they could contact me. I had helped this client two months prior, to the Omicron variant, when countries were still open, and pretty much all airlines were operating at that time. As we all know, things changed at a drop of a hat at the end of November and South Africa became the personification of the virus itself! As a travel agent, my hands were somewhat tied, but as I always do, I didn’t mention this to any new potential clients flooding in over the next couple of days, including Christmas and Boxing Day. I frantically started to read up endless regulations and policies for Saudi, trying to make sense of it all and then to communicate this information to my new prospective clients. During this time I received a call from Kim who lives in Durban, she urgently needed to get back to Saudi for work. I conveyed all the information I had at that stage to her. I also mentioned that I was assisting another client, who already had a confirmed ticket, but was unsure whether or not he needed to quarantine on arrival in Saudi. I suggested we wait to see what happens with him before we book anything. All the information we had both found on the Saudi Foreign Affairs website and up to date Internet sources, indicated that passengers travelling with an Iqama visa did not need to quarantine on arrival. So, he decided to go with this information and take his chances. He checked in at O.R. Tambo and was allowed to board the Lufthansa flight. He made it as far as Frankfurt and was then denied boarding to Saudi, due to not having proof of a pre-booked quarantine hotel voucher for Saudi. After spending more money to re-route via Ireland to book the compulsory quarantine, which also cost a pretty penny, he was finally allowed to fly into Saudi on Lufthansa. Ironically, when he departed from Ireland a few days later he wasn't even asked to present the voucher! The whole point of quarantine is for passengers who have been in deep dark Omicron infested Africa within the past 14 days - so apparently being in Ireland for only 4 days after being in South Africa was acceptable! Back to Kim! Once the other client was denied boarding we concluded there was no way around it, quarantine needed to be booked. Working through a specific site allocated to quarantine hotel bookings we struggled for three days over the Christmas period to get confirmation. Eventually, everything was confirmed and she was ready to go. Pre Covid, I always joke with my clients that my biggest concern was whether they preferred chicken or beef, oh boy how things have changed. Now I have to check PCR testing rules, quarantine rules, documentation rules, each stopover rule, which airlines are red-listed, and which airlines are operating... it's a logistical nightmare! Alas, Kim was ready. She flew from Durban to Johannesburg. At around 16h00 that afternoon I received a call from her, now at O.R. Tambo. I could hear she was very upset. The airline wanted to charge her R10,000 for additional luggage, which included her bicycle. I tried to calm her down and encouraged her to speak to someone to get her a better rate. She apologized for bothering me in a panic and told me she thinks she might have a tummy bug and wasn't feeling too well, which was adding to her anxiety. At that stage, I started to investigate using a courier company to get her bike back to Durban or leave it at the O.R. Tambo City Lodge Hotel for a night or two while I arrange for someone to collect it. Luckily Kim messaged me back shortly thereafter that the overweight issue got sorted, she has checked through security and was about to board. With a sigh of relief, I could relax with a G&T and know all was going to be OK. I woke up during the night and checked my phone. Two missed calls from Kim’s mom. My stomach dropped! It was 03h00 and must be serious. I called back immediately and Kim's mom told me the flight had been turned around halfway through Africa as Kim became extremely ill and was vomiting non-stop. By that time the flight had already landed and she was transferred to the closest private hospital. The Lufthansa crew were incredible, one air hostess sat with her the entire time holding her hand. Her parents were so grateful that Lufthansa decided to turn the plane around, essentially saving their daughter from what could have been fatal. I later found out they lost their 19-year old son a few years back. I asked them to please keep me up to date with any news. My heart broke for them. Her parents stay in Durban, miles away from Johannesburg and they couldn’t get to their daughter immediately. I constantly checked my phone and saw that a Facebook group had made mention of the flight turning around. Comments streamed in, speculating what might have happened. I briefly commented that Kim was my client and it was due to medical reasons. Sunday the 2nd of January I found out that Kim's appendix had burst and she was waiting to be operated on. That evening around 20h00 Kim's mom called me to say the hospital kept asking for someone to come in and collect her bags. Kim’s mom was still in Durban. Due to Covid she couldn't go into the hospital and was waiting for Kim to be transferred out of ICU. I offered to assist with her luggage. Calling a few Travel Counsellor colleagues in Johannesburg, I got through to Janet. She kindly offered to collect Kim’s luggage early on Monday morning and keep it until her parents could fetch it. Now that's what I call teamwork! The next day, private messages streamed in on my Facebook from the Lufthansa crew, everyone wanting to know how Kim is doing, even the air hostess that held her hand. Kim is now on the road to recovery, her mom is with her and sent me a video of her waving and smiling in hospital. Our industry is truly special and even though everything is crazy stressful at the moment, it is so rewarding to be a small part of people's journeys and to help where I can.

