May I introduce myself as Selwyn Davidowitz.  I am not a believer in big, artistic, bandwidth grabbing web pages.  I believe in the KISS principle which represents the formula "keep it straight and simple" and not "keep it simple stupid" as I was once told. J   It is for this reason that I have kept this webpage down to absolute essentials .  Information that I can tell you at a later date such as itineraries and what to do in the Western Cape, will be done in a more personalized way using email after you have made an initial contact with me via this web page. 

Ok, ok ok enough said so let's get down to the nitty gritty stuff......

Who is Selwyn Davidowitz?  >

• Electronics engineer by training
• Past owner for 20 years of a well known clothing factory in Cape Town employing 80 people
• THETA accredited tourguide  (Tourism, Hospitality & Sport Education Training Authority)
• Lecturer in tourguiding at the Cape Tourguide Institute
• Very happily married to Bette

            
                  Selwyn and Bette Davidowitz

• 2007 - Wanderlust magazine international tourguide of the year

Interests and hobbies

• BEING PART OF BUILDING THE WONDERFUL, NEW SOUTH AFRICA
• Sports mad – you name it I’ve played it, although these days I mainly watch it
• Avid cook - Love concocting wonderful meals
• Keen wine collector and wine-taster
• Opera, ballet, theatre and movie lover 
• Enjoy anything to do with computers with special interest being the internet
• Keen long distance swimmer who has swum the Cape Town - Robben Island crossing twice
• Have a special affinity for Cape Town, it's people and its history
• Helping the people of the township of Kayamandi (See township tours)
• Love travelling and have travelled extensively. I have had a foot on every continent at some time or other

Why I love being a Western Cape tourguide
A couple of years ago while friends from all over the world visited us in Cape Town, I would take them on tours so as to show them what a treasure my city truly is as well as the marvels of the nearby Garden Route. Seeing the glow on their faces as we moved around soon became the motivation that made me want to do this on a professional basis. It did not take long for me to find myself taking many folk around my beloved city and the Garden Route on a regular basis. To me this is a wonderful occupation in that I enjoy showing people the places for which I have such a passion. My favorite part of touring Cape Town or the Garden Route is when I relate all the little hidden secrets of area to my visitors. My main aim is to show people this marvelous place called Cape Town as well a the fabulous Garden Route in such a way that they will soon realize that I am deeply in love with the terrain in which I grew up.

What I can offer you

Accreditations

Tour the Western Cape
As an accredited THETA guide (Tourism, Hospitality & Sport Education Training Authority). I am qualified to arrange all needs such as accommodation, outings, meals as well take tourists around the Western Cape and its environs  (Cape Town, Cape Peninsula, Winelands, Overberg, Breede River and West Coast ) as well as the Garden Route.  I do not believe in taking hordes of tourists from one place to another simply to have them click away with their cameras and go back home to say "look Ma, here is Table Mountain which I saw briefly last week." I believe in the quality aspect of touring. For this reason I try to take no more than 6 people on a tour with me. If your group is made up of 7or more people in very special circumstances this can be accommodated too.  By doing this my experience has also shown that I can get to little hidden gems in the city as well as places that are frequented by locals a lot easier than in bigger groups. In summary when you travel with me we do not see other tourists or tour buses; we rather see the little hidden places that makes Cape Town click for its own local population. J  Obviously we do see the highlights like Table Mountain and Cape Point however that is where its stops in terms of seeing other tourists.  J   All in all this culminates in the fact that I put great effort into taking visitors around Cape Town in a very personalized manner. 

Township travel
I travel with my visitors to the township of Kayamandi. This is a journey that is very hard to describe in that it is so different from any township tour that you would find amongst other tourguides or tour operators. To see more about this incredible experience please click here - Kayamandi township

The Garden Route
Besides touring in Cape Town I also love touring on the magnificent Garden Route. While on this tour I amongst others encourage my visitors to overnight or spend 2 days at a hideout on the Garden Route seashore that is so special that I will not release the name or location of the venue in that I do not want the place to be overrun by many visitors. Secrecy is the name of the game when it comes to this special spot and I simply call it CV, however as I do like showing the venue off for its wondrous beauty if you want to see it then please go to the website that I have created by clicking here. Other than staying at CV I also visit and tour places that stretch from the Addo Elephant Park to Mossel Bay on the Garden Route. While traveling the Garden Route, Knysna is the town where I spend most of my touring time because this wonderful little town acts as a fabulous pivot from which one can travel on a daily basis to enjoy the magnificent terrain called the Garden Route

