My blog is about my experiences in Cape Town as well as those as an intern with JENMAN African Safaris. In my weekly blog you can follow how I explore Cape Town and you can also have an insight on what is happening here at JENMAN Safaris!
To give you an idea of what I am like, I will introduce myself in a few words:
I am a 21-year-old student studying Tourism and Travel Management from Mannheim, which is located in the southwest of Germany. I am now spending my forth semester here in Cape Town as a marketing intern at Jenman African Safaris. I started my internship on the 1st of February, and this blog ‘Tobias from Germany’ is my new project.
In my spare time I love to travel, do a lot of sports and I also like to see what the nightlife has to offer.
Therefore I hope to give you a diversified look of all the opportunities you can have in Cape Town and South Africa.
Week 1 (8th – 14th of February 2010)
The week already started pretty well for me, because I received a call that I could finally get a car, after searching for an entire week at every car hire company that exists in Cape Town. So, since Tuesday I could go to work and home again whenever I liked – at least more or less ;). To celebrate my new independence we went from Tamboerskloof – where I am staying – to a backpacker hostel called “33 South” in Observatory, Cape Town’s most bohemian and culturally rich neighbourhood.
After having a great genuine South African dinner with some people from all over the world we started a jam session and just a few minutes later I found myself with two rattles in my hands, I was supposed to contribute my “German rhythm” to this evening – that’s what I call intercultural experiences!!! In contrast to that, on Thursday we (“we” means me and some of my roommates – I’m staying with five students from Germany) went to “Hemisphere”, a stylish club on the 31st floor of ABSA Centre, that offers you a great view of Cape Town at night.
Also my second working week went well. In the marketing department I work with Katja (our marketing manageress), Lisa, Sarah, Patti and Rebecca. Not just because of the team… but I really like working here. On Tuesday in our marketing meeting the annual plan was set up, and I already got involved in some projects. The next two days I will probably spend translating the descriptions of our new tours in South Africa, so that also our German clients understand what new adventures we will offer to you.
Furthermore I am updating the rates on our Spanish website and the guest gallery on the English and German one. Just take a look, maybe your recent comment is already online. Tomorrow Katja told me we will talk about a new project I will work on, hopefully next week I will be able to tell you what this is about.
The weekend I spent with a group of about 20 people at the beautiful Cape West Coast. Even if we had some engine problems with the car – by the way not my own – already the way there was amazing. Driving along several nature and game reserve you could spot a few zebras, antelopes and even giraffes.
On Saturday we visited the West Coast Fossil Park where they show the bones and fossils of giraffes, elephants and other smaller animals that lived 5 millions years ago. Our guide had a good knowledge and remained patient even if not everyone could share his excitement for some 3mm frog bones. The rest of the day we spent at the beach of Paternoster, a beautiful fishermen’s village with a really nice beach.
Before we return to Cape Town on Sunday, we went to Langebaan, where our car finally broke down. In the meantime, until we got a working car – which took about 3 hours – we had enough time to enjoy Langebaan, which also boasts a great beach, from where you can watch kite surfers and have a cold drink in one the nice beach bars.
This was the first week of my blog, if you have any ideas of what I absolutely have to do in Cape Town, comments or questions, feel free to contact me on my blog.
See you next week.
Tobias