28 October 2020

Let me tell you a little story about these two wonderful people, Mr & Mrs. Ross. I first had contact with Kevin roughly 10 years ago, I was working at a large retail travel agency at the time and I received a web enquiry asking for help on an upcoming trip. As I always do, I picked up the phone and called Kevin to discuss what he had in mind. We confirmed a booking and that was the beginning of a wonderful working relationship. After moving over to Travel Counsellors, Kevin and Vanessa remained loyal and continued to book their travel plans through me. Without ever having met in person, I had been through the birth of their three children, arranging secret birthday surprises, engagement surprises, romantic weekend away surprises, the surprise wedding arrangements and so much more. They got engaged last year and the wedding was set for October this year, so we were excited with all the plans and started to work on honeymoon ideas. In the beginning of March, the famous year of 2020 started spiraling out of control for this family! A mere 4 days after their adorable little boy was born they had a house fire, I was called to help assist with accommodation whilst they get their home fixed up, then lockdown happened and they were stuck for 3 months at the self-catering apartments I had booked for them. To their disappointment, they made the difficult decision due to Covid-19 and government rulings to postpone their wedding to 2021. Whilst they were dealing with this disappointment I remember feeling so guilty sending them invoices for their extended stay at the self-catering apartments every few weeks (we had no indication how long we would be in level one for) and with everyone being affected financially by Covid I felt awful having to charge them a service fee. There was one particular day I will never forget, I had Kevin on the phone and in the midst of all the uncertainty, he insisted that I always charge my service fee because to him my service was invaluable. Through their own crisis and hard year, they were prepared to support us as a family and stay loyal to me as their agent. It speaks volumes to who they are as human beings. With almost daily contact through the lockdown, I listened on and admired Vanessa's courage to deal with a newborn and two young girls in an environment that was not home. By August, the entire family had gone through Covid and their house disaster continued. I finally met Vanessa and Kevin for the first time in person (albeit with half our faces covered with a mask) in August, after so many years of speaking over the phone and via email helping them with different holiday arrangements it was incredible to finally see what they look like in 'real life'. I am a hugger, so you can imagine that it was so difficult to just do the elbow greeting, after years of getting to know each other. In September I received a call from Vanessa, she wanted to surprise Kevin and go ahead with the wedding, she needed my help! My heart burst with happiness for them, something good had to happen for this wonderful family this year. We got straight to work and arranged a secret dinner where Vanessa had a personal invite made for Kevin, inviting him to meet her at the 12 Apostles on the 24th October for their wedding. I relish the idea of organizing surprises; it is so rewarding when it all works out! It was incredible to get my own surprise when our invitation to their wedding arrived via post a few days later! To say it meant the world to me would be an understatement. Fast forward 10 years, our relationship has grown from client to friend year on year and this is us celebrating at their wedding this past weekend. I truly love what I do for a living, and if every time I pick up the phone to assist a client the outcome results in anything close to this, I can't see myself stopping anytime soon! The Ross’s have been my inspiration, COVID-19 not even you can slow me down! Congratulations to you both, and thank you for being such amazing people, friends, and clients! May you have a lifetime of happiness and love. #TCexperience #Wedding #top5 #12apostles #clientstofriends #travel #travelagent #lovewhatido #travelcounsellors

