Epic's interactive blog

'Queen Marry 2' docks in Cape Town

2012-02-07T10:38:00.003+02:00

The cruise ship 'Queen Marry 2' has docked in Cape Town for the first time!
Coral & mum explored Cape Town with us before they ventured back home to Australia on this amazing cruise ship.
They swapped places with Steve & Marilyn which came down from the UK with the luxury liner. After a couple of days in Cape Town to catch up with some friends, Steve and Marilyn are now starting our Kruger safari on the 10 February 2012.
What an amazing adventure!

Sally & Chris - we are coming back :)

2012-01-22T12:17:00.000+02:00

Sally & Chris joined us in Cape Town for some day tours and allowed us to show our 'Mother City' at its best. They even joined Joshua's 8th Birthday party here at our Epic Guest House :)
Good news, about 1 week after they returned home Sally & Chris e-mailed us to find out about a Garden Route Tour later this year!
We must be doing something right :D

2012

2012-01-01T10:30:00.000+02:00

Happy festive season

2011-12-21T09:21:00.014+02:00

We wish you all a merry and peaceful Christmas and a great start in 2012!
Thank you for all your support and we look forward to welcoming you back in South Africa next year :D

International November 2011

2011-11-26T13:52:00.000+02:00

Our international group had Switzerland, Germany, USA & Belgium represented :) If your country is missing join one of our tours so we can add your country :D

We had the pleasure of meeting Mourad (french/swiss), Hubert (german),Betty & Fred (USA) and Freddy, Freddy & Francine (belgium) on this tour. Yes, it got confusing with all the "Fred's" :)

Amarula Kids on tour

2011-10-27T13:24:00.000+02:00

On our October tour we had the 'Amarula Kids' from Switzerland, Lindsay & Sheryl from NZ (well done with the rugby world cup!) and Emma, Robin & Suzanne from the UK.

Rebecca came back for a second safari and brought her friends Daniel, Claudia, Pascal & Miriam with her.

Highlights of the tour: just everything!

Stooop! inspection!...

...

...can I eat you?????

The cheetah's love attention and pure like a big cat when you stroke them!

Jessica the hippo ALWAYS love our visit and not just because she gets sweet potatoes and tea!

No it is not a frog Miriam!

It is a hippo, and it will not turn into a Prince! :)

NZ family on holiday

2011-09-19T12:33:00.004+02:00

Katie & Jordan came out to South Africa to celebrate one of their friends wedding on a Private Game Reserve near the Kruger National Park. What a great opportunity to add an 'African Safari'.
Mother Jenni with partner Chris joined son Jordan with partner Katie for an unforgettable Kruger Safari thereafter.

2 of the highlights were the squabbles between 3 Ground Hornbills and a troop of Vervet Monkeys to test their strengths!

Another amazing sighting was a pride of ~20 lions with 7 cubs!

Ozmate on tour with Epic Enabled

2011-08-29T12:17:00.002+02:00

The Ozmate 'family' what a great group. NO WORRIES :)

Peter & Sharon with their kids Ben, Adam & Matilda
John & Coral Clements, Carol Clarke, Christopher Sach, Peter Mackay, Bruce Gardiner, Colin Davis, Ken Walters, Daniel Ellis & Brendan O'Meara

French Group - APF Evasion

2011-08-08T09:18:00.000+02:00

Our largest group yet :)

16 Frenchmen & women arrived on the 22 July in Cape Town with not really knowing what to expect.
Our Epic Guest House was admired by all and we enjoyed the 1^st evening here getting to know each other. Our translator Michel did a great job communicating.

Table Mountain was unfortunately closed due to renovations, but Cape Point and the Penguin colony was a wonderful day.

The Waterfront was another liked destination with lots of shopping :)

The Kruger safari was a great success with lots of animal interactions and special memories.

Elizabeth's 4th tour with Epic!

2011-07-20T14:19:00.005+02:00

What a great time to travel to the Kruger National Park. Wildlife everywhere!

We had another great tour with a great mix of people and nationalities, which guaranteed new and interesting friendships.

Lena, Elizabeth, Rick, Brett, Adam, Samuel & Glen

Lena (Grandmother) and Samuel (Grandson) from the UK

Elizabeth from the UK

Rick & Brett (brothers) with friend Glen from New Zealand

Adam from the UK

Elizabeth enjoyed her 4th tour with us and it was great seeing her again! We look forward to seeing you next year again :)

Brett & Jessica the Hippo


Adam with caracal

Glen with Lion cub


Rick with cheetah

It was great meeting you all!

Stunning Winter day in Cape Town

2011-06-14T12:54:00.000+02:00

Today is one of those absolutely amazing winter days in Cape Town! 23°C and the sun is shining. What else can one want :)

Judith Geppert's 60th Birthday present

2011-05-09T09:40:00.008+02:00

In February 2011, I left Australia on a holiday to celebrate my 60th birthday with two friends Davina and Brian. I had always wanted to visit this part of the world.

My reason for going to South Africa was, not only to see the famous Big-Five, but I wanted to see and experience the many interesting creatures, trees and plants with something unique to offer, stunning birds, lovely scenery and an original breathtaking African sunset.

We travelled to Kruger National Park, South Africa’s largest wildlife reserve which is one of its most unspoilt wildernesses and at the same time one of the most developed and accessible eco-tourism destinations in the country. I managed to get up close to many of the wildlife.

After Kruger we stayed at Tshukudu Game Reserve. Here I experienced things I’ll never forget. Walking with cheetahs and sitting on the ground patting one. Cuddling a lion cub, and observing animals in there natural habitant.

Jessica the hippo, I was able to give her a bottle of cold tea, which is one of her favourite foods.

We then travelled onto Cape Town where we stayed in the Epic Guest House, which is situated in Noordhoek – one of Cape Town’s treasures’ – with its rural atmosphere.

On this leg of our trip we visited; Cape of Good Hope, Cable Mountain, Boulders Beach, Robben Island and Stellenbosch district. Just to name a few.

My stay in South Africa will live in my memories forever!

Thank you,

Judith

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-06T09:03:00.001+02:00

To all you fantastic moms out there - have a relaxing day on Sunday and let yourself get spoilt - you deserve it!

Happy Easter

2011-04-21T10:07:00.002+02:00

We wish you all a happy Easter weekend!
Enjoy the time off to relax and rejuvenate!

Australian Friends

2011-04-19T16:41:00.001+02:00

Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby team member Craig Parson was part of the ‘Force’ (Western Australia) team which won the Silver Medal in 2000. That is quite an achievement not many of us can claim! Wow!

We had the great pleasure of welcoming Craig, Eileen and their stunning daughter Ciara to South Africa on our 8 Day Kruger Safari.

They planed their holiday with us already almost 2 years ago, then some unexpected health issues delayed the tour, fantastic recovery with tremendous positive attitude and now in April 2011 it was eventuality time! I felt like I already knew them before I met them after the Safari at our Epic Guest House in Cape Town after all the e-mail communications we had back and forth :)

They are well travelled and have seen a couple more places then I have (I might add a little jealously :) and are truly amazing people. This is Craig on his Quadbike trip across Australia to visit the scene of his accident.

Now their trip leads them to Paris - Disney world and then on to Ireland where Eileen is originally from.

Some of their highlights and comments will follow shortly.

So where to are you travelling next?

Epic Enabled's 10 year anniversary!

2011-03-31T14:28:00.001+02:00

We have had an incredible first 10 years running Epic Enabled and we look forward to many more to come! In January 2001 we started our first accessible tour to the Kruger - and what a learning experience.

We have met so many incredible people during the past years and thank you all for your support!

We hope we will meet you soon again and welcome any new faces!

To celebrate our 10 year anniversary, we offer you a great special in September 2011.

Save R2000

Book now - only limited seats available

Wildlife is at its best in their natural surroundings!

2011-03-25T13:42:00.000+02:00

This March we had the pleasure of meeting Gillian & Steven Watt from the UK.

Gillian said her highlight on the safari was to see elephants in their natural habitat carrying on with their cruising through the bush and enjoying the feast as they move along! Seeing the elephants in the wild was a whole new experience!

I absolutely agree with Gillian. I am fortunate enough to join a tour every now and then and escape the office duties :). The feeling you get being in nature with the animals in THEIR territory, just gives you a whole new outlook to life!

Nature is incredible, but also incredibly harsh! Unfortunately the night before we went on our morning lion walk, one of the lion cubs was presumably bitten by a snake and did not survive the night. The sister lion cub enjoyed the company of people and the distraction of missing her brother.

Even in the wild we have to deal with strikes! One of the 3 cheetah siblings was on strike and wanted a day off to rest at the lodge, rather then going for a morning walk! So we enjoyed the interaction with 2 of the cheetah sisters. Meeting and feeding Jessica the hippo was again the ‘Cheery on top of the icing’.

Our autumn is slowly approaching; the days are getting shorter and the evening/nights cooler. So you don’t have to get up so early anymore for the morning game drives :)

New lion & caracal cubs

2011-03-04T11:49:00.016+02:00

On our last tour we had the pleasure of meeting Judith, Davina & Brian from Australia; Gunmai, Kent & Magnus from Sweden and Ivan & Lucille from USA. This was Judith's ‘Birthday present holiday’ to herself and she said she will never forget the Elephants enjoying a ‘mud-bath’ while we were on a game drive. See pictures below and you might understand why!

Are you sure mom???

Let me see...

...ups...

...this is nice

Can we stay here???

In addition we had the pleasure of walking with 2 new lion cubs, 1 teenager caracal & 4 almost grown up cheetahs. One of the lion cubs especially enjoyed Judith’s wheelchair. She confided in me that the night before she spilt some wine on her armrest and that the lion cub started purring after the tasteful encounter :)

Jessica is now casually walking out of 'her river' and drinking her tea on land where you can see her full 'might'! How often can you study a hippo so close up!

Gunmai, Kent & Magnus said they will be back and hopefully enjoy our Garden Route tour the second time around :)

So join us for your adventure of a lifetime!

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town

2011-02-09T08:58:00.002+02:00

Wheechair access at the fantastic Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens on video, by Jan & Hanneke:

Jessica the famous hippo on our Kruger Safaris!

2011-02-02T15:38:00.004+02:00

Now this is something you can't do every day!

When I visited Jessica for the first time, I was rather wary. I know that the hippo is one of the biggest killers in Africa and they don't even want to eat you! They are vegetarians, but defend their 'home' fiercely!

But Jessica is truly amazing. She is also featured on the National Geographic channel every now and then, so keep an eye out for her.

She is completely free to come and go as she pleases, but she seems to like visitors and Rooibos tea!

Don’t miss this opportunity to ‘kiss’ Jessica on our Kruger safaris!

Join us on a Kruger Safari and experice it for yourself!

