Grahamstown Offers A Home Away From Home Experience

Grahamstown, in the heart of the frontier country, is a vibrant mix of the best South Africa has to offer. True country hospitality reigns in this area where there is no shortage of world class game lodges, hotels and guest houses to choose from. For something truly South African you can opt for a home stay. Home stays in Grahamstown have become very popular not only because they are affordable but because they offer a unique home away from home experience. A home stay is a B & B where the host family stays in the house with you during your stay. The Kwam eMakana home stay concept is the brain child of former premier of the Eastern Cape, Nosimo Balindlela. She was instrumental to the establishment of the Kwam Emakana Home Stays in 2004. Kwam Emakana is the regulatory body for emerging home stays in the area, whereby established home stays run themselves. There are presently 55 Kwam eMakana Home Stays in the group.   Together with Entabeni Home Stays which there are 19 of at present, Kwam eMakana Home Stays help accommodate the 50 000 people that attend the festival every year. Every winter, Grahamstown sees a fresh bunch of visitors and old faces that return to experience the National Arts Festival (NAF) all over again.  Makana Tourism director, Willem Makkink said, with the plan to ensure that the festival will run throughout the 2010 FIFA World Cup, we envisage that home stays in the area will reap the rewards of the influx of visitors. He added that Makana Tourism is in talks with the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa to have established home stays star graded before the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Knowledge is Power The Esihle Home Stay, part of the Entabeni Home Stays, brings a good balance of education and experience to the table. The owner, Nocyholo Bugane, is a trained teacher by profession and has background in home economics. Her knowledge about the industry allows her to deliver on what is expected by guests. This special attention to details has helped her clinch an AA tour guide’s accommodation award in 2006. She gives back to the community by teaching young unemployed ladies the basics of running a home stay. This includes cooking tips and hygiene. When demand is high, she provides contract employment to them at her home stay. If you would like to enquire about the Esihle Home Stay, contact Nocyholo at +27 (0) 83 427 1703. Good food makes for good conversation Eleanor Goliath from Joy’s B&B and Catering, part of the Kwam eMakana Home Stay group, prizes herself on cooking good food for her guests. She is convinced that is what makes them come back. Her tasty traditional South African food and her clever conversation set her apart from the rest. All of that, combined with four years experience explains why her guests speak highly of her manners and her thorough service. Eleanor’s dream is to have Joy’s B&B star graded before the 2010 FIFA World Cup. She is constantly renovating and adding more facilities to her house to ensure that it meets all the necessary requirements. She realizes that Grahamstown has a great opportunity and wants to prepare herself as well as possible for it. If good food is your thing, contact Eleanor at +27 (0)46 622 3794. Perseverance Pays off Yvonne Oosthuizen of the Kwam Emakana Home Stay group is a woman that shows perseverance to the end. She has not stopped upgrading her house and improving her service to ensure that she becomes an established and independent home stay in future. She is always willing to go the extra mile even if it means sleeping on a mattress on the lounge floor to make her guests more comfortable. She feels that more exposure will bring her more guests. She certainly does her part by letting her guests know that her home will always be open for them. Although exposure in terms of marketing her home stay is a challenge, she knows that patience, hard work and perseverance will reap the rewards in the end. Contact Yvonne on +27 (0) 46 622 7582 if you have enquiries.

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