A FRESH WAY TO TEAMBUILD

Kim Crowie chats with two innovative companies pushing boundaries in the teambuilding arena.

HINTHUNT
A company that had its beginnings as the number one attraction in London in 2012, HintHunt came to SA in October 2013 at the Old Biscuit Mill in Cape Town, and now has three locations including one in Johannesburg. Essentially an escape game, the initial concept of which was coined many years ago in Japan, HintHunt has been the top local attraction on TripAdvisor since 2015 and has grown immensely since its inception. Stephen Schutte gives us more info.

Why is HintHunt so unique as a teambuilding exercise?
We put different team members from different departments in a room together and all of a sudden they come out of a room and for weeks and weeks afterwards, they’re talking to each other and inadvertently building rapport. This is actually a spin-off of the game; some of our biggest clients are Allan Grey, Old Mutual. When departments are mixed up and put in a room together, they come out laughing and screaming and there’s just a sense of camaraderie – they don’t really tell anyone else what goes on in the room because they want you to go and try and beat the room.

Click here to continue reading in Event Issue 11.

CREATIVE EVENT SPACES

Kim Crowie gathers some of the trendiest and most breath-taking venues for hosting events and corporate meetings.

There are literally hundreds of event spaces across the country, and it’s often such a mission to find one that’s beautiful, functional, flexible, and unique all at once. These days, everyone’s in search of something different and new – from a delicious gourmet dish to a space that’s designed to create a full sensory experience. Whatever the case may be, we bring you a selection of the most edgy and sought after venues across South Africa.

Chalkboard
A café setting that’s ideal for small creative gatherings, Chalkboard is a restaurant and craft beer bar adjacent to The Bioscope in Johannesburg. The walls and table tops are writable chalkboards, making it ideal for brainstorm meetings and artistic expression. Here, visitors can dine on comfort food at affordable prices, and then head upstairs for a movie – complete with bottomless popcorn and hot chocolate options on ‘movie weather’ days. Chalkboard provides an assortment of pizzas for events served buffet style: agree with the event planner on a tab limit, and only get billed based on what is consumed. thebioscope.co.za/chalkboardcafe

Emily Moon River Lodge
An exclusive, family-run lodge set on the banks of the Bitou River in Plettenberg Bay, Emily Moon comprises ten suites and a multi-purpose venue set in an indigenous garden, allowing for up to 100 guests for functions. Emily’s Restaurant offers homegrown and locally sourced organic gourmet meals, while Simon’s Bar, located just above, offers spectacular riverside views and some of the best wood-fired signature pizzas. This venue is ideal for those in search of a company pow wow or retreat. emilymoon.co.za

Click here to continue reading in Event Issue 11.

MAGICAL KENYA TRAVEL EXPO

27 September to 5 October 2018 saw the Event explore the multifaceted travel wonder of Kenya on a week-long familiarisation Tour, as well as produce the inaugural Digital Daily News for East Africa’s largest travel-trade gathering. Cheri Morris shares her experience.

The FAM Tour
I bubbled with excitement as I peered from plane window onto Kenya National Park. Although steeped in the fast falling shadows of dusk, I could make out proud African baobabs waving a warm welcome, “Karibu Kenya!” Before us lay ten days of epic exploration courtesy of Kenya Tourism Board (KTB). After timely baggage collection at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, we were delivered to the only city-hotel bordering Kenya’s National Park,Ole Sereni. It wasn’t until the the following day that I realised what an awe-inspiring view lay behind the blackout curtains: undulating flatlands of grass contrasted by burly clouds, interrupted only by the lackadaisical concession of zebras, buffalo, and buck taking their morning drink. Ole Sereni’s restaurant looks directly onto the watering hole and its tail- swinging users.

After a leisurely breakfast, we met with KTB PR Officer Erick Omenda to plan the next few days of video shoots. Erick became our personal portal to the unmissable intricacies of Kenyan travel. He had us eating and drinking like locals — Nyama Choma (skewered chunks of seasoned goat meat) for Gary Randall, the Event Business Manager, and creek caught Red Snapper for me, both served with traditional sides of kachumbari salad, ugali, and pints of Tusker beer.

Click here to continue reading in Event Issue 11.

BUSINESS EVENTS MADE EASY: NELSON MANDELA BAY

Situated on the shores of the Eastern Cape, Nelson Mandela Bay has a great potential for hosting conferences and trade shows.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is located along the Algoa Bay shoreline of the Eastern Cape, and comprises the city of Port Elizabeth, the towns of Uitenhage and Despatch, and surrounding rural areas. The region is midway between Cape Town and Durban, and is South Africa’s fifth largest city in population. The ports of Port Elizabeth and Ngqura attract a wide variety of businesses to the area. It is also the African hub for automotive manufacturing, and is home to Volkswagen, General Motors and Ford.

Nelson Mandela Bay boasts more than 15 000 hotel beds within a 20 minute radius of the Port Elizabeth International Airport – making it an ideal second-tier MICE destination. The majority of 3-5 star hotels offer some sort of conferencing facility for small to midsize meetings. Some of the recent events to have taken place in Port Elizabeth recently are the Photographic Society of South Africa’s Annual Congress from 30 September to 5 October, and the Ironman World Championships, which brought hundreds of local and international participants to compete in the region. Another high-profile gathering was that of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), which met to establish a core group that would advance tourism within the Indian Ocean region.

Click here to continue reading in Event Issue 11.