04 December 2019

What an incredible privilege to have been picked to join a few SA TC’s for our global conference in the UK. I can't believe it was 3 weekends ago already! It was an experience that I will definitely cherish forever. Arriving in the chilly UK after a great (full, but comfortable) flight on Virgin Atlantic we took a train to Manchester. We visited Travel Counsellors HQ and had a tour of the offices. It was much bigger then I had imagined – but what really stood out to me was the location of Steve, our CEO's office. It was situated in an area with the door wide open indicating that everyone was invited to pop in and see him, anytime. Steve immediately welcomed us with a warm Manchester welcome, and even though South Africa took the Rugby world cup from the Brits a week earlier he was genuinely pleased for us as a country and what it meant for us. On the Friday the Conference began, I began to see the hundreds and hundreds of TC’s stream in. It was mind blowing to realize that I was apart of a bigger family, so many others who have been where I am now, others who are going to get there and others who are far ahead whom I can learn from. Everyone is super friendly and interested in where you are from and how you are doing as a TC. I attended a great seminar on Social media and took so many tips from it. A couple of TC’s who were doing well shared their success stories with us and I’m excited to apply the nuggets to my business. Everyone has their own approach to running their business, and where I thought I was doing a great job at marketing, I found out there are things that I can do to make it better – and I can't wait. The best part is that this is just one small aspect. The weekend was filled with laughter, tears and a real sense of family. Many prizes were given away and many stories were shared, which really reminded me that I am not alone. I work from home on my own – but I have a huge family behind me, who all care and want me to succeed. The TC family, I have never been more grateful and more proud to be a part of such an amazing group of people. We had the likes of Chadden Hunter, Sahar Hashemi, Anthony Iannarino, Michael Finnigan, Nicola Adams and the wonderfully humble Bear Grylls who all shared their personal stories and insights. Words such as “embrace your failures”, “face your fears”, “Find your fire” and “remember your faith” were what I took away from the conference. The awards evening was out of this world, and as TC’s were being recognized, honored and called up to receive their awards on stage it made me hungry for greater things in my life and business. It was so much fun getting to know the girls who travelled together from SA, the friends that I have made from this trip are legendary! Thank you TC South Africa for taking me along and opening my eyes and heart to the TC world. Lets do it again next year - Liverpool; 20 - 22nd November 2020.

22 May 2018

I had the privilege of staying at the Aha Harbour Bridge Hotel & Suites in Cape Town this weekend. I was the lucky winner of a 2 nights stay with breakfast included! I live in Somerset West, which is a 40-minute drive into the city. With a little baby boy and our daily routines, we rarely get to go into the city, so this was a real treat! The hotel is located on the harbour and is about a 5-minute drive to the Waterfront. It was easy to find and the parking available to guests is securely tucked away in the basement. Immediately, on arrival we were greeted by friendly staff who helped us check in. (On arrival we were upgraded from a luxury room to a suite! Imagine my excitement!) The suite was spacious and offered an open plan layout with a lounge and kitchen area fully equipped with an oven, microwave, fridge and kettle. The room was separate with a beautiful ensuite bathroom. As we are experiencing a terrible drought in the Western Cape, almost all hotels have removed bath plugs to prevent people from wasting water. The hotel staff were quick to notice the almost 2-year-old travelling with us, and had already had a plug in the room so that I could bath him (with the 10l allocated to his bath time) in the evenings. I was really impressed with the hotels initiative in saving water, they offered a bucket in the bathroom for us to reuse the bath water to flush the toilets with. The Suites are on the fourth floor, so the view of the harbour river is incredible. Each suite has a little balcony which is child proof. There is a television and aircon in both the lounge area and bedroom which is also very convenient. We were extremely happy with the high-speed internet and the size of our bundle included in our stay. The breakfast offered in the mornings is a spread of cereals, fruit, yogurt as well as a variety of hot dishes which includes bacon, eggs, hash browns, mushrooms, baby tomatoes and much more. It’s a feast! The staff at the restaurant are so friendly and were quick to help me with Caleb when he got busy. Nothing was too much of an effort for them. The food on the hotel room service menu was wonderful! It provided a great variety. I had the Gnocchi starter and my husband had the Chicken and mushroom pasta and it was delicious! As the location of the hotel is on the harbour river you have easy access to the hop-on-hop-off cruise offered daily. It is only R50 an adult, which can be booked and paid for at reception. It makes for a lovely afternoon outing and an alternative mode of transport to the waterfront. The boat picks you up at the hotel and takes you up to the One&Only Hotel where you can get off and walk to the Waterfront, or you can just cruise back to the hotel. Caleb loved it! I would recommend this hotel to business clients as well as leisure clients as the location is ideal! The hotel is clean, it has everything you need and the staff are amazing! Thank you for a lovely experience and for making my family and I feel so welcome!