Kruger Safari video from Jan & Hanneke

2011-02-01T14:00:00.000+02:00

Enjoy :)

Holiday of a Lifetime, by Julia Gower - UK

2011-01-12T16:06:00.001+02:00

My husband & I have just returned from South Africa fulfilling my wildest dream! I am 54 years’ old, and have had MS for 33 years but it is only during the last 6 years that the condition has advanced to secondary progressive, affecting my walking. I walk with the aid of two crutches, using a wheelchair at times.

For a long time I had wanted to go to South Africa but thought that such an idea was impossible, that is until I found the tour operator – Epic Enabled and what a find! Epic Enabled (http://www.epic-enabled.com/) is a company aimed at people with mobility problems. Therefore, at the beginning of October my husband and I set out on our African adventure!

We flew to Johannesburg and from there went in a specially adapted truck to the Kruger National Park for a week. The truck has a hydraulic lift making it easy access on and off and wheelchairs could be secured to the floor with straps. Our group comprised of a Yorkshire girl (MS) and her mother, a New Zealand girl (MS), a Swedish girl (MS), a Dutch man (MS) and his wife another Dutch man who had a stroke and his wife. We stayed in three different camps in the Park and in one Private Camp. The accommodation was good comprising of bungalows each with a walk-in shower. We went on day and evening drives and saw so many animals (very close at times), even managing the Big Five one evening.

Following the safari we went to Cape Town where we stayed a few days, visiting Robben Island which was rather sobering, Cape Point, the Penguin colony, Table Mountain and the Winelands. Then for the remaining five days we travelled along the beautiful Garden Route, spending some time whale watching en-route to the first camp. The dense, indigenous vegetation was quite spectacular. During our stay on the Garden Route we managed to visit an Ostrich farm and an Elephant sanctuary where one can walk or wheel “hand in trunk” ! For the last two nights we stayed on the coast’s edge and to see and hear 20ft waves crashing just a few metres from our cabin was truly amazing and a lovely end to our South African adventure.

We did have a wonderful holiday and I say to everyone reading this that it is possible to go on a Safari even if you have mobility problems.

Julia & Andy Gower, UK

Happy New Year

2011-01-06T09:03:00.004+02:00

Christmas Festive Season 2010 is over, New Year and 2011 has arrived!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hopefully everyone has had a Happy Festive time and now it is time to embrace the New Year.

Epic Guest House has been & is still a hive of lovely people and activity. It has been so gratifying to have a wide range of different people staying with us – the Jeftha family from Gaborone in Botswana – Daphne & Basil and Liza and her great, young son Matthew.
Gerald and Monica from the UK, Gerald originally from Zambia and Scots descent with Monica from Chile, but lived many years in London.
Then Karen & Rory with their 2 gorgeous little daughters, from Scotland but now living in Paarl, SA.
Cordi & his 2 beautiful Girls, and Heather all from Johannesburg,SA. The Peters family managed to get themselves to Cape Town, having been held up by the abominable snow & bad weather in Europe with Brussels airport totally closed! Happily they did get here after all.

By the middle of January 2011, the year-end holiday visitors will be back in their usual lives, hopefully refreshed after being in gentle Noordhoek at Epic Guest House.

Epic Enabled is preparing for our 1^st Kruger & Cape Highlights tour of 2011 – Alfie took a break after a busy and hard year, of touring and building and creating the wonderful guest house with Sabine.

While there have been devastating floods and snow in Europe, UK and Australia, South Africa is HOT !!!!! a mere 35 degrees in Cape Town yesterday, so the holiday makers are whooping it up at the beaches.

Have a great 2011 !!!!

Season's Greetings from sunny Cape Town

2010-12-21T15:58:00.003+02:00

Escape the Ice-cold European winter and enjoy X-mas in sunny and warm Cape Town @ www.epic-guesthouse.com - you deserve it!

We wish you a peaceful Festive Season and a Prosperous 2011.

Epic Enabled & Epic Guest House

Alfie, Sabine, Beryl, Leonard & Charles

Dinner @ Epic Guest House

2010-12-12T09:24:00.010+02:00

We managed to get a some great people together for dinner @ Epic Guest House on the 10 December 2010:

Hannes & Karin Coetzee (Disabled Travel), Peter & Karen Key (SAfm - Disability Report), Sally Grierson (Cape Point Routes), Alfie & Sabine (Epic Guest House), Barbara, Beryl, Gerald & Monika

Some of their comments:

Karin Coetzee (Disabled travel): We have spent a great weekend at the amazing, accessible Epic Guest House in Noordhoek, where all four the rooms and bathrooms cater for people in wheelchairs - probably the only one in SA!

Sally Grierson - Cape Point Route:

Thank you so much for a wonderful evening on Friday – was great to meet you all and experience the guesthouse and the delicious dinner (and breakfast!)

Epic Guest House video!

2010-11-30T13:53:00.011+02:00

Jan & Hanneke, from http://vakantie-gehandicapten.blogspot.com, stayed with us at the Epic Guest House from the 19 - 25 November and did some great video recordings for us! Thank you so much!!!
Here are the great shots of our Epic Guest House:

Just click on the arrow to play the video :)
Enjoy

November 2010 …….. can this really be possible? So 2011 is around the corner already!

2010-11-27T14:45:00.005+02:00

Judging from our November Kruger Park clients’ comments, it seems they were able to forget how fast time moves these days, leave their regular lives behind, and soak up every bit of their Bush holiday.

Ruud, Roos & Nine from Holland wrote: “This was a very, very cool vacation we all liked it. You are really in the bush and very close to the animals. And Alfie and other people are very good in explaining a lot of things about the animals. We learnt a lot. We also like the houses were we slept. A really African interior and it was wheelchair friendly. And the food was really nice! Alfie cooks fantastically and he helps you a lot.

In 3 words: A GREAT HOLIDAY!!!”

It’s so wonderful when clients enjoy the Wildlife during the tour – it’s not too often one sees Wild Dog and Hyena with their cubs, a real treat.

Sandra & Keith from the UK said: “Tour Highlights: for both of us meeting and interacting with the cheetahs was amazing!

The whole tour start to finish was brilliant. Alfie is a great tour guide and the way he deals with the handicapped members of the group is fantastic.

The Kruger Park game drives were great. We saw Wild-dog, Lions, Elephants, White Rhino, Warthogs, a Lion with kill, Hyena with cubs, Giraffe, Buffalo, and the list goes on……

The second part of the tour at Tshukudu, where we spent the time on game drives, interacting with different animals like the cheetahs and a tour to see the leopard and lion which was amazing.

Tshukudu camp itself is a beautiful place. *EXCELLENT* ”

Alfie’s food is very popular according to the clients, so we see him as the Bush Chef of note …..as Debbie & Colin from the UK write:

“Highlights: Spending time with such lovely people and see so much amazing wildlife.

We have been on some wonderful holidays but nothing compares to this. The whole system worked perfectly, from the minute we were met a the airport, the welcome, the accommodation, the wildlife we saw, the places we visited and the wonderful people we met and hopefully will stay in touch with long after the holiday ends. The most amazing encounters with king cheetah, caracal and lion at such close range will stay with us for ever. Alfie was so organized & efficient and his food was great.”

The maxim of “If you think you can’t do it, think again” has to be the most rewarding feedback, Margaret & Wendy from the UK tell us: “Highlights: Everything, animals, staff, fantastic experience, great bunch of travellers.

Whatever your disability you can do everything on this holiday beyond your wildest dreams. If you think you can’t do it, think again. If you aren’t disabled it is an inspirational holiday!”

Jan & Hanneke from Holland write: “Highlights: An elephant pushing over a tree, a baby elephant almost entering Tshukudu coming to check out me in my wheelchair

Just a short notice to tell you guys we are back in Holland.

Jan is very busy making your movie from the guesthouse. It will take a few days before he is finished. I am busy writing on my Blog (http://vakantie-gehandicapten.blogspot.com/) about our experience and have mentioned your name and both your websites.

We have had a perfect holiday. We loved South Africa and being with you guys. To see how you run tours and the guesthouse. Everyone has his own way of doing things but you take the effort to make guests feel at ease and at home. You do a hell of a job. So thank you very much for this perfect stay in South Africa.

In case you would like stay with us in the future just let us know. You are welcome at all times. And we like to meet you guys again in the future wherever this will be.

Regards, Hanneke and Jan”

What a lovely mix of travellers together on our November trip – Thank you all for enjoying Epic Enabled’s & Epic Guesthouse’s hospitality

Where the Buffalo roam, Lions are not far behind !

2010-10-21T11:50:00.015+02:00

Epic’s October Kruger Park group was made up of 2 returning clients – Anna Jackson who brought her lovely Mother, Sue with her to experience the Africa she had so enjoyed before. Anna’s previous ‘fellow’ tour member Anne Larkin from New Zealand also decided to join the tour for a 2^nd time as well! Newcomers Andy & Julia Gower from the UK celebrated their wedding anniversary in Cape Town - Congratulations!, Ramon & Joke Sunder from Holland and Elisabeth Schyum from Sweden.

They had the amazing experience of a herd of 1000+ African Buffalo, which were being followed by a pride of 12 African lions – picture this scene, the huge 1.5 metre animals weighing approximately 750kg, all thundering en masse. The Leo Panthera (Lion), the supreme creatures, in a group of 12 were magnificent to watch.

Our Group came upon this event late in the day and as the buffalos were aware of their followers, there was no immediate action. The lions know that the buffalos are not to mess around with, unless it is a surprise! But the lions did not give up so easily and were waiting for their chance…

Another special animal for visitors to see is the Leopard – that elusive spotted Cat, Panthera Pardus, as is typical of their behaviour to lie up during the day, and hunt at night. It was on a night drive that the Leopard was “spotted” …….

All in all, the Group was lucky again to see the Big 5, which is always a great thrill for everyone. Of course, the sighting of all wild animals and birds in their natural habitat is a thrill, and a memory never to be forgotten.

It was unseasonably hot for October in the Kruger Park, which seems to fit the fact that 2010 has been the hottest year in recorded history since temperatures etc have been logged!

1st 'Gehandicaptenreizen' Christening of Epic Guest House

2010-09-29T14:26:00.000+02:00

We currently have a great ‘Gehandicapten Dutch Group’ touring with us up in Kruger Park.

15 fun Hollanders of varying ages had a very enjoyable & happy time with us in Cape Town – and even the weather ended up being kind to them in time for their Table Mountain outing, sunny but cool.

We did so much in their short time in Cape Town with Alfie, including Table Mountain, City centre, Signal hill, Chapmans Peak, Waterfront, Cape Point, Penguin colony, Robben Island, Market, Stellenbosch Winelands and lots more.

Epic Guest House welcomed the whole group of 15 for a jolly Pizza dinner which turned into a real fun evening amidst lots of laughter.

And some of the clients wanted to pack up our newest addition – Shingi, a 3 month old cutest and happiest puppy :)

Their Kruger experience will be updated in the next blog post.

