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Travel and Tourism: Eco-luxury lodge wins at World Travel Awards · Wander the World with Pippa Hudson

0:00
Speaker 1: All right, total switch of focus.
0:01
Speaker 2: We're doing some local armchair travel today and visiting a
0:05
Speaker 2: part of the country.
0:05
Speaker 1: I confess I don't know.
0:07
Speaker 2: Particularly well personally, the northern coast of Guaslin Natal. I've
0:11
Speaker 2: been there once or twice for passing visits. I've never
0:15
Speaker 2: spent any chunk of time there. I'm aware of the
0:18
Speaker 2: significance of the Mangolies or wetland park. Had occasion to
0:23
Speaker 2: visit it briefly more than thirty years ago, and it
0:26
Speaker 2: was still called the Saint Lucia Wetland Area, and I
0:28
Speaker 2: remember it being a place of haunting beauty, is what
0:32
Speaker 2: I would say. There were these eerie mangrove swamps. There
0:35
Speaker 2: was the crunch of dried crab shells underfoot as you
0:38
Speaker 2: explored the estuaries.
0:40
Speaker 1: There was that.
0:40
Speaker 2: Beautiful, rugged, wild coastline, and so much untouched beach front.
0:45
Speaker 2: It was extraordinarily beautiful. But that was in sort of
0:49
Speaker 2: nineteen ninety or nineteen eighteen, somewhere in the early nineteen nineties.
0:54
Speaker 2: I think a lot has changed since then, including the
0:57
Speaker 2: fact that the Saint Lucia Park was renamed the Siemongo
1:00
Speaker 2: Liesa Wetland Park in two thousand and seven, including the
1:03
Speaker 2: fact that it has in fact been incorporated into a
1:05
Speaker 2: wider Transfrontier Marine Park which straddles South Africa, Mozambique and Swatini.
1:12
Speaker 2: The area is also a declared a World Heritage Site
1:15
Speaker 2: because of its rich biodiversity. In fact, the South African
1:18
Speaker 2: portion constitutes the third biggest protected area in our country.
1:22
Speaker 2: So there's been a huge effort to preserve this beautiful,
1:26
Speaker 2: beautiful part of our coastline. And if you have had
1:29
Speaker 2: the luxuary of spending a lot of time there and
1:31
Speaker 2: want to share with us what makes it so special,
1:34
Speaker 2: I would love to hear from you with a WhatsApp
1:36
Speaker 2: to seven two five six seven one five six seven.
1:40
Speaker 2: But as always in a place like this, you face
1:42
Speaker 2: the delicate balancing act of, on the one hand, wanting
1:46
Speaker 2: to develop human access so that people can visit these
1:49
Speaker 2: places and appreciate them and learn to love them, because
1:53
Speaker 2: we tend to protect the things that we love. And
1:56
Speaker 2: as we had a conversation a week or two ago,
1:58
Speaker 2: if people aren't engaged, if they aren't interested, if we
2:01
Speaker 2: allow the ocean to remain an unknown for communities who
2:04
Speaker 2: live by its side, we can't expect them to be
2:07
Speaker 2: invested in preserving it and holding on to its pristine beauty.
2:10
Speaker 2: So it's really important that we do allow human appreciation.
2:15
Speaker 2: But how do you do that? How do you develop
2:17
Speaker 2: to facilitate that appreciation in a way that doesn't damage
2:21
Speaker 2: the landscape that you are looking at through over development.
2:24
Speaker 2: It's a question that many communities are grappling with all
2:27
Speaker 2: around the world, And of course the bald answer is
2:30
Speaker 2: that you have to tread very very lightly to ensure
2:33
Speaker 2: that what you design and what you put in place
2:35
Speaker 2: to host visitors is in harmony with the natural environment
2:39
Speaker 2: and encourages a sustainable way of operating in that space,
2:43
Speaker 2: the sense that your visitors take only photographs and leave
2:47
Speaker 2: behind only their footprints in the sand. And why am
2:49
Speaker 2: I talking about all of this because today I want
2:51
Speaker 2: to explore a venue which does seem to be getting
2:53
Speaker 2: it very very right, so much so that it's just
2:56
Speaker 2: been recognized as South Africa's leading beach hotel for the
3:00
Speaker 2: second year running at the annual World Travel Awards, which
3:03
Speaker 2: are kind of like the Oscars of the travel industry.
