A chance to see splendid game – The Herald La Femme 17 June 2009
To celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday, La Femme is offering a two-night family weekend for four people at Pumba Private Game Reserve and one person in the party of four must be a dad. Pumba, one of the most luxurious of the Eastern Cape’s many five-star game reserves set in a malaria-free area, will offer dad and company an amazing weekend. A Green Leaf Environmental Standard award winner at last month’s Tourism Indaba, Pumba has two lodges – Pumba Water Lodge, overlooking Lake Kariega, and Msenge Bush Lodge – which are both compliant with this eco-friendly rating. You are likely to see rhino, giraffe and elephants every day but it is rarer to spot creatures such as the wild dog and hyena on the 6 500 hectare reserve. As for the unique white lion, depending on when you go on your trip, you may see up to four adults, the new white lioness, the original white male and his split-gene lionesses. La Femme’s fantastic prize package at Pumba includes the following:
- Two nights luxury accommodation for four people.
- All meals and selected beverages.
- Four game drives.
All you have to do is get to Pumba – but as it’s only a one-hour drive from Port Elizabeth on the road to Grahamstown, that shouldn’t be too tricky. It’s a tough call to be
eco-friendly when you provide luxuries such as under-floor heating and air-conditioning that traditionally suck energy but Pumba has put a lot of effort into its conservation efforts. Reserve director Dale Howarth is thrilled with the results, particularly as this is the first year Pumba has applied for accreditation. “It’s a new award, the first one was made in 2008 at Indaba, and it encourages the tourism sector to minimise the impact of carbonisation on the environment,” he said. A total of 18 lodges and estates throughout the country now have qualified for a Green Leaf, he said but few had all of their accommodation comply on their first attempt, as Pumba had. “It’s an intricate, complicated process and the auditors are strict, which is good because it gives the award credibility. We’ve done our two lodges and the responsible thing is to do the 58 units in our staff village next if we are serious about meeting the standard.” Water and alien vegetation were two of several key areas audited and “we have a big alien clearing programme,” says Dale.
To stand a chance of winning a stay at Pumba, write into La Femme or send an e-mail, saying who the “dad” is that you would like to win the weekend for.
Do not give us more than 50 words! e-mail: femwin@avusa.co.za, with
PUMBA in the subject field.
Postal entries: La Femme Pumba,
Private Bag X6071, Port Elizabeth
6000.
Make sure you include your name, address and contact phone numbers. The cut-off for entries is 9am on Friday, June 26, and the winner will be notified shortly thereafter.
Gillian McAinsh
LE FEM Editor
