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CEDARBERG TRAVEL TEAM
Our offices are still just outside Clanwilliam and we are privileged to work in such a beautiful environment. In springtime we look at the wild flowers in the surrounding veld. Our team consists of 12 - Kate, Petru, Nita, Cecily, Maddy, Gloria, Sonja, Mari, Lize, Nadie, Sandra & Wanda.
- Between us we have on average 8 years of travel experience
- They are all well traveled and knowledgeable
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Kate Bergh, Co-founder and Managing Director of the South African office, has lived in South Africa since 1993 having met her South African husband whilst studying for her MBA degree in France. She's travelled extensively throughout the region to Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe and has explored most parts of South Africa including some of the remoter areas such as the Kalahari, Maputaland and the Limpopo Province. She adores travelling and discovering new places for you to visit. Her home looks up to the Cedarberg Mountains, where she enjoys hiking when not testing out, with the aid of her 3 small children, the family appeal of our hotels and lodges! Prior to setting up Cedarberg African Travel she read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University and then worked in Management Consultancy and International Marketing before taking an MBA at Insead, France.
Most memorable travel experience: It's a toss-up between standing on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and sleeping out (but in my bed) in the middle of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans in Botswana.
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Mari has a dual role: she's a senior travel consultant for our web clients and she also specialises in marketing. She's been with Cedarberg since the beginning of 2003 and in SA tourism for 15 years. Mari is confident, enthusiastic and particularly adept at matching the right accommodation options with your client's particular likes and dislikes. She loves to travel and research trips include the Sabi Sands, Garden Route, Victoria Falls, Botswana, the Caprivi Strip in Namibia, Mauritius, Kenya and Tanzania, Mpumalanga and mostly recently Pafuri and Mashatu game reserves.
Most memorable travel experience: A private dinner on the deck of Susuwe Island Lodge in Namibia, with my new husband, watching the animals in the river channel with lights shining in the trees. Very romantic!
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Cecily is the senior member of our team. After completing her degree at UCT she returned to the family farm in Clanwilliam. She has worked at Cedarberg African Travel since 1995 and is our Product specialist. She ensures that our reservations system is up to date with the latest product information, prices and special deals. She is currently extending our regional information available on our website. Her passion is things botanical and she plans our Wild Flower tours. She loves the wild open spaces of Southern Africa such as the Kalahari and Namibia: don't send her to the cities!
Most memorable travel experience: Walking with the elephants at Stanley's Camp in Botswana, followed by the most superb game viewing experience at Chief's Camp in the Okavango Delta.
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Nita has been our Accounts Manager since 1997 and her thoroughness and tenacity make her perfect for this detail-orientated job. She also travels for Cedarberg African Travel, often with her three small children - to South Africa's northern game reserves, the Wild Coast, Victoria Falls, Zambia and recently to Mpumalanga. She has just returned from maternity leave.
Most memorable travel experience: Having sundowner drinks on a game drive in the Sabi Sands game reserve with our three year old child. The ranger subtly warned us to get back onto the vehicle as there were lions nearby. We were just on the vehicle when the lions calmly walked straight past us.
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Petru joined the SA office in 1998. She's the senior consultant for our USA clients, and is known in the office for her confidence and her excellent client service. She excels in handling complex itineraries in a professional and dedicated manner. She also takes key Travel Agents around South Africa and she's travelled widely visiting Botswana, Victoria Falls, Namibia, Madagascar and extensively in South Africa. Her most recent trip was to the fascinating country of Zambia.
Most memorable travel experience: Staying at Sausage Tree Camp in the Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia - enjoying glorious sunsets, trying my hand at Tiger fishing and canoeing with the hippos in the side channels.
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Gloria's professional and calm persona makes for a great contrast with some of our louder personalities. She's worked for Cedarberg since the end of 2000. She has an excellent knowledge of the destinations of South Africa and is a travel consultant for our European clients. She has travelled widely throughout the Western and Eastern Cape and her most recent research trip was to Namibia which, contrary to her expectations, she really enjoyed.
