Amanda and I met Christy-Anne, the owner of Internatuur, in Netherlands at the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam in July, 2015. We then invited her to visit us at SunEden and she accepted. Our naturist tour operator business, Joxilox Tours, had applied to become a member of Natunion International, a group of reputable naturist tour operators situated in Europe. For this reason, Christy-Anne asked Wolfgang and Susanna, the owners of Mira Mare, Germany, to come with her to South Africa partly to “check out” Joxilox Tours and also to “check out” SunEden Naturist Resort which had asked them to include the resort in their beautiful colour brochures and websites.
We were waiting at the airport when Susanna and Wolfgang arrived early on the Thursday morning. We drove directly to SunEden and they booked into Boabab House and after unpacking, we showed them all the houses, chalets and facilities at SunEden. They were very impressed with the quality of the accommodation and facilities. That night, we returned to the airport to fetch Christy-Anne and we had supper at the Spur at the airport.
On the Friday morning, we enjoyed a “kaalgat breakfast” at Sheila’s restaurant before we drove to Cullinan Diamond Mine where they went on an underground tour of the mine. We then had lunch at a restaurant in Cullinan before driving back to SunEden. That night, we had supper at Sheila’s Restaurant and introduced our visitors to shareholders and guests.
On Saturday we had breakfast at Sheila’s Restaurant and relaxed next to the swimming pool. At 5pm our visitors arrived at our home for sundowner drinks, to relax in the jucuzzi and to have a true South African braai. The South African wines were very popular with our visitors who seemed to really be enjoying themselves.
On the Sunday, we enjoyed breakfast at Sheila’s restaurant and relaxed at the swimming pool for most of the day before we left SunEden to go on a game drive in Dinokeng Game Reserve. After the game drive, we had Babotie for supper at our home and day by day we liked Wolfgang, Susanna and Christy-Anne more and more. We started a friendship that was growing closer by the day.
On the Monday morning, we left SunEden early and headed for Pilansberg Game Reserve. The Guide was waiting for us as we arrived almost exactly on time. We were introduced to Poncho who turned out to be a guide with an incredible amount of knowledge of animals and birds and he also had a great sense of humour. We really enjoyed the game drive and we were thrilled that we had seen so many animals. On the way back to Manyane Camp, Christy-Anne said that she would really like to go again. I promised to arrange another game drive but on another day. At SunEden we were shown their first Safari Tent and according to Susanna and Christy-Anne, some of their clients will definitely book safari tents in future.
On the Tuesday, it was Susanna’s 60th Birthday and that was our priority for the day so over breakfast at Sheila’s Restaurant, we wished her a happy birthday and kept the surprise for later. We then drove to the Cradle of Humankind near Krugersdorp, starting off with a visit to the Sterkfontein Caves followed by a visit to Moropeng where we were told that human life started in Africa. We had an enjoyable “birthday lunch” there and we had to skip the visit to the Lion and Rhino Park because we planned to be back at SunEden by 5pm.
At 6pm, we assembled at the SunEden pub where the braai fires were already burning. Amanda and friends were busy making salads and by 7pm the famous barbeque spare ribs were almost ready to eat thanks to Dick and Jake who cooked them to perfection. Over 30 people attended the function and Susanna had a birthday sash across her chest (made by Christy-Anne) so everybody knew it was her birthday but it was still a surprise when Amanda presented her with a huge birthday cake (also arranged by Christy-Anne). The SunEden Chairman, Rudi, made a speech welcoming them to SunEden and then Lofty did an introduction. Everybody sang “Happy Birthday” before enjoying the ribs, garlic rolls, salads, birthday cake and milk tart.
On the Wednesday morning, we enjoyed breakfast at Sheila’s restaurant before we drove to Hartebeespoort flea markets and then to Kiepersolkloof where we were welcomed by Derek, Joe and Ralie. Derek showed us the accommodation available to rent and then we had lunch with Joe and Ralie before we rushed off to do the Game Drive at Pilansberg as I had promised Christy-Anne. We were lucky to have Poncho as our guide again and he was great once again. At one stage, we rushed to see a leopard but arrived a minute or two after it moved away. We then watched some lions as it was getting dark. After the game drive, we had supper and wine at Manyane, before we drove back to SunEden.
On the Thursday morning, we had breakfast at Sheila’s Restaurant and everybody felt sad, knowing that it was the last day before returning to Europe. Our guests had fallen in love with SunEden and they were even considering whether to buy a house at the resort. For that reason, we went to Montana to look at furniture and other items such as bedding, kitchen equipment etc. Our last call was Food Lovers Market which impressed our visitors.
That night, the ladies enjoyed a ride on the Gautrain from Hatfield to the airport, and then we said “Goodbye” to our friends as they went through the International Departures. Amanda and I agreed that we will remain friends for a very long time. We have been assured that both tour operators will be sending lots of their clients to South Africa in future. Hopefully, Wolfgang, Susanna and Christy-Anne will be back at SunEden soon. We cannot wait to see them again.
Lofty