Africa Safari Birthday Present

2010-09-24T13:05:00.028+02:00

Thank you Lisa, Wendy & Ian!!! You were such a special Family to have join us for our September Kruger Safari trip.

We were disappointed when the other clients had to cancel on such short notice, as much as they were. And we thought you might also be sad, and to travel in our smaller vehicle!

But you made it such a great tour, with your spontaneous enjoyment, always enthusiastic – your comment about the highlights of the tour being that there were so many, it was not possible to think of only one. That was wonderful to hear.

It was amazing that you said you were apprehensive Wendy before the trip, as you had never been to Africa and didn’t know what to expect. Or how Ian would manage with his wheelchair. Lisa knew what it’s like in the Bush from travelling in Africa before, and as this was a Birthday gift to you Ian, you simply went ahead and loved it. It was so interesting to hear your comment Lisa, that this safari was so different from your other experiences. In a very positive way!

The wide variety of animals you experienced was a great treat – and something which can be taken for granted so easily. But your appreciation was absolutely marvellous. Especially the thrill you expressed at seeing the Fish Eagle fishing, expecting its catch and then a swoop of another Fish Eagle stealing it! You are truly privileged to experience that.

Seeing the majestic Sable antelope was one of the many highlights, as well as the graceful Cheetah chasing the Kudu in the game reserve.

We look forward to seeing you out here in South Africa at some future time...

"Better then the Caribbean" - according to Judy!

2010-08-23T09:53:00.000+02:00

Ian & Penny MacDonald with their 2 sons, Liam and Calum, Judy Gibson, Frank Beckwith as well as Jennifer Johnson and Maddie Kitching joined our Kruger Safari tour in August…….

Our August tour clients, as above, enjoyed their Kruger Park visit very much – Ian is really an African, having been born in Sierra Leone and Penny lived in Ghana for a time. They now make their home in the UK, as well as Judy, Frank, Jennifer & Maddie. So this was a “British” tour this time, most unusual not to have other nationalities in the Group.

Kruger Park served up its wonderful warm days with traditional cool Winter mornings & evenings. No rain at all, so the Game were seen abundant in the Park, and in the Private Game reserve in the Kruger area.

Lion was seen in Skukuza during a morning drive, a wonderful way to start the day, although at a distance! Very exciting was seeing a few Hyena at Crocodile Bridge, and another single Hyena at Tamboti. Leopard was seen, also in Kruger Park, about to spring for an Impala kill, …….. and of course the ever popular Elephants, who endear themselves to us all. Rhino & Wildebeest were both seen, and enjoyed.

Always so very memorable are the ‘close encounters’ with the Cheetah ‘cubs’ and feeding Jessica the Hippo – these always leave one with a cherished memory and a sense of privilege.

Better than the Caribbean – according to Judy !

Swiss return...

2010-08-17T17:06:00.003+02:00

A pologies for the ‘non postings’ in July… Joshua and I were in

Switzerland

visiting family and friends. What a wonderful time we had, surrounded by so much positive energy!

Now we are back and ready for action.

August 2010 – already! World Cup long gone, and the countdown to the end of 2010 is only a matter of 4 months.

This has been a momentous year for Epic Enabled – tour clients have now become guests at Epic Guest House. And we have ex-tour clients, repeating the Kruger tour and others also visiting the Guest House during this year.

So the dream is now fully realized...

Soccer World Cup :)

2010-06-12T13:12:00.004+02:00

What an amazing experience!

Cape Town Green Point stadium
11 June 2010
Uruguay v. France

The whole of South Africa is waving a Flag (majority South African Flags :).
It was our (Sabine & Joshua's) 1st Soccer game live - and what an experience. The vibe is incredible and everybody is buzzing! Literally - with all the Vuvuzela's!
We, of course, also contributed to the 'bee hive buzz"!
Hope you are following your team on TV if you are not here :D

Amanzi (Water) - Room 4:

2010-05-11T10:11:00.008+02:00

This spacious room is facing the fishpond & garden, is furnished with a king size bed (can be twin on request) and a comfortable seating area.

The fully accessible en-suite bathroom has all modern conveniences, including a heated towel rail, shaver point, excellent lighting, non-slip tiles, special grab rails, shower seat and complimentary eco friendly bath products.

Intaba (Mountain) - Room 3:

2010-05-11T10:01:00.006+02:00

This cosy and comfortable room is the smallest of the guest rooms at Epic Guest House and has a Queen size bed. Other features are a built-in wardrobe, desk and the accessible bathroom is across the passage, right outside the room.

The bathroom has non-slip tiles, a roll-in shower with shower seat, grab-rails and complementary eco friendly bath products.

Enkosi (Thank you) – Room 2 (master / family room)

2010-05-11T09:40:00.014+02:00

This spacious room benefits from 180 degree views of Chapman's Peak and the Atlantic Ocean. The room is furnished with a king size bed (can be twin on request), as well as comfortable seating area, with a sleeper couch.
Patio doors lead out onto the stunning Veranda from where the beautiful views, sunsets and wildlife can be enjoyed.

Molo (Hello) - Room 1

2010-05-11T09:31:00.011+02:00

This comfortable room benefits from great views across the Wetlands & tall trees, all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. The room is furnished with a king size bed (can be twin on request) with comfortable seating area.
Patio doors lead onto the stunning Veranda from where the beautiful views, sunsets and wildlife can be enjoyed.

The fully accessible bathroom is across the passage, right outside the room. Features include non-slip tiles, special grab rails, shower seat and complimentary eco friendly bath products.

Comfy Lounge

2010-05-10T16:20:00.008+02:00

Now we are ready for you to relax in our comfy lounge (clutter free with no little rugs or other wheelchair 'bumps' :)

Enjoy the view with a glass of local South African wine...

...or read a good book with a 'cuppa' (coffee or tea :) chilling on the veranda or by the mesmerising fire!

Dining area

2010-05-07T13:53:00.007+02:00

After a lot of hard work - this is our reward!

Before:
Hard to imagine that one could sit here eating a meal...

...now we can offer you our scrumptious & wholesome breakfasts at our beautiful Mahogany table! The table has ample leg space for wheelchair users :)

More pictures of lounge and rooms coming soon...

April Safari

2010-04-23T09:49:00.001+02:00

Alfie has come back from our April tour, with happy reflections from the trip.

Joyce and Peter were very fortunate in their sightings in Kruger Park & Private Game Reserve – to see Leopard more than once is real good luck and very special. Leopards are very shy, nocturnal creatures, so not easy to see. Leopards usually go out hunting at night or dusk. It was suspected that the female Leopard had a den close by with cubs.

There was a lovely sighting of Honey Badger at the camp site in the Kruger National Park. They are considered ‘most fearless animal in the world’ in the Guinness Book of Records and ‘pound for pound the most powerful creature in Africa’.

It was great to be able to see the “Big 5” – Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo & Rhino being the most sought after wild animals to see. One tends to take it for granted that Africa’s greatest wild animals, the “Big 5” must be seen, but every sighting of a wild animal in its environment is a true privilege. The allure of these magnificent animals is only felt on seeing them in the wild, with a deep feeling of awe and gratitude.

In Memory of Ian & Ala Sussens

2010-04-19T12:28:00.005+02:00

There was great sadness at Tshukudu Game Reserve – Ian, who ran the Bush Camp (with his wife Sylvia) and Ala, his mother were both killed in a tragic car accident 2 weeks’ ago. Such a huge loss and sorely felt by Alfie and Sabine, who have known & worked with them for a long time. Their loss will be felt by all who knew them!

Picture of Ian with Savannah the cheetah and one of her cubs

Cape Town Day Tours

2010-04-12T10:30:00.000+02:00

Only 59 days to go!!!!! That’s all one hears on the news media right now 2010 World Cup Soccer …… Fortunately, we also have other big things to talk about at Epic Enabled.

Early in April, both Alfie & Sabine did various day tours in Cape Town. Christine & Oliver together with Lyn and a friend so enjoyed their Cape Point tour. The Group then did Cape Town City centre drive as well as a lovely Kirstenbosch tour.

Family Newark joined Christine & Oliver on a very enjoyable Stellenbosch Winelands tour to Spier and surroundings.

Oliver the ‘Shopper’ of course had a great time at the V & A Waterfront !

The Table Mt tour was a “skin of the teeth” happening, because the Cable Car had been closed for 3 days due to very strong winds, and as Sabine arrived with the Christine & Oliver, it opened – especially to welcome them. And this was really just in time, only a couple of hours before their flight back home.

Christine's comment:

Dear Alfie,

Sorry it has taken me nearly two weeks to let you know what a fabulous time Oliver and I had in Cape town. You were a fantastic guide, in hindsight I wished I had booked our safari with you. NEXT TIME. I am pleased we got to met your lovely wife and delightful son. I wish I could afford to come back in October.

On the Road again...

2010-03-29T13:57:00.016+02:00

Well 2010 is already flying by so fast. The 1st Kruger Park tour of this year has come & gone – after the first couple of months being very busy moving and Alfie working furiously to get things done to have the Guest House up & running by May – for our 1st guests.

With a lovely family on safari, this trip was somehow very special. So there was Vanna, together with her daughter Roxanne, her son Dan with his wife Kathy and their son Dane from the USA. Miranda joined from London and Gloria & Laurence from Italy.

Miranda had a long awaited wish to spend an “independent” holiday – and she chose Southern Africa with Epic, and it was a wildlife adventure!

The usual special treats of every trip were very much enjoyed – Jessica the Hippo kept everyone very entertained. Very sadly, Savanna the Cheetah is no more – she had matured into a well-known Icon, because everyone loved her, but after a full life, nature took its course. Her 4 cubs have now taken their place of attraction for visitors and entertain our game walk in the bush...

Here are some comments from Miranda & Gloria:

***

THANK YOU ALFIE & CHARLES

For a REALLY wonderful week.

It already seems like a different life!

AND I got home just before the worst of the BA strike, thank goodness!

Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much

Miranda

PS thank Sabine too

***

I've been back almost a week and thought I'd finally send some feedback all about our wonderful holiday.

Laurence and I had a great time, we didn't really know what to expect but I would have absolutely no hesitation in booking another Epic tour in the future. Alfie is extremely knowledgeable and informative, in fact the game drives conducted by him were the best and the ones where we saw the greatest number of animals.

He is also good at repairing vehicles, which is definitely an advantage when you are in the middle of nowhere, not to mention that he can put together a tasty meal for a group in no time. I haven't actually seen him doing the washing up, though. Thank you Charles!

All in all I'd say we had good fun, it's been a great experience and the truck and the accommodation were clean and comfortable.

Thank you!

Ciao, Gloria

***

New photos of the rooms at our Epic Guest House will follow soon - we are just waiting for the final furniture!

Bathroom 2 with accessibility aids!

2010-03-18T12:43:00.016+02:00

Hi all,
We finished our en-suite bathroom of the Master (family) room.
The shower is spacious and has a fold up shower chair (or our commode can also be used:), extendible shower head, & grab-rails.

