THE approximately 700 American Mozambique flood relief troops who have been staying in guest houses and lodges in the Northern Province town of Hoedspruit, as well as in camps at the Hoedspruit Air Base, have been so impressed by South African hospitality and all the region has to offer, that they have indicated that they will return to the country for a holiday with family and friends.
McFarlane Tours, based in the Valley of the Olifants region, has been co-ordinating short day trips and transport for leisure activities for the troops while they await fly-in orders to Mozambique.
"The people in the region, and the South African troops working with them in Mozambique, have established such positive public relations with the Americans, that we will basically be sending back 700-plus tourism diplomats to the US," believes McFarlane.
He says, too, that guest houses and lodges in the area have established good relations with guests and each other as they have rallied to support each other during the floods, jumping in to find alternative accommodation for stranded guests and even assisting with clean-up operations at the affected lodges.
"International tourists in the area are reacting favourably to the situation, professing pleasure at their safari adventures in the bush."
According to him, most have indicated that they too, will be returning with family and friends.
Meanwhile, more rains in the area forced Makalali Lodge, located on the Makalali Nature Reserve, to evacuate guests and staff from the area, finding alternative accommodation in other lodges such as Thornybush.
"When our local dam broke on Sunday evening, four unoccupied rooms were flooded and we decided to take the precaution of evacuating guests," says Carlos Leite-Ferraz, Makalali's sales and marketing manager.
He says the lodge should be fully operational again by Thursday, although it was still raining when Travel Now spoke to him on Monday.
Ironically, Makalali had reopened last week and had reported that they were "back in business" after an extensive clean-up operation following last month's floods.
"We not only wanted to recoup our losses after our previous closure, but increase staff morale by additional training sessions held at the lodge."
Only 12 international guests were affected by the flooding, most of the rooms being occupied by staff members.
(Adele Mackenzie)