Safari
Lots of visitors to Cape Town ask me whether they can go on safari in the city or its surrounds. I offer safari experiences when I travel down the Garden Route. I visit 3 game parks viz. Addo  (main attraction is seeing huge herds of elephants);  Schotia ( lions, hippo, rhino, giraffe) and Botlierskop (giraffe, rhino, buffalo, black eland). When put together these 3 wildlife events gives my visitors a great animal experience where they could well see the Big 5 as well as many other species of animal. What is most important is the fact that this all takes place in a malaria free zone. This effectively means my visitors experience three totally different game experiences in a very safe 2-3 day period. Due to the fact that I concentrate on the experience of game viewing and not luxury living in the bush, I do not advise my visitors to stay at plush safari camps as I honestly believe that this is not a true bush experience. This cuts the cost of a safari by more than 60% and results in huge savings for those who travel with me.  All in all when one goes through the above 3 safari type events one experiences true animal wildlife in Africa at an affordable cost. 

Transport
The transport that I utilize to tour in is as seen below are both personal vehicles of mine. They are a large, comfortable VW combi that is air conditioned or my wonderful 1989 Mercedes Benz that I have lovingly kept in 100% pristine condition for 18 years. Even though these are also vehicles for my own private use they are fully licensed to carry paying passengers. As a professional tourguide I carry adequate accident and passenger insurance to cover all who travel with me in them.  The choice of vehicle to tour in remains the preference of my visitors. 

Accommodation 
All arrangements such as accommodation, reservations etc that I make on behalf of yourself are done free of charge in that I only charge for my guiding fees. I do not take commissions on any of the reservations that are made on behalf of my visitors.  I am well known for getting accommodation a well as general discounts on behalf of those who have toured with me in the past. To explain this I must point out that as a tourguide I generally can get up to 10% commission on all sales. I always pass this commission back to those who tour with me thus giving my visitors an automatic 10% discount on most that they spend on while in Cape Town or it's surrounds.

Friendship
The advent of the internet has now given me the opportunity of getting to know who will be touring with me before they even arrive in Cape Town. Owing to the fact that tours are always pre-planned with the aid of email, I virtually know the travelers who join me when they arrive at the Cape Town airport. This makes the whole concept of arranging all my visitors to Cape Town's needs as well as taking them around the city and it's environs so much better for all concerned. It allows me to home in on the interests of the whole party who are touring with me; as a matter of fact the whole trip becomes one enjoyable party. 

Photo Album 
Please visit this important page

To view a fabulous facility that I offer my visitors please go to my photo tour album. Here you will see how I take pictures of my visitors as they tour. I place these pictures on the internet on the day of  traveling. This allows my visitors to have their  friends and family view current tour photos of those traveling with me. Needless to say if any of my visitors do not want to have this facility I respect their privacy and do not publish their tour. My photo album also acts as my referral page as you will on this page see what others think about my tours.  Have fun when you get to the page. J

Rates
Due to the fact that I do individually designed tours to suit my visitors interest and needs I do not have a standard fee per tour.  When you send me your tour requirements I will help you devise an itinerary. When this has been completed I will quote you a rate accordingly.

Tipping

As a tourguide I find that many of my visitors want to tip me at the end of a tour. Please do not be offended but as much as these gratuities are appreciated I do NOT accept them as I feel that I am being paid sufficiently to cover the professional services that I offer. What I do not refuse are monies that anybody cares to want to donate to our Ikamva Lethu Trust Fund so as to help my friends in Kayamandi, as a matter of fact I welcome any help as such.  Overall I am proud of what I do and the biggest tip that anybody can give me is a big happy smile indicating that they have truly enjoyed our tour together in my wonderful city and its surrounds as well as beautiful the Garden Route

Referrals

International Travel News (ITN) recommendation

Please click here to read some letters of referral from visitors who have toured with me.

The way that I operate is as follows:

If you want to visit Cape Town or the Garden Route utilizing my personalized tour organizing and guiding services, I ask you to either phone me on my South African, American or British telephone numbers or email me and tell me the following:

• When you want to travel to Cape Town or the Garden Route and how long you want to stay

• Your special interests or needs when you come to Table Mountain city or its surrounds

I will then respond to you per email within 24 hours of receipt of your mail and set the ball rolling with everything that you will want to know.

A local telephone call can be made to me on the following numbers:

USA - 310 601 8531

 UK   - 020 8133 8981

Please note that by using these numbers they are all at the cost of a local call for the caller in the USA or UK and the calls reach me on my PC in Cape Town using Skype-In technology.  If I am not available there are voicemail facilities on line. Rest assured I will respond to all calls. As soon as Skype develop this technology for other countries I will obtain local numbers in these countries as well.

My final assurance to you

When you visit and see Cape Town and the Garden Route through my eyes as well as share my passion for my country, you will not want to leave what I regard to be the most beautiful place in the world.

I look forward to hearing from you with great anticipation.

Selwyn Davidowitz

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