3:06
Speaker 2: Tonga Beach Lodge was highlighted by the panel of judges
3:10
Speaker 2: for its conservation leadership, recognizing how it manages to blend
3:14
Speaker 2: a luxury visitor experience with sustainability and with community empowerment.
3:20
Speaker 2: So there's a lot to like about this story and
3:22
Speaker 2: to chat to us more about what has.
3:23
Speaker 1: Been achieved there.
3:24
Speaker 2: It's my great pleasure to welcome via Zoom Lucy Cook,
3:27
Speaker 2: who is Tonga Beach's marketing manager. Lucy, congratulations to your
3:31
Speaker 2: team on this second accolade and thanks so much for
3:34
Speaker 2: your time this afternoon.
3:36
Speaker 3: Hi Paper, Thanks thanks for having.
3:37
Speaker 2: Me, always a pleasure. Where exactly is Tonga Beach located?
3:41
Speaker 2: For those who don't know the ins and outs of
3:43
Speaker 2: this bit of coastline like me, I had to go
3:45
Speaker 2: and look it up on a map, Can you just
3:46
Speaker 2: try and locate us geographically?
3:49
Speaker 3: Yes? Sure, So it's about it's very remote, as you said,
3:52
Speaker 3: it's about a five hour drive from King Sharka International
3:55
Speaker 3: Airport at the north coast. It's only excess will by
4:00
Speaker 3: four by four, so you would drive the last hours
4:03
Speaker 3: on a sandy beach road along the coastal vegetated sand dunes.
4:08
Speaker 3: So it's right near the border of Mozambique, just before Pontadoro.
4:12
Speaker 2: Okay, Pontadora, I have been to, so I can picture
4:14
Speaker 2: it very well. Would you say that last but only
4:17
Speaker 2: accessible by a four x four and on along a
4:19
Speaker 2: coastal road. Is that a service that you as a
4:22
Speaker 2: lodge offered to listeners to their drive to a certain
4:24
Speaker 2: point and then get furried in.
4:26
Speaker 1: Or are people allowed to self drive if they have
4:28
Speaker 1: a four by four?
4:30
Speaker 3: Yes, we offer both. So if guests have a four
4:32
Speaker 3: by four, they're welcome to drive themselves. It's a beautiful road. Otherwise,
4:36
Speaker 3: if they don't, they can park near Sodwana Bay and
4:39
Speaker 3: we offer a transfer service that's provided in partnership with
4:43
Speaker 3: our community that we are next to.
4:45
Speaker 2: And we'll talk about the community involvement in just a moment.
4:47
Speaker 2: How long has Tonga Beach Lodge actually been there, Lucy,
4:51
Speaker 2: it's been.
4:52
Speaker 3: There about I think it's twelve years now that it's been.
4:54
Speaker 2: There, Okay, so more than a decade. You're well established
4:58
Speaker 2: as a destination. What do you think it is that
5:01
Speaker 2: makes you stand out from other similar ventures? I mean,
5:04
Speaker 2: tell us about some of the unique experiences that visitors
5:07
Speaker 2: to Toonga Beach will enjoy that you can't easily find
5:10
Speaker 2: in other beachfront venues.
5:13
Speaker 3: So I think what makes the most magic at Tonga
5:16
Speaker 3: is just how remote it is, and as you said
5:18
Speaker 3: earlier when you're explaining the Samangaliso Wetland Park, you just
5:23
Speaker 3: have this massive expanse of beach where it is so remote.
5:27
Speaker 3: Like you said, these only footprints that you will find,
5:29
Speaker 3: yours will be the only footprints there. There are no
5:31
Speaker 3: other accommodations for miles and miles in either direction of
5:34
Speaker 3: the coast. The reefs there are untouched that you go
5:37
Speaker 3: snorkeling in. You get to witness in the summer months
5:40
Speaker 3: and the turtle laying and nesting and then the hatching
5:44
Speaker 3: as well. The turtles come back to the same beach
5:47
Speaker 3: every year to lay their eggs. It is just the
5:50
Speaker 3: most remote and beautiful part of South Africa I feel,
5:54
Speaker 3: and with our warm casalin waters as well, it makes
5:57
Speaker 3: it a year round location. So if you're looking for
5:59
Speaker 3: a winter beach getaway, Tanga Beach will be your place
6:03
Speaker 3: to go to.