Lots of turning space in the bathroom with non-slip tiles for your safety. A 'swivel-bath' seat is available.

A large 'wheel under' sink, a toilet with drop-down grab-rails and a small sink close to it for your convenience!

We do have another drop down grab-rail for the other side of the toilet but it feels like you are on a throne! So we left it off for now but we can add it any time for you! Just let us know when you are coming :)

More updates coming soon.....

Bathroom with accessibility aids!

2010-03-09T12:38:00.019+02:00

Hi all, we have the first 2 bathrooms ready! Shower seats, Grab-rails, shower-extensions etc. all ready for you! We made sure to give you especially large bathroom areas for manoeuvrability.

En-suite roll-in shower with extend-able shower head, lots of turning space with grab-rails folded up and out of the way:

Special non-slip tiles are use for the whole bathroom floors for your comfort.

Roll-in shower with fold down grab rail, shower seat and still ample space for your wheelchair next to you:

Basin with leg-space for wheelchairs, toilet with grab rails and lots of transferring space. Light and airy for your comfort.

More pictures of other 3 bathrooms coming soon :)

Grab-rails & showers-seats have been ordered!

2010-02-25T12:53:00.015+02:00

Toilets, basins and showers have been fitted and we have ordered shower-seats & grab-rails from Tubarose in Cape Town for 2 en-suite bath-rooms. Some sample pictures of what we ordered:

Now the fun part starts - we are moving in! :)
We are moving this weekend (end of Feb) into our new house. This way we can finish faster with furnishing, curtains, decorating etc.

Our new Tel/Fax number is: +27 21 785 7440

We will post more pictures of the rooms and bathrooms with the aids as soon as they are fitted...until soon!

Bathrooms 3 & 4 progress

2010-02-18T13:04:00.021+02:00

Progress on the bathrooms 3 & 4 are taking shape!

New tiling ... NO steps ... roll-in showers ...
before ...... now

before ... during ... now

Now we just need to fit the basins, toilets etc. and we are much closer to being ready for you :)

The dining area is also looking much better:

during alterations & now:

(click on the pictures to enlarge them)
Now it is painting time...

Epic's Guest house is...

2010-01-27T14:17:00.031+02:00

...coming on beautifully. We are now so excited because it's really looking more and more how we envisioned it to be.

Before...

'See-through' fence...
original 'half wall' with no style or privacy...

...and NOW ...the stunning new walls with privacy!

The deck is now "resting" after an intensive week of work and is becoming "set" to be finished off with tiles....

2 Bathrooms are well on their way with roll-in showers etc and now need finishing touches, shower-seat, grab rails, mirrors etc...

Now Alfie is tackling the 3rd & 4th Bathroom...
1st step: he has removed the inaccessible basins and bath and now we are going shopping for new tiles & fittings :)

keep watching this space...more news coming shortly!

Epic's own Guest House!

2010-01-07T14:33:00.041+02:00

HUGE NEWS !!!!!!
Our dream is happening at last!

Epic Enabled has a guest house in the making – Epic’s Guest House will be ready for you to visit within the next couple of months. We aim to be ready to welcome guests in April 2010 !!!!!!!!

Now, many of you will know how much we have spoken about this ‘dream’ – to have fully accessible accommodation to welcome all our Epic clients. This House will be 100% totally accessible for all wheelchair users – garden, pool, braai area, complete access to get into the house.

So we have decided to keep you informed as we go along – you can see the different rooms and bathrooms, as we complete them! You will feel like you are sharing each stage of development with us, and hopefully enjoy the excitement we are feeling as we see the next task done.

Inside there will be a very comfortable lounge with a TV room – there will be a view out overlooking the pool and garden below.
The dining area will be close to the kitchen, and all open plan to add to a congenial and chatty atmosphere.
There will be 4 rooms to start with (eventually 5 rooms)

Herewith a couple of pictures in different stages up till now...

7 Wolf Power Close - Noordhoek -
The house as we bought it in November 2009, after lots of winter rains. No landscaping done, just grass with a lot of weeds. This is where we saw our dream of an Epic Guest House become reality!

Our new house welcomed the New Year in with newly dug out areas to begin to create the future landscaped gardens. And now some shape is starting to show - extended outdoor living with protected pool and braai (barbecue) place. On the right front side of the picture is a wetland planned. Very exciting for watching the variety of local birds!

Here is the NEW deck and underneath rooms - taking great shape and this will no doubt become the hub of Summer visits, lounging around the cool pool.

The drive way/entrance used to look like this...

...Now you can see the change here.

We are so pleased to have a great new wall & fencing - it's beginning to feel like a place where we can be private and homely for you too. Plants with colourful blue/mauve flowers will soon appear! Fragrant herbs will also grow alongside a pathway down towards the pool.

The fish-pond base where our ~16 Koi fish will soon find a new home.

Watch this space for the updates...

Epic on holiday

2009-11-26T16:00:00.003+02:00

We just completed another successful Kruger Park and Cape Town safari with a mixture of overseas clients.

This time Alfie was joined by me (Sabine) and our 5-years old son Joshua, junior tour guide. Oh dear, do we see you groan and look up to the Heavens?

He is fortunately very well behaved (I am proud to say :), so there was no cause for any disturbance to the clients. Joshua has now made some amazing ‘overseas adult’ friends. Thank you Gary & Marion for the amazing ‘cowboy-hat’ and all your kind playfulness with Josh (Josh showed his prized hat off in school); thank you Rob for being the ‘big brother’; thank you HRH Andrew (HRH – His Royal Highness) for allowing us ‘an audience’; thank you Mary & David for your ever present smiles and teaching us some sign language (David - thank you for enjoying Alfie & Mika’s food and cleaning the pots out) and thank you Tina for being our special senior friend.

Josh, cheetah cubs & Gary ...................... Andrew, cheetah cub & Mary

Our chosen game reserve turned out to be a huge highlight for all – as the 3 young Cheetah cubs with their mother Savannah kept everyone very entertained. For a small boy this was the height of adventure and thrills, while he ran around pulling a string with a plastic bottle filled with small pebbles around their enclosure (watched closely by the guide/rangers!) and the ‘grownups’ were enthralled. Rob and myself also gave it a try. My heart started to race faster when I saw the 3 cheetah cubs (half the size of a fully grown cheetah, but double the size of a normal house cat) running towards me and stopping just before my feet, happy to play with the bottle.

And to top is all off, Sahara the caracal gave Josh a loving kiss & hug.

Lion 'cubs' with Gary & Marion..........Alfie, Josh & Sabine with cubs

The 2 lions cubs we were walking with (which are already the size of fully grown lions) were eyeing Josh out and he had to stay on top of his dad’s shoulders. The lions even took an interest in 3 rhinos at the waterhole, but then wisely decided that they were outnumbered!

Group with Rhinos & lion in background....Mary with Jessica the hippo

Jessica the hippo greeted us again with her wonderful smile and was happy to receive our food and rooibos tea. She is such a wonderful experience and delight to everybody.

On one of the Game Drives we saw a female lion with her 5 cubs and a little while later we followed a big male lion to join his family after a day out in the bush. The cubs where very happy to see him and one even tackled him.

Kruger National Park brought its share of unusual weather, as is world wide, due to ‘climate change’. The first 2 days were scorchers where we caught up with our suntan and the rest of the days were comfortably cool with slight drizzling along the way.

Some of the special sightings this month were +15 hyenas eagerly ‘begging and laughing’ at 2 male lions feeding on a Zebra, with the rest of the lion pride (+6 lions) resting their full bellies in the shadow of the trees.

Lots of elephants with small calves feeding happily on the green bushes, white rhino, big herds of buffaloes, leopard, giraffes, zebras, impalas, banded Mongoose, Crocodiles, Hippos, Vervet Monkeys and plentiful bird-life

Everybody is home safely and I have added some of their comments below.

We had a great time :)

Sabine, Alfie & Josh

Eye to Eye - close encounters!

2009-09-21T11:27:00.000+02:00

Our September tour brought about some ‘close encounters of the exciting kind’.

Yes it was in fact a thrill, even if somewhat excitingly scary when a BIG bull Elephant tried to charge our indomitable ‘Impi’ safari-truck.

This must surely be why Elizabeth Dixon from the United Kingdom (Britain) was a 3^rd time Epic Enabled client – now she is part of the Epic family and promised to come back next year again!

We also welcomed Marie, an experienced traveller from Ireland - always ready with a smile and Joanne & Martin for whom the African bush was a whole new experience.

Then at Tamboti Camp in the Kruger Park, the resident baboon troop chose to disrupt their domestic bliss one night and offered a great performance of strength – which sounded as though a war was taking place. What entertainment!

Of course change happens all the time – at the Private Game Reserve, Savannah’s 3 young cheetah cubs have now reached 7 months affording the chance for our guests to walk with one of the cubs – such a special delight to share with such an elegant ‘Cat’.

The 2 Lion cubs we walk with have changed so much as they are just over 1 year of age, already striding like fully grown animal Kings. Lots of wonderful animal encounters :)

African Chessmasters

2009-07-24T15:54:00.012+02:00

Barely noticable...left is the Black Rhino, and right it is it's larger cousin, the White Rhino

Know the difference between a White and Black Rhino? Well, it has nothing to do with colour…

This month of July saw Mr and Mrs Catania joining us on our 8-Day Kruger Park Safari, and rhino’s were the star of the show. Endangered and very elusive, the Black Rhino is distinguishable from its cousin, the White Rhino, in a number of ways. While there is no difference in the colouring, the Black Rhino is significantly smaller than the White Rhino, and the main indicator is the shape of the mouth: Black Rhino have a pointed upper lip as opposed to the White Rhino, which has a more snub, square mouth.

This is because of eating habits. The Black Rhino is a browser, and thus uses its pointed lip in grip and tear leaves from bushes and shrubs whilst the White Rhino is a grazer, feeding on grass.

Other sightings included hippos, wildebeest, elephant, porcupine and a very bad tempered honey badger (above left), as well as a visit to the southern most baobab tree (above right). This tree is estimated to be over 3000 years old, and has a base of 43 meters. In other news, the lion cubs have grown quite fast and are starting to look more like young lions and less than cuddly kittens. Akila has grown too large and boisterous to the point that he will be joining the breeding project.

Day of the Predators

2009-06-22T10:28:00.011+02:00

Our latest tour saw Mary Pearce, Kate Allen, Sharon Warr and Michael Kearns, all from the UK, joining us on yet another Epic adventure, and this month the Kruger Park had much to offer! It seemed that besides the almost routine wonders experienced on our tours and the sighting of the Big Five, Africa’s great predators were also out in full force this month.

The highlight of this carnivorous expedition was the very rare sighting of an actual leopard kill. Not only is this exciting almost as elusive as the stealthy cat itself, but this was a very first for us too! Nothing excites us more than experiencing the amazement and discovering something new with our friends on tour.

