Thursday 27 October 2016

Lilizela Tourism Award - National winner!


We did it! Thanks to all of your continued support over the past 16 years!


We won the NATIONAL Lilizela UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY Award: Experience General!

From all @ Epic Enabled & Epic Guest House, thank you to the Lilizela Tourism Awards and to all of you that voted for us! We're very proud and really appreciate this honour! 
Thank you all for your support!
This year we decided to try and see where South Africa ranks us and we entered this the Lilizela Awards for the first time. 

The Lilizela Awards is South Africa’s premier Travel and Tourism Awards recognizing and rewarding those who work passionately and with pride to deliver a world-class product & service.

We are very humbled by this recognition! THANK YOU!
Alfie & Sabine




Friday 21 October 2016

Amazing African Sunsets

Picture by Cory Lee
Cory Lee from Curb Free was on our last October Kruger Safari, joined by the Magnusson Family from Sweden, Ann from the USA and returning clients Dagmar & Brigitte from Germany.
A truly international EPIC group :)
Inside the truck, game viewing.
From left to right: Hanna, Dagmar, Cory, Gunnar
As for so many of our client, travelling from overseas to the "tip of Africa" can be a bit daunting and a leap of faith even for experience travellers. However you can ask any of our 'friends', it is a truly EPIC experience and you will not only make lifelong memories and new friends, it will also boost your confidence and realization that you can do it!

Cory is a travel writer and is documenting his travelling experiences. You can read some valuable tips on how to prepare for an African Safari on Cory's blog:
How to prepare - South Africa safari
Almost ready - 11 days South Africa

This group was again blessed with great wildlife sightings, including the Big 5 and some additional incredible animal encounters.
A little orphaned bush baby has settled in very nicely at the Bush Camp and feels right at home - hopping from shoulder to shoulder!
Cory with Bushbaby
Of course Ntombi was again very much seeking attention (which we of course give her :). She just loves to hang around the Bush Camp withing the safety of her humans. Her 2 mischievous brothers are only leaving her in peace when there is a human to 'referee', therefore Ntombi has made the bush camp HER home.
From left to right: Dagmar, Hanna, Ewa, Cory & Brigitte
Front and centre attraction: Ntombi ☺
Private Reserve Boma evening
Here is a great link to the video Cory made of the safari:
Wheelchair Accessible Safari in South Africa, by Cory Lee

Gunnar, Ewa & Hanna carried on with the Cape Town extension. The weather played along perfectly and on the last day we had the perfect weather for Table Mountain! Mojo, our German Shepherd- Malamute mix, won their harts over immediately with his very gentle nature and overall cuteness.

Mojo - cuteness itself!
Cosmo & Mojo




















It was a great pleasure meeting you all on our October tour and sharing some of the incredible sights, sounds and wildlife our wonderful South Africa has to offer! 

Thursday 13 October 2016

The EPIC - MundoRado 8 year collaboration


2016 saw our 8 year anniversary working with MundoRado Reizen, who, like us, are also passionate about enabling travel for people with disabilities. We started our collaboration back in Aug 2008 and this September we welcomed their 8th private group in as many years with fourteen people, ready to be amazed by our incredible South African wildlife, culture and scenery!


That is not to say they’re all new to South Africa: Hillie, the tour guide appointed by MundoRado, has been with us once before, but this time she was assisted by Jenny (part of MundoRado's office Information and Reservations team), which was great to add a face to all the e-mail conversations we had and we are sure that this experience was a welcome change from office life too!


As per usual, Epic took excellent care of our travellers - not even a hand injury by Corrie, which she sustained on her flight over to South Africa, could stop her from exploring, as we took her to see an excellent doctor nearby. Soon she had re-joined everyone else on their trip to the iconic Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela famously spent much of his twenty-seven years as a prisoner.

Up in the Kruger, the group enjoyed seeing Ntombi the cheetah at the Bush Camp and her two brothers (on a game walk) who, like most male cheetahs, are seemingly inseparable!
We were lucky again and saw all of the big 5 on this tour as well as many of the less famous animals. Jessica the famous hippo was again very happy to receive all the attention from everybody and very patiently posed for all the photos.

It was great meeting you all:
Mr Jan de Priester, Mrs Tineke Heeres, Mrs Frederique van Daele, Mrs Marleen van der Veen, Mrs Corrie Eijkelenboom, Mrs Ellie Meijdam, Mrs Joyce Hamme, Mrs Wil Huisman, Mrs Veerle Heijlen, Mr Bert Stegink, Mr Toon Beckman, Mrs Geranne van der Haar, Mrs Hillie Paping & Mrs Jenny Zegers ☺    

A special THANK YOU to Barbara Van Eck for your continued support!

Friday 7 October 2016

Befriending Cheetahs and Tasting Zebra: An Epic Experience

 
In September 2016, Epic has yet again enabled an exhilarating experience, this time for a group of travellers from England, The Netherlands and a huge family from all across America.


On the tour, they saw first-hand just how multi-dimensional and unique South Africa truly is. Robin (from a small town in California) recalls the time when they were lucky enough to see a pack of African wild dogs along the road leading out of the Kruger National Park, a sighting that “pretty much trumped any other sightings I had”, she says. Camille from Wisconsin enjoyed the beautiful days in the Stellenbosch vineyards sampling fine wines, as well as the breathtaking panoramic views of Cape Town from atop Table Mountain.


Photo by Robin
Indeed, this was a trip of new experiences: Robin tasted ostrich for the first time. Hayden, from a small town in Nevada, tried a dish of zebra meat! Of the zebra, Camille notes that it tastes similar to steak and is not nearly as gamey as venison is (and that the food in South Africa is delicious and far cheaper than in the US!). 


Photo by Hayden

Zebra may be a meal that Ntombi the Cheetah would enjoy! Introduced as private game reserve's mascot, Ntombi (who has been hand-reared ever since she lost her mother) greeted the guests by allowing them to stroke and pet her. Getting this close to a wild animal (she roams and hunts in the wild) was definitely a thrilling, unforgettable experience - and it was not the only close encounter!

Bushbabies, porcupines and genets were among the regular visitors to the campsite. This particular bunch of critters has become quite comfortable with people: some of them are bold enough to steal a few sips of your drink right from the cup (and then steal your heart by being friendly and cute, of course)! If that’s not cute enough for you, our guests also witnessed a newborn elephant trying to gain balance while having a mud bath, and some newborn hyena cubs being groomed by their mom (aww!).



Of course, an African safari is not going to be all small, fluffy creatures. The Big Five were all spotted: majestic lions, elusive leopards and stoic buffalo. Upon seeing two male rhinos fighting, one traveller says that he was surprised they were so quiet whilst engaging in their tussle; he expected to hear grunting, snorting and generally angry sounds and not just the sounds of horns clashing.


Good thing that they all came down to Cape Town and had a day’s rest at Epic Guesthouse! Ineke and Maria from The Netherlands relaxed underneath the spring sunshine on the balcony, the fresh Noordhoek air and sea views a welcome change. There is definitely something different about the atmosphere as you get nearer to the southernmost tip of the continent: many researchers say that the air at Cape Point is of the cleanest and purest in the world.


The tour was an all-round success. New friends were made amidst the new experiences (everyone particularly enjoyed the jokes of Mary from the UK). Camille says that South Africa is truly a magical place, and Hayden loved Table Mountain so much that she didn’t want to leave.  


You could experience all this and more for yourself! Visit epic-enabled.com to see all we have to offer - see you soon!

Until then, here's an interactive map of the adventures had this month (and that you could experience too!)