6:04
Speaker 2: You've mentioned the snorkeling, and you also mentioned the fact
6:07
Speaker 2: that you're relatively close to Sidwana Bay, which I know
6:09
Speaker 2: is a kind of local mecca for scuba divers. Do
6:12
Speaker 2: you facilitate snorkeling and scuba diving trips from the hotel.
6:17
Speaker 3: Yes, all of our activities are from our lodge. We
6:21
Speaker 3: have our own in house dive master. We have snorkeling guys,
6:24
Speaker 3: marine guys or guys from the local community as well
6:27
Speaker 3: that we've upskilled. And yes, because we're so remote we
6:31
Speaker 3: are about an hour from Sidwana, we would be the
6:34
Speaker 3: only ones on those reefs. So our diving reefs are
6:37
Speaker 3: snorkeling reefs. We would be the only ones there. So
6:39
Speaker 3: it's like your own private, little marine reserve.
6:43
Speaker 2: And that is an extraordinary thing to offer. And particularly
6:46
Speaker 2: with the degradation of reefs around the world, to be
6:49
Speaker 2: able to offer pristine reefs with an uncrowded environment is
6:51
Speaker 2: something very very special. I mean, the marine world beneath
6:55
Speaker 2: the waves is magnificent. Do you want to talk to
6:59
Speaker 2: us a little about what you can expect to see
7:00
Speaker 2: on one of your Snorklan trips.
7:03
Speaker 3: Yes, sure, so it's my absolute favorite activity to do there.
7:06
Speaker 3: One of my favorite sightings has been seeing the octopus
7:09
Speaker 3: move from rock to rock. I've seen it quite a
7:12
Speaker 3: few times when I've been up there. It's absolutely incredible
7:15
Speaker 3: to see. We often see lionfish, We've seen the eels
7:20
Speaker 3: up there, We've seen the manta rays and all those beautiful,
7:23
Speaker 3: colorful tropical fish that you expect to see, you know,
7:26
Speaker 3: in finding Nemo, only right there beneath the waves on
7:29
Speaker 3: our reefs. It is absolutely amazing what lives beneath our ocean,
7:33
Speaker 3: right there on our shore.
7:35
Speaker 2: You've given me goosebumps because I had the experience of
7:37
Speaker 2: snorkeling with manta rays about three weeks ago in Limbongen
7:40
Speaker 2: and it was one of the most incredible things I
7:42
Speaker 2: have ever experienced in my life. Completely humbling, a little
7:46
Speaker 2: bit terrifying, it has to be said, but just I mean,
7:49
Speaker 2: these massive, incredibly magnificent, majestic creatures. To be able to
7:54
Speaker 2: share the water with them was extraordinary. So that's very
7:57
Speaker 2: exciting to hear that you can offer that as well. Now, Lucy,
8:00
Speaker 2: being able to go and enjoy the marine environment. One thing,
8:03
Speaker 2: the turtle engagement on the beachfront, I would imagine, has
8:06
Speaker 2: got to be incredibly carefully managed.
8:08
Speaker 1: Tell us a little bit.
8:09
Speaker 2: More about what you can experience there, and I would
8:14
Speaker 2: guess it's going to vary depending on what time of
8:15
Speaker 2: the year you are there.
8:17
Speaker 3: Yes, so the turtle season runs from November to February
8:21
Speaker 3: every year, so November and December is typically when you
8:25
Speaker 3: get your loggerhead and your leather back turtles. That is
8:29
Speaker 3: their nesting season. So we are we have the concession
8:32
Speaker 3: to do beach walks where we can go walk in
8:35
Speaker 3: the evenings. We only do it in the evenings. We
8:38
Speaker 3: can go walk and look for the turtles and view
8:40
Speaker 3: their nesting or we also offer the turtle four by
8:44
Speaker 3: four drives. So this is quite unique because it can
8:47
Speaker 3: be anytime from seven o'clock at night to twelve o'clock
8:50
Speaker 3: at night because we can only go at the low
8:53
Speaker 3: tide because we don't want to disturb any of the
8:55
Speaker 3: nests or turtles on there. So we drive along the
8:58
Speaker 3: low tide mark and we can go and look for
9:00
Speaker 3: these turtles. We observe them from a safe distance. And
9:04
Speaker 3: then what that does is it also helps the authorities.