As if following a trail, we also encountered a pack of hyenas gorging themselves on a hippo carcass at a water hole – gruesome and somewhat spine chilling, but fascinating nonetheless to watch nature’s macabre cleanup crew.

The final highlight of this tour was the King himself at feast – two lions and their large meal for the day – a fallen giraffe.

Africa certainly showed its wild side this June!

On another note, Savannah's cubs have grown quite fast, as seen above :)

BSK-Gruppe besucht Südafrika

2009-05-29T15:45:00.001+02:00

REISEBERICHT:

BSK (Bundesverband Selbsthilfe Körperbehinderte) - Gruppenreise nach Südafrika

Kapstadt & Krüger Nationalpark / 22.5.-5.6.2009

1. Tag, Anreise Frankfurt - Kapstadt

2. Tag, De Nordhoek - Waterfront

Nach einem Zwischenstopp in London landen wir, Antonie („Toni“) mit Tochter Stefani, ich, Rudi, als Reiseleiter des BSK sowie Katja und Maria nach etwa 12 Stunden etwas müde in Kapstadt, Südafrika in aller Welt bekannt als Cape Town.

Wir werden bereits erwartet von der örtlichen Reiseleitung und ihrem Mann. Beide,wie sich bald zeigen wird, zuvorkommend, äußerst zuverlässig und erfahren.

Unsere 45minütige Fahrt geht heraus aus der Metropole über eine Hügelkette und entlang dem Atlantik nach Noordhoek. Hier, im 4*Hotel „De Nordhoek“ werden wir die nächsten fünf Tage untergebracht sein. Es ist ein ziemlich neues, gemütliches Hotel mit freundlichem Personal, gelegen in einem sauberen und gepflegten Farmerdorf.

Schon am frühen Nachmittag fährt unsere Reiseleitung mit uns zurück nach Kapstadt.Bald sind wir an der Waterfront, direkt am Hafen der Großstadt. Hier trifft sich die Welt!

Wir fotografieren den Clock-Tower (Glockenturm), von dem aus täglich ein Boot zur vorgelagerten

Robben-Insel ablegt, auf der der weltweit hochgeachtete Nelson Mandela viele Jahre als politischer Gefangener gehalten wurde. Es ist jetzt ein nationales Museum.

Auf unserem Rundgang besichtigen wir die lebensgroßen Bronze-Skulpturen der vier Nobelpreisträger von Südafrika:

De Clark, der letzte Präsident von SA. Er schaffte die Apartheid ab. Dann Bischof Desmond Tu Tu, Freiheitskämpfer Albert Luthuli und natürlich Nelson Mandela.

Zum gemütlichen Kaffee auf der Freiterrasse am Hafen eingekehrt, beglückenuns spirituelle Gesangsgruppen eingeborener Frauen in ihren bunten Stammestrachten.Nach gutem Abendessen in gemütlicher Runde fahren wir zurück zum Hotel, wo wir glücklich, aber müde in unsere Betten fallen.

3.Tag

Schon bald werden wir vom Hahn geweckt. Wir können noch liegen bleiben,freuen uns aber schon auf unsere Reiseleiterin. Es geht doch nach Simontown, am Indischen Ozean. Hier, am false bay (falsche Bucht), halten wir an. Sofort umringt eine Sippe Paviane unseren Kleinbus. Natürlich halten wir uns an den Rat, alle Fenster geschlossen zu halten. Besonders, als ein Artgenosse das Dach unseres Fahrzeuges erklimmt. Füttern ist streng untersagt. Zum einen, weil Wurst und Bonbon nicht artgerecht sind. Zum anderen aber werden die artverwandten Nimmersatte aggressiver, wird doch die freiwillige Futtergabe als Unterwerfung gewertet und animiert zu noch aggressiverem Fordern. Insbesondere durch den Leitaffen, der sich bestätigt fühlt. Seine kräftigen Backenzähne machen Angst.

Bald gelangen wir zur Pinguin Kolonie, ideal gelegen an der „Boulders Beach“. Ihre Vorfahren wurden von Seefahrern aus der Antarktis eingeführt. Sie fühlen sich offensichtlich wohl hier, wie die vielen Brutplätze und Jungtiere zeigen.

Weiter geht’s zum Kap der guten Hoffnung, dem zerklüfteten Felsmassiv an der Küste, wo vor erdenklichen Zeiten Endstation für mutige Seefahrer aus aller Welt war.

Wir haben das Glück, auf der Weiterfahrt zum Cap Point eine kleine Gruppe der seltenen Bergzebras zu beobachten.

Leider ist die Zahnradbahn zum Leuchtturm heute defekt. Aber auch von der Bahnstation aus haben wir einen tollen Ausblick.

4. Tag

Die alte, westeuropäisch anmutende Universitätsstadt Stellenbosch fällt auf durch die schmucken Jugendstil- und Fachwerkhäuser, saubere Straßen, freundliche, geschmackvoll gekleidete Menschen. Es ist das Zentrum der bekanntesten Weinregion und zeugt von einer alten Weinkultur, die einst aus Holland und Deutschland hierher gebracht wurde. Etwas außerhalb liegt das Weingut Delheim inmitten weiter Weinberge. Man fühlt sich gleich wohl hier. Im urgemütlichen Keller verkosten wir mehrere

Proben der edlen Getränke, kredenzt von einem Landsmann. Auf der Rückfahrt lädt uns der Familien-Camp Spier zum verweilen ein. Am Fischteich im Park lassen wir uns neben fleißigen Haubentauchern und flinken Eichhörnchen unseres Vesper schmecken.

5.Tag

Wir brechen bei wunderschönem Wetter auf zum 1.067 m hohen Tafelberg (table montain).

Als wir in der Gondel bei bester Sicht nach oben schweben, wird uns klar, wie recht unsere Reiseleiterin hatte, diese Fahrt auf heute zu verschieben. Im Innern der Gondel dreht sich die Plattform. Deshalb kommen auch unsere Rollstuhlfahrer auf der berauschenden Fahrt voll auf ihre Kosten. Nach der Bergstation erfahren wir die Vorteile eines Tafelberges für unsere Rollstuhlfahrer. Man kann sie vergleichbar leicht auf den Wegen schieben. Hin zu den besten Aussichtspunkten in alle Richtungen. Mit Blick zum Atlantik und zum Indischen Ozean. Unter uns bizarre Steilklippen und Felsenriffe. Eine historische Zeittafel erinnert an die hier auf dem Meeresgrund liegenden Wracks mitsamt ihren Opfern. Der heutige Panamakanal zwischen Nord- und Südamerika erspart heute durch die Abkürzung vielen Seefahrern ein ähnliches Schicksal. Weiter geht die Fahrt zum benachbarten Signal Hill (Signal-Hügel). Von hier blikken wir hinunter zur Groß-Baustelle des neuen Fußballstadions in Kapstadt, wo 2010 große Begegnungen und das Endspiel der Fußball-WM ausgetragen werden.

Wir erfahren, dass von diesem Hügel ein lauter Kanonenschuss, täglich punkt 12 Uhr, den alten Seefahrern akustisch die Orientierung bei den hier häufigen Nebeln ermöglichte. Die anschließende Stadtrundfahrt durch Kapstadt führt uns vorbei an den bunten Häuschen (Cap Colours) der früheren malaiischen Sklaven, der Universität und der Ruine der für immer unfertigen großen Stadtbrücke über das Stadtzentrum. Zwei Architekten der Brücke hatten sich, jeweils beim Bau ihrer Hälfte so sehr verrechnet, dass sie das geplante Zusammentreffen der Brückenteile stark verfehlten. Ein Abbruch käme zu teuer. Ein gemütliches Eisessen an der Waterfront bei herrlichem Wetter und ein Spaziergang durch die große Shopping Mall runden unsere Stadtbesichtigung ab. Küstenstraße Chapmans Peak, wo wir um 18:00 Uhr einen unvergesslich schönen Sonnenuntergang über dem spiegelglatten Ozean erleben dürfen. Im Herbst bringen Wale hier gern ihre Jungen zur Welt.

6. Tag, Kapstadt - Johannesburg

Nach zweistündigem Flug erreichen wir Johannesburg oder „Joburg”, wie sie hier sagen.

Wir sitzen zum ersten Mal in einem voll geländetauglichen Fahrzeug mit Safari-Aufbau und Rollstuhllift. Alles Spezialanfertigung. Wir übernachten im Willow Park Hotel. Es ist auch Tagungszentrum für vorwiegend dunkelhäutige Staatsbürger, wie wir beim Frühstück an den immer freundlichen Gesichten

erblicken.

7. Tag, Johannesburg - Krüger Nationalpark

Bei unserem Aufbruch am Morgen ist die Parkwiese vor dem Hotel voller Reif. Hier in SA Reif? Wir erkennen deutlich, dass hier der Herbst naht und nicht, wie zu Hause, der Sommer. Die Reise führt uns zunächst Richtung Nelspruit. Unterwegs, auf der Fahrt ostwärts durch die „rollenden Hügel” vom

Highveld, steigt die 24jährige dunkelhäutige „Mika” in Führerhaus zu. Sie ist immer freundlich und wird uns als Köchin bis zum letzten Reisetag begleiten. Nachts schläft sie im Safariaufbau und bewacht somit Fahrzeug samt Proviant. Das Mittagessen nehmen wir gemütlich auf der Freiterrasse des Rasthauses ein. Der Teich unter uns voller kapitaler Karpfen, zum Greifen nahe. Bald lassen wir die Steppen des Highveldes (Hochebene) mit vereinzelt großen Mais- und Rübenfeldern hinter uns. Je mehr wir ins breite Tal kommen, desto grüner wird die Landschaft. Zunächst einzelne Laub- und Nadelbäume gehen bald in Mischwälder über, die sich bis auf die Im Tal, neben der Eisenbahnlinie, begegnen uns Dörfer und große Orangenplantagen mit Bewässerungsfontänen.

Die nächsten Aktionstage sind wir im Krüger Nationalpark. Dieser zwei Hektar große Park ist das Zuhause der bekannten „Big Five”: Elefant, Leopard, Löwe, Nashorn, Büffel (Jeder sollte sie in der Wildnis gesehen haben!) und vieler Arten von Tieren und Pflanzen. Den KNP betreten wir von Süden her und unser Stopp für eine Nacht ist das Camp Crocodile Bridge. Wir beziehen zwei kleine Bungalows. Für uns wird zum Abendessen vor den Häuschen Leckeres gegrillt. Noch lange leuchten wir mit der Taschenlampe den Schatten und Geräuschen neben dem Camp nach.

8.Tag, zum Camp Satara

Beim Frühstück um 6:30 Uhr erfahren wir, dass die Tierlaute der Nacht als die eines Adlers am nahen River, eines Löwen und einer Hyäne gedeutet waren. Wie gut, dass unser Camp durch einen festen Zaun gut gesichert war! Weiter geht’s ins nördlich gelegene, bekannte Camp Satara.

