Groot Utrecht goes South Africa (3-8 October 2006)

After the success of the business trip to Lapland last year the “Groot Utrecht” group, comprising of directors and/or owners of companies located in the province of Utrecht, decided to organize a business trip to South Africa.

Below you will find a compilation of the many photos which were made during this trip. Thanks to Herman, Alderina, Dick, Laurent, Bart and Ernst for their contribution and Groot Utrecht and BCD Travel for making this trip possible.


Wednesday, October 4: arrival, winery, dinner with music & dance
Arrival at Cape Town after a 14 hour flight from Schiphol via London Heathrow	The Cape Town Table Mountain as seen from the wrong side
The luxury Steenberg hotel in Constantia, about half an hour from Cape Town	My hotel room. The bed looks very tempting but... the day has just begun!
In the afternoon of our first day we visited the Steenberg vineyard next door	Introduction at the Steenberg winery
Fermentation tanks where the conversion from sugar to alcohol takes place	After fermentation and filtering, the wine goes into oak barrels to mature ...
...in a humid environment, resulting in a rounder and fuller taste	And then it is time to taste the full range of Steenberg wines
The hotel buildings, dating back to 1682 have been declared a national monument	The coldwater (!) swimming pool
Music and dance during dinner at the hotel...	...performed by children of Jikeleza: a non-profit private initiative...
... to provide children from disadvantaged communities with creative activities

Thursday, October 5: Big-5 safari drive, cocktail at the Dutch consul
View of the townships where whole families live in no more than a shed	Transportation the South African way
After a 3.5 hour journey we arrived at the Inverdoorn game reserve...	...where we spotted a couple of cheetah's

The most dangerous animals on the African Continent were named the 'Big 5'...	...the elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, leopard and the lion. That's a check in the box!
And off we go	Getting close: giraffes have eaten the leaves of these trees as high as they can get
View from the front seat of the Jeep	This close encounter was really spectacular
Two giraffes guarding their baby giraffe	Yep, that's me blocking the view
I almost tripped over this turtle, having only eyes for the giraffes	A final close-up photo taken from behind a bush
Three gnu's (also known as black wildebeest) in the far distance	A couple of impalas, slender medium-sized antelopes
"Groot Utrecht" packed into two rather overcrowded Jeeps	Hang on, one more photo...
An Eland, the world's largest antelope	Grevy zebras

The rare white rhinoceros	Wake up! We've got vistors!
Water buffalo's
A tricky situation: a giraffe blocks our way...	...while two angry looking buffalo's close in from behind!
birdy?	South African oryx (also knows as gemsbok)
An ostrich, the largest living bird on earth	And if you look closely you can see a couple of youngsters
Okay, we didn't spot the whole 'Big 5' but all the other animals -and for me especially the giraffes and zebras- still made it a memorable safari!

At the end of the day we were invited for a reception at Cecilia Ridge...	...the residence of the Dutch Consul General of South Africa

Friday, October 6: Golf, business meeting Convention Center, Beach volleyball
A championship 18-hole golf course surrounds the Steenberg hotel
The course is designed using the natural features and hazards
Business meeting with Dirk Elzinga (RAI Amsterdam) at the CTICC...	...the Cape Town International Convention Center
At the end of the second day we had a beachvolleyball clinic at Camps Bay beach	The nets are in place, the rules have been explained so it's time for a warming up
Four quickly assembled beachvolleyball teams played a death match...	...and the winning team had to play against the professionals
Mered (left) and Patricia (right) of the Dutch beachvolleyball team, ready for action	Patricia in action. Will they qualify for the Olympic Games in 2008 and 2012?
Not surprisingly, they won the match...	...which left us to drink & eat away our defeat

Saturday, October 7: whale watching, departure
On the morning of our departure we went to Hout Baai...	...where a large catamaran was charted for whale watching
Yeah, yeah I know... These animals aren't whales but seals...	...locally known as Cape fur seals...
...still no whales to be seen...	...after more than an hour still nothing except some kind of dumped platform...
Ah! Just before we went back to harbor we spotted a whale close to the shore	And there's another one right inside the harbor area!
Tourist trap at the wharf of Hout Baai