Most memorable travel experience: I can't decide between the Tsitsikamma treetop canopy experience in the Tsitsikamma forest of the Garden Route, and, completely different, sliding down the 'roaring' dunes of the Skeleton Coast in Namibia. You will never believe the sounds that emerge unless you go there!
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Madelyn's
boisterous and enthusiastic personality adds much to the good nature of the office environment and can lift the spirits immediately. Madelyn, who's been with Cedarberg since the beginning of 2001, focuses on all our group quotations and tours. Recent tours have included several walking tours and a Two Oceans marathon and a half marathon group. Her research trips have focused on Cape Town, the Winelands, Garden Route, Namibia, KwaZulu Natal and to the Limpopo province and Mpumalanga. She will be away on maternity leave from July to October 2007.
Most memorable travel experience: Staying with my family at Honeyguide Khoka Moya and when walking from our tent to the main lodge, Jaco (then 18 months), and I found ourselves in the midst of a herd of visiting elephants. Seeing the wonderment on his face was priceless.
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Sonja is a travel consultant for our UK market, having joined us in 2002. Her quiet but positive disposition is a boost to the office, as is her attention to detail, which makes her perfect for our family itineraries. Being a mother of two busy boys herself, she can direct families to the most suitable options for their holiday to South Africa. She has travelled throughout South Africa, to KwaZulu Natal, Madikwe, the Garden Route and the Eastern Cape. Recently she checked out the family holiday opportunities in Namibia and came back bursting with enthusiasm.
Most memorable travel experience: Visiting the Fish River Canyon in Namibia with my family followed by trying to keep up with my boys (ten and twelve years old) on quad bikes on the coastal dunes of Sossusvlei.
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Nadie joined us in 2003, initially working part-time as she studied for her diploma. She now works fulltime as a Travel Consultant for one of our Continental European clients and also one of our North American agents. Nadie is hard-working and diligent, to the point that Kate is sometimes chasing her out of the office at the end of the day. Recent research trips have been to Cape Town, the Winelands and the Eastern Cape and she’s off to KwaZulu Natal and Mpumalanga in June.
Most memorable travel experience: It would have to be my very first safari experience, which was in the Eastern Cape in the middle of winter. It was probably the coldest trip I've ever been on, but definitely the most memorable, scary and exciting! We had a close encounter with two lions at Kariega Game Reserve who came very close to the vehicle. However elephants have eluded me throughout my stay until the final game drive leaving the reserve. Coming round a bend, there were a herd of elephants - seeing them in real life for the first time was a magical experience, so graceful and so hungry, constantly eating!
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Wanda joined us at the end of 2006. She is new into the travel industry having worked in IT training and teaching. Needless to say her expertise has been invaluable to the team. She has moved into travel consultancy work and currently assists wherever her quick-witted maturity is needed! Her favourite regions are the Drakensberg mountains & the North Coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal, which she’ll be visiting in June.
Most memorable travel experience: My most memorable experience is quite different from the rest of the team! Attending one of the gala performances at the Sun City resort and mingling with the celebrities when I was fresh out of school - I really enjoyed the resort, the water rides, the walks in the gardens, the amazing array of food on offer. We visited The Palace Hotel. Great for families looking for a resort experience, perhaps combining it with Madikwe Game Reserve?
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Sandra also joined us at the end of 2006 and is from an accounting background. She has assisted us with our Accounts during Nita’s absence and is now moving into assisting with travel bookings and keeping our automated reservations database up to date. She has a degree in Business Commerce from Stellenbosch University.
Most memorable travel experience: Enjoying a 4x4 expedition along the Orange River in the Northern Cape with the huge dunes of the Richtersveld on one side and the river, rumoured to be full of diamonds on the other.
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SATSA
We are members of SATSA, the South African Tourism Services Association, the premier tour operator association in South Africa.
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