Was bekommen wir schon bald von unserem Safari-Fahrzeug herab zu sehen und vor die Camera, alles aus nächster Nähe? Zuerst taucht ein mächtiger Elefantenbulle auf. Er wirkt gereizt; es ist Brunftzeit. Der Motor bleibt an, der Rückwärtsgang ist eingelegt. Man durfte sich nur langsam entfernen.

Bald danach sehen wir drei Geparden und nicht viel später ein Breitmaul-Nashorn. Es folgen Kudu-Männchen (mit Hörnern) und Weibchen, Impala, Hyänen, stolze Giraffen.

Diverse Aasgeier beobachten uns argwöhnisch von Bäumen, andere kreisen vermutlich über einem Kadaver.

An einer Wasserstelle sonnen sich große Flusspferde am Ufer und satte zwölf Krokodile im Sand. Ihr Frühstück dürften sie sich geholt haben, als sie zur Morgendämmerung vor Impala, Zebra und anderen Opfern plötzlich aus dem Wasser auftauchten. Am Rastplatz Tshokwane belagern uns herrliche, in türkis schimmernde Vögel. Etwas später sehen wir eine Riesenherde von Büffeln nahe einem Wasserreservoir. Hier schleichen drei Junglöwen an, werden aber schnell vom Bullen in die Flucht geschlagen.

9. Tag, Frühpirsch beim Camp Satara

Heute klingelt der Wecker schon um fünf Uhr. Der Sonnenaufgang hier ist ein unvergessliches Erlebnis: In tiefrot eingetauchte, wildschöne Landschaft, morgendliche Tierlaute, exotischen Gerüche und Düfte…man muss es selbst gesehen und gespürt haben! Hier drüben stelzt eine Riesentrappe durchs braune Gras. Da grast ein Spitzmaul-Nashorn neben einem jungen Elefanten. Wieder eine riesengroße Büffelherde! Dort ruht ein Löwenmännchen mit prächtig hellbraun glänzender Mähne in der Sonne und dann noch drei Weibchen. Sie beäugen uns neugierig. Zunehmend schätzen wir die gute Sicht von den hochgelegen Sitzen unseres Fahrzeuges herab.

Dort: ein Buschbockpärchen, ungestört bei der Paarung. Es folgen eine Großfamilie Paviane, diverse Zebras, Gnus, Wasserböcke, Nashörner, kämpfende Warzenschweine sowie ein großer, bunter Südlicher Hornrabenvogel. Zurück im Camp gibt’s beim Barbecue mit Chicken, Mais, grünem Salat, exotischen Früchten und Kaffee viel zu erzählen. Nach einer weiteren Pirsch bis zum Hereinbrechen der Dunkelheit geht’s bald müde ins Bett.

10. Tag, Aufbruch nach Tamboti

Nach dem Frühstück brechen wir auf zum Zelt-Camp Tamboti. Bereits wenige Kilometer nach dem Camp entdeckt unsere Reiseleiterin gleich neben der Straße im niederen Baum zwei Leoparden, normal als Einzelgänger bekannt, doch jetzt ist Paarungszeit. Die beiden hatten ein Impala (eine Antilopenart) da hinaufgeschleppt. Allein möchte ich nicht in ihre Nähe gekommen sein! Die frischen Reste des Impala baumeln vom Ast…Bei der Weiterfahrt beobachten wir wieder sechs Tiere eines Löwenrudels satt und etwas verstreut, aber alle in Blickkontakt, in der Sonne liegen. Ihr breakfest wird wohl gerade verdaut. Vor dem Eintreffen im neuen Camp beobachten wir eine Großfamilie mit 12 Giraffen und bald darauf, aus sicherer Anhöhe, eine große Elefantenfamilie in ihrem Verhalten in freier Wildbahn.

11. Tag,

Unvergesslich ist unser Ausflug in das Freilichtmuseum der alten, strohgedeckten Tiklay -Game-Ranch, erbaut hinter einem hohen, runden Palisadenzaun. Zum Schutz gegen Stammesfeinde, wilden Tieren und sommerlicher Hitze bauten sich die Bewohner klug durchdachte Hütten und Tiergehege.

Schwarzhäutige Frauen und ein junger Mann, alle in Stammestracht, erklären uns ihre Geschichte und ihr Leben. Wir dürfen mit primitivem Werkzeug Marulla-Nüsse zerstampfen, lernen Sisal-Schnüre auf dem Fuß zusammenzwirbeln und dürfen uns beim Weben einfacher Sisalmatten versuchen.

Zum Abschied genießen wir die in einfachen Töpfen frisch über dem großen Stammesfeuer zubereiteten Speisen. Man reicht uns Wasserschalen zum Säubern der Hände und wir essen, wie früher alle im Stamm, mit den Fingern.

12. -13. Tag

Gut, dass ich mir gestern Abend eine zweite Decke ans Fußende bereitgelegt habe. So kann ich sie gegen drei Uhr nur hochziehen. Gegen Morgen ist es bei ca. 6 Grad auch noch frisch. Dafür gab es auch jetzt keine Stechmücke! Nach einem heißen Duschbad und leckerem Frühstück sind alle guter Stimmung, als wir gegen neun Uhr die Weiterreise zu einem ausgezeichneten Privat Game Reserve Tshukudu antreten, wo wir die letzten Nächte verbringen werden. Ohnehin haben wir im gesamten Nationalpark Glück mit dem Wetter und bereits am frühen Vormittag wärmen uns wie immer die Sonnenstrahlen. Das Camp ist in der Welt dafür berühmt, in der Wildnis Tiere wieder zurückzuführen in ihrem Löwenprojekt. Wir lernen Vieles über die Tiere, können nahe bei den Löwen sein und berühren sogar einen wilden Gepard mit seinen drei Babys.

Dabei begleiten wir den Ranger in seinem Safari-Jeep auf Früh- und Nachtpirschfahrten. Vorbei an Nashörnern, Löwen, Fischadlern, Krokodilen, Flusspferden, Schakalen, Luchs. Auch die Reifenpanne am rechten Hinterrad bei Dämmerlicht ist bald behoben, ohne dass alle aussteigen müssen. Am Mittwoch starten wir zum wilden Flusspferd Jessica. Es kommt im Fluss außerhalb der Paarungszeit heraufgeschwommen und weiß, dass ihn hier am Ufer leckere Maiskolben und süßer Saft aus der Nuckelflasche erwarten. Dafür lässt es sich von uns streicheln.

14. Tag Aufbruch nach Hause

Alles Schöne geht einmal zu Ende! So geht es nach dem Frühstück zurück nach Johannisburg. Zur Abwechslung fahren wir jetzt eine andere Strecke über die Drakesberge, vorbei an herbstlich trockenen Grasflächen.

Am Airport heißt es Abschied nehmen von unserer Reisebegleitung. Sie haben ihre Arbeit gut gemacht! Die Zeit bis zum Abflug vergeht rasch. Für den Rückflug brauchen wir unsere Reisekoffer nun doch nicht in Folie einschweißen zu lassen.

Nach ruhigem Flug mit der British Airways kommen wir wohlbehalten, aber müde am Freitag, um 13:20 Uhr in Frankfurt an. Der Abschied fällt uns wirklich nicht leicht. Wir waren eine kleine Familie auf Zeit, eine Urlaubsfamilie des BSK - mit lebenslangen Erinnerungen. Südafrika und den Krüger Nationalpark muss man einfach erlebt haben! Bilder: BSK Reiseservice

Euer Rudi Furtak, Reiseleitung des BSK Reiseservice

An Eye-Opening Experience - by Franz Potgieter

2009-04-15T11:45:00.011+02:00

It’s a funny thing, how being exposed to something amazing on a daily basis can perhaps numb one to its presence or splendour. But once one takes a moment from their busy lives to stop and just take it in, it can broaden one’s world and perhaps you can even learn something about yourself.

Iconic...Table Mountain finally freed from a slue of bad weather, and the Gehandicapten Reisen Group.

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This is a phenomenon I experienced when I accompanied Alfie on one of his tours – my very first with him. Living in Cape Town, to me Table Mountain was just part of the background – like the sky or the sea, it was just another object that I accepted and hardly noticed. But seeing the wonder awe in the faces of the fourteen guests who joined us this month really opened my eyes to just how amazing this iconic mountain is, as well as the various other places we visited.

And this was just the beginning.

This months ‘enabled’ adventurers hailed from the Netherlands, and were led once again by Barbara van Eck – a name I’d been hearing a lot in the office since I started working for Alfie just over two months ago. Back then, having studied journalism, I certainly hadn’t seen myself helping guide tours for the disabled through the Kruger. Instead I had, perhaps a little whimsically, imagined myself travelling to distant lands, seeing many wonders, and writing about it.

And perhaps nothing’s really changed.

As I sit behind my PC and reflect on the week I spent with arguably some of the most interesting individuals I’ve ever met, I realise that while I may not be writing for a popular travel magazine, I’m still in many ways following my dream. I’ve been given an opportunity to see and actually appreciate the many wonders our fair country has to offer, wonders that are often overlooked just because we, as South Africans, have grown so accustomed to it. Just how many people have had the opportunity to walk with the mighty lion? Who can say they have touched a wild cheetah?

Prrrrr.....Savanna looking like quite the happy mother

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And these were but a few of the exciting experiences I shared with Barbara’s Genhandicapten Reisen group. The tour began in Cape Town, where we visited Table Mountain, Cape Point, the wine lands and Robben Island just to name a few. Though the notorious Cape Town weather – known to have all four seasons in one day from time to time – made some of the sights impossible, in the end we were treated to a breathtakingly beautiful sunset from the top of Table Mountain on the last day before flying north to Johannesburg.

The morning of departure dawned cold and crisp, but ended warm and sunny as we landed in the Capital. After a day tour in Soweto - perhaps the epicentre of the struggle against Apartheid - we proceeded to Tshukudu Game Lodge, which presented us with many a treat. We were barely five minutes through the gates when we were graced by a herd of zebra, spotted some elusive kudu, a lone buffalo and of course the fast-food of the bushveld – impala – affectionately called the ‘Mc Donald’s’ of the bush.

And this we just on the way to the camp. Through the next three days we spotted four of the Big Five on numerous occasions – all save the rare and elusive leopard, which was sadly a no show throughout the tour. However, as if to make up for his larger cousin going AWOL, we were treated on our final night at the reserve to a sight that is perhaps even rarer – that of a pair of male cheetahs in the wild. Even our game ranger Jakes, who dealt with these animals on a daily basis, could barely contain his excitement at the sighting of Tshukudu’s very own cheetah coalition.

Earlier that day, we had paid Savannah a visit, and were further treated to being some of the first to meet her three newly born kittens – their father being one of the two males we saw later. The following day we departed, and made our way to the Kruger Park, paying Jessica the Hippo a visit along the way and having lunch at the Shangaan Village. Here we were treated to traditional Shangaan food – including the local ‘delicacy’, Mopane Worms.

