Sun City: Splendour, magnificence in heart of semi-desert

For me the first step of the over 4, 493 kilometres (2, 792 miles) flight from Abuja to Johannesburg, South Africa, started with the formal announcement of the South African Airways (SAA) Abuja-Johannesburg direct flight on November 17, 2015, in Abuja. The airline said the inaugural flight was part of measures to boost bilateral relations […]

For me the first step of the over 4, 493 kilometres (2, 792 miles) flight from Abuja to Johannesburg, South Africa, started with the formal announcement of the South African Airways (SAA) Abuja-Johannesburg direct flight on November 17, 2015, in Abuja. The airline said the inaugural flight was part of measures to boost bilateral relations between Nigeria and South Africa.
Regional General Manager – Africa and Middle East, Aaron Munetsi and the Country Manager – Nigeria, Thobi Duma told Daily Trust that it has always been the dream of SAA to ensure expanded air travel in the continent since it began operations in Nigeria in 1998 in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital.
 Ambassador Lulu Louis Mnguni, the South Africa High Commissioner to Nigeria, during the formal launch, said the flight would, among other things, engender the tourism relationship between Nigeria and his country, adding that more Nigerians were expected to visit South Africa and vice versa.
“We are happy to witness and to deepen Africa Agenda. We can have another Krouga Park in Bauchi State through tourism exchange,” Mnguni said. “This will also assist the youths of the two countries to collaborate with each other and generate more employment opportunities that can also be used to stem the insurgency in the North-east.”
The Abuja-Johannesburg direct maiden flight on January 27, 2016, had 120 passengers, including leading 19 travel and tour agents mostly based in Abuja and parts of the north. Being the only journalist on the trip, I saw the trip as a combination of work, fun and learning, with Mohammed Abdullahi of Topcomm working round the clock to get things done.
The Airbus 330-200, after formal ceremony and formalities, departed the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at about 10:18 am for the five-hour and 34 minutes flight. It arrived at the Oliver Tambo International Airport at around 15:52 GMT (4:52 pm Nigerian time).
The ‘Abuja Team’ was led by Elidoni Okpeta of the SAA, and Mohammed Tanko Kwajafa, the Trade Relations Manager of the South African Tourism. We were received on arrival by the duo of Jennifer Beattle the Sales Manager Africa of Sun International and Zalia Hendricks, a key Account Manager of Legend Tours. The two organisations partnered the SAA on accommodation, transportation and other logistics to ensure the success of the trip. Bheki George, our tour guide, worked with Kwajafa and Doni to make the trip worthwhile.
Bheki told us that the history of Johannesburg extends back thousands of years when it was inhabited by migrants from Nigeria and Cameroon before it was formally ‘opened’ in 1886 with the discovery of gold and the Witwatersrand reef.
He said the city, comprising 12.5 million people, is proud to have 23 young millionaires that contribute 40 percent of South Africa’s GDP.
Wednesday night was spent at the luxurious Maslow Hotel in Sandton, an up-market area north of Johannesburg, a 20 minute-drive from the airport. Thursday saw the Abuja team touring Johannesburg. We passed through the house of the legendary Nelson Mandela, but, unfortunately, we couldn’t enter because we were not billed to visit the house.
Talking about the country’s gold, which is seen as the South African oil, Bheki said the importance of preserving the value of the natural resource made it to be seen as unwise any attempt to subsidise the price of the commodity. “We cannot afford to lose high value of our precious gold in the name of making it affordable for our people,” he explained.
Palace of the Lost City Hotel
The Palace of the Lost City Hotel is one of the most highly rated five star hotels in the world. The hotel, which was inspired by the myth of a lost African kingdom, is set on the highest ground in Sun City, ensuring that its grand proportions and graceful towers are visible from across the resort.
Lost cities generally fall into two broad categories: those where no knowledge of the city existed until the time of their rediscovery, and those whose locations have been lost, but knowledge of their existence has been retained in myths, legends, or historical records. The Palace of the Lost City Hotel seems to have combined both attributes.
Opened in 1992, the hotel invokes the memory of an ancient legend that existed during the time when the rulers of the Lost City of Kalahari reigned supreme throughout the region. The site has welcomed numerous celebrities, including Michael Jackson, Elton John, Jean-Michel Jarre and Frank Sinatra who had come to test their ability on the golf course designed by Gary Player.
Jennifer said the hotel boasts of five stars of socialising, palatial, luxury, near nature reserve, cultural activities, valley of waves, business, bar, golf course, gardens, night club, swimming pool, beach, restaurant and spa among others. This magnificent hotel sprang from the imagination of the creative South African multi-millionaire, Sol Kerzner.
Opened in 1978, Sun City itself is a legendary resort in the heart of a semi-desert-like region, standing out for its splendour, its magnificence and its unbounded luxury. Built over a period of 10 years, Kerzner ensured the inclusion of four hotels, a man-made lake, two Gary Player designed championship golf courses and entertainment centre with an indoor 6,000-seat multi-purpose arena in which he presented many superstars, including Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli and Shirley Bassey and also serves as the venue of many world title fights promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Organisation.
“I always believed in Sun City. I brought gambling here, big stars and I organised concerts with Jean-Michel Jarre. That’s where I would meet my friends, Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli and Shirley Bassey,” Kerzner said.
In 2001, Nigerian Agbani Darego became the first black woman to receive the Miss World award. She was officially crowned in the Sun City Super bowl.
One of my memorable moments was riding the lost city’s water fall in a floater. Being lost for few seconds, that seemed like minutes in the dark tunnel and fear of being thrown down the cliff at over 60km/hour is better left to the imagination.
The Zulu Love Letter
It was Elidoni Okpeta that presented ‘The Zulu Love Letter’ to female members of the team but graciously offered me one. Zulu love-tokens (Incwadi) are woven in beads and sent to lovers as a means of communication. Each colour or combination of colours has specific meanings. Many of these have changed over the years, but the basic and commonly used, according to the one given to me, are: White – purity, vision, true love; Red – strong emotion, intense love; Blue – faithfulness, loneliness; Green – contentment, bliss; Yellow – wealth, jealousy; Pink – adds emphasis to a promise, poverty; Black – marriage, anger, hurt, jealousy, and, Brown represents love.
While there was no rand and naira to be made or spent, the experience of the trip was worth millions in any good currency.