Seven options for travellers to interact with experts

Source: Tourism update, 30/10/2015

Specialist guides, itineraries and enhanced experiences are gaining
in popularity as more travellers seek to engage with experts and
specialists while on holiday. Sue van Winsen rounds up some of the
best options.
An increasing number of people view travel as a life-enriching and
learning experience and this is fuelling a growing desire for
something more substantial than just the best suite in a hotel.
Instead, travellers really want to connect with the people who live in
the destination they visit, creating memories that are far more
valuable and enduring.
This is the view of Andre Botha, Sales and Marketing Director of Trans
Africa Safaris, who adds that this may take various forms, from
private cooking classes or private home dinners to tracking elephant
for a research project.
Carina Grüninger, Owner of Safari Destinations, says this growing
niche also provides tour operators with an opportunity to offer
clients unique experiences that they may not be able to book through
one of the many online booking engines.
Andrea Hand, Operations Director at Welcome Tourism Services, says the
growing demand for expert interactions was one of the main reasons
they company opted to compile an `Experience` brochure. "We have found
that more and more often guests want something extraordinary to add
onto their itinerary to enhance their holiday experience. This is even
more evident in return guests who have seen and done most of the
generic tourist hotspots. They have already been to numerous
restaurants and sampled local cuisine and on the next trip decide to
learn how to make the dish they had previously enjoyed," she says.

1.Bear Grylls Survival Academy
This five-day survival skills course takes place in Zimbabwe`s
Victoria Falls and is delivered by a range of hand-picked instructors
who have been trained by members of Bear`s Man vs Wild and Born
Survivor crew. Each instructor is an expert in their chosen fields of
African bushcraft, wilderness survival and extreme adventure.
Activities include lessons in survival, knife skills, fitness
training, navigation, shelter construction and how to forage for wild
food. This is followed by a 36-hour survival exercise where these
skills are put to use – with teams leaving camp with just a knife and
an empty water canteen and having to fend for themselves until their
helicopter pick-up at the Zambezi gorge.

2. Welcome Tourism Services Jazz Safari
Guests with an interest in music can experience Welcome Tourism
Services` Jazz Safari in Cape Town. They will be invited into the
homes of local jazz musicians where they can converse and learn more
about their musical background and influences over a home-cooked meal.
Afterwards, they will be able to enjoy a live performance by the
musicians at a jazz venue.

3.Drifters Enfield Motorcycle Tours
This new offering from Drifters Adventours provides novice,
intermediate and experienced motorbike riders with the opportunity to
ride a Royal Enfield motorcycle across off-the-beaten-track
destinations in South Africa, from the Cape Winelands to the Karoo and
the Kalahari bushveld. The 10-day tour is led by a specialist guide
and follows in the wagon tracks of the early diamond prospectors and
the 1899 British Army`s advance to relieve the siege of Kimberley.
Along the way, the motorbike riders will have the opportunity to
interact with local experts, while also taking part in in unique
experiences, says Christiaan Steyn, Marketing Manager of Drifters
Adventours. For example, on the overnight stop at Matjiesfontein,
guests will be given a talk focused on some of the events that took
place in this historic town, including how it was a refuge for
Jamieson Raid reformers, and the site of the controversial Boer War
crimes hearings.
4.Dyer Island Cruises and Marine Dynamics whale and shark experiences
Marine Dynamics and its sister company, Dyer Island Cruises, are known
for having a marine biologist on every trip, conducting research on
the Great White sharks found in Shark Alley and the whales and
dolphins also found in the area. "We also have detailed safety and
educational briefings before each trip, during which guests are
welcome to ask any questions about the marine ecosystem," says Cari du
Preez, Sales and Marketing Manager. "This offers in-depth information
to be passed on to guests who in turn become ambassadors for the
wildlife in our area," she adds. The company also has an international
marine volunteer programme where participants are offered a more
in-depth experience with dedicated talks and hands-on conservation
projects.

5.Zeitz MOCAA Artist in Residency Programme at Segera Retreat
Segera Retreat in Kenya`s Laikipia Plateau, has launched an Artist in
Residency Programme in which it welcomes artists to the property to
spend time in nature and also to give guests the opportunity to
directly engage with them. This includes studio visits, artists`
talks, dining together and other social activities, during which
guests will be able to learn first-hand about the artists` work, their
research at Segera, their studio practice and the current issues they
are engaging with.

6.Cooking lessons with celebrity chefs at African Relish

Situated in the Karoo town of Prince Albert in South Africa, African
Relish is a recreational cooking school where guests can choose from a
selection of regular short or long courses that focus on local produce
and cuisine. The school regularly invites local and foreign chefs so
that guests can learn from experts. Experts include
charcuterie-specialist, Richard Bosman; celebrity chef, Reza Mahammad;
food blogger, Sam Linsell and chef, Stefan Marais from Societi Bistro.
African Relish also works with book clubs, yoga masters and artists to
arrange weeks of painting, cooking and exercising and offers
accommodation in four cottages located throughout the town.
7.Welcome Tourism Services Bushman Safari

Guests can travel back in time to an era when the San people were the
first inhabitants of Southern Africa. Welcome Tourism Services Bushman
Safari takes place in Botswana and guests are given the chance to gain
first-hand tracking experience from their San guide, while learning
more about the survival skills Bushmen used when hunting and gathering
food.