This too was a first for me, so my trepidation was shared by all in the group. However, the atmosphere was thick with humour with some of the faces that were being pulled as our Shangaan tour guide introduced the salty snack.

However, curiosity won over in general and though, with a slue of (poor) excuses, not everyone tried them (that’s you Barbara). And then there were those like Ton and Ellen who appeared to develop a taste for the little caterpillar...

After the Shangaan Village, we entered the Kruger and were soon indulged with one of the rarest sightings next to that of the leopard and the cheetah – a pack of wild dogs lounging indolently across the road. This was perhaps the cherry - or rather one of many cherries - atop a yet another EPIC trip.

So what did I learn on this trip? Besides the secret ways of wheelchairs, not to buy cigarettes in the Kruger, how to say ‘thank you’ in Tsonga, and various bits of information I didn’t know; I learn that though my life hadn’t taken me to where I thought I wanted to go, it had taken me to somewhere I would learn more about life, my country, and myself than if I’d landed up in any publication. And certainly in position of far more meaning than I had ever imagined myself. My greatest reward from this trip? The smiles of enjoyment that I helped place on the faces of all our guests.

As I waited at OR Thambo for my flight home, I chatted with another traveller who had noticed my rugged, unshaven, tired yet satisfied appearance; and I told him about the trip and about Epic Enabled.

“God must’ve led you to this great work” he said. And another on the plane mentioned that perhaps I was fated to help the disabled experience South Africa.

Do I believe in fate? Not really, and I’m certainly not big on religion either, but I couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, there’s something to what they said…

Other exciting happenings on trip:

- sighting of rhino and 3month old baby
- a troupe of Blue Vervet monkeys marching through the camp
- Hyena prowling just beyond the fence at Crocodile Bridge…
- …and a visit by a warthog on the same day
- sighting of a bull elephant in musk
- lion pride sighting on a night drive
- large male lion crossing the road
- Lioness meets elephant herd…

A Trip with Epic Enabled - by Scott Rains

2009-02-28T13:13:00.002+02:00

On the prowl...Akila sizes up Scott.

I live in a small world - but it just got larger!

By estimates there are only about 500 million of "us" in the world - maybe as few as 50 million if you want to be technical.

Who're "us?" People with disabilities. People who use wheelchairs.

So being part of such a small group it is only natural that a few of us would know each other. We work together to make the world bigger for each other.

Big is beautifull...

My safari with Alfie and Epic Enabled made my world larger. Of course seeing the Big Five all before lunch in the Kruger then starting on "Big Five, Season Two" in the afternoon expanded my idea of what makes for a good day. Yet there was something else going on.

It was a wheelchair-using English fellow living in Belgium who put me in touch with Epic. Although I was previously influenced by an American friend in Chicago who did a study on the accessibility of South African tourism products, I was nudged ahead by an Indian with family in Brazil who told me more stories about accessible safaris, and intrigued by the interest in my potential trip shown by travel professional colleagues - all of whom specialize in serving travelers with disabilities: a Canadian, an Australian, several Thais, a German, a Pakistani, and one temporary Nicaraguan.

Smile for the Camera...Winnifred shares a kodac moment with the King of the Jungle.

I think it was two other professional colleagues - each with heartstrings attached to someone special in South Africa - whose uniquely English and Chinese insights into South Africa convinced me to go. It didn't hurt that I had a personal invitation from a tour operator in KwaZulu-Natal (Jennae Bezuidenhout of Access 2 Africa Safaris) and knew that her husband is a quadriplegic like I am.

My story of apparent "over-researching" for the trip is not at all uncommon among travelers with disabilities. Studies show that we depend more on word-of-mouth recommendations when making the decision to travel than any other sector of the market.

And the research paid off.

I can heartily endorse Alfie, Sabine - the entire crew at Epic Enabled - because I traveled through the Kruger with Epic (and on the way encountered a most uncomfortable traveler's health condition that Alfie unhesitatingly helped me resolve.)

As close as it gets...Winnifred & Marieke up close and personal with Akila & Savannah.

Others have told the story of the amazing wildlife and hearty food served out in the pristine veldt. My memories center on someone who has built a unique business - driving the whole safari industry and South African national tourism industry to greater standards of excellence.

Thank you Epic. Thank you Alfie.

Come to think of it, maybe my world just got smaller.

Once I got home a journalist friend in Chennai wrote after seeing my photos, "Oh, I see you met Akila too!" Now I'm also part of the small confraternity of travelers with disabilities who have taken a long walk down a country road with a wild lion!

Livin' It Up November Tour

2008-11-30T11:21:00.001+02:00

The lion cubs Shingwe & Timba (named after the Shingwedze & Timbavati rivers) at Tshukudu are doing well, and treated us to some rough-and-tumbles
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Our 8 day Kruger Tour from 6-13 November saw the return of Jon Bunnig (The Netherlands), the smiling face of Epic Enabled's logo. Jon was on a tour with us in January 2002. This year Jon brought his girlfriend Eelke Kelderman with him on tour!

Hmmm...this traveller looks nice....I wonder what she tastes like....

Eelke escaped unscathed from Akila's curious cat-nibble, and thoroughly enjoyed her tour! So did the other travellers:

From left: Eelke, Joan & Suzanne Peck (UK), Jon, and Nancy Thomas (USA)

Jon, Eelke, Joan, Suzanne and Nancy went to meet Savannah, who - luckily for the group - was having a very lazy morning! The 5 travellers managed to get in behind her for a group shot!

___________________________________

Happenings on tour:

- spotting of Big 5 on the first day of tour

- rare leopard spotting on a game drive

- we were able to donate wheelchairs to 2 members of the Mafunyani Cultural Village on this tour - to Polani Florah Ndlovu and Makhengu Anna Khosa, who have been without wheelchairs since 1986 and 1996 respectively.

Thank you!

A very big thank you to all those who helped with donations for this wonderful gift!!

__________________________________________

After the Kruger tour Jon & Eelke joined us at the Blue Tangerine in Cape Town for day tours and some relaxation after their tour.

Eelke & Jon at a winefarm in Stellenbosch

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The November tour was another successful sight-seeing and interactive trip, thanks to our spirited group! We hope to meet you again in the future...

EXPEDITION UNLIMITED Dutch TV Series

2008-11-07T12:15:00.004+02:00

Hi everyone - just a short notice to inform you that the Dutch TV reality series "Expedition Unlimited" - for which Epic Enabled provided the transport for the filming here in March this year - is due to be broadcast from Monday 10 November on public channel Nederland 3's LLink. The series is 10 episodes long and should not be missed!

The contestants of "Expedition Unlimited" in front of Impi, our safari truck

ROcktober happenings on tour

2008-10-31T15:25:00.025+02:00

Hello again travellers & travellers-to-be! Welcome to the October edition of our blog - what a tour this month, what happenings!
On tour:
Audrey Wicks - UK
Sam Challenger & Adele Sandison - UK & Zimbabwe
Marja Gelderman & Ans Heykoop - Netherlands
Pierre & Yvonne van den Boomen - Netherlands
This was also Kate's first taste of an Epic journey - she joined Alfie on tour to find out what real hard work is all about!

--------

Our 8 day Kruger tour from 23 - 30 October was full of surprises, something special happening every day, with gorgeous weather and beautiful summer sunsets...it was a true adventure...

- rare sighting of a male leopard, father of Amanza (see our April 2nd blog)

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- Becky the elephant's 1st daughter awaits the arrival of her new sibling!
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- a female white rhino & her calf approach our vehicle close enough to get a good smell...

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- 3 male lions feeding on a rare black rhino

- a large male lion leading us to a female and cubs on 2 consecutive days. Upon closer inspection on the 2nd day we saw 7 cubs which led us to believe there was another female nearby. Indeed there was - further up along the river bank came another female with a small cub following close behind!
- 2 female & 1 male lion feeding on a giraffe, also on 2 other consecutive days

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Other happenings:
- 4 large hyenas on the prowl at dusk
- a crocodile taking a vervet monkey
- an elephant pushing a tree over
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Classic moments on tour:

Sam realises how hard it is to pound meal for 2-3 hours straight...

Mafunyani Cultural Village

Tshukudu Game Reserve
...and finds that it's only a little bit easier talking to a lion cub...

...as does Marja the cat lover...

..it seems they loved her too!

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Akila & Prince show Pierre & the group where the good game viewing is...

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Jessica is doing well, as is Savannah who came to meet us & then promptly strutted off to find herself some lunch...

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Thank you all for the good times

_______________________

After the Kruger tour Audrey, Marja & Ans joined us for tours of Cape Town, staying in style with us at The Blue Tangerine.

_______________________

It was great to meet you all - we really hope you can visit us and our beautiful country again...
-Kate, Sabine & Alfie

------------------------------

This month also saw the return of Jan & Keith Parsley who came on our 8 day Kruger tour in May last year. This year they have joined us in Cape Town for a tour of our city while letting us pamper them at The Blue Tangerine, as well as taking a tour of the magnificent Garden Route with us. Stay tuned for their stories & photos!...

Action-packed September

2008-09-30T08:59:00.026+02:00

Baboons on the moove!!

Early September saw the return of the Stichting Gehandicaptenreizen from the Netherlands. The 14-strong group arrived in stormy Cape Town where we entertained them at our new guesthouseThe Blue Tangerine over tea & coffee. We also showed them the wonders of our Mother City, and then departed from Cape Town for yet another glorious Kruger Tour for 8 days.

Savannah poses with the Stichting Gehandicaptenreizen group

"It was indeed great to meet you in Cape Town. I really love South Africa and I was all happy with how you and Alfie accomplished the trip. Again thank you for your dedication. With full trust I am looking forward to offering this trip in 2009 again." -Barbara van Eck, group leader Gehandicaptenreizen

A new Gehandicaptenreizen group will be back for another tour in April 2009 lead yet again by Barbara!

________________________________

This month also saw Moira Lipshaw returning for another holiday with us, this time with Anne Larkin (who is, apparently, still on a high from her trip…). They toured the Kruger Park with us and then flew down to Cape Town to be pampered at The Blue Tangerine for a week while they enjoyed the sights of our city (please see the "Into The Wild" tour blog from 29 September!)

Moira with a furry friend

"Just wanted to thank you all for making the trip really great - I had a nice relaxing time and Anne thought everything was absolutely amazing!!! And is already working out how to come back again!" - Moira Lipshaw

Thank you Anne, Moira, Drew, Mary, and Anna for all the fun!

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But that wasn’t all…September also marked the return of the Procap group from Switzerland. The 14 members of the group took in the sights & sounds of the Kruger Park for 8 sunny days before heading south to the Cape for more tours with Epic!

Procap Group from Switzerland at Cape of Good Hope

It was truly good to meet so many of you on tour this month - you have been a great inspiration to us!