9:06
Speaker 3: We get to report back to them what turtles we've seen,
9:09
Speaker 3: how many nests we've seen, and it helps with all
9:11
Speaker 3: their data and statistics that they tray together.
9:14
Speaker 1: Oh that's fantastic.
9:15
Speaker 2: So while enjoying this incredible experience, you can actually be
9:17
Speaker 2: part of the sort of citizen science element as well,
9:20
Speaker 2: which is great. Keith Keith asking on the WhatsApp how
9:23
Speaker 2: you sort of keep track of visitors and manage to
9:25
Speaker 2: make sure that they play by the rules and don't
9:28
Speaker 2: interfere in any respect. It sounds like the whole process
9:31
Speaker 2: is a very closely guided one.
9:34
Speaker 1: Lucy, Yes, it is so.
9:37
Speaker 3: Our Tonga Beach Lodge is quite a small lodge. It
9:40
Speaker 3: only has twelve rooms and then our guest vehicle would
9:43
Speaker 3: only have about nine guests, maybe even less. And we
9:47
Speaker 3: have our two guides that would go with them, and
9:50
Speaker 3: they very closely monitor the guests. They advise them what
9:53
Speaker 3: a safe distance is. We've got the red torches because
9:56
Speaker 3: you shouldn't shine any torches onto the turtles. It confuses them.
10:00
Speaker 3: And they are very skilled then how to handle the turtles,
10:04
Speaker 3: not to handle them, but handle the viewing process. And
10:07
Speaker 3: our guests have been very respectful.
10:09
Speaker 2: I'm glad to hear that, Keith, thanks for asking the question.
10:12
Speaker 2: Just for anybody who's come in midway. Our guest joining
10:15
Speaker 2: us by a zoom this afternoon. Lucy Cook, who is
10:17
Speaker 2: the marketing manager of Tonga Beach Lodge. They were recently
10:21
Speaker 2: recognized for the second consecutive year as South Africa's leading
10:25
Speaker 2: beach hotel in that category at the World Travel Awards,
10:29
Speaker 2: an incredibly prestigious recognition for the second year running. Says
10:33
Speaker 2: a lot about your ability to keep on walking the
10:37
Speaker 2: walk and talking the talk in this respect.
10:40
Speaker 1: Lucy, we've got a.
10:41
Speaker 2: Voice note from a listener with a question for you,
10:43
Speaker 2: and then I want to talk about the sustainability aspect
10:46
Speaker 2: of the lodge itself and about community empowerment. But first,
10:49
Speaker 2: Judy is curious about catering. I think let's take a listen, Haab.
10:53
Speaker 4: I'd love to know about Tongka Beach Hotel, particularly, how
11:01
Speaker 4: do you resource your food and equipment if you're so remote?
11:09
Speaker 4: Is it flown in by helicopter? Because I'm sure that
11:13
Speaker 4: since you've won this award that you maintain the highest
11:16
Speaker 4: standards at the meals that you offer and all of
11:22
Speaker 4: your resources. So how on earth do you manage it?
11:25
Speaker 4: Sounds incredible, very tempting.
11:28
Speaker 1: Doesn't it, Just Judy, it's a great question.
11:30
Speaker 2: And yes, indeed five star catering included in your rate
11:34
Speaker 2: at Tonga Beach Lodge.
11:36
Speaker 1: Lucy, what's the answer, how do you manage that very
11:38
Speaker 1: big challenge?
11:39
Speaker 3: Yes, it is a very big challenge indeed, and our
11:42
Speaker 3: executive sad he is very organized. You need to be
11:46
Speaker 3: very organized and you've got to plan ahead, you really
11:49
Speaker 3: really do, so he would plan the menu. It's all
11:53
Speaker 3: done by road transport. We that definitely don't helicopter anything in.
11:57
Speaker 3: But it's all sourced locally as much as we can.
12:00
Speaker 3: We can't source locally, we get from our head office
12:02
Speaker 3: which is based in Belito or via road transport. Yeah,
12:07
Speaker 3: so that's it. You'd have to ask our executive chef.
