Mpumalanga Tourism & Parks Agency

The offices of the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency are stunning...surrounded by lush Lowveld vegetation and running water, also lots of my favourite, fever trees, it's a peaceful and pleasant place. I'm basking in the sun while waiting for Bongani. A lot of well dressed, well heeled people are in and out of the offices with files in their hands.

Breakfast at Wimpy at the famous Hall's Gateway on the N4. I left Waterval Boven at 06h45 and have flown down the road to here, making notes all the way. Sitting here I've no doubt I'm in the Lowveld: it's pleasantly humid, temperatures are going to reach a very pleasant 32 degrees Celcius despite the autumn solstice four days ago, lush vegetation and abundant, exotic bird life.

From here, with Bongani Tshabalala of Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency, I'll head through Nelspruit and on towards Mozambique... unwrapping delights all along the way. I could not think of a better way than to spend this magnificently sunny autumnal Thursday.

Mpumalanga tourism title contract awarded

An empowerment consortium led by grassroots publisher HomeGrown Magazines has been awarded a three-year exclusive licence to publish Mpumalanga's official tourism magazine. HomeGrown JV will publish the Mpumalanga Tourism & Parks Agency (MTPA)'s Sunrise magazine and affiliated products launching with a Spring 2008 edition and running until July 2011 - covering the crucial period over the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The MTPA last week awarded the contract to a special purpose joint venture between HomeGrown Magazines and local empowerment company Kasi Media after a lengthy evaluation and due diligence process.

The quarterly Sunrise magazine is targeted at inbound leisure and business travellers, using worldclass writers and photographers to showcase the province's diverse tourism and cultural product. It will also be distributed to the hospitality and travel trade, including inward bound airline lounges, and will also be stocked by select news agents nationwide.

For the full story on www.bizcommunity.com click here: http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/39/26850.html

Chef Reza Mahammad to maybe start a training restaurant?

Hopefully where there's smoke there's fire...

 

Gwen Gill in her Social Scene column in the (South African) Sunday Times this past weekend says Trina Matheson of the Emakhazeni Tourism Association talked international celebrity chef Reza Mahammad into a breakfast to discuss starting a training restaurant for unemployed youngsters in Mpumalanga - read Machadodorp - like Jamie Oliver's Fifteen in London.

 

This would be very good news for the Mpumalanga Highlands region, which experiences major unemployment and non-existent assistance from the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) to help put it on the map.

 

I've heard from some reliable sources that the MTPA is elusive, disorganised, can never be reached on their phones and never return their calls, that they do absolutely nothing for the Highlands region. In other words they suck. So what purpose exactly do they serve? And if they do nothing for the Highlands region, surely they shouldn't  then have the all-comprehensive "Mpumalanga" in their title?

 

(In the interests of 'balanced blogging', is there anyone out there in cyberspace who's got something positive to say about the MTPA? If so, I'll gladly post it HERE.)