- Sabine & Alfie

Into The Wild

2008-09-29T12:51:00.029+02:00

What do you get when you cross 5 travellers from the 4 corners of the world with a safari in the wild?

-->Best mates!

On tour this month were Anne Larkin (pictured, left) & support worker Moira Lipshaw (repeat offender Sept. 2005 tour), who are both from New Zealand, Anna Jackson from the UK (pictured, right), and Drew & Mary Arnold from the US.

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Happenings on tour:

This tour provided hundreds of photo opportunities with our travellers hardly able to put their cameras down! We spotted and got up-close to leopard, buffalo, lion, as well as bushbuck, dassies which ate out of Anne's hand, warthog, zebra, elephant, giraffe and hundreds more. We also got to see our beloved Jessica the hippo and Savannah the cheetah once again.

__________________________

Zebra and wildebeest drinking together, watchful of a large but lazy pride of lions resting with their cubs under a marula tree...

...suddenly a large herd of buffalo move in
and scare away the lions:

____________________

Drew & Mary Arnold from Wyoming, US,
are avid "twitchers" and managed to see
over 100 different bird species!

__________________

We also got to watch some elephants enjoy a soothing mud bath:

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Anna & the group went to meet the caracal in the rehabilitation program:

"It is difficult to describe the feeling it brings for someone who had only dreamed of going to Africa. The smiles just got bigger and bigger.” - Moira
___________________

Anne and Moira continued on to Cape Town where they were treated to luxury accommodation at The Blue Tangerine while they enjoyed day tours with Epic Enabled and did a few excursions of their own...

It was a pleasure to meet you all and trust that you had a marvellous time! We know we will see you again...

Welcome on tour family Van't Sant!

2008-08-25T13:40:00.029+02:00

Jessica meets Roan

Paul, Roan & Gea with Savannah

“It’s been a week now since we left South Africa. Roan’s back to school and we’re working again. We would like to thank you for making it possible for us to do this great trip. The Kruger tour was absolutely fantastic and we enjoyed every minute of it. We miss the morning game drive’s, breakfast outside, spotting the game (oink, oink) and the fun we had. The help and care from you and your sister was just great, it made the trip a real vacation for us all. Walking with Aquila, touching Savannah and feeding Jessica was an unforgettable experience. You picked the right places to stay and the best spots to go to.”

– Paul van’t Sant

8 Day Kruger tour 16 -23 August: this time it was Sabine’s turn to go on tour - she took Paul, Gea and their son Roan (The Netherlands) through the KrugerPark accompanied by her sister from Switzerland who was also visiting. They make a good team! :)

Paul, Gea & Roan then joined us in Cape Town for the Cape Town highlights leg of their tour.

Thank you Paul, Gea & Roan for such a lovely time...
-Sabine

Journey Of A Lifetime: Namibia tour 12 July - 10 Aug

2008-08-18T16:30:00.017+02:00

UK's Journey of a Lifetime (JoLt) arrived in Windhoek on Sunday 13 July. In collaboration with Jenman Safaris we met the JoLt group there and for the next 28 days we made our way through Swakopmund, the "Adrenalin Capital" of Namibia, where the group jumped on quad bikes and sand sledges and explored the sand dunes; the Cape Cross Seal Colony & Spitzkoppe for close-up encounters with seals & some team sports challenges; Etosha National Park, Okonjima and its Cheetah Sanctuary, the Namib Naukluft National Park, Sossusvlei, Fish River Canyon and Hobas, the Kalahari desert where we met up with some Bushman guides and trekked further into the desert to explore; and Khamkiri for some kayaking.

CONQUER THE DUNES!

After that it was time to say good bye to magnificent Namibia and make our way across the border into South Africa.. Our first stop was Kimberley where we took a tour of "The Big Hole" - the largest hand-dug excavation in the world, and the museum to find out more about the history of the area. We then made our way to the Kingdom of Lesotho or "Kingdom of the Sky" as it is also known, being more than 1000 metres above sea level. And then it was off to Graaff Reinet to camp and meet the local people before heading off to Knysna, Plettenburg Bay, Storms River, Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn. We slowly made our way west through the gorgeous Garden Route until we arrived in Cape Town for tours around the city.
What a tour!
- Sabine & Alfie

June - July Big Move

2008-07-07T13:17:00.038+02:00

This month saw Max and Emma Inverin from Sweden on our 8 day Kruger tour from 27 June - 4 July. EPIC ENABLED also moved its premises to THE BLUE TANGERINE guesthouse in Noordhoek where we have just taken over management, and we welcomed a new staff member - we’re having a busy winter so far!!

Welcome on board Kate!
- Alfie & Sabine

Epic Enabled & Blue Tangerine Guest House

2008-05-08T09:26:00.028+02:00

EPIC ENABLED has some exciting new developments! YUUB (Your ultimate unlimited bridge) from the Netherlands has invested in the luxury BLUE TANGERINE guesthouse here in Cape Town and we are happy to announce that we, Alfie & Sabine will be managing it! We will move Epic Enabled's base to the Blue Tangerine at 3 Bodrum Close, (P O Box 422) in Noordhoek, Cape Town and operations will proceed as usual with an additional luxury Guesthouse at your disposal!

This means you can now travel to Cape Town after one of our safaris or come directly and enjoy a fully accessible 5* Guesthouse with stunning views and experience the Epic hospitality!

We have moved into our new idyllic B&B and will be doing some alterations to the bathrooms and some pathways during June - August. From early September we will be fully functional and ready to welcome you back with open arms!

Join us for another exciting safari with a Cape Town extension or just experience a tranquil holiday in Cape Town.

We look forward to showing you our hospitality, be ready to be pampered!
Hope to see you soon
Sabine & Alfie

Have you heard the news...

2008-04-02T11:41:00.036+02:00

... a ruby anniversary, newcomers and a repeat offender on one tour!

We left on another exciting 8 day Kruger tour on the 6 March with Betty & Lawrence (Ruby 40th) anniversary, Spain/UK), Matt & Paulina (newcomers, UK), Tom & Debbie (agents, Netherlands), Kyle (newcomer, Hungary) & Ben (repeat offender, UK).

Some special occasions on tour:

- We were able to hand over another donated wheelchair to Bhuthu from the local community at the Mafuyani Villa

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- Loyal friend Prince showing "Amanza" the 6 month old leopard cub the bush.

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- Cuddle with the loving 1 month old lion cub "Akila"

- dominating Chobe (2 year old lion) is as mighty as ever.....

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- Savannah was injured by 2 male cheetahs and is enjoying the special treatment & care at the Lodge until she is fit for action again...

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- Becky the gentle giant is pregnant and ready to "pop" any day now!

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- Breathtaking action when a crocodile grabbed a Zebra at a waterhole

- Lucky sighting of a pack of Wild dogs (15 - 20) on the move
- Snake eagle resting with a snake in the tree

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- a repeat in time - Ben and local village boy

2004.................2008

It was wonderful meeting you all (and again), you were a great team.
Cheers
Alfie & Sabine

'97 tour member Anders catches up with Epic!

2008-03-04T12:18:00.003+02:00

Dear Sabine and Alfie,
in '97 my sister and I from Denmark had the great fortune to participate on your tour (No pussy tour) from Cape Town to Vic. Falls. You might remember us as I was the one who chickened out jumping at the Zambezi...

Anyway, since then my left leg has been amputated due to cancer...which I have had for 10 years now. And for the first time since '97 I just googled your company and it really put a smile on my lips to see photos of both of you again...and to see your "new" Epic Enabled!!

Whenever I think back at my abilities before the amputation, going down and up Fish River Canyon on your tour always comes to mind. I probably couldn't do that today...but why would anyone want to do that more than once anyway ;-)So I just cherish what I did do then and now just continue to travel the world in my own new way...and no amputation or cancer can ever stop me from this.

From someone who only knew you before Epic Enabled I thank you for reaching out and helping ALL of us see this beautiful world...cause regardless of limbs and physical abilities we are all brought to be peace by beauty.

I hope this email finds both of you well and in good spirit.

Take good care!!

Anders

"Do you know my mum" tour!

2008-02-08T13:32:00.007+02:00

Epic's 1st Kruger Safari in 2008 - "Do you know my mum" Tour! We started on the 17 January with 11 clients from UK, Netherlands & Hungary and returned back from the Kruger on the 24 January as friends.

Strangers first meeting.................is this the end???
.................

No - we are best friends ;-)

Koene & Jacoba - (Netherlands)

Michael, Rob & Amy - (UK)

Lorraine, Guy, Don & Celia - (UK)

Mike & Eva - (Hungary)

Koene, Jacoba, Lorraine, Guy, Mike and Eva added another couple of days at the end of the safari to visit the beautiful Cape Town as well. They all had a great time and promised to post some of their highlights of the tour when they are back home! So keep watching for new comments and photos!

Until soon :-)
Posted by Sabine & Alfie - Epic Enabled

Comments from our clients:

2008-01-27T11:18:00.003+02:00

…Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be able to describe the wilds of South Africa as a suitable place for a wheelchair user to go and enjoy, how wrong I was…… Epic has built the bridge for anyone to enjoy nature at its most thrilling…
Ben Pickard - United Kingdom
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…I rode off into the red African dawn in a truck so imaginatively and ingeniously converted that every disabled person on the tour wanted one… And then I will tell you that I was in a place where my crutches did not impede my being able to touch a cheetah. That I stroked him until he purred…The Epic adventure will not heal you or enable you. But it will empower you. And that is a priceless thing to have - empowerment...
Karen Krimberg - South Africa
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...Our trip to Africa was the greatest adventure of our lifetime and we’d like to thank both of you for helping make it happen. The trip to Kruger/Tshukudu was wonderful and it was a great group to travel with as well. Thanks for being our guide Alfie...
Scott & Denise Mc Pherson - USA
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...Whenever anybody asked George what he thought of the trip all he could say was "perfect"…
George, Jane & Stewart - Australia
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...The holiday was truly an amazing experience. Like many other people I have adventure stories when I was younger, and you never think you will be in that situation yourself, even less when you are disabled. The Epic Enabled provided a real opportunity to experience a sense of adventure...
Jonathan Toogood - UK
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…I wanted to thank you for allowing us to participate on one of your Safaris. It definitely ranks right up at the top of one of the greatest experiences of our lives…
Bill & Carol Randall (www.access-able.com) - USA
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...The eight-day holiday turned out to be all we could have wished for...Well-run in my experience, I found nothing to beat it on a scale of fair value pricing and willing assistance…You move in an awesome world of close encounters with the kingdom of wild animals. From the safety of your sturdy safari vehicle you never know which to grab first - the camera or binoculars…every new day starts with the adventure of wondering what wonderful animals you will encounter next...leaving only silence and a feeling that you have been part of the mystery of wilderness…
Margaret Hides - UK
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There are lots more available on request - just e-mail us: info@epic-enabled.com