One of the best parts of our job is that we get to see so much of this beautiful country we call home. And our recent trip to the North West was no exception.
Driving along the N12 to Klerksdorp, we were filled with excitement over what we would experience … we were two “gals on the road”, headed to celebrate World Tourism Day in a place we’ve only seen in map books, armed with laptops, cameras, phones and the hashtag, #WTD2013.
It’s a short drive from Johannesburg to Klerksdorp – just more than two hours. We left pretty early and had the benefit of enjoying the sunrise as we drove.
What really struck us about Klerksdorp once we have arrived is how clean the streets are; not a drop of litter anywhere – not even outside a supermarket or a fast food store.
The celebrations were hosted at a place called Pickles & Peppers Catering Services at Klerksdorp Dam. When we arrived, we went to the main entrance to register but were told that we should be registering, entering and parking “at the VIP entrance” (needless to say, we felt pretty well connected). After signing in we got to enjoy a delicious breakfast, North West heat and ants, and the adrenalin rush of being lucky enough to cover another celebration of tourism and its importance to our country.
It took a while for people to arrive at Pickles and Peppers, but it soon filled up. Stoan, the MC for the day, got everyone excited and we began a jam-packed programme.
As a North West local and host of the award-winning Afro Café, Stoan was a perfect choice for the role of master of ceremonies.
While we tweeted, hashtagged #WTD2013 and filmed furiously, Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk, MEC for the North West Department of Economic Development, Environment Conservation and Tourism Motlalepula Rosho, and Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality MMC Ntombi Koloti delivered fact-filled and heartfelt speeches about the importance of tourism in South Africa, as well as the many attractions of the province.
Speeches were followed by an expertly cooked lunch served with a dessert platter consisting of mini-cheesecakes, carrot cake, malva pudding, fruit, and an assortment of other cakes and calories.
With the wind kicking up dust into our eyes, hair, shoes and just about everything else, we heard Stoan announce that Khuli Chana – another North West local – would be next on stage. To say that the performance by this local hip-hop artist was well-received would be an understatement.
Chana was joined by his fellow Morafe members – also North West locals – and their fantastic performance was so well received that one attendee left without a voice. Really. When I approached the said attendee for a quick vox pop, all she could squeak out was that she’d lost her voice while singing along. Their set included American hip-hop favourites as well as local hits Freshe and The Whole Thang.
It wasn’t long before we found ourselves uploading a photo album to Facebook to share photos of the day’s events. Then we hit the road again. The drive back took a little longer as there were some roadblocks – but we hardly noticed as were too busy hitting all the notes in the songs on Adele’s 21 album (all of them, not just the hits).
And so we arrived home feeling dustier, happy to have been to #WTD2013 celebrations, more confident about our ability to sing Adele songs, and filled with the excitement of what our next adventure will be.