12:10
Speaker 3: He does it very well and very effectively. He's been
12:14
Speaker 3: doing it again for about I think twelve years from
12:16
Speaker 3: his son as the Tonga chef and he's now executive
12:20
Speaker 3: chef of all of our lodgers.
12:21
Speaker 2: Okay, so Sana more Judy, thanks for asking an interesting question.
12:25
Speaker 2: Now you've mentioned locally sourced and I know this is
12:28
Speaker 2: part of the ethos of the lodge that is very
12:30
Speaker 2: very important to you. That you are not just there
12:32
Speaker 2: for the twelve rooms and the twenty four odd guests
12:35
Speaker 2: who might be staying in them. Lucy, this is a
12:38
Speaker 2: business which was partly recognized because of what it has
12:41
Speaker 2: done to community, to empower the local community.
12:44
Speaker 1: Won't you expand on that and tell us a little
12:45
Speaker 1: bit more about how you've worked with them.
12:48
Speaker 3: Yes, sure, so, being so remote, our neighbors, our closest
12:52
Speaker 3: neighbors are the Bibi community, So we've partnered with them.
12:57
Speaker 3: About ninety percent of our staff at the lodge them
13:00
Speaker 3: abebe Community, and each guest when they stay at Tonga
13:04
Speaker 3: Beach Lodge, they would pay a foundation levee and those
13:07
Speaker 3: levees go towards projects that our Isabendi Foundation runs in
13:11
Speaker 3: that community. So just to give you an idea some
13:14
Speaker 3: of the projects that we're running there, We've helped them
13:16
Speaker 3: at bb Primary School. We recently reroofed the school. We
13:20
Speaker 3: built a new kitchen for them, We've done a grade
13:22
Speaker 3: our classroom, We've supplied extra teachers to the school. And
13:27
Speaker 3: what we want to do. What we do do is
13:29
Speaker 3: we offer guests a cultural tour where they can then
13:32
Speaker 3: go on a tour with our guides and go and
13:34
Speaker 3: see exactly where this money is going in the community.
13:37
Speaker 3: They can see what they are contributing towards. So it's
13:40
Speaker 3: a nice full circle moment for the guests seeing what
13:43
Speaker 3: they are doing. And then we also had a great
13:47
Speaker 3: story from a guest who came to stay there and
13:49
Speaker 3: he did the community tour and he was asking one
13:53
Speaker 3: of our GUIDs, you know, what is an issue that
13:55
Speaker 3: needs resolving here, and they said that them. Abebi Primary
13:57
Speaker 3: School is doing so well now with the help of
13:59
Speaker 3: the fund, but the next high school is about fifteen
14:03
Speaker 3: kilometers away, and the children are having to walk to
14:06
Speaker 3: school and back and they have to give up really early,
14:08
Speaker 3: they get back really late at night. So what this
14:11
Speaker 3: guy did was he donated a four by four converted
14:15
Speaker 3: shorts to the community. And with the foundation, we've helped
14:19
Speaker 3: with the fuel and the driver. These kids are now
14:22
Speaker 3: driven to school and back every day and this convert advice.
14:26
Speaker 3: So it just, yeah, it really is amazing that we
14:29
Speaker 3: can bring guests, show them what they can do and
14:31
Speaker 3: how they can help. So yeah, what.
14:33
Speaker 2: An amazing story, and what a powerful demonstration of how
14:37
Speaker 2: that proper touch point can be converted into long term
14:41
Speaker 2: support after the listeners have left. That's an incredible story.
14:45
Speaker 2: The other thing we need to talk about before we
14:47
Speaker 2: were out of time, Lucy, is the issue of sustainability.
14:50
Speaker 2: As you've said, you've kept it small. You very closely
14:52
Speaker 2: monitor and manage the guest interactions with the sort of
14:55
Speaker 2: the wild experiences around you. But my understanding is that
14:59
Speaker 2: even the lodge itself, the way it's been built and
15:01
Speaker 2: the way it operates in terms of what you will
15:03
Speaker 2: use in terms of packaging, all of that has been
15:06
Speaker 2: planned with minimal impact in mind. Would you like to
15:09
Speaker 2: elaborate a bit.
