Trying to run two businesses sometimes has its challenges. Planning and conducting gay tours to South Africa on one hand, while deploying a team of executive coaches on the other, has periodic challenges. What’s the best way to stay organized? Savvy Navigator is a huge fan of Barbara Hemphill, a professional organizer and the publisher of the Taming the Paper Tiger organizing system. He’s used the system for nearly a decade, stays totally organized, and also thoroughly enjoys Barbara’s musings. In a recent newsletter, she has some excellent perspectives on vacation:

1. Always have a specific vacation in your future.  Recently a colleague shared a practice he learned from a friend and has implemented in his life. Before your vacation is over, block out the dates on your calendar for the next vacation.  Great advice – and I’ve already scheduled next year! The vacation planning experience itself can be a rewarding exercise as you explore all the exciting places in the world you can go – some of them very close to home!
2. Spend more time experiencing your vacation than capturing it. One of the things I realized was that every time I was trying to take a photograph of an experience, I missed the experience.  Of course, I wanted memories – but not at the expense of missing the action.  My solution was to block out specific time on each segment of the trip for photography, and enjoy the rest.  Extra payoff:  fewer photographs to organize when I returned!
3. Allow space in your vacation for doing nothing.  One of the biggest joys of this vacation for me was not having any appointments.  Although there were plenty of opportunities to schedule side excursions ahead of time, I decided to just wait and see what I felt like doing.  (Of course, I took the risk of missing something I really wanted to do, but there were so many options, it didn’t matter.) I don’t know how to use words to express the peace I experienced just sitting on the stateroom deck, watching the whales bounding and the glaciers “calving.” 
4. Avoid the crowd whenever possible. One of the things I discovered was that staying on shipboard on a day we were in dock offered great opportunities. Prices at the spa were reduced and so were the crowds – but the customer service increased because the experts were less rushed. 
5. Pack light!  The purpose of a vacation for me is to experience freedom.  That’s difficult to do if you’re lugging around lots of “stuff” that you in fact never use.  In fact, my traveling partner decided that the next time she took a trip, she would take fewer clothes than she needed and an empty suitcase, so she could buy things along the way.  Great idea!
6. Use your vacation as an opportunity to share time with the people you love.  This was the greatest joy of all about my vacation – my husband, my mother, and my best friend for two weeks.  It doesn’t get any better as far as I’m concerned. What’s especially heartwarming is that we will enjoy it again and again in the years to come as we share our memories with each other and with friends and family.  (Note:  This doesn’t mean you have to spend every minute together.)
7. Be sure to say “thank you” to the people who made your vacation possible.  In my case, a big hug to my husband who made this dream a reality for us, and to our travel agent who did an awesome job of helping select exactly the right cruise experience for us.  I also owe a thank you to the great people we met along the way, from the cabin steward who sent me home with a suitcase of clean clothes – imagine! – to the interesting people (business owners, ironically!) who shared our dining table.  Finally, it was indeed a blessing to leave my business behind for two weeks, knowing that the HPI team could handle anything that happened – and they did!
   

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Savvy Navigator LLC Offers Gay Tours to South Africa for Sophisticated Male Travelers

WASHINGTON, October 20, 2008 – Jeffrey Ward, a 20-year travel industry veteran and executive coach, has launched a specialized gay tour company catering to sophisticated male travelers.  With three departures planned in 2009, Savvy Navigator offers 12-day experiential, life-changing journeys for small groups to sample some of South Africa’s lesser-known attractions and meet with leading artists, naturalists and intellectuals.

Mr. Ward combines his executive experience in the trade with a passion for deeply enriching travel to create total immersion adventures for clients around the world. 

“I started Savvy Navigator Tours because I saw a need among affluent gay men for escorted, one-of-a-kind travel experiences that would allow them to go beyond the standard vacation,” said Mr. Ward, whose background includes more than a decade with American Airlines, where he concentrated on improving the customer experience.  “Savvy Navigator will take select groups on exhilarating journeys through areas known only to the most devoted chowhounds, wine enthusiasts, cultural critics and nightlife connoisseurs.”

Highlights of the “Eat, Drink and Be Merry” South Africa package, January 13-26, 2009, include a gourmet dinner hosted by a leading South African playwright and a safari at the luxurious Londolozi Private Game Reserve in Sabi Sands next to Kruger National Park.  Other South Africa tours will depart in May and November 2009.

“My concept for Savvy Navigator is the best dinner party imaginable extended over 12 days in settings of startling beauty,” said Mr. Ward.  “Sophisticated travelers are craving something different and want the opportunity to have a transformative adventure that includes getting to know interesting locals, and not just have a traditional tourist experience.”

Mr. Ward also noted that low air fares, combined with the value of the South African Rand currency, make January an excellent time for a South Africa vacation.

For more information please see our website.

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 ctober 14th, 2008

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A checklist item for any gay tour or trip to Southern Africa is a visit to Victoria Falls, located on the Zambezi River between Zambia and the turbulent Zimbabwe. “Vic Falls” as it’s known, was typically visited from Zimbabwe, but today it’s far easier (and safer) to access this World Heritage site from Livingstone, Zambia. 

Most tour operators and travel agents book their clients at large properties such as the Royal Livingstone Hotel. While there’s nothing wrong with this big hotel - and it does offer anachronistic colonial elegance - Savvy Navigator much prefers the Islands of Siankba, a remote lodge, located on two islands, upstream from the falls on the Zambezi. Their recently-updated website, which still does not do justice to the lodge, describes the property:

The Islands of Siankaba Lodge is the most classic of forested retreats. Siankaba’s seven secluded chalets, each with its unique and individually different view of the mighty Zambezi River, are linked by a foot bridge to a haute cuisine restaurant. All of this is located on two untouched islands in the middle of the mighty Zambezi River situated between the ‘Seventh Wonder of the Natural World’, the magnificent Victoria Falls, and the world famous Chobe National Park.

While the lodge and the tented suites were indeed fabulous, it was the other travelers we met in the lodge that made the stay so special. There was a fun Australian/American couple from Sydney, in addition to a well-traveled and interesting pair of retired Brits. We dined together at a large table in the evenings, and our sundowner cocktail cruises were the highlight, complete with tasty gin and tonics, peppered with lively conversation about world travels.

The Islands of Siankaba has rapidly become a Savvy Navigator Tours favorite destination for our guests, and while most travelers really only need to experience Vic Falls once, many have a great desire to return to the Islands of Siankaba.