Breaking the Ice at Meetings Africa

With delegates and exhibitors arriving from all directions on Sunday, including International Hosted Buyers, International Media, VIP guests, Exhibitor representatives, delegates for the Business Tourism Conference and of course Exhibition visitors, many  staying with The Mole at the Indaba Hotel & Conference Centre, just to the north-west of Sandton, where the main action is happening for the Conference and the Exhibition, it was a pretty busy day!

The Indaba is very tranquil, in fact the first thing The Mole did was to visit the pool at 7am, as jet-lag wouldn’t allow sleep any longer. 

It was very peaceful floating around with the morning sun breaking through the trees, trying to spot some of the 106 bird species that frequent the area, with the logo of the Indaba is the Southern Red Bishop, a bird described as a “colourful fluffball” (bright red, yellow & black), but alas no Southern Reds spotted as yet, but the mole did attract an accusing glance from another guest who thought the mole was looking at an entirely different group of bird species having coffee….!

The Indaba is set in 42 acres of garden, interspersed with accommodation, two pools, a gym and tennis court, with a busload of lecture theatres and an auditorium, with the hotel very well set up for conferencing and banqueting, with all the supporting technology. 

Sure, you could go for a hotel in Sandton, but the Indaba is more ‘African’ in style with its thatched roofs and laid back atmosphere and it is a great spot to just relax, with the Indaba welcoming arriving guests with an afternoon of leisure on the Epson Green Patio, a great little outside drinks & dining spot, listening to jazz while having lunch and breaking the ice with fellow visitors. 

The ice breaking went on for a considerable time with Eric Baravilala from South Africa Tourism Australia office and The Mole visiting Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton, which is fringed by eateries of every description and yet more shops.

After a fabulous meal at the Montego Bay Seafood Restaurant, an equally fabulous T-shirt was also purchased – can’t reveal what was written on it, let’s just say it would be outstanding at a seafood barby and speaking with our host Dean Hamilton [Pictured left with Eric] was very enlightening to say the least, enthusing about Cape Town and the surrounding area, and giving us some great tips such as going up Table Mountain at around 3 or 4pm so that you get the great city views, experience the sunset and then see all the city lights, all in one trip.

Basically if you intend to go up Table Mountain, and it is sunny with no wind, drop everything git going, as the weather may change!!

On enquiring about why he moved to Johannesburg as he seemed to love the Cape Town area, his reply was “I came to Johannesburg to relax!” and asking Dean about how he felt about his personal safety, he replied “No problems, you just have to be streetwise, the same as anywhere in the world.”

What about car-jackings, we persisted and this time he laughed and said “There is a joke in Johannesburg that there are more cars in the neighbouring countries than in the city”, this alluding to the fact that Johannesburg is relatively near to a few borders – and not so friendly neighbours take trips to Johannesburg and return with souvenirs!!

Dean has lived in the city for three years and never experienced any hassle, so it does make you question the bad press that Johannesburg seems to always attract (more on security and safety in another later article). 

The bottom line is that many South Africans appear to view Johannesburg as a pleasant place to relax – amazing – everyone seems much more concerned about fixing the traffic jams, which are an everyday occurrence here and this is due to the sheer numbers of vehicles on the road!

Back at The Indaba, visitors were meeting the hosts and stakeholders of Meetings Africa over some welcome cocktails and in the evening we were treated to an ‘Evening Braal’ which is a traditional African version of the good old outdoor barbeque.

Angeline Lue, [Pictured below left] the General Manager of Business Tourism for South African Tourism and Carol Weaving, {Pictured below right] the Managing Director of Thebe Exhibitions and Events both welcomed the international guests to Meetings Africa and Cawe Matulati, the CEO of the Gauteng Tourism Authority welcomed everyone to both South Africa and Gauteng Province in particular,  Cawe outlining the programme for Monday which includes Destination profiling, a half day cultural and heritage experience, ending with an official function hosted by the Gauteng Tourism Authority.

The Braal was well attended, the food was sensational and to top it all off we were offered foot massages.

The Mole’s paws were well and truly relaxed by Mmabontle, one of the happy team members from Mangwanani…..[watch that hand on the knee……!!] and somehow The Mole made it back to his table in order to finish off one or two beverages before retiring. 

Sometimes you just have to do the hard yards……in the interests of journalism!

A Meetings Africa Report by The Mole