Into South Africa – part one!

Before The Mole buries his snout in all things Meetings Africa, it is worthwhile mulling over a few interesting, but completely unrelated comparisons, ferreted out by some pre-trip research, between Australia and South Africa, or I should mostly say New South Wales and the ‘New South Africa”. 

Just like NSW, a ‘Great Dividing Range’ (in this case a high long interior plateau) separates a sub-tropical coastal strip on the east side of South Africa from a more arid area on the west side. However the interior plateau of South Africa is higher than the Great Divide, with the tallest peaks over 3,000m.

Skiing?

When The Mole heard skiing, the skiing radar bleeped – 3,000m is near the top of the highest chairlift in Lake Tahoe in the US – for a moment the heart raced, but it turns out that the skiing in South Africa currently appears to consist of one ski resort and no chairlifts.  Whereas Oz consists of plenty of resorts with lots of rock-hopping! What is common is that it takes hours to drive to the snow, the season is short and cover can be, er… variable.

Water (the unfrozen stuff!)

Down on the south-western tip the climate is more Mediterranean, and hence its popularity for growing wines! Yep, it rains on the coast, but not much further inland, just like Oz, and water is in short supply as well. In fact, South Africa does not have any big rivers or lakes so drought and water conservation figure high on the agenda.

No Murray River issues here, just mainly smaller rivers along the coastline, not commercially navigable.

Weeds!

I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not that sort of weed!  Farmers in NSW have an ongoing battle with ‘Patterson’s Curse’ a weed that has spread far and wide.  From a distance, the purple cover has no doubt made people from Scotland rub their eyes, thinking they had found a field of heather! South Africa has its own counterpart, the Pompom weed.  Originating from South America, this purple flower from the daisy family is threatening the vast grasslands, so it is as equally unwelcome. Patterson’s makes fabulous tasting honey, so the Mole would be interested in finding out if anyone makes ‘Pompom Honey’!

Politics & Cities

During ‘Federation’ in Australia, the location of the new national capital, Canberra, caused much furore at the time – During the ‘Union of South Africa’ there was a slightly more complicated outcome! The provinces compromised, no shiny new national capital:

The seat of Government, the administrative capital went to Tshwane (formerly known as Pretoria) and Cape Town became the legislative capital, where parliament actually sits and Bloemfontein became the judicial capital.

In Oz, imagine sending the public servants to say Melbourne, the judges to Brisbane and Parliament House to Sydney.  Hmmm, might work…! What then to do with Canberra?

Common to both South Africa and Oz were the political gentlemen who jumped up and shouted “What about me!” well before the song was written in 80’s Australia……

Both Sydney and Melbourne lay claim to being the financial hub of Australia. Again, in South Africa, it is not any of the three capitals – Tshwane, Cape Town or Bloemfontein; it is Johannesburg, which also happens to be the largest city in South Africa!

Many people mistakenly believe that Johannesburg is the capital of South Africa, so perhaps there is a good question here for the TV show ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire?’

Johannesburg & Meetings Africa – Background

Johannesburg is situated on the eastern part of the interior plateau – at the same height as the Aussie Ski Resorts of Perisher Village or Falls Creek, or the NZ Ski Resorts around Queenstown.  But temperatures are much kinder, as Johannesburg’s location is the equivalent to that of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, ie much closer to the tropics. For most of the year, temperatures are therefore pleasantly around the mid twenties, reaching the low thirties during the summer months.

Johannesburg is also where you will find Ellis Park, where the Springboks won the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final, and The Wanderers Stadium, where a number of famous cricketing moments have taken place, including Australia winning the Cricket World Cup Final in 2003!

Southwest of the Johannesburg city centre is Soweto, forever linked to the apartheid period of South African history. The nearby mountain range called the Witwatersrand is home to the richest goldfield in the world (along with a multitude of other minerals), which in turn makes Johannesburg the financial and industrial power of South Africa, and its province the richest in Africa. Popularly known as ‘The Rand’, guess what was used to name the currency?

Johannesburg is therefore the logical location for Meetings Africa, or to be more precise, Sandton, an upmarket suburb north of the city centre – and the premier business address in Johannesburg.  Sandton is in effect the financial hub of South Africa, with all the big financial and IT institutions here.  Sandton also has a thriving residential area.

The Sandton Convention Centre hosts many international events, including Meetings Africa.  The Sandton Convention Centre is located in Sandton Central, which is the central business district of Sandton, where you will find shops, malls, hotels, eateries & entertainment.

The Convention Centre is composed of 12 storeys, and multiple events can be run simultaneously on four levels. Up to 10,000 people can be accommodated at the one time – including small functions and business meetings, large conferences and exhibitions.  The Sandton Convention Centre also has state-of-the-art facilities and in-house technology partners, which means the latest technologies are available for event organisers, including wireless internet and satellite conferencing.

The organisers of Meetings Africa are Thebe Exhibition & Events, who are part of the Thebe Tourism Group. The Thebe Tourism Group is building up a complimentary group of inbound companies specialising in several market segments, including the MICE market, Group Travel, Adventure, Cultural Tours and Special Interest.

Carol Weaving, Managing Director of Thebe Exhibitions & Events says the best in business tourism is on display at Meetings Africa, giving the visitor the full picture of what the industry has to offer.

“Tourism authorities provide the generic base from which the private sector markets its products and services at Meetings Africa.  These include some of South Africa’s top convention venues, hotels, lodges, tourist attractions and support services of the highest calibre.”

According to Weaving, interest in Meetings Africa from elsewhere on the continent has also shown tremendous growth. 

“There are strong contingents of exhibitors from Zambia, Kenya and Mozambique for instance, as well as destination management companies that operate across the region.”

The international hosted buyer programme was made possible through the support of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Weaving says the exhibition continues to grow, both in terms of exhibitors – also from the rest of Africa – and delegates.

“If you are an exhibitor, Meetings Africa is the place to be to meet serious buyers who may become potential or real clients.  If you are a visitor, you will find the best venues for conference and events, the best ideas for team building or incentive travel as well as cutting-edge support services,” she says.

Report by The Mole from Meetings Africa