One stunning sunset and a 45-minutes look around the property and Roland Vorwerk and husband Richard Delate offered the full asking price on a Sedgefield guesthouse. “We weren’t even looking to buy a place in Sedgefield but drove around with friends that we stayed with who were looking to buy and soon found ourselves as guesthouse owners and operators.”
Vorwerk tells Farmer’s Weekly that it was only after the purchase that they drew up a business plan. He had previously worked as the marketing manager of Boundless Southern Africa, promoting tourism to the region’s Transfrontier Parks. Now, about 18 months into their ownership of In Toto Retreat, Vorwerk is one of the drivers of an avitourism initiative funded by the Western Cape Department of Tourism and the Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve that also includes building awareness of birding opportunities along the Garden Route and in the Klein Karoo.
According to Vorwerk, about 460 of South Africa’s 874 bird species are found in these areas and because of the differing landscapes and climates within relatively close proximity, the area provides an extraordinary biodiversity.
“As avitourism is one of the fastest growing outdoor pursuits globally, it made sense to help connect the dots to areas, guides and accommodation providers who can support birders,” he says, adding that in association with BirdLife South Africa, a nonprofit organisation that supports bird conservation, the gobirding.co.za portal has been built to connect birding communities around South Africa.
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