15:11
Speaker 3: Yes, So the way it's built, it's all built on
15:13
Speaker 3: stilts with wooden walkways to have as minimal impact on
15:16
Speaker 3: the sand dunes as possible. We also have no single
15:20
Speaker 3: use plastics. We use glass bottles. And then and as
15:24
Speaker 3: an initiative we have is when you go onto the beach,
15:26
Speaker 3: there's little paper bags there and if guests pick up
15:28
Speaker 3: plastics from the beach and bring it back to the bar,
15:30
Speaker 3: we give them a free cocktail. So we're encouraging guests
15:33
Speaker 3: to interact with us that help us conserve the beach.
15:36
Speaker 3: Our foundation is regularly involved in beach cleanups. We employ
15:40
Speaker 3: a marine monitor to teach the community about sustainable harve
15:45
Speaker 3: harvesting of the rock pools and fishing. So, yeah, we
15:48
Speaker 3: have I could speak forever, so I know you're limited
15:50
Speaker 3: this time. We have loads of initiatives there. All of
15:53
Speaker 3: our activities are low impact, where they don't take anything
15:55
Speaker 3: from the.
15:56
Speaker 2: Environment, and that is obviously what brought you to the
16:00
Speaker 2: of the World Travel Awards. So my final question to you, Lucy,
16:03
Speaker 2: is really why an accolade like this matters. Obviously, it's
16:06
Speaker 2: a pat on the back for you and your team
16:08
Speaker 2: that says we recognize you doing good work, keep it up,
16:11
Speaker 2: well done. But do you think there's a broader reach
16:14
Speaker 2: that the kind of spotlight this place is that it
16:17
Speaker 2: can be done this way is going to encourage others
16:20
Speaker 2: to be more responsible about the way they develop travel opportunities.
16:25
Speaker 3: Yes, exactly, that it's showing that this model works, that
16:28
Speaker 3: there is a way to be sustainable and still offer
16:31
Speaker 3: a high end hospitality need. So definitely, I hope it
16:35
Speaker 3: does encourage other lodgers to follow suits and yeah, who
16:38
Speaker 3: knows what we could do if we follow this project
16:41
Speaker 3: all over.
16:42
Speaker 2: Lucy Cook, thank you so much for joining us, and
16:44
Speaker 2: again to you and the whole team involved at Tonga
16:46
Speaker 2: Beach Lodge, Congratulations on the second win in a row
16:50
Speaker 2: being recognized at the World Travel Awards as South Africa's
16:53
Speaker 2: leading beach hotel.
16:54
Speaker 1: It's been a pleasure having you on the show today.
16:57
Speaker 3: Thank you so much, Peppa, thank you for your time.
16:58
Speaker 2: You two keep well and for those who are appetites wetted.
17:03
Speaker 2: Whether the travel a wallet can sustain them is another
17:06
Speaker 2: thing entirely. But to check out more about the lodge,
17:08
Speaker 2: including the rack rates, what's involved and included in that rate,
17:12
Speaker 2: and how you can get to book to experience it,
17:14
Speaker 2: please visit Tonga Beach Lodge dot co dot z A
17:18
Speaker 2: t h n GA Tonga Beach Lodge And Fiona thanks
17:22
Speaker 2: saying what an incredibly uplifting story. That's the reason we
17:25
Speaker 2: wanted to tell this story. And Fiona, thanks for recognizing
17:28
Speaker 2: that that. I know this is an experience that might
17:30
Speaker 2: be way beyond the budget of some travelers listening. But
17:34
Speaker 2: I love the fact that everything about the way this
17:37
Speaker 2: place has been developed is mindful of how special that
17:39
Speaker 2: location is and mindful of the fact that preserving that
17:43
Speaker 2: pristine environment is essential to the future of development in
17:48
Speaker 2: this area. And I think what it shows in terms
17:51
Speaker 2: of what is possible is what is so important about
17:54
Speaker 2: this story. And then you look at other areas which
17:56
Speaker 2: have not walked the walk and talked the talk kind
17:59
Speaker 2: of a loud input over development to ruin what was
18:03
Speaker 2: once a pristine tourist hotspot. It really does sort of
18:07
Speaker 2: show a very stark comparison a negative one versus this
18:11
Speaker 2: incredibly positive story, so congratulations again.
18:14
Speaker 1: The website Tonga Beach Lodge dot co, dot c a