Namibian News

HAN – Hospitality Awards of Namibia for 2011

Sense of Africa wishes to congratulate the following establishments of Namibia for their achievements, effort and hard work throughout 2011.

Guest Farm category: Lake Oanob Resort (Bronze), Weaver’s Rock Guest farm (Silver) Hohewarte Guest Farm & Okomitundu Guest Farm (Gold)

Lodges category: Twyfelfontein Country Lodge (Bronze), Namtib Desert Lodge (Silver) with Etsoha Aoba Lodge, Etusis Lodge, Grootberg Lodge, Kambaku Safari Lodge, Khan River Lodge & Immanuel Wilderness Lodge all receiving GOLD.

Hotel category: Bahnhof Hotel received silver and Hansa Hotel the gold award.

Hotelier of the year went to Katja Basler of Helmeringhausen Hotel.

Sponsorship Event – Desert Dash

Sense Of Africa sponsored Jeffrey Norris and his team in the 2011 Desert Dash. Her is an account from Stephan Kappes of KAP:

‘It was a real "blind date" when Thomas Muhler (49) und Jeffrey Norris (52) started at the famous "Desert Dash MTB-Race" in December 2012 because they met for the first time at the Country Club in Windhoek. Jeffrey Norris got blind in an accident in 1992 and he found Thomas Muhler who is well known as an adventure biker in the internet. Jeffrey called Thomas and told him about this unique race in the wonderful country of Namibia and so Thomas decided immediately to be his pilot on a tandembike. Because of the fact that Thomas is living in Moscow they had no chance to train together or to meet each other. So everyone was excited to come to Namibia.

Thomas Muhler is a specialist in 24-hour-races and did some incredible bike expeditions such as cycling to the Eskimos in winter time on an ice road at temperatures of minus 47 degrees or cycling to the Everest Base Camp in the Himalaya. But he had never been to Africa and so he was impressed by the beauty of Namibian nature and the wildlife when they cycled the road from Windhoek to Swakopmund through the Namib Desert. They had to find the right balance on the tandem bike which was very difficult because of the slippery road conditions. But they managed this situation quite well just after two hours. Unbelievable but true: During the race they did a downhill with a maximum speed of 65.1 km/h! Jeffrey already did the Desert Dash in 2010 together with Hubert Schwarz (Germany) and so he was the first blind biker who finished such a challenging bike race successfully. Jeffrey was able to give Thomas some very important information about the route while they were cycling. They were talking to each other almost the entire race. While Thomas described to him exactly the unique scenery with all the great landscapes, Jeffrey remembered everything about the route and gave Thomas helpful instructions for the next section from checkpoint to checkpoint.

It was an unforgettable Namibia adventure for them, although they couldn´t make it to the finish line. Right after 306 kilometers they had to quit the race because they couldn´t make it in time. The time limit was 24 hours for the 340 kilometers but they couldn´t go any faster because of the deep sand next to the water pipeline which should lead them to Swakopmund. The organizers had changed the route this year, but obviously it was a wrong decision for many bikers who suffered on this section, so much that they had to quit the race, too. Thomas and Jeffrey were very disappointed about this DNF and they couldn´t hide their tears. But in the end they could laugh again in Swakopmund. For Thomas it was still a victory because they had given all of their power but they could not beat nature. Both are now addicted to Namibia and it´s a fantastic opportunity for mountain biking, that it won´t take long till they return.

Thank you Chrissy for the stunning featured photographs shared.

Sense of Africa News

Sense of Africa again supported Bishop Kameeta School this Christmas by hosting 23 children on a double decker bus journey to the Christmas party at Sense of Africa. All the staff of Sense of Africa collected presents, food items and clothing which were received on Thursday the 22nd December 2011. These children are either orphans or their parents do not have the money to financially support their children, so our Christmas spirit blessed their festive season with this generous celebration.

Sense of Africa staff voted for fellow staff members for the Service Excellence award. This award is presented to only one person to recognize truly outstanding or excellent achievement. This award is based on the recognition and perception of all those at Sense of Africa, to be better workers, more professional and who is results driven. The person should embody the spirit and letter of our vision to exceed customer expectations and be a true asset to the company. Criteria includes someone who goes the extra mile, understands and supports others, sets an example by their word and deed, practices honesty and integrity in their day to day work, is professional in their approach and their relationships, is consistent and reliable, strives for excellence and quality in all that they do, exceeds customer expectations, builds and maintains relationships with our partners, be they suppliers or customers, is a good team member and is helpful, gets results, achieves, has a positive attitude, listens well, is resilient, is successful in what they do, both in their position and for the company, is proud, inspires and is generally a true asset to the company.

Kym Kibble was awarded the Excellence trophy with Gunter von Hundelhausen and Sissi Alfred receiving ‘exceeding expectation’ awards.

Updates for Establishments

Please keep informed about establishment, activity and product news throughout Namibia and our neighbouring countries. more

In Pictures