PG TOPS SEPTEMBER Newsletter!
PG TOPS SEPTEMBER!
In Latin, septem means “seven” and septimus means “seventh“; September was in fact the seventh month of the Roman calendar until 153 BC, when the first month changed from Kalendas Martius (1 March) to Kalendas Januarius (1 January). (Thank you Wikipedia)!
As so poignantly pointed out by the hitchhiker in There’s Something About Mary, Seven is the key number (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeHVYuRnIjY).
Seven’s the number DUDE!
So, it’s important to note that I turned thirty-SEVEN in September. It was celebrated appropriately by a lavish party, a harrowing Springbok victory, the arrival of Spring weather in Cape Town,and the general cheerfulness that happens once Ultimate Frisbee season on Clifton takes off again.
Accordingly, let me list SEVEN reasons why September was good to PG TOPS and its peeps:
1. SPRING IS HERE!
Hooray! The sun is out, people are smiling at each other in the street again (the grunting and moaning was becoming a bit much), my nose is starting to itch from the annual attack of hayfever, and it’s time to dust off the road bike, iron the khaki shorts and invest in some good sunglasses. Check! Cape Town is great in winter, but simply awesome in Summer, and we are transitioning…
2. THE SPRINGBOKS (AND THE IRISH) are kicking Rugby World Cup butt!
Although I have always held a special place in my heart for the Fightin’ Irish under the inspired leadership of Brian o’Driscoll, their epic demolition of the much fancied Aussies pose a big mountain to climb for the mighty Springboks. To win this World Cup, we will have to get through the Wallabies, the All Blacks and a European titan to win. As it should be. As international pop star and SA Icon Robbie Wessels puts it – Bokke moenie worry oor die ref nie. GO BOKKE!!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KWUANVhF8c)
3. PG TOPS goes to Barcelona!
Yolanda Bekker represented PG TOPS at the annual WYSTC (Worldwide Youth and Student Travel Consortium) conference in Barcelona this year. Yolanda had a blast with the fine folks from SAYTC and the DTI while sending out the positive vibes that is tourism South Africa! Read all about her experience onhttp://www.pgtops.com/blog/2011/09/30/yolanda-goes-barcelona/. Thanks to Deborah, Marlene, Gavin Eyre and the fine folks from the Department of Trade and Industry for once again making this possible.
4. THE PG TOPS TEAM!
I was once again blessed to work with some amazing folks this September, as PG TOPS enjoyed another busy month. I’ve quickly gotten used to having Yolanda to help, so it was tough when I was left juggling all the balls for a spell while she was in Spain. I coped with the help of Tony Barwick, who has just graduated tour guide course and wowed the folks of Semester at Sea, Tish Rabie, Hendrik Homer Human (epic stuff from the Earthstomper on the Tenstep Group), Jonathan Harris and Shannon Gaskin from Tusk Event Management. Thanks for your reliable and friendly service guys, Cape Town Awesomeness deserves our best effort… and we gave it!
5. THE PG TOPS FAN CLUB!
A massive thank you once again goes out to Warrick Mulder of Apartments SA, A2B, Clive de Bruyne of Capetowntourguide.com, Shannon and Tania at Tusk Event Management, Barry, Luciana and Vanice at Cape Turismo, Craig Barrowman, Andre de Waal, Zile and the girls at Marine Dynamics, Richard Pace of Southern Sky Adventures, Marco Corrales, Rynelle Eksteen, Kaylin Tours and Jackie and Phillip Sewell. Whether you supported us directly, gave us referrals or simply helped with advice and trade support – it is once again massively appreciated.
Thanks to all the folks who came on tour or transfer with us – it’s been our pleasure, and we hope to see you back in our neck of the woods soon!
6. THE PG TOPS MISSION!
Now that there is no more “I” in “TEAM”, some behind the scenes work has been happening to articulate what we like to offer at PG TOPS. As such, in future I’ll be sending out Surveymonkey feedback on our tour experience after each trip, to evaluate how good we were at:
- Welcoming people to our awesome Cape Town life!
- Spreading the GOOD NEWS about South Africa by way of informative day tours!
- Doing “NOT MY JOB”. Every day we try to exceed expectations in some small way…
The other little tweak – well not so little – is the addition to the PG TOPS fleet of a swanky BMW 320d. Yes it’s my personal car. But yes it is also fully licensed, roadworthy, insured and ready to take our visitors on the high end touring experience (but still at our really really ridiculously competitive rates).
7. THE PG TOPS CHRISTMAS SPIRIT!
Finally, it has been a wonderful year with consistent business, fantastic learning experiences, great support and growth. I consider myself lucky to be in such an awesome industry in such an amazing city, and to have been able to work with people that share the passion for SA. Life’s good, and it makes sense to give something back!
Over the next few months we are going to make time to do a few community based projects, and hopefully involve clients, industry partners and the community at large.
I am contemplating participating in MOVEMBER… more on this later. In the meantime, Yolanda is launching the following initiative for October:
The Santa Shoe Box Project aims to supply gifts this festive season to underprivileged kids all across the Western Cape. We will be making up at least 10 boxes to spread some smiles, but with your help and donation, we could do a whole lot more! Read all about it on http://www.pgtops.com/blog/2011/09/30/pg-tops-santa-shoebox-project/.
That’s all she wrote, as the time comes to finish writing this letter and go enjoy a Friday sundowner! Roll on Cape Town Summer!
Pieter G
Cape Town Day Trips Winelands Cape Point Sharks Penguins Whales Friends Fun Cheese!!!