Sefapane Breaks All Records!

Long before the actual kick-off we all got infected with the Sefapane Soccer Fever… it is highly contagious, so it didn’t take long for all staff to feel the vibe rushing through their veins…

It didn’t stop by just wearing the yellow and green Bafana Bafana shirts on Friday Soccer Day (for the real diehards amongst us it seemed to be Friday every day). Shakira was playing in the bar, people were dancing the diski dance and faces were painted with South African flags and other soccer logos. Our public areas changed into little soccer Walhalla’s and lunch breaks were used to practice the beautiful game for our actual small in-house world cup. It was a very exciting afternoon, with lots of sweat, cheers and vuvuzela-noise. In a thrilling final the Beefy Buffalo’s (the chefs of the Sefapane kitchen) managed to beat the Lala Moemoe Nunu Tarts (our Sales team); it was a close call!

This amazing vibe has carried on throughout the first rounds of the World Cup and still carries on through the knock out rounds. Even though Bafana Bafana did not qualify, we are carrying on because we’ve got an unbeatable team spirit which goes beyond international borders!

Besides the soccer, guests were obviously also keen for a real African Experience, which they got! Being welcomed by a lovely Gospel choir, swinging on the beat of the drums and having dinner under the stars surrounded by cosy, warming fires or having dinner in the bush with elephants and lions roaring in the back ground… the game-viewing has been really great over the last few weeks; its as if even Kruger’s inhabitants knew we had special visitors who wanted to see the Big 5!

International Friends!

The World Cup brought and still brings a lot of international guests to Sefapane. The first group that arrived where 80 Dutchies, who colored the whole lodge in bright orange, and brought such a fantastic vibe! They played soccer with our local league teams, went on safaris and enjoyed the space, atmosphere and good view of the games from our special soccer lounge with large TV’s. Not only were they very happy, some of them will be coming back for another Sefapane experience! Besides the Dutch groups and individual travelers we had a lot of Mexican, American, Brazilian and Argentinean guests. They created an exotic tint to the atmosphere and were having a great time in the bar while watching all the matches. Everyone went on safaris, from full day to morning and river safari and because of the diversity of the guests, it was one big international event! We also had a group of Koreans visiting our lodge for a few days going on lots of safaris and playing soccer with the Sefapane Soccer League teams. Even though communicating was an interesting challenge for this group and our staff, they all had a great bush experience!

We have had a fantastic time together with our multi-cultural guests and we are striving for more in the future!

Joris and the Oranjecampers!

Joris, the Managing Director of Sefapane, has also been doing his bit for Sefapane and supporting the World Cup. After decorating his car with Vuvuzelas, canoes, stickers, flowers and lots more he joined the Oranjecampers on their road trip through out South Africa to follow their team, the Netherlands. He drove from the Bush to Beach, ending up in Cape Town to watch last game of the first round.

Funds were raised from Joris’s road trip for the Sefapane Fund which works with the local communities in Lulekani, one of the townships near Phalaborwa. Soccer fans were excited to not only watch soccer but to play it too. Joris arranged for anyone that was interested to go and visit the Lulekani stadium and to play a game of soccer. After playing they watched the opening ceremony of the World Cup and cheered with joy as Bafana Bafana scored the first goal of the competition!

The World Cup has been all about bringing people together and celebrating. Elias, Irene and Maria were three lucky staff members from Sefapane that got to go Durban for the weekend to meet up with Joris and the Oranjecampers to watch the Netherlands beat Japan. They were all practically speechless on Monday morning when we asked them how it was – they just couldn’t describe it as they were still buzzing from the celebrations!

Sefapane Spirit!

Although Bafana Bafana didn’t make it though to the next round, the excitement about this competition is electric! You cant shake it out of any one, people are dancing in the street, singing as loud as their voices will allow, blowing Vuvuzelas, and everyone has a spring in their step. There is no exception at Sefapane Lodge either! Someone has just poured happiness over South Africa and it is going to last a long long time. We will be holding on to this happiness, making Sefapane a place you want to visit over and over again!

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