City’s treasures ‘tagged’

APRIL saw hundreds of people tagging a montage of Nelson Mandela Bay’s treasures, the Top Ten city icons, on Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism’s (NMBT) Facebook in the hope of winning incredible prizes and leaving their digital mark on the city’s best-loved spots.

Winning the main prize in April was Sonja Willemse who saw both her and her family plus family friends whisked out to sea in an amazing yacht experience on board The Warrior. Beside herself with excitement, Willemse said the prize trip was a culmination of great encounters she had had in the city since she moved to Nelson Mandela Bay in January a year ago.

“We were tired of the hectic pace of life in Johannesburg. Some mornings it would take me over an hour to drive the children to school – eventually you get sick of having to live life in a car,” said Willemse. “We are a very outdoorsy family so the Big Smoke was getting to us. My husband came to Port Elizabeth for a while a couple of years ago to do some work for Makro and ever since then its had a special place in our hearts. Last year we took the plunge and we have not looked back.”

Willemse said her passion for the city got her participating in everything from volunteering at Samrec to hiking to enjoying the lifestyle. As newcomers to the city the Willemse family embraced the ‘tourist in your own town’ approach and when the Tag your Treasure competition was launched Willemse was quick to tag Shark Rock Pier as her favourite city icon.

This quick action would win her a trip on the most luxurious yacht docked in the Port Elizabeth harbour.
The two families were picked up from the Protea Marine Hotel – also a part of the prize – taken for a scrumptious lunch at the Algoa Bay Yacht Club and then set sail just in time for sunset on the Saturday of the Splash Festival weekend.
“From sunshine to moonshine, gale force winds to light breezes, a glittering golden sunset to passing squalls – our guests certainly got the good, the bad and the windy city,” said Mandlakazi Skefile, NMBT chief executive. “For the first few moments we thought the trip might be off as rain pelted down. But the wind swung and the clouds cleared giving us a window to navigate out of the harbour, to open sea.

“We were treated to liquid golden sunset, with all the marine animals out to greet us including seagulls and dolphins – and we settled into a light dinner. After this, it was full speed ahead to Hobie Beach to catch the Splash festival fireworks. Unfortunately a gale caught us by surprise and we decided it was best to return to the comfort of a warm hotel to watch the fireworks paint the night sky.

“Despite the four seasons in one yacht experience, this trip truly showed that Nelson Mandela Bay is bursting with unique treasures and an incomparable lifestyle – and that the city has more to offer than meets the eye.”
Willemse and family agreed: “We love the city even more and have enjoyed every moment of this awesome experience.”

With the first phase of Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism’s Tag your Treasure competition completed, the contest continues with a new design and bigger, better prizes leading up to the winter season in the ‘Province of Festivals’.

“We decided to focus on the exceptional winter game viewing we have so close to the city and also wanted to continue highlighting the outdoor lifestyle that is so prominent in Nelson Mandela Bay,” said Titus Chuene, NMBT marketing manager. “The new design captures the essence of this and with many prizes still to be won – from iPod shuffles to sunglasses to weekends away – there is still time to leave your mark and get tagging”.

 Visit www.facebook.com/NelsonMandelaBay to enter.