With just a few days to go, excitement has become insurmountable as South Africa gears up for the Beautiful Game! Flags of all the participating teams can be seen lining streets and vehicles all across the country. Soccer World Cup is on everyone's lips as the 'gees' (spirit) grips the nation!

Football fever is high here at Kuoni Private Safaris too! On a recent Family Day event, staff, dressed in their commemorative world cup shirts, were fortunate enough to visit the Cape Town Stadium for a tour, soaking up the atmosphere of the pending tournament with fellow colleagues and family members. There was also an opportunity to learn the diski dance!!

South Africa has been pulling out the stops since the initial announcement in May 2004 to prepare for this event. Great improvements have been made to the country's various infrastructures that will leave an important legacy while boosting tourism for many years to come.

Refurbished airports, new terminals at OR Tambo, Cape Town's International Airports as well as Durban's new King Shaka International Airport, upgraded and new stadiums across the country, the Gautrain, Africa's first high-speed rail line - these are just to mention a few.

As we settle back to watch the teams prepare to go to 'battle' we at Private Safaris wish you all an exciting and fun-filled Soccer World Cup - whether you are traveling here to enjoy the Beautiful Game, or staying at home to support your team - "Ayoba"!

Kuoni Private Safaris has achieved a Platinum Status award for the second year in a row from the Sun International Hotel and Resorts group through their Premier Partner Programme. This internationally recognised successful leisure group offers superior hotel and entertainment experiences throughout Southern Africa.

The Premier Partner programme has been created exclusively for their preferred inbound travel partners and offers numerous benefits dependant on partner status. The status reflects the volume of business done within a contractual year. Despite challenging times in the travel industry, Kuoni Private Safaris has managed to achieve this prestigious Platinum Status award four times! Not only in 2009 and now in 2010, but we also received this in 2005 and 2007.

Staff members were pleasantly surprised when Sun International representatives arrived at the office along with some delicious eats and drinks to present the award and to say thank you! Accepting the award is Frank Glettenberg, Managing Director of Kuoni Private Safaris (pictured left).

Kanonkop House commands a breathtakingly beautiful view of the Knysna Lagoon stretching all the way to the famous Knysna Heads and offers indulgent comfort with gracious hospitality.

Set in an indigenous forest, luxury accommodation is available in 5 individually created rooms each with their own character that ensure exclusivity and privacy.

Just 5 minutes from Knysna Town Centre and the Waterfront, Kanonkop House is the perfect destination for the golf enthusiast, with golf memberships at Fancourt Golf Estate and Sparrebosch Clifftop Estate for the duration of their stay.

Kanonkop Guest House offers motorized and non-motorized water sports, sunset cruises as well as deep sea and lagoon fishing "in-house". Knysna is great for out door activities, with water sports, fishing, bird viewing, walking or cycling through the indigenous forest, bungee jumping and abseiling - all on the doorstep!

For more information please contact Kuoni Private Safaris

The deluxe Vineyard Hotel and Spa in Newlands, Cape Town, has opened a new wing of 41 rooms, four of these being especially designed for guests in wheelchairs or with special needs.

The new courtyard luxury rooms are slightly larger than the courtyard deluxe rooms and makes life very easy for wheelchair bound clients who need room to move around. The rooms are also sold to all clients who would like a more spacious room. They can be adapted to an individual's needs and some have easily accessible balconies from where guests can view the courtyard gardens.

The entire hotel is wheelchair friendly. Wherever there are steps, there are also alternative, easier routes for guests in wheelchairs.

The new wing also comprises of 32 deluxe rooms; two sets of interleading courtyard rooms for families and a suite. A sky bridge will soon link the new wing to the hotel, replete with a rooftop and water-wise garden. In total, the Vineyard Hotel now has 207 rooms and suites and 85 new parking bays for guests.

For more information please contact Kuoni Private Safaris

Situated adjacent to the massive Sossusvlei dunes and surrounded by rugged, ancient volcanic mountains, is where you will find Mountain Homestead.

Just 34 kilometres from Sesriem, it affords access to Sossusvlei and offers privacy and exclusivity and provides a refuge from the desert.

Accommodation is in one of only nine guest rooms, each with its own private plunge pool. There is also an outdoor deck where dinner is enjoyed under the stars and a dedicated stargazing platform with a powerful telescope for those keen on admiring the night skies.

Mountain Homestead also has excellent riding horses - all docile and easy to handle. You can choose between several "ride out" options. Most popular are sunrise and sunset rides. Sundowner drives are also available and offer sightings of Cape fox, aardwolf, black-backed jackal, bat-eared fox and even the odd spotted hyena.

For more information please contact Kuoni Private Safaris

Giving is so much more rewarding than receiving and for Kuoni Private Safaris, Indaba 2010 brought about the gift of giving. This year brought about a new stand design - using what we could from the old, but mostly replacing with a brand new fresh and dynamic look and feel. Next step was to find a practical way to recycle the old stand furniture and the Siyabonga Helping Hands project was the automatic choice.

A Kuoni Private Safaris supported initiative, this project situated in Kwazulu Natal is a non-profit organisation aimed at helping children who have lost one or both parents to AIDS. It has changed the lives of countless children providing them with food, education, medical care as well as after school and weekend educational programming that will enable them to take responsibility for their futures.

They have recently opened their first community centre which includes a sewing room, two computer rooms, a library, a disabled ramp, a playground as well as a junior traffic centre. Our donated furniture found a new and grateful home in both their library as well as their staff room. Due to the success of this community centre, a second one is being planned for later this year.