07 April 2018

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta . To travel opens our mind and soul, learning from other cultures and experiencing first-hand how other people live day to day lives is so enriching. Investing in travel is one of the best things you can do for yourself and loved ones. When planned and organized correctly, with passion, you can be guaranteed to have an experience that you will always remember. Here are 7 of my top points of Why a person should travel: 1. Travelling is Easy! It's so easy to start! All it takes is a little courage to allow yourself to put into motion the dream destination that you would like to go experience. Putting together an itinerary can be so exciting and rewarding. If you don’t know where to start – that is where I come in. I am a real people’s person, and I love to listen and dream with you! I can help you navigate and decide what the best option will be for you and your pocket! 2. Travel expands your own world. Travelling will open your eyes to so many different things. We get so caught up in our day to day lives, and the immediate world around us, that even by just driving a couple of hours away from your environment, you will automatically be open to new experiences. Your senses are heightened, and you will feel rejuvenated before you know it. Whether you are into history, culture, island holidays, adventure holidays, it is guaranteed that you will be changed after taking on the journey. 3. Travel helps you learn new languages. It's so true, there’s something so wonderful about being able to say a few words here and there in a different language. Imagine walking into a little street shop in Thailand, and greeting the retail staff with a hello in Thai. Or sitting in Italy at an authentic restaurant and being able to order your meal in Italian “Per favore posso avere alcuni dei vostri deliziosi piatti di pasta?” Even just to sit on a bench in a busy area and simply listen to how the language sounds, it is really satisfying! It really allows you to experience a different culture. 4. Travel brings perspective. To meet new people and experience other cultures and the way people think, will change the way you look at the world. Most of the time we get so wrapped up in the way we think, that we can easily become narrow minded, without even trying. Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone will allow you to grow and see that there are different opinions and ways of doing things. Seeing the world for yourself will improve your vision and your grip on reality. 5. Travel is education. Travelling to different places around the globe provides a level of education that you will never learn sitting in a classroom. All your senses are engaged when travelling, your brain acts like a sponge taking in every sight, smell, taste and sound. To be able to physically stand on the top of Table Mountain, or to see with your own eyes the iconic ancient site of Petra, or walk along the Great Wall of China, it teaches you history, geography and sociology. 6. Let Travel Challenge you. If you allow for it, travelling will stretch you, and test you. By doing the same thing day in and day out, getting up and brushing your teeth at the same basin, eating your breakfast at the same kitchen counter, going to your 9 - 5 work place, it gets boring! Going to a new place will force you to brush your teeth in a new basin, find a different place to have that breakfast, and your normal 9 - 5 boring day will be filled with exciting adventures. Travel is full of moments of joy and challenges. Overcoming the challenges gives you some of the greatest joys of all. 7. Travel will give you stories to tell The best thing about travelling is the stories that you will carry with you forever. Even if you are the quietest person around and you consider yourself an introvert, travelling brings with it such a beautiful experience that you will feel compelled to share it with others. It will bring you out of your shell naturally, not only will you tell amazing stories, but you will be able to give advice to friends and